D&D 5E Power Word Liquefy (PWL)

[Zardnaar]

IN 2E AD&D there was a spell called PW: Liquefy. It was more or less power word kill except you got turned to water (under 60hp tough luck)

5E PW:Kill is up to 100 hit points. So I was thinking about power word liquefy- it kills you and turns your body to water. So that it is not strictly better than PWK I was thinking of having it effect only 80 or 60 hit points.

Imagine the PCs. "Ha stupid elemental water cult at best they have Cone of Cold" - PWL= PC become a puddle. Stupid water elementalists.......

Famous last words engraved on your tombstone/tea pot perhaps.

So gentle being PWL in 5E yes/know and if so how would you do it?

PS
In AD&D PWL only ever got used once in a trap on a toilet seat. PWL into a long drop so the left over water gets mixed with.......

 

[Ketser]

When compared to the PW:K it has the added benefit of getting rid of the body in a way that depending the circumstances might be harder to recover than of a disintegrate victim.

60 hp limit probably. Not sure about the level.

I would probably make "just a" Liquefy spell that is a disintegrate analogue, only using acid damage and having the puddle of water at the 0 instead of ashes. Why acid? Because i'm not sure what else would fit and because most of the "water elemental nature" creatures have acid resistance (although i feel that water elementals should maybe be immune to that specific spell).

 

[Lanliss]

Player- "I liquefy the water elemental!"

DM-"There is a massive flash of light and power! The flare clears and... You've done it! The water elemental is now made out of liquid!"

 

[jgsugden]

Just use PWK and make the liquidification fluff.

 

[Blue]

There are level gates in the spells. For instance, you aren't expected to be ably to fly until 5th - and DMs can count on that for challenges. You might be able to climb or levitate but not fly.

Save or die spells are really rare. Such that I'll believe that PW:K is at the level gate for it. So I wouldn't reduce the level of a save or die spell. Talking about he reduced HP threshold seems to suggest that's what you are looking for.

If you want to just nullify them but they re-connect after a while, then I'd say polymorph is the level gate for that, since you can turn someone into a plant. Considering that polymorph has more usages and not a HP limit, I'd give it some other advantage like not needing concentration. But still duration limited.