Creative uses for Illusion ("Image") spells

[accipiter]

Wow, very informative and useful thread! Thank you, Jondor_Battlehammer, for reviving it... my players won't thank you, I'm afraid.

So what sorts of illusions can people think of that could be done with the silent image spell that would be likely to deter opponents from pursuing by that route, but which are not a "wall", and apparently which are not a spiked pit. We have a creature, and bubbling lava pit (though that will have no heat and no scent, so it won't deter anyone for long). Anything else?

Just off the top of my head, I'm thinking I'd make a chest or other loot appear (or augment existing loot with more pieces). Just to be mean, I'd then have a wall descend slowly from the ceiling of the hall behind the escaping NPC (ala Indiana Jones).

Or I'd put the illusion of a dead NPC (either the one they're chasing or a henchman they've seen before) on the floor. They know he's carrying goodies, and with their current obsession with the MIC and constitutional inability to leave any dead bodies unlooted, they'd be bound to at least stop to check it out.

How about a gorgeous woman, tied hand and foot and gagged or unconscious, in a cage about thirty feet off the ground? My players are pretty chivalrous; they'd probably stop to help her out. Especially if she looked rich. Or if the cage looked as if it were about to plummet to the ground...

Or have the tied up captive be someone dear to the PCs. Especially shocking if the PCs aren't aware that the villain knows them that well (I once had an NPC arrange for a rose to be placed on the pillow of each of the PC's girlfriends -- a subtle warning that he could get to them whenever he wanted. The PCs were *not* happy).

"This spell creates the visual illusion of an object, creature, or force, as visualized by you." Forgive the probably dumb question, but what does the 'force' part mean?

 

[Mistwell]

"This spell creates the visual illusion of an object, creature, or force, as visualized by you." Forgive the probably dumb question, but what does the 'force' part mean?

It's not a dumb question, none of us are too sure about that part. Maybe similar to a force spell, like magic missle? Or something like fire?

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

I think its refering to the force in physics text books. Gravity, motion, etc.

 

[KarinsDad]

"This spell creates the visual illusion of an object, creature, or force, as visualized by you." Forgive the probably dumb question, but what does the 'force' part mean?

I think it should have been the word "effect". I think the author just foobar-ed.

For example, an illusion of any spell with a visible effect, an illusion of fire, etc.

 

[Pielorinho]

My favorite villain from my teenaged DMing days was a paranoid duergar illusionist who used all sorts of misdirection and illusions.

For example: he made very carefully hidden pressure-plates on the floor of his room, then placed clumsily-hidden false pressure plates between them. PCs saw the false plates, easily avoided them, thereby stepping on the real plates. Trap sprung!

In a series of labyrinthine tunnels, he drew a small chalk mark at each intersection on one passage. PCs spotted and followed these marks, right to a trapped room.

A thin, tightly-stretched piece of parchment held apart the trap mechanism in another room. It was covered with a programmed illusion of a damsel in distress, crying to be freed. When the PCs approached the illusion, it transformed into a slavering werewolf. THe PCs attached, of course, ripping the parchment and setting off the trap.

The final room had a bottomless pit, and a passage around either side. The apparent passage had a 20' gap in it, of which the last 10' was covered by an illusion, enticing PCs to leap over the first 10' in order to make it across. The real passage was hidden by an illusory wall.

Many of these could be adapted on the fly for PCs.

What about these for stalling illusions?
-THE COYOTE EFFECT: When a passageway turns, create an illusion against the wall of the passageway continuing (and, if your DM is friendly, yourselves retreating into the distance). The enemies will only see the illusion from one angle, so any trompe l'oeil effect should work. Splat!
-BLADE BARRIER: I think you can no longer make horizontally spinning blades, but virtually no monsters should be confident that this is true. Make them big and deadly enough, and the enemies might hold back.
-YOURSELF HOLDING SOMETHING REALLY EXPLOSIVE: Shout, "You SOBs better prepare a raise dead tomorrow!" and cast an illusion of yourself holding a keg of gunpowder (or any equivalent of it in your setting). The illusion should run toward the enemy if you can do that, or if not, should stand in place waiting and leering.
-YOUR CHARRED CORPSE: Begin the illusion while the enemy is out of side, with a sound effect of a scream and an explosion. When they come into view, they should find blasted rocks and a burnt corpse, with no sign of where the damage came from. Use this one only in a place where the enemy might believe there was a trap that you discharged.

Daniel