Blink: Whack-a-Mole

Usable By: Artificer, Sorcerer, Wizard

Spell Level: 3

School: Transmutation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Duration: 1 minute

Components: V, S

Roll a d20 at the end of each of your turns for the duration of the spell. On a roll of 11 or higher, you vanish from your current plane of existence and appear in the Ethereal Plane (the spell fails and the casting is wasted if you were already on that plane). At the start of your next turn, and when the spell ends if you are on the Ethereal Plane, you return to an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of the space you vanished from. If no unoccupied space is available within that range, you appear in the nearest unoccupied space (chosen at random if more than one space is equally near). You can dismiss this spell as an action.

While on the Ethereal Plane, you can see and hear the plane you originated from, which is cast in shades of gray, and you can’t see anything there more than 60 feet away. You can only affect and be affected by other creatures on the Ethereal Plane. Creatures that aren’t there can’t perceive you or interact with you, unless they have the ability to do so.

A natural progression from Misty Step, Blink is a handy spell to keep in your back pocket for when things get a little too hairy.

The 1-minute duration makes it excellent to use in a fight, but it is by no means strictly a combat spell. Far from it, Blink has a multitude of applications off the battlefield as well as on.

Seeing as how it takes up a precious 3rd level spell slot, let’s examine the ways in which it’s superior to a 2nd level Misty Step.

While Misty Step is a one-and-done spell, Blink has a duration of one full minute. That’s tremendously useful in a fight, popping in and out wherever you like on the battlefield, frustrating your enemies as you tend to your allies in need. And it gets even better because…

It doesn’t require concentration. This is huge. Not only do you get the benefits of Blink, but you can focus on spells that do require concentration while using it. While you’re obnoxiously popping in and out of the Ethereal Plane, you can be cooking your enemies with a Flaming Sphere, defending an ally with Protection from Evil and Good, or making yourself even more difficult to pin down with Invisibility.

It keeps you safe. While it doesnt work a garunteed 100% of the time (we will get to that later), roughly half of the time it takes you off the plane you’re on and and away from the grasp of a majority of creatures and spellcasters that may wish to harm you. Most, however, is not all. Blink won’t help you against creatures like a Phase Spider or Night Hag.

Access to the Ethereal Plane. Interplanar travel isn’t something to turn your nose up at. If used intelligently this spell can open many doors for you and your group in their travels.

However, Blink is not without its drawbacks.

It doesn't work every time. Unlike other spells like Blur or Mirror Image, Blink is only effective roughly 50% of the time, requiring you to roll 11 or higher on a d20 at the end of each of your turns to see if the spell takes effect. That’s fine if you’re not under any time pressure as you try to get to the other side of a locked gate. But failure could be catastrophic if you’re counting on it to whisk you out of harm’s way after you kick a minotaur in the junk and talk trash about his mother.

You forfeit reactions. On turns when the spell is successful, you are taken off the battlefield and lose any insights or chances to act until your next turn. Losing your reaction can be a pretty big deal when you have things like the feats; Sentinel (which reduces a creatures movement to 0 if you hit them with an Attack of Opportunity) or War Caster (which allows you to use any 1 Action spell that targets one creature).

One less target. So we have discussed that it takes you away from danger, but that’s not always a good thing.

If you're in a tough fight where every set of eyes and ears helps, taking you away from your enemies may only encourage them to focus on your allies instead, which puts more of a target on their backs.

We’ve mainly focused on how to use Blink in combat situations, but let’s take a look at some applications it can have off the battlefield…

Avoiding traps. If you're unsure if a certain hallway is trapped (or even if you know for a fact that it is), simply Blink your way past the danger. Not only will this allow you to avoid the trap, but it will make sure it stays set for anyone who might be pursuing you.

Getting through locked doors. If you can see an unoccupied space within ten feet of you, you can Blink there. This could be easily used to escape jail cells or maybe even break into vaults.

5e Spells

Blink: Whack-a-Mole