Stuns, deafens, and kills creatures who hear the pronouncement.
Original D&D[]
The spell is introduced in Supplement I: Greyhawk as a cleric spell. Anti-clerics can also use it.
- Spell Level 7
Creatures within a 4" by 4" area around the cleric who hear the spell suffer the following effects. Creatures of less than 5th level are killed, creatures of 5th to 8th level are stunned for 2d10 turns. Creatures of 9th to 12th level are deafened for 1d6 turns.
AD&D[]
Holy (Unholy) Word[]
Debuted in the Player's Handbook as a cleric spell.
| Level: 7 | School: Conjuration/Summoning |
| Components: V | |
| Range: 0 | Casting Time: 1 segment |
| Duration: special | Saving Throw: None |
| Area: 3" radius | |
Drives off creatures from other planes of a Good (holy word) or Evil (unholy word) alignment from planes that are not their own. It also affects other creatures of the targeted alignment as follows:
| HD/Level | Status | Move | Attack | Spellcasting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 4 | Kills | -- | -- | -- |
| 4 to 7+ | Paralyzes (1d4 turns) | -- | -- | -- |
| 8 to 11+ | Stuns 2d4 rounds | -50% | -4 | -- |
| 12+ | Deafens 1d4 rounds | -25% | -2 | 50% failure |
DM's Advice: The caster must be from the plane it seeks to banish other creatures from -- thus, a human could banish a demon from the material plane, but it could not banish a demon from Celestia. Creatures banished cannot return to the plane they were banished from for 1 day. Creatures slowed by this spell lose their first round of attack and every odd-numbered round of attack for the rest of the duration.
AD&D 2e[]
Holy Word[]
| Spell Level: 7 | Rarity: Common (for Cleric) |
| Spheres (Priest): Combat (School: Conjuration/Summoning) | |
| Components: V | |
| Range: 0 | Casting Time: 1 |
| Duration: Special | Saving Throw: None |
| Area: a 30-ft. radius around the caster | |
All evil extraplanar creatures in the area are banished to their home planes, and cannot return for at least a day. Additionally, evil creatures who can hear the caster are affected as per the table below, for the duration indicated
| HD/Level | Status | Move | Attack | Spellcasting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 4 | Kills | -- | -- | -- |
| 4 to 7+ | Paralyzes (1d4 turns) | -- | -- | -- |
| 8 to 11+ | Slows (2d4 rounds) | -50% | -4 | -- |
| 12+ | Deafens (1d4 rounds) | -25% | -2 | 50% failure |
A slowed creature only attacks on even-numbered rounds until the effects wear off.