Hey, so I have a question about the Mirror Implement for the Thaumaturge that I don't think I've seen asked. First up, here's the Mirror:
Mirror implements represent misdirection, illusion, and sleight of hand, bending and shifting a perspective and the way you look at things. While larger mirrors hold the same mystic connotations, thaumaturges always choose small, portable, handheld mirrors as implements so they can use them easily while adventuring. Mirror implements are associated with the harrow suit of keys, and the astrological signs of the stranger and the swallow.
You learn how to use your mirror to project another version of yourself whose realness is a matter of perspective. You gain the Mirror's Reflection action.
___________________________________________________________________________ _____Mirror's Reflection [Illusion Magical Manipulate Thaumaturge]
Requirements: You're holding your mirror implement.
You reflect an illusory image of yourself into another unoccupied space within 15 feet that you can see. You are treated as being in both spaces until the start of your next turn. For example, you can attack, Seek, and provide flanking—even with yourself. You occupy both spaces.
___________________________________________________________________________ _____Your mirror self mimics your actions exactly, but any effects you generate come from only one of your positions; you decide which each time you act. For example, if you made a melee Strike against a creature within reach of the reflection, you'd mime the actions of the Strike, but only the reflection would actually make the Strike. Anything that targets or would affect your reflection affects you and uses your statistics. Something that would target or affect both of you affects you only once. For example, a fireball that included both of you in its area would require only one save from you and damage you no more than once. When you move, you choose which square to move from, but the mirror effect ends (see below).
Some events force you to determine which image is the real you, and then end the effect and cause your mirror self to disappear; this happens automatically at the start of your next turn. It also happens if you choose to move out of your space. Other benefits of this implement add more events that can end the reflection. The effect also ends when you fall unconscious, at which point you decide which version is truly you.
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Your mirror self shatters into punishing shards when damaged. While Mirror's Reflection is in effect, when an enemy adjacent to one of your spaces damages you, that version of you explodes into mirror shards. This ends Mirror's Reflection (establishing the remaining version of you as the real one) and deals slashing damage to all creatures in a 5-foot emanation around where your mirror self was. The damage is equal to 2 + half your level or the damage of the triggering attack, whichever is lower. You're immune to this damage.
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Reinforcing your mirror lets it play tricks on your enemy's senses as it bends light this way or that. You become concealed to the target of your Exploit Vulnerability as your mirror warps its perceptions. As normal for concealment where your overall location is still obvious, you can't use this concealment to Hide or Sneak.
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You've become so skilled at reflecting yourself that you can combine making a reflection with your other movements to act right away. When you use Mirror's Reflection, you can have one of your selves immediately Interact, Seek, or Strike.
So here are my questions:
1. Is there anything to stop you using your Mirror Implement 3 times in 1 round?
2. Assuming you can spam it, what happens? Are you locked in at 2 Thaumaturges or can you end up with more than 2 Thaumaturges on the field ?
1) It seems there's nothing but this wouldn't help because 2) each new use just overwrites the previous one as written.
Well that answers 1.
Are you sure it overwrites? I can absolutely see it being ruled either way.
I'm not seeing why it would overwrite.
The mirror image breaks on specific actions/action traits, and summoning another isn't one of those.
For the sake of argument I think the reason it might not work is the word "both" in the Mirror' Reflection action:
You are treated as being in both spaces until the start of your next turn.
This could be interpreted as giving a maximum of 2 instances of yourself at once.
However I've been thinking this over and I don't think it holds up. Here's an example:
Errenor and I are both writing in this thread.
Shroudb and I are both writing in this thread.
The second statement does not make the first statement false. They are not mutually exclusive.
Following on:
Thaumaturge A produces Image B. Thaumaturge is treated as being in both square A and square B until the beginning of the next turn.
Thaumaturge A produces Image C. Thaumaturge is treated as being in both square A and square C until the beginning of the next turn.
Thaumaturge B produces Image D. Thaumaturge is treated as being in both square B and square D until the beginning of the next turn.
None of these necessarily proclude one another. The existence of the second sentence does not inherently makr the first sentence untrue.
... thoughts?
My thoughts:
The word choices in the rules text heavily imply that the limit is two copies. You can use the action again, but one of the copies will end in doing so.
However, there isn't anything in the rules that actually prevents creating more than two copies.
But from the complaints about Summoner characters, having your HP pool able to be targeted in multiple physical locations is a fairly serious drawback. And I am not seeing much benefit.
I would stick to two copies in games I am running.
In fact, the list for breaking the images is: Move out of the space (gettin up from prone doesnt do it, getting pushed doesnt break it), start of your turn. For adept it adds getting damaged by an adjacent enemy and that´s it. There are no other effects that force you to determine wich is the real you.
Also to point this out better, starting your next turn ends the effect.
So whatever shenanigans you are going to get up to, you had better do it fast. Spending one action to create a second copy leaves you with two actions. Spending a second action to create a third copy means you only have one action left to do something with.