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Illusory Solutions : Illusions, illusionists,
and an illusions table (131.16)
Hold On to Your Illusions! : Keeping illusions
(and illusionists) in balance (130.24)
Arcane Lore : A legacy of illusions (127.62)
Now You See It, Now
You Don't : Shedding light on illusions in AD&D (43.31)
Is it Really Real? : Be careful with Phantasmal
Force : Illusions can kill if used with skill, but 'fake' healing is only
a feeling! (66.29)
Familiarity Factor Prevents Illusionists
from Stealing the Show (66.31)
To Believe or Not to Believe? : That is
the question on illusions and wisdom (128.18)
Now you
see it . . .
• • • but is it really there?
Shedding light on illusions in AD&D
by Philip Meyers
If you have played Dungeons & Dragons
or Advanced Dungeons
& Dragons for any length of time,
you must have run across the spell
Phantasmal forces. Actually it’s called Phantasmal force in AD&D
and
Phantasmal forces in D&D, but many of the suggestions below
are applicable
to both. This article offers a more concrete approach to these
often troublesome spells, an approach meant to supplement rather
than replace the existing spells.
In the beginning, there was the simple Phantasmal forces spell and
nothing more. In the Original D&D volume Men & Magic
it appeared,
and still appears, as a second-level spell whereby the Magic-User
created an illusion “of nearly anything the user envisions.” Any harm
<link>
done by the illusion became actual damage if the illusion was believed
to be real. In the relatively new D&D
introductory rulebook, one
which predates AD&D, Phantasmal forces is listed as a second-level
Magic-User spell in terms virtually identical to the original version.
The only real advance thus far in the lore of illusions came with the
publication of the AD&D Players Handbook. There,
Illusionists are
made into an official character class, and the old Phantasmal forces
spell is redescribed and expanded into a whole family of spells. These
spells, linked by compound crossreferences, are Phantasmal
force, Improved
Phantasmal Force,
Spectral
Force, Permanent Illusion,
and
Programmed Illusion.
The Phantasmal force spell is explained at far greater length than in
the D&D books, but the new description fails to give any
more
guidance on the really troublesome aspects of the spell. The new
version allows the spellcaster to depict “any object, or creature,
or
force” as the subject of the illusion. Is there anything a spellcaster
could envision that does not meet this description? Taking a broad
view of the word “force” as it appears here, the description takes
in
everything in the universe, and is thus identical in scope with the
“anything
the user envisions” language of the earlier rule.
One might argue that simple energy, like fire, is not a “force” under
the rule. After all, force causes mass to accelerate, as students of
physics know. But if we’re going to get technical about it, we should
note that true Newtonian forces exist in equations only and not in
reality. One could not create an illusion of a Newtonian force because
such forces cannot be displayed visually. Thus, we must accept a
loose idea of “force” here, or the rule becomes meaningless. The only
question left is why the wording was changed if the same meaning
was intended.
Also, it goes almost without saying that the “object, creature, or
force” requirements does not mean that a single object, or a single
creature, must be the subject of the illusion. An illusionary pit of
sharpened stakes, a text example, consists of more than one object.
It
follows that the spell can be used to depict any number of objects
or
creatures, so long as they all fit within the area of effect.
Another minor problem concerns illusions cast by monsters. A
Horned Devil has the power to create illusions, as do a number of
other creatures, but the Monster Manual does not say how far
this
power extends. Is a Horned Devil’s
illusion power confined to the
equivalent of a Phantasmal Force spell, perhaps combined with an
Audible Glamer? This seems likely in view of the new Wand
of Illusion
description in the DM Guide, which seems to equate the term
"illusion"
with the Phantasmal Force-Audible Glamer combination. Still,
one might ask whether a Rakshasa can create a Veil in order to
"create the illusion of what those who have encountered them deem
friendly," since it might be necessary for this creature to disguise
the
true nature of its lair in order to achieve this purpose.
There are more serious problems with the spell description. Chief
among these is the idea of “disbelief.” According to the new rules,
a
creature is entitled to a saving throw against the spell only if it
initially
disbelieves the illusion. This throws up another barrier which the
viewing
creature must overcome if it is to save itself. The problem is, when
does a creature disbelieve an illusion? The text gives no clue, so
the
answer must be: whenever the DM decides that it does. This puts the
DM in a very uncomfortable position, for the success of the spell will
largely depend on the DM’s ruling, and a DM who has not thought
some about the problem could easily decide a hard case the wrong
way, thus antagonizing the players. The players will naturally dislike
anything that makes outcomes less certain; why bother with a Phantasmal
force when a nice, simple Fireball will do the job? Or a nice,
simple Stinking Cloud? There is a clear need of something that will
make individual applications of the Phantasmal force spell more predictable.
Judges Guild attempted to solve this problem for the old Phantasmal
forces spell with a system that appears in their Ready Ref Sheets,
Volume I, at page 17. This system makes the victim’s number
of
levels/hit dice the basic measure of whether the victim believes the
illusion
and is thus affected by the spell. Minor modifications are allowed
for the intelligence and wisdom of the victim and for the nature
of the illusion itself, but an idiotic Hill Giant still is affected
less often
than a genius elf.
The system thus merges two distinct ideas. The first is that since
spells tend to fail more often when used against large/experienced
creatures, such creatures deserve better saving throws versus the
Phantasmal forces spell than smaller, less experienced ones do. This
is
the basic idea behind saving throws in general.
The second idea is the modifications, which are based on an entirely
different theory, but do not account for the extreme cases. A Hill
Giant, with his low intelligence, would generally be less likely to
become
suspicious of a pit that appears in front of him out of nowhere
than a genius elf, who is probably a Magic-User himself and is thus
alert to the possibility of an illusion.
This is a form of situational analysis; in effect, we are asking how
likely it is that a creature will figure out that it faces an illusion
under
the individual circumstances. This probability depends on internal
factors,
like the creature’s intelligence, and upon external factors, such as
whether the creature saw the illusion first appear or not.
The Judges Guild system merges the situational factors and a creature’s
<link>
general resistance to magic in one die roll. It is a basically sound
approach and is fine for use in D&D. In AD&D,
however, it should not
be used. The new Phantasmal force spell separates the situational and
general factors. The latter are obviously accounted for by the saving
throw that is allowed if the creature first disbelieves the illusion.
It
would seem, then, that the “disbelief” called for as a prerequisite
to a
saving throw is meant to be based on situational factors only, since
it
would be redundant to call for two saving throws in a row both based
on hit dice/levels.
Assuming this to be true, the next problem is to come up with a
reasonably simple system for determining disbelief, picking up where
the rule description leaves off. Intelligence, which measures
a creature's
problem-solving ability, seems the most important of the internal
factors. WIS, in the form of intuition as to thet best thing
to
do, should somehow be taken into account, although is is NOT as important
as INT. Previous experience with illusions is obviously
of value to the potential victim of another one.
As to the external factors, surprise is one factor likely to prevent
the
victim of the spell from thinking clearly and should thus be counted
as
a penalty to disbelief where present. The primary external factor,
however,
is the situation itself. A suspicious image, like a dragon turtle on
dry land, gives greater cause for disbelief than the image of a troll
who
has been living in the cave next door for twenty years. The following
categories are recommended for evaluating situations:
1. Information recommending disbelief. When an associate calls
out that an illusion is present, only an idiot would fail to try to
disbelieve
the illusion. The same goes for creatures who know they face an
Illusionist.
