9th-level enchantment · 2024 version below
You utter a word of power that can compel one creature you can see within range to die instantly. If the creature you choose has 100 hit points or fewer, it dies. Otherwise, the spell has no effect.
You say one word to a creature you can see within 60 feet. If it has 100 hit points or fewer, it dies. If it has more, nothing happens. There’s no attack roll and no saving throw, so armor, good saves, Legendary Resistance and magic resistance don’t help.
The catch is knowing when to use it. You don’t see hit points, and a creature with 101 wastes your only 9th-level slot of the day. It’s at its best as a finisher: after the party has knocked a big threat down, or against an enemy spellcaster whose full hit points are already under 100.
No. If the target has 100 hit points or fewer, it dies. That’s also why Legendary Resistance can’t stop it: there’s no failed save to turn into a success.
You don’t, unless the DM tells you. Most DMs describe how hurt a creature looks. The safest use is on a target you’ve watched take a lot of damage.
Yes, by any caster who can see you casting it. Counterspell needs a 9th-level slot to stop it automatically, or a DC 19 ability check.
Yes. A character with 100 hit points or fewer simply dies, skipping unconsciousness and death saving throws. Revivify can bring them back within a minute.
The spell has no creature-type limit, so yes: any creature you can see with 100 hit points or fewer dies.
Yes. In the 2024 rules, a creature with more than 100 hit points takes 12d12 psychic damage instead of nothing, so the slot is never wasted.
| Spell | How it compares |
|---|---|
| Power Word Stun | 8th level: stuns a creature with 150 hit points or fewer until it makes a Constitution save. Same no-roll design, a step lower. |
| Finger of Death | 7th level: 7d8 + 30 necrotic, half on a Constitution save, and a humanoid it kills rises as your zombie. |
| Disintegrate | 6th level: 10d6 + 40 force on a failed Dexterity save, and a creature it kills turns to dust. |
| Meteor Swarm | 9th level: up to 140 damage to everything in four huge spheres. The other 9th-level way to end a fight. |
| Class | First available | Spellcasting ability |
|---|---|---|
| Bard spells | 17th character level | Charisma |
| Sorcerer spells | 17th character level | Charisma |
| Warlock spells | 17th character level | Charisma |
| Wizard spells | 17th character level | Intelligence |
The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised many spells, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new text. What changed from the 2014 version above:
You compel one creature you can see within range to die. If the target has 100 Hit Points or fewer, it dies. Otherwise, it takes 12d12 Psychic damage.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
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