Illusions Explained and Defined
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Illusions Explained and Defined
Studying Illusions
There are two main categories of interaction, normal and unshakable. In general, interacting with an
illusion requires the same type of action as interacting with a physical version of this illusion. Actively
studying a 5' cube of an illusion normally requires a standard action, such as watching allies fight
hopelessly against a squad of illusionary orcs.
You must use some action or be provided some evidence that an illusion is truly not real.
Usually, you can use a Knowledge check to try identifying an event as an illusion. (This Knowledge check
happens immediately before the Will save. See below.) After perceiving the illusion, make a Knowledge
check to identify the phenomenon. If you beat the DC by 4 or less, you have had a normal interaction. If
you beat the DC by 5 or more, you've had an unshakable interaction. Failure means you're still convinced
that the illusion is real.
If noticing a contradiction between an illusion and reality would require a Knowledge check with a DC10 or
less, assume it's an unshakable interaction instead of a normal interaction, and no Knowledge check is
required to discern this happening as an illusion.
Many other interactions can be unshakable, especially when trying to fool experts of a field. Getting an
unshakable interaction with a trained only Knowledge check (DC11+) requires you beat the Knowledge DC
to identify the phenomenon by 5 or more. Success means you automatically disbelieve. If you merely
beat the DC by 4 or less, you get a Will save to disbelieve as per normal interaction. Failing this
Knowledge check means you believe the illusion.
Mindless creatures and objects are automatically affected by silent image. They believe the illusion since
they have no sense to direct them otherwise.
A creature that lacks a sense can't be fooled with that sense. For example, a blind character is immune to
all visual effects of silent image since he simply can't see. In this case, he gets no save to disbelieve for
he is simply immune and he can't detect illusions as translucent outlines. (See Belief, Line of Sight, Line
of Effect, and Concentration below.)
Normal Interactions
You do not physically interact with an illusion or you interact with it in such a way as for the interaction to
be mistaken as a hallucination. You may poke a stick at a suspicious floor tile, sling a spell at an area
containing illusionary foes, shoot a projectile at an illusionary wall, or hear wind blowing through what
should be a thick wall, but you aren't completely confident you interacted with an illusion.
In this case, you get a Will save. If you pass, you realize this suspicious happening was an illusion and
you may relay this information. Those who you relay this information to instantly receive a Will save with
a +4 disbelief bonus the next time they can perceive the illusion, even if they previously failed their save.
If you fail, you believe the illusion is real unless the situation changes to allow you another Will save to
disbelieve or something presents you with unshakable proof. (See below.)
If a Knowledge check is called for to determine whether an illusion is real, use the rules in the above
section "Studying Illusions."
Unshakable Interactions
You automatically pass your Will save to disbelieve because you obviously know something is amiss.
Typically, there is no logical way that what you saw or experienced could have been real. If noticing a
contradiction between an illusion and reality would require a Knowledge check with a DC10 or less
(‘common knowledge’), assume it's an unshakable interaction.
Many other interactions can be unshakable, especially when trying to fool experts of a field. (See
Studying Illusions, above.)
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Perhaps your blade passes through the image of a dragon, you fall through an illusionary floor, or you try
to eat an illusionary apple. Perhaps you watch a friend or foe walk through an illusionary wall. You are
fully confident something is amiss. If desired, you may also relay this information. To those who you
relay this information, when next they perceive the illusion, they will instantly receive a Will save with a
+4 disbelief bonus.
Not Interaction
A casual glance at a silent image does not count as interaction. For example, carefully looking down an
unfamiliar hallway won't usually let you identify the presence of an illusionary wall hiding a door at the
end of the hall, or even right next to you.
You must have convincing evidence to seriously consider the presence of illusions, though as a standard
action, you may study a 5' cube for illusions.
