With the 2024 release I looked at the wizard subclasses and thought, "Hey, you know, this take on subclasses instead of schools might be OK! And what's this Illusionist got going on? Illusory Self and an option to make illusions real? I'll hop on board!"
Except I won't. The initial thought was to do some weird Swashbuckling Illusionist who could skirmish without getting hit. 3 levels of Rogue to get cunning actions, tool and skill proficiencies, and (most importantly) Fancy Footwork for harrying minor adds and finishing off bads. With 10 Illusionist you get Illusory Self to avoid a successful attack every short/long rest. All the while Lizzie the Wizzie is mixing enchantment and illusion spells to control the flow of battle and liquify brains. Of course, you'd go all the way to 14 Wizard (at least) to take advantage of that one true power, Illusory Reality, which allows you to turn your illusion into a real object for ten turns (1 minute). As a bonus action! Without Concentration!!!
But the object has to be inanimate and it can't deal damage directly to a person. The total number of illusion spells affected by this ability is....
wait for it
....
....
6 1/2. Yes, six and one half of all spells in the game are affected by Illusory Reality. What are they, and can they still be cool?
Disguise Self: Here, have a new hat for a minute.
Silent Image: Create an image of an object or a thing, like, say, a bear, that you can move around and even mimic its movements. Kinda intimidating! Use illusory reality on it and the only silent image of a bear you're creating is a picture of Tom Selleck. Ok, actually, down! How many level 1 spells at Wizard 14? Oh, that's right, they only last 1 minute. Sell fast!!!
Phantasmal Force: Your choice of creating an illusion that compels someone to do something silly (like crossing a bridge that isn't there) or sit terrified in psychosomatic mindfire. So making that bridge real would let the person cross it without falling off of it, or turn that 1d6 psychic damage hallucinatory acid puddle into a 1d0 actually nothing puddle.
Phantasmal Killer: Make real that dead wife whose grieving widow can't escape the guilt of. Let its eternal disappointment in them punctuate with melting flesh and rotting, dessicated, zombified bones to cause 4d6 psychic damage on a missed save. OR, don't do that, and instead make the phantasm real so all the widow's friends can comfort them and soften the horrific blow of your mindgames. Also, no damage.
Major Image: Do the bridge thing from the ability description. It's a 20x20 foot cube, so you could technically make an 80x5 foot bridge. The illusion will last ten minutes on concentration, but the physical object will only last one minute, so you better hurry little gnomies! Oh, and I guess you can also make walls, but not doors because doors move. Everything can smell like strawberries or poop, or strawberries and poop, provided you want that.
Hallucinatory Terrain: This is that half spell. You can make terrain that looks different from the actual terrain it's on for 1 day, except people can walk through it and notice it's a fake!!! (know your meme, folks) or roll an Intelligence Save to notice it's quite unreal. But I guess a minute of actual hallucinatory terrain might somehow be practical, except none of the grass or trees or whatever would be able to move or sway in the wind, or give way to your feet because it's all inanimate. You can also just use Mirage Arcane, which does this exact thing (if you even had to).
Seeming: This one I could have a lot of fun with! Disguise someone's appearance by ADDING EQUIPMENT! WAHT!!!! Sure, I could give my rogue some noble garment to help him into the royal palace, or change that Drow's face because Faerun is racist. I think I'd rather put that Halfling Rogue enemy in a triple weighted lead robe and watch them try to run and backstab my paladin again. Hey dragon, I heard you like gold. Please accept this 500 lb gold chain with no clasp and BOOM, done flying, 20 foot movement speed, party I'm gonna grab a beer. All for a level 5 spell slot and no need for resting *chef's kiss*.
And that's it. You can't use Minor Illusion because that's a cantrip and obviously cheating. Project Image is animate, presuming you are animate. I imagine you would need to be standing next to a Programmed Illusion to know when to make it real, which defeats the point of having a programmed illusion. Phantom Steed is already the phantom steez of illusory mounts, and Mental Prison wouldn't work because, again, you can't deal damage. As for making walls with Major Image, Wall of Stone makes a bigger wall and can trap (or kill!) characters if they're pinned between walls and miss a Dex save. Major Image displaces people.
But wouldn't it be cool if you could at least manifest a mobile illusion for 10 turns? Let the spell continue to do damage to its target (if it deals damage) while also manifesting it for all of the world to see and be terrified of? I know when I'm DMing people foolish enough to go 14 Illusion Wizard my Ruling will be:
By 14th level, you have learned the secret of weaving shadow magic into your illusions to give them a semi-reality. When you cast an illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one non-magical object per illusion and make that object real. You can do this on your turn as a bonus action while the spell is ongoing. The object remains real for 1 minute. For example, you can create an illusion of a bridge over a chasm and then make it real long enough for your allies to cross, or manifest a phantasmal terror from the mind of your victim. If your hallucination deals psychic damage to a target, all non-allied characters must roll a wisdom save or become Frightened. They can re-roll on subsequent turns until the hallucination vanishes.
