If you are a PC in my campaign, "The Last Awakening of Terminus Denigrata" STOP READING NOW, SPOILERS AHEAD, CLOSE THIS TAB.
If you are a more experienced homebrew DM I'm looking for some feedback to see how balanced these spells I made for my homebrew wizard class is (any and all feedback is appreciated):
Mind Trap
Refraction Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30ft
Components: V,S,M (a pinch of sand, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Instantaneous
You hurl a pinch of sand at an enemy within range. Make a ranged spell attack on the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 psychic damage and experiences a sensation of falling whilst simultaneously being pulled through a series of mirrors as they shatter.
This spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).
Refractal Displacement
1st-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Anything within the reflective perspective of a mirror
Components: V,S,M (a mirror)
Duration: Instantaneous
The caster can move any object of 10lbs or less which resides in the reflective perspective of a mirror. This spell can be combined with Mirrored Scry to interact with mirrors in different parts of the same plane as the caster.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the weight of the object increases by 10lbs for each slot level above 1st.
Fractal Meld
2nd Level Refraction (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute/30 minutes
Range: 30 feet
Components: V,S,M (a tuning fork),(the shards of a broken mirror or a bag of sand, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Instantaneous
Using your tuning fork, a very high pitched hum emits as the shards of broken mirror liquify and rejoin in the place and form they were in before they broke. If using a bag of sand, the ritual takes 30 minutes and the mirror appears on a free space within 5ft of the caster.
Frozen Feet
2nd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 reaction
Range: 60ft/10ft
Components: V,S,M (a mirrored surface within range)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
As a reaction, any targeted creature that can be seen within 10 feet of a mirrored surface within 60 feet of the caster must succeed on a DC 15 WIS save or become frozen in place and cannot move. For the duration the mirrored surface is considered magical (20AC,10HP) and appears frozen. Dispel Magic can release the target if cast on the mirrored surface.
Rift Recall
2nd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5ft
Components: V,S,M (refractal rift, a tuning fork)
Duration: Instantaneous
Using your tuning fork to emit a unique frequency in the presence of a refractal rift allows you to temporarily create a portal with which you can pass through to return to the originating location. This can be done as many times as desired as long as the refractal rift is present, however each creature that desires to pass through must possess one of these tuning forks.
Defensive Shard
3rd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V,S,M (a small bag of sand)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
As an action, a mirrored shard appears floating in the air next to the caster and acts as a shield, raising the AC of the caster by +5. As a reaction, the caster can choose to end the spell early in order to avoid taking damage on a subsequent round of combat. This shard can also be used as a proxy for other refraction spells requiring a reflective surface, but only for one spell at a time.
Frequency Burst
3rd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60ft/30ft
Components: V,S,M (a tuning fork, a mirror within range)
Duration: Instantaneous
A high pitched ringing emits as the caster targets a mirrored surface within 60ft. Any creature within 30ft of the mirrored surface must make a CON 15 save or take 1d6 psychic damage. In addition the mirror shatters and the shards rocket toward a target of the casters choosing within 60ft, on a hit the target takes 3d6 piercing damage.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the number of targets increases by 1 for each slot level above 3rd.
Prism Shift
3rd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 reaction
Range: 60ft/10ft
Components: V,S,M (a mirrored surface within range)
Duration: Instantaneous
As a reaction, the caster can teleport to within 10ft of any mirror within 60ft. Attacks of opportunity cannot target the caster.
Mirrored Scry
4th-Level Refraction(ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Same plane of existence
Components: V,S,M (a mirror)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
You focus on an intention, as long as that intention is set to locating something which is within the 10ft view of a mirrored surface on the same plane as you then you can scry as if looking directly into that reflection. You are able to witness everything in that reflection as if you are standing directly in front of that mirror. Covering a mirror with a piece of fabric prevents this spell from working.
Suspend Concentration
5th-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120ft
Components: V,S,M (a mirrored surface within range)
Duration: Instantaneous
As an action, you can shift the responsibility of concentration of any spell to a mirror within range. For the remaining duration of concentration for the original spell the mirrored surface is considered magical (20AC,10HP) and appears splintered in appearance. Once the spell is ended, the mirrored surface returns to its previous appearance as long as it remains intact. Dispel Magic can end the concentration of the spell as long as it is used directly on the mirror.