If reality is going as expected for a creature interacting with an illusion, that creature is effectively “not
interacting” with this illusion. For example, a silent image that surrounds the caster and his party in 8
pseudo-mirror images does not stretch belief for our purposes, nor does having a “mirror image”
disappear when struck. In such cases, attacking and hitting these “mirror images” doesn’t count as an
interaction.
Belief, Line of Sight, Line of Effect, and Concentration
A creature who believes an illusion likewise believes such creatures and objects block his line of sight and
provide cover and concealment as normal. A creature who disbelieves an illusion can see the illusion as a
translucent outline that does not block line of sight, provide cover, nor provide concealment. A blind
creature is simply immune to the illusion’s visual effects and sees no translucent outline.
Unless otherwise specified, an illusion never blocks line of effect.
If you cast silent image, minor image, major image, permanent image, programmed image, or mislead,
you must concentrate and maintain line of effect to any part of a 10’ cube to change the illusion in that 10’
cube. Even if you have an ability that maintains concentration for you or does not otherwise require you
to concentrate on this illusion for it to work, you still must concentrate on the image (normally a standard
action) during a round if you are to change any part of it. As a free action, you can cause your illusions to
react when hit or affected by a spell, even if it isn’t your turn. Otherwise, by default, you may only
change such an illusion’s effects on your turn.
If you cast persistent image, you need not maintain concentration on the spell, since it follows the script
preordained by the caster.
Automatic Belief/Disbelief and Learned Belief/Disbelief
Whenever you cast an illusion (such as major image), you may choose to automatically disbelieve or
believe the illusion’s effects for yourself. You may also alert others that an illusion exists, and these
others receive a Will save and with a +4 disbelief bonus. Alternatively, these others may choose to ignore
this warning and automatically believe the illusion.
If these others have come to expect an illusion of this type, like a party adventuring with an illusionist who
enjoys making false stone walls or iron golems with silent image, these others may automatically
disbelieve or believe. Usually, experiencing an illusion of the same type or a very similar type 3 times
allows a creature to expect it.
If You Disbelieve
You may convey this info that something is an illusion. Maybe you point out a solid-looking spot on the
floor that's really an illusionary pit. Maybe you tell your allies that the room down the hall full of golems
has 1 illusionary golem.
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When these creatures perceive an illusion, they get a +4 disbelief bonus on their Will save. If they've
already failed a Will save against an image, a mislead, or a ghost sound spell that is still affecting them,
they may now immediately make 1 new Will save with a +4 disbelief bonus, no action required.
A creature who believes an illusion likewise believes such creatures and objects block his line of sight and
provide cover and concealment as normal.
A creature who disbelieves an illusion can see the illusion as a translucent outline that does not block line
of sight, provide cover, nor provide concealment. As a free action that may be done even when it isn't his
turn, a disbeliever may switch between experiencing the illusion as if he disbelieved and experiencing the
illusion as if he had believed.
A creature who disbelieves any part of an illusion disbelieves all illusions created by one casting of that
spell, even if the effects change. For example, let’s assume you used silent image to surround your party
members with pseudo-mirror images. If a foe disbelieves the silent image, he disbelieves all aspects of
this casting of the spell. Changing the silent image to a spinning room or cloud of darkness would have no
effect on this target since he already disbelieved. If you cast another silent image, he could be affected
again as normal.
Illusionary Objects, Creatures, and Overlays: Dude, it ain’t real!
An illusionary creature, object, or force is immaterial: Your hands would simply pass through it as if it
were a hologram. Such objects can never support weight, provide nutrition, or otherwise act as a physical
object could. An illusionary object or creature made with silent image can, however, disguise a physical
object or creature to make it look like something else, even making it invisible. Such objects or creatures
get a +10 illusory bonus on their Disguise check.
An illusionary creature, object, or force normally never does damage, even nonlethal damage. An
illusion's AC is 10 + its size modifier.