If you are casting an illusion you can control out of combat, such as Disguise Self, Major Image, or Mislead, you can choose to concentrate on the illusion and control it or allow the environment to affect it for ten minutes, after which it disappears regardless of the spell's typical duration.
The object can't deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone who is not the target of the original spell.
Why even bother going Illusion Wizard 17 if you can't cast Weird and have a ton of Phantom Phase Spiders running amok in a small village?
Of course, I could just go Evocation Wizard 14 and Overchannel to have my automatic 40 Fire Damage to EVERYTHINGGG when I cast Wall of Fire 60 feet down a hallway, or my automatic 64 cold damage to EVERYTHINGGG from Cone of Cold. Or I could do both before a long rest and take 10-60 Necrotic Damage. Why do you think they invented Clerics?
Sorry for casting Wall of Text, but seriously: Convince me!
Threads like this are why people say there's a conflict between optimization and roleplay
You play an illusionist because it fits the story you want to tell with the character
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I’ve always thought of the illusionist as as master poker player with the illusions as bluffs. You don’t want to use them all the time or everyone expects you to use them. So you start off using non illusion spells then slip the illusions in when folks aren’t expecting them. When they catch on you do a bunch of illusions so they think everything is illusions then hit them with the real thing. ( you’ve been casting illusions so when I see you casting fireball I stand there and disbelieve your illusionary fireball. You, except this is a real fireball and since you said you stand there disbelieving you don’t get a save - take full damage.)
I don't think you should play an illusionist if it doesn't appeal to you. If you're interested then try it. If not then play something you are interested in playing.
At second level you get the minor illusion cantrip, and it can now create an image AND sound. This is pretty nice, but depending on the DM you may have been able to do both beforehand.
The 1/2 cost and price for copying illusion spells is pretty useful IMO because there are a lot of illusion spells.
At sixth level you can change the nature of your illusions which is really nice for saving spell slots.
Overall it’s pretty good. Not the strongest, but you’re still a wizard.
I decided to look up how the Wizard schools stack up to each other in spell amounts. Interesting find!
Transmutation: 40
Evocation: 34
Illusion: 26
Abjuration: 22
Conjuration: 22
Divination: 19
Necromancy: 17
Enchantment: 14
So Illusion magic is third, in total spells available. Not shabby, but its Level 14 feature isn't tailored to maximize the utility of Illusion spells by the nature of Illusion spells in general. The ones in which you can make an inanimate non-magical object that doesn't deal any damage a real object loses its utility in a number of situations other than "build a bridge" or "manifest a boat." Even then, it only lasts for a minute, which is about as long as reading this paragraph 2.7 times.
Also, just want to clarify that you can cast ANY illusion spell without a verbal component at level 3, which is a huge asset for stealthy characters and infiltration. The level 6 feature is actually Summon Fey and Summon Creature becoming available either as written for Druids (costing a spell slot) or as a spectral illusion at half hit points (COSTING NO SPELL SLOTS!!!). That's probably the best feature of the class, all told, because a spectral fey is basically a combat magic hand. 2d6+6 Force Damage, can scout up ahead of you or fly up to look into windows, and takes its turn right after yours in combat. Pretty dope!
The ability to change illusions after they've been made are tied to the spells themselves and are not a subclass design.
Threads like this are why people say there's a conflict between optimization and roleplay
You play an illusionist because it fits the story you want to tell with the character
It's not even about optimization. I think the Wizard subclasses were designed to make the class more compatible with multiclassing as a whole, either encouraging higher dips into Wiz or discouraging dips outside of it. Lets look put each subclass feature here for reference
Abjurer (Tanky Battle Mage):
Arcane Ward: Tell bad guys to "STOP IT" with Wiz level + Int Mod shield HP that protects the caster from ALL damage and accepts your resistances and vulnerabilities.
Projected Ward: Tell bad guys to "STOP IT," except this time with your friend. The ward still relies on caster Wiz Lvl + Int Mod and resistances/vulnerabilities.
Spell Breaker: Counterspell and Dispel Magic are always prepared, Dispel Magic can be cast as a bonus action, and they spell slots aren't used if Counterspell or Dispel Magic fail.
Spell Resistance: Advantage on Spell Save DC and Resistance to spell damage (lol, S++ Tier).
