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Statistics:Posted by yankeeschic — Mon Jun 02, 2025 10:34 pm
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Statistics:Posted by yankeeschic — Sat May 24, 2025 10:44 pm
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Part of it too is that with so few matrices, every spell has to be that much more functional to deserve loading it.
Statistics:Posted by True Neutral — Thu Jul 26, 2018 5:39 pm
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Statistics:Posted by Lursi — Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:09 pm
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I have to disagree with you on the playtesting though. I can't imagine any game designer I've known looking at the talent progression, spell list and karma ritual and agreeing that it makes perfect sense that every single Illusionist in a fantasy setting should be a David Copperfield wannabe stage act. And even if they did, no-one with any sense would put the most basic of stage magic at the Journeyman. An illusionist can kill people with gouts of flame, or lightning bolts, but they can't force a card, palm a coin or anything that would characterize a stage show. Not to mention that unlike any other discipline, an illusionist is dead out of karma if they don't have a willing assistant (that has to be different every time) and an audience. And of course, in Earthdawn, you are by definition nerfing yourself by gaining Legend points. Every rank of status you gain makes it more likely that anyone you meet will be able to ignore half of your abilities. But what's game life without some challenge?
Let's talk game play. Illusionists are by definition those that craft the reality around them. They are the ones that seek to manipulate and control what others see and hear so not having the ability to do so is patently ridiculous. Unseen Voices is the notable exception. If the arc of illusion creating spells built off of that, it could have made something fun. But let's return to your running through magic users. To be an apt comparison, you would ask the question, how many spells allow an adept to do something central to their discipline?
How many Elementalist spells allow elementalists to make significant personal choices on how their spells work? Are you kidding??? Elementalists are the best fed Adepts anywhere because whatever you feed them, for a year afterward, they can make the most expensive meal in the world out of twigs. Every elemental spell they can choose between five entirely different elements to suit their fancy. They can choose any plant they want and make it grow a week's worth in seconds. Permanently.
How many Nethermancer spells let them summon spirits of their choice? Rank one. Bone Circle. They can summon a spirit with Aid Summoner, Confusion, Durability, Evil Eye or Manifest. At will. And you can know there's a bone circle, you can try as hard as you want to break it, and it will laugh at you. Even the strongest magic user is forced to *touch* the bone circle to dispel it and face attack from the spirit. Rank One. They can summon any Nightflyer they like, give it a message and then send it anywhere within flight distance over an entire night. At Rank One, an Illusionist can make a piece of paper appear in your pocket, if they can see you. For a few seconds. The chance you could even find a message sent by an illusionist in time is negligible. At Rank one a nethermancer can repel freakin' Horrors. At Third Circle, they can send any message they want to anyone they want, anywhere in the *world* where "spirits are active". And, oh yeah, at Fourth Circle the *novice* Nethermancer can raise the freakin' dead.
Wizards, whose central goals are investigation and argument, can they investigate any magical object or effect they want? Of course. At rank one, they can Astrally Sense things through walls and detect all astral presences around them. They can perform a full pattern diagnostic on any living creature.They can read a shelf of mystic books in minutes and perfectly recall all of them. And of course full magical analysis on anything they want at Circle three.
Okay, rant over. I don't disagree with a lot of your points about balance, but please don't try to convince me anyone playtested an Illusionist and came out smiling.
Also, while I agree with the point about game balance, I don't find you're counter argument compelling. If the Displaced Image leaves footprints then a Monstrous Mantled target should leave similarly clawed, larger, etc, footprints. Horns would brush on branches and leaves and all the rest of the unprogrammable interactions necessary to be 'believeable'. Ah, but illusions make you believe them regardless, which makes the same argument. If it works for a Circle One spell, it should work for a Circle Two spell that is even easier. After all, there is no programming necessary for Displaced Image, it just mimics exactly what the target does, apparently. You don't need to make it appear a swing missed a Displaced Image any more than the dumb programmed Monstrous Mantle needs to make the entire namegiver seem to dodge for you to have missed those massive horns. Phantom Warrior makes up entirely new movements of a character continuously, times *three*, with no concentration needed.
