| Spell type | Indirect mental attack (red spell) |
| Requires | Path of Shadows 20+ or Pathway to Hell 20+ |
| Enhanced by | House ShadowSworn and Witch Spawn count as 5 ranks |
| Casting time | 3 seconds |
| Base modifiers | 100 feet range, +10 Ascendancy, +10 Power |
| Duration | 2 seconds per rank, doubled if you have Dark Conduit |
Drain Lifeforce is an indirect attack spell which targets the internals and inflicts mental damage. It only works against creatures with a lifeforce or some other animating energy, and on a critical hit you will absorb some of this stolen lifeforce into yourself for a short time.
A stolen portion of lifeforce gives +1 spell armour vs mental damage per rank, and +1 mental bypass per 2 ranks, lasting 2 seconds per rank (doubled if you also have Dark Conduit). This duration cannot be renewed, but you may hold one portion of lifeforce at a time for every 10 ranks.