Evoker (Pew Pew Lazors):
Potent Cantrip: Half damage on missed cantrip.
Sculpt Spells: A number of creatures you can see equal to Spell Level + 1 are not harmed by Evocation spells.
Empowered Evocation: Add Int Mod to damage for one casting of each Evocation spell (presumably per long rest, this is the worst written subclass feature in the game).
Overchannel: Deal maximum damage on any Evocation spell you cast once per long rest. Just kidding, you can do it again if you're ok taking 2d12 Necrotic per spell level. Also just kidding, you can do it again if you're willing to take 3d12 Necrotic the next time, 4d12 Necrotic the time after that, etc.
Diviner (Not sure about a cool summary here, let me roll d20 to see if I find something out later. Nope):
Portent: Roll two d20s at the start of your day. Use those scores individually to change a skill test (any roll except attack) once each before your next long rest, when you lose them.
Expert Divination: Gain a spell slot whenever you cast a Level 2+ Divination spell. The spell must be lower than the Divination spell that was cast. (COOL! Synergy is fun).
The Third Eye: Darkvision to 120 feet, you can understand any language, and unlimited See Invisibility.
Greater Portent: You roll three d20s instead of two for skill test changes.
Illusionist (There is no spoon):
Improved Illusions: Minor Illusion is free and can cast as a bonus action. You can cast Illusions without vocal components. Illusions with a range of 10+ feet now have a range of 60 feet. Sick.
Phantasmal Creatures: Summon Beast and Summon Fey are always available and can be cast as Illusions without expending a spell slot. If they're illusions, they appear spectral and have half HP. You can cast either as an illusion once per Long Rest.
Illusory Self: Take a reaction to avoid a successful attack roll once per Short/Long Rest as a reaction. Alternately, use a Level 2+ spell slot to recast before you rest.
Illusory Reality: Make something that doesn't move, isn't magical, and doesn't deal damage real for one minute, which isn't very long or in line with what the illusionist does as a concept.
So the Abjurer and Evoker are pretty strong in combat, but the Wards that Abjurer can cast also work in rooms that are filling with poison gas or when falling off a roof, giving that class a broader utility while leaning into its role. The Portent and Greater Portent of the Diviner is not great because there's nothing keeping you from rolling low on those. The Illusionist gets some pretty great features but Illusory Reality at Wiz 14 isn't enticing. It'd be better to use a long-lasting enchantment to manipulate a situation. Suggestion at Level 2 lasts 8 hours and Mass Suggestion at Level 6 (which you can earn at Wizard 11) lasts 1 day.
My point is while every other subclass in D&D plays to the strengths of the character design as it gains experience (yeah, even the Monk and Rogue with their dead levels), the Illusionist gains a VERY limited non-combat skill that adds little power to the class, and that's messed up because the class has appeal up to Level 11 when you can take Mass Suggestion (or Globe of Invulnerability, Circle of Death, Disintegrate...). There are also other Wizard spells that do exactly what this offers, only longer, better, faster, stronger.
I’ve always thought of the illusionist as as master poker player with the illusions as bluffs. You don’t want to use them all the time or everyone expects you to use them. So you start off using non illusion spells then slip the illusions in when folks aren’t expecting them. When they catch on you do a bunch of illusions so they think everything is illusions then hit them with the real thing. ( you’ve been casting illusions so when I see you casting fireball I stand there and disbelieve your illusionary fireball. You, except this is a real fireball and since you said you stand there disbelieving you don’t get a save - take full damage.)
I totally agree! Or you can create an illusion that looks like it was caught in the fireball to fake a death. I highlighted some examples of using illusions to scare people, but a British Illusionist could fashion a prince to become the next Hamlet by making his dead kingly father lie to him. I'm pretty sure that was the director's cut of that play, anyway.
But if you're telling me that my illusion magic becomes so strong I can rip at reality to make parts of it real, then why can't that illusion of your family heirloom be held for longer than a minute. That's shorter than a typical conversation. It would disappear before the person got their gold pouch out. Not to mention my illusions can't move or make noise.
Maybe they don't want illusions that can act like Mage Hand or otherwise influence the environment, but illusion spells can last 10 minutes, hours, days, and be cast and maintained over massive distances. But reality won't let me keep something manifested longer than it took me to write this post? Kind of lame.
I don't think you should play an illusionist if it doesn't appeal to you. If you're interested then try it. If not then play something you are interested in playing.