2. Strong Suspicion. Here the circumstances are such that even
a
creature of low intelligence might not believe its eyes. The illusion
of
the Dragon Turtle on dry land falls in this category, as would an illusion
of a pit that appears from nowhere in full view of its potential
victim.
3. Suspicion. A situation belongs in this category if, of all
the possible
explanations for what the creature sees, an illusion is the most
probable explanation. In answering this question, be sure to remember
that the number of possible explanations is limited by the knowledge
of the creature; an isolated caveman might not even know what
an illusion is. An example of a suspicious illusion is one of a pit
that appears
out of the sight of the victim but in a place it knew to be solid
only a round ago.
4. Doubt. Here an illusion is one explanation, but other equally
probable explanations for the image exist. When a monster appears
out of thin air, it might have been summoned by a Monster Summoning
spell, or it might be an illusion; without additional information,
these alternatives are equally likely to the victim.
5. Neutrality. This is the default category for illusions neither
expected
nor unexpected under the CIRCUMSTANCES. An illusion is a possibility,
but some other explanation is more likely. If a wise and wary
troll came across a pit in a place it seldom visits, it would most likely
conclude that some worthless dwarves had dug it there. An illusion
of
a crew of archers leading the way for the party (not seen to appear out
of nowhere) is perfectly neutral and non-suspicious.
6. Expected Image. Here the circumstances actually support the
victim’s belief in the illusion. In other words, the victim sees something
it expects to see, and the possibility of an illusion hardly ever crosses
its mind. An example would be the troll known by the victims to reside
nearby — assuming, of course, they were also unaware that a party
had already slain the troll; if they learned of this fact, they would
be
strongly suspicious of the illusion.
It will be up to the DM to assess the situation each time an illusion
is
used. Once a situation’s category has been selected the table below
should be used to determine the victim’s percent chance of successfully
attempting to disbelieve the illusion:
Intelligence Situation-->
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 0 (Non-) | * | * | * | * | * | * |
| 1 (Animal) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2-4 (Semi-) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5-7 (Low) | 80 | 60 | 30 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 8-10 (Average) | 90 | 70 | 60 | 30 | 10 | 0 |
| 11-12 (Very) | 95 | 80 | 70 | 60 | 30 | 5 |
| 13-14 (High) | 100 | 90 | 80 | 70 | 40 | 10 |
| 15-16 (Exceptional) | 100 | 95 | 90 | 80 | 50 | 20 |
| 17-18 (Genius) | 100 | 100 | 95 | 90 | 60 | 30 |
| 19-20 (Supra-genius) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 95 | 70 | 40 |
| 21+ (Godlike) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 90 | 50 |
Adjustments:
+ 20% if olfactory or thermal component expected
but absent
+ 20% if audial component expected but absent
+ 10% if subject of spell is an Illusionist
-10% if victim surprised (1st round only — see below)
+ 10% if victim’s wisdom is 15 or more
Notes: The adjustments do not apply for creatures of INT 4 or less
—
their chance is always zero. For non-intelligent creatures, see discussion
below. A creature that makes its “attempt to disbelieve” percentage
then gets a saving throw to see if it actually does so.
This table is based on the intelligence/expectancy ideas developed
previously. A non-intelligent creature might enjoy immunity from illusions
under this system, since arguably such creatures have no mind
which can be affected by the spell. On the other hand, one might say
that an illusion simple enough to have meaning to a non-intelligent
creature, like a raging fire to a black pudding, could be used against
such a creature. In such a case the non-intelligent creature should
be
treated as creatures of animal and semi-intelligence are.
Speaking of which, it is the intelligence range of 1-4 that fares the
worst under this system, for these creatures are smart enough to
comprehend the subject matter of illusions but not smart enough to
grasp the concept of an illusion. Since they always believe what their
senses tell them, they should never get a saving throw versus the spell.
The only real limitation on illusions usable against these creatures
is
the “comprehension limitation” discussed below.
Creatures of intelligence 5 or higher can comprehend the unrealness
of an illusion and thus gain a percent chance of disbelieving it.
Creatures of low intelligence are quite vulnerable to plausible illusions,
whereas only an expected image would have a decent chance of fooling
a god. The adjustments following the table give some concrete
superiority to the Improved phantasmal force and Spectral force
spells. An illusionary raging fire that is totally silent and generates
no
heat when approached would allow the victims a 40% bonus on their
disbelief percentage. Similarly, a silent, collapsing ceiling would
be
“penalized” 20% (from the spell-caster’s point of view).
There are some situations in which an illusion will fail to harm its
victims regardless of their hit dice or intelligence. Of course, magicresistant
creatures who make their magic-resistance roll will not be affected
by an illusion. Creatures who cannot understand the harmful
nature of an illusion will not be affected, since the whole idea of
the
spell is that the victim’s fear of harm causes the harm to be real.
A
creature who does not understand the nature of the threat is in a position
no different from that of a creature which cannot see the illusion
at all. To a band of orcs an illusionary Sphere of Annihilation is
just a
globe of darkness, thus it should not be able to harm them. On the
same theory, creatures which rely primarily on senses other than sight,
like bats, should not be affected by an illusion unless it has a
component that has meaning to them.
In theory, the Phantasmal force spell might work — when it does
work — as follows. First, the victim perceives the illusion. Next,
the
victim understands the illusion, probably as something potentially
harmful. Then the victim either fails to disbelieve the illusion (or
more
accurately, fails to attempt to disbelieve the illusion), or misses
its
saving throw. Magical energy then does damage to the victim in accordance
with the victim’s belief of the illusion.
All four steps must be carried out for the spell to be successful. A
creature which cannot see or otherwise perceive the illusion never
gets past step one. The ignorant creature is saved by step two, at
least
as far as actual damage is concerned. A third type of problem arises
when the victim of the spell is not allowed sufficient time to go
through steps one to three. For instance, in the case of an illusionary
lightning bolt or fireball there is no time for the victim to believe
and
comprehend the illusion, since the harmful effects occur almost
instantly. A creature cannot be said to believe or disbelieve a lightning
bolt until after the bolt has come and gone. The logic of the spell
seems to require belief before harmful effect, and if we are to retain
any realism here at all, such illusions should not be possible because
minds don’t work that fast. In general, any illusion of a split-second
phenomenon should not be allowed.
Subject to these limitations, the foregoing table will give at least
some creatures a chance to save themselves from illusion spells in
a
relatively rational way. Note, however, that the table should not be
used when a dungeon creature uses an illusion against player characters;
it is up to the characters to go through the sort of reasoning discussed
here and decide to disbelieve or believe what they are seeing.
As for dungeon creatures, each should be given its own disbelief roll
and saving throw, though 5- or 10-creature collective saving throws
could be used when individual rolls would be too much work. In the
case of a continuing illusion, a new disbelief roll should be made
each
round, and each new roll should take into account changes in the
situation. A creature which is still within an illusion of a raging
fire by
the second round, assuming it did not save against the spell in the
first
round, would get its second round roll in category six, since the creature
believes the illusion and expects to get burned again if it remains
within the fire. If, however, an associate were to call out that the
fire
was an illusion, the second-round roll would be in category one. Note
also that any penalty for lack of a thermal component would be
negated on the second and following rounds, since the creature “got
burned” on the first round. The purpose of a thermal component is to
make the creature feel the heat as it approaches the illusionary fire,
thereby reinforcing its belief that the flames are real. Similar reasoning
should be applied to the other penalties as well.