Prism Jump
6th-Level Refraction (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Same plane of existence
Components: V,S,M (a mirror with which you are familiar)
Duration: Instantaneous
As an action, you and up to 6 creatures can teleport to within 10ft of any mirror with which you are familiar as long as it is on the same plane of existence as you. The spell fails if the intended mirror is covered with a piece of fabric, and the spell slot is consumed. As long as the spell is successful, a magical beam of light (referred to as a refractal rift) shines down on the spot where you teleport to and lingers for 1 day. Looking into the refractal rift reveals a reflection of the space you teleported from, and stepping into the beam allows you to gain a 360 degree perspective. When standing in this 5ft beam, you are unable to see outside of the illusory reflection however you gain a temporary protection from magic which cannot permeate the beam.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the required material used to teleport becomes less strict. At 7th level, you can substitute a reflective surface like a piece of glass instead of a mirror, at 8th level you can use a reflection from a body of water, and at 9th level you can use a single grain of sand. For each spell slot above 6th level, the refractal rift lingers for an additional day.
This thread should go in the Homebrew & House Rules forums. You're more likely to come across experienced homebrewers there. I don't have any advice since I'm not an experienced homebrewer, but I love the flavor of these spells!
I'll say this... none of these really stand out to me as being particularly unbalanced. I think you did a good job of balancing interesting gimmicks with reasonable power. The only one that concerns me is Suspend Concentration... the ability to concentrate on multiple spells at once is very difficult to balance. This does seem to be balanced a bit mostly by just being really clunky to pull off in combat... and I feel like it has the potential be cheesed with by casting on like... a hand mirror that they keep hidden under their armor or in a room far away from the combat (such as casting a spell with a particularly long duration and just leaving the mirror behind).
So to balance it out I would probably add some language about not being able to move the mirror once it's used as a concentration point, similar to something like Glyph of Warding, which automatically dispels if the glyph is moved more than 10 feet after being enchanted. I'd also add language that any spell held by the mirror vanishes if you move more than 120 feet away from the mirror, that way you can't pull off too many weird shenanigans with it while the mirror that's intended to be the weak point to balance out this spell is left in another room, or shoved into a demiplane or something.
Mind Trap Reftractal Cantrip: Cantrips that do 1d8 usually have a minor boost of some kind. I would add something like disadvantage to perception checks till the end of their next turn.
Refractal Displacement, did not really understand what you are trying to do? Move something into the mirror? But if you want to move an item, generally it should have a limit of how far you can move it. I would limit it to 10 ft from the original location
Fractal Meld: Almost perfect, but should clarify that any magic mirrors are fixed but do not regain any magic. And describe fully the size and value of the mirror created (should be no more than 2x the cost of the sand) or declare it to be of a set size and temporary (i.e. lasts for an hour).
Frozen Feet: You need something to react to, not just anything. I.e. a reaction is not a free action anytime, it is a reaction to something happening - an attack, etc. Also DC should be set by the caster, not by the spell. And use the Condition "Restrained" not 'frozen in place'.
Rift Recall: Basically this is a teleport back for your Prism spell. Seems too powerful to teleport back for such a low level spell. I would make this a 4th level spell AND put in a 100 gp cost for the tuning forks, which get consumed. May work better as a magic item you can create/buy.
Defensive Shard: I think the spell should end if it is used as a reflective surface for another spell. I would however add in a "While this spell is up, you get +4 to any saves against Radiant attacks.
Frequency Burst: I would make this sonic damage, not psychic. Also the damage is low, I would raise the sonic damage to 4d6.
Prism Shift: Again, needs something to react to. Bonus Action is something you can do at will, but I like this as a reaction to something else. For example, it could be a reaction to someone moving within 5 ft of a mirror.
Mirrored Scry: Need to give it a save, similar to regular scrying. But make the save modifiers have to do with the mirror. Mirror made with your blood = +5 to the save, mirror you saw = +0. Mirror you heard about = -5, that kind of thing.
Suspend Concentration: I would make it clear that should the mirror break, the spell ends. Also, give it the caster's saves.
Prism Jump: Interesting improved Teleport, but it is a bit too powerful for me. I would make the illusion 2 way, so others can see you as well as you can see them.
Components: V,S,M (a tuning fork),(the shards of a broken mirror or a bag of sand, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Instantaneous
Using your tuning fork, a very high pitched hum emits as the shards of broken mirror liquify and rejoin in the place and form they were in before they broke. If using a bag of sand, the ritual takes 30 minutes and the mirror appears on a free space within 5ft of the caster.
