Saturday, November 5, 2022

Magic Mirrors

Disney's Snow White

Magic mirrors are a common trope in myth and fantasy.  Across history and around the world, people have seen mirrors as possessing supernatural power, from Vulcan to Tezcatlipoca.

Trying to tap into that mythic resonance, I've come up with several mirrors to stock dungeons: 

  1. Paralyzing Mirror - This mirror instantly paralyzes anyone who can see any part of their own reflection in it. Escape requires help from someone who avoids looking at their reflection.
  2. Window Mirror - This mirror shows whatever is on the other side of the wall on which it is hung as if it were a window.
  3. Ghost Mirror - This mirror shows ghosts in its reflection. 
  4. Spell Mirror - If any magic user peers into this mirror for one minute, they memorize a single use of the Mirror Image spell (in addition to any other spells they have memorized). If the spell has not been cast by the time the mage sleeps, it fades away. 
  5. Extra Object Mirror -  This mirror shows an object (perhaps a vase etc.) not present in the real world. Finding the object and placing it to match its position in the reflection will unlock a secret door to another part of the dungeon. 
  6. Broken Mirror - One shattered piece is missing (hidden elsewhere in the dungeon) but if the mirror is reassembled, a floating face appears and will answer any one question for each person that stands before it. 
  7. Reflecting Pond - The surface of this small pool is agitated by a large and active fish that darts about in the water. If the fish is removed or stilled, the water will settle and show scenes of the distant past. 
  8. Paired Mirrors - If the scenes reflected in these two mirrors match (aside from any living things) a person can step into one mirror and out of the other like a magic portal.  
Still Snow White

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