Cold Crawl

You touch a surface causing ice to crawl across it. This ice occupies six 10-foot squares on the surface you touch (including the surface of liquids). You can choose the arrangement of the spaces with the following requirements: at least 1 space appears where you cast the spell, and all spaces must have at least 1 edge adjacent to another space. The ice can also crawl from one surface to another, and the spaces can be bent to accommodate the changing angles of surfaces as long as the requirements are met. When you cast this spell, any creature touching or standing on the ice the spell produces must make a dexterity saving throw. Creatures that fail the save are considered grappled by the magical ice (as per the grappled condition), and they take 2d6 piercing plus 2d6 cold damage; creatures that succeed take half the damage and are subject to no other ill effects. Any surface in the spell’s area effect becomes difficult terrain for the spell’s duration.

A creature that has failed a saving throw against this spell can attempt to free itself by using its action to make an Athletics check against your spell save DC, or another creature within reach of the trapped creature can use their action to attempt the Athletics check for the trapped creature. Any creature that ends its turn grappled by this spell's ice takes 2d6 cold damage.

This spell can be cast underwater or in a similar liquid. When you cast this spell, you can touch a space inside of a liquid; the area of effect becomes six 10-foot cubes which must be within the liquid, and each cube must have at least one face adjacent to another cube. Though the surface of affected liquids becomes solid difficult terrain, affected spaces of liquid beneath the surface become a thick icy slush; creatures must use 2 feet of movement for every 1 foot they swim through the area of effect within the liquid.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the initial instance of cold damage increases by 1d6 and the area of effect gains one additional 10-foot square for each slot level above 3rd.