Primeval Powers

[Quickleaf]

As I'm writing up my campaign world, I realized that I was making decisions about the world's nature that made it fantastic, like the existence of True Names. This led to the concept of "primeval powers", those things bound up in the essence of the world, going back to its creation.

Here's my example, but I'd love to hear your ideas about the idea of "primeval powers."

Speak True Name (Primeval Power)
You utter the target’s True Name, gaining complete mastery over them.At-Will ♦ Arcane/Divine, Charm
Minor Action, Ranged 20
Target: A creature whose True Name you know
Attack: 30 + Charisma modifier* vs. Will
Hit: Affect the target in one of these ways:
• Command (or forbid) them to perform an action, within the bounds of their alignment.
• They fail all saving throws against your powers for the rest of the encounter.
• Learn one fact of your choice about the target.
• Free the target from all charm magic and, with the DM’s permission, possibly more.
Miss: The target is dazed until the end of your next turn, but you cannot use Speak True Name on the target for the rest of the encounter.
*Special: Instead you may roll 1d20 + your level + Charisma modifier.

 

[fissionessence]

Who has access to this power? How do you learn a target's truename? How does the existence of this power benefit your ability to tell a campaign story? (That is, if you can almost always take control of someone by speaking their truename, why make a mechanic for it instead of just roleplaying the occurrence?)

~ fissionessence

 

[Khuxan]

I think it's a mistake to call them Primeval Powers - it's too close to Primal Powers. What about Truename Powers, or Utterances for short.