Do you let Magic Missiles destroy Mirror Images?

[Dannyalcatraz]

The reason to bring up the earlier rulesets is to illustrate what the prior 20 years of the game did and to contrast it to the RAW 3.X rules, and to examine them in the light of the FAQ answer.

The FAQ answer returns the interaction of attack spells and illusions back to the 1Ed/2Ed regime, indicating (to me at least) that the 3.X rules revisions featuring the detailed "figment"/"phantasm" etc. categories was NOT intended to alter targeting rules for attack spells.

IOW, while the rules revision RAW prevents attack spells from targeting illusory "creatures," it would seem (evidenced by the FAQ) that this was an unintended result of the codification of the illusion adjudication rules.

 

[Fieari]

Would you also allow a mage to Baleful Polymorph a mirror image?

 

[Kmart Kommando]

Baleful Polymorph would pop the image, as it's a variant of an instant death spell.

If you cast a 5 missile Magic Missile at 5 targets, one of which has Shield running, do all the missiles fail? The guy with the Shield is an invalid target.

Magic Missile pops images. With Mirror Image, you can also move figments around and not have to keep them all in the same square as the caster, but no one seems to want to use that part of the rules either. You pick targets, best case scenario, 1 missile per target, and pop goes the images. Magic Missile doesn't somehow trump Mirror Image, because it is likely for there to be more images than missiles. If it's 5 and 5, congratulations! you did 1d4+1 damage this round. Unless he has Shield, and what wizard doesn't? You could've tossed a Flaming Sphere in his square and did 2d6 damage instead, and forced him to move or burn. Or let the fighter with Great Cleave take out all the images at once, then burned down a lesser acid orb spell as soon as he's naked. Or dropped a Web on him and let him figure out how screwed he is.

 

[Felix]

The guy with the Shield is an invalid target.

He is? Where do you get this from?

 

[Hypersmurf]

If you cast a 5 missile Magic Missile at 5 targets, one of which has Shield running, do all the missiles fail? The guy with the Shield is an invalid target.

He's a valid target, but the Shield spell negates the magic missile attack directed at him.

With Mirror Image, you can also move figments around and not have to keep them all in the same square as the caster, but no one seems to want to use that part of the rules either.

Where do you find that the caster has control over the placement of the images? I agree that they don't have to be in the same square - as long as they're within 5 feet of the caster or another figment - but I don't read that the caster can move them; rather, they merge and split with you while you're moving, and remain in a cluster. To me, it seems that their motion (while you're moving) is essentially Brownian.

Or let the fighter with Great Cleave take out all the images at once...

Assuming you consider Cleave to trigger when striking an illusion; I don't consider that to be 'dropping an opponent', so I wouldn't allow a Cleave from a vanished MI figment.

-Hyp.

 

[pawsplay]

I just noticed something amusing... you can use magic missile to blow down doors, but only if you animate them first.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I just noticed something amusing... you can use magic missile to blow down doors, but only if you animate them first.

Empowered Magic Missile, maybe, and it would take ages.

An animated wooden door still has a hardness of 5.

-Hyp.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Would you also allow a mage to Baleful Polymorph a mirror image?

Yep, and that image would pop. If I was feeling creative that day, I might even make the image seem to polymorph and then pop.

OTOH, I don't think someone would burn a Baleful Polymorph on a target he wasn't sure of when there are so many other "cheaper" ways to deal with a target with a Mirror Image spell...

well, maybe if the spellcaster had a Wis of 8 or less.

 

[RigaMortus2]

What about a touch spell, such as Inflict Light Wounds? Normally if you miss with a touch spell, you hold the charge until you hit the target, then the spell is discharged. But if you hit a figment, what would happen? Is the spell discharged? Does it stay until you hit the real target? Does the figment pop?

 

[KarinsDad]

The FAQ answer returns the interaction of attack spells and illusions back to the 1Ed/2Ed regime, indicating (to me at least) that the 3.X rules revisions featuring the detailed "figment"/"phantasm" etc. categories was NOT intended to alter targeting rules for attack spells.

Except that the 1E/2E versions did not explicitly have spells targeting Mirror Image images. You yourself looked and couldn't find it. Any spell targeting rules in 1E/2E for Mirror Image was at the sole discretion of the DM, so how could the FAQ return the answer back to the 1E/2E answer when 1E/2E had no answer?


In 2E at least, the illusionist could control how much damage illusions took, etc. That does not always occur in 3E/3.5. Now, the PHB is practically silent on the matter.

For example, Major Image can allow the caster to have the illusion react to damage, but Persistent Image (a higher level spell) cannot.

Not only that, but illusions (outside of Mirror Image) have no AC in 3.5. How is the DM supposed to adjudicate whether an attack against a figment succeeds or not?

All in all, illusions are crap in 3E/3.5. There was more thought put behind 2E illusions than 3E/3.5 ones.