Illusion Ideas

[Wavefunction]

Hey guys,

I'm running a Supers game soon where I choose the player powers and how they develop, and I'm currently looking for ideas on abilities that fit within the theme of Illusion, or more generally 'Deception'. I've got the simple options covered, I'm just looking for more interesting abilities. Obvious examples are covered under the Illusion power-set in GURPS Powers (p. 129).

Any other advantages, or interesting modifiers for any of the existing options, that you guys can think of? I've learnt by now that you guys will always find some idea that I've missed. :)

[Humabout]

Afflictions with Disadvantage, Flashbacks or Phantom Voices would be a different way of handling persistent visual or audial illusions. Affliction with Disadvantage, Nightmares and Accessibility, Only on sleeping people (this is in Horror, if you need a reference) could cover projecting horrific illusions into dreams.

Terror (visual) could work for using illusions to intimidate. Vision-based Rapier Wit might work for startling people with illusions (imagine blinking and eveything goes Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for a minute before you can blink it away).

When I get back to my books, I'll see what I can do with the entire list of advantages on front of me, if you like.

[Wavefunction]

Originally Posted by Humabout

Afflictions with Disadvantage, Flashbacks or Phantom Voices would be a different way of handling persistent visual or audial illusions. Affliction with Disadvantage, Nightmares and Accessibility, Only on sleeping people (this is in Horror, if you need a reference) could cover projecting horrific illusions into dreams.

Interesting.

Originally Posted by Humabout

Terror (visual) could work for using illusions to intimidate. Vision-based Rapier Wit might work for startling people with illusions (imagine blinking and eveything goes Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for a minute before you can blink it away).

Terror is a very good catch. On the flip side that means Awe might fit, though I feel like it'd be harder to create something striking enough for Awe, than making something scary enough for Terror. That's just my gut feeling though, thoughts?

Originally Posted by Humabout

When I get back to my books, I'll see what I can do with the entire list of advantages on front of me, if you like.

That'd be very helpful, thank you.


While musing about this I came up with another idea, one that's certainly interesting, though perhaps not especially good. Body of Illusion, the ability to physically transform yourself into an illusion, it'd come with the standard Doesn't Breath, Immunity to Metabolic Hazards, etc. along with Insubstantiality and Morph.

Which raises an interesting question, what kind of Morph would such a character have? He can change his shape and appearance in any way, but can't gain any powers. The obvious choice for this is Cosmetic, but the official position on whether Cosmetic lets you grow and shrink seems to have see-sawed a lot from what I can find. It would also presumably require Improvised Forms and Unlimited, if you want to look like a six-legged antelope with a head made of fire, which seems a little pricey for what you're getting.

Another interesting point with regards to this ability is that as an illusion they'd presumably be able to fool any sense they could fool with the Illusion advantage. If that includes Taste/Smell, Hearing, Touch etc. we now need a way of switching off Insubstantiality's built-in ability to prevent your detection through those senses.

And to finish off this train of thought, Affliction (Body of Illusion) raises some fascinating possibilities, especially if combined with Control Illusion.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

Hey guys,

I'm running a Supers game soon where I choose the player powers and how they develop, and I'm currently looking for ideas on abilities that fit within the theme of Illusion, or more generally 'Deception'. I've got the simple options covered, I'm just looking for more interesting abilities. Obvious examples are covered under the Illusion power-set in GURPS Powers (p. 129).

Any other advantages, or interesting modifiers for any of the existing options, that you guys can think of? I've learnt by now that you guys will always find some idea that I've missed. :)

Affliction with Hallucinating.

[Wavefunction]

Originally Posted by Anders

Affliction with Hallucinating.

Good catch.

Requires Quick Contest or Glamour could be very interesting on something like Insubstantiality. It'd mean that some people have a chance of 'seeing through' your illusory form and actually hurting you. Weird, but kinda cool.

[Humabout]

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

That's just my gut feeling though, thoughts?

I think Awe or Confusion could be justified. Imagine baffling someone with illusions, or showing them a vision of Saturn as seen from Cassini. Or maybe standing in the flame trench looking up at a Saturn V on the launchpad. (Yeah, I have a thing for spacefaring the way Gonzo has a thing for chickens). What inspires awe varies from person to person, just as what inspires terror. No reason a superhero can't do awe instead of/in addition to terror.

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

While musing about this I came up with another idea, one that's certainly interesting, though perhaps not especially good. Body of Illusion, the ability to physically transform yourself into an illusion, it'd come with the standard Doesn't Breath, Immunity to Metabolic Hazards, etc. along with Insubstantiality and Morph.