As the foregoing discussion shows, the Phantasmal force spell can
give rise to complex problems when used in actual play. But things
aren’t as bad as all that. The hard part will obviously be picking
a
category that correctly matches the situation. A DM who feels
uncertain about which grade of expectancy to choose can always
open the floor for argument from the players, assuming that the
players have something worthwhile to say. Most illusions will fall
into
classes 1,5, or 6. The other categories exist primarily to catch thoughtless
players who design incredible illusions, and it should not be necessary
to invoke them often in a good campaign.
One nagging problem remains unsolved by this system. Take two
parties of 5 first-level characters each. Neither party has any magic
items, and both are identical except for the fact that the second party
has a first-level Illusionist with it, instead of an additional Fighter.
Suppose that the first party encounters a Hill Giant as a wandering
monster. Chances are they will have to flee, possibly with casualties,
unless they are extremely lucky in melee. The second party, by
contrast, has their Illusionist cast an illusion of a 1”x2”x4” pit
of
sharpened stakes in the path of the charging giant. From the table,
the
giant stands a 40% chance of believing the illusion outright. If he
fails
to attempt to disbelieve, he must then make his saving throw or fall
in
the illusionary pit and take 6-36 points of damage (4-24 for the fall,
2-
12 for the stakes). After a few flasks of flaming oil and perhaps a
round or two of melee, the giant has had it. Thus, the party with the
Illusionist
is a great deal more powerful than the other party, and will
gain experience a lot faster.
The point of this example is that the Phantasmal force spell is too
powerful to be a first-level spell. Its damage-doing effectiveness
puts it
on a par with Hypnotic Pattern, Blindness, Stinking Cloud, and Web,
and it deserves to be ranked as a second-level Illusionist spell. If
you
decide to do this for your campaign, Improved phantasmal force must
be made a third-level spell, and Spectral force must become a fourthlevel
spell. As a consolation to first-level Illusionists, there could be
the
creation of a new first-level spell, Phantasmal Images. This spell
is
similar to a Phantasmal force in all respects, save that it cannot
do
actual damage to the viewing creatures. This by no means makes it
useless, for in combination with an Audible glamer or Ventriloquism
spell it can have great intimidation value in the hands of ingenious
players. Even without such extras, an illusionary wall still looks
solid.
The Magic-User Phantasmal force spell is fine where it is. The Magic-
User’s lack of facility with illusion/phantasm spells explains its
3rd.
level rating.
OUT ON A LIMB
Phantasmal
phiguring
Sir:
“Now you see it....” (issue #43) was a great
article, and I hope that you continue with your
present policy of crowding many high-quality
features into each issue of Dragon magazine.
The Phantasmal Force spell is currently not
allowed in our campaign, however, because
some aspects of it that need further explain-
ing. Sure, anyone failing their saving throw
for disbelief takes damage as if the illusion
had been real, but what about non-damaging
situations? For instance, Phantasmal force is
used to create a high-level Cleric to dispense
some Heals around the party. If belief can
cause wounds, then belief should be able to
cure as well. Also, if your character can fall
into and take damage from an illusionary pit,
then your character should be able to cross
an illusionary bridge. It is this ambiguity
about Phantasmal Force that makes the spell
sheer dynamite, not merely its damage-inflicting
aspect.
I think that since it is belief that accounts
for the damage done, then perhaps it is the
unused four-fifths of the brain that is the
power source. It could be argued then that
anything possible through the use of psionics
can be accomplished by phantasmal force.
Of course, the hidden portion of the brain is
most likely unused for one good reason or
another, and drawing on it for anything might
result in depleting the character’s endurance
prematurely. When causing damage to a
monster or character it makes no difference,
since most characters will rest when they’re
wounded (if they’re able to) anyhow. However,
illusionary healings and levitating over
bridges that only exist in the mind would wear
out one’s brain power pretty quickly.
Hopefully, other players and DMs can provide
more feedback on this subject. As I hope
I’ve shown, Phantasmal Force is too vaguely
described to be used in a game that appeals
to as creative an audience as it was intended
for.
David Wainwright
Hollis, N.Y.
(Dragon #46)
Hold
On to Your Illusions!
Keeping illusions (and illusionists)
in balance
by Brian Tillotson
| How illusions work | The image: mental or physical? | Illusory damage: mind over matter | Disbelief: denying the image | - |
| Illusions in the game | Subconscious disbelief | Conscious disbelief | Modifiers to disbelief rolls | Damage from illusory spell effects |
| - | Illusory creatures in combat | Noncombat illusions | Illusory magical items | Invisibility |
| Summary |
Table of Modifiers to Saves Against Illusions
| Illusion's condition | Saving-throw modifier |
| Illusion is cast by an opponent believed to be an illusionist | +1 |
| Illusory creature appears from thin air | +1 |
| Illusory creature or effect is the same as a real creature or effect already used by opponent | -2 |
| Illusory situation is obviously inappropriate (e.g. orcs and elves working together, fireball underwater) | +2 |
| Illusion lacks important sensory component | +1 per missing sense |
| Illusion is of a "normal" creature, but it is unharmed by weapons | +1, +1 per plus of weapon |
| Illusion is of a "normal" creature, but it is unharmed by magic | +2 |
| Illusion is of a stationary object (e.g., a wall) | -1 |
| Illusion is seen poorly (e.g. through fog or over distance) | -1 to -4 |
| Illusionist has never seen creature or effect which he depicts in illusion | +4 |
| Viewer's ally claims to have disbelieved illusion | +4 |
| Viewer is a cavalier | +2 |
Illusions can be one of the
most flexible
and creative aspects of
the AD&D® game,
yet many DMs would rather
shake hands
with a wraith than referee
an illusionist
PC. The official rules provide
no limits to
the power of illusion spells.
As a result,
the histories of many campaigns
include
one battle in which a low-level
illusionist
single-handedly demolished
a powerful
foe. This battle is usually
followed by so
many DM-imposed restrictions
that illu-
sions become useless in
the campaign.
When can PCs or NPCs disbelieve
illu-
sions? How much damage can
an illusion
do? How complex can an illusion
be? This
article looks at how illusions
work, and
describes rules for using
illusions without
upsetting game balance or
restricting
creativity. Most of the
article applies to the
phantasmal force family
of spells, but
other illusion/phantasm
powers are dis-
cussed as needed.
In this article, “illusionist”
means anyone
who creates and controls
illusions. This
individual does not have
to be a member
of the illusionist class.
Magic-users may
choose phantasmal force
as a third-level
spell, master thieves may
cast illusions
from scrolls, and some monsters
and
magical items may create
illusions.
The image: mental or physical?
A visual illusion is an
image without
substance. It cannot affect
objects or crea-
tures that do not perceive
the image. But
is the image itself real?
Does it reflect and
absorb light as a photograph
or painting
would, or does it exist
only in the minds of
its victims? Official publications
give no
explicit answer, but there
are two reasons
The answer to whether the
image is
imaginary or real determines
how illusions
work in a campaign. If the
image exists
only in viewers’ minds,
then the DM might
Second, projecting illusory
images into
viewers’ minds seems unreasonably
pow-
erful. According to the
PH,
page 75, “all
believing creatures which
view
the phantasmal force” are
affected
by it. The viewers can be
at any distance,
and need not be known to
the illusionist.
