Creative uses for Illusion ("Image") spells

[The Edge]

These ideas are great. I can't think of anymore good ideas over these right now, so I'll add this. The most mature use of magic ever concieved. Use Ghost Sound to make other people seem to fart or other such noises. Great fun for all the party, whether with the locals in the tavern, or the snooty countess at her grand dinner party.

Perhaps interupt the BBEG in his minologueing?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Perhaps a pool of bubbling lava is the dungeon equivelent of the bubbling spring mentioned in the article example....

Right - something that provides a barrier you don't want to interact with, but which sits at ground level. Bubbling lava, effervescent acid (opaque, not transparent), boiling mud, green slime or black pudding... something which could conceivably fill a hole.

Another possibility is Spike Stones, but as with the Wall of Fire Pielorinho mentioned, there's too much risk someone will just 'suck it up' and barrel through anyway.

Hard to go wrong with green slime, I think

-Hyp.

 

[Bagpuss]

So perhaps what we have here is a failure of imagination. Can anyone think of a way to use a silent image spell to create a barrier similar to the barrier represented by a pit, but in a way that would be more believable?

A field of caltrops.
A row of fighters with spears set verse charge.

Either of those is likely to make your enemy think twice before charging you at least, and are more likely to appear in a dungeon they are familiar with than a sudden river of lava.

Problem with lava is you can't simulate the heat that would come off it, same with a Wall of Fire. Mud tends to smell, and bubbling gives of heat as well.

 

[Hypersmurf]

A row of fighters with spears set verse charge.

That's not 'a creature', though.

Problem with lava is you can't simulate the heat that would come off it, same with a Wall of Fire. Mud tends to smell, and bubbling gives of heat as well.

True - you're after Major Image for those.

-Hyp.

 

[Wilphe]

Well, my reading of figments is that you're effectively building a three-dimensional picture. You can't make a three-dimensional picture of a hole in the ground, because nobody will be able to see it - the ground gets in the way!

or,
if you are fighting Low INT Low WIS enemies,
you could create an three dimensional image of your #### and they'll think it's a hole in the ground...





I'll get my coat

 

[Hypersmurf]

or,
if you are fighting Low INT Low WIS enemies,
you could create an three dimensional image of your #### and they'll think it's a hole in the ground...

It's theirs they usually can't distinguish, isn't it?

Of course, there's always this image to represent a hole in the ground:
http://naturecureresources.com/hundred dollar bill.jpg

-Hyp.

 

[KarinsDad]

Since both people are looking at the picture from above, they'll both see the same thing; it can't show one thing to observer A and a different one to observer B. The difference is that the perspective that works well for observer A will be completely messed up for observer B.

When your PC looks at an NPC fighter from behind, does he see the front of the fighter instead?

When your PC looks at an image of an NPC fighter from behind, does he see the front of the fighter instead?

I think you are limiting the image spells in ways that the designers did not really intend. The sentence:

A figment spell creates a false sensation. Those who perceive the figment perceive the same thing, not their own slightly different versions of the figment.

could be interpreted that the views (or angles) of the images are all absolutely identical, but I do not think that was what the sentence meant. Especially when you read the follow up sentence:

(It is not a personalized mental impression.)

What I think this means is that a figment of a monster looks like the same monster to all observers, but not the same angle of the same monster to all observers. It's a figment of a troll, a creature behind it would see the back of the troll, not the front whereas a creature in front of the troll would see the front side of the troll, not the back.


Figments are illusions of real (at least real in the game) objects (or creatures or forces) and theoretically give off light in different directions as if a real object were there.

Otherwise, images would be even more lame than the poorly designed rules currently state.

 

[Hypersmurf]

When your PC looks at an NPC fighter from behind, does he see the front of the fighter instead?

When your PC looks at an image of an NPC fighter from behind, does he see the front of the fighter instead?

No, and that's exactly my point.

If all viewers saw the same thing regardless of their angle - that is, people looking at the image from 180 degrees apart both saw the fighter's face - then the 'fake perspective overlay' trick could work from all directions.

But since they don't, it can't; the viewers see the illusion as if it were an actual object.

And an actual object mimicking a hole via clever perspective tricks on a 2D overlay only works from a certain direction. Since the illusion mimics the actual object, it will behave in the same way.

What I think this means is that a figment of a monster looks like the same monster to all observers, but not the same angle of the same monster to all observers. It's a figment of a troll, a creature behind it would see the back of the troll, not the front whereas a creature in front of the troll would see the front side of the troll, not the back.

Absolutely.

And a figment of a fake-perspective overlay looks like the same fake-perspective overlay to all observers, but not the same angle of the same fake-perspective overlay to all observers. Observers in front see a hole. Observers behind see a distorted image that just looks wrong.

Thus:

Now, in this case, the figment has an advantage - anything projecting above the ground can be 3D, so it's not necessary for the leg to stretch so far along the ground. But anything projecting below the ground can't be 3D; it must be fake-perspective, and is thus subject to viewing angle limitations.

Another example:

-Hyp.

 

[Mistwell]

Of course, if you know your opponents are coming at you from a particular direction down a hallway, it will work pretty well up to a point...

 

[Hypersmurf]

Of course, if you know your opponents are coming at you from a particular direction down a hallway, it will work pretty well up to a point...

Right. Although not perfectly - as you get closer, you should see more of the 'depth' of the pit, and you won't... unless the caster is altering the image on the fly.

-Hyp.