Illusion
Illusion magic fools the senses. The simplest spells affect just one sense—people see things that aren’t there or hear phantom noises. Advanced spells can transform the appearance of areas, making what is foul seem a sumptuous, lavish paradise. They can mask dangers or hide entire areas from view. They can also make victims believe they have been harmed and even create hideous things that seem so real their claws and teeth open actual wounds. These spells trick the mind into believing their false creations until it is almost impossible to discern reality from fantasy.
MINDLESS IMMUNITY: A target lacking an Intellect score is immune to harm from Illusion talents and spells.
Illusion Talents
DISTORT APPEARANCE (Magical): When you use a reaction to dodge, you become blurred. For 1 minute, you impose 1 bane on rolls to attack you and rolls against your Agility by creatures that can see you. Creatures with the True Vision trait are immune to this effect. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
FALSE HARM (Magical): You can use an action to make a creature believe it has suffered an injury. Target one flesh-and-blood enemy within 10 yards. Make an Intellect roll against its Intellect. On a success, the target reduces its Health by 10 (luck ends). The Health reduction increases to 15 at level 3, or 20 at level 7. On a critical success, the target reduces its Health by 10 more.
ILLUSORY IMAGE (Magical): You can use an action to create a visual illusion. Target one Size 2 space you can see within 10 yards. An image of a creature, object, or some other visual effect appears in that space and remains for 1 minute or until a creature touches it. The illusion moves in a realistic manner. If the image created is something that would normally produce light, it produces dim light. A moving illusion can move about inside the target space in any manner you choose. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
PARACUSIA (Magical): You can use an action to produce illusory sounds that last for 1 minute. Target one point you can see within 30 yards. Sound emanates from the point. The sound can be noise or speech in a language you know, and its volume can be as quiet as a whisper or as loud as thunder. Exceptionally loud noise deafens creatures in the target space for as long as they remain there and makes it impossible to hear whispers. You can freely change the sound to mimic effects such as the clash of blades, a conversation, or the approach or retreat of footsteps. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
Novice Illusion Spells
Allies to Enemies
Castings: 1
Target: One creature within 5 yards
Duration: Instant
The target becomes strangely paranoid, seeing danger on all sides. The target becomes confused (luck ends). When the target takes a turn, it makes an Intellect roll. On a success, the spell ends for the target. On a failure, the target sees its allies as its enemies and you and your allies as its allies until the end of its turn.
Clamour
Castings: 3
Target: One Size 5 space within 15 yards
Duration: Instant
A loud noise sounds inside the target space and carries for 50 yards. Each creature in the target space takes 1d6 damage and makes an Intellect roll. On a failure, the creature takes an extra 2d6 damage and becomes deafened (luck ends).
Glamer
Castings: 3
Target: One Size 3 space within 5 yards
Duration: 1 hour
You create a visual and auditory illusion to make one creature or object in the target space, or the target space itself appear and sound like whatever you choose. A creature might look like a column, a pit could look like a rug, a roaring fire can appear to be a swirling cloud of rose petals, and a door might appear as a blank stretch of wall. The illusion holds up under visual inspection only; if touched, the spell ends early.
Illusory Envoy
Castings: 1
Target: One space of your Size in any place you have seen at least once
Duration: 8 hours
An inert illusion of yourself appears in the target space and remains for 8 hours. When you cast the spell, and again when you use an action to do so, you can merge your mind with the illusion, causing it to become corporeal until you become unconscious or you use an action to end the effect. While the illusion is corporeal, you perceive from it as if it were your body and speak through it in your own voice. Any illusory equipment created by this spell functions like the real item, though any magical effects are not replicated, so long as the object does not leave your possession. If it does, the object disappears from the illusion.
Meanwhile, while you are merged with the illusion, your body is prone and is insensate.
The illusion uses your attribute scores, Defense scores, and other capabilities, but its Health score equals your Intellect score. If the illusion is destroyed, the spell ends early.