To affect all viewers’ minds
directly re-
quires magic to reach over
tremendous
range and area, and into
an unlimited
number of minds. (Consider
an illusion of
a flying dragon viewed from
miles away
by a large army.) Further,
each viewer’s
image must be different
to account for
distance and viewing angle.
This unique
perspective must be handled
automatically
by the spell because the
illusionist might
not know where all the viewers
are. If
that’s how it works, then
phantasmal force
and its kin are powerful
spells indeed!
Illusions seem more reasonable
if they
work like mobile three-dimensional
paint-
ings. Painting with magic,
the illusionist
creates an image which is
seen by the
viewers’ eyes. The magic
is restricted in
range and area of effect.
The illusionist
need not locate all the
viewers; anyone
who looks at the illusion
will see the image
with the correct perspective.
First, if illusions directly
affect the mind
of the viewer, then they
should be blocked
by techniques which protect
the mind.
However, no mental defenses
are effective
against illusions. As examples,
the psionic
discipline mind bar and
the spell Serten’s
spell immunity are each
effective against
many mental invasions, yet
neither is
described as defending against
illusions.
Thus, illusions are unlike
mental attacks.
to believe that illusions
are as visible to the
eye as to the mind.
<>
rule that the illusion cannot
be seen by
viewers of whom the illusionist
is un-
aware, or that only a limited
number of
viewers can be affected.
If the image is
real, then the image should
be visible even
when viewers know that it
is an illusion.
In that case, illusions
could be used for
special visual effects,
such as obscuring a
view or providing light.
This encourages
creative, nonviolent uses
of illusionist
magic, which is another
good reason to
choose the “real image”
interpretation
In the rest of this article,
it is assumed
that illusory images are
real. This interpre-
tation applies only to the
phantasmal force
family of spells. Some illusion/phantasm
spells, such as spook and
phantasmal
killer, are obviously mental
attacks.
Purely audible illusions,
most of which
are cantrips, are harder
to interpret. Offi-
cially, a successful saving
throw (or disbe-
lief roll, in the case of
audible glamer)
makes the target unable
to hear the
sound. This seems like a
mental effect. As
discussed above, however,
this is inconsis-
tent with what is known
about mental
attacks and defenses. Furthermore,
it is
unlikely that audiovisual
illusions such as
improved phantasmal force
would have
real visual images but mental
sound ef-
fects. A more reasonable
interpretation is
that auditory illusions
produce real
sounds. A successful saving
throw reveals
that the sound’s cause is
magical, but does
not make the sound inaudible.
Illusory damage: mind
over matter
The greatest source of conflict
about
illusions is their ability
to do damage. How
can an image with no substance
hurt
anyone? The answer is that
it can’t – but
the victim’s mind can.
to fear or stress are not
always healthy.
People who narrowly escape
injury are
often left weak and trembling.
Many faint;
a few actually die of fear.
Luckily, this
mental trauma is usually
short-lived. The
victim looks himself over,
sees that he is
unhurt, and begins to feel
better.
With illusions, the victim
gets no such
relief. Consider a typical
case: John the
Stealthy sees the white-hot
flames of a
fireball erupt about him.
This is upsetting
in itself, but in addition,
John’s clothes and
hair vaporize as he watches,
and his skin
blisters and chars before
his eyes. Need-
less to say, John is going
to be pretty
shaken up by the experience.
Illusions that
depict wounds with images
of blood and
gore should leave any believer
weak and
shaken, corresponding to
a loss of hit
points. Some victims would
be rendered
unconscious, and the weak-hearted
few
might even die.
DMs could leave it at that,
letting illu-
sions do damage to the point
of uncon-
sciousness, but rarely or
never letting
them kill. This has a number
of advan-
tages for the campaign.
It gives charitable
DMs a way to defeat characters
without
destroying them; it also
lets a party of
Even in the real world,
human reactions
good characters capture enemies
and
collect loot without being
wanton killers.
The official view seems
to be that illu-
sions cannot kill, as shown
by case 14.10
of the BATTLESYSTEM™ supplement
(page
26): “Illusions that do
‘killing’ damage
actually only put their
victims into a cata-
leptic state.” Unfortunately,
the duration
and effects of catalepsy
are not defined. A
reasonable choice is to
use the definition
of unconsciousness
on page 82 of the
DMG, (i.e., the creature
remains in a coma
for 1d6 turns and thereafter
requires at
least one week of rest).
The wounds caused by an illusion
need
not be imaginary. A creature
damaged by
an illusion must touch or
be touched by
part of the image (i.e.,
the creature must
be in the area of magical
effect). Suppose
that illusion magic does
more than create
a visible image: It gives
power to victims’
minds to create real injuries
on their
bodies. Illusions like this
can injure as well
as frighten. This is a reasonable
interpre-
tation, since the description
of the illusion-
ist spell mirage arcane
states: “As with all
powerful illusions, the
mind of the be-
holder will cause appropriate
effects upon
the viewer’s body.” An illusion
would not
immediately kill a victim,
since the mind
would stop creating wounds
when zero hit
points was reached. However,
unconscious
victims with real wounds
could bleed to
death unless they received
aid within 10
rounds (DMG, page
82).
Illusions powerful enough
to inflict real
wounds might also be used
for healing. If
a character expects a cure
light wounds
spell and sees wounds being
healed, his
mind might cause actual
healing if the
illusion is not detected.
Of course, situa-
tions where the injured
character truly
would not suspect illusory
healing are
rare. An example would be
a badly
wounded PC meeting a kindly
stranger
who claims to be a cleric,
but is really an
illusionist.
Note that the damage potential
of illu-
sions comes from both the
mind and the
eyes acting together. Thus,
creatures
which do not see the illusion
due to blind-
ness, sleep, or unconsciousness
cannot be
harmed. Likewise, unintelligent
creatures
such as dinosaurs, insects,
and slimes
cannot be damaged directly
by illusions
because they are too stupid
to understand
that they should be hurt.
Indirect harm is
still possible, of course.
For example, a
skeleton is too mindless
to be harmed by
an illusory fireball, but
would take damage
if the creature fell into
a pit concealed by
an illusion.
Disbelief: denying
the image
The essence of an illusion’s
power is
belief, so a good defense
against illusions is
disbelief. Successful disbelief
occurs when
the observer is convinced
that what he
sees is not real, despite
the evidence of his
senses.
For disbelief to be possible,
there must
be differences between each
illusion and
One problem with illusions
is deciding
when characters should try
to disbelieve.
Player characters should
have a chance to
notice errors, but the illusion
should not
be obvious. To meet this
need, some DMs
give lengthy descriptions
of every object
and creature the party meets.
This tech-
nique taxes a player’s patience
and bur-
dens the DM with excessive
preparation
time. Alternatives are to
never give the
party a clue, or to risk
giving everything
away with clues like “John
thinks the
toads hop funny.”
The problem of NPC disbelief
is even
more difficult. To always
try to disbelieve
is unfair to the PC illusionist.
To never
disbelieve is unfair to
the NPC. To play it
by ear is sticky business:
Try as you might
to be objective, it’s hard
to forget that
what the NPC sees isn’t
real, and it’s even
tougher to convince your
players that
you’re being reasonable.
The disbelief system presented
here
applies to both PCs and
NPCs; it is based
on the idea of subconsciously
detecting
and interpreting errors.
