Circus of Nightmares

You summon a terrifying, twisted circus within a radius centered on a point you can see within range. The range and area of the circus can be adjusted according to the caster's needs. The circus includes eerie tents, equipment, and puppet performers that appear innocent at first glance but hold a sinister aura. The puppets serve dual purposes:

• Deception and Combat Strategy: Outside of combat, the puppet performers put on a performance as a means to lull opponents into a false sense of security.
• Transformation and Attack: In combat, the puppet performers transform into nightmarish creatures and fiends, embodying the deepest fears of opponents and attacking them viciously.

The following effects occur within the area:

1. Fearful Presence: Creatures of your choice within the area must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened by the conjured entities. While frightened in this way, creatures must use their movement to move as far away from the center of the circus as possible. The frightened condition ends if the creature takes damage or if it is shaken out of its fear by another creature as an action.

2. Draining Performance: Once per round, you can choose one creature within the area to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d8 psychic damage and gains one level of exhaustion. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and does not gain a level of exhaustion.

3. Conjured Obstruction: The conjured entities create difficult terrain within the area, halving the movement speed of creatures that are not immune to fear.

Activation: The spell is activated with the incantation:

"Shades and shadows of terrors and horrors untold, Born from the hearts of mortals since time immemorial, Come forth and converge, and become a parade, Of nightmarish visions of specters and phantoms, Circus of Nightmares, I summon you."