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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gadget" data-source="post: 7175566" data-attributes="member: 23716">As you say, illusion spells are tricksy.  But I usually find a careful reading of the spell description, combined with comparison to spell effects of the same or similar level, helps quite a bit.  But there is no getting around the fact that DM adjudication is required in many cases.One of the key features not listed here is movement.  Minor Illusion only creates stationary objects, with the others, the caster can spend an action to cause the illusion to move.  Now, there is some interpretation here: can I use Minor Illusion to cause the Duke's Crest to appear on my cloak, or does it remaining hanging in the air where I cast it when I move?  The concentration requirement on Silent & Major spells is onerous though.   Illusions do not provide cover, they give you concealment.  Opponents may think you have cover though.  Unless you make special effort to limit yourself to shooting through the 'arrow slits' (which would limit your field of fire, which may have a mechanical penalty), seeing arrows emerge from a wall may count as 'interacting' after the initial (surprise?) barrage. The enemy has to deal with your partial or full concealment, if their attack roll overcomes that, they hit you.  On a miss, DM adjudication comes into play, depending on how far away they are and what the illusion is depicting, it could be they do not notice their arrows going through the wall or can't tell.  Personally, after several 'misses' (without other distractions) I would rule that having arrows go 'through' a solid wall counts as interacting and they no longer have the partial/full concealment penalty. Agreed.  Being attacked by a silent swarm of bees may be a reason in and of itself. I would allow a successful Arcana check while the illusionist is casting to determine that the spell being cast is an illusion spell, thereby prompting the observer to spend and action to 'investigate' any phenomena that appeared suddenly.  This is as far as I would go unless I felt there was an repetitive abuse of illusions going on.  Correct.  But their friends may not have known to spend the action to investigate or interact without the hint.  Your allies must interact or investigate.  A simple way around this is stepping through the illusory object after you cast it to show them (assuming you have the time/opportunity to do so), otherwise they can just assume that 'wall' that appeared is one of your tricks and run right through it without pause (followed by a nasty surprise when you get your Illusory reality ability and want to mess with them).  Much of this can be alleviated if the DM is consistent with their rulings and the players become familiar with the advantages and disadvantages with using these spells.  But yes, it is difficult.    A swarm of 'silent' bees around him may count as 'interacting'.  If you made it so the 'swarm' was not quite around him, I might require a concentration check for him to get his spell off, but then again, the bees are silent, not as much of a distraction.  Also, you cannot create a swarm of silent bees with Minor Illusion, as you cannot create creatures or movement with it, so it would have to be Silent Image.  A wall would block his line of sight (assuming it is positioned properly) until he investigates or interacts.  I might allow one of his allies pushing through or shooting through the wall to count as interacting, depending on the situation.   It depends on the situation.  I have already pointed out some of applications of the spell that would not work properly.  Repeated attempts of the same thing might incur a bonus action Investigation Check with advantage or something, but it all depends on what specifically the spell(s) are being used to do.Anyone can get past a swarm of Illusory silent bees unaffected.  Would your allies have an advantage with ignoring them if they knew (because you told them or this is a favorite tactic)?  Probably.  Remember, you are spending a 1st level spell to create this 'swarm', and your action to have them move like a swarm would.The enemy could just choose to ignore said illusion cast repeatedly if that is at all beneficial, knowing it for what it is.  If repeated castings become a problem, I could see myself ruling that 'seeing through' the first effect counts against further manifestations for the next while.   You seem caught up in the Silent Bee plan.  I would argue that Silent Bees are not as distracting as buzzing ones, and either are easy to overcome through object interaction.  Since 'Silent Bees' requires Silent Image and your action to make it at all plausible, yes the 2nd level Illusionist ability does not come into play here.  Truth be told, it is difficult to think of a situation where that ability is all that beneficial, since immobile objects rarely make sounds.  Well a swarm of silent bees would enough for me.  If something seems suspicious, then an investigation check will likely follow.  The creativity is in not making your opponent suspicious. I would think this falls squarely under DM Adjudication.  Also, don't be a jerk DM if the effect is plausible and believable for the situation.  Opinions will obviously vary on what is plausible and believable.  Did I mention the DM should not be a jerk?Yes, it is more wishy-washy, but this has been a problem with illusions since the beginning.  Like I said, a careful reading of the spell and comparison of the desired outcome to other similar level effects helps tremendously.  Things like you can't turn Silent/Minor Image into an in place invisibility spell that allows you to attack from 'cover' with impunity for the combat, etc.  Consistency helps as well.</blockquote>

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