Detecting an
error means that the character’s
mind
notices something unusual
about the im-
age – perhaps the way a
monster moves.
Interpreting an error means
finding some
way to explain it; is the
creature an illu-
sion, or is it just limping?
Detecting errors
and interpreting them are
different
events. More intelligent
and skilled illu-
sionists make fewer errors,
and more
intelligent viewers are
better at spotting
errors. Interpreting an
error as an illusion
(i.e., disbelieving) is
a function of experi-
ence and willpower.
To see how good the image
is, the DM
subtracts a secretly rolled
1d20 from the
sum of the illusionist’s
intelligence and
Subconscious disbelief
Illusions in the game
the reality it simulates.
The scales on a
dragon may be the wrong
shape, or a
soldier’s feet might not
touch the ground.
Spell-casters of higher
level and greater
intelligence can minimize
these differ-
ences, but an intelligent
observer might
still notice them. Noticing
some peculiar
feature, the observer might
attempt to
disbelieve. This need not
be a conscious
act – the viewer might suddenly
realize
that the troglodyte he is
fighting doesn’t
smell bad enough to be genuine.
Disbelief is automatic if
a viewer touches
the illusion and it doesn’t
respond realisti-
cally (e.g., someone swings
a sword
through a goblin without
even getting its
attention). According to
the description of
phantasmal
force in the Players Hand-
book, “the
illusion lasts until struck by an
opponent
–unless the spell-caster causes
the
illusion to react appropriately.” If the
illusionist is controlling
the image and
causes it to react – blood
spurts, rock
chips fly, a character appears
to walk
across a bridge, etc. –
then disbelief is not
automatic.
<>
level. The result is called
the image quality.
Any viewer whose intelligence
is greater
than the image quality detects
an error,
and that viewer’s subconscious
immedi-
ately tries to disbelieve
(i.e., interpret) the
image. The disbelief roll
is a standard
saving throw vs. spells,
with magical-
attack adjustments for wisdom.
Like the
error-detection roll, it
is secretly rolled by
the DM.
If the illusion-caster is
not a member of
the illusionist class, the
character’s level
for purposes of the image-quality
roll is
less than his actual level.
The effective
level for magic-users is
two lower than the
actual level, just as for
the fourth-level
magic-user spell dispel
illusion. A high-
level thief has a 25% chance
of failure
with a scroll, so a thief’s
effective level is
five lower than his thief
level. Creatures
that use magical items to
create and con-
trol illusions are effectively
zero level,
unless they can also cast
illusion spells –
in which case, a monster’s
hit dice equate
to illusionist level directly.
A deck of illu-
sions controls itself; it
is effectively 12th
level with an intelligence
of 15.
Each sufficiently intelligent
viewer has
an automatic chance to disbelieve
when he
first observes an illusion.
For example, a
7th-level illusionist with
15 intelligence
casts a spectral
force which is seen by a
fighter, a magic-user, and
a thief. A 20-
sided die is rolled and
comes up 9. Sub-
tracting this from the illusionist’s
level and
intelligence total yields
an image quality of
[(7 + 15) – 9 = ] 13. The
fighter’s intelligence
of 9 is too low, but the
magic-user’s is 17
and the thief’s is 14. Thus
the magic-user
and the thief, but not the
fighter, have
detected errors and get
an automatic
attempt to disbelieve the
illusion.
Normally, there is only one
subconscious
attempt to disbelieve for
each sufficiently
intelligent viewer. More
attempts to disbe-
lieve occur if the illusion
and the viewer
come into contact (e.g.,
an illusory fireball
bursts among the party,
or a character
touches an illusory wall).
If only one im-
portant sense component
(usually touch) is
missing, then a disbelief
roll is made for
viewers whose intelligence
is higher than
the image quality. If more
than one impor-
tant sense component is
missing, the
viewer gets a disbelief
roll regardless of
intelligence. If disbelief
fails, the viewer
does not recognize the illusion.
Successful
disbelief means that the
viewer recognizes
the illusion, and any illusory
attack in
progress causes no damage
to the viewer.
Damage remains from any
previous at-
tacks which were not disbelieved.
Which sense components are
important
depends on the image, the
viewer, and
other conditions. For example,
when
touching a wall created
by phantasmal
force, touch is the only
important missing
sense. The same illusory
wall would be
missing two important senses
if the viewer
knocked on it to produce
a sound. A fire-
ball involves mainly visual,
tactile, audi-
tory, and thermal senses,
only one of
which is missing from a spectral
force
spell. Blows struck by illusory
monsters
should include sound as
well as touch.
Dragons
have an acute sense of smell
(Monster Manual, page 29),
so smell is <also, make note at DSG:Scent> <in other words, they
are very hard to surprise>
important for any illusion
which affects a
dragon.
To continue the scenario
above, let us
assume that the magic-user
and the thief
failed to disbelieve the
illusion at first
sight, so all characters
believe the image.
The illusion depicts a blue
dragon which
breathes on the three. The
lightning
breath normally includes
visual, tactile,
auditory, and thermal aspects.
Only one of
these, the tactile sense,
is missing from
spectral force, so only
the magic-user and
the thief get a subconscious
attempt to
disbelieve. The magic-user
succeeds, so
she takes no damage and
knows that the
dragon is an illusion. If
she can communi-
cate this to the others,
they receive a +4
on any subsequent attempt
to disbelieve.
The fighter and the thief
attack the dragon
with swords. The thief hits,
so he gets
another automatic chance
to disbelieve. If
he succeeds, he is still
wounded from the
dragon’s first attack.
Beings with superhuman intelligence
automatically detect some
illusions. Ac-
cording to DDG, page
7, beings
with 19
or higher intelligence automati-
cally detect first-level
illusions; those with
20 intelligence detect second-level
illu-
sions, etc. The level of
the illusion depends
on its level as an illusionist
spell. This
means that phantasmal force
cast by a
magic-user is a first-level
illusion, not
third. Cantrips are zero-level
spells, so
illusion cantrips are automatically
detected
by creatures with 18/51
or higher intelli-
gence (as might be obtained
by using wish
spells, as per the DMG,
page 11).
Conscious
disbelief
The disbelief attempts described
above
occur automatically, secretly,
and instantly
(in game time). Player characters,
of
course, may attempt to disbelieve
at any
time. To prevent a chorus
of “I disbelieve!”
on every encounter, explain
that a charac-
ter can do nothing else
during the round
Conscious disbelief requires
only a save
vs. spells. A character
(or player) who
decides to disbelieve has
already noticed
something peculiar or has
been told that
the image is an illusion,
so image quality is
irrelevant to the decision.
Conscious disbe-
lief is often necessary
for thick-witted
characters, since their
low intelligence is
unlikely to exceed any reasonable
image
quality. A conscious attempt
at disbelief in
no way reduces the character’s
chance to
subconsciously disbelieve.
A special form of conscious
disbelief
occurs when a clever or
desperate charac-
ter decides to close his
eyes. Unable to see,
the character might to be
unharmed if a
pending attack is an illusion
with only
visual components. This
is a reasonable
tactic for someone like
a lst-level thief
who thinks (or hopes) that
the huge red
dragon in front of him might
be an illu-
sion After all, he is unlikely
to make his
The character is always
free to disbe-
lieve new developments when
they affect
him (e.g., a fighter who
has already at-
tacked an orc during a round
may none-
theless choose to disbelieve
if the orc
suddenly uses a fiery breath
weapon).
