Stacking Blur and Mirror Image

K

Koewn

Explorer

• May 3, 2007

• #1

Seems a newbie question, but here we go:

If Blur and Mirror Image stack, then how?

Is each Mirror Image Blurred; giving it a 20% miss chance?

Does each Mirror Image merely *look* Blurred (because the target of the spell is) and the 20% miss chance only come into play when the atual target is hit rather than an image?

Or does this not work at all?

Thanks!

Koewn

 

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Kahuna Burger

First Post

• May 3, 2007

• #2

My call : Images "disappear when struck." The Blur visual effect is part of the overall image, and striking it counts as striking the image. Since there is no "real" thing in there (the blur part of the image is no less an illusion than the rest of it) it gives no protection against the image being struck.

 

K

KarinsDad

Adventurer

• May 3, 2007

• #3

WotC in the FAQ decided that the blur effect does stack.

But rules-wise, it would not be allowed since Blur is Target creature, not Target creature plus images.

Also, it does not make logical sense either (as KB pointed out).

If you have a mirror image distorted as per blur, if you hit the blurred portion of it, you are still hitting the mirror image. With normal Blur, if you hit into the illusion portion, you are missing the target. But the entire illusion portion of a Blurred Mirror Image is created by the Mirror Image spell itself emulating the visual aspect of the caster.

 

blargney the second

blargney the minute's son

• May 3, 2007

• #4

Ooo, I like Kahuna Burger's interpretation.

 

K

Koewn

Explorer

• May 3, 2007

• #5

OK, good, so it's the "Mirror Images *look* Blurred, but aren't technically" second choice in my first post.

That's what I figured; I just hadn't made the connection in Rules-Speak yet.

Next adventure is nothing but hard-hitting giants. Been running a series agaist an alienist cult of all spellcasters and all spell-keeping-track-of has fried my brain. Blarg.

 

P

phindar

First Post

• May 3, 2007

• #6

Kahuna Burger said:

The Blur visual effect is part of the overall image

Click to expand...

But if Blur is a visual effect, and MI parrots how the character looks, why wouldn't it function essentially the same?

I get where you are coming from KB (and KD), but I don't mind letting spells like Blur and Displacement affect images. I don't think its unbalancing, and its one way to keep the images from being auto-blips.

 

C

Caliban

Rules Monkey

• May 3, 2007

• #7

I agree with Kahuna Burger.

 

K

KarinsDad

Adventurer

• May 3, 2007

• #8

phindar said:

But if Blur is a visual effect, and MI parrots how the character looks, why wouldn't it function essentially the same?

Click to expand...

If the Wizard is 12 feet tall due to Enlarge Person, his images will also be 12 feet tall.

If the Wizard is purple, his images will also be purple.

The visual aspect of the Wizard will be duplicated by Mirror Image.

In order to do that, the Mirror Image itself will have to shrink or grow or blur or change color or whatever.

The reason one misses with Blur is because one hits the illusion instead of the caster. In the case of Mirror Image, one hits the Blurred Mirror Image, but it is still the image. The image is what changes in order to look Blurred.

But, the image is not protected by a Blur spell. The caster is.

If one could cast Blur on an image, then there would be a second illusion and one could hit either the Blur illusion or the Mirror Image illusion. However, each Mirror Image image is a single illusion emulating a Blurred caster, not multiple castings of Blur, one for the caster and each of his images.

For the Blurred Mirror Imaged caster, if you hit his Blur, you miss.

For the images, if you hit their "Blur", you hit them.

phindar said:

I get where you are coming from KB (and KD), but I don't mind letting spells like Blur and Displacement affect images. I don't think its unbalancing, and its one way to keep the images from being auto-blips.

Click to expand...

Images should be near auto-blips. It is the most powerful low level defensive spell in the game and there should be ways to overcome it.

 

P

phindar

First Post

• May 3, 2007

• #9

It is a pretty cool low level defensive spell, but to get the effect of the Blurred or Displaced images, you're having to put another 2nd or 3rd level spell on top of it, so its not without cost.

As I say, I get where you're coming from, I just think you're being unnecessarily limiting in your interpretation. I like it when spells combine in interesting ways.

On the balance side of things, if a caster puts up a Mirror Image and a Blur, that's two 2nd level spell slots and on average it'll save one Image from getting blipped. As opposed to casting Mirror Image and when the Images get blipped, casting Mirror Image again. (Displacement is a better deal, but then its a higher level slot.)

But there comes a point when discussing the way magical effects work-- and the way magical effects affect other magical effects-- where you just have to pick what you like and go with it.

 

frankthedm

First Post

• May 3, 2007

• #10

Caliban said:

I agree with Kahuna Burger.

Click to expand...

I too side with the Big Kahuna.