An illusionary creature can be made as an overlay onto a real creature, such as an illusionary Gargantuan
dragon overlaying a Medium human. In this case, an attack would affect the 'dragon' if it hit AC 6 and it
may hit the first real creature or object the overlay was covering. The attack would need to include the
human's square, hit the human's AC, and would have a 50% miss chance due to not being able to target
the human directly since the human effectively has total concealment. (A creature with true seeing or
blindsight would be able to see through this illusion and target the creature directly, thereby negating this
50% miss chance.) An attack that hit the overlay but excluded the human's square would not affect the
human and would grant the attacker unshakable interaction if the attacker noticed the attack did nothing.
(See the types of interactions (Normal, Unshakable, Not), above.)
An illusionary creature, object, or force made with this power can inflict status effects, but is still subject
to the other restrictions on illusions. Thus, an illusionary light can Blind or Dazzle creatures and an
illusionary sound (such as via ghost sound) can potentially Deafen creatures. (See Possible Status Effects
from Illusions, below.)
However, the presence of an illusionary dragon does not automatically cause those who believe the
illusion to flee from being Frightened or Panicked. (In the case of the dragon, a victim who believes the
illusion still may run away at top speed screaming for dear life just because he believes he saw a dragon,
but this is due to the subject's perception and not something inherent to all illusions.)
Possible Status Effects from Illusions
All of these status effects can only happen to those who believe the illusion. Even if a target saves against
an additional effect, he does not risk disbelieving the original illusion. Remember, even if you use an
image spell to produce something that could inflict a status effect, a creature without that sense or
immune to that status effect is still immune.
Unless otherwise specified, the duration of all these status effects is as long as the image spell that
produced them lasts, even if a victim moves out of range or line of effect. For example, if someone is
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Blinded by a silent image on round 1 and the silent image ends on round 3, the Blindness also
immediately ends.
Status effects produced by illusions can still be treated as normal. Remove blindness/deafness will
remove Blindness or Deafness produced by an illusion, for example.
Additional saves for status effects produced by illusions are always at the same DC as the original effect.
For example, if a DC17 silent image produced a blinding light, the Will save to disbelieve is DC17.
Assuming the subject believes the illusion, the following Fortitude save to avoid Blindness is also DC17.
An illusion can produce more than 1 status effect at a time. For example, minor image can produce visual
effects and auditory effects, meaning minor image may inflict Blindness, Dazzled, and Deafened. Each
status effect requires a separate save from those who believe the illusion.
Even if an illusion can produce the same status effect more than once, there is only one save. A stinky,
spinny room that would Nauseate its believers requires only 1 Fortitude save to negate being Nauseated.
If a believer saved or failed vs. Nauseated once, the illusion would not force another save vs. Nauseated.
An illusion may not produce mutually exclusive status effects on the same round. For example, a major
image can’t Deafen its believers with a loud noise in the same round it provides total noise cancelation.
If the Illusion Produces Visual (Seen) Effects [Blinding Lights, Etc.]
-Subjects may be Blinded or Dazzled if they fail an additional save (Fortitude negates each separately).
Common visual illusions include:
-Making yourself, your party, or a critical creature/location/object invisible.
-Surrounding yourself and your party in pseudo-mirror images, blur effects, or/and displacement effects.
-Creating fake obstacles or creatures. Go on, make some extra walls or psyche out your foes by having
mounted creatures look like they’re about to ram one another.
-Seemingly switching the location of targets, such as three allies swapping places, or your allies looking
like enemies while your foes look like your friends.
-Surrounding targets in clouds of darkness or blinding them with very bright light.
-Changing the appearance of objects, such as making copper coins look like platinum coins.
-Disguising key targets. For example, a wanted man looks like a different, trusted man.
If the Illusion Produces Auditory (Heard) Effects [Loud, Silencing, or Misleading Noises]
-Subjects may be Deafened if they fail an additional save (Fortitude negates).