Spell-casting is not disrupted
if the spell-
caster successfully disbelieves
an attack
either consciously or subconsciously.
he attempts to disbelieve.
This is because
the character hasn’t spotted
anything
wrong with the image, and
must spend
time looking –looking hard
– for errors,
and deciding whether any
errors are
significant. For example,
when blasted by
some magical effect, a character
may
attempt to disbelieve voluntarily.
If suc-
cessful, the character recognizes
the illu-
sion and takes no damage.
If the disbelief
fails or the effect turns
out to be real, the
character receives no saving
throw, be-
cause while everyone else
was jumping
out of the way, he was standing
there
looking for errors in the
image. Likewise,
if the character chooses
to disbelieve an
attacking monster, the character
may not
attack and may not use shield
or dexterity
to defend against that monster
during that
round. The character can
still defend
against attacks from other
opponents.
<>
disbelief roll either consciously
or subcon-
sciously, and saving vs.
breath weapon
would only change the texture
of ashes he
leaves behind. The character
must close
his eyes before the DM announces
an
attack; if he waits to see
what the attack
is, he will be affected
by it. A character
who avoids damage this way
has not suc-
cessfully disbelieved an
illusion. He can
still be harmed by the illusion
if it attacks
when he opens his eyes.
Naturally, closing
one’s eyes in combat gives
opponents who
are not illusory lots of
nasty ideas.
Modifiers
to disbelief rolls
Many factors affect the
difficulty of
disbelieving an illusion.
In general, any-
thing which increases or
decreases the
doubt in a viewer’s mind
affects the
chance to disbelieve. The
list of modifiers
in the table with this article
cannot be
complete, but it should
give a general idea.
All factors are assumed
to provide bo-
nuses or penalties to the
disbelief roll.
Some might be more appropriate
as modi-
fiers to the image quality,
but that would
merely complicate matters.
All but the last two modifiers
listed here
are suggestions – use them,
change them,
or ignore them as you see
fit. For example,
illusory creatures popping
in from thin air
normally give viewers +
1 to disbelieve,
but if a monster summoning
spell had
recently been used, viewers
would disbe-
lieve at–2 because they
have already
seen a similar effect. An
illusory creature
unharmed by a lightning
bolt would nor-
mally add +2 to disbelief
rolls, but not if it
were a magic-resistant creature
like a
mind flayer.
Damage from illusory spell
effects
When a damaging illusion
is believed,
damage is determined randomly.
The
illusionist can only dictate
the image;
damage is determined by
the victim’s
mind. Level-dependent effects,
such as the
number of damage dice for
a fireball,
operate at the actual level
of the spell-
caster, regardless of class.
If the illusion is
created by a magical item,
use the appro-
priate level for an item
of that kind (e.g.,
6th level for a wand).
To understand this limitation,
consider
that the only visible difference
between a
5-HD fireball and a l0-HD
fireball is the
intensity of the flame.
Low-level illusion-
ists are not skillful enough
to simulate the
intensity of more powerful
spells. Do not
waver on this point; a low-level
character
doing 20 or more dice of
damage per
round will wreck a campaign
faster than
any magical item.
Unlike normal spells, an
illusory magical
effect can be repeated from
round to
round, doing additional
damage. Fortu-
nately, this process is
self-limiting, since an
intelligent victim usually
receives a disbe-
lief roll for every attack.
Otherwise, the
effect only stops when the
illusionist is
attacked or decides to stop.
A single illusion spell can
create only one
kind of effect. To switch
from fireballs to
lightning bolts, the illusionist
must cast a
new illusion. Note that
there is no reason
that an illusory magical
effect should
appear to come from the
illusionist. An
illusory fireball could
originate anywhere
within the illusion’s area
of effect. The
illusionist is free to draw
attention away
from himself by appearing
to do nothing
while some unseen agent
demolishes the
opposition.
Illusory creatures
in combat
An important issue is that
of how many
separate creatures one illusion
can in-
clude. Can a 6th-level illusionist
conjure up
an army of 20 paladins,
each armed with a
long sword + 5, Holy Avenger?
It could be
done, but the illusion might
not be very
believable if any fighting
takes place. In
combat, the illusionist
must control each
illusory being’s attempts
to hit, simulate
injury on both the bogus
creature and its
opponent, and control attempts
to dodge
opponents’ blows. When a
blow is not
dodged, the illusionist
must create a con-
vincing image of bloody
death. Each of
these effects taxes the
illusionist’s skill,
concentration, and stamina.
An illusionist can control
illusory crea-
tures with as many hit dice
as he has
levels (e.g., a 6th-level
illusionist could
create and control six 1-HD
beings, one 6-
HD being, etc. This limit
reflects the ability
of the illusionist to control
the many de-
tails of combat. Higher-level
illusionists
have more skill. Human and
demi-human
creations can be used; the
difference
between illusory lst-level
fighters and
10th-level fighters is the
skill with which
the illusionist handles
them in combat.
Created creatures must be
all of one spe-
cies, but may differ in
equipment, hit dice,
and tactics.
If the illusionist exceeds
the hit-dice
limit, then details are
being neglected and
all opponents get an automatic
attempt to
disbelieve during every
round of combat.
(This is in addition to
any other disbelief
attempts to which the viewers
may be
entitled.) The illusionist
can control twice
as many hit dice of illusory
creatures if
none of the creatures are
in combat. (This
can be used as a bluff.)
The illusionist must roll
to hit for each
illusory being‘s attack,
since he can control
the attempt to hit but not
the victim’s
attempts to dodge or parry.
Use the appro-
priate attack matrix for
each creature’s hit
dice or level. High-level
illusory cavaliers
and fighters get multiple
attacks appropri-
ate to their level, but
weapon specializa-
tion or bonuses for strength,
weapon of
choice, or race do not apply.
Damage is
determined randomly, as
appropriate for
the creature or weapon.
Sufficiently intel-
ligent opponents get a disbelief
roll when-
ever the illusion hits or
is hit.
The armor class of illusory
creatures is
the same as for normal creatures
of the
same type. Illusory warriors
may be
equipped with whatever armor
the illu-
<>
Armor class and hit points
are rather
fuzzy concepts for semi-invulnerable
creatures such as lycanthropes
and for
regenerative creatures such
as trolls.
Disbelief rolls are made
whenever a crea-
ture should be hit – thus,
if a viewer
strikes a bogus werewolf
but appears to
do no damage, he still receives
a subcon-
scious attempt to disbelieve
(regardless of
intelligence, if more than
one sensory
component is missing). Regeneration
re-
duces the initial hit points
available. For
example, a 9th-level illusionist
conjures a
troll; 45 hit points are
rolled. The illusion-
ist gives the troll 25 hit
points initially. If
the troll is wounded, up
to 20 hit points
can be restored by regeneration.
Beyond
that, the troll cannot regenerate.
The illusionist may choose
to combine
an illusory magical effect
with illusory
creatures (e.g., a bogus
magic-user could
appear to cast a spell).
In such a case, the
level of the magical effect
must be sub-
tracted from the hit dice
available to the
creatures.
An anomaly of illusions in
melee is that
illusory creatures do not
get parting blows
when an opponent turns to
flee. The oppo-
nent has turned his back,
so he cannot see
the illusion and therefore
cannot be hurt
by it. Likewise, an illusory
thief cannot
backstab.
<>
– not just direct opponents
– attempt to
disbelieve every round that
the creature
remains active.