Which raises an interesting question, what kind of Morph would such a character have? He can change his shape and appearance in any way, but can't gain any powers. The obvious choice for this is Cosmetic, but the official position on whether Cosmetic lets you grow and shrink seems to have see-sawed a lot from what I can find. It would also presumably require Improvised Forms and Unlimited, if you want to look like a six-legged antelope with a head made of fire, which seems a little pricey for what you're getting.

Look in Banestorm for the faerie template. That represents a being made of illusions. I believe it has Insubstantial + Morph (Cosmetic), but you could add Glamour so people can try seeing your true form.

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

Another interesting point with regards to this ability is that as an illusion they'd presumably be able to fool any sense they could fool with the Illusion advantage. If that includes Taste/Smell, Hearing, Touch etc. we now need a way of switching off Insubstantiality's built-in ability to prevent your detection through those senses.

I'd call it a minor limitation, like a -5% nuisance for each of Noisy and Smelly. Taste requires physical contact, which is THE point of insubstantiality.

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

And to finish off this train of thought, Affliction (Body of Illusion) raises some fascinating possibilities, especially if combined with Control Illusion.

That affliction would probably need some tight control on the GMs part. You will need to define just what effects control illusion can achieve and how "much" illusion is controlled. A lot of the more interesting effects tend to be other advantages run as alternate abilities off of Control or Create (I made a super once that had Control Paper and Telekinesis 20 AAd off control and Flight (controlled gliding, winged) AAd off Create Paper - could make a paper airplane and fly around in that). Control by itself would probably let you shape and move the victim's body. I can't remember if it can directly inflict damage though and idhmbwm.

As for adding glamour to insubstantial, i woulfnt allow that. If you are an illusion, they can't believe you real, and even if you take damage from not being believed in, I'd call that either some form of Dependency or of Weakness. But if you have no physical substance, seeing you doesnt let someone suddenly hit you. Think of seeing a ray of light reflecting off dust in the air.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

While musing about this I came up with another idea, one that's certainly interesting, though perhaps not especially good. Body of Illusion, the ability to physically transform yourself into an illusion, it'd come with the standard Doesn't Breath, Immunity to Metabolic Hazards, etc. along with Insubstantiality and Morph.

Which raises an interesting question, what kind of Morph would such a character have? He can change his shape and appearance in any way, but can't gain any powers. The obvious choice for this is Cosmetic, but the official position on whether Cosmetic lets you grow and shrink seems to have see-sawed a lot from what I can find. It would also presumably require Improvised Forms and Unlimited, if you want to look like a six-legged antelope with a head made of fire, which seems a little pricey for what you're getting.

The ability to change your appearance to just about anything without gaining any associated powers is... Illusion. which you already have. If you can grant it to others then give them a limited version of illusion that only lets you change your own appearance.

Now, if illusions can physically interact with each other, you need something heavier. But those sort of metaphysics make you ask if its really an illusion.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

Hey guys,

I'm running a Supers game soon where I choose the player powers and how they develop, and I'm currently looking for ideas on abilities that fit within the theme of Illusion, or more generally 'Deception'. I've got the simple options covered, I'm just looking for more interesting abilities. Obvious examples are covered under the Illusion power-set in GURPS Powers (p. 129).

Any other advantages, or interesting modifiers for any of the existing options, that you guys can think of? I've learnt by now that you guys will always find some idea that I've missed. :)

Tolkienite elves pretty clearly have Glamour; they are explicitly described as using it for entertaining guests in Rivendell. The elven cloaks given the Fellowship are imbued with a low level glamour ability apparently; while it does not protect them from someone concentrating on them, someone who is not will not see them. I don't know if something like that is mentioned where you are looking.

[Wavefunction]

Originally Posted by Humabout

I think Awe or Confusion could be justified. Imagine baffling someone with illusions, or showing them a vision of Saturn as seen from Cassini. Or maybe standing in the flame trench looking up at a Saturn V on the launchpad. (Yeah, I have a thing for spacefaring the way Gonzo has a thing for chickens). What inspires awe varies from person to person, just as what inspires terror. No reason a superhero can't do awe instead of/in addition to terror.

That sounds reasonable.

Originally Posted by Humabout

Look in Banestorm for the faerie template. That represents a being made of illusions. I believe it has Insubstantial + Morph (Cosmetic), but you could add Glamour so people can try seeing your true form.

It's actually in Fantasy, not Banestorm, but good point anyway.

Originally Posted by Humabout

I'd call it a minor limitation, like a -5% nuisance for each of Noisy and Smelly. Taste requires physical contact, which is THE point of insubstantiality.