To be clear, I don't think of it as a useless spell. My point is that when someone plays an illusionist there are certain basic things one expects to be able to do. Making duplicates to confuse the enemy. Distracting them with things that aren't there. Making the meathead warrior charge through you to land in the mud (or off a cliff if you plan ahead ;^). And once you survive everything to get to the promised land of Journeyman, you can make an illusion of a wall, maybe with a flag as long as it doesn't move very much. Oh, and pull a rabbit out of a hat. If I pay 1,300 Legend points for the privilege of doing so. So excuse me for trying to make one spell do something that would make my character seem like an Illusionist.
Your two scenarios are well noted, though the first relies on the almost never occurring "we know exactly what's around the next corner" scenario. And yes, if you know exactly what you are fighting and when, there are a number of spells that can be very useful. If you know you are going to fight creatures with a fear affect, Assuring Touch is brilliant, too. That hasn't happened in the last two years, but when it does, I'll be ready. :^)
Statistics:Posted by True Neutral — Tue Jul 24, 2018 2:24 am
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I do believe that there is both logic and play-testing behind the spell designs. There are flaws, sometimes big flaws, but in general they try to keep balance. Yes, first circle Monstrous Mantel gives bigger buffs than any other Novice spell. But only until opponents make a sensing test. It is sometimes sensed almost immediately, whereupon the buffs are lost. If it is not sensed, it is wonderful. In first ED, Ephemeral Bolt was the most deadly low circle direct combat spell. Now when secondary effects and extra successes are taken into account, Mind Dagger is better.
You know how many spells in the entire range of Novice to Journeyman spells allow an Elementalist to create an Elemental Effect of their choice? Zero.You know how many spells in the entire range of Novice to Journeyman spells allow an Illusionist to create an illusion of their choice? One.
You know how many spells in the entire range of Novice to Journeyman spells allow an Nethermancer to create an Nethermantic Effect of their choice? Zero.
You know how many spells in the entire range of Novice to Journeyman spells allow an Wizard to create any Magical Effect of their choice? Zero.
Sounds like Illusionists come out on top of that comparison. I mean why bother to become an Elementalist if you can't cause the Earth to open up in a bubbling pit of lava and swallow you enemies by the time you are 5th circle? (sarcasm)
Spells (and games), by their nature have limitations. You can't just have one spell that does everything. This does not mean that new spells can't be added, or variants of existing spells designed. But if you add things to a spell, in order to maintain balance, you need to ether take away something, or also add limitations. It sounds like True Neutral wants a spell that combines all the best aspects of Displace Image, Mirror Image, and aspects of Innocent Activity, but removes the requirement that Displace Image has that Concentration is required. That is not anywhere close to balanced.
The problem with a spell like "Displace Image" is balancing. It have a very, very amazingly powerful power, especially compared with the other low circle spells that tend to give things like +2 to defenses, or +3 to one Armor or Talent. It's power is: "everything's first attack (at least, maybe more) misses you, and leaves the monster standing too far away from you to make any extra attacks this same round". This is huge stacked against a miserable +2 PD, which means it needs a huge limitation to balance it. They chose concentration. They might have chosen other things, like it needs X more threads, or that the caster takes X strain per round. But they chose that the spell requires concentration. If you are going to remove the concentration requirement, you need to replace it with something equal to the power the spell grants. If you are going to add additional powers, you need to add MORE limitations to the spell to offset those additional powers. Otherwise balance gets out of whack.
And again, I am certain that from the developers point of view, it had absolutely nothing to do with in-world consistency, and everything to do with game balance. I don't agree with every decision that they made, but if you are going to monkey with any spell, you ought to at least make specific proposals to leave the spell well balanced. Not, mind you, proposals to leave the spell with better in-world scientific consistency, almost nobody cares about that, but specifically with good game balance.
A large part of the problem, as I see it, is that you are repeatedly insisting upon attempting to bring your vision of in-world scientific consistency to deal with a problem of game balance in a game that uses magic. It is not a scientific problem, it is a game balancing problem. And it is not a scientific world, it is a magic world.
Still, it can be fun to occasionally delve into in-world magical consistency.
