Ideas for each school of magic

[Mordna]

Hello everyone,

I'm on the last mile of my homebrew dungeon, about to play it in 2 days, but I forgot about a thing I intreoduced into the very first room/encounter. In this room a shelving unit contains blocks of wood carved with different symbols. The wooden blocks have symbols on them, each corresponding to a school of magic. If a spell corresponding to the specific school of magic is cast on these objects, they will open like a box and reveal a hidden thing within.

I already have the following:
Necromancy - a crawling claw climbs out of it and attacks.
Abjuration - the box opens and inside there are 2 spell scrolls containing the spell Shield.
Conjuration - contains a homebrew magical item that has to do with conjuration.

I still need things for Evocation, Divination, Illusion, Enchantment and Transmutation.

The things should be neutral, mildly beneficial, or slightly annoying, or a small setback. The strong item (reward) is in the Conjuration box. I am looking for effects, objects or anything that could relate to the specific school of magic but wouldn't sidetrack the party from it's mission.

Thank you so much for your suggestions! Hope to get some answers before too late. :)

[Man_Over_Game]

Evocation: Casts Shocking Grasp on you when you touch it.

Illusion: Simply an illusionary box. Touch it, and your hand goes right through it. Make it the hardest to reach. It's setback is that you just wasted your time to investigate an illusion.

Transmutation: Has a shard of a Philosopher's Stone. It can cast Aid on you for the remainder of the day. Alternatively, putting it into water will purify up to 100 gallons, and putting it into liquid lead will convert a cup's worth into gold. Any of these uses expends the stone.

Divination: You know what each of the other boxes do.

Enchantment: Make a Charisma Saving Throw, with a DC of 15. If you failed and if your roll is even, you are enamored with this box and will perform no actions other than loving it. If you failed and your roll is odd, you hate the box and will spend all of your actions trying to destroy it. Either effect ends at the end of your next turn. If you succeed, you know what this box does.


NOTE: Be careful about using Reaction-based scrolls. RAW, you spend an action, which...then uses Shield on your turn? Make sure your players understand how you want them to use a Shield scroll, and what the expectations are, because it's very unclear as to how you're SUPPOSED to use them with the standard rules.

[Mordna]

Those are all brilliant ideas! I love them, thank you. You solved my conundrum.



NOTE: Be careful about using Reaction-based scrolls. RAW, you spend an action, which...then uses Shield on your turn? Make sure your players understand how you want them to use a Shield scroll, and what the expectations are, because it's very unclear as to how you're SUPPOSED to use them with the standard rules.

Thanks for this too, it's very good advice.

Fortunately I have handouts (little cards) for items and stuff and this is the wording I put on the Shield spell scrolls: "You can use your reaction to read this scroll when you are hit by an attack or targeted by the magic missile spell. Until the start of your next turn, you have a +5 bonus to AC. This includes the triggering attack. You also take no damage from Magic Missile."

I hope that's clear enough!

[Man_Over_Game]

Those are all brilliant ideas! I love them, thank you. You solved my conundrum.



Thanks for this too, it's very good advice.

Fortunately I have handouts (little cards) for items and stuff and this is the wording I put on the Shield spell scrolls: "You can use your reaction to read this scroll when you are hit by an attack or targeted by the magic missile spell. Until the start of your next turn, you have a +5 bonus to AC. This includes the triggering attack. You also take no damage from Magic Missile."

I hope that's clear enough!

That's mostly clear, just make sure it's understood how you want them to handle the scroll when it's not their turn. Usually, you don't "read" or grab items outside of your turn, so they might be confused, thinking that they have to hold the scroll in order to use it (and just spend half the battle holding a scroll with one hand, waiting to be attacked).