D&D 5E Minor Illusion

Couple Questions:

1. Is there a rule that prohibits Minor Illusion form having an impact in combat?

2. Any ideas of what it can do? These are some of mine:

• Create a Swarm of bees around the Ogres head causing his first swing to be at disadvantage.
• Putting a dirt wall in front of the goblin archer so he can see through the doorway.
• Creating a table in front of me so I have cover (+2 AC) vs that same goblin archer.
• Drawing a 5' whole in the ground that causes people to avoid going past it (yeah, I know they can jump it, working on this one)

3. Is there a thread that discusses this in detail?

1) The rules for interacting with the illusion are given in the spell description.

2) Can't make a swarm of bees since the illusion is of a static object that has no other sensory characteristics (sound, smell, touch, etc). Dirt wall would work until the goblin determined it was an illusion per the spell description. You can create a table to hide behind but I wouldn't actually give you a +2 cover AC because an arrow would go right through it. It might dissuade a goblin from firing at you and instead shoot at an apparently easier-to-hit target, however. An illusion of a 5' deep hole would be fine, again subject to the rules of the spell.

3) Don't know, didn't look.

One of the classic discussions about Minor Illusion is whether when you encase a light source in an Iron Box with Minor Illusion, does it keep the light from passing through. Mull that one over!

Warmaster Horus said:

One of the classic discussions about Minor Illusion is whether when you encase a light source in an Iron Box with Minor Illusion, does it keep the light from passing through. Mull that one over!

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My favorite is to create an illusion of a mirror and use it to see around a corner

But as for straight up combat, the main things are:
- Create a barrier to provide concealment. You can hide behind it, and shoot through it to gain advantage.
- Create a hazard to try to control enemy movement, like the illusion of a trap in a space
- Create a distraction to try to make enemies waste their actions, like the sound of an approaching monster

IMO the main thing is to make the illusion plausible. If you cast a spell and suddenly there is a wall in front of a creature, it's a good bet it will try to touch it and discover it is an illusion. If the the wall is more distant, it can't be investigated as easily. And if you create the wall behind a corner where your opponent can't initially see it, then when they move into position and the wall is there, it is less suspicious.

A big rules question is whether you and/or your allies who know it is an illusion can automatically see through it. Or do you still have to spend an action and make an Int check? (It is frustrating to me that this key question isn't spelled out more clearly.)

"You can create a table to hide behind but I wouldn't actually give you a +2 cover AC because an arrow would go right through it. It might dissuade a goblin from firing at you and instead shoot at an apparently easier-to-hit target, however. "

Why not? If he believes it, wouldn't that affect where he is aiming?

trentonjoe said:

"You can create a table to hide behind but I wouldn't actually give you a +2 cover AC because an arrow would go right through it. It might dissuade a goblin from firing at you and instead shoot at an apparently easier-to-hit target, however. "

Why not? If he believes it, wouldn't that affect where he is aiming?

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No because the actual target is not smaller. Even if his aim is a little off, he'd go through the illusion because the character he's targeting doesn't really have less of his body exposed. It just looks that way to the shooter.

1. No, but it's limited to what a holographic object can do, which is largely to mislead rather than grant combat bonuses, which by design other spells do. As a DM, I'm probably not going to be inclined to let a Cantrip match or supersede the power of a 1st level spell.

2. Agree with previous post (no creatures and interaction reveals the sham). It only creates static images that generally mislead. However, in a case-by-case basis, as a DM I might let it have a mechanical effect. Because application would not be consistent (some foes might puzzle it out and be unaffected), from time to time it'd be fine.

So the dirt wall could cause the goblin to believe he has blocked vision (unless he interacts with it or has cause to make a check to disbelieve). That's what the spell does, tricks.

As to the light question, this has been debated before, and an illusion can't actually block anything, whether it be light or sound. It's not real, and it has no substance. So, you can have a lantern hidden in an illusory chest. Anyone walking in would find a lit room with no obvious light source, leading a foe to scratch its head as to what's going on and possibly triggering an Investigation check. Same with creating a mirror. Mirrors work by reflecting light, and a Minor Illusion isn't real so it reflects nothing. A creature would see no reflection in the mirror at all other than perhaps whatever static image the Caster made up.

As for the hole (or a small well), same as the dirt wall.