Why would I use a 2nd level spell to fix a broken mirror when I can just use a cantrip (mending)?
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Components: V,S,M (a tuning fork),(the shards of a broken mirror or a bag of sand, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Instantaneous
Using your tuning fork, a very high pitched hum emits as the shards of broken mirror liquify and rejoin in the place and form they were in before they broke. If using a bag of sand, the ritual takes 30 minutes and the mirror appears on a free space within 5ft of the caster.
Why would I use a 2nd level spell to fix a broken mirror when I can just use a cantrip (mending)?
I think the ability to use it to repair a mirror is mostly just a slight bonus. But since this unique school of magic relies so heavily on mirrors, I think the more important part of the spell is the ability to turn sand into a mirror, especially in situations where there would be no mirrors handy.
I don't run a bunch of homebrew usually, but here are some of my impressions on a few of the spells that stand out to me.
The cantrip is good. While it lacks some of the "flair" of other cantrips, it does a very valuable damage type, which makes it competitive even without additional effects and at a limited range.
Fractal Meld probably needs to describe the mirror created by the bag of sand more thoroughly, especially in the context of the other mirror oriented spells. Is it a small mirror, like a pocket mirror? Is it a floor to ceiling mirror? Is it a panel that functions as a mirror of a certain dimension?
Frozen Feet mechanically does not work. It is a reaction with no trigger, hence it cannot *ever* be used. Reactions *always* need a specific trigger (for example, Counterspell's is "when you see a creature within 60 feet of you casting a spell"). Not having a trigger means that, rules as written, you could never use this. It also has a static DC (use Spell Save DC instead). I think my problem with this spell fundamentally is that it can really abuse turn orders and that makes it much more powerful as a reaction. Being able to freeze a non-ranged, non-caster target in place is extremely powerful on their turn, since you can wait for their movement and then force them to forfeit the rest of their turn. Depending on the reaction trigger (start of turn, during movement, end of turn, etc.) this could be much more powerful than any second level spell I can think of in terms of forcing creatures to not use their turn. It basically ruins any melee creature's chance of actually participating in combat (since they can't reach the mirror to break it, and they probably can't use anything if you use this spell well. I would make this an action and again switch to Spell Save DC instead of a static number.
Rift Recall is extremely powerful for a second level spell, even with the material components. Since there's no line of sight requirement or anything like that, it functions quite similarly to something like Teleportation Circle (a 5th level spell) with a few additional caveats. I would put this no lower 4th level, since it is a bit more restrictive than Teleportation Circle, but it definitely has a somewhat similar power level. Just because the effect requires a complicated setup does *not* mean that it should be available at lower levels.
Defensive Shard seems extremely powerful as well. +5 to AC for a minute might seem like a reasonable thing for a 3rd level spell, given that Shield has a similar effect for basically up to a round for a 1st level slot. However, it also serves as a proxy for a lot of other spells in this list that make it potentially extremely powerful.
Frequency Burst should not have a static DC- that's what spell save DCs are for. Additionally, the maximum and average damage for this ability are very low for a 3rd level spell. Fireball, a 3rd level spell, does 8d6 (half on a save) in a 20 foot radius. While this has a larger area it affects, it has both a save for nothing and an attack roll against a single target to do a total of 1d6 per target and 4d6 to one particular target. That's pretty awful for a 3rd level spell, even if it could in theory, hit more targets. Bigger areas don't always help, either- there's a greater chance of being forced to splash party members with a bigger radius, not that most party members would care about 1d6 damage.
I would never allow Suspend Concentration. Concentration is one of the core mechanical balance elements of 5th edition, and it serves (to some extent) to balance between casters and non-casters. Someone could definitely abuse this and the new Tasha's summoning spells to steal the spotlight for an entire session. And, yes, it is a 5th level spell, limiting the number of uses, but I can think of a ton of spells that I would love to put on a mirror, hide away (again, there is no size restriction on the mirror, so I could put it on a pocket mirror, hide it on my person, and say "It's a worn or carried object in my bag and can't be targeted" or stash it in a chest before going out to do something and just not even have it be in the same area as the enemy). There are too many ways to abuse this spell, and even though it is limited by a relatively high resource cost, that still doesn't change the fact that this can potentially break balance in a ton of ways. I could cast, say, Invulnerability, store it, Investiture of Wind, store it, and cast Tenser's Transformation to be a flying death wizard with immunity to all damage. That makes any non-spellcaster unable to compete. Concentration is such a vital part of balancing between casters and non-casters in 5e that I would never tweak concentration or even touch it with a ten foot pole.