The DM should decide how
the total hit
points for all creatures
in an illusion are
determined (e.g., a random
roll: 1d8 for
monsters, 1d10 for fighters,
etc., or always
5 hp per hit die). The illusionist
assigns
these initial hit points
to individuals as he
sees fit, since the illusionist
decides how
much effort is expended
in each creature’s
defense. When an illusory
creature
reaches zero hit points,
the illusionist’s
mental fatigue is so great
that he cannot
make the creature evade
the death blow.
If the creature fails to
fall dead, all viewers
sionist chooses. No magical
or dexterity
bonuses are allowed unless
the total illu-
sory hit dice are reduced
by the amount of
the bonus.
Effective use of illusions
in combat re-
quires the illusionist to
concentrate on the
details of the battle. The
spell pro-
grammed illusion can create
an illusion of
creatures performing some
action, but
cannot react to opponents.
Programmed
creatures are as likely
to attack the air as
to strike an opponent. Similarly,
if the
illusionist stops concentrating
on an im-
proved phantasmal force
or spectral force
spell, fighting degenerates
to programmed
action for the duration
of the spell. Any-
one who strikes a programmed
creature
recognizes the illusion.
Even a pro-
grammed dragon breath would
be rela-
tively harmless because
there would be no
way to simulate injury.
Each victim re-
ceives an automatic attempt
to disbelieve;
those who fail take only
half the normal
damage. (These limitations
do not apply to
the spell shadow monsters
and its descen-
dants, which create semireal
monsters
that react to opponents.)
The effectiveness of illusions
in combat
is usually limited by the
chance for victims
to disbelieve whenever damage
is done.
Illusions are often more
effective if used to
confuse or mislead rather
than injure. In
such cases, disbelief becomes
irrelevant.
A single illusion spell
can simulate one
significant effect. For
example, one illusion
could cover a pit with illusory
grass. An-
other could create an illusory
building,
light an area as if by a
light spell, or create
a wall of fog. Of course,
the object or
effect must be no larger
than the illusion
spell’s area of effect.
Illusions are useful for
defensive con-
cealment. An illusory wall
with arrow slits
would offer no physical
protection, but it
would give 90% concealment
to archers,
thus improving their armor
class by four.
This would be true even
if all opponents
knew that the wall was an
illusion, since
the image of the wall would
continue to
conceal the archers.
An illusion can effectively
blind an oppo-
nent. An illusory darkness
spell would be
impossible to see through,
even if the
opponent recognized it as
an illusion spell.
Noncombat illusions
Unlike regular darkness,
the illusion can
move anywhere within range,
continuing
to cover the opponent.
Illusory magical items
Illusions can include magical
items
which produce visible effects
(such as
wands). The power of these
devices is
limited by the illusionist’s
level, just as for
an illusory spell. A 1st-level
illusionist can
create an illusory wand
of fireballs, but it
can only do 1d6 hp damage.
The level of
the magical item is subtracted
from the
total hit dice that the
illusionist can control
in melee (e.g., a 6th-level
illusionist could
blast opponents with bogus
5-HD lightning
bolts from an illusory wand
wielded by a
bogus 1st-level spell-caster).
Illusory magical items can
enhance an
illusion’s credibility.
For example, casting
six fireballs in a row is
pretty unlikely
unless the spell-caster
is using a wand.
Illusory magical weapons
are also possi-
ble. If a fighter hits an
elemental and
causes a visible wound,
the elemental is
likely to conclude that
the fighter’s
weapon is magical – even
if both the
fighter and the wound are
illusions, and
the illusionist doesn’t
know that magical
weapons are needed to hit
elementals. The
exact weapon bonus would
be difficult to
guess from the image, so
the DM should
roll 1d4 to see what bonus
the victim
Some players may want to
use phantas-
mal
force as an invisibility spell. Both
spells belong to the class
of illusion/
phantasm magic, but they
are quite dissim-
ilar. Phantasmal force is
a general-purpose
spell that is maintained
by concentration
and can be used to attack;
invisibility is
highly specialized, requires
no concentra-
tion, and is dispelled by
aggressive acts.
Despite these differences,
the DM may
decide to allow illusory
invisibility. If so,
the result will differ from
the invisibility
spell. Illusory invisibility
lasts only as long
as the illusionist concentrates
(or for a few
extra rounds if improved
phantasmal
force or spectral force
is used). The area
of effect and range are
the same as for
phantasmal force.
Inanimate as well as animate
objects
could be made invisible.
Many objects
could be made invisible
as long as all re-
main within the area of
effect. Unless its
eyes remain visible, an
invisible creature is
effectively blind because
light does not
reach its eyes. Disbelief
does not reveal
In visibility
<>
thinks the weapon has. Add
this number
to the illusionist’s damage
roll. Note that
the number must be sufficient
to hit the
creature (e.g., at least
+2 for an elemen-
tal). The “weapon” has no
actual bonus, so
the illusionist’s unmodified
“to hit” roll
must be sufficient to hit
the victim.
the hidden object’s identity,
but will let the
viewer know that he sees
an illusion.
True invisibility is a good
defense against
illusory attack. The illusionist
cannot cre-
ate visible wounds on an
invisible victim.
Indeed, the illusionist
doesn’t even know
when the creature has been
hit, so illusory
attackers do not react correctly.
If the
invisible creature is hit
by an illusion, treat
it as a programmed attack:
The invisible
creature automatically attempts
to disbe-
lieve, and takes only half
normal damage if
disbelief fails.
An illusionist cloaked in
a normal invisi-
bility spell is revealed
when attacking,
even if the attack is carried
out by an
illusory creature. Merely
casting an illu-
sion does not constitute
an attack. Only
when the illusion is used
to actively dam-
age its viewers will the
illusionist’s invisi-
bility be dispelled.
Summary
The system presented here
solves some
problems and helps bring
illusions into
balance with other forms
of magic. Disbe-
lief is handled consistently.
Damage and
complexity of illusions
are proportional to
the illusionist’s skill.
Low-level illusionists
can befuddle stupid opponents
or damage
weak ones; high-level illusionists
can fool
nearly anyone. Members of
the illusionist
class can use better illusion
spells to dam-
age powerful opponents.
No system covers every possibility
that
can arise when creative
players use a spell
like phantasmal force that
“can create the
illusion of any object,
or creature, or
force. . . .”Decide what
the principles of
illusory magic are in your
campaign, then
make sure your players are
aware of them
before illusions are used.
When a situation
comes up which the system
doesn’t cover,
keep the game friendly by
not using ques-
tionable techniques until
you reach some
agreement on how such techniques
will
work. Enjoyment of the game
is a coopera-
tive venture; with a little
understanding
from the players and the
DM, illusions can
add a lot of spice to an
interesting world.
[For another view on saving-throw
modi-
fiers for illusions, see
Illusory Solutions,”
by Matt Battison, in this
issue of DRAGON®
Magazine.]
THE FORUM
I've been
DMing my campaign for close on
three years now, and in
all that time there has
never been a problem that
the DMG, DRAGON
Magazine, and good old common
sense couldn?t
conquer ? until now. My
problem is disbeliev-
ing illusions.
