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Illusions, lighting, and reflectance
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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 7547469" data-attributes="member: 58197"><p>Dang, that is one hell of a first post. Well done. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>So, to the questions you pose:</p><p></p><p>1) I would have to say that Alice <em>thinks</em> she is in darkness. The illusion does not actually change whether there is light or not; Carol, standing next to Alice, successfully made an Investigation check to see through the illusion, and Carol can see fine. But the illusion is causing Alice's brain to not perceive the light.</p><p></p><p>2) N/A.</p><p></p><p>3) Not exactly. Alice's brain is having the reflections off the disco ball edited out. But it also has <em>new</em> reflections, off the illusory wall, being edited in! So Alice can still see.</p><p></p><p>4) Yow. This is a tricky one. I originally said you couldn't trust the reflection in the mirror... but I think I have to change that answer (due to the difference between illusions and phantasms). Yes, the illusory mirror will work. The illusion is telling your brain what to see, and while you are not positioned to see around the corner, the illusion is.</p><p></p><p>5) N/A.</p><p></p><p>6) I don't like this interpretation, mostly because I can't conceive of a human brain doing that much conscious computing work in real time, but also because it gives too much control to the illusionist. The illusion itself is the GPU. </p><p></p><p>7) This is a more straightforward rules question, and I think the intent of the spell is reasonably clear: If you see something physically pass through the illusion, you see through the illusion and no check is required. Otherwise, you must make an Investigation check. If a friend sees through the illusion, they can either tell you "Hey, that's not real" (essentially telling you "Hey, make an Investigation check"), or they can just lob a rock at it.</p><p></p><p>The question then becomes, if the illusion can edit your brain to erase light passing through it, why can it not do the same for a rock? My answer is that the illusion "editor" lacks memory; it's editing the real world, not simulating an entire alternative reality. It can hide what is behind the illusion at any given moment, but once the rock passes through, it no longer considers the rock as a thing to be edited out. Your brain recognizes the discrepancy and becomes able to distinguish the false input from reality. Making an Investigation check means looking for similar failures of the "illusion GPU."</p><p></p><p>Note that some spells, like <em>phantasmal force</em>, co-opt the subject's brain to help with the editing process. If the wall were a <em>phantasmal force</em>, Alice's own mind would be compelled to figure out a reason why the rock had just appeared.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 7547469, member: 58197"] Dang, that is one hell of a first post. Well done. :) So, to the questions you pose: 1) I would have to say that Alice [I]thinks[/I] she is in darkness. The illusion does not actually change whether there is light or not; Carol, standing next to Alice, successfully made an Investigation check to see through the illusion, and Carol can see fine. But the illusion is causing Alice's brain to not perceive the light. 2) N/A. 3) Not exactly. Alice's brain is having the reflections off the disco ball edited out. But it also has [I]new[/I] reflections, off the illusory wall, being edited in! So Alice can still see. 4) Yow. This is a tricky one. I originally said you couldn't trust the reflection in the mirror... but I think I have to change that answer (due to the difference between illusions and phantasms). Yes, the illusory mirror will work. The illusion is telling your brain what to see, and while you are not positioned to see around the corner, the illusion is. 5) N/A. 6) I don't like this interpretation, mostly because I can't conceive of a human brain doing that much conscious computing work in real time, but also because it gives too much control to the illusionist. The illusion itself is the GPU. 7) This is a more straightforward rules question, and I think the intent of the spell is reasonably clear: If you see something physically pass through the illusion, you see through the illusion and no check is required. Otherwise, you must make an Investigation check. If a friend sees through the illusion, they can either tell you "Hey, that's not real" (essentially telling you "Hey, make an Investigation check"), or they can just lob a rock at it. The question then becomes, if the illusion can edit your brain to erase light passing through it, why can it not do the same for a rock? My answer is that the illusion "editor" lacks memory; it's editing the real world, not simulating an entire alternative reality. It can hide what is behind the illusion at any given moment, but once the rock passes through, it no longer considers the rock as a thing to be edited out. Your brain recognizes the discrepancy and becomes able to distinguish the false input from reality. Making an Investigation check means looking for similar failures of the "illusion GPU." Note that some spells, like [I]phantasmal force[/I], co-opt the subject's brain to help with the editing process. If the wall were a [I]phantasmal force[/I], Alice's own mind would be compelled to figure out a reason why the rock had just appeared. [/QUOTE]
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