Fantasy Trip Illusions

[JohnPaulB]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

A common rule in RPGs for creating things that are useful and/or beautiful with magic is that you can only do so as well as your own skill allows, as if you were making it without magic. Not that TFT has skills, exactly, but I'd expect some points burned on photographic memory as well as professional/crafting Talents invented as needed, to produce paintings, movies, accurate records, reproducing the enemy codebook you glanced at, etc.

I was thinking along those lines too. That's why I mentioned "It'll be as accurate as your capability..."

I didn't expect this Image concept to be an Eidetic Memory in Picture form. Mark contemplated that its indistinguishable from the original. I expect is would be like a 12 generation copy, some degrade.

However, as a thumbnail or suggestion of the thing, it'd be great tool.

[tomc]

Images make for great theater, from a "puppet show" in the town square to lavish image driven dramas with incredible special effects. It's like live CGI.

A performing wizard can make a living with just one spell, and it's reasonably safe.

[Shostak]

This post poses the question of what happens when an illusion of a warrior attacks and rolls a critical failure resulting in either a dropped or broken weapon. I ran a search on this thread to see if this had been discussed and nothing turned up, so I bring up the question here. Illusions can't divide. So, what happens? Has this already been hashed out and I (and my search) missed it?

I don't recall illusions breaking weapons ever coming up at my table. But it will eventually! I suggest that the illusion (or image) should vanish.

[hcobb]

Create image of a flame inside a lantern that is enchanted with Maintain Image(ITL p158) then hang it up in a tavern so that the wizard can look through its "eyes" forever.

[BrotherBill]

Originally Posted by Dave Crowell

You could always cast an Illusion of a fireball springing from the fingertips of the illusory you. Although tere comes a point where it's just not worth keeping up the pretense.

But you can't cast that illusion on the same turn you cast the fireball.

[BrotherBill]

Originally Posted by Anomylous

I'd argue that yes, you would. (great quote btw!)


- Figures can cross an illusory bridge and find themselves safely on the other side after the illusion ends – but were I GM'ing, I'd definitely force a disbelief check when they stepped onto it, if they knew it was an illusion, and I'd give the casting wizard a *bonus* to that roll! Same if characters were taking cover from arrow fire behind an illusory wall, etc.

- The illusory cover on the keg of gunpowder would hold up the torch and no explosion would occur... so long as the illusion remained intact. If anyone in the vicinity knew that cover was an illusion, though, I'd force a Disbelief check, since now their safety suddenly depends on the reality of a thing which they knew was an illusion.

Would a forced disbelief be akin to "rolling to miss?" Would you want to roll under your IQ to successfully keep from disbelieving it, or over your IQ to fail in disbelieving it? I would lean in favor of higher IQ figures succeeding more often.

[BrotherBill]

Originally Posted by Shostak

This post poses the question of what happens when an illusion of a warrior attacks and rolls a critical failure resulting in either a dropped or broken weapon. I ran a search on this thread to see if this had been discussed and nothing turned up, so I bring up the question here. Illusions can't divide. So, what happens? Has this already been hashed out and I (and my search) missed it?

I don't recall illusions breaking weapons ever coming up at my table. But it will eventually! I suggest that the illusion (or image) should vanish.

There can only be one: An illusion creates one thing, so either the warrior or weapon would have to go. A parallel problem happens when a summoned myrmidon drops a weapon. It could be played that the event breaks the spell, or played that only the weapon disappears. I play the latter because it allows the use of 32 point myrmidons summoned with advanced melee weapons rules but still precludes them from using missile or thrown weapons (which gets abusive).

[BrotherBill]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Create image of a flame inside a lantern that is enchanted with Maintain Image(ITL p158) then hang it up in a tavern so that the wizard can look through its "eyes" forever.

Flames don't have eyes but the image of a snake in a cage would do just fine.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by BrotherBill

There can only be one: An illusion creates one thing, so either the warrior or weapon would have to go. A parallel problem happens when a summoned myrmidon drops a weapon. It could be played that the event breaks the spell, or played that only the weapon disappears. I play the latter because it allows the use of 32 point myrmidons summoned with advanced melee weapons rules but still precludes them from using missile or thrown weapons (which gets abusive).

Maybe roll of a 17 makes the weapon disappear (allowing an instant disbelief roll for anyone who saw it) and an 18 breaks the illusion?

[Skarg]

In old TFT (though it may have been a Metagaming Q&A answer, not in the books), a drop or break weapon by an armed illusion (so a myrmidon where the weapon(s) are part of the illusion, not a unarmed wolf/bear/gargoyle/dragon), resulted in the illusion disappearing. So Drop Weapon or Break Weapon can also work (and if you're wrong and it's real, at least you get that effect on the real foe).