Spellbook
By Robert Holzmeier
The new D&D
game is all about options, the designers have told us. In this months
Spellbook installment, we show you a new option sure to excite the players of
spellcasters in your game. From new author Robert Holzmeier, we present the
mirror move spell.
Mirror
Move
Transmutation
Level: Brd
2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components:
V, S, M
Casting Time:
1 action
Range: Personal
Target:
You
Duration:
1 minute/level
Mirror
move allows you to reproduce any general feat with an obvious physical effect
that you observed another perform within the past 10 rounds, providing you meet
the prerequisites for that feat.
For example,
Mialee is proficient with the shortbow but does not possess the Point Blank
Shot feat. However, she can watch Soveliss perform the feat, then, using mirror
move, she can mimic his Point Blank Shot feat to better attack an orc advancing
on her. When the spell dissipates, Mialee can no longer access this feat (unless
she later acquires it herself or recasts mirror move for the same effect).
With a single
casting, you may mirror move a number of feats equal to your Intelligence
bonus, but always at least one. That is, a caster with an Intelligence of 10
can mirror one feat, while a caster with 18 Intelligence can mirror up to four
feats with a single use of the spell. The effects of multiple castings of mirror
move do not stack. Each new casting wipes out the previous one.
You can mirror
move the following feats:
- Ambidexterity
- Combat Casting
- Combat Reflexes
- Dodge
- Exotic Weapon Proficiency
- Expertise
- Improved Disarm
- Improved Trip
- Whirlwind Attack
- Improved Critical
- Improved Initiative
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- Improved Unarmed
Strike
- Deflect Arrows
- Stunning Fist
- Lightning Reflexes
- Martial Weapon
Proficiency
- Mounted Combat
- Mounted Archery
- Trample
- Ride-By Attack
- Spirited Charge
- Point Blank Shot
- Far Shot
- Precise Shot
- Rapid Shot
- Shot on the
Run
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- Power Attack
- Cleave
- Improved Bull
Rush
- Sunder
- Great Cleave
- Quick Draw
- Run
- Shield Proficiency
- Simple Weapon Proficiency
- Two-Weapon Fighting
- Improved Two-Weapon
Fighting
- Weapon Finesse
- Weapon Focus
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The DM may
allow mirroring of feats from sources other than the Player's Handbook,
as long as they are feats with observable physical effects.
Spellcasters
who do not meet the prerequisite(s) for the feat they wish to mirror can sometimes
find clever ways around this limitation. For example, Mialee has the Improved
Unarmed Strike feat but a Dexterity of only 11. She casts cat's grace
on herself, receiving 2 additional Dexterity points for a 13 Dexterity. She
then casts mirror move, adopting Ember's Deflect Arrows feat. When mirror
move dissipates, Mialee retains her heightened Dexterity until her cat's
grace spell ends but she loses access to Deflect Arrows. If she somehow
lost the effects of cat's grace before the end of mirror moves
duration, she would lose access to the Deflect Arrows feat.
One interesting
note about mirror move is that the spell conveys all the nuances of the
mirrored character's style. Using the previous example, Mialee not only gains
the ability to Deflect Arrows but the arcane power results in her deflecting
arrows exactly as Ember would do it. Although Ember may not be with Mialee when
she cast the mirror move spell, anyone familiar with Ember's style (for
instance, a lifelong enemy or former trainer) may recognize that Mialee's arrow
deflection is actually borrowed from Ember. Anyone familiar with Ember's defensive
style should be allowed a Spot check (DC 15) to recognize the similarities.
It's worth
noting that Item Creation Feats and Special Feats can not be duplicated by mirror
move. Likewise, Metamagic Feats are too subtle and/or complex to be mirrored.
Material
Component: Any reflective surface, including highly polished shields or
armor and even surfaces of water, can be used for this spell. Many spellcasters
carry small mirrors with them for material components.
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