werk said:
Maybe you could tell us what you have now (not that 'crap' isn't descriptive) and we can fill in the blanks.
well, to be more specific, i've got con4& str 8, no armor and allmost all my spells are either pet spells or illusions. as for the rest of my party, more wizzards and a cleric(who dosent like me, cause im a necromancer
. thats about it.
Ah, okay.
First, the False Life spell is a GREAT spell for necromancy. It gives you temporary hit points. Get that spell, and use it often. A wand of it would be useful.
Most of your illusion spells can be defensive spells. Even a 1st level silent image can be a major defensive spell, if you make an image of a wall between yourself and your enemies. They will not be able to see through your wall until the interact with the wall (which is unlikely since it will appear you summoned a wall of stone, and will just try to go around if they feel the need to get to you). You, however, can see right through your wall and continue to cast summoned monsters (or whatever you meant by pet spells - maybe you meant undead enhancement spells, which would also work) at your enemies without them even being able to see you. Invisibility would also allow you to use that tactic effectively (which is another illusion spell).
Illusion spells are in my opinion, pound for pound, some of the most powerful spells in the game. However, they require a lot of imagination, since most of them are like writing your own spell each time.
To help, I have been composing a list of creative uses for the various Image spells (silent, minor, major, programmed). Almost all of these uses were written by others, who I unfortunately do not have the names to credit with their work. Many are up to DM interpretation and are situational, but I found the list gave me some ideas. I hope you find them useful.
1. Silent Image a wall, to persuade opponents to go around (same one I mentioned above);
2. Have your party press up against an existing wall, and silent image an identical wall in front of the party - super cheap mass invisibility, if cast outside the sight of the opponents;
3. Silent Image a box large enough for the party to hide in;
4. Create an illusion of a pit trap with spikes, with already dead bodies in it, about 10 feet wide;
5. Image backup bow-snipers for free for moral effect and extra false targets for the opponents? Let the first 2 die fast, so more shots are wasted on them;
6. Add more trees in a forest to hide behind;
7. Add a grassy hill on top of your party, and ambush from it;
8. Create an image of a sack over the opponent's head. Technically, there's no save until he takes an action to physically interact with the illusion;
9. Image some fire and smoke in a building or hallway to stop or slow a chase;
10. Image obscuring mist (or other fog-like spell). Your group (knowing it is an illusion) can see through it, but your opponents will not;
11. Create an image of a wizard casting invisibility. Opponents with spellcraft will go nuts. Alternatively, the "wizard" can cast spells without obvious effects (stoneskin, resist fire) or ones duplicable by an illusion (fly, blink, mirror image). Intelligent opponents will concentrate on attacking the wizard;
12. Create an image of spirits rising from dead bodies (ghosts, shadows, wraiths, spectres- whatever is appropriate) as a distraction, since your weapons swinging through them will not seem unusual given they are incorporeal beings that are being copied;
13. Have a small pond of acid and use an illusion spell to change the color from green to yellow. It'll show up as a illusion spell to any "smart" PC using a detect magic spell or two.
14. Create an image of utter darkness (which you can see through, as you know it is an illusion);
15. Create an illusion of your party members in other places to split the opposition;
16. Create an illusion of a wall breaking down and a monster entering. If they disbelieve, do it again but this time summon a real creature, and let them ignore it until it does them some damage (might even be able to attack ignoring your dex and dodge bonuses if opponents actively ignore it);
17. Make an illusion of a Blade Barrier - less likely to be touched and interacted with;
18. Make a bridge over a chasm you just crossed and hope opponents try to chase you over it (particularly good if you are fleeing and flying, while you seem to be walking over the bridge - or just hide and create an image of you fleeing over the illusionary bridge);
19. Create an illusionary archer who fires arrows at opponents that always misses. The archer has an AC of 10 + size modifier + range and vision modifiers as appropriate (probably also cover and such);
20. If one of the party members is down or in danger of being swarmed by reinforcements, make an illusion of a few more bad guys and make it appear they are being dealt with and perhaps give them a few minutes to catch their breath;
21. Make what appears to be a patch of entangling ground;
22. Image of a metal cage with sharp pointy spikes covered with dripping poison appearing around the enemy. He doesn't get a save unless he touches it because he hasn't interacted with it and he's not going to touch it because it looks like poison;
23. Create illusionary monsters to intimidate your foes: Beholders, demons, etc. are good. They can move around the battlefield and look menacing. Low-grade opponents should hopefully avoid things like this and run. I'm more of a GM than a player, but one way I'd rule this tactic is to allow the illusionist to make intimidate checks with a +2 (up to +4) illusion bonus to the check;