Prism Jump is kind of excessively interpretive, especially with the upcast options. How does a player count as being familiar with a single grain of sand? Maybe I just have argumentative players, but I feel like this would be one of those spells that I have to sit someone down and spend ten minutes explaining that, no, you can't just teleport anywhere in a desert because you're familiar with "the desert" because you walked through it once, and no, you can't just say that the wind blew a grain of sand around so you can teleport to the big bad's castle. Not because I don't want players to have fun, but because that could be abused to really make the spell more powerful than any other spell. The other effects of the beam are probably too powerful (full magic immunity while in a beam sounds fine, but since it appears where you teleport to, I would definitely try to use this to teleport to the enemy, step out to cast spells, step back in for magic immunity, then rinse and repeat to cheese a fight. It's probably better to just have it block vision, which does block a lot of single target effects, but could be answered with true seeing (since it's an illusory reflection) or just tossing area of effect spells. That way it's less ripe for abuse.
My final concern is that mirrors can be pretty broadly defined. You probably want to formally define that somewhere, especially if there's a minimum surface area, shape, or material (otherwise all shiny metals could possibly count when polished) for clarity.
Components: V,S,M (a tuning fork),(the shards of a broken mirror or a bag of sand, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Instantaneous
Using your tuning fork, a very high pitched hum emits as the shards of broken mirror liquify and rejoin in the place and form they were in before they broke. If using a bag of sand, the ritual takes 30 minutes and the mirror appears on a free space within 5ft of the caster.
Why would I use a 2nd level spell to fix a broken mirror when I can just use a cantrip (mending)?
I think the ability to use it to repair a mirror is mostly just a slight bonus. But since this unique school of magic relies so heavily on mirrors, I think the more important part of the spell is the ability to turn sand into a mirror, especially in situations where there would be no mirrors handy.
Yeah, that still seems... cost-prohibitive. A 2nd-level spell just to ensure you can actually cast other spells in the school? I don't get it. You're just penalizing using these spells
Plus, as SquireZed says above, if mirrors are necessary requirements (beyond simply something like "you can use a mirror as an arcane focus" or otherwise just being an M component that would be part of a component pouch), I think there needs to be much more specific details included on what kind of mirror qualifies in terms of size, construction etc. Otherwise, what sets a "mirror" apart from other reflective surfaces like a puddle or, say, a shard of a mirror?
EDIT: Basically if you need to produce mirrors, rather than use a spell slot for this, I think it would be better to have it as a subclass feature of the School of Refraction, a la the School of Conjuration's 2nd-level feature:
Minor Conjuration
Starting at 2nd level when you select this school, you can use your action to conjure up an inanimate object in your hand or on the ground in an unoccupied space that you can see within 10 feet of you. This object can be no larger than 3 feet on a side and weigh no more than 10 pounds, and its form must be that of a nonmagical object that you have seen. The object is visibly magical, radiating dim light out to 5 feet.
The object disappears after 1 hour, when you use this feature again, or if it takes or deals any damage.
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
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If you are a PC in my campaign, "The Last Awakening of Terminus Denigrata" STOP READING NOW, SPOILERS AHEAD, CLOSE THIS TAB.
If you are a more experienced homebrew DM I'm looking for some feedback to see how balanced these spells I made for my homebrew wizard class is (any and all feedback is appreciated):
Mind Trap
Refraction Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30ft
Components: V,S,M (a pinch of sand, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Instantaneous
You hurl a pinch of sand at an enemy within range. Make a ranged spell attack on the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 psychic damage and experiences a sensation of falling whilst simultaneously being pulled through a series of mirrors as they shatter.
This spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).
Refractal Displacement
1st-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Anything within the reflective perspective of a mirror
Components: V,S,M (a mirror)
Duration: Instantaneous
The caster can move any object of 10lbs or less which resides in the reflective perspective of a mirror. This spell can be combined with Mirrored Scry to interact with mirrors in different parts of the same plane as the caster.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the weight of the object increases by 10lbs for each slot level above 1st.
Fractal Meld
2nd Level Refraction (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute/30 minutes
Range: 30 feet
Components: V,S,M (a tuning fork),(the shards of a broken mirror or a bag of sand, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Instantaneous
Using your tuning fork, a very high pitched hum emits as the shards of broken mirror liquify and rejoin in the place and form they were in before they broke. If using a bag of sand, the ritual takes 30 minutes and the mirror appears on a free space within 5ft of the caster.