Au Contraire! Illusionist sounds dope and Illusion magic slays but the subclass needs to rock harder in the endgame. I'll post my homebrew fix to Illusory Reality here again and highlight the changes I made, which I hope will highlight the point I'm making:
By 14th level, you have learned the secret of weaving shadow magic into your illusions to give them a semi-reality. When you cast an illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one non-magical object per illusion and make that object real. You can do this on your turn as a bonus action while the spell is ongoing. The object remains real for 1 minute. For example, you can create an illusion of a bridge over a chasm and then make it real long enough for your allies to cross, or manifest a phantasmal terror from the mind of your victim. If your hallucination deals psychic damage to a target, all non-allied characters must roll a wisdom save or become Frightened. They can re-roll on subsequent turns until the hallucination vanishes.
If you are casting an illusion you can control out of combat, such as Disguise Self, Major Image, or Mislead, you can choose to concentrate on the illusion and control it or allow the environment to affect it for ten minutes, after which it disappears regardless of the spell's typical duration.
The object can't deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone who is not the target of the original spell.
Illusionist can be completely amazing if you have the imagination to really work the illusions (not just create them but set them up via showmanship, stage setting, etc) and a DM with the imagination to let them matter (which does not mean 'allow them to always work perfectly).
Unfortunately, these seem really rare combinations.
Illusionists were viable back in 2nd edition, and not since. Back then if you believed it to be real, it could do real damage. Round 1 cast fireball for real damage, round 2 create an illusion of a fireball for damage (because it was believable). Someone had to actively try to disbelieve the illusion before they got a save. But then they started nerfing illusions to the point of an illusion specialist being pointless. An illusionary wall no longer fools anyone using their hands to search for secret doors (it used to, it used to be that if you believed the illusion your character's brain would make you think you feel the wall). In fact once upon a time (1st Edition, Unearthed Arcana) illusionists actually got a better armor spell. Not so anymore. We still use Silent Image, Minor Illusion, Diguise Self etc. but specializing as an illusionist is kind of pointless.
Characters have to be viable from level 1, not only after they reach level 14, etc.
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Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
Illusionists were viable back in 2nd edition, and not since. Back then if you believed it to be real, it could do real damage. Round 1 cast fireball for real damage, round 2 create an illusion of a fireball for damage (because it was believable). Someone had to actively try to disbelieve the illusion before they got a save. But then they started nerfing illusions to the point of an illusion specialist being pointless. An illusionary wall no longer fools anyone using their hands to search for secret doors (it used to, it used to be that if you believed the illusion your character's brain would make you think you feel the wall). In fact once upon a time (1st Edition, Unearthed Arcana) illusionists actually got a better armor spell. Not so anymore. We still use Silent Image, Minor Illusion, Diguise Self etc. but specializing as an illusionist is kind of pointless.
Characters have to be viable from level 1, not only after they reach level 14, etc.
This is what I mean "And a DM who allows them to matter." No touching is involved in, say, the sound of a large creature being around the corner. An enemy could take the time, in combat, to confirm spikes or a chasm are not real, or they could actually be paying most of their attention to the party of armed adventurers in front of them. If you were facing down an enemy squad and the Earth opened up behind you, seemingly cutting off your retreat, would your thought really be to turn your back on the armed combatants to check to see if the chasm is real?
And they still have the ability to learn and cast any other wizard spells. They are not actually limited only to illusion. They do not even become an illusionist until level 2 (2014 rules) or level 3 (2024 rules). Not sure why you would think they have to wait until 14th to be viable.
IF you are creative with the Illusionist AND your DM supports the kind of shenanigans that illusions cause, the Illusionist can easily defeat encounters that other wizards may not.
However, if you just run numbers in combat the Illusionist does come up short.
So the Abjurer and Evoker are pretty strong in combat, but the Wards that Abjurer can cast also work in rooms that are filling with poison gas or when falling off a roof, giving that class a broader utility while leaning into its role. The Portent and Greater Portent of the Diviner is not great because there's nothing keeping you from rolling low on those. The Illusionist gets some pretty great features but Illusory Reality at Wiz 14 isn't enticing. It'd be better to use a long-lasting enchantment to manipulate a situation. Suggestion at Level 2 lasts 8 hours and Mass Suggestion at Level 6 (which you can earn at Wizard 11) lasts 1 day.
Rolling low on the portent is the best!! Well, rolling extremes on the portent dice is the best. Give the high rolls to yourself and friends, and the low ones go to opponents. Diviner is bar none the most powerful, session by session, for this ability alone, because they often have those silver bullets up their sleeve. (Want to cast Banish, but are bummed that they might make their save? Give em' that 3 you rolled on your portent die. And so on.)
You forgot mirage arcana. Your missing the value you get to level 14 then planeshift to the astral and your one min limitation doest matter. In a timeless setting you become a reality altering demi god.
