Invisibility -- In-Game Explanation for No Attacking?

[Voadam]

Invisibility relies upon sympathetic magic to work (Gum arabic covers the eye blocking vision of you). "attacks" are inconsistent with that sheath of protection. When you make an "attack" you symbolically break out of your protective cover and expose yourself. Other forms of attention getting such as making loud noises, do not break the protective visual shell. The sheath is strong enough to withstand simple actions like rapid movement, but symbolic exposure such as attacks do break it.

How's that?

 

[s/LaSH]

I thought about it, and the reason I'd use would be this: The invisibility effect is sort of like a cloak over the affected person. You can run around in a cloak, you can make all kinds of noise, and you can slip your hand out to deliver a touch Heal spell. But you can't hit someone with a sword and still be covered by the cloak, nor can you do your dramatic spell-casting motions to hurl a fireball (if you subscribe to the school of thought that associates arcane casting with, what was it, wuxia moves).

It's not actually a cloak, and instead of casting it aside you would rupture it instead. But as an analogy for a close-fitting field of magical energy, it's pretty good.

 

[myrdden]

I've always used the answer of it's magic, and that's the limit of the spell. Not much of magic and the way it works has ever been defined so I never really bother to try.

That's how I think of it too.

It's like the fairly tale with the princess and the frog. Kissing the frog broke the spell...no explanation needed because that is the way it is.

Myrdden

 

[Dr_Rictus]

It's like the fairly tale with the princess and the frog. Kissing the frog broke the spell...no explanation needed because that is the way it is.

Actually, this comes down to the magic of symbolism as well. When the princess kisses the frog, she performs a symbolic act by treating him like a prince. Thus he becomes a prince.

That said, the fact that attacking breaks invisibility is clearly analogous - the spell is broken by a specific symbolic act which contravenes its nature.

 

[Voneth]

I'm impressed.

Most of the time I see people just accept DND magic as is. Most seem to care less about the "metaphysics" of the magic and just roll the dice. Frankly, I gave up on explaining how magic works for any edition of DND, though I used to have a DM who christen every new campaign with a secondary magic system that's metaphsyics were an intergal to the overarching plot.

He had magic crystals, threads, and rods that could be combined for different effects. The best example was when a collection of the rods were used as a cage to keep the villian's life energy alive. I guess you could think of the creature as a lich matrix.

Beyond d20, White Wolf's Mage system is great for getting PC to talk about metaphysic all day.

 

[Voadam]

I use MtA's concept of pattern all the time in explaining magic and supernatural creatures in my game. It's why undead like vamps regenerate/fast heal, their pattern has been fixed and regeneration brings their physical form back to their fixed pattern.

 

[mmadsen]

Okay, this one ["You become ethereal"] just plain doesn't work, balance-wize. It lasts 100 times as long as Etherial Jaunt, a higher level spell, and provide, basically, the same effects.

Perhaps Tonguez meant that you became visible only to ethereal beings -- like Frodo when he puts on The One Ring.

 

[Siridar]

I like to think of it as not truly invisibility, but simply as a spell that causes others to not notice you, effectively causing you to be invisible. If you try and attack them, well, they will certainly take note and "notice" you, thus ending the effect. Granted, this way of thinking might put the spell into the enchantment school.

Improved Invisibility would be true invisibility.

Just something off the top of my head, as it's never really come up in any of my games.

 

[Voadam]

Siridar,

That does not quite work with the mechanics of the spell. In an unmodified invis, you can pick up things, interact with people, make loud noises, and still be invisible whether people know you are there or not. It is the act of attacking (succesfully or not) that breaks it. An unsuccessful wiff that makes no noise still breaks the invisibility, so to work with the spell, the symbolic nature of making an attack is the basis I use for ingame explanations.

Mmadsen did ask for variants as well, though so yours can work it just needs some mechanics to back up your view of how it works. Yours would not work against undead and constructs, as well as being broken by a wider variety of actions (no more taunting people while invisible).

 

[jgbrowning]

I've always used the answer of it's magic, and that's the limit of the spell. Not much of magic and the way it works has ever been defined so I never really bother to try.

Ditto. Elegant, irrifutable.


joe b.