Mirage Arcane

A
Utility

Mirage Arcane is a Utility spell. Utility spells solve problems outside of combat or provide unique situational advantages.

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 spell that reshapes miles of terrain into an illusionary landscape, creating
battlefield control

Mirage Arcane is a Battlefield Shaping spell. Battlefield Shaping spells alter terrain, create obstacles, introduce hazards, and affect enemy positioning.

See all Battlefield Shaping spells →
 that can hinder movement.

2024 Rules
Level & School
7th-level illusion
Casting Time
10 minutes
Range
Sight
Components
V, S
Duration
10 days
Classes
Bard, Druid, Wizard

You make terrain in an area up to 1 mile square look, sound, smell, and even feel like some other sort of terrain. Open fields or a road could be made to resemble a swamp, hill, crevasse, or some other rough or impassable terrain. A pond can be made to seem like a grassy meadow, a precipice like a gentle slope, or a rock-strewn gully like a wide and smooth road.

Similarly, you can alter the appearance of structures or add them where none are present. The spell doesn't disguise, conceal, or add creatures.

The illusion includes audible, visual, tactile, and olfactory elements, so it can turn clear ground into Difficult Terrain (or vice versa) or otherwise impede movement through the area. Any piece of the illusory terrain (such as a rock or stick) that is removed from the spell's area disappears immediately.

Creatures with Truesight can see through the illusion to the terrain's true form; however, all other elements of the illusion remain, so while the creature is aware of the illusion's presence, the creature can still physically interact with the illusion.

2014 Rules
Level & School
7th-level illusion
Casting Time
10 minutes
Range
Sight
Components
V, S
Duration
10 days
Classes
Bard, Druid, Wizard

You make terrain in an area up to 1 mile square look, sound, smell, and even feel like some other sort of terrain. The terrain's general shape remains the same, however. Open fields or a road could be made to resemble a swamp, hill, crevasse, or some other difficult or impassable terrain. A pond can be made to seem like a grassy meadow, a precipice like a gentle slope, or a rock-strewn gully like a wide and smooth road.

Similarly, you can alter the appearance of structures, or add them where none are present. The spell doesn't disguise, conceal, or add creatures.

The illusion includes audible, visual, tactile, and olfactory elements, so it can turn clear ground into difficult terrain (or vice versa) or otherwise impede movement through the area. Any piece of the illusory terrain (such as a rock or stick) that is removed from the spell's area disappears immediately.

Creatures with truesight can see through the illusion to the terrain's true form; however, all other elements of the illusion remain, so while the creature is aware of the illusion's presence, the creature can still physically interact with the illusion.

Mirage Arcane 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences

The 2024 version removes the rule that the terrain’s general shape must remain the same, so it no longer explicitly limits you from reshaping the land’s broad contours. The rest is functionally the same.

Spells similar to Mirage Arcane

  • Hallucinatory Terrain 4th-level illusion

    It also makes large areas of ground and features appear and feel like something else, including changing perceived traversability, but at a lower level and shorter duration.

  • Programmed Illusion 6th-level illusion

    Both create complex, multi-sensory illusions that can persist for a long time and be used to shape how people interact with an area.

  • Guards and Wards 6th-level abjuration

    This spell shapes and defends a locale for an extended period, serving a similar long-term territorial and battlefield-shaping purpose.

  • Move Earth 6th-level transmutation

    Although it physically alters terrain rather than illusorily, it fills the same tactical niche of changing how terrain affects movement and encounters.

  • Control Weather 8th-level transmutation

    It modifies large-scale environmental conditions to influence travel and encounters over long durations, making it a similar strategic utility option.