-The illusion can provide noise canceling, effectively a silence spell centered on a point in space. The
illusion can only cancel speech of the illusion can produce intelligible speech. Also, for those who believe
the illusion, all verbal communication is impossible, spells requiring verbal components to cast
automatically fail, and no sound enters, leaves, passes through, or comes from the area.
-The illusion can produce a very loud distracting noise. For this, creatures must make a Concentration
check equal to the illusion’s DC to avoid losing spells they’re casting.
Common auditory illusions include:
-False commands. If you know your foe, his “commanding officer” can call for a retreat, an advance, a
charge, or something equally unpleasant to him.
-Intimidation. Is that a “horde of giants” approaching? Is someone’s “boss” or “murderer” near, possibly
muttering things out of sight?
-Noise cancellation and loud noises as mentioned above.
If the Illusion Produces Olfactory (Smell) Effects [Foul Smells, Mostly]
-Subjects may be Sickened or Nauseated if they fail an additional save (Fortitude negates each
separately).
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Common olfactory illusions include:
-Disgusting smells. Anything that stinks is in here. Use your imagination.
-Pleasant smells. Perfume, wine, food, and anything the target especially likes belongs here.
If the Illusion Produces Motion Effects [Spinning Rooms, Treadmills, Entanglement, Difficult
Terrain, Etc.]
-Subjects may be knocked Prone from dizziness or disorientation if they fail an additional save (Fortitude
negates).
-Subjects may be Sickened or Nauseated if they fail an additional save (Fortitude negates each
separately).
-Subjects may become Entangled if they fail an additional save (Reflex negates).
-Subjects may think they’re stuck on difficult terrain- moving at only half land/burrow/swim speed and
unable to run or charge- if they fail an additional save (Will negates). Flying or incorporeal creatures are
unaffected by difficult terrain.
Common motion illusions include:
-Disoriented movement. Subjects may believe they’re moving in a different direction than they are. This
is especially useful against flying mounts who may dive bomb themselves and their riders painfully into
the ground.
-The above effects.
If the Illusion Produces Thermal (Temperature) Effects [Especially Hot or Cold Areas]
-Subjects may be Fatigued or Exhausted if they fail an additional save (Fort negates each separately).
Common thermal illusions include:
-Misleading importance. A “mystical shrine of power” that radiates warmth may instead be an ordinary
structure surrounded in a major image.
Shadow Illusions – The Great Exception
Illusion (Shadow) effects are wholly or partially real. They can truly block line of effect, inflict real
damage, support weight, provide nutrition, or otherwise act as a physical object or creature of their kind
would. See individual spell descriptions for more details.
Because shadow illusions are made with energy from the Plane of Shadow, their effects can be greater
than 100% real. For example, a Shadowcraft Mage5 (+20% reality) who casts a silent image spell
Heightened to level 9 (90%) real can produce an effect that is 110% real. Thus, a 110% real creature has
10% more HP and does 10% more damage, and a 110% real fireball would deal 10% more damage.
Having greater than 100% reality is only meaningful for variable effects, such as HP and damage on
shadow illusion creatures and objects. HP damage, ability damage, ability drain, and any other variable
numeric effect to which Empower Spell would apply if the effect were a spell also apply to greater than
100% reality.
Unlike shadow conjuration that can produce a grease spell with a 20% chance of success against
nonbelievers, having greater than 100% reality has no additional effect. For example, a shadow
conjuration that can produce a 110% real grease spell only has a 100% chance to affect disbelievers.
Empower Spell and Maximize Spell work normally on shadow illusions. For example, let’s assume you use
a 120% real shadow illusion to deal 10d6 damage resulting in 60 damage (50 damage normally * 1.2).
You could Empower that to instead deal 90 damage (60 * 1.5). On a 40% real illusion, this spell would
instead deal 20 damage to nonbelievers (50 damage normally * 0.4), or 30 damage if Empowered (50 *
0.4 * 1.5).