One of the most iconic spells ever created, the invisibility spell has been used by millions of players and GMs worldwide to cause mischief and chaos. Indeed, many adventures hinge on using an invisibility spell to steal an essential item, break into an enemy encampment, or escape from a dire threat. This article, like other spells in this blog series, provides several new spins on the invisibility spell and a couple of new magic items.
New Spells
Look through some takes on invisibility.
BEFOOL
7th-Level Illusion | Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a clear glass bead)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You and up to five other creatures you choose within range become invisible. Then, you create illusory duplicates of each creature you turned invisible. These illusory duplicates mimic the general actions and movements of their related invisible creatures but cannot interact with objects or creatures and make no sound. If an invisible creature moves more than 30 feet away from its illusory duplicate, the duplicate stops moving and stands in place until the invisible creature moves back within range. If an invisible creature attacks or casts a spell, it becomes visible, and its duplicate winks out of existence.
Physical interaction with the illusory duplicates reveals them as illusions. A creature that uses its action to examine a duplicate can determine they are illusions with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature sees through one illusion, it sees through all of them. This does not reveal the location of invisible subjects of the spell though.
CLEARWALL
2nd-Level Illusion | Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of dirt)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
You touch a door, wall, or similar surface and render a 10-foot square of it invisible. The material retains all of its other properties. Creatures on the both sides of the material can see through it. The maximum depth of the material you can turn invisible is 2 feet. Rendering a surface invisible reveals any objects within it. Thus, you could turn a door invisible to reveal the trap and locking mechanism inside it or a section of wall to reveal the secret compartment beyond it.
This spell does not affect constructs or creatures pretending to be a door, such as a mimic, nor does it affect magically enchanted materials or spell effects like wall of stone.
DIRE INVISIBILITY
3rd-Level Illusion | Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
This spell turns a creature invisible, as the greater invisibility spell. However, the formula used in creating this spell is imperfect, and the target takes 2d6 necrotic damage each round as its body dissolves under the strain of the magic. This damage is not applied to the target’s items, but if the spell reduces the target to 0 hit points, it is disintegrated along with all of its nonmagical belongings. Magic items carried by the creature are not destroyed and drop to the ground. A target reduced to 0 hit points by this spell cannot be resurrected by any means short of a true resurrection or wish.
An unwilling creature can make a Wisdom saving throw to avoid the effects of the spell. It can make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect.
PERFECT INVISIBILITY
9th-Level Illusion | Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You render the target invisible and undetectable by any means, including tremorsense, truesight, or see invisibility. The target is completely inaudible, leaves no tracks, and has no scent. The spell otherwise functions as per the greater invisibility spell.
New Magic Items
It’s not hard to see how these magic items might be useful.
HORN OF INVISIBILITY
Wondrous Item, Very Rare
Lustrous jewels and delicate filigree cover this elaborate silver horn. Upon speaking the command word and blowing the horn, all creatures within 30 feet of you become invisible for 1 minute or until they attack or cast a spell. No concentration is required to maintain this invisibility.
Once used, the horn can’t be used in this way again until the next dawn.
Curse. Twenty percent of these horns cast the dire invisibility spell on creatures affected by it. When you blow the horn, creatures within 30 feet of you can make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw to avoid the effect, and if affected by the horn’s magic, they can make a new saving throw at the end of each of their turns to end the effect.
STAFF OF THE UNSEEN
Staff, Very Rare (Requires Attunement by a Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard)
This staff is permanently invisible except to the person attuned to it. Its owner or any viewer using see invisibility, truesight, or a similar effect sees the staff is made of smooth gray wood topped with a clear gem. The staff has 10 charges.
While holding the staff, you can use an action to expend 1 or more charges to cast one of the following spells from it: clearwall (1 charge), invisibility (2 charges), nondetection (3 charges), greater invisibility (5 charges) or mislead (7 charges).
The staff regains 1d6 + 4 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the staff appears in a flash of bright white light then vanishes.