Frozen Feet
2nd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 reaction
Range: 60ft/10ft
Components: V,S,M (a mirrored surface within range)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
As a reaction, any targeted creature that can be seen within 10 feet of a mirrored surface within 60 feet of the caster must succeed on a DC 15 WIS save or become frozen in place and cannot move. For the duration the mirrored surface is considered magical (20AC,10HP) and appears frozen. Dispel Magic can release the target if cast on the mirrored surface.
Rift Recall
2nd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5ft
Components: V,S,M (refractal rift, a tuning fork)
Duration: Instantaneous
Using your tuning fork to emit a unique frequency in the presence of a refractal rift allows you to temporarily create a portal with which you can pass through to return to the originating location. This can be done as many times as desired as long as the refractal rift is present, however each creature that desires to pass through must possess one of these tuning forks.
Defensive Shard
3rd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V,S,M (a small bag of sand)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
As an action, a mirrored shard appears floating in the air next to the caster and acts as a shield, raising the AC of the caster by +5. As a reaction, the caster can choose to end the spell early in order to avoid taking damage on a subsequent round of combat. This shard can also be used as a proxy for other refraction spells requiring a reflective surface, but only for one spell at a time.
Frequency Burst
3rd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60ft/30ft
Components: V,S,M (a tuning fork, a mirror within range)
Duration: Instantaneous
A high pitched ringing emits as the caster targets a mirrored surface within 60ft. Any creature within 30ft of the mirrored surface must make a CON 15 save or take 1d6 psychic damage. In addition the mirror shatters and the shards rocket toward a target of the casters choosing within 60ft, on a hit the target takes 3d6 piercing damage.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the number of targets increases by 1 for each slot level above 3rd.
Prism Shift
3rd-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 reaction
Range: 60ft/10ft
Components: V,S,M (a mirrored surface within range)
Duration: Instantaneous
As a reaction, the caster can teleport to within 10ft of any mirror within 60ft. Attacks of opportunity cannot target the caster.
Mirrored Scry
4th-Level Refraction (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Same plane of existence
Components: V,S,M (a mirror)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
You focus on an intention, as long as that intention is set to locating something which is within the 10ft view of a mirrored surface on the same plane as you then you can scry as if looking directly into that reflection. You are able to witness everything in that reflection as if you are standing directly in front of that mirror. Covering a mirror with a piece of fabric prevents this spell from working.
Suspend Concentration
5th-Level Refraction
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120ft
Components: V,S,M (a mirrored surface within range)
Duration: Instantaneous
As an action, you can shift the responsibility of concentration of any spell to a mirror within range. For the remaining duration of concentration for the original spell the mirrored surface is considered magical (20AC,10HP) and appears splintered in appearance. Once the spell is ended, the mirrored surface returns to its previous appearance as long as it remains intact. Dispel Magic can end the concentration of the spell as long as it is used directly on the mirror.
Prism Jump
6th-Level Refraction (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Same plane of existence
Components: V,S,M (a mirror with which you are familiar)
Duration: Instantaneous
As an action, you and up to 6 creatures can teleport to within 10ft of any mirror with which you are familiar as long as it is on the same plane of existence as you. The spell fails if the intended mirror is covered with a piece of fabric, and the spell slot is consumed. As long as the spell is successful, a magical beam of light (referred to as a refractal rift) shines down on the spot where you teleport to and lingers for 1 day. Looking into the refractal rift reveals a reflection of the space you teleported from, and stepping into the beam allows you to gain a 360 degree perspective. When standing in this 5ft beam, you are unable to see outside of the illusory reflection however you gain a temporary protection from magic which cannot permeate the beam.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the required material used to teleport becomes less strict. At 7th level, you can substitute a reflective surface like a piece of glass instead of a mirror, at 8th level you can use a reflection from a body of water, and at 9th level you can use a single grain of sand. For each spell slot above 6th level, the refractal rift lingers for an additional day.
This thread should go in the Homebrew & House Rules forums. You're more likely to come across experienced homebrewers there. I don't have any advice since I'm not an experienced homebrewer, but I love the flavor of these spells!
Would one of the moderators be willing to move the thread for me to the home brew section? I don’t want to clutter up with multiple threads.
