The caster draws upon holy (or unholy) power to smite enemies with one of the following
allegiances, as chosen by the caster: chaos, evil, good, or law. The
spell deals 1d8 points of
damage per two caster levels (maximum 5d8) to creatures with the designated allegiance and blinds them for 1 round. A successful Fortitude
saving throw reduces
damage to half and negates the blinding
effect.
In addition to the obvious effects, a blinded creature suffers a 50% miss chance in
combat (all opponents have total concealment), loses any Dexterity bonus to
Defense, grants a +2 bonus on opponents'
attack rolls (they are effectively invisible), moves at half
speed, and takes a -4 penalty on Search checks and most Strength- and Dexterity-based
skill checks.