24. In addition to duplicating dungeon walls, you can copy spells that make sudden walls or objects or obstacles: illusionary walls of stone, iron, ice, prismatic shifting colors.. can sometimes seal off an escape route. So can patches of writhing shadowy black tentacles, or areas covered in illusionary webs. If you're up to the Major image spell, you can use walls of fire or crackling electricity. The idea is to conceal or discourage interaction, but by the time anyone gets close enough to determine that he can feel heat from the wall of fire- he's already interacted with it. So having a high saving throw DC would be good as always
25. Create window dressing: I use this when I'm GMing villains, sometimes. It's not especially useful so much as it is "cool" to change the appearance of a location to something weird or disturbing. Change the battlefield to look like a gigantic chessboard with melting clocks or an arena with spiked walls or something;
26. Distraction. Use your IC knowledge. Confront an NPC with an illusionary figment of one of his previous victims or a family member. Yeah, yeah, he gets a saving throw. Still, sometimes it will throw people off for a round or two, even after the illusion cancels;
27 Create an image on the floor of green slime, randomly surfacing buzz-saws, caltrops, or some other hazard and leave an easy path through it that serves your purposes. A single file path, or perhaps one that takes the enemy through someones threatened area, or within bull-rush range of a fighter and another (real) hazard;
28. Use image spells as 3-d maps that hover in mid air for team briefings, team huddle strategy sessions, etc. An illusionist can be like the party VCR or instant replay guy, creating a tactical map for everyone to look at while the fighter draws on it like John Madden;
29. Use a a perceived threat as flanking (note - some DMs say this is not allowed because the illusion is not actually threatening the opponents square, while others feel that the perception of the threat is what creates the flanking, not the actual threat);
30. Mis up illusions and reality - For example, you are invisible, then cast an illusion of yourself casting a illusion spell, then the real you appear (as if you were the figment) and cast something, perhaps a spell like transmute rock to mud or wall of fire. It´s likely that any enemy spellcaster think you and the real spell are the illusions, waste a round on the fake you, and walk like an idiot on the real spell;
31. Make the illusion of the party coming out of a translucent wall. Chances are that the enemies will think they are the real ones, doing the trick of hiding behind a illusory wall, and be fooled. While you are invisible, use the higher level illusion spells (like programmed image) to make a copy of yourself casting illusions, while the real you (invisible) cast Summon Monster N. Maybe they think they really are illusions, and ignore the monsters; if they learn from their errors, start casting illusions of summoned monsters;
32. Make an illusion of a shield guardian protecting you, which should dissuade many opponents from charging.
33. Illusion yourself up a reach weapon, have enemies waste movements on avoiding your 'threatened squares', or, if you have a reach weapon, illusion yourself up a normal one, can you say AoO?
34. If you're a ranged person, make yourself look like a beefy melee person, and have the ranged attacks come from the tiny companion on your shoulder.
35. Facing those dangerous NPC clerics: Make yourself appear to be undead, have them waste time trying to rebuke or command you.
36. Make yourself look like a tank using a wand (Let the npcs think he's got impressive ranks in Use Magic Device).
37. If you're running from a fight and going through a door, move it five feet over, and watch as your pursuers run into the wall.
38. Fleeing from a fight over a bridge, move the bridge over after crossing it.
39. If you have damage resistance from something (e.g. Green Star Adept's DR/Adamantine) make yourself look like a werewolf, so the npcs think you're vulnerable to a different material.
40. Illusion other NPCs surrendering, see if you can make the real ones join suit.
41. Disguise one of your opponents as yourself.
42. Make it look like a trap is triggered making the walls move in, which is quickly disabled, and use the area for sneak attacks.
43. Disguise yourself as one of your opponents (letting your allies know about the tactic in advance, of course - and preferably find something Dissmissable to cover yourself with....)
44. Disguise yourself as one of your opponents, and your opponent as you simultaneously (Quickened Disguise Self). With luck, they will think you switched places to set up flanking ... and that your now-doppleganger is really a weakling spellcaster....
45. Hide a cliff by giving the illusion the safe ground reaches 30 ft further than it really does.
46. Create a replica illusion of an existing pit trap right next to that pit trap, and the a second illusion covering up the real pit trap. When your opponents chase you this way, you may be able to lure them into going around the illusionary pit and falling into the real one.
47. Combine illusion and divination spells. People will probably react stronger when they have a personal interest in what your illusion is showing. I once got into a city with two firm guards by doing some scrying and spying to find out that the guards each had a child of about the same age, then casting a Major Image of the two kids just on the other side of the city gates, fighting brutally with each other. The guards of course rushed in to stop it... only for a second, but that was enough.