Illusory Force
Castings: 3
Target: One creature within 10 yards
Duration: Instant
You create an illusion of fire, crackling electricity, or something else between your hands and hurl it. Make an Intellect roll against the target’s Intellect. On a success, the target takes 4d6 damage. On a critical success, the target also falls prone. On a failure, you regain the expended casting of this spell after 1 minute.
Thimblerig
Castings: 1
Target: You
Duration: Instant
Four illusionary copies of yourself appear around you. They move with you when you move and continually change places. The effect lasts until the last copy is destroyed or after you rest. When a creature that can see you gets a success on a roll against your Defense, Strength, or Agility, make a luck roll with a number of boons equal to the number of duplicates you have remaining. On a success, the roll targets a duplicate, which disappears. On a failure, the roll targets you.
Expert Illusion Spells
Create Mirage
Castings: 3, perform a ritual
Target: One Size 5 space within 30 yards
Duration: 24 hours
You change what creatures see, hear, smell, and feel inside the target space. The illusion can alter a few details or make the target space seem completely different.
This spell enables you to conceal a trap or make it seem that one exists. You can render fire invisible or make it seem to burn somewhere else in the target space. You can incorporate existing features into the new appearance or hide features of it. You can produce harmless illusions of creatures that behave in whatever manner you choose, though their behavior does not change once you create them. Finally, you can cause the temperature in the target space to become hot or cold, though not enough to deal damage or risk exposure. Similarly, you can cause creatures in the target space to experience hunger and thirst, though not to the point of deprivation.
You can make the illusion constant or triggered by the appearance of one or more creatures, on reaching a particular time, or if something happens. When you cast the spell, you decide how any images move and if they do, as well as what, if any, sounds they make. Any movements and sounds created by the spell continue for 1 hour before starting over at the beginning, as if you had just cast the spell.
A creature suspicious of the target space can use an action to make an Intellect roll. On a success, the creature sees the space for what it is.
Create Phantasm
Castings: 1
Target: One Size 1 space within 5 yards
Duration: 1 hour
An entity born from your imagination appears on the ground inside the target space. The created phantasm becomes your controlled companion for 1 hour. The effect ends early when it becomes incapacitated.
| PHANTASM |
DEFENSE: 20, HEALTH: 20
ATTRIBUTES: Strength 12 (+2), Agility 12 (+2), Intellect -, Will –
SIZE: 1, SPEED: 5
SENSES: Awareness 5
IMMUNE: all afflictions
PHANTASMAL WEAPON: The phantasm targets one creature in reach and makes a Strength roll against the target’s Intellect. On a success, the target takes 3d6 damage.
Dislocate Self
Castings: 1, when you use a reaction to dodge
Target: You
Duration: 1 minute
You become invisible while an illusory copy of yourself springs into existence 1 yard away from you, appearing as if it were sidestepping the attack. When a creature succeeds on a roll to attack you and is not aware of your true position, it strikes and destroys the copy. At the end of the round, a new copy appears. When you perform an activity, the copy appears to do the same.
False Healing
Castings: 3
Target: One creature within 5 yards
Duration: 1 hour
The target becomes convinced it has healed its wounds. The target’s Health increases by 10. Make an Intellect roll against the target’s Intellect. On a success, the target’s Health increases by an additional 15.
Imaginary Death
Castings: 3
Target: One creature within 15 yards
Duration: 1 minute
The target becomes invisible for 1 minute and an illusion of its corpse appears on the ground at its feet, apparently having fallen there. The illusion remains for as long as the target is invisible, and it looks and smells real, but any creature that touches the illusion recognizes it as being false and becomes immune to the target’s invisibility from this spell. If the target harms a creature that cannot see it, that creature makes a Will roll. On a failure, the creature also becomes weakened until the end of its next turn.
