Illusionists, how do you DM them?

[TRP]

Oh--I've just thought. The way I rule about undead's senses is very unfavourable to illusionists, who basically can't affect undead very much img.

I agree with this, as so far as it pertains to mindless undead (zombies and skeletons), but vampires, ghosts and liches are just as vulnerable to illusions as the living.

[Benoist]

Oh--I've just thought. The way I rule about undead's senses is very unfavourable to illusionists, who basically can't affect undead very much img.

I agree with this, as so far as it pertains to mindless undead (zombies and skeletons), but vampires, ghosts and liches are just as vulnerable to illusions as the living.

I agree.

[Tholianweb]

I agree with this, as so far as it pertains to mindless undead (zombies and skeletons), but vampires, ghosts and liches are just as vulnerable to illusions as the living.

i totally disagree since illusions do not affect undead at any capacity in my game.

[AxeMental]

Oh--I've just thought. The way I rule about undead's senses is very unfavourable to illusionists, who basically can't affect undead very much img.

I agree with this, as so far as it pertains to mindless undead (zombies and skeletons), but vampires, ghosts and liches are just as vulnerable to illusions as the living.

I'd say it doesn't work on any undead. I always figured its because they don't have physical minds the way a living being does. Sucks for the Illusionist.

[Ragnorakk]

I do the non-intelligent as functionally immune to illusion (say yellow mold), so many undead fall into that category. But a wolf can be affected by the illusion of a bear.

This discussion made a question pop to mind: do illusions have to pass a creature's magic resistance to affect them? EX: illusionist makes a boulder appear to be a roper. A pit fiend walks into the room. Would a magic resistance check mean that the fiend sees through it immediately? The question does not arise (in my mind anyway) if the magic resistant creature is the actual target, but when that is not the case...

[JDJarvis]

Illusions are spells. They get a save if they cause damage or would trap an individual. Damage is usually dependent on level of the caster and level of the spell. A 1st level illusionist can create the illusion of a 100' deep pit with spikes and poison snakes with the right spell but the spell would do 1d6 max (if there were such a spell). Illusions can really only create what the caster has seen; Illusions of a medusa or basilisk can even (seemingly) turn you to stone if the illusionist has been turned to stone by one in the past, otherwise it's an odd woman with snakes for hair or an ugly lizard. Folks can disbelieve with cause gaining an automatic save or +4 depending on the situation on hand...players stating "I disbelieve" every time they see something unusual lose initiative and may even be surprised and suffer all the ills that come with that. Illusions that are outright visual creations work agaisnt mindless undead those that require a thinking brain fail against many-undead. Humans can't cast illusions that would fool something with infravision if there was no light present, yes you could put an illusion in an unlit corridor that would only effect creatures with infravision if you had infravision. High level monsters aren't fooled by illusions of the same species.

[PapersAndPaychecks]

I agree with this, as so far as it pertains to mindless undead (zombies and skeletons), but vampires, ghosts and liches are just as vulnerable to illusions as the living.

I tend to think that ghosts and liches don't have senses the way that we do. I mean, they don't have vision, because they don't have eyes. Or brains. So they don't see, precisely. They are aware of life, but that awareness isn't a sense that you could name. And they hunger for life, but it's not a hunger in the way that a living thing gets hungry, it's a sort of yearning that becomes an insatiable craving from time to time. And whatever senses the undead have, even undead with eyes (such as vampires) have.

Anyway. I think an illusionist could affect an intelligent undead creature, if the illusionist can construct an illusion that could fool the undead thing's senses. Which means specialist study and more powerful magics that affect senses beyond the basic sight, hearing, smell etc. (This means a spectral force wouldn't work but a shadow monsters might.)

[AxeMental]

P&P: (This means a spectral force wouldn't work but a shadow monsters might.)

Also there's the high powered illusions that have quasi-physical presence (even if saved against) and would effect non-intl, sightless and undead.