Carve Jack-o'-Lantern (HFO)

Though the meaning is all but forgotten, and they are often regarded as nothing more than a Harvestide decoration, the tradition of carving and placing jack-o'-lanterns is actually an ancient and effective folk-magic ritual to protect one's home from the spirits that roam the night at harvest time.

You magically carve a jack-o'-lantern from a hollowed-out pumpkin or large turnip. You point your knife and cause the vegetable's rind to split and crumble to form a face precisely as you pictured it. Creating a jack-o'-lantern uses your spellcasting DC for its magical effect. Once created, a jack-o'-lantern will last for 7 days without being lit, after which its magic dissipates and it begins to rot. A jack-o'-lantern's magic only functions between sunset and sunrise, activating when it's candle or coal is lit, which requires an action. A jack-o'-lantern's light will burn for up to 6 hours before going out. A jack-o'-lantern's magic goes into effect the moment it is lit and ends immediately when it goes out. Once a jack-o'-lantern is extinguished, it's magic is expended and cannot be restored, even if it is relit.

When lit, a jack-o'-lantern sheds dim light in a 30-foot radius which persists even in magical darkness and wards off celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. When a creature of one of these types attempts to enter a space lit by the jack-o'-lantern's light, it must make a Charisma saving throw, plus 1 for each additional jack-o'-lantern created by this spell. On a failed save, that creature is frightened of the jack-o'-lantern for 1 minute. If a creature fails its save by 5 or more, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from the jack-o'-lantern as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of it. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action. A jack-o'-lantern's effects also extend into the Ethereal Plane.

Destroying a jack-o'-lantern extinguishes it instantly. A jack-o'-lantern has an AC of 10 and 1 hit point, and cannot be targeted by any attack roll made by a creature that has failed its save against its effect. A jack-o'-lantern is destroyed instantly if it falls from a height greater than 2 feet.

As an action, a jack-o'-lantern can be thrown up to 20 feet, smashing it on impact. Make a ranged attack against a target creature, treating the jack-o'-lantern as an improvised weapon with the thrown property. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage plus 1d4 fire damage. If the target is a celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead, it takes an additional 2d6 radiant damage.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the spell creates one additional jack-o'-lantern for each slot level above 1st.