Copyright © 2001 by Robert J. Hall

These spells are recent additions to the master tomes of the Illusionists. Some of these spells are novel or known only by a few practitioners. Spells that do not require END to maintain have their endurance cost in parentheses.

Delude

The target of this spell will come to believe that a single characteristic has been significantly decreased, as if by a 6d6 Drain attack. The characteristic will gradually return to normal at the rate of 5 points per turn while the spell is maintained. Any power defenses the target may possess will appear to operate normally against the illusionary drain attack. If the magic skill roll is failed, the Illusionist will be subject to a Drain against the same characteristic.

Displaced Image

Upon casting this spell, the Wizard becomes invisible to both sight and sound, and his form is replaced by a matching image. The image remains within 4" of the Wizard, and exactly matches his motions and sounds. If the Wizard fails his Magic Skill roll, the spell still functions but the Wizard also suffers any effects inflicted upon the displaced image. The image is 1/2 DCV of the Illusionist, unless the Wizard concentrates on avoiding blows to his duplicate image.

Doppelganger

This spell is an advanced version of the Disguise spell, and allows the Illusionist to turn himself into a near duplicate of any person or creature he has met. However, this spell does not give the Illusionist any of the abilities of the being he is copying. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, then he is momentarily overwhelmed by sensory input.

Double Vision

This spell will cause the target to view two images of the world, causing imbalance and uncertainty that reduces movement and makes most physical activities difficult. After a few minutes, the vision of the spell target will return to normal. This spell has no effect on unseeing creatures, including those that are blinded by darkness. Note that one-eyed creatures will still suffer from this effect. If the Magic Skill roll is failed, the Illusionist will suffer from double vision instead.

Edit Document

By combining this spell with a certain skill in forgery, an Illusionist can alter a document in subtle and often damaging ways. If the Magic Skill roll is failed, however, the document is damaged beyond repair.

Enhanced Invisibility

A more potent version of Invisibility, this spell will hide the Illusionist from view, and will muffle any sounds or odors that he might emit. There is no fringe about the Illusionist to give away his location, and the spell is relatively easy to maintain. However, it requires a full turn to cast this spell. If the Magic Skill roll is failed, the Wizard continues to believe he is invisible while the spell is maintained, regardless of any evidence to the contrary.

False Illusion

In contrast to normal spells of this college, the False Illusion spell is used to make a real object or creature appear to be an improperly crafted illusion. Upon casting this spell, the object will occasionally flicker and distort, as if an image was being projected.The effectiveness of this spell is enhanced if the observes know in advance that they are dealing with an Illusionist. If the Magic Skill roll is failed, however, the Wizard will suffer from blurred vision for a short time.

Grand Banquet

When cast upon a simple meal, this spell gives the food and setting the appearance of an expensive banquet for a great lord. The food will taste as if produced by the finest chef, and any drinks will be top quality. However, this spell will not protect anybody enjoying the meal from the effects of spoiled food or poisoned drinks. If the Wizard fails his Magic Skill roll, he suffers from excessive gas and indigestion for a period of one hour. The effect is primarily embarrassing, especially while hosting guests. There is reputed to be a variation of this spell that turns a grand dinner setting into a pitiful meal barely fit for prisoners and slaves.

Group Invisibility

This spell allows the caster to make up to 16 people invisible to sight, including the Illusionist. The invisibility remains in effect as long as the targets remain within sight of the Illusionist, if such were possible without the invisibility. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, he is blinded by a brilliant flash of light.

Hone Illusion

By spending several minutes carefully focusing on the details of an existing illusion, the Wizard can use this spell to greatly increase the realism and level of detail. Repeatedly casting this spell will fail to add further enhancements to the image, however. If the spell fails, the original illusion may also be dispelled.

Instant Replay

This spell acts like a recorder, allowing the Illusionist to observe a sequence of sights and sounds, then play them back when a particular trigger event occurs. This can be used, for example, to allow the Illusionist to appear to be doing one thing while he is actually doing another, such as shuffling a deck of cards while reordering the deck.

