AD&D 1E How do you play an illusionist?

[James Gasik]

I really liked the pathfinder 1e version of incorporeal where instead of a 50 percent miss chance it was just half damage. Much less frustrating to experience at the table.

Yeah but you still have concealment miss chances.

 

[Mannahnin]

I'm not going to be any use for finding the lowest published baddie, but I know that for walking-around AC, a PC in armor can get to -15 with just the DMG or -16 with UA. Plate Mail +5 for base of -2, add a shield +5 to get to -8, 18 Dex* to -12, dusky rose ioun stone gets us to -13**, Cloak of Displacement gets us to -15.

Boots of Speed can tack another down-2 on there in open ground.

And where are you seeing the bolded, that a Cloak of Displacement gives 6 AC points? My handy DMG tells me the Cloak only gives 2 points of AC, though the first attack that would hit the wearer always misses.

It doesn't. I forgot to correct the running total when I changed where I put the ioun stone in the item order. I initially had it after the shield , so its +1 protection brought the running total from -8 to -9, and THEN Dex accounted for the other 4 points before the Cloak. I changed my mind and made the order armor, shield, dex, then misc items, but forgot to edit to make the total after the stone -13 rather than -9.

Nice catch with the boots! Although they're pretty vague about when they apply. They don't really say "in open ground", though I can understand why you'd simplify/clarify it to that!

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I remembered something about playing an illusionist that I forgot to bring up.

Because you were required to have such a high dexterity, the illusionist was actually a decent character in 1e for TWF with daggers.

If you selected that as your proficiency (you only got one) you could throw them as your missile weapon, and if anything got too close, you could dual wield with almost no penalty and get two attacks per round. If you ever got a magic dagger that was even better.

Your hp and armor class (especially at low levels before you found any magic items) was so bad it's not like you'd tank, but it did provide some use that was often more than the MU.

 

[Weiley31]

"But this one goes to -11."

 

[steeldragons]

I loved ye olde AD&D illusionist. I played two. Well, one straight up illusionist, the first one and one of my earliest AD&D characters, a "sorceress" styled human female. She was particularly fond of Wall of Fog and Mirror Image, as I recall. Any chance to make things appear as something else was fun for her: hiding the party from pursuers behind phantasmal cavern walls; making the Fighter look like an orc so they could sneak into a lair; making her horse appear as a raging bulette was helpful to route a group of would-be bandits. She was definitely ye olde MU in the sense of "stay in the back and let the others do the damage" style of play. But she was fun. Wore all red, in the beginning, switched to green at some point (probably after I read Dragonlance). Eventually began a special interest in collecting/finding, and eventually "making" (for her "magical research" monies/time, back then) potions. Gained quite a (beneficial/benevolent) reputation as "the Green Witch of Welford" (a village/town in the setting).

And one a gnome illusionist-thief, who presented as a single-classed wizardy guy (something of a know-it-all, really, as related to magic topics). His thieving was essentially limited to the acquisition of magic items to expand his repertoire and solidify his -oft self-proclaimed- title/status as the "Greatest Magician of Gnomes." He was a bit more...abrasive in personality than the human female, above. But still fun. And a great sneak-thief/recon spy - when Invisibility and Disguise Self are half your bread and butter. The cloak of displacement he got (I forget where/how) was of immense benefit.

Creativity was key. A knack for trickery/deception is helpful (for playing/part of the character, I mean! Don't be a "tricky" deceptive lying douche in real life. That's bad, m'kay?). Being able to envision your surroundings to be able to use them to your advantage -or have your spells work to your advantage- was also very important...and, I found, fun.

A sympathetic (or permissive) DM, who shares your penchant for trickery or creativity and will let you use the spells differently -perhaps not "illegally," but stretch what /wasn't/ specified in the spell description- was also helpful. haha.

 

[rgard]

I played 2 Illusionists in 1E. The first one got blown up due to a capricious and abritrary DM (I recounted that here.) The second one made it to 15th or 16th level.

Phantasmal Force was the go to first level spell. The DM handled illusions that dealt damage (phantasmal force lightning bolt or phantasmal force fireball, etc) by giving those in the area of effect a saving throw to know it was an illusion and then if failed, a saving throw against the fireball or lightning bolt.

When the character runs out of spells, draw your dagger and wade in to the fight.

Color Spray is a good first level spell too.

When you get high enough level to cast Prismatic anything, you are having fun.

 

[Lanefan]

I played 2 Illusionists in 1E. The first one got blown up due to a capricious and abritrary DM (I recounted that here.) The second one made it to 15th or 16th level.

Phantasmal Force was the go to first level spell. The DM handled illusions that dealt damage (phantasmal force lightning bolt or phantasmal force fireball, etc) by giving those in the area of effect a saving throw to know it was an illusion and then if failed, a saving throw against the fireball or lightning bolt.

If you were just casting basic PF that save would have, one would think, some mighty bonuses to it given that there was no sound...unless the targets had already been hit with Silence, which makes for a nasty combo!

IPF includes sound in the illusion, at which point you're better off; Spectral catches all five senses and with that you're good to rock.

Color Spray is a good first level spell too.

Sometimes.

Low-wisdom Illusionist (played by me) casts in sequence Wall of Fog then Colour Spray. The only person affected by the Colour Spray was herself, as it reflected back off the fog...

When you get high enough level to cast Prismatic anything, you are having fun.

When?

If, you mean...

 

[Starfox]

Always wanted to play an Illusionist/Assassin, but never got the chance. The above-mentioned Ftr/Ill gnome was the last Illusionist I got to play in those early editions.

And after 3.X was unveiled, my mages were almost always specialists…but I favored Transmuters, Evokers and Diviners.

I did play a dual-classed illusionist/assassin in my worst power-gaming days. I focused mainly on invisibility, blur, mirror image and the like, but I also did illusions, usually to fake other spells. Illusory Wall of Stone, illusory Fireball, illusory whatever spell I needed. Thinking back on it I almost feel like I bullied my poor DM. And yeah, I was also a psionic, but used that mostly for travel. Shadow Walk was it? This might have been playing the Desert of Desolation series, where illusions had little utility against the many traps and tricks.

 

[Starfox]

On the AC issue, Lloth had an absurd AC but I no longer remember the number. Definitely below -10. She only had 66 hit points tough.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

-11, as I recall. But I haven’t looked in literal decades.