Handling Illusions and Spellcraft

[EPRock]

If you have a person with a high Spellcraft check so they can determine spells being cast, how do you handle illusions?

IE a wizard drops an illusion of a wall of stone, how would you handle it, because the majority of illusionst powers would be pretty useless.

 

[cmanos]

If you have a person with a high Spellcraft check so they can determine spells being cast, how do you handle illusions?

If the mage sees the illusionist cast the spell, he can make the spellcraft roll to see if he knows it is an illusion or not. Success means the mage knows the illusionist is castion an illusion.

IE a wizard drops an illusion of a wall of stone, how would you handle it, because the majority of illusionst powers would be pretty useless.

Just because they don't deal direct damage doesn't mean they are useless. The can be some of the most powerful spells if used creatively.

 

[EPRock]

Just because they don't deal direct damage doesn't mean they are useless. The can be some of the most powerful spells if used creatively.

True they can be powerful, but if an enemy spellcaster can make the spellcraft check the illusion of a wall can be useless..

 

[ThirdWizard]

Basically, yes. No action required, which is different than "Not an action" so it can be done out of your turn, at least that's how most people interpriet that, and it apprears to be how it is intended.

This makes illusion (certain types at least) magic when around enemy spellcasters less than a good tactic. Especially since you can speak out of initiative order. The ol' cavalry hoovs a comin' is much less helpful when the enemy spellcaster can yell out to his comrades, "That's an illusion!"

 

[Pinotage]

Presumable the caster with spellcraft needs to see the illusionist. Invisibility, Still and Silent spell and a number of others can foil this. If the illusionist knows he's up against other casters, surely he's going to prepare for that?

Pinotage

 

[duhtroll]

Or take a level(s) in shadow adept - requires shadow weave magic. It's tougher to ID spells this way, to say nothing of the nice penetration bonuses you can get.

-A

 

[Fieari]

And try IDing a spell being cast by an invisible spellcaster.

Or have the illusion already in place when the characters encounter it.

Or find cover when you cast the spell.

Or any number of other tactics.

Just because illusion becomes useless in SOME situations doesn't mean it's useless in all of them. I -loooove- illusion, myself. So handy.

 

[Percivellian]

Wizard casts an illusory Wall of Stone right in front of him.

Enemy spellcaster succeeds at a spellcraft check, and shouts out, "It's an illusion! Charge through!!"

Wizard, behind total cover from the illusory wall, casts a real wall that occupies the exact same space...

Mwahaha.

 

[Fieari]

Also, if the DC for your illusion is high enough, it won't matter if someone detects it as an illusion. All the rest of the party will get a saving throw because they were alerted to the possibility of it being illusion, but they might still believe in it. This can cause quite a bit of hilarity when half of a party believes the illusion while the other half disbelieves.

In fact, I'm not even certain that succeeding on the spellcraft check will allow you to bypass the will save to disbelieve anyway. It would certainly give you the opportunity to disbelieve, maybe with a circumstance bonus, but it won't garauntee. Maybe you think the illusion he just cast was cast somewhere else? Maybe you just had a momentary brain fart and neglected to put 2 and 2 together? Maybe you doubt your abilities? Maybe you know he just made an illusion, but that wall looks REALLY REALLY REAL and thus you must have been wrong, since that is obviously a real wall that was just put up?

Additional tactics: You are in a room full of holes. Make an illusion to make the holes look like the floor. Oh sure, you know that there're illusion floor panels... but, uh... did you memorize the EXACT location of all the holes? Just because you disbelieve doesn't make the illusion vanish. You still see it, you just know you can go through it.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Additional tactics: You are in a room full of holes. Make an illusion to make the holes look like the floor. Oh sure, you know that there're illusion floor panels... but, uh... did you memorize the EXACT location of all the holes? Just because you disbelieve doesn't make the illusion vanish. You still see it, you just know you can go through it.

"A successful saving throw against an illusion reveals it to be false, but a figment or phantasm remains as a translucent outline."

You can see the holes through the translucent outline of the illusory floor panels, once you've saved.

It's the same reason a wizard can cast a Silent Image of a fogbank around his party prior to an archery duel with a band of hobgoblins. The hobs aren't interacting with the fog, so they get no save - the PCs have total concelament. The party are in the fog, and the wizard's told them it's an illusion, so they get a save with a bonus... and if they save, they can see through the fog just fine... no concealment for the hobs!

-Hyp.