Environment: Battlefield of Mars

The caster holds aloft their chosen material component, which transforms a 1-mile area around them into a burning and ashy battlefield. Spectral soldiers and mercenaries can be seen soundlessly battling, translucent blood being spilled all around. Multiple effects can be activated after the caster designates which creatures in the area are hostile, friendly, neutral, or uninvolved. Selected hostile, friendly, and neutral creatures can see the illusion of the battlefield, but uninvolved creatures can detect no difference in the area. One of the following effects can be selected at the start of each new round, and effects with recharge can only be used multiple times in a row if the recharge roll is successful. On a failed recharge, a different effect can be selected.

Warriors: 2 spectral warriors appear at any point within 20 feet of the caster, designated by them. These soldiers use the mercenary stat block, with four minor changes. The warriors’ weapon attacks count as magical for the purpose of bypassing immunity, and they receive no damage from bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks. Additionally, they take 2d12 force damage from any casting of dispel magic that they’re hit by, and are immune to any charm spell that would make them attack the caster or their designated allies. These warriors act on initiative count 1, and new warriors cannot be summoned until the turn after both are either dispelled or die. If only one warrior is killed, another set of two cannot be summoned. Both warriors must have perished for another pair to appear.

Weather: The weather in the Battlefield of Mars is overcast and windy. This wind is unnaturally good at feeding fires, so fire attacks in the area do an additional 2d6 damage. Fire also spreads much faster, and strong winds propelled by the caster can move it 20 feet in one direction per turn. Ash rains from the sky, blocking designated hostile creature’s vision. They must succeed on an Investigation saving throw when the effect is triggered against the caster’s spell save DC to see more than 10 feet around them, expanding their field of vision to 30 feet around them. Light sources are much less useful in this ashy terrain, shedding dim light in a 5 foot range around themselves. Spells such as Light are still affected by this, unless cast at a higher level than Environment: Battlefield of Mars. 

Horrors of War (Recharge 5-6): Terrible psychic visions ravage the minds of hostile creatures in the area. They must succeed on an Intelligence saving throw against the caster’s spell save DC, taking 6d8 psychic damage on a failed save, and half as much on a successful one. If only one hostile creature fails this save, any warriors summoned by the Warriors effect will gain advantage on attack rolls against that specific enemy. Also, any fires being moved by the Weather effect can move up to 50 feet towards the creature that failed the save as the winds are magically changed by the caster. 

After this environment’s time elapses, the war fades into the background as peace returns to the area. Each designated friendly creature regains 15 hit points or gains 15 temporary hit points if at max health, and are cured of any small wounds they suffered inside of the Battlefield of Mars. Hostile creatures feel drained and lethargic, temporarily losing 10% of their hit point maximum until they finish a short or long rest.