During camp time we cook over our fire that I cast minor illusion on to make it look like a rock. Also if you ever come upon my party mates during my watch, beware bolts that are shot from within a 'rock'
It can't affect light, so your rock would still be glowing like a fire. As others have said, neither 1 or 2 will work RAW.
It can't create sensory effect. It does not say anything about not beong able to obstruct light. So while the touching rule might RAW option 2 out, RAW does not impede my campfire idea.
"The image can't create sound, light, smell, or any other sensory effect." If it can't create sound, light, or smell, it follows that it also can't create the absence of them.
Wait just b/c something does not shed light does not mean that it cannot obstruct light. Just b/c a baseball cannot glow like a light bulb, does not mean that it cannot cast a shadow. And it casts a shadow b/c it is blocking some amount of light.
Think about it, if illusion spells cannot block light in any way, then they also would not be believable to anyone with two (or more) eyes b/c much of depth perception is about noticing how light hits something differently based on two different angles. So then, what would be the purpose of an illusion spell if they were all obviously fake to the vast majority of people, beasts and monsters?
It's a magical effect. Getting too specific about how it does or does not function only serves to nerf the spell. In which case, visual illusions would be useless except to enhance campfire stories.
It's a magical effect. Getting too specific about how it does or does not function only serves to nerf the spell. In which case, visual illusions would be useless except to enhance campfire stories.
Not getting specific enough about how it does or does not function mostly serves to break the spell.
This entire thread has been people arguing about whether or not minor illusion, a cantrip, can function as a replacement for darkness or mental prison, a level 2 and 6 spell.
Well, I would certainly argue that Silent Image, at least, could be a sometimes replacement for the Darkness spell since they are both spells with the same range and both require concentration. Probably not Minor Illusion b/c it's A) a cantrip and B) functions without concentration so therefore, from a game balance perspective, letting it totally replicate a 2nd or 6th level spell would be OP. However, too strict of a reading of stuff like "does not create light" will only lead to other spells, like Silent Image and Major Image, becoming nerfed as well.
So we can only apply so much personal lawyercraft to illusion spells as written before it makes them either useless for most intents and purposes or stretch them to become incredibly OP. It's really all up to who the DM is. So at the end of the day, the DM gets to play God on this issue. That's the short of it, right?
It's a magical effect. Getting too specific about how it does or does not function only serves to nerf the spell. In which case, visual illusions would be useless except to enhance campfire stories.
Not getting specific enough about how it does or does not function mostly serves to break the spell.
This entire thread has been people arguing about whether or not minor illusion, a cantrip, can function as a replacement for darkness or mental prison, a level 2 and 6 spell.
How does my OP function as mental prison? Nothing stope them from moving. Also any DM that did allow my Blinding trick should allow adv on save or straight disbelief if my rogue tried it multiple times in the same battle or on the same person.
It's a magical effect. Getting too specific about how it does or does not function only serves to nerf the spell. In which case, visual illusions would be useless except to enhance campfire stories.
Not getting specific enough about how it does or does not function mostly serves to break the spell.
This entire thread has been people arguing about whether or not minor illusion, a cantrip, can function as a replacement for darkness or mental prison, a level 2 and 6 spell.
How does my OP function as mental prison? Nothing stope them from moving. Also any DM that did allow my Blinding trick should allow adv on save or straight disbelief if my rogue tried it multiple times in the same battle or on the same person.
Say a blinded gnome is led into an illusory cage before being cured (lets say the party wants to interogate the prisoner and all their rope is gone so they want him to believe he is restrained). Does he automatically know the cage is an illusion even. Yes he touched it, but he didnt see himself touch it.
3) The illusion itself does not hurt/ impair the creature when interacting with it.
If the creature went to rattle the cage it would automaticaly know it be false. While I accept the opinion my blindness trick would not work, i did not overeach toward spells like mental prison.
Ok, I'll concede that it is not nearly an effective replacement. But aside from damage and condition, the intended effect is the same. For you to make a creature not move for a minute.
I've let my players use it to make the image of a bush they can hide behind to give them Advantage on stealth checks. The bush does not move with the wind so it might draw attention but the player themselves is hidden from view initially.
If light passes through a Minor Illusion then that would render the Minor Illusion transparent. The spell states:
If you create an image of an object—such as a chair, muddy footprints, or a small chest—it must be no larger than a 5-foot cube.
It does not say that you create a transparent image of a chair, etc.
If you created a Minor Illusion of a person standing in front of a campfire, you would not be able to see the campfire through the illusion. If you cannot see the campfire, then the photons are being blocked. If the photons are being blocked, then the illusion will cast a shadow. If you created a rock over the campfire, the campfire would stop emitting light.
The spell isMinor Illusion, not: Transparent Minor Illusion.
@Journer Good call on using a cantrip to create a virtual spellbook!
Wait just b/c something does not shed light does not mean that it cannot obstruct light. Just b/c a baseball cannot glow like a light bulb, does not mean that it cannot cast a shadow. And it casts a shadow b/c it is blocking some amount of light.
Think about it, if illusion spells cannot block light in any way, then they also would not be believable to anyone with two (or more) eyes b/c much of depth perception is about noticing how light hits something differently based on two different angles. So then, what would be the purpose of an illusion spell if they were all obviously fake to the vast majority of people, beasts and monsters?
It's a magical effect. Getting too specific about how it does or does not function only serves to nerf the spell. In which case, visual illusions would be useless except to enhance campfire stories.
Not getting specific enough about how it does or does not function mostly serves to break the spell.
This entire thread has been people arguing about whether or not minor illusion, a cantrip, can function as a replacement for darkness or mental prison, a level 2 and 6 spell.
Well, I would certainly argue that Silent Image, at least, could be a sometimes replacement for the Darkness spell since they are both spells with the same range and both require concentration. Probably not Minor Illusion b/c it's A) a cantrip and B) functions without concentration so therefore, from a game balance perspective, letting it totally replicate a 2nd or 6th level spell would be OP. However, too strict of a reading of stuff like "does not create light" will only lead to other spells, like Silent Image and Major Image, becoming nerfed as well.
So we can only apply so much personal lawyercraft to illusion spells as written before it makes them either useless for most intents and purposes or stretch them to become incredibly OP. It's really all up to who the DM is. So at the end of the day, the DM gets to play God on this issue. That's the short of it, right?
How does my OP function as mental prison? Nothing stope them from moving. Also any DM that did allow my Blinding trick should allow adv on save or straight disbelief if my rogue tried it multiple times in the same battle or on the same person.
That was in reference to this post:
Still not mental prison
1)No damage is inflicted as in mental prison
2)The target would not be restrained.
3) The illusion itself does not hurt/ impair the creature when interacting with it.
If the creature went to rattle the cage it would automaticaly know it be false. While I accept the opinion my blindness trick would not work, i did not overeach toward spells like mental prison.
Ok, I'll concede that it is not nearly an effective replacement. But aside from damage and condition, the intended effect is the same. For you to make a creature not move for a minute.
I've let my players use it to make the image of a bush they can hide behind to give them Advantage on stealth checks. The bush does not move with the wind so it might draw attention but the player themselves is hidden from view initially.
If light passes through a Minor Illusion then that would render the Minor Illusion transparent. The spell states:
If you create an image of an object—such as a chair, muddy footprints, or a small chest—it must be no larger than a 5-foot cube.
It does not say that you create a transparent image of a chair, etc.
If you created a Minor Illusion of a person standing in front of a campfire, you would not be able to see the campfire through the illusion. If you cannot see the campfire, then the photons are being blocked