Also it doesn't say you can't change the environment difficult terrain isn't a condition, carry capacity isn't a condition, people with their new 1000 pound stone suit won't be hurt but good luck moving. Depending on your DM you could make sunshine to incapacitate many different foes who are weak to it.
You know what isn't magic antitoxin giving all your allies anti toxic for free....also spell components diamonds out of your resurrection budget well no more! Never pay for a component again.
Last and very raw not rai... Spellbooks are not magic items. Got a order of the scribe friend? You can create illusionary spellbooks with spells you don't know in them have your speedy scribe Friend copy them as real spells in one minute increments
You forgot mirage arcana. Your missing the value you get to level 14 then planeshift to the astral and your one min limitation doest matter. In a timeless setting you become a reality altering demi god.
Also it doesn't say you can't change the environment difficult terrain isn't a condition, carry capacity isn't a condition, people with their new 1000 pound stone suit won't be hurt but good luck moving. Depending on your DM you could make sunshine to incapacitate many different foes who are weak to it.
You know what isn't magic antitoxin giving all your allies anti toxic for free....also spell components diamonds out of your resurrection budget well no more! Never pay for a component again.
Last and very raw not rai... Spellbooks are not magic items. Got a order of the scribe friend? You can create illusionary spellbooks with spells you don't know in them have your speedy scribe Friend copy them as real spells in one minute increments
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With the 2024 release I looked at the wizard subclasses and thought, "Hey, you know, this take on subclasses instead of schools might be OK! And what's this Illusionist got going on? Illusory Self and an option to make illusions real? I'll hop on board!"
Except I won't. The initial thought was to do some weird Swashbuckling Illusionist who could skirmish without getting hit. 3 levels of Rogue to get cunning actions, tool and skill proficiencies, and (most importantly) Fancy Footwork for harrying minor adds and finishing off bads. With 10 Illusionist you get Illusory Self to avoid a successful attack every short/long rest. All the while Lizzie the Wizzie is mixing enchantment and illusion spells to control the flow of battle and liquify brains. Of course, you'd go all the way to 14 Wizard (at least) to take advantage of that one true power, Illusory Reality, which allows you to turn your illusion into a real object for ten turns (1 minute). As a bonus action! Without Concentration!!!
But the object has to be inanimate and it can't deal damage directly to a person. The total number of illusion spells affected by this ability is....
wait for it
....
....
6 1/2. Yes, six and one half of all spells in the game are affected by Illusory Reality. What are they, and can they still be cool?
Disguise Self: Here, have a new hat for a minute.
Silent Image: Create an image of an object or a thing, like, say, a bear, that you can move around and even mimic its movements. Kinda intimidating! Use illusory reality on it and the only silent image of a bear you're creating is a picture of Tom Selleck. Ok, actually, down! How many level 1 spells at Wizard 14? Oh, that's right, they only last 1 minute. Sell fast!!!
Phantasmal Force: Your choice of creating an illusion that compels someone to do something silly (like crossing a bridge that isn't there) or sit terrified in psychosomatic mindfire. So making that bridge real would let the person cross it without falling off of it, or turn that 1d6 psychic damage hallucinatory acid puddle into a 1d0 actually nothing puddle.
Phantasmal Killer: Make real that dead wife whose grieving widow can't escape the guilt of. Let its eternal disappointment in them punctuate with melting flesh and rotting, dessicated, zombified bones to cause 4d6 psychic damage on a missed save. OR, don't do that, and instead make the phantasm real so all the widow's friends can comfort them and soften the horrific blow of your mindgames. Also, no damage.
Major Image: Do the bridge thing from the ability description. It's a 20x20 foot cube, so you could technically make an 80x5 foot bridge. The illusion will last ten minutes on concentration, but the physical object will only last one minute, so you better hurry little gnomies! Oh, and I guess you can also make walls, but not doors because doors move. Everything can smell like strawberries or poop, or strawberries and poop, provided you want that.
Hallucinatory Terrain: This is that half spell. You can make terrain that looks different from the actual terrain it's on for 1 day, except people can walk through it and notice it's a fake!!! (know your meme, folks) or roll an Intelligence Save to notice it's quite unreal. But I guess a minute of actual hallucinatory terrain might somehow be practical, except none of the grass or trees or whatever would be able to move or sway in the wind, or give way to your feet because it's all inanimate. You can also just use Mirage Arcane, which does this exact thing (if you even had to).
Seeming: This one I could have a lot of fun with! Disguise someone's appearance by ADDING EQUIPMENT! WAHT!!!! Sure, I could give my rogue some noble garment to help him into the royal palace, or change that Drow's face because Faerun is racist. I think I'd rather put that Halfling Rogue enemy in a triple weighted lead robe and watch them try to run and backstab my paladin again. Hey dragon, I heard you like gold. Please accept this 500 lb gold chain with no clasp and BOOM, done flying, 20 foot movement speed, party I'm gonna grab a beer. All for a level 5 spell slot and no need for resting *chef's kiss*.
