Instant Hideout - Wand of Mirror Polish + Wand of Mirror Hideaway + Metal Shield

[Skarm]

Hi all,
I was wondering:

Mirror Polish would allow a metal shield to be used as mirror.
Mirror Hideaway would allow to use a mirror as a portal to an extra-dimensional space.

...so, in theory, by using these together, a character could have an instant-hideout into whom he or she can withdraw (maybe with an Escape Artist check to fit through a narrow space??)?

Thanks,
Skarm

[YogoZuno]

Sure, I'd allow that to work.

Just hope the shield doesn't fall face down, or get flipped over by anyone who finds it/sees it.

[Shiroi]

I don't see any reason why not. Remember the limitations of mirror hideaway though, they can cover you up to stop you from getting back out for several hours and then scratch up the surface and leave you nauseated for 1d6 rounds with no save. You can't use it to smuggle people in anywhere since if the mirror moves more than five feet everyone gets ejected. Basically if you use this in combat against anything intelligent you are functionally dead. Even against beasts it's a risk that they tear up or throw the mirror-shield and leave you a sitting duck. This is, while perfectly plausible as a way to escape the rain and cold for two spell slots, a horrible way to protect yourself mid combat.

[Mallecks]

Mirror Hideaway wrote:

Target one mirror

You transform a mirror into a portal to an extradimensional space.

Mirror Polish wrote:

You polish a metal item until it is reflective enough to be used as a mirror

Technically, it says you can use it as a mirror, not that it is treated as or becomes a mirror. I would say that this combination doesn't work.

[Shiroi]

1.
a reflective surface, now typically of glass coated with a metal amalgam, that reflects a clear image.
synonyms: reflecting surface;

Mirrors back in the day were usually polished metal, glass with a metal backing is a more modern concept. The definition of mirror basically encompasses everything with a mirror finish, so if it can be used as a mirror it is a mirror.

[merpius]

I don't think "mirror" has a precise definition in Pathfinder, so I'd say, most likely, you have to fall back on the English definition, as Shirol has, which would make an appropriatly polished shield a mirror.

[Mallecks]

I don't feel that the provided definition is acceptable. Any reflective surface can be used for the spell?

Can I use a puddle of water? Can I use glass from windows, as they can reflect clear images at certain angles?

Could I use someone's eye? With the proper perspective, it would be possible to see a clear reflected image. Land the touch attack against an Evil Eye and you can use that.

[Dieben]

Mallecks wrote:

-A lot of minute corner cases of reflective objects-

Ask your GM. Some things should best be answered by the GM's discretion.

My opinion:

Puddle of water: Spell works, but is a horrible idea. Anything that causes the surface to ripple will "break the mirror". A gentle breeze would disperse this spell faster than most cloud effects.

Windows: Most places can't afford panes big enough for you to fit into. If you're in an area that can afford large panes of glass, you're likely to get the guard called on you for suspicious conduct. This is the sort of thing that rings of a bad idea, particularly when you run at it from the wrong angle and break it instead of entering your hideaway.

Eye: What are you, fine sized?

[merpius]

I agree that this wil, necessarily, have to fall to GM discretion. I'm sure that many may add the proviso that the "mirror" must be of a sort that has been polished for that particular purpose. Some may rule that it must be a purpose-built mirror. Some may even restrict it only to glass-with-metal modern style mirrors (since those definitely exist in Pathfinder).

If you're working in a space where many GMs may have to interact with the decision, I woudl say trying to be as close to the standard English definition as possible is probably your safest bet.

As for puddles, windows, eyeballs, etc; sure there are lots of reflective surfaces, but, as Dieben pointed out, anythign that isn't stable in any way or is too small, will not really be suitable for this spell, given its limitations.

What that leaves is windows plus metal and modern mirrors. All the polish spell does is make a piece of metal into a mirror. Given that that is what most period mirrors were, it doesn't seem like some kind of crazy stretch to go ahead and say that a shield polished to a mirror finish is a mirror. Heck, if someone plans on doing this, they could even build the shield for that purpose; then it is a purpose built mirror, and the spell just allows them to keep thier mirror in shape for the purpose.

[arkham]

Or... you can use a wand of rope trick and do the same thing, with one less wand and fewer arguments.

[ErichAD]

I think it should work. You'd need a shield no larger than 1 square foot in order to be effected by the spell, and you'd need to be able to squeeze through a hole that same size. This seems unlikely.

Exploring the pedantic argument that something must be an item called a mirror made for the sole and specific purpose of reflecting things in order to work, we open up the option that anything that is a mirror will work regardless of whether or not that mirror has any of the traits typical of a mirror. This would involve other definitions of the word that aren't specifically eliminated by the spell description. In that case, you could use a dragon who was "the mirror of the draconic ideal" this would make the ability to manifest in the mirror's reflection unnaturally potent. You could also use a mirror that didn't have the broken condition, but was no longer reflective. There's too much weirdness in that direction.

I think it's best to scrap that level of pedantry and stick to the more common definition "a polished or smooth surface (as of glass) that forms images by reflection".