New Spell: Portable Road - OG Myth-Weavers

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New Spell: Portable Road

   
New Spell: Portable Road

Portable Road
3rd-level illusion (ritual)

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 20 feet
Components: V, S, M (a piece of agate worth 25 gp, which is consumed in the casting)
Duration: Concentration up to 8 hours

A quasi-real stretch of road appears on the ground under your feet and extends 20 feet ahead of you in a straight line. As you travel, the road moves with you, turning to face your direction of travel. The road is 10 feet wide and appears perfectly flat, smooth, and paved. Anyone can travel on the road while the duration lasts. The road changes all terrain to simple terrain, allowing for normal travel speed through rough ground, swamps, brush, and so forth. The road rises over small obstacles 5 feet or less in height; it bridges rivers, gaps, and ravines of 20 feet or less. If the terrain does not have enough open space for a 10 foot-wide road-- for example, an extraordinarily dense forest-- or if you aren't able to traverse the terrain at all-- for example, a cliff or steep mountain-- the road disappears and reappears when you leave that terrain. The road doesn't disrupt or go through manufactured structures attached to the ground, nor will it function indoors, be it a natural structure like a cave or an artificial structure. The road abruptly disappears when the spell ends or if you use an action to dismiss it.

Please critique this spell for balance.
@WhoEvrIwant2b

Can't help with balance, but I do have three queries:

1) Width of road? 5ft, 10ft, 50ft? Important to know for people in large groups. Or moving large objects like a wagon.

2) Maximum length of road? As written, reads like it just goes on forever, as allowed by terrain.

3) Would a normally-fordable river of <20ft count as a gap, or a non-fordable one of >20ft, or both?

Excellent points. I’ll update with a clarification momentarily. I’m thinking 10’ wide (to cut down used by armies), it goes on forever as long as the duration lasts, and it bridges anything less than 20’ wide. I might however want to make it continuously extend out only like 30 feet at a time in front of the caster and maybe only like 30 feet behind though.

Updated.

I like it, I think it should extend 20ft in front and cover the 20ft you just traveled. That way the caster doesn't need to be the rear guard. From a balance perspective I would be tempted to make it a concentration spell to make it more of a utility spell. That said it could have some interesting ramifications if it would counter entangle or even high level spell like earthquake.

One other thought would be how it works in hallways etc. If you enter a building does your road go over moats/pit traps etc? Maybe make it along the lines of "Manufactured structures, equipment, and creatures within the area aren't changed in appearance or function." like Hallucinatory Terrain has in it. So far as spell level I think it is reasonable though I bet armies would still employ it fairly often.

I do like the concentration suggestion and I also think it would be good to only make it work out of doors. Ten feet wide would make it of limited use for an army but it could still be employed for bridges etc. I'll update.

8 hours might be too much, if we're talking about abuse or exploit. One hour max maybe? One hour per three caster levels? I dunno.




 

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