Nautical themed spell, feedback if you please

[Guy Lombard-O]

Spyglass

1st-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 10 minutes

You conjure an effect whereby, if you hold a hand up to your eye, form your hand and fingers into a ring, and look through it, you can see distant objects more clearly. While doing this with your hand, the magnification is twice normal and you have advantage on all sight-based perception checks in bright light. You may cease looking through the ring at any time, then reform the finger ring again at any time during this spell’s duration to regain the spell’s benefits.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you gain additional magnification and a (cumulative) +2 bonus to the perception check per spell slot level above 1st.

Furthermore, when you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you may also see through lightly obscuring fogs or dim light without disadvantage, and through heavily obscuring fogs with disadvantage. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, you may see through all obscuring fogs and magical and non-magical darkness or dim light, all with the Spyglass’s advantage and full bonuses to perception checks.

[nickl_2000]

This seems perfectly fine power wise at level 1, it may scope up a little fast as you upcast it though. I wouldn't mind seeing that a level or so higher and only a +1.


My one struggle is that you can replace a 1,000 gp item from the PHB with a level 1 spell, I think it is silly that the Spyglass is 1,000 gp, but it is there.

[UnintensifiedFa]

This seems perfectly fine power wise at level 1, it may scope up a little fast as you upcast it though. I wouldn't mind seeing that a level or so higher and only a +1.


My one struggle is that you can replace a 1,000 gp item from the PHB with a level 1 spell, I think it is silly that the Spyglass is 1,000 gp, but it is there.

Agreed with both of these points. +1 per spell level is a bit more reasonable, especially as flat bonuses should be unique and harder to come by.

Perhaps including a costly material component? Like a small tube of silver/gold that you have to hold up as part of the glass. Maybe if you include the component, you could also make it a ritual to compromise? It's actually a pretty neat spell, and it does something I haven't seen before. Cool!

[Bohandas]

Why conjuration and not divination? Is it literally conjuring up lenses?

[nickl_2000]

Perhaps including a costly material component? Like a small tube of silver/gold that you have to hold up as part of the glass. Maybe if you include the component, you could also make it a ritual to compromise? It's actually a pretty neat spell, and it does something I haven't seen before. Cool!

This sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Although I haven't seen a ritual that you can upcast before.

[Guy Lombard-O]

Why conjuration and not divination? Is it literally conjuring up lenses?

You know, I truly cannot recall why I picked conjuration. Thinking about it some more, I went and looked up Darkvision, and that's a transmutation. True Seeing is a divination. So, yeah, I'll change it to one of those two.


This seems perfectly fine power wise at level 1, it may scope up a little fast as you upcast it though. I wouldn't mind seeing that a level or so higher and only a +1.


My one struggle is that you can replace a 1,000 gp item from the PHB with a level 1 spell, I think it is silly that the Spyglass is 1,000 gp, but it is there.

Both fair points indeed. I'll take your advice and knock the flat bonus down to a +1. And, yeah, I've never quite gotten that insane price tag. So I'm not letting it stop my roll!


Perhaps including a costly material component? Like a small tube of silver/gold that you have to hold up as part of the glass. Maybe if you include the component, you could also make it a ritual to compromise? It's actually a pretty neat spell, and it does something I haven't seen before. Cool!

Thanks! I'll ponder the ritual and M component ideas some more.

Oddly, my next spell is a ritual which can be upcast with spell slots (mostly because I never noticed that design parameter before - oops?). I guess I'll post it now.

[Anymage]

The text for rituals in the basic rules explicitly says that "It also doesn't expend a spell slot, which means the ritual version of a spell can't be cast at a higher level." So while I can't think of any current rituals that can also be upcast as spells, they specifically left the design space open for them.

[Guy Lombard-O]

The text for rituals in the basic rules explicitly says that "It also doesn't expend a spell slot, which means the ritual version of a spell can't be cast at a higher level." So while I can't think of any current rituals that can also be upcast as spells, they specifically left the design space open for them.

Thanks, good to know!