Homebrew spells "Vael’shara’s Compendium of Cold and Shadow"

Vael’shara’s Cowl

1st-level illusion

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a piece of black silk or a chip of obsidian)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

You touch a willing creature, surrounding it with a mantle of swirling supernatural gloom.

For the duration, the light level within a 5-foot radius of the target decreases by one step: bright light becomes dim light, dim light becomes nonmagical darkness, and darkness is unaffected.

The target has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while within the spell’s area.

At Higher Levels

3rd Level. The radius increases to 10 feet. The spell’s duration remains 1 minute, and the spell no longer requires concentration.

5th Level. The radius increases to 20 feet and the duration becomes 1 hour. The spell no longer requires concentration. The gloom carries an unnatural, freezing chill.

Whenever a creature other than the target starts its turn within 5 feet of the target, it must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d8 cold damage, and its speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of its next turn. On a successful save, it takes no damage and suffers no speed reduction.

A creature can take damage from this effect only once per turn.

Pirouette of Blades

2nd-level transmutation

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (a splinter of a shattered scimitar wrapped in black silk)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

You attune your body to a silent and lethal rhythm, moving with the precision of a dancer.

For the duration, your walking speed increases by 10 feet.

In addition, once on each of your turns, when you cast a spell of 1st level or higher using your action, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

If you are in dim light or darkness when you make this weapon attack, it deals an additional 1d6 cold damage on a hit.

Once you make the additional weapon attack granted by this spell, you cannot make another one from this spell until the start of your next turn.

Vael’shara’s Umbral Stiletto

2nd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

You weave threads of supernatural shadow and cold into a slender blade of solid darkness.

The weapon lasts for the duration and counts as a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. It has the finesse, light, and thrown (20/60) properties.

You can use your spellcasting ability modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls made with this weapon.

On a hit, the target takes 2d8 cold damage.

If you throw the stiletto, it disappears immediately after the attack. As a bonus action, you can cause the weapon to reform in your hand.

At Higher Levels

When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd, the damage increases to 3d8.

When you cast it using a spell slot of 5th, the damage increases to 4d8.

When you cast it using a spell slot of 7th, the damage increases to 5d8.

Glacial Arbalist

2nd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

You touch yourself or one willing creature within your reach, wreathing their weapon in crystalline shadow and supernatural frost.

Choose one ranged weapon the target is holding. For the duration, that weapon becomes imbued with Vael’shara’s glacial magic. The weapon's ammunition manifests as crystalline arrows, bolts, or other appropriate projectiles of condensed supernatural frost. These projectiles disappear immediately after the attack, whether they hit or miss.

The weapon retains its normal properties and range, but its attacks gain the following benefits:

Glacial Arsenal. The weapon's attacks deal an additional 2d6 cold damage on a hit. This damage replaces any normal weapon damage dealt by its ammunition.

The weapon's wielder can use your spellcasting ability modifier instead of Dexterity for attack and damage rolls made with the weapon.

Freezing Inertia. Once on each of the wielder's turns when they hit a creature with an attack using the imbued weapon, they can reduce that creature's speed by 10 feet until the start of the wielder's next turn.

Crystalline Ammunition. The imbued weapon requires no ammunition. Whenever its wielder makes an attack with it, supernatural frost forms into the appropriate ammunition as part of the attack. The conjured ammunition disappears immediately after the attack.

If the weapon leaves the wielder's possession, the enchantment remains on the weapon, but the spell's benefits cease until the original wielder takes possession of it again.

At Higher Levels

When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd or 4th level, the additional cold damage increases to 3d6.

When you cast it using a spell slot of 5th or 6th level, the additional cold damage increases to 4d6.

When you cast it using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the additional cold damage increases to 5d6.

Vael’shara’s Shadow Riposte

3rd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when a creature within 30 feet of you makes a weapon attack
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Classes: Wizard, Warlock

A tendril of solidified shadow lashes outward, attempting to wrench the attacking creature’s weapon from its grasp.

The attacking creature must make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC.

On a failed save, the triggering attack is made with disadvantage, and the creature takes 2d6 necrotic damage. In addition, if the creature is holding a weapon, it must release that weapon. The weapon falls at the creature’s feet.

On a successful save, the creature takes half as much necrotic damage and the attack proceeds normally.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the necrotic damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.

Eldritch Jeté 

3rd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Classes: Warlock, Wizard

You step into a nearby shadow and emerge from another.

You teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within range that is in dim light or darkness.

When you appear, freezing shards of shadow burst outward. Each creature of your choice within 5 feet of the space you arrive in must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC.

On a failed save, a creature takes 3d6 cold damage, and its speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and suffers no reduction to its speed.

At Higher Levels

The damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.

Vael’shara’s Pointe of Shadows 

4th-level illusion

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 90 feet
Components: V, S, M (a needle made of dark glass or obsidian)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

You condense shadow into a needle-thin projectile and launch it toward a creature you can see within range.

Make a ranged spell attack against the target.

On a hit, the target takes 4d8 psychic damage and becomes surrounded by a localized sphere of supernatural darkness visible only to itself.

Until the end of your next turn, the target is blinded with respect to creatures and objects more than 5 feet away from it.

This blindness is magical and cannot be bypassed by darkvision or ordinary magical sight.

At the end of the target’s next turn, it can make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a successful save, the spell ends.

On a failed save, the blindness continues until the end of its following turn, after which it can repeat the saving throw.

The spell ends after the target succeeds on a saving throw or after 1 minute.

Most of these spells are pretty cool, but I do have a few thoughts about them. I'll go through them in order.

Vael’shara’s Cowl

It should probably be Evocation, like Darkness. Also, it should simply say that the target has Advantage on stealth checks, since it is impossible for the target to not be in the spell's area. You might want to specify how the spell interacts with magical light, especially in regards to the stealth advantage. Finally, the 5th level upcast damage effect is completely pointless, and it's worded weirdly. You don't need to say that a creature can only take damage from it once per turn if the effect literally can't trigger more than once per turn.

Pirouette of Blades

Since you only have one bonus action a turn, you don't need to make the bonus action attack only trigger once per turn. You also can't use a bonus action attack when it's not your turn, so that clause is completely pointless. Otherwise quite awesome.

Vael’shara’s Umbral Stiletto

This is borderline identical to Shadow Blade, so I don't know why you made this.

Glacial Arbalist

This is strictly better than Elemental weapon in every way except for its shorter duration and not being a +1 weapon. Also, I don't think the flavor about the ammunition needs to also appear at the beginning of the description. Saying it once is fine.

Vael’shara’s Shadow Riposte

To be blunt, this spell is horribly underpowered. Compare it to Shield.

Shield is only used when you are hit and lasts until the start of your next turn, and doesn't require a save. This spell might not even make the attack miss if the creature fails its save.

Also, the 2d6 Necrotic damage is nothing (look at Hellish Rebuke), and the creature can pick up its weapon immediately after dropping it.

That being said, it is a very cool and flavorful spell, it's just too bad to be picked.

Eldritch Jeté

This is essentially Thunder Step that deals cold damage.

Vael’shara’s Pointe of Shadows

This is pretty nice, but the wording is weird. First, blindness caused by a spell (a magical effect) is innately magical. You don't need to specify it. Also, all you need to say for the saves to end the blindness is "the target can make a Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the spell on a success." You also don't need to say that the spell ends after 1 minute, since the 1 minute duration already makes that quite clear.

I do have one note not tied to any specific spell: You never need to say "a saving throw against your spell save DC." All saves made against a spell or made against your spell save DC.