Figments of my Imagination

[Jeremy]

I'd say yeah. At the point someone has had a reason to save, made the save, and communicated the fact that whatever they are looking at is not really there, at that point his allies should get the typical save at +4.

 

[Nail]

I'd say yeah. At the point someone has had a reason to save, made the save, and communicated the fact that whatever they are looking at is not really there, at that point his allies should get the typical save at +4.

Which makes all figments preeeeeeeeety darn weak in combat. IMHO.

And, in last night's fight, it kept one of the NPC spell caster's busy, as he had to concentrate on the illusion to keep it up for long periods.

On a related note, the PC wizard tried to use a spellcraft check to ID the illsionary bank of fog when it was cast. He rolled well. Should I have told him then: "It's the Minor Image spell". ???

I chose not to. I just said: "It appears to be a new spell, that creates a bank of fog." The wizard had not yet interacted with the bank of fog, and hadn't made a Will save, so I didn't think the Spellcraft skill should by-pass that.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Nail - the PC wizard watched the opposing wizard cast the spell, and rolled his spellcraft check to successfully identify the spell as it was being cast.

So, you didn't tell him, "You recognize the spell being cast as being a weak, image-producing spell from the Illusion school?"

 

[Nail]

Clarification: the PC saw the effects of the spell. He did not see the NPC sorcerer cast it.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Clarification: the PC saw the effects of the spell. He did not see the NPC sorcerer cast it.

Ah - so he was trying to "Identify a spell that's already in place and in effect (DC 20 + Spell Level)?"

Hmm... I'd roll an immediate and secret Will save to disbelieve (at no bonus or penalty). If he successfully did so, he'd be able to accurately identify the spell pending a successful Spellcraft roll.

A successful Will save but a failed Spellcraft roll would result in, "You don't know what spell caused this, but something about it seems slightly wrong to you."

If he failed his Will save but succeeded on the Spellcraft roll, I'd give the message you gave.

A double failure would result in, "You can't really tell anything about the fog bank in front of you," the same result that would happen if a player tried to "identify a spell that's already in place" on a natural fog bank.

It's an interesting question, though...

 

[DrSpunj]

Clarification: the PC saw the effects of the spell. He did not see the NPC sorcerer cast it.

Right, which we realized only really bumps up the DC:

15+spell level; Identify a spell being cast. (You must see or hear the spell’s verbal or somatic components.) No action required. No retry.

20+spell level; Identify a spell that’s already in place and in effect. You must be able to see or detect the effects of the spell. No action required. No retry.

I seem to remember Tieran getting something in the range of 25-58 on that Spellcraft check.

I'm the archer in the game and have a level of wizard shooting for Arcane Archer. My guy was...busy...since I didn't get a chance to do much with these spells but I did try a Spellcraft roll when the first Wall of Fog appeared and got a measly 9, so I went along with it and kept my mouth shut as was proper expected. I was, however, very meta-suspicious for this tactic, especially since it was on the boards yesterday before our game.

When our 8th level Wizard nailed the Spellcraft roll, however, IMG I would've told him something along the lines of "It appears like it could be a new spell, but you realize it's a little too uniform, too...it's just not right. It nags of something illusion-based. Minor Image could certainly be used to create something like this."

If he'd missed the Spellcraft roll I would've told him what Nail told me (with my 9): "It appears to be a new spell."

Thanks.

DrSpunj

 

[Voadam]

Illusions of incorporeal creatures, most monsters don't think they can interact with them and expect their weapons to pass through them.

 

[htetickrt]

Readied (or maybe programmed) illusions to show PCs what they want to see. Destruction/disintegration leave nothing but dust if they work; fire spells could turn enemies without equipment to cinders. Illusions that copy these could allow the bad guys to regroup and get surprise.

 

[Jeremy]

Well in this particular instance I'm asking in the capacity of a player playing a low level illusionist trying to be of use to the party once combat starts.

I got off a good illusion of a sergeant ordering our party into the base we needed to infiltrate, and a good illusion of a night raid of the enemy base's opposing force that created a distraction.

But once swords were drawn I couldn't find a use for my figments I had prepared.

 

[atom crash]

The sergeant idea sounds like a good one. If I was a low-level illusionist, I'd probably use my spells to create the illusion of a big tough spellcaster in the back ranks (away from me, of course) to draw some fire in the first few rounds of combat. With any luck, your enemies might fire off their big guns in hopes of quickly neutralizing the "spellcaster."

The spells don't have any offensive capability, but they can misdirect your opponents profoundly. Make your enemies use up their resources on something other than real party members; definitely sounds like a winner to me.