Fantasy Trip Illusions

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by Keysh

Then why can't they open (and close) doors?

I would tend to rationalize, because doors open to reveal the other side, and if the door is not really opened, the imagination of the people believing the illusion cannot provide the information of what is on the other side of the door. Also a door has a conspicuous open/closed state. Underbrush by comparison would just be imagined to part to make way for someone passing through, and springing back, revealing nothing and not changing state.

Originally Posted by Keysh

Where does one draw the line? (And part of my argument is that the RAW statement about "plants cannot be affected by illusions" -- because plants have IQ 0 or 1 -- implies "illusions cannot push plants aside".)

In most combat situations, it's unlikely someone would have the chance to notice things like that. More generally, I'd argue that "things giving away the illusion" is simply part of the limitations of illusions. They're not capable of being perfectly believable under all circumstances.

You could, I suppose, argue that that kind of "visual chrome" would be akin to the illusory cuts and holes in armor and clothing produced by an illusion's attack (though one could argue the latter is produced partly by the mind of the victim, so puddles and dust can't produce ancillary illusions).

Yeah, it's an interesting question, where the line is is not clear, and there are certainly places where the logic is weird and things don't make sense. I both like TFT illusions a lot, and find them problematic too. (I've reinvented them in various ways over the years. I'm not sure what my favorite version is.)