D&D 5E Phantasmal Force question - logical actions

[jgsugden]

This has a good thread from before that covers a lot of ground: https://www.enworld.org/threads/how-does-the-phantasmal-force-spell-work-correctly.520957/

DMs rule this spell quite differently, so pay heed to what was group concensus, what was Sage Advice, and what you want to ignore.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

It's truly sad how badly illusions have been nerfed over the years.

If that's all I can do with an illusion, I can still cast one of a heavy cage (that conveniently happens to be 5x5x[however high] feet) falling out of the ceiling and trapping the target in its square. Then once the rest of the combat is mopped up, everyone just stands back and shoots the fish in the barrel.

Unless the target tries to force his way out of the cage by throwing his body weight at it, which is the reasonable thing to do when you have no other way to try and escape the cage. Better add some spikes to that cage to discourage touching it!

 

[Dausuul]

A player cast phantasmal force and had an enemy believe a bunch of leeches were swarming his face and body. The NPC (human champion) spent two turns trying to get them off - basically taking damage and doing nothing of value. Then on his third turn I decided that the champion assumed they were a spell, not an illusion but that the Sorc had summoned leeches and put them on him, and he charged the Sorcerer in the hopes of breaking concentration to free himself from the leeches.

I think this was a fair reaction after 3 turns, the player was not happy though. The player thought I should have made a check instead to see if the illusion was real, but I didn't think he had any reason to think it wasnt real. Also the PC got 2 full turns of inaction out of it.

What do you think?

That judgment call seems more than reasonable to me.

Illusions are the trickiest area of D&D magic for DMs to rule on; I find it's helpful to look at the overall mechanical consequence and whether it's reasonable for a spell of the given level. Two turns of inaction for a powerful foe is a very solid payoff for a 2nd-level spell.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Illusions are potentially some of the most creative spells, so the player is especially subject to the DM's adjudications. Abiding by the DM's rulings is the price for having that wide-open creativity. If the player is constantly pushing for more, that's going to create friction and no one is going to be happy.

For my part, I think you ruled correctly. Those leeches came from somewhere, and the guy in robes would seem like a good bet. After two rounds of trying to get them off and failing, other concerns like staying alive are going to take precedence.