Spells mirage arcana and hallucinatory terrain


Rules Questions


Might be an error here:
The spell mirage arcanais specifically said to be like Halucinatory terrain, yet it is 1 standart action to cast insteead of 10 minutes for terrain/ Also it has no material component while terrain has (a stone, a twig, and a green leaf). Yes it is smaller (20ft cube instead of 30ft) and has shorter duration (1hr/lvl(D) instead of 2hr/lvl(D)) but it is too big a change - 10 mintue cast makes it a spell for an ambush and impossible in the battle. And then next spell level you can suddenly use it in battle on the fly. Is it an error?


Not an error, no, although the specifics probably have a bit of history. Mirage Arcana was originally a 6th level Illusionist spell (when Illusionists could only cast up to 7th level spells), so was intended to be an exceptionally powerful spell.

Over the years, it's been integrated into the wizard spell list. As it stands, it is a significant jump over Hallucinatory Terrain, although 5th level spells are more balance for combat than 4th level spells (even vs. odd). It would be somewhat on the weak side for a 6th level spell (although not significantly so).

One small point - the area seems just a little smaller, but it's actually less than 1/3rd the volume (and less than half the maximum flat area) - depending on what you're trying to do, that could matter.


Well at 5 lvl it gives you 13 20ft cubes or 13*16=208 5ft squares.... It is a lot of space:)It can easily engulf almost any room inside a dungeon and can make a big long crevice which will stop stupid melee guys from rushing your caster and archer on surface :) All in all, a very powerfull spell in the right hands (like most illusion spells).

It is just that the jump in power is too big for 1 lvl change. 4th level is good only for preplanned ambush and 5th is so good for any battle:)

And where did material component go? It is said to be an upgrade of previous spell, but material component vanished.

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