Illusionist with a hostage, what would you do?

[AbeTheGnome]

"Pop Quiz! ... What do you do?"
"Shoot the hostage."

Seriously. Do it. See if the DM will allow a called shot on the hand or shoulder or something. If it's an illusion, the arrow will pass right through and hit the wizard. If it's real, well... you'll have one POed NPC, but not dead.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If I were the illusionist, the important illusion would be setting oil on fire in front of the door the players came through and hiding that with an illusion.

So while they dicker, they burn.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Pretend you don't care much about the hostage but are willing to negotiate.

If you really care about the hostage and let on that you do, the Illusionsist has the upper hand.

If you don't care about the hostage, the illusionist has nothing but a meat shield.

Of course I think Felix's comment about Dispel Magic is the most likely scenario - neither the illusionist nor the hostage you see is real and the real illusionist is trying to work around to place to quietly escape.

 

[Anthraxus]

Seriously. Do it. See if the DM will allow a called shot on the hand or shoulder or something. If it's an illusion, the arrow will pass right through and hit the wizard. If it's real, well... you'll have one POed NPC, but not dead.

DM: "Suuurre... you can try a called shot to the shoulder. Oops, you actually put it through the unconscious hostage's eye. Sorry."

And for the ones suggesting the illusion will be foiled by tossing something harmless at the hostage, I think that would just allow a Will save for disbelief- not automatic disbelief.

 

[Twowolves]

An almost identical situation occured in my Scarred Lands game a couple of years ago. A ratman illusionist was on top of a building, apparantly holding a 6 year old girl by the ledge with a claw at her throat. The lone PC was in the street below, and was told any hostile action would result in her death. I'm assuming the same readied action/trigger set applies, so any drawing weapons or spellcasting would mean bye-bye NPC.

Bottom line, yeah, you know he's an illusionist, but he's an Evil illusionist, and the smart ones always mix a little reality in with the imagined to keep you off guard. So long as you give a whit about the NPC, you have to assume it's real and negotiate. That is, so long as you are Good and so long as you care about the NPC in question.

For what it's worth, IMC, the girl was an illusion, and the entire set up was to get the PCs to enter into a dialogue without killing the Illusionist on sight. He traded info they wanted in exchange for them no longer hunting him down.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

For what it's worth, IMC, the girl was an illusion, and the entire set up was to get the PCs to enter into a dialogue without killing the Illusionist on sight. He traded info they wanted in exchange for them no longer hunting him down.

While there were some in character reasons to risk the (possible) hostage, I have to admit in my case I basicly decided as a player I was done being screwed with and railroaded for the night and thus did not negotiate. If the DM wanted to negotiate, he could have had the NPC come out when we offered to let her surrender.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

While there were some in character reasons to risk the (possible) hostage, I have to admit in my case I basicly decided as a player I was done being screwed with and railroaded for the night and thus did not negotiate. If the DM wanted to negotiate, he could have had the NPC come out when we offered to let her surrender.

I think that sounds more like a case of the villain not wanting to negotiate, until it was clear to him that he had no other choice.

 

[The_Gneech]

Well, the most obvious reason would be that it's not 4th level or lower and cannot be made into a wand....

Okay, scrolls then, Mr. Nitpicky!

-The Gneech

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I think that sounds more like a case of the villain not wanting to negotiate, until it was clear to him that he had no other choice.

If my suspension of disbelief had survived the evening's (and last session's) events it would have sounded like that to me too... As it was, no, it was all about the DM, not the villain.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

See my sig.