New Spells for Arcane Tricksters
The last preview of this week from The Impermissicon is here and its especially promising for Arcane Trickster rogues in addition to everyone else. Though these spells work best for the Arcane Tricksters they were designed for, they can be used to great effect by many other sneaky characters or illusionists of various classes and builds.
Art Credit: https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=262668
Blackout works very well for characters with natural darkvision when facing enemies without darkvision. This spell can't create darkness on its own like the darkness spell can, but foes who are relying on light from torches and lanterns won't be able to tell the difference when you plunge them into shadows. Of course, a simple light cantrip or similar effects can render this 1st-level spell useless, which is why it only takes a bonus action to cast.
Mirror Weapon is one of a handful of new weapon-buffing spells and one of a few dozen new buffing spells in general that will appear in the compendiums. Buff spells are something that I've specifically designed to be strong in the compendium (though not too strong), under the design idea that "If there must be strong spells, it is good for the strong spells to be buff spells," since these spells involve often multiple players feeling strong and cool, instead of just the caster. In other words, the idea is that part of the reason it should feel good to play a fighter instead of a wizard when you reach higher levels is that the fighter can benefit more effectively from the wizard's buffs, and when the wizard buffs the fighter to great effect, both players feel cool and special, as opposed to if the wizard simply used the same spell slot to cast a damaging spell. This illusory weapon works best for rogues, given that one hit per turn is usually their limit anyways, though an Arcane Trickster must wait until level 13 to cast it themselves. Note that it isn't limited to melee attacks, and affects ranged weapon attacks as well. Actually, this spell has been in a lot of flux, since it was originally designed with a 10 minute duration before being changed to match the 1 hour duration of other weapon-buff spells somewhat recently. Because of this, the design for this spell might still be in flux. Be on the lookout to see if an updated version is posted later… or not!
Veiled Blade is a somatic-only illusion spell that silently strikes a target and can even prevent the target from making a sound when reduced to 0 hit points. This spell makes almost no sound, meaning that its perfect for dropping individual targets during a stealth infiltration. Finally, Strangulate provides a single-target lockdown spell reminiscent of the Force Choke from Star Wars, one that especially hurts spellcasters. This spell feels great when used by dark paladins or warlocks, sure, but it is so well-suited to Arcane Trickster rogues that those spellcasters can actually learn it as an illusion spell. Since it effectively silences the target and also only requires somatic components, it too is perfectly suited for stealth infiltrations. Note that veiled blade, requiring no verbal components, can itself be a perfect answer for a spellcaster to interrupt the one strangulating them!
This week we're previewing content from The Impermissicon, a compendium planned to release in the first half of 2020 (hopefully the first quarter), which focuses on forbidden magic and dark forces! It will contain blood magic, lycanthropy, twisted curses, vampires, dark gods, fallen heroes, a large array of new forbidden spells, and even new prestige classes.
PDF Link / D&D Beyond Links: Blackout, Mirror Weapon, Veiled Blade, Strangulate