And that's it. You can't use Minor Illusion because that's a cantrip and obviously cheating. Project Image is animate, presuming you are animate. I imagine you would need to be standing next to a Programmed Illusion to know when to make it real, which defeats the point of having a programmed illusion. Phantom Steed is already the phantom steez of illusory mounts, and Mental Prison wouldn't work because, again, you can't deal damage. As for making walls with Major Image, Wall of Stone makes a bigger wall and can trap (or kill!) characters if they're pinned between walls and miss a Dex save. Major Image displaces people.
But wouldn't it be cool if you could at least manifest a mobile illusion for 10 turns? Let the spell continue to do damage to its target (if it deals damage) while also manifesting it for all of the world to see and be terrified of? I know when I'm DMing people foolish enough to go 14 Illusion Wizard my Ruling will be:
By 14th level, you have learned the secret of weaving shadow magic into your illusions to give them a semi-reality. When you cast an illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one non-magical object per illusion and make that object real. You can do this on your turn as a bonus action while the spell is ongoing. The object remains real for 1 minute. For example, you can create an illusion of a bridge over a chasm and then make it real long enough for your allies to cross, or manifest a phantasmal terror from the mind of your victim. If your hallucination deals psychic damage to a target, all non-allied characters must roll a wisdom save or become Frightened. They can re-roll on subsequent turns until the hallucination vanishes.
If you are casting an illusion you can control out of combat, such as Disguise Self, Major Image, or Mislead, you can choose to concentrate on the illusion and control it or allow the environment to affect it for ten minutes, after which it disappears regardless of the spell's typical duration.
The object can't deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone who is not the target of the original spell.
Why even bother going Illusion Wizard 17 if you can't cast Weird and have a ton of Phantom Phase Spiders running amok in a small village?
Of course, I could just go Evocation Wizard 14 and Overchannel to have my automatic 40 Fire Damage to EVERYTHINGGG when I cast Wall of Fire 60 feet down a hallway, or my automatic 64 cold damage to EVERYTHINGGG from Cone of Cold. Or I could do both before a long rest and take 10-60 Necrotic Damage. Why do you think they invented Clerics?
Sorry for casting Wall of Text, but seriously: Convince me!
If you're not happy with it, I don't see why we should try to convince you otherwise.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Threads like this are why people say there's a conflict between optimization and roleplay
You play an illusionist because it fits the story you want to tell with the character
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I’ve always thought of the illusionist as as master poker player with the illusions as bluffs. You don’t want to use them all the time or everyone expects you to use them. So you start off using non illusion spells then slip the illusions in when folks aren’t expecting them. When they catch on you do a bunch of illusions so they think everything is illusions then hit them with the real thing. ( you’ve been casting illusions so when I see you casting fireball I stand there and disbelieve your illusionary fireball. You, except this is a real fireball and since you said you stand there disbelieving you don’t get a save - take full damage.)
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
I don't think you should play an illusionist if it doesn't appeal to you. If you're interested then try it. If not then play something you are interested in playing.
I decided to look up how the Wizard schools stack up to each other in spell amounts. Interesting find!
Transmutation: 40
Evocation: 34
Illusion: 26
Abjuration: 22
Conjuration: 22
Divination: 19
Necromancy: 17
Enchantment: 14
So Illusion magic is third, in total spells available. Not shabby, but its Level 14 feature isn't tailored to maximize the utility of Illusion spells by the nature of Illusion spells in general. The ones in which you can make an inanimate non-magical object that doesn't deal any damage a real object loses its utility in a number of situations other than "build a bridge" or "manifest a boat." Even then, it only lasts for a minute, which is about as long as reading this paragraph 2.7 times.
Also, just want to clarify that you can cast ANY illusion spell without a verbal component at level 3, which is a huge asset for stealthy characters and infiltration. The level 6 feature is actually Summon Fey and Summon Creature becoming available either as written for Druids (costing a spell slot) or as a spectral illusion at half hit points (COSTING NO SPELL SLOTS!!!). That's probably the best feature of the class, all told, because a spectral fey is basically a combat magic hand. 2d6+6 Force Damage, can scout up ahead of you or fly up to look into windows, and takes its turn right after yours in combat. Pretty dope!
The ability to change illusions after they've been made are tied to the spells themselves and are not a subclass design.