It's more powerful than that, and definitely not a limitation. Essentially, because the player decides on whether an illusion makes a sound or not, is detectable through touch, etc. he'd be able to turn those limitations on or off. To be honest I'm not even sure if fooling touch while insubstantial (which it should be able to do, since an actual non-physical Illusion can have Extended, Touch) is a limitation or just No Signature, +20%.

Originally Posted by Humabout

That affliction would probably need some tight control on the GMs part. You will need to define just what effects control illusion can achieve and how "much" illusion is controlled. A lot of the more interesting effects tend to be other advantages run as alternate abilities off of Control or Create (I made a super once that had Control Paper and Telekinesis 20 AAd off control and Flight (controlled gliding, winged) AAd off Create Paper - could make a paper airplane and fly around in that). Control by itself would probably let you shape and move the victim's body. I can't remember if it can directly inflict damage though and idhmbwm.

Of course it'd need tight control, but that shouldn't be a problem, since part of the point of this game is that I have full control over what powers the players get and how they can use them.

Originally Posted by Humabout

As for adding glamour to insubstantial, i woulfnt allow that. If you are an illusion, they can't believe you real, and even if you take damage from not being believed in, I'd call that either some form of Dependency or of Weakness. But if you have no physical substance, seeing you doesnt let someone suddenly hit you. Think of seeing a ray of light reflecting off dust in the air.

Hmmm... Perhaps, I agree that I'd need a slightly different explanation for it to make sense. I was thinking this character would predominantly use Mental Illusions, and this ability would represent a kind of transcendent mental illusion, the ability to trick the universe itself into thinking he's an illusion, but sufficiently strong-willed individuals could realize that he's not. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I've had PCs who could hit that mote of dust, assuming it's 5 microns across, that's only about a -30 to hit.

Originally Posted by ericthered

The ability to change your appearance to just about anything without gaining any associated powers is... Illusion. which you already have. If you can grant it to others then give them a limited version of illusion that only lets you change your own appearance.

It's really not, certainly not by my interpretation. Illusion works a lot like the Illusion spell from Magic, it creates an illusion within a certain area that you can modify by concentrating, it's not a perfect disguise, if you leave the area of the Illusion then your disguise will drop, that's what you need Morph (Cosmetic) for, it also let's you change your appearance constantly, and without concentrating if you have enough Reduced Time.

Originally Posted by ericthered

Now, if illusions can physically interact with each other, you need something heavier. But those sort of metaphysics make you ask if its really an illusion.

Not so much for this setting. This character will be the only person capable of creating true, comprehensive illusions, there might be light manipulators who can create pretty light shows, but nothing like him. So it makes some sense that should he wish it, all his illusions can interact with each other.

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Tolkienite elves pretty clearly have Glamour; they are explicitly described as using it for entertaining guests in Rivendell. The elven cloaks given the Fellowship are imbued with a low level glamour ability apparently; while it does not protect them from someone concentrating on them, someone who is not will not see them. I don't know if something like that is mentioned where you are looking.

It talks about Invisibility and Obscure, but the Only While Not Focusing On Me limitation is an interesting idea.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

It's more powerful than that, and definitely not a limitation. Essentially, because the player decides on whether an illusion makes a sound or not, is detectable through touch, etc. he'd be able to turn those limitations on or off. To be honest I'm not even sure if fooling touch while insubstantial (which it should be able to do, since an actual non-physical Illusion can have Extended, Touch) is a limitation or just No Signature, +20%.

The pyramid that did the ghost inhuman template filed the cold aura from standing in it as a supernatural feature disadvantage, not a natural effect of insubstantial. So I wouldn't charge any for not being touchable.

It's really not, certainly not by my interpretation. Illusion works a lot like the Illusion spell from Magic, it creates an illusion within a certain area that you can modify by concentrating, it's not a perfect disguise, if you leave the area of the Illusion then your disguise will drop, that's what you need Morph (Cosmetic) for, it also let's you change your appearance constantly, and without concentrating if you have enough Reduced Time.

I've actually not been able to find anything in illusion that says if the illusions are anchored to an object or an area. I think historically I've just required it to be specified on character creation.

That you have to concentrate to change standard illusions at all is contradicted by the existence of the static modifier. The exact limits of what can be done in standard isn't gone into. Independent (+40%) can certainly provide such a disguise, and may be overkill.

That said, if your fluff is "I'm using a mind-influencing effect on the universe", it may make sense for the illusions to interact. I personally wouldn't think that the illusions interacting is worth all that much. Certainly not enough to justify full blown morph.