What are Power Word spells?

[Thunderbolt']

As Power Word line of spells have been changed from Enchantment to be Divination spells, do these spells tap, use or reveal parts of the targets true name as Anthilar's bane suggests ot what is the effect of this spells exatcly?

Somewhat related to this are characters allowed to RP that they have knowledge of the Words of Creation and it's existence or is it something only granted and reviewed by the DM's?

[Hoihe]

The way I went about it is the following:

I prepare the Power Word spell. While preparing spells, most of them are half-casted and only need to be "executed" in combat. For power word spells, this means you cast a divination to learn a word of creation inducing the related effect. Kinda like if you could cast spells in Skyrim to learn a shout for a single use.

When you utter the said word of creation, you forget it entirely.

With the Primer, you forget whatever you learned once the spell runs out.


The whole forgetting aspect could be argued that your mind is incapable of holding such knowledge without magical padding unless DM says otherwise. Having a character that learned stuff mortals shouldn't, it's usually a painful process and usually leads to amnesia of said knowledge anyway after it's no longer relevant.

[DM Soulcatcher]

Power Words are spells operating on current life force (hp) of your target. Depending whether its strong or weak enough, it may or may not work.

Power Words do not reveal any parts of true name. Anthilar's Bane allows you to only glean into a ridiculously small part of your subject's true name that only grants you better power over Power Word influence over their life force. This spell cannot be used to learn full true name either.

Words of Creation, generally, are unknown to vast majority of mortals, except their existance. It's even said that very few Celestial creatures haven't forgotten Words of Creation, and only some retained knowledge about them. While a scholar with Knowledge: Religion/Planes in 30+ points may know of existance of something like that- a concept of such a language, Words of Creation will always be unknown to player characters.

[Thunderbolt']

This is helpful reagrding RP that involves these spells. Thank you for clarification.