I have already stated why I think this statement is silly from a game balance perspective. Lets now look at it from an in-world magical consistency problem. Monstrous Mantel and Mirror Image create effects centered upon the caster. They are pretty easily pre-programmed. Give me horns, tusks, and claws. When I swing high, image #2 swings low and #3 swings from the left, etc. There is nothing about the images that change depending upon circumstances. Last round I had horns. This round I have horns. Next round I will have horns. They don't require concentration to react because they just follow your reaction. If the monstrous mantel was hit, it was because you were hit. If you bellow, the monstrous mantel bellows. No concentration required.If you can't change the image's movements through concentration, then there is no reason the spell should require concentration.
Displace Image on the other hand requires concentration just to make it look like you are not actually where you are. As your image appears to move through the grass and underbrush, the grass and underbrush should appear to move. It should (briefly) leave footprints, and it needs to go around any trees. Meanwhile as you actually are moving through the grass and underbrush, the grass and underbrush near you should appear NOT to move. The footprints you are leaving need to be masked for a period of time. This is what you need to be concentrating on. You also need to concentrate upon reacting to appropriate stuff, such as attacks, causing your image to dodge such that the attack appears to miss (the attack DID miss, but you have to make it so your image was not where the sword was without making it too obvious). The #1 reason for succeeding upon a sensing test is that you hit somebody so well that you should have gotten a lot of extra successes, but you saw your sword pass clean through him and felt nothing. You sense that you have swung at an illusion.
I would say that you do have SOME control over your image, but only insofar as it relates to making it act and react appropriately to the situation. It is going to stay about 4 yards from you, but you can probably control where within that area it walks/stands. You can probably cause your image to step around a tree while you yourself are walking mostly straight. But you can't have it do totally independent things, and mostly it mimics you. You are concentrating on making the spell work within the limits of the spell and don't have concentration to spare on extraneous stuff.
If you break concentration, the grass and underbrush near your image is no longer moving as it should. Your image is no longer leaving footprints. Worse, the grass and underbrush near you IS moving. And you ARE leaving footprints and crushed grass. I would say that for the most part the image continues to mimic you, but since you are no longer concentrating upon all the supporting details, the scene starts to look progressively wronger. Maybe when you moved your image is now hovering 2 inches above the ground (but that could just be a flight spell). Maybe the image has a shrubbery sticking though it's leg. It probably stays in the exact same relationship to you. If you broke Concentration when it was 4 yards west of you, then you move, it will always stay 4 yards west of you. Try to move such that your image does not walk through a tree or a wall.
So even taking the objection that there is no reason the spell should require concentration purely as a question of in-world logic rather than spell balance, it does not hold up at all. There is only no reason if one is determined to ignore all the reasons.
I don't see where you are getting your contention that the spell will be obvious from their first action. It seems totally and completely out of left field. As has been patently explained at least twice in this thread, Illusions force belief upon those viewing them.Also, if the image only mimics the actions of the target, then it will be obvious as a fake from their first action. Again, nerfing the spell. You can't use it to fight, you can't use it to run away, the only function is to stand perfectly still and do nothing and not get hit for one round. After spending two rounds to cast it. That's three rounds of, what, exactly?
Even if a GM says to his players "the guy on the left quickly traces an outline of the target, then touches the “shoulder” of the outline, ..." and a player immediately says "Oh Ho! that guy has cast displace image!". And the GM asks him to have his character make a patterncraft roll, and announces that yes, he does indeed believe the guy has cast Displace Image, The spell was still a success and the NPC is still displaced, and will remain so until each individual PC makes a successful sensing test. And nobody gets any pluses to their sensing roll until somebody actually does manage to see through it. Suspecting an illusion is there is not the same thing as having seen through it.
Perhaps a big part of the problem is that you have never seen the spell used well and think it is a useless spell. You talk about it as if it is a useless spell as it stands. I think it is one of the very best spells. Let me give you two scenarios where the spell, as it stands, is phenomenally good.
(1) You see some flying creatures that you suspect have the "Dive" special attack, or suspect that there are creatures that have the "Ambush" special attack about. For example Eagles are only 2nd Circle opponents, but on the first round, they tend to "Dive", gaining a plus 5 to both attack and damage. At higher challenge levels Dive and Ambush might be 10, 15, or more. If you suspect there are creatures with Dive or Ambush around, the Illusionist can cast Displace Image upon as much as the party as he can, and those persons should go into the danger area and taunt and distract and do everything they can to invite attacks, which will miss. The creature, having closed, and wasted it's most dangerous first strike attack, is much easier and safer to kill.
