Power Word Heal
- Level: 9
- School: Enchantment
- Class: Bard, Cleric
- Casting Time: Action
- Range: 60 feet
- Components: V
- Duration: Instantaneous
A wave of healing energy washes over one creature you can see within range. The target regains all its Hit Points. If the creature has the Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned, or Stunned condition, the condition ends. If the creature has the Prone condition, it can use its Reaction to stand up.
Tactical Usage
Ultimate Emergency Healing. Power Word Heal provides complete hit point restoration plus condition removal, making it the premier emergency healing spell for rescuing critically wounded allies from near-death situations.
Instant Action Recovery. The spell's condition removal covers Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned, and Stunned effects, potentially restoring fully functional party members from complete incapacitation.
No-Save Reliability. Unlike many high-level spells, Power Word Heal functions automatically without saving throws or attack rolls, guaranteeing success when cast on valid targets.
Spell Combinations
Combat Resurrection Strategy. Following Revivify or Raise Dead with Power Word Heal immediately restores newly revived allies to full combat effectiveness rather than leaving them vulnerable.
Protection Layering. Combining with defensive spells like Shield or temporary protection effects maximizes the value of the complete healing by preventing immediate re-damage.
Tactical Positioning. Movement spells help reach critically wounded allies within the 60-foot range, while area denial effects prevent enemies from interrupting the healing attempt.
Material Component Details
Verbal-Only Casting. Power Word Heal requires only verbal components, making it accessible even when restrained, disarmed, or in situations where somatic components would be impossible.
Component Simplicity. The lack of material component requirements eliminates resource concerns and component availability issues during critical emergency situations.
Silent Casting Limitations. The verbal requirement prevents use during silence effects, stealth operations, or situations where magical activity must remain completely concealed.
Creator Notes
High-Stakes Drama. Power Word Heal creates climactic moments where single spells can dramatically reverse encounter momentum, requiring careful consideration of dramatic timing and narrative impact.
Resource Investment Balance. As a 9th-level spell, this represents maximum magical investment with correspondingly powerful effects that can justify the slot expenditure during critical moments.
Emergency Planning. Parties with access to this spell often develop tactical doctrines around its use, creating dynamic rescue strategies and risk-taking opportunities.
Environmental Interactions
Range Considerations. The 60-foot range requires positioning within medium distance of allies, potentially exposing casters to area effects or enemy retaliation during emergency healing attempts.
Line of Sight Requirements. Standard spellcasting visibility rules apply, requiring clear sight to the target and potentially complicating rescue attempts in cluttered or dangerous environments.
Environmental Safety. Complete healing might encourage reckless behavior in dangerous environments where hit point restoration doesn't address ongoing environmental hazards.
Common Rulings & Clarifications
Complete Restoration. The spell restores all hit points regardless of current total, damage type, or hit point maximum modifications, providing absolute healing effectiveness.
Condition Scope. Only specific conditions are removed - Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned, and Stunned - while other debuffs like exhaustion or curse effects remain unaffected.
Prone Recovery Option. Targets can use their reaction to stand up if prone, though this is optional rather than automatic, allowing tactical decisions about positioning.
Multiple Target Limitation. The spell affects only one creature, preventing mass healing applications despite the significant spell slot investment required.
Alternative Applications
Interrogation Resistance. Removing Charmed and Frightened conditions can help allies resist magical interrogation or mental manipulation effects during social encounters.
Performance Enhancement. Complete healing plus condition removal can prepare key party members for important skill challenges, social encounters, or other non-combat situations requiring peak performance.
Exploration Support. Removing Poisoned conditions and restoring hit points helps parties continue dangerous exploration without requiring extended rest periods.
Related Spells
Healing Magic Comparison. Heal provides similar hit point restoration at lower levels, while Mass Heal affects multiple targets, and Regenerate offers ongoing healing plus limb regrowth.
Condition Removal. Greater Restoration removes more diverse conditions but doesn't provide healing, while Lesser Restoration handles specific conditions at lower spell levels.
Power Word Series. Power Word Kill and Power Word Stun share the verbal-only, no-save mechanics but provide offensive rather than supportive effects.
Scaling Analysis
Maximum Power. As a 9th-level spell, Power Word Heal represents peak magical healing capability without further scaling potential, providing absolute effectiveness within its scope.
Resource Scarcity. The single 9th-level spell slot available to most characters makes each use a significant strategic decision with campaign-altering potential.
Campaign Finale. Access to this spell typically coincides with epic-level adventures where complete healing becomes necessary for surviving cosmic threats and legendary encounters.
Narrative Flavor
Divine Authority. The power word format suggests command over fundamental forces of life and healing, with spoken incantations that carry cosmic authority and divine power.
Instant Transformation. The spell should emphasize the immediate and complete nature of the healing, with wounds closing, poisons neutralizing, and vitality flooding the target instantly.
Verbal Power. Different casters might use words of power from their magical traditions - divine names, arcane formulas, or cosmic truths that carry inherent healing authority when spoken correctly.