TL;DR WotC needs to relearn how to write rules for 5e, and players need to stop trying to take advantage of bad wording to do broken crap that you obviously aren't meant to do.
And remember, a rule that is broken on your favor is just as broken against you as well.
Gah, darn, guess I’ll have to dip into level 3 to get those 2nd level spell slots for phantasmal force.
i know it’s a bit off topic, but with phantasmal can I create a lava bag illusion around someone’s head To blind them? Or a lava cage they can’t see through to restrain them? It seems awfully powerful and I don’t know if my dm would allow that.
Gah, darn, guess I’ll have to dip into level 3 to get those 2nd level spell slots for phantasmal force.
i know it’s a bit off topic, but with phantasmal can I create a lava bag illusion around someone’s head To blind them? Or a lava cage they can’t see through to restrain them? It seems awfully powerful and I don’t know if my dm would allow that.
This is a rather common question that goes well outside the given examples and is stronger than other level 2 spells. Or maybe it isn't since the illusion can't leave it's 10 foot cube of effect so all a panicking creature with a lava bag has to do is run 2 steps in a single direction.
Gah, darn, guess I’ll have to dip into level 3 to get those 2nd level spell slots for phantasmal force.
i know it’s a bit off topic, but with phantasmal can I create a lava bag illusion around someone’s head To blind them? Or a lava cage they can’t see through to restrain them? It seems awfully powerful and I don’t know if my dm would allow that.
You can't actually restrain (the condition) them, as the illusion can't exert physical force. The phantasm is perceived as real, so you can certainly decide it's opaque - this is true of all illusion spells that render images, all the way down to cantrips (you can "blind" someone under the right conditions with Minor Illusion, until they realize it's an illusion and it ceases to be opaque). Phantasmal Force is particularly poorly written in that absolutely nothing in the spell description requires the illusion to be in a static place in the world - the poster above me assumed it can't leave its 10 foot cube, but that 10 foot cube is a size limitation on the phantasm, not a location limitation. Instead, it's interpreted by the target; e.g. one of the listed examples of Phantasmal Force is fire, implying you can use Phantasmal Force to convince a target it's on fire. It'll take 1d6 psychic damage (which it will perceive as fire damage), and until it Investigates the fire (presumably after attempting mundane actions to put the fire out) from said fire. Like any illusion, it depends on your GM - I've had shitty GMs have targets immediately resort to Investigation checks of my phantasm, despite the spell explicitly saying the target rationalizes it, so they shouldn't Investigate until they have a reason to. Meanwhile, if you use Phantasmal Force to summon an illusory bridge, it'll presumably assume the bridge is static in space.
Instead of a "lava bag", I'd recommend a swarm of wasps. Requires a lot less rationalizing, so it'll take a far shittier GM to rule that target immediately begins investigating the wasps, and any target that has any knowledge of wasps knows they'll follow you around, so the spell should ensure that, in fact, they do.
Phantasmal Force is particularly poorly written in that absolutely nothing in the spell description requires the illusion to be in a static place in the world - the poster above me assumed it can't leave its 10 foot cube, but that 10 foot cube is a size limitation on the phantasm, not a location limitation.
Sorry I must have overlooked the part of phantasmal force that says the targeted area could be moved.
[Edit]Never mind. I see what happened. DDB changed it into an AOE spell in the spell description, but it is not an AOE spell in the PHB. So the effect is tied to the target creature and not a location (like AOEs are).
I’m just trying to spell it out a bit more.
for those who are searching for loopholes.
TL;DR WotC needs to relearn how to write rules for 5e, and players need to stop trying to take advantage of bad wording to do broken crap that you obviously aren't meant to do.
And remember, a rule that is broken on your favor is just as broken against you as well.
Gah, darn, guess I’ll have to dip into level 3 to get those 2nd level spell slots for phantasmal force.
i know it’s a bit off topic, but with phantasmal can I create a lava bag illusion around someone’s head To blind them? Or a lava cage they can’t see through to restrain them? It seems awfully powerful and I don’t know if my dm would allow that.
This is a rather common question that goes well outside the given examples and is stronger than other level 2 spells. Or maybe it isn't since the illusion can't leave it's 10 foot cube of effect so all a panicking creature with a lava bag has to do is run 2 steps in a single direction.
Ultimately illusion spells are up to DM.
You can't actually restrain (the condition) them, as the illusion can't exert physical force. The phantasm is perceived as real, so you can certainly decide it's opaque - this is true of all illusion spells that render images, all the way down to cantrips (you can "blind" someone under the right conditions with Minor Illusion, until they realize it's an illusion and it ceases to be opaque). Phantasmal Force is particularly poorly written in that absolutely nothing in the spell description requires the illusion to be in a static place in the world - the poster above me assumed it can't leave its 10 foot cube, but that 10 foot cube is a size limitation on the phantasm, not a location limitation. Instead, it's interpreted by the target; e.g. one of the listed examples of Phantasmal Force is fire, implying you can use Phantasmal Force to convince a target it's on fire. It'll take 1d6 psychic damage (which it will perceive as fire damage), and until it Investigates the fire (presumably after attempting mundane actions to put the fire out) from said fire. Like any illusion, it depends on your GM - I've had shitty GMs have targets immediately resort to Investigation checks of my phantasm, despite the spell explicitly saying the target rationalizes it, so they shouldn't Investigate until they have a reason to. Meanwhile, if you use Phantasmal Force to summon an illusory bridge, it'll presumably assume the bridge is static in space.
Instead of a "lava bag", I'd recommend a swarm of wasps. Requires a lot less rationalizing, so it'll take a far shittier GM to rule that target immediately begins investigating the wasps, and any target that has any knowledge of wasps knows they'll follow you around, so the spell should ensure that, in fact, they do.
Sorry I must have overlooked the part of phantasmal force that says the targeted area could be moved.
[Edit]Never mind. I see what happened. DDB changed it into an AOE spell in the spell description, but it is not an AOE spell in the PHB. So the effect is tied to the target creature and not a location (like AOEs are).