Magical Aura

With this spell, the Illusionist can cause Detect Magic spells to incorrectly detect magic on a mundane object or location. This false aura is triggered when the target is exposed to a Detect Magic spell, and the target of the illusion is the wizard using the Detect spell. The magical aura is considered a cosmetic change to the setting. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, then the spell functions, but a critical flaw reveals the error to the Wizard who casts the activating detect magic spell.

Mirage

For anybody within the effected area, this spell creates the illusion of a distant feature outside the radius of the spell. This illusion is usually some type of terrain, but can include a city, army, large creatures, or even a weather disturbance. The primary use of this spell is to serve as a distraction - to mislead others and buy the Illusionist some time. Because of the large distance from the viewer to the image, normal PER rolls are more difficult. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, he is blinded by a flash of radiant energy.

Numb Sense

The Wizard can use this spell to overwhelm any one sense group of the target creature with illusions, causing the sensory organ to fail for a short period. The sensory overload is not always successful, however, especially if the target is highly perceptive. If the Magic Skill roll is failed, the Illusionist suffers a Flash attack against the same sense.

Past Images

This spell allows the Illusionist to create a visual and auditory illusion of any event that occurred in the same location some time during the past. However, the further back in time the event occurred, the more difficult it is to reproduce the illusion. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, he is stunned by a flood of ancient memories.

Persistent Illusion

This illusion allows the Wizard to create a permanent illusion that is either static, or repeats itself within a minute or less. The illusion can have both visual and acoustic elements, but once cast the illusion can never be changed unless it is dispelled and recast. This illusion is especially vulnerable to dispel illusion, requiring only 15 points of dispel. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, the image appears but it is fatally flawed, causing all who view it to make a +3 PER roll to disbelieve.

Reflected Image

Upon casting this spell, four images of the Wizard step out of his body and begin to duplicate his actions. On the Wizard's first phase of each turn, the illusionary constructs merge back into his body, then step out again. By mimicking the actions of the Wizard, the images make it very difficult to determine who is the actual Illusionist, unless he makes it obvious by using a ranged weapon or a power with visible effects.

The images have 0 DEF and are usually 1/2 DCV of the Illusionist, unless he concentrates on avoiding blows to a particular image, in which case it receives the full DCV. In addition, the images are fragile and will vanish upon receiving 1 point of BODY. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, he becomes disoriented and confused.

Silent Spellcast

After casting this spell, the gestures and incantations of the caster are thereafter completely hidden from any viewers. This allows the Illusionist to prepare a lengthy spell in complete secrecy. However, if the Magic Skill Roll is failed, the Illusionist suffers a backlash of mental energies.

Tseshari's Shadow Puppet

The Shadow Puppet spell was created by the little known cross-discipline Illusionist, Weilam Tseshari, to allow his illusions to make simple but permanent alterations to the real world. To do so, he incorporated magical knowledge from the College of Animation, which makes this spell more difficult than normal to learn and use. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, he is briefly crippled with weakness.

Ventriloquism

Like the skill of the same name, this spell allows the Illusionist to project his voice to a location nearby. If the Illusionist fails his Magic Skill roll, he is temporarily struck deaf and mute.

Wiff

This spell can be used to make an opponent believe he completely failed to wound the Illusionist, even if the blow inflicted severe damage. This might be used, for example, to make the foe believe the Illusionist is immune to normal weapon attacks. The trigger for the spell can include attacks by all types of weapons, and from magical spells or powers. If the Wizard fails his Magic Skill roll, he is stunned with pain from an imaginary wound.

Spell Determination

To randomly determine the spells known to a typical adept of the College of Illusionists, use the tables of scholarly disciplines below. An experienced Illusionist will commonly have several spells from a single primary discipline, plus a spell each from the other disciplines.