It's not even about optimization. I think the Wizard subclasses were designed to make the class more compatible with multiclassing as a whole, either encouraging higher dips into Wiz or discouraging dips outside of it. Lets look put each subclass feature here for reference
Abjurer (Tanky Battle Mage):
Arcane Ward: Tell bad guys to "STOP IT" with Wiz level + Int Mod shield HP that protects the caster from ALL damage and accepts your resistances and vulnerabilities.
Projected Ward: Tell bad guys to "STOP IT," except this time with your friend. The ward still relies on caster Wiz Lvl + Int Mod and resistances/vulnerabilities.
Spell Breaker: Counterspell and Dispel Magic are always prepared, Dispel Magic can be cast as a bonus action, and they spell slots aren't used if Counterspell or Dispel Magic fail.
Spell Resistance: Advantage on Spell Save DC and Resistance to spell damage (lol, S++ Tier).
Evoker (Pew Pew Lazors):
Potent Cantrip: Half damage on missed cantrip.
Sculpt Spells: A number of creatures you can see equal to Spell Level + 1 are not harmed by Evocation spells.
Empowered Evocation: Add Int Mod to damage for one casting of each Evocation spell (presumably per long rest, this is the worst written subclass feature in the game).
Overchannel: Deal maximum damage on any Evocation spell you cast once per long rest. Just kidding, you can do it again if you're ok taking 2d12 Necrotic per spell level. Also just kidding, you can do it again if you're willing to take 3d12 Necrotic the next time, 4d12 Necrotic the time after that, etc.
Diviner (Not sure about a cool summary here, let me roll d20 to see if I find something out later. Nope):
Portent: Roll two d20s at the start of your day. Use those scores individually to change a skill test (any roll except attack) once each before your next long rest, when you lose them.
Expert Divination: Gain a spell slot whenever you cast a Level 2+ Divination spell. The spell must be lower than the Divination spell that was cast. (COOL! Synergy is fun).
The Third Eye: Darkvision to 120 feet, you can understand any language, and unlimited See Invisibility.
Greater Portent: You roll three d20s instead of two for skill test changes.
Illusionist (There is no spoon):
Improved Illusions: Minor Illusion is free and can cast as a bonus action. You can cast Illusions without vocal components. Illusions with a range of 10+ feet now have a range of 60 feet. Sick.
Phantasmal Creatures: Summon Beast and Summon Fey are always available and can be cast as Illusions without expending a spell slot. If they're illusions, they appear spectral and have half HP. You can cast either as an illusion once per Long Rest.
Illusory Self: Take a reaction to avoid a successful attack roll once per Short/Long Rest as a reaction. Alternately, use a Level 2+ spell slot to recast before you rest.
Illusory Reality: Make something that doesn't move, isn't magical, and doesn't deal damage real for one minute, which isn't very long or in line with what the illusionist does as a concept.
So the Abjurer and Evoker are pretty strong in combat, but the Wards that Abjurer can cast also work in rooms that are filling with poison gas or when falling off a roof, giving that class a broader utility while leaning into its role. The Portent and Greater Portent of the Diviner is not great because there's nothing keeping you from rolling low on those. The Illusionist gets some pretty great features but Illusory Reality at Wiz 14 isn't enticing. It'd be better to use a long-lasting enchantment to manipulate a situation. Suggestion at Level 2 lasts 8 hours and Mass Suggestion at Level 6 (which you can earn at Wizard 11) lasts 1 day.
My point is while every other subclass in D&D plays to the strengths of the character design as it gains experience (yeah, even the Monk and Rogue with their dead levels), the Illusionist gains a VERY limited non-combat skill that adds little power to the class, and that's messed up because the class has appeal up to Level 11 when you can take Mass Suggestion (or Globe of Invulnerability, Circle of Death, Disintegrate...). There are also other Wizard spells that do exactly what this offers, only longer, better, faster, stronger.
I totally agree! Or you can create an illusion that looks like it was caught in the fireball to fake a death. I highlighted some examples of using illusions to scare people, but a British Illusionist could fashion a prince to become the next Hamlet by making his dead kingly father lie to him. I'm pretty sure that was the director's cut of that play, anyway.
But if you're telling me that my illusion magic becomes so strong I can rip at reality to make parts of it real, then why can't that illusion of your family heirloom be held for longer than a minute. That's shorter than a typical conversation. It would disappear before the person got their gold pouch out. Not to mention my illusions can't move or make noise.
Maybe they don't want illusions that can act like Mage Hand or otherwise influence the environment, but illusion spells can last 10 minutes, hours, days, and be cast and maintained over massive distances. But reality won't let me keep something manifested longer than it took me to write this post? Kind of lame.