(2) I adventured with a windling illusionist who usually kept Displace Image up upon the front line fighters. She then hovered above the fight doing nothing but concentrating upon the False Sighted illusion. It was wonderful. Sure she was not killing monsters directly, but she was keeping the rest of us alive. They could not hit us until the hit AFTER they had rolled a very high success. We went through many combats having taken nothing except strain.
Statistics:Posted by ChrisDDickey — Tue Jul 10, 2018 4:24 am
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Also, if the image only mimics the actions of the target, then it will be obvious as a fake from their first action. Again, nerfing the spell. You can't use it to fight, you can't use it to run away, the only function is to stand perfectly still and do nothing and not get hit for one round. After spending two rounds to cast it. That's three rounds of, what, exactly?
Also, please don't push that "it's only second circle" idea. First Circle "Monstrous Mantle" adds massive bonuses that nothing else comes close to. First Circle Ephemeral Bolt can kill people dead. So if you want to be a buff monster or just another gun mage, you're all set. If you want to be something like an Illusionist that can cast illusions that trick people or have some usefulness, well wait for that. Please don't try to sell the idea that there is a shred of logic or playtesting behind the choices of spells for Illusionists. You know how many spells in the entire range of Novice to Journeyman spells allow an Illusionist to create an illusion of their choice? One. "Illusion" and after going through years of gameplay and finally reaching that pinnacle of achievement, what can an Illusionist create? Maybe a rock. Or a wall. But you can't pick up the rock because that would be too complex for a Fifth Circle spell that requires three threads just to fire. But surely after that, you can make more complex images. Nope. But you can pull a rabbit out a hat. Not an illusionary rabbit, that's beyond your abilities, but if you get a real rabbit and hide it in a hat-sized container that has an opening in it and train the rabbit not to jump out of the other container, which has to be within your sight, you can use a FIfth Circle spell to amazingly pull it out of another hat-sized container that you have with you. Because in the centuries of fighting off horrors and rebuilding civilizations, that is what every illusionist decided should be on the list of spells they would all need. If you want to chalk it up to {shrug} it's Earthdawn, then that's fine, but don't try to convince me there is a logic behind a spell progression where the higher circle spells are mostly nerfed versions of the lower circle spells because that rabbit don't jump. Like a rabbit made with 'Illusion'.
Statistics:Posted by True Neutral — Mon Jul 09, 2018 10:28 pm
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I don't inherently disagree with this, it just kind of complicates things. What you're saying makes sense - I think this is a great post that pretty succinctly describes what the spell text infers through the single phrase that "the target's image is displaced." If the image is displaced, then it makes sense that the image reflects movements of the target. That being said, it comes back to the idea of how the image reacts when others interact with it (including attacks). If the Illusion itself doesn't react when struck, you get into that weird comical space I talked about earlier, with that "ohhhhh neeeeooooo, you totally hit my shoulder, oh mah gerd (grabs at the general area in which the sword landed but in no proportion to the angle or power of the strike)."
Honestly, I'd say the vast majority of this is fluff. This spell has duration in rounds. So, outside of combat, it's basically pretty useless, you'd be casting it every 2-3 minutes. Inside of combat, it's very clearly not intended to provide a distraction (like leading the enemy away while the target actually stays where they were). This spell pretty much screams "please, keep me from being hit in combat" and that's it. I do think there could be some entertaining and interesting things you could do with it, but really, I think that's incidental to its design space.
Statistics:Posted by The Undying — Thu Mar 30, 2017 6:53 am
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If there is no range to maintain Concentration, you can cast it on someone, stay at home Concentraiting, and target can roam city with Displaced Image as long as spell lasts.
This image acts exactly as "invisible" target the spell was cast at. You want image to hold hand up, you need to hold your hand up.
Its +5 for every round of not concentraiting, not each attack, thats clearly stated. So even if in first 4 rounds of stopped concentrating noone would attack Image, in fifth "attackers" would have +25 bonus to sensing tests.