Disbelief is a thorn in the
side of my players, as
it is the only effective
tool for dealing with high-
level illusion, be it generated
by an illusionist or a
magic item. For example,
take the 3rd level
magic-user spell phantasmal
force. According to
the spell description, ?creatures
which disbelieve
gain a saving throw versus
the spell, and if they
succeed, they see it for
what it is and add +4 to
associates? saving throws
if this knowledge can be
communicated. . . .? Presumably,
the character
in question must say ?I
disbelieve the [pit, mon-
ster, wall of flame]? after
which they roll their
normal saving throw to escape
the effects. So far,
so good.
But what if they try to disbelieve
the effects of
the spell after it has already
dealt damage to
them? Suppose a fighter
character, having fallen
into an illusory pit and
taken several hit points
damage, states disbelief
and tries for a saving
throw. If the throw succeeds,
will that erase the
damage already done?
For the phantasmal
killer spell, the intelligence
of the victim becomes a
factor, whereas for the
shadow monsters and
demi-shadow monsters
spells, the regular saving
throw is applied. For
many illusions, ?special?
is the only entry under
?saving throw?; to deal
with this, I have been
asking players to roll 3d6
and score lower than
their character?s intelligence
to successfully disbe-
lieve an illusion. Should
a regular saving throw
also apply in the ?special?
cases, or what?
Lastly, another DM I know
insists that disbelief
is automatic, while I maintain
that the character
in question must state disbelief,
and furthermore,
once a character fails to
see an illusion as merely
phantasmal, he or she cannot
ever be shown the
true nature of that particular
illusion.
Is there some rule of thumb
that can be applied
to the various sorts of
illusions and phantasms?
Have I completely missed
the boat on something
obvious?
David W. Sisk
(Dragon #87)
* * * *
Regarding Mr. Sisk's letter
in issue #87, it has
been my experience that
a PC, once he or she has
taken damage from the phantasmal
force spell, is
?stuck with it? and it cannot
be reversed (though
a properly phrased
wish spell, of course, would be
an exception). One of the
phrases is ?The illusion
lasts until struck by an
opponent . . .? which
means that the illusion
will not cause damage
over and over again because
once the character
hits the ?pit,? the
illusion lasts long enough for
causing damage once,
then it is immediately
dispelled. This also means
the character cannot
state disbelief at that
time because the spell would
no longer exist at this
point.
Most saving throws are versus
spells, unless
otherwise stated. If it
is not stated in the text of
the spell, then I would
rule that the character
must state he or she is
disbelieving and roll a d20,
otherwise characters with
18 intelligence would
never have to roll, and
that would take the chal-
lenge and danger out of
the spell.
Disbelief is not
automatic, otherwise what
would be the use of casting
the spell in the first
place? Mr. Sisk is right
in stating that the charac-
ter in question must state
disbelief, but if the
phantasmal force is
dispelled, never seeing the
true nature of the
phantasmal force becomes a
moot point.
Kevin Deevey
Bloomfeld Hills, Mich.
(Dragon #88)
* *
* *
The comments
by David Sisk in issue #87 are
ones that I have had a difficult
time dealing with
also. I am even now putting
together an adven-
ture in which many illusions
are included. As a
result, I have done a lot
of thinking and come up
with a few guidelines for
the handling of illusions.
In my opinion, it is ludicrous
for player charac-
ters to always declare ?I
disbelieve? every time
they encounter a monster,
magic, or the un-
known. Not only does this
tend to upset the DM,
who has taken much time
to prepare a coherent
adventure, but it wastes
quite a bit of game time.
Besides, when you see a
spell caster among the
evil creatures you are combating,
how do you
know if he is a cleric,
druid, magic-user, or
illusionist? The former
two are usually dressed in
identifiable clothing, but
there is seldom any
distinguishing attributes
for the latter two. After
all, if I was an illusionist,
I certainly would not go
about my way carrying a
sign ?Illusionist here ?
attempt to disbelieve?!
So now the question at hand:
How does one
deal with the illusions
encountered in an adven-
ture?
First, as stated before,
the DM should not
allow players to have their
characters constantly
disbelieve everything. If
this occurs, the DM can
simply say to the player,
?This is ridiculous. How
are you going to tell reality
from illusion when
you actually encounter it??
Second, the DM should require
characters to
state what it is about the
supposed illusion that
they will use as a basis
for their disbelief. Indeed,
if one encounters an illusion,
and knows it for
such, on what comparison
does he make this
judgment? The obvious difference
between reality
and illusion, of course.
This, then, means that most
illusions have
some sort of recognizable
discrepancy. The best
example of this is when
an illusionary monster
attacks someone. If the
person has fought such
creatures before, it is
likely that he will be able to
recognize the correct behavior
of the creature in
combat. Thus, an illusionist,
who is not a fighter
class, would have a difficult
time re-creating the
exact combat behavior of
the creature. If the
character notices this fact,
then he has a basis for
disbelief, and is entitled
to a saving throw.
This of course means that
the DM must be
careful and be consistent
with his descriptions of
all monsters and magic used
in the game. This is
obviously no easy task,
but if it is undertaken, it
allows good handling of
illusions.
The same sort of thing could
be used when
dealing with illusions of
magic spells. Any magic-
using character should have
a chance of recogniz-
ing an improperly cast spell,
or one whose effects
are abnormal. After all,
illusionists are not capa-
ble of casting an actual
fireball or lightning bolt
as a magic-user would, although
they can inter-
pret and copy its effects.
Thus, a spell caster who
saw some sort of discrepancy
in the spell cast at
him would have a chance
at disbelieving and be
entitled to a saving throw.
For high level illusionists,
perhaps 11th level
and above, there will be
little chance for inconsis-
tencies in their illusions,
due to the vast experi-
ence of the spell caster.
Thus, illusions with
visual, audible, olfactory,
and thermal compo-
nents would be as good as
if they were real.
Therefore, I suggest that
characters who attempt
to disbelieve have at least
some general reason for
the attempt, and under these
circumstances
should be required to roll
4d6 or even 5d6. A
score equal to or less than
their intelligence
attribute is necessary to
disbelieve. A general
reason could be something
like, ?I disbelieve
because I?m in an illusionist?s
work room,? or
?This can?t be real because
there was nothing
down that passage before,
and the evil illusionist
just escaped that way.?
Now, let me attempt to address
some of Mr.
Sisk?s questions. First,
when a character believes
that he has fallen into
an illusionary pit (and thus
failed his saving throw),
who is to say that the
illusion of the pit disappears
from his mind?
Certainly, if he believed
that he fell into the pit,
he believed the illusion,
and he is not all of a
sudden going to stop believing!
This is because
the character gets
one saving throw versus the
illusion, not many. Thus,
the illusionary pit will
always be there for him,
even if the others in his
group tell him it isn?t.
And of course, since it still
affects his mind, he still
believes himself
wounded.
As to the phantasmal killer
versus shadow
monster spells, I would
again use the 4d6 (or 5d6)
with bonuses/subtractions
in place of a saving
throw. Since the work of
the illusionist is more
oriented toward attacking
the victim?s mind and
challenging his intelligence,
this type of save is
more logical.
Last, in reference to disbelief
and whether or
not it is ?automatic,? I
believe that my initial
statements decide this issue.
In conclusion, this system
of handling illusions
is not only more game-realistic,
but it will also
require the DM to add precise
descriptions to the
game, thereby making the
players and their
characters more involved.
For, if they are to have
an attempt at disbelieving,
they must have a
catalog of knowledge on
the creatures they have
fought.
Richard Emerich
New Canaan, Conn.
(Dragon #88)
* * * *