Au Contraire! Illusionist sounds dope and Illusion magic slays but the subclass needs to rock harder in the endgame. I'll post my homebrew fix to Illusory Reality here again and highlight the changes I made, which I hope will highlight the point I'm making:
By 14th level, you have learned the secret of weaving shadow magic into your illusions to give them a semi-reality. When you cast an illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one non-magical object per illusion and make that object real. You can do this on your turn as a bonus action while the spell is ongoing. The object remains real for 1 minute. For example, you can create an illusion of a bridge over a chasm and then make it real long enough for your allies to cross, or manifest a phantasmal terror from the mind of your victim. If your hallucination deals psychic damage to a target, all non-allied characters must roll a wisdom save or become Frightened. They can re-roll on subsequent turns until the hallucination vanishes.
If you are casting an illusion you can control out of combat, such as Disguise Self, Major Image, or Mislead, you can choose to concentrate on the illusion and control it or allow the environment to affect it for ten minutes, after which it disappears regardless of the spell's typical duration.
The object can't deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone who is not the target of the original spell.
Battletech is great!
As an Illusionist you can cast illusion spells while in Silence if it can convince you!
More seriously though, each Wizard subclass will appeal more or less to different playstyles but each can be fun to play so if you feel give it a try.
Illusionist can be completely amazing if you have the imagination to really work the illusions (not just create them but set them up via showmanship, stage setting, etc) and a DM with the imagination to let them matter (which does not mean 'allow them to always work perfectly).
Unfortunately, these seem really rare combinations.
Illusionists were viable back in 2nd edition, and not since. Back then if you believed it to be real, it could do real damage. Round 1 cast fireball for real damage, round 2 create an illusion of a fireball for damage (because it was believable). Someone had to actively try to disbelieve the illusion before they got a save. But then they started nerfing illusions to the point of an illusion specialist being pointless. An illusionary wall no longer fools anyone using their hands to search for secret doors (it used to, it used to be that if you believed the illusion your character's brain would make you think you feel the wall). In fact once upon a time (1st Edition, Unearthed Arcana) illusionists actually got a better armor spell. Not so anymore. We still use Silent Image, Minor Illusion, Diguise Self etc. but specializing as an illusionist is kind of pointless.
Characters have to be viable from level 1, not only after they reach level 14, etc.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
This is what I mean "And a DM who allows them to matter." No touching is involved in, say, the sound of a large creature being around the corner. An enemy could take the time, in combat, to confirm spikes or a chasm are not real, or they could actually be paying most of their attention to the party of armed adventurers in front of them. If you were facing down an enemy squad and the Earth opened up behind you, seemingly cutting off your retreat, would your thought really be to turn your back on the armed combatants to check to see if the chasm is real?
And they still have the ability to learn and cast any other wizard spells. They are not actually limited only to illusion. They do not even become an illusionist until level 2 (2014 rules) or level 3 (2024 rules). Not sure why you would think they have to wait until 14th to be viable.
Why would I want to convince you when I am not sold on it?
Level 14+ simulacrum seems neat
a. Can cast while hidden illusion spells as non-verbal
b. Summon fey/beast
c. Major image upcast at 4+ stacks with other illusion spells, using BA each round to alternate inactive/expired objects (walls, bridges etc)
with simulacrum + major image + another illusion spell
possibly 4 illusions + ba minor illusion 2x
IF you are creative with the Illusionist AND your DM supports the kind of shenanigans that illusions cause, the Illusionist can easily defeat encounters that other wizards may not.
However, if you just run numbers in combat the Illusionist does come up short.
Rolling low on the portent is the best!! Well, rolling extremes on the portent dice is the best.
Give the high rolls to yourself and friends, and the low ones go to opponents.
Diviner is bar none the most powerful, session by session, for this ability alone, because they often have those silver bullets up their sleeve. (Want to cast Banish, but are bummed that they might make their save? Give em' that 3 you rolled on your portent die. And so on.)
You forgot mirage arcana. Your missing the value you get to level 14 then planeshift to the astral and your one min limitation doest matter. In a timeless setting you become a reality altering demi god.
Also it doesn't say you can't change the environment difficult terrain isn't a condition, carry capacity isn't a condition, people with their new 1000 pound stone suit won't be hurt but good luck moving. Depending on your DM you could make sunshine to incapacitate many different foes who are weak to it.
You know what isn't magic antitoxin giving all your allies anti toxic for free....also spell components diamonds out of your resurrection budget well no more! Never pay for a component again.
Last and very raw not rai... Spellbooks are not magic items. Got a order of the scribe friend? You can create illusionary spellbooks with spells you don't know in them have your speedy scribe Friend copy them as real spells in one minute increments