I've homebrewed a spell that is effectively a combination of shield (in terms of timing) and misty step (in terms of its effect) that I've called reactive step. It's intended for sorcerers, warlocks and wizards.
I've reasoned that it's a 2nd level spell, like misty step, but I wonder if I'm missing something with regards to how it could be used that makes a 2nd level spell slot too cheap, or whether it's so niche that it's actually too expensive. I think it's either probably fine, or it's too cheap for a reason I have not thought of, so I wanted some feedback as to whether it's use justifies it's spell level.
Reactive Step
2nd level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you are hit by a melee attack
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: InstantaneousWhen you are hit by a melee attack, you may teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see, turning the triggering attack from a hit into a miss.
I originally toyed with the idea of only teleporting after taking the damage of the triggering attack, but then I decided that it would be less appealing, so I changed it to avoid the damage of the original attack (turning the hit into a miss). I include this because it might be that some think that it would have been balanced as I originally planned, but not in it's current form, so answers may choose to include such a detail. (Based on feedback thus far, I'm almost definitely going to go back to my original idea, but I'm not going to adjust the spell description above, because I don't want to change the question. Hence this question is still about the version of the spell as it's written.)
I've also restricted it to melee attacks, since I think teleporting around in response to ranged attacks is perhaps a bit too powerful for what I intended this spell to be for (primarily for getting squishy spellcasters out of melee), since otherwise it would make cover-shooting a near perfect strategy (run out from behind total cover on your turn to make a ranged attack, teleport back into total cover on the enemy's turn after they try to hit you with one ranged attack, rinse and repeat).
So, in it's current form (restricted to melee attacks, turns the triggering attack into a miss), is this spell balanced, specifically with regards to the spell level?
Best Answer
This is very powerful, probably overpowered (although play-testing would have to prove that).
It combines both the things that make Shield amazing and Misty Step very good, improved on both and uses the same spell level as Misty Step.
Look at what this lets you do that casting both Shield and Misty Step (which takes 2 spell slots and an extra Bonus Action) does not:
In addition (although this may be unintended) it lets an Eldritch Knight or other melee-caster completely evade an attack against him without leaving the monster's threat range, since simply side-stepping the attack is enough to trigger a miss.
As a Wizard, I would feel very safe knowing I have this panic button, and I would probably make it a must-pick for every Wizard. I already consider both Shield and Misty Step to be very powerful spells to keep a Wizard alive and this is better than both.
If you were to change it back to letting you teleport after taking damage, that sounds like it'd be more balanced. It means you are trading certain pain now for less pain later and means you can't reliably protect your concentration. It also entirely removes the 'exploit' of dodging attacks as a melee caster. It would also feel less like "an even more powerful Shield" and more like a "slightly different Misty Step".
Although at this point, it becomes very close to being an alternate use of Misty Step, so I might even consider merging both into one spell by allowing Misty Step to be used in reaction to being hit with an attack.