Mask Presence
Castings: 1
Target: One creature or object within 10 yards
Duration: 1 hour
Creatures other than you cannot perceive the target using a sense you choose when you cast this spell. For example, you could make an ally invisible or mask the taste of poison in a cup. The spell ends if the target creature or object is harmed. The spell also ends if the object can be consumed and is.
Master Illusion Spells
Alter REality
Castings: 1
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour
You gain the Illusory Image talent if you don’t have it already. You can use the talent without expending uses. Each round, on your turn, if you are not confused, controlled, stunned, or unconscious, you gain one action in addition to your other actions. You can use this additional action only to use the Illusory Image talent. The illusions created by that talent last for this spell’s duration instead of 1 minute. Finally, you are immune to the effects of Illusion spells and automatically recognize them for what they are.
Create Doppelganger
Castings: 1
Target: One empty space of your Size within 5 yards
Duration: 24 hours
An illusion of yourself appears inside the target space. The illusion becomes your controlled companion. It looks and sounds real. It uses your Defense, but has only half your Health score. It uses your attributes. It is a magical creation. Whenever you move, you can move the illusion up to an equal distance. When you cast a spell, you can choose to have it originate from you or the illusion. Finally, whenever a creature succeeds on a roll against you, you can make a luck roll. On a success, you instantly switch places with the illusion so that it is the target of the roll instead of you. The spell ends early if the illusion is destroyed.
Create Phantasmagoria
Castings: 1
Target: The area within 1 mile of you
Duration: 24 hours
You mask the target area with illusions to make it look like something else for 24 hours. You make all decisions about the area’s appearance. You can incorporate existing elements into the illusion or introduce completely new ones as you choose. The illusion has visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory components, which impose 2 banes on rolls to discern its illusory nature.
The illusion can suppress harmful features: neither fire nor lava emit heat, traps cease to function, and the like. The illusion can replace existing terrain with new terrain and swap normal terrain features for different ones. You can render features invisible or call attention to them.
You can introduce harmful features to the area that take whatever form you choose. A harmful feature deals 6d6 damage to a creature that interacts with it once per round; the creature makes an Intellect roll and takes no damage on a success.
The spell can alter the appearance of creatures in the area but has no effect on their rules or general dimensions, though they might behave in a different manner based on their forms. For example, a bear might look like a bear-sized fluffy stuffed animal but still remains dangerous.
You can also populate the area with harmless illusory creatures that otherwise seem fully real.
Create Greater Phantasm
Castings: 1
Target: One Size 2 space within 15 yards
Duration: 1 hour
An illusory creature of whatever appearance you can imagine appears in that space. The greater phantasm becomes your controlled companion. The spell ends early if it becomes incapacitated.
| GREATER PHANTASM |
DEFENSE: 20, HEALTH: 40
ATTRIBUTES: Strength 13 (+3), Agility 12 (+2), Intellect -, Will –
SIZE: 1, SPEED: 5
SENSES: Awareness 5
IMMUNE: all afflictions
PHANTASMAL WEAPON: The phantasm targets one creature in reach and makes a Strength roll with 1 boon against the target’s Intellect. On a success, the target takes 4d6 damage.
Hallucinatory Torment
Castings: 1
Target: Up to three creatures in one Size 5 space within 15 yards
Duration: 1 minute
Each target hallucinates for the duration. A target can overcome the effect with a successful Intellect roll. A hallucinating target is weakened and cannot see anything more than 3 yards from itself. When the target takes a turn, it makes a Will roll. On a failure, the target uses its action to attack something it perceives but isn’t real. If the target gets three failures on Will rolls from this spell, the target becomes stunned until the end of its next turn.
Horror Revealed
Castings: 3
Target: One Size 2 space within 15 yards
Duration: Instant
An illusion of something horrific appears inside the target space and then vanishes. Each creature other than you that can see the illusion makes a Will roll. On a failure, the creature drops whatever it is holding and becomes frightened of the target space (luck ends). While frightened in this way, the creature runs away from the target space on each of its turns and, at the end of each round, takes 6d6 damage.