Silent Image vs. Illusiory Wall

[Quasqueton]

So what's up with SI and IW? Can you not make a wall with SI? What is special about the wall made with IW that makes it worth a 4th-level spell? What am I missing in the descriptions/mechanics?

Quasqueton

 

[Thanee]

Duration?

Bye
Thanee

 

[frankthedm]

The 4th level one is permanent. you build your dungeon with it.

Illusory Wall
Illusion (Figment)
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: Image 1 ft. by 10 ft. by 10 ft.
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will disbelief (if interacted with)
Spell Resistance: No
This spell creates the illusion of a wall, floor, ceiling, or similar surface. It appears absolutely real when viewed, but physical objects can pass through it without difficulty. When the spell is used to hide pits, traps, or normal doors, any detection abilities that do not require sight work normally. Touch or a probing search reveals the true nature of the surface, though such measures do not cause the illusion to disappear.


Silent Image
Illusion (Figment)
Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Effect: Visual figment that cannot extend beyond four 10-ft. cubes + one 10-ft. cube/level (S)
Duration: Concentration
Saving Throw: Will disbelief (if interacted with)
Spell Resistance: No
This spell creates the visual illusion of an object, creature, or force, as visualized by you. The illusion does not create sound, smell, texture, or temperature. You can move the image within the limits of the size of the effect.
Focus: A bit of fleece.

 

[DragonTurtle]

Duration?

Bye
Thanee

Yep Illusionary wall is the one you find in dungeons that have been there for years, silent image is concentration only.

 

[Whimsical]

It's permanent, and it doesn't go away when you disbelieve it. You can decorate the walls of your sanctum with ilusionary paintings on each wall, floors & ceiling. One room looks like it extends into a nice forest, another room looks like you are underwater with pretty corals all around you. Just for asthetic reasons, although I don't think you can create dynamic scenes, which would be even cooler. So, have your NPC spellcasters decorate their residence with it. In a high magic society, it's the ultimate in interior decorating and anybody whose anybody has their walls covered with pretty fascinating illusory walls. It's also one of the cheapest permanent magical effects that you can create in D&D.

And it's great for covering up pit traps, or setting up fake walls that you can hide yourself behind in a moment's notice, or to conceal secret doors. It's something that can provide a permanent total concealment effect and it looks like total cover.

Unfortunately, it doesn't become translucent when you know it's an illusion so you can't really use it as a duck blind--unless you add tiny peepholes thruought the wall so that you can peek through them, and the peepholes are cleverly woven in a mosaic so it requires a difficult spot check to spot the peeper. Or just rely on your Listen check, or have true seeing up, or use scent, tremorsense, blindsense, or blindsight.

So, your adventurer would probably not have the spell online while exploring, but there are a lot of other uses for the spell.

 

[Quasqueton]

The duration. Ever felt really stupid for overlooking something so obvious? I knew there had to be *something*, but it was just escaping me.

I even noticed the range difference and area difference, and they just added to my confusion (the lower-level spell has better). But I didn't notice the duration difference.

Geez.

Quasqueton

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Don't forget the higher save DC...

 

[Al'Kelhar]

...Unfortunately, it doesn't become translucent when you know it's an illusion so you can't really use it as a duck blind--unless you add tiny peepholes thruought the wall so that you can peek through them, and the peepholes are cleverly woven in a mosaic so it requires a difficult spot check to spot the peeper...

Purely a house rule - I let the caster designate one side of the illusory wall as transparent, so that it can be used to hide behind while providing uninterrupted vision of the world on the other side. Makes it so much more useful and worthy of a 4th-level spell.

Cheers, Al'Kelhar