I have this idea, which may have become too complicated in my attempt to balance interesting features with suitable drawbacks. Tell me what you think and whether you'd ever use such a thing.

Freezing Touch (Melee-range, held-mana, targeted spell, empty right hand)

Prerequisites: (you tell me)

Best suited for single-opponent applications, the caster first holds mana, then reaches out and grabs the target. Target begins to freeze at site of grab. Over time the freeze spreads until the target is completely encased in ice and susceptible to shattering from a subsequent attack.

Freezing takes time, during which the target can attack, and the caster can only attack with his off hand.

Caster takes an evasion penalty because he's holding onto the target and can't move freely. Parry, too, probably.

Target takes a slowly growing defense penalty as the ice spreads. With greater TM skill the caster can target specific body parts to grab, beginning the freeze (and accompanying debuffs) there: hands for parry or shield, legs for evasion, chest/abdomen/back for an overall but weaker/slower debuff, etc.

Time to freeze the target decreases with amount of mana held.

Target pulses defensive contests to break free from caster during freezing time but keeps damage (maybe not debuff) to any already frozen body part if they successfully break free.

TM contest has degrees of success:
-Failure, can't grab the target.
-Partial success, if caster succeeds in ultimately freezing the target, he is unable to sever the link without accidentally freezing his hand (maybe arm too for an even worse partial success?) to the target, necessitating destruction of the frozen appendage to break free.
-Full success, caster freezes target without being stuck to it.


-Golgol