Adding Addittional Threads, changing other things would mean creating different spell, most likely on higher circle, its possible.
Statistics:Posted by RazanMG — Thu Mar 30, 2017 5:52 am
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I already mentioned about the whole "reasonable assumption" stuff.True Neutral wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2017 8:25 pmThe reasonable assumption is that the caster, if concentrating, controls the image to make it react more believably in response to the attack. If the illusion auto-corrects by itself and is just BELIEVED as was proposed, then attacking it would not grant any bonus to sensing and concentration would add nothing to the result.
I partially said this earlier, but I want to drive this home - I would argue you are reading too much into what concentration is doing. You are taking the position that concentration allows the magician to act as though he was hit, which by implication, means that the magician is controlling the image. I just want you to stop and think about that. I cannot imagine anything other than a comedy when I image someone watching someone else hit something else and trying to act as though they were hit by that thing. It is never going to look or feel right, and more than likely, it's just going to look weird.
I have that position that concentration strengthens the illusion's nature, which allows it to react. The magician is not reacting, s/he is just strengthening the power of the spell through continued concentration.
You are correct in that neither of these are expressly stated in the spell. However, your position is leading you towards a faulty conclusion that the spell is meant for the magician to trick others into believing they are performing actions they are not performing. My position is just adding flavor to system and doesn't actually change the way the spell behaves: concentration means no sensing bonuses, ergo concentration is important to maintaining the realism of the Illusion, ergo by-flavor, end of concentration means the Illusion is LESS believable, such as the image no longer moving, either in a life-like or realistic way, possibly at all
Regardless, Illusion spells are, indeed, always just BELIEVED. Sensing is feedback from interactions that hints that your belief is wrong. On a successful Sensing test, that belief falters. On a failed sensing test, that feedback is ignored as faulty perception.
Here's the spell text:True Neutral wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2017 8:25 pmbut any subsequent attack gives a +5 Sensing test that is cumulative if the caster continues to not concentrate.
After reading it a couple times, I would say it is overly ambiguous to the point that either interpretation is viable: cumulative +5 Sensing test bonus per subsequent attack, or cumulative +5 Sensing test bonus per round after concentration has ended. My personal preference would be the latter: the continued lack of concentration on the spell makes it less and less realistic, regardless of the number of attacks made on it. However, I could see the other view as well.Each round that the magician does not concentrate gives all attackers a cumulative +5 to Sensing tests against the illusion.
Statistics:Posted by The Undying — Wed Mar 29, 2017 11:26 pm
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A significant problem here appears to be that you WANT this spell to do something it isn't designed to do. As a result, you are finding fault with it because it does not portray those aspects well.
Trust, my "detail-oriented" nature is just fine (text entry withstanding - iPhone). Between the name (displace IMAGE) and the spell text, it's clear that only the image is moved. I never suggested or disputed otherwise.
Nothing in the spell says whether the magician has control over where the image appears. However, again, please focus on the nature of Illusion magic in Earthdawn and don't try to jam logic and physics on it. The spell WANTS to be believed, and others (despite their rational mind) WANT to believe it. So long as there is space around the magician, the image can appear there. If someone attempts to move into its place, the nature of illusion magic prevents them from doing so. Why is this all perfectly okay? Because the spell is ONLY designed to make others believe that the magician is in a different place. You seem to want the spell to allow others to believe the magician is doinn different things, like walking in a different direction, which it is not designed for.
For yards is also a perfectly acceptable distance for most of your qualms about sound, smell, etc. Again, remember the nature of Illusion magic. Some pebbles shifting a few yards over from where the Adept is clearly standing? Obviously I misheard it. The well of body funk this Adept has for some reason is radiating from a few yards away? Obvious a weird air current. Really, stop trying to jam physics and reality onto this - this is magic, and more than that, it is Illusion magic.
I disagree with your "reasonable assumption" about concentration. Whether or not concentration is required is a matter of verbal sparring. Is concentration required or the spell disappears? No, this is clear. Is concentration required to maintain the effectiveness of the spell against people's interactions with it? Yes, this is clear. Are there any other reasonable assumptions? No. The spell NEVER says that the magician can make the image appear to perform an action. As such, I would not say it is a "reasonable assumption" that concentration adds that ability. A more "reasonable assumption" is that stopping concentration freezes the image, it no longer reacts, making it easier to sense.
