Basically, exactly what the title says. I know that the object still couldn't do damage, but to create a helper to essentially help complete a hard task, or physically mess with people, or do something impossible that I couldn't do, like carry a heavy object over a chasm by making an illusion of a flying carpet real for a minute.
From what I gather, in older editions this would have worked, I think (only ever played 5e). Haven't done a lot of research into that, but anyone who does know, I'd appreciate it.
I actually tweeted Jeremy Crawford about this, but he has yet to answer, so I take the the rest of the internet to attempt to find an answer, or as close as I can get to one.
If both the creature and the object are part of the same illusion, I don't see why not. On the other hand, I don't really understand your examples, so I might not be getting what you mean. Could you provide a concrete example of something you might want to do?
Okay, for example, I might want an illusory carpenter to hammer in some nails for me (cause I'm a squishy wizard with weak little arms), so I make the hammer real so he can hammer in nails. Or, I make a big armor-clad warrior appear before me, and to make him seem realistic when a goblin attacks him I make his chest-piece real, so that the attack hits but just bounces off. I know these things can't really do damage, and due to the nature of the ability I would imagine any real physical effort would likely either break the object, or cause the creature to see it as an illusion (in the case of the armor on the warrior), but that's why I'm asking, I'd like to know how people would rule this.
Well, given that the example in the PHB is making a bridge you can cross, I'd say those are certainly valid uses. In fact, if the object made "real" with Illusory Reality can't interact with actually real objects/creatures, then there would really be no point to it, I think.
The problem I seem to be having, and that some people in other places have commented on, is the idea of an illusory creature being able to hold onto the physical object created from the illusion. Some people have said that, because it becomes a physical object, the illusion can no longer hold it, even though the flavor text seems to indicate that you're only imbuing part of the illusion with a semi-reality.
I see. I would think that even though the object is now semi-real, it is still part of the illusion, so it must be able to interact with the illusion. So yes, definitely, a semi-real hammer as part of an illusion of a carpenter wielding it should move properly. I guess the issue really is with how much force would it impact real nails, and whether it is hard enough to withstand hitting the nail. On the latter, I'd say definitely, since otherwise the bridge in the PHB example wouldn't work. Regarding the former... I'd rule it can work, but I'd watch out for potentially abusive uses of it.
The armored guy should be no problem: it's not mechanically different to making an illusion of a wall, and making it semi-real. It's functionally a static object (even though it's an illusory guy with semi-real armor, he's not actively doing anything with the armor, it's protecting you just because it's there).
That's the way I kind of saw it too. I'm not doing this for cheesing purposes, but in terms of perhaps making my character seem like he has a real, physical protector, or an artisan to help speed up projects, I figured something like that would be totally justifiable.
Now, for another question: can an object made real with illusory object damage objects? Say, an illusory battering ram made real to break down a door, or a sledgehammer made real to crack a stone table. Based on the particular wording ("the object can’t deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone"), technically RAW it seems to be that damaging creatures is not allowed, but damaging objects isn't necessarily part of it. This would go along with the idea of say, having an illusory carpenter help me with a project by sawing a board, which is technically doing damage to the wood. Technically.
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Basically, exactly what the title says. I know that the object still couldn't do damage, but to create a helper to essentially help complete a hard task, or physically mess with people, or do something impossible that I couldn't do, like carry a heavy object over a chasm by making an illusion of a flying carpet real for a minute.
From what I gather, in older editions this would have worked, I think (only ever played 5e). Haven't done a lot of research into that, but anyone who does know, I'd appreciate it.
I actually tweeted Jeremy Crawford about this, but he has yet to answer, so I take the the rest of the internet to attempt to find an answer, or as close as I can get to one.
If both the creature and the object are part of the same illusion, I don't see why not. On the other hand, I don't really understand your examples, so I might not be getting what you mean. Could you provide a concrete example of something you might want to do?
Okay, for example, I might want an illusory carpenter to hammer in some nails for me (cause I'm a squishy wizard with weak little arms), so I make the hammer real so he can hammer in nails. Or, I make a big armor-clad warrior appear before me, and to make him seem realistic when a goblin attacks him I make his chest-piece real, so that the attack hits but just bounces off. I know these things can't really do damage, and due to the nature of the ability I would imagine any real physical effort would likely either break the object, or cause the creature to see it as an illusion (in the case of the armor on the warrior), but that's why I'm asking, I'd like to know how people would rule this.
Well, given that the example in the PHB is making a bridge you can cross, I'd say those are certainly valid uses. In fact, if the object made "real" with Illusory Reality can't interact with actually real objects/creatures, then there would really be no point to it, I think.
The problem I seem to be having, and that some people in other places have commented on, is the idea of an illusory creature being able to hold onto the physical object created from the illusion. Some people have said that, because it becomes a physical object, the illusion can no longer hold it, even though the flavor text seems to indicate that you're only imbuing part of the illusion with a semi-reality.
I see. I would think that even though the object is now semi-real, it is still part of the illusion, so it must be able to interact with the illusion. So yes, definitely, a semi-real hammer as part of an illusion of a carpenter wielding it should move properly. I guess the issue really is with how much force would it impact real nails, and whether it is hard enough to withstand hitting the nail. On the latter, I'd say definitely, since otherwise the bridge in the PHB example wouldn't work. Regarding the former... I'd rule it can work, but I'd watch out for potentially abusive uses of it.
The armored guy should be no problem: it's not mechanically different to making an illusion of a wall, and making it semi-real. It's functionally a static object (even though it's an illusory guy with semi-real armor, he's not actively doing anything with the armor, it's protecting you just because it's there).
That's the way I kind of saw it too. I'm not doing this for cheesing purposes, but in terms of perhaps making my character seem like he has a real, physical protector, or an artisan to help speed up projects, I figured something like that would be totally justifiable.
Now, for another question: can an object made real with illusory object damage objects? Say, an illusory battering ram made real to break down a door, or a sledgehammer made real to crack a stone table. Based on the particular wording ("the object can’t deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone"), technically RAW it seems to be that damaging creatures is not allowed, but damaging objects isn't necessarily part of it. This would go along with the idea of say, having an illusory carpenter help me with a project by sawing a board, which is technically doing damage to the wood. Technically.