D&D 5E Power Word Kill (variant)

[jgsugden]

Except you don't have no chance, you have allies. The bad guy getting hit has to roll concentration checks to keep that dominate monster up, if your ally who was dominated takes any damage they make a saving throw, someone in the party might be able to dispel the domination effect. This isn't just a "your save is auto failed so now the game is over", the game keeps going with your allies providing assistance and trying to solve the issue in the fight.

If you think that is how this type of thing hits everyone, then you really should consider stepping away from this discussion a while and then putting yourself in the shoes of a player that gets knocked out of the fight without a chance and has to hope that allies provide an opportunity to get back into it. Some players are fine with it. A lot are not. I've seen it at a lot of tables over the years. This isn't really a debate here - this is me telling you I've seen it too much to discount it.

Also, we're in a thread about power word kill, in a high level game if you go up against a lich then your typical wizard or sorcerer is probably dead to a PWK first thing which is probably less fun than your wizard getting dominated for a few rounds.

And that is a criticism of the power word spells overall.

As a DM, I usually don't use PWK. The other PWs are less of an issue, but I prefer to do other things that create more interesting combats, including spells that alter the battlefield through summoning allies, creating traps or obstacles to be beaten, or otherwise creating dynamics within the battle. When I use PWK, I make sure to broadcast it. The PCs will hear that the enemy has it before they see it. They'll be given a chance to put up defenses. It won't be: See monster. Roll initiative. Now you're dead.

 

[NotAYakk]

Power Word Kill

If target creature has 100 or fewer HP it dies. If not, target creature loses 100 HP. Then if it has more HP remaining than you do, it loses HP equal to your HP and you die. If it has fewer HP than you do, you lose HP equal to its HP and it dies. Nothing can stop the loss of HP from this spell, but effects such as death ward can prevent death from this spell.

This turns PWK into a guaranteed kill. You or your target.

 

[Quartz]

Meteor Swarm same idea, save diminishes the total and subject to resistances.

[Aside alert!]

The real advantage of Meteor Swarm is its one mile range, outside the range of Counterspell and hard to detect the casting in the first place. You have an enemy spellcaster flying or teleporting around with a bunch of these on scrolls and your party is toast if they don't start to think. At lower levels you can have the Big Bad cast this from safety to soften up the party before the minions wade in. And then there's the iron golem combo...

 

[gamerprinter]

While It wasn't my idea, I did agree to it's inclusion. For my published Kaidan setting of Japanese Horror (PFRPG) Gamemaster's Guide, Steven Russell (rest in peace) creating a bunch of additional and lowered power Power Word spells, as a unique field of magic practiced by the Omnyoji wizards of that setting. It's a bit OP, but if you keep those spell use within my setting only, it's not too bad. All these spells limit who can be targetted based on total HP of a given target creature, and there are 1st - 9th level Power Word spells. Examples include: 1st level - Power Word Fascinate, Power Word Trip; 4th level - Power Word Frighten, Power Word Mute; 9th level - Power Word Nauseate. But each level features 8 to 10 Power Word spells. They are interesting anyway...

 

[Shadowdweller00]

While Death Ward should probably be fairly common by the time one is facing Power Word Kill, I'm maybe a LITTLE more inclined to do something like the following:

Power Word: Kill
9th level Necromancy
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Target: 1 creature
Components: V
Duration: 1 round

The caster utters a terrible word of power, which causes a victim to become wracked with titan-crushing, soul-searing levels of agony. The victim is stunned and incapacitated for one round (no save). Exception: Creatures with legendary resistance may expend one use of this ability to attempt to resist the stunning and incapacitation with a Wisdom save against the spell's DC, causing the spell to end prematurely without further adverse effect on a success. At the beginning of the caster's next turn they may force the victim to make a Constitution save as a free action. On a failure the victim dies. On a success, the victim takes 10d10 necrotic damage. Either way the spell ends. This spell acts against the victim's animating soul and can affect most undead. However, targets that lack souls (such as some constructs) are immune.

So - still very powerful as it causes one round of automatic stun. Also horrific. However, can be resisted with Death Ward, dispelled with Dispel Magic. Or survived by killing or incapacitating the caster in the next round. Feels more fair to me? Also changed to necromancy because I try to make or keep spell schools more consistent and necromancy is generally the Save or Die school. YMMV, of course.