I'll say this... none of these really stand out to me as being particularly unbalanced. I think you did a good job of balancing interesting gimmicks with reasonable power. The only one that concerns me is Suspend Concentration... the ability to concentrate on multiple spells at once is very difficult to balance. This does seem to be balanced a bit mostly by just being really clunky to pull off in combat... and I feel like it has the potential be cheesed with by casting on like... a hand mirror that they keep hidden under their armor or in a room far away from the combat (such as casting a spell with a particularly long duration and just leaving the mirror behind).
So to balance it out I would probably add some language about not being able to move the mirror once it's used as a concentration point, similar to something like Glyph of Warding, which automatically dispels if the glyph is moved more than 10 feet after being enchanted. I'd also add language that any spell held by the mirror vanishes if you move more than 120 feet away from the mirror, that way you can't pull off too many weird shenanigans with it while the mirror that's intended to be the weak point to balance out this spell is left in another room, or shoved into a demiplane or something.
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Refractal Displacement, did not really understand what you are trying to do? Move something into the mirror? But if you want to move an item, generally it should have a limit of how far you can move it. I would limit it to 10 ft from the original location
Fractal Meld: Almost perfect, but should clarify that any magic mirrors are fixed but do not regain any magic. And describe fully the size and value of the mirror created (should be no more than 2x the cost of the sand) or declare it to be of a set size and temporary (i.e. lasts for an hour).
Frozen Feet: You need something to react to, not just anything. I.e. a reaction is not a free action anytime, it is a reaction to something happening - an attack, etc. Also DC should be set by the caster, not by the spell. And use the Condition "Restrained" not 'frozen in place'.
Rift Recall: Basically this is a teleport back for your Prism spell. Seems too powerful to teleport back for such a low level spell. I would make this a 4th level spell AND put in a 100 gp cost for the tuning forks, which get consumed. May work better as a magic item you can create/buy.
Defensive Shard: I think the spell should end if it is used as a reflective surface for another spell. I would however add in a "While this spell is up, you get +4 to any saves against Radiant attacks.
Frequency Burst: I would make this sonic damage, not psychic. Also the damage is low, I would raise the sonic damage to 4d6.
Prism Shift: Again, needs something to react to. Bonus Action is something you can do at will, but I like this as a reaction to something else. For example, it could be a reaction to someone moving within 5 ft of a mirror.
Mirrored Scry: Need to give it a save, similar to regular scrying. But make the save modifiers have to do with the mirror. Mirror made with your blood = +5 to the save, mirror you saw = +0. Mirror you heard about = -5, that kind of thing.
Suspend Concentration: I would make it clear that should the mirror break, the spell ends. Also, give it the caster's saves.
Prism Jump: Interesting improved Teleport, but it is a bit too powerful for me. I would make the illusion 2 way, so others can see you as well as you can see them.
Why would I use a 2nd level spell to fix a broken mirror when I can just use a cantrip (mending)?
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I think the ability to use it to repair a mirror is mostly just a slight bonus. But since this unique school of magic relies so heavily on mirrors, I think the more important part of the spell is the ability to turn sand into a mirror, especially in situations where there would be no mirrors handy.
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I don't run a bunch of homebrew usually, but here are some of my impressions on a few of the spells that stand out to me.
The cantrip is good. While it lacks some of the "flair" of other cantrips, it does a very valuable damage type, which makes it competitive even without additional effects and at a limited range.
Fractal Meld probably needs to describe the mirror created by the bag of sand more thoroughly, especially in the context of the other mirror oriented spells. Is it a small mirror, like a pocket mirror? Is it a floor to ceiling mirror? Is it a panel that functions as a mirror of a certain dimension?
Frozen Feet mechanically does not work. It is a reaction with no trigger, hence it cannot *ever* be used. Reactions *always* need a specific trigger (for example, Counterspell's is "when you see a creature within 60 feet of you casting a spell"). Not having a trigger means that, rules as written, you could never use this. It also has a static DC (use Spell Save DC instead). I think my problem with this spell fundamentally is that it can really abuse turn orders and that makes it much more powerful as a reaction. Being able to freeze a non-ranged, non-caster target in place is extremely powerful on their turn, since you can wait for their movement and then force them to forfeit the rest of their turn. Depending on the reaction trigger (start of turn, during movement, end of turn, etc.) this could be much more powerful than any second level spell I can think of in terms of forcing creatures to not use their turn. It basically ruins any melee creature's chance of actually participating in combat (since they can't reach the mirror to break it, and they probably can't use anything if you use this spell well. I would make this an action and again switch to Spell Save DC instead of a static number.
