Blizzard Sphere (Patreon)

Wondrous item, rare

This glass sphere contains a raging blizzard inside. It's cold to the touch and vibrates with the gusts of wind trapped within. As an action, you can throw the orb at a point or object you can see within 30 feet, causing the orb to shatter upon impact. When the orb shatters, the blizzard erupts from the glass in a 20-foot-radius sphere of swirling ice and snow centered on the point of impact.

The blizzard remains for 1d4 rounds or until targeted by a dispel magic spell (DC 15 or cast at 5th level or higher). When a creature enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 4d8 cold damage and its speed is reduced by half until the start of its next turn. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much cold damage and its speed is not reduced.

Any surface within the blizzard is covered in a slick sheet of ice and sleet, turning the ground within the sphere into difficult terrain that remains for the blizzard's duration. While the blizzard persists, the area within the sphere is heavily obscured.

The glass sphere rattled around in its golden casing, thrown by the billowing winds and storm trapped inside. Its frame betrayed the devastation kept beneath that glass, and while a snow-filled orb may sound pretty and tranquil, this was assuredly anything but.