For the "it is entirely believable unless attacked," that is not the case. The spell text clearly states that attacking "counts as" as a Sensing test. It most clearly never says attacking "is the only way to sense this illusion." Please refer to the Sensing section, which is actually referenced in the text. There are many ways to Sense an Illusion. Ending concentration adds a cumulative bonus to SENSING tests (it is weird that it says "to attacking creatures" but it cleared does not say "when attacked").
Statistics:Posted by The Undying — Wed Mar 29, 2017 10:40 pm
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1.) If the Illusionist has no control of how far away the image appears or where, then this spell has a significant chance to fail if the Illusionist casts it anywhere but alone in an empty field. One would also expect that if the writer of the spell intended the direction to be random they would have required a roll to determine in what random direction the image appears. Also one would expect if the range was not in the caster's control it would be noted that this spell is useless in any area that is not 8 yards or wider.
Remember that the image persists and is perfectly believeable with no concentration of the caster _except_ if it is attacked. This is the only context in which concentration is discussed in the spell. The reasonable assumption is that the caster, if concentrating, controls the image to make it react more believably in response to the attack. If the illusion auto-corrects by itself and is just BELIEVED as was proposed, then attacking it would not grant any bonus to sensing and concentration would add nothing to the result. If you rather look at the whole of the illusionary spell range you see that several spells are built upon each other, which I see as a reflection
of gaining mastery of different methods of illusion. In this case there is first Unseen Voices, where the caster can project their voice to a distant location, even control it to create many voices. Then Displace Image where their image is cast somewhere else and Innocent Activity where the image is projected into a scene that hides them. This leads to swapping images with another person and then actually swapping places with them, all along the same paths of projection and mirroring.2.) The spell does not require concentration to continue. As clearly described, if the caster is not concentrating the image persists and can be attacked, but any subsequent attack gives a +5 Sensing test that is cumulative if the caster continues to not concentrate. This is similar to Unseen Voices, where if the caster doesn't concentrate for a round, the voices say the same thing they said last round. In neither case is it specified that the caster can't simply retake control. The only time this is stated is when the existence of the spell itself requires continuous concentration.
Statistics:Posted by True Neutral — Wed Mar 29, 2017 8:25 pm
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Plus if you stop Concentrating there is no coming back, PG 253. Its a trade off, you want to be safe or you want to act.
Statistics:Posted by RazanMG — Wed Mar 29, 2017 3:07 am
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This may seem like a nitpick, but it makes a big difference. Clarifications don't alter the original intent, they just ensure that the original intent is correctly understood. Changes alter the original intent, thereby altering the power level, which could (and often should) have rippling effects (in the case of spells, this could include changes to number of base threads, spell Circle, bonus/penalties provided, etc).
So, that said...
Items 1-4:
You want a different spell then what this is intended for. This spell is only meant to be a displacement, mostly for the sake of defense. Concentration is an integral part of the spell - if the magician stops concentrating, basically the Illusions lacks realism, allowing others to better Sense its nature.
You want some kind of False Project, meant to confuse others in a deeper sense. You want this thing to be able to roam off, perform the Illusion of actions, etc. That's well and good - but it's a different spell.
Item 5:
Again, you're starting to bleed into a different spell. The 3rd Circle spell "Phantom Warrior" is more what you're starting to do - something that confuses the enemy and doesn't require concentration. However, the trade-off is that it isn't guaranteed safety, like Displace Image.
Item 6:
This, I would say, is your rational mind trying to impose the laws of reality and physics as we know them onto the fictional world of Earthdawn where magic does strange and wondrous things. This is a pretty common problem that I see, both in my groups and on the forum: people tend to water down or punch holes in magic or levy unnecessary restrictions on magicians "because it doesn't make sense" or "this is how magic works in other games" while simultaneously bumping up close/range combat "because it makes sense." Magic is a completely foreign thing - roll with it.
Specific to what you're saying here, remember that Illusion magics have a very specific mechanic in the game in that they are, by default, believed. Most Illusion spells, without this basic and fundamental fact in the world of Earthdawn, would be complete garbage. Know of any spells that actually transform a Namegiver into a huge monstrosity? No. And yet, Monstrous Mantle works - because people see this thing that has no basis in reality but believe it to be so because of the nature of Illusions in Earthdawn.