Rift Recall is extremely powerful for a second level spell, even with the material components. Since there's no line of sight requirement or anything like that, it functions quite similarly to something like Teleportation Circle (a 5th level spell) with a few additional caveats. I would put this no lower 4th level, since it is a bit more restrictive than Teleportation Circle, but it definitely has a somewhat similar power level. Just because the effect requires a complicated setup does *not* mean that it should be available at lower levels.
Defensive Shard seems extremely powerful as well. +5 to AC for a minute might seem like a reasonable thing for a 3rd level spell, given that Shield has a similar effect for basically up to a round for a 1st level slot. However, it also serves as a proxy for a lot of other spells in this list that make it potentially extremely powerful.
Frequency Burst should not have a static DC- that's what spell save DCs are for. Additionally, the maximum and average damage for this ability are very low for a 3rd level spell. Fireball, a 3rd level spell, does 8d6 (half on a save) in a 20 foot radius. While this has a larger area it affects, it has both a save for nothing and an attack roll against a single target to do a total of 1d6 per target and 4d6 to one particular target. That's pretty awful for a 3rd level spell, even if it could in theory, hit more targets. Bigger areas don't always help, either- there's a greater chance of being forced to splash party members with a bigger radius, not that most party members would care about 1d6 damage.
I would never allow Suspend Concentration. Concentration is one of the core mechanical balance elements of 5th edition, and it serves (to some extent) to balance between casters and non-casters. Someone could definitely abuse this and the new Tasha's summoning spells to steal the spotlight for an entire session. And, yes, it is a 5th level spell, limiting the number of uses, but I can think of a ton of spells that I would love to put on a mirror, hide away (again, there is no size restriction on the mirror, so I could put it on a pocket mirror, hide it on my person, and say "It's a worn or carried object in my bag and can't be targeted" or stash it in a chest before going out to do something and just not even have it be in the same area as the enemy). There are too many ways to abuse this spell, and even though it is limited by a relatively high resource cost, that still doesn't change the fact that this can potentially break balance in a ton of ways. I could cast, say, Invulnerability, store it, Investiture of Wind, store it, and cast Tenser's Transformation to be a flying death wizard with immunity to all damage. That makes any non-spellcaster unable to compete. Concentration is such a vital part of balancing between casters and non-casters in 5e that I would never tweak concentration or even touch it with a ten foot pole.
Prism Jump is kind of excessively interpretive, especially with the upcast options. How does a player count as being familiar with a single grain of sand? Maybe I just have argumentative players, but I feel like this would be one of those spells that I have to sit someone down and spend ten minutes explaining that, no, you can't just teleport anywhere in a desert because you're familiar with "the desert" because you walked through it once, and no, you can't just say that the wind blew a grain of sand around so you can teleport to the big bad's castle. Not because I don't want players to have fun, but because that could be abused to really make the spell more powerful than any other spell. The other effects of the beam are probably too powerful (full magic immunity while in a beam sounds fine, but since it appears where you teleport to, I would definitely try to use this to teleport to the enemy, step out to cast spells, step back in for magic immunity, then rinse and repeat to cheese a fight. It's probably better to just have it block vision, which does block a lot of single target effects, but could be answered with true seeing (since it's an illusory reflection) or just tossing area of effect spells. That way it's less ripe for abuse.
My final concern is that mirrors can be pretty broadly defined. You probably want to formally define that somewhere, especially if there's a minimum surface area, shape, or material (otherwise all shiny metals could possibly count when polished) for clarity.
Yeah, that still seems... cost-prohibitive. A 2nd-level spell just to ensure you can actually cast other spells in the school? I don't get it. You're just penalizing using these spells
Plus, as SquireZed says above, if mirrors are necessary requirements (beyond simply something like "you can use a mirror as an arcane focus" or otherwise just being an M component that would be part of a component pouch), I think there needs to be much more specific details included on what kind of mirror qualifies in terms of size, construction etc. Otherwise, what sets a "mirror" apart from other reflective surfaces like a puddle or, say, a shard of a mirror?
EDIT: Basically if you need to produce mirrors, rather than use a spell slot for this, I think it would be better to have it as a subclass feature of the School of Refraction, a la the School of Conjuration's 2nd-level feature:
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)