Mirror of Life Trapping 5e
Wondrous Item, very rare
When this 4-foot-tall mirror is viewed indirectly, its surface shows faint images of creatures. The mirror weighs 50 pounds, and it has AC 11, 10 hit points, and vulnerability to bludgeoning damage. It shatters and is destroyed when reduced to 0 hit points.
If the mirror is hanging on a vertical surface and you are within 5 feet of it, you can use an action to speak its command word and activate it. It remains activated until you use an action to speak the command word again.
Any creature other than you that sees its reflection in the activated mirror while within 30 feet of it must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be trapped, along with anything it is wearing or carrying, in one of the mirror's twelve extradimensional cells. This saving throw is made with advantage if the creature knows the mirror's nature, and constructs succeed on the saving throw automatically.
An extradimensional cell is an infinite expanse filled with thick fog that reduces visibility to 10 feet. Creatures trapped in the mirror's cells don't age, and they don't need to eat, drink, or sleep. A creature trapped within a cell can escape using magic that permits planar travel. Otherwise, the creature is confined to the cell until freed.
If the mirror traps a creature but its twelve extradimensional cells are already occupied, the mirror frees one trapped creature at random to accommodate the new prisoner. A freed creature appears in an unoccupied space within sight of the mirror but facing away from it. If the mirror is shattered, all creatures it contains are freed and appear in unoccupied spaces near it.
While within 5 feet of the mirror, you can use an action to speak the name of one creature trapped in it or call out a particular cell by number. The creature named or contained in the named cell appears as an image on the mirror's surface. You and the creature can then communicate normally.
In a similar way, you can use an action to speak a second command word and free one creature trapped in the mirror. The freed creature appears, along with its possessions, in the unoccupied space nearest to the mirror and facing away from it.
Commentary by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Don’t trust mirrors in D&D. They could contain the souls of demons. They could charm you into a Narccissian obsession, forcing you to admire just how amazing you look for the rest of time. Worst of all, they could be a Mirror of Life Trapping, condemning you to imprisonment in an extradimensional cell for all eternity.
If a creature fails the first save against the mirror, it's in there until somebody lets it out; that somebody normally is the mirror’s owner, as you need a command word which isn’t easy to obtain.
Other creatures can say the second command word break creatures out of a cell, even if they weren’t the ones to activate it.
Identify will tell you the mirror’s command words, which you could cast on it without activating it by blindfolding yourself or otherwise averting your gaze.
The mirror moves independently of its inhabitants; this allows it to function as a mobile pocket dimension to sneak large groups of creatures in and out of places discretely.
Creatures within the mirror can’t free themselves, even if they know the command word.
Thank you for visiting!
If you’d like to support this ongoing project, you can do so by buying my books, getting some sweet C&C merch, or joining my Patreon.
The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 6.0.
A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.
