I created a magical armour that allows the user pass through shadows in the form of a long leather coat. I also created the spell needed!
Canbarrow is one of the regions in my game and is very gothic and victorian. I wanted one of the characters in our game to have some more mobility and a long coat fits his general flavour really well. And, well, it allows him to do some cool shit!
Item seems fine. Consider making it rare not very rare, but that's my only complaint about the item.
Pass through Shadow should be conjuration and the wording of the next phrase is confusing.
Your body disappates into shadow and you reappear at the chosen location.
While moving, you have no physical form and are able to squeeze through small openings. You can not pass through solid objects such as glass.
Are you teleporting or moving?
It feels very similar to misty step. Considering that it takes an action, I would consider it worse than misty step. Take a look at the monk's Way of Shadow 6th level ability for inspiration (however, you will have to tweak it a bit to become published).
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
The spell is really weak for what it costs. Not only do Way of Shadow monks get basically a stronger ability at level six that they can use at will (no limits except shadow, if I recall correctly), misty step is not only a second level bonus action but also more powerful because it lacks limits like needing shadow or being obstructed by glass. I also agree with Astromancer that Necromancy seems like the wrong school, but I think you could justify Enchantment (if the shadows whisk you away), Conjuration, or Transumation (if you become shadow and move). If you want to make the spell more useful I would suggest one of the following options: Make the spell a first level slot and leave it mostly as is. For a first level spell, an action to basically dash is not too bad given that it allows some more useful maneuverability. I personally think that the shadow requirement would encourage something like sixty feet of movement, but that's a personal preference and might bump it up towards second level slot value. Leave the spell as a third level slot and increase the distance to 120 feet. Perhaps tweak the action to a bonus action. This would still make it relatively balanced given that third level slots have some nice candy. Leave the spell as a third level slot and everything the same, but add some defensive benefit. Perhaps shadows congeal at the location you left, fooling enemies who fail a save into attacking it instead of you. Maybe you can lurk in the shadows for the rest of your turn, allowing you to exit freely at the start of your next turn (this might be a bit powerful for a third level spell). Perhaps a shadow takes your place for a turn, attacking your enemies (this would also justify the Necromancy school for the spell). These all offer some utility outside movement, which is lacking relative to misty step as Astromancer referenced above or the Way of Shadow Monk ability (which is 60 feet if I remember correctly) without changing the flavor of the spell too much.
Regarding the armor: I would get rid of the class requirements (but leave the dexterity one), since it fits thematically for Shadow Sorcerers, dark Wizards, and creepy Warlocks to name a few. Also, if you make Pass Through Shadow more powerful as I've suggested, you might want to change it's availability on the armor; reduce it to once per day or make it an action instead of a bonus action to activate. I think it should be Very Rare; +1 Armor is itself Rare, and the quickened weapon draw (perhaps give an additional free item interaction instead of making object interactions a bonus action, since that seems a bit weak?) itself is handy, and having an additional spell (especially if you buff it) definitely bumps it up a tier. That's just my opinion though, I think the rarities in 5e are a little arbitrary most of the time and I'm not a huge fan of dividing items so arbitrarily (the Luckstone, for example, is probably about as helpful as Ring of Protection, which is basically a Rare version of the Uncommon Cloak of Protection but steps up a tier because you can equip more rings than cloaks, despite the fact that attunement makes slots much more meaningless than they were in 3.5, where such a change would make sense).
Thanks a lot for the feedback, this is really useful! I wasn’t aware of the Monk ability but it really matches the power I was trying to create with the spell. I might change the item to say that it allows the monk ability three times per day, or change the spell to 60 feet and change the school and level! I also like the idea of a free item use!
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I created a magical armour that allows the user pass through shadows in the form of a long leather coat. I also created the spell needed!
Canbarrow is one of the regions in my game and is very gothic and victorian. I wanted one of the characters in our game to have some more mobility and a long coat fits his general flavour really well. And, well, it allows him to do some cool shit!
Item: Distorted Darkcoat of Canbarrow
Spell: Pass through Shadow
Item seems fine. Consider making it rare not very rare, but that's my only complaint about the item.
Pass through Shadow should be conjuration and the wording of the next phrase is confusing.
Are you teleporting or moving?
It feels very similar to misty step. Considering that it takes an action, I would consider it worse than misty step. Take a look at the monk's Way of Shadow 6th level ability for inspiration (however, you will have to tweak it a bit to become published).
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"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Thanks, I’ll look at that! The idea is that they are moving, but at a really fast speed. Sort of a quick shadow rush, blink and you’ll miss it.
The spell is really weak for what it costs. Not only do Way of Shadow monks get basically a stronger ability at level six that they can use at will (no limits except shadow, if I recall correctly), misty step is not only a second level bonus action but also more powerful because it lacks limits like needing shadow or being obstructed by glass. I also agree with Astromancer that Necromancy seems like the wrong school, but I think you could justify Enchantment (if the shadows whisk you away), Conjuration, or Transumation (if you become shadow and move).
If you want to make the spell more useful I would suggest one of the following options:
Make the spell a first level slot and leave it mostly as is. For a first level spell, an action to basically dash is not too bad given that it allows some more useful maneuverability. I personally think that the shadow requirement would encourage something like sixty feet of movement, but that's a personal preference and might bump it up towards second level slot value.
Leave the spell as a third level slot and increase the distance to 120 feet. Perhaps tweak the action to a bonus action. This would still make it relatively balanced given that third level slots have some nice candy.
Leave the spell as a third level slot and everything the same, but add some defensive benefit. Perhaps shadows congeal at the location you left, fooling enemies who fail a save into attacking it instead of you. Maybe you can lurk in the shadows for the rest of your turn, allowing you to exit freely at the start of your next turn (this might be a bit powerful for a third level spell). Perhaps a shadow takes your place for a turn, attacking your enemies (this would also justify the Necromancy school for the spell). These all offer some utility outside movement, which is lacking relative to misty step as Astromancer referenced above or the Way of Shadow Monk ability (which is 60 feet if I remember correctly) without changing the flavor of the spell too much.
Regarding the armor: I would get rid of the class requirements (but leave the dexterity one), since it fits thematically for Shadow Sorcerers, dark Wizards, and creepy Warlocks to name a few. Also, if you make Pass Through Shadow more powerful as I've suggested, you might want to change it's availability on the armor; reduce it to once per day or make it an action instead of a bonus action to activate. I think it should be Very Rare; +1 Armor is itself Rare, and the quickened weapon draw (perhaps give an additional free item interaction instead of making object interactions a bonus action, since that seems a bit weak?) itself is handy, and having an additional spell (especially if you buff it) definitely bumps it up a tier. That's just my opinion though, I think the rarities in 5e are a little arbitrary most of the time and I'm not a huge fan of dividing items so arbitrarily (the Luckstone, for example, is probably about as helpful as Ring of Protection, which is basically a Rare version of the Uncommon Cloak of Protection but steps up a tier because you can equip more rings than cloaks, despite the fact that attunement makes slots much more meaningless than they were in 3.5, where such a change would make sense).
Thanks a lot for the feedback, this is really useful! I wasn’t aware of the Monk ability but it really matches the power I was trying to create with the spell. I might change the item to say that it allows the monk ability three times per day, or change the spell to 60 feet and change the school and level! I also like the idea of a free item use!