Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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I’m fairly new to DnD, and I can’t really decide, whether this spell I thought of was balanced at all. To be honest, I do think the level is off, though making it so the enemy is always affected by a condition is way too strong… or?
I’d really appreciate some feedback!
Melchior’s Mesmerizing Mirror:
7th Level Enchantment spell, costing 1 Action
Range: 60 feet Components: v, s, m*
Duration: Concentration
You conjure forth a medium sized mirror in an ornate framing. In a 30 feet cone, originating from the one reflective side of the mirror, you draw every creature’s attention to this mirror, except for those with the blinded condition and those, who cannot see. Any such creature that enters the cone while the spell is active, is affected as well.
The affected creatures have to make a wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, they are horrified by their own reflection, thus earning the frightened condition.On a successful save, they are mesmerized by their own reflection in the mirror, thus being stunned (though instead of the incapacitated condition, their speed drops to 0).
To break free from their condition, the creatures are able to make a wisdom saving throw as a bonus action on their turn, averting their gaze from the mirror.
*- (a shard of mirror glass)
Stunned is usually considered worse than frightened, so i'd switch the conditions around.
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I probably nitpick and scrutinize too much
Okay, thank you! :D
I second swapping the conditions. Also, Stunned prevents you from taking actions, including bonus actions, making it impossible for a creature to cease being stunned. The repeat saves should be automatic at the end of the creature's turn. Also, you need to specify the maximum duration of the Concentration, which I imagine should be 1 minute. Finally, I think it should definitely be a level lower, maybe 2. Compare it to Hypnotic Pattern, which functions kind of similarly and is 3rd level. Granted, Hypnotic Pattern is VERY strong, but it's still a balancing metric.
Seconding adding a duration. Very important.
But I think the most important change needed is a rule stated how/how often you can reposit the mirror. It should probably be a bonus action to reposition the cone, at which point all creatures in the new cone must save against the spell. Currently it's unclear and I could see a player arguing that they can spin around to target every creature around them.
Apart from that, I agree with everything Maruntoryx said.
A few other minor details: Does the mirror have a physical form or is it spectral? i.e. does it occupy a 5ft x 5ft square or can creatures walk through it? Is the mirror breakable if an enemy chose to attack it? Can the mirror be moved if so, how does that happen?
I did think about that, but I don’t really know which option would be best.
If we say the mirror had a physical form, people would use it to attain a certain degree of cover, or to block narrow passages. I would say in that case it can be broken. It would certainly occupy a 5ft x 5 ft square, since it is medium sized.
On the other hand, if it is spectral, even though it would appear physical to everyone, creatures could accidentally walk through it, or even attack through it. That way, you couldn’t shatter the mirror though.
I didn’t think about repositioning the mirror yet, but @Nanally_Colucci did point out, that it would be important to specify…
That’s definitely not the intent… I think the bonus action is a great idea.
I tried to balance stunned by making its incapacitated condition a drop of speed to 0 instead. Though that might just be too complicated. Would it be better, after I swapped them, to just give them the stunned condition?
It does feel almost a tick to strong, but idk…
I’ll make the repeat saves automatic, I didn’t know it could be handled that way.
Thank you to everyone! I’ll go and change it. :)
Here’s the revised spell- is it any better?
Melchior’s Mesmerizing Mirror:
5th Level Enchantment spell, costing 1 Action
Range: 60 feet (30 feet cone) Components: v, s, m*
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Attack/Save: WIS Save Damage/Effect: Control, Debuff
You conjure forth a medium sized, spectral mirror in an ornate framing. It appears physical to everyone, who perceives it.
In a 30 feet cone, originating from the one reflective side of the mirror, you draw every creature’s attention to this mirror, except for those with the blinded condition and those, who cannot see. Any such creature that is inside the cone while the spell is active, is affected. When repositioning the mirror as a bonus action, which cannot be done during the turn you cast this spell, every creature in the new cone is affected as well.
The affected creatures have to make a wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, they are mesmerized by their own reflection in the mirror, thus being stunned.On a successful save, they are horrified by their own reflection, thus earning the frightened condition.
At the end of their every turn, the affected creatures have to make a wisdom saving throw. On a success, they are able to avert their gaze, breaking free from their condition. If they fail the save, they continue to be affected.
* - (a shard of mirror glass)
It's definitely a lot better now. If you wanted to you could look at official spells to try and match the wording better, but apart from that I think it's fine.
Thank you! I will do so :)
Much improved however... I have a couple more things to point out:
Neither Stunned nor Frightened prevent a creature from moving. Could a creature move away from the mirror such that they can no longer see it (e.g. walk behind a pillar that blocks their view) to break free?
What if an affect imposes the blinded condition on them while they are under the effect of the mirror or while they are looking at the mirror (e.g. someone else casts Darkness on top of the mirror)?
Hmmm true. I would think that their speed drops to 0 in both cases, since they would be either too scared or too amazed to move away.
The other one is more tricky, but I would say suffering the blinded condition results in an automatic saving throw success. Same goes for Darkness.
Are there other spells that could act that way?
A counterspell would safe the mirror from darkness though, right?
Just an idea, what if the caster could choose between them becoming frightened or charmed by their reflection?
I haven’t considered that, though it sounds like a good idea. Originally, the pun was, that creatures who aren’t smart enough to discern that the mirror isn’t reflecting reality would be charmed by their own beauty, while creatures who were smart enough to grasp how ugly they really were would be shocked.
In your case, the mirror would show them both a distortion of reality, in which they’re either pretty or ugly — which would make more sense in a way, since not every creature considers themselves ugly in an undistorted reality.
Well. I don’t know. Both ideas seem plausible. I might just stick with the original thought, because otherwise it might be a bit too overpowered, no?
I’ll think about it, so thanks for the idea! :D