Mislead: Mislead: Look, I’m Over There!

Usable By: Bard, Wizard

Spell Level: 5

School: Illusion

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

Components: S

You become invisible at the same time that an illusory double of you appears where you are standing. The double lasts for the duration, but the invisibility ends if you attack or cast a spell.

You can use your action to move your illusory double up to twice your speed and make it gesture, speak, and behave in whatever way you choose.

You can see through its eyes and hear through its ears as if you were located where it is. On each of your turns as a bonus action, you can switch from using its senses to using your own, or back again. While you are using its senses, you are blinded and deafened in regard to your own surroundings.

Review by Samuel West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

So you find yourself once again hands up surrounded by crossbow wielding patrol officers while you're covered in stolen jewelry. This isn’t your first rodeo; times like these call for emergency measures.You dive behind a nearby table and with a flick of the wrist turn invisible, leaving an illusory duplicate to get shot at. You now have all the time you need to pop out behind those town guard idiots and get on your way with the cash, all without them suspecting a thing until it's too late.

Mislead is delightful. Where Invisibility and Greater Invisibility are just kind of stepping stones, Mislead takes being invisible and pairs it with some other sweet magical ideas. Illusory duplicates that can produce sounds tend to be very convincing; so long as you don’t accidently have them come into contact with solid surfaces, you’re golden.

An illusory duplicate can be endlessly useful, and you have the option to roll with it for up to an hour. You can functionally be in two places at once; it's like if you were your own familiar in many ways. In addition, being able to be observed somewhere while elsewhere creates alibis and can build completely unwarranted trust. Sneaking off to explore your wealthy benefactor’s estate while their servants give you a tour is a simple example that highlights where this spell flourishes. If you’re looking to escape certain death, commit crimes, or investigate undisturbed, Mislead is there for you.

It's hard to describe how great Mislead can feel to use without just using it. Each instance asks you to find creative words and navigate weird problems on a case by case basis, leading to some delightful moments. If your duplicate is traveling with somebody and they ask it to get the door, what do you do? It can’t open doors, it's not real. Does an old colleague go in for a hug? Best quickly find some way to avoid that situation!

In combat it can be a bit tricky to use; you already want to be hidden before using it, as your duplicate needs an action to command. That being said, any situation where you’ve got ample cover can provide this window, and most battlemaps will have some number of objects to get behind. If your goal is just to reposition or be invisible, Invisibility and Greater Invisibility are definitely better options, and make Mislead not really worth using unless you’re specifically looking to deceive.

I think I overrate Mislead because I love the deceitful trickster character archetype, and this spell delivers on that fantasy a hundred times over. While I find a lot of use in it, this spell is absolutely niche, and won’t often be your go to 5th level slot. In the cases where it does pop up, it’ll be some of the coolest feeling moments you’ll have, and can turn otherwise certain death into a chance at escape.

5e Spells

Mislead: Mislead: Look, I’m Over There!