For this spell, I would propose that you are looking at things backwards. Because of the nature of the Illusion, it looks like a ghostly figure of the Adept has appeared BEHIND him, touched him on the shoulder, and faded away while the "real" (Illusion) Adept has strode forward up to 4 yards. Even if you choose not to see it this way, it really doesn't matter how you see it from a flavor perceptive, because the nature of Illusion magic makes it such that everyone seeing the spell FUNDAMENTALLY BELIEVES that this "illusion" is the real Adept, they cannot even conceive of the idea that the "real" Adept disappeared and is manipulating a false self - until they Sense the illusion because of interaction with it (with staggering bonuses if the Illusionist stops concentrating on the spell).
The best analogy to our world that I can think of is Horror-genre movies and books (with House of Leaves still being one of the best examples for me). There is likely zero doubt in your mind that this movie or the contents of this book are fake, they cannot interact with you or harm you in any way. Yet, your brain rips those images and situations out, wraps them around you like a biting cold, and gives you the impression that you are in imminent harm. Movie jump scares are a cheap example as they're more instinctual, but they're still an example. However, when they leave you with that lingering fear of the dark, the want to keep your back against the wall, the dread of closing your eyes ... all because of something completely 100% fictional ... that's Illusion magic.
Statistics:Posted by The Undying — Wed Mar 29, 2017 2:26 am
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1.) "...image appears *up to* four yards away..." - I propose then that what is meant by the description is that the duplicate appears *up to* four yards away, in a place the illusionist chooses, and then can be moved around within a four yard radius if the illusionist is spending their Standard action to concentrate that round. This gives you the more classic feel of the duplicate image type illusion and lets you do some more useful tricks with it, the one that I'm sure springs to mind is the 'Loki' - putting your duplicate in front of a cell door, pit, etc and taunting someone to charge you. Also, if you are hidden under cover you can create the duplicate next to you, even on top of you, also hidden. Does that sound reasonable?
2.) Concentrate on, concentrate off - I also propose that any round the illusionist isn't using their Standard action concentrating the duplicate maintains whatever distance and orientation it was at the previous round to the illusionist and does exactly what they illusionist does. If the illusionist runs forward ten yards, so does the duplicate, if the illusionist casts, it appears to come from the duplicate. Of course, that means anyone attacking or otherwise interacting with the duplicate that round would get the +5 Sensing. I think it is reasonable however to put the duplicate on auto-pilot for a round or two then pick it up again if anyone gets close. What do you think?
3.) Distance from target 20 yards for concentration - If the Illusionist casts Displace Image on someone else it is clear that the original and the duplicate cannot be more than four yards away from each other, but how far away can the illusionist be to control the duplicate through concentration? I propose 20 yards like Unseen Voices, but with the requirement of line of sight or some other means to monitor the duplicate to make it act accordingly to its environment (or +5 Sensing again). Similarly if an extra thread is used to add a target, both targets must be within a 20 yard radius.
4.) Extra Thread: Increase Range (+10 yards) This is a pure addition. There is only one extra thread option, mentioned previously (1 extra target), I propose adding a thread option for extending the range allowed between the target and the duplicate by 10 yards, as with several other spells.
5.) Extra Thread: Extra duplicate (+1) - This is essentially using the extra target thread to cast on the same target more than once. Since the effect is external to the target I think this is a fair interpretation.
6.) Casting change (Teleport) - The current description seems written to make it obvious to anything watching that the duplicate is fake. It has the illusionist drawing an outline then the outline drifts away, eventually looking like the target as the target fades. This is a spell used in combat (it lasts rounds, not minutes) so it is extremely likely that whatever the illusionist wants to fool will be watching her cast it. I propose this casting description instead: "The caster traces the outline of the target, leaving a faint glowing aura as the target fades. The caster swirls her hand in front of the target, seeming to gather them as mystical energy into her fist. The caster then turns and throws this energy up to four yards away where it reforms as the image of the target." This way it appears to be a short-range teleport or similar spell.
Statistics:Posted by True Neutral — Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:22 pm
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