Power Word Pain is yet another Power Word spell from D&D 5e, and it, too, is an interesting one. There are three official power word spells (that I am aware of at the time of writing). The idea for this kind of spell is to utter a word from a forgotten primordial language that in itself has the power to affect creation – and a target of your choice.
But imagine you already spent hours upon hours doing vocal exercises to learn how to produce an otherworldly sound not meant for humanoid throats. Wouldn’t you want to know what else there is for you to utter despite dire consequences? I expect you would at least experiment a little and possibly find other words in that lost tongue that also hold power.
Power Words derived from Pain
Here is another selection of less serious
power words that might or might not make sense. Mechanically, they have a save where the original ones do not, and most conditions do not have a time limit. Get creative with that, and find a fitting way to end these conditions. Power word “Yes you can!”, I guess.
- Power Word Gain
The target must make a Strength saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target begins to slowly move into a random direction, picking up speed over time. In addition, the further they have travelled, the more momentum they gain that will help them to crash through obstacles whether they want to or not.
On a success, the target begins to feel slightly itchy. Within minutes, that itch turnes into a fully-fledged muscle sore that then turns into them gaining muscle mass at a tremendous rate over the next 1d4 days. - Power Word Stain
The target must make a Charisma saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target’s clothes develope a series of stains that resemble severely spilled food or drink that cannot be removed by conventional means. This effect will affect newly donned clothes until the target willingly spills something on themselves that completely ruines at least one piece of clothing.
On a success, the target gains the ability to color wood by touching it. Through concentration, they can add a basic stain to any wooden surface that they can reach, in any color they can think og. On top of that, they can apply natural wood colors through thinking of the name of the species alone. - Power Word Refrain
The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target is forced to refrain from the next big thing on their list. In the process, they are forced to come up with a semi-decent reason for not doing what they wanted to do in order to convince themselves.
On a success, the target suddenly finds the refrain of one of their favorite pieces of music stuck in their head on repeat. The only way to get rid of this recurring inner music is to gather a group of not less than 7 accomplished musicians to render a version of this song and play it to a musically satisfying ending with the target conducting them. - Power Word Bane
The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target begins to think the nasty thoughts that they would normally suppress, or not even think consciously, about those arround them. While under this effect, they will give these thoughts a voice that is aimed at hurting everyone arround them. This behaviour can be stopped with an inter-party intervention.
On a success, the target becomes convinced that they were cursed with bad luck, frequently ruining good plans through no obvious fault of their own simply by being present. This can be remedied by making a show out of removing a curse from the target, no actual magic required. - Power Word Brain
The target must make a Intelligence saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target begins to overthink everything, from their own actions to the motives of their compatriotes as well as their enemies. Questioning their own thoughts will keep them from performing in any decent fashion. One way to get rid of this is prolonged meditation.
On a success, the target realizes that they are a thinking being, thus validating their existence in the world as an extension of the universe experiencing itself. They continue to function like normal, but become just a tiny bit weird to be around. - Power Word Fane
The target must make a Charisma saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target is suddenly overcome by the desire to build a shrine. This shrine will officially be to some random deity, but secretly about the person building it. The intention is to remove everything pointing at the god later and replace it with a series of self-portraits.
On a success, the target is filled with the low-key need to rate every shrine, temple, or place of worship they come across, no matter their size or affiliation. They will do their best to remain unbiased and constructive, but will inject passive agression whenever they dislike the person they are giving the review to. - Power Word Main
The target must make an Intelligence saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target becomes charged and sparks begin to jump whenever they come close to touching something. This also electrocutes everything they touch with their hands, but not with other body parts for reasons of convenience. It is entirely possible to use this effect to support a barbecue effort.
On a success, the target becomes completely void of energy but gains the ability to absorb it from the surrounding atmosphere. While indoors, that means that they will gain energy from petting cats and other soothing animals with the aproproate fur. Outdoors, they will find themselves hit by lightning even on sunny days, discharging and preventing thunderstorms but also serving as a great conversation starter. - Power Word Mane
The target must make a Constitution saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target’s hair begins to grow uncontrollably and with an unsettling speed of at least a hand’s breadth every hour. The hair can still be cut normally, but every cut speeds up the growth as if something feels like it has to compensate. This effect ends once all the hair has been braided skilfully.
On a success, the target’s hair will flow as if blown by a heroic gust of wind at any time, no actual wind required. It will also refuse to tangle or knot, and it is impossible to hold the affected creature by their hair in any way. - Power Word Vain
The target must make a Wisdom saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, anything the target does for the forseeable future will be in vain, at least generally speaking. They retain the ability to find small victories within their failures, but it will take some deep soul-searching to realign themselves in order to get rid of this effect.
On a success, the target probably thinks this spell is about them. - Power Word Vane
The target must make a Charisma saving throw against the speaker’s spell save DC.
On a fail, the target begins to turn their proverbial flag with the wind, supporting any person, creature, or cause that appears to have the upper hand right now regardless of their long-term alegiances.
On a success, the target gains the uncanny ability to place even the tiniest gust of wind in terms of velocity and cardinal direction.
Thank you for checking out my stuff, which sometimes appears to be a little less serious. I would love to hear about how you used (or considered using) these Power Words, or how they inspired you in your game. Don’t forget to take a look at the Power Word Variations for Kill and Stun, check out my other Roleplaying Inspiration, and remember to Be Inspired!