As for the table, I can see the argument being made that the goblin believes its shot is harder because it's trying to shoot over cover. However, the table has no substance so it doesn't really grant an AC bonus. Further, mechanically, is a DM going to allow a Cantrip to provide a +2 AC effect? Personally, I'd take it case-by-case. The first attack by a monster could be made as if it believed cover existed. Whether it hits or misses, unless it's a "1" fumble, I'm probably ruling the arrow went through the table, the creature has thus physically interacted with the illusion, and the table is revealed (as a low-level Cantrip should be) as a sham. Clever monsters would share this knowledge that there's an illusionist around.

In any case, I wouldn't ever allow it to be equal to or superior to Shield of Faith, Fog Cloud, etc., in providing benefits.

This all goes along with the question "can I create an illusion to Hide behind, therefore granting advantage on my attack?" Like above, yes. If the enemy believes you've gone out of sight (if you're small enough to Hide behind a 5x5 object), they've been misled.

3. Yes, in many forums usually with a specific single issue (e.g. can Minor Illusion grant cover, block light, etc.)

trentonjoe said:

Couple Questions:

1. Is there a rule that prohibits Minor Illusion form having an impact in combat?

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No, but there are restrictions on what the spell can do.

trentonjoe said:

Create a Swarm of bees around the Ogres head causing his first swing to be at disadvantage.

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You cannot create a swarm of bees as the spell only allows for a static, stationary object or sound.

trentonjoe said:

Putting a dirt wall in front of the goblin archer so he can see through the doorway.

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Yes, as long as the wall is within the area proscribed by the spell.

trentonjoe said:

Creating a table in front of me so I have cover (+2 AC) vs that same goblin archer.

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The 'table' would not grant cover, but rather concealment or partial concealment as any arrow shot at it would pass right through it.

trentonjoe said:

Drawing a 5' whole in the ground that causes people to avoid going past it (yeah, I know they can jump it, working on this one)

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This seems feasible, until the first person 'falls' into the hole and it is revealed as an illusion.

trentonjoe said:

3. Is there a thread that discusses this in detail?

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There have been a few threads over the years. In short, careful adherence to what the spell actually allows can help with most issues. These are a few things to keep in mind: Only stationary objects, no movement or creatures; no change in lighting conditions, it cannot serve as a poor man's light or darkness spell; no atmospheric affects, it cannot be a poor man's Fog Cloud. Some of these are spelled out in the description, others are extrapolations based on the description and balance. That said, illusions are always strongly DM and table dependent on how opponents react to and interact with illusions, so there is always some variance from table to table.

trentonjoe said:

"You can create a table to hide behind but I wouldn't actually give you a +2 cover AC because an arrow would go right through it. It might dissuade a goblin from firing at you and instead shoot at an apparently easier-to-hit target, however. "

Why not? If he believes it, wouldn't that affect where he is aiming?

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The +2 bonus to AC comes from there being a physical object in the way that prevents projectiles from hitting you. At most, I would say that an illusion (if done right to obscure the shooter's view of you) could give them disadvantage on the attack because they're shooting at something they can't see. Similar to how you have disadvantage to hit targets if you're in darkness and can't see. Even that is tentative and depends on how the illusion is done. There would likely be some sort of deception or spell check to see how convincing the illusion is. If you used the minor illusion while the enemy was staring at you, it might not dissuade the goblin from firing on you if the illusion isn't convincing for example. Or, an enemy might be so stupid that they see a realistic rock blocking the way and still believe they can shoot through it. Not something I would fall back on normally since it would be unfair to a well done illusion, just something to consider. Kind of like putting a convincing fake lock on a door might not dissuade a master thief with lock picking tools or a very determined goblin with a rock.

You can't create the sight of a swarm of bees, but you can create the SOUND of a swarm of bees. Bees are fast and small, hard to see for an Orger so it might actually be more distracting for the Orger if she can't see them, because she'd be wondering where exactly they are, are they in her clothes, behind her, in her hair, moving too fast ect...

I’ve gotten use out of “oh hey look at that pile of treasure over there!” with minor illusion. It won’t hold up to any inspection, but if it keeps at least one foe out of the fight for a round, I consider that success for a cantrip.

Under the right conditions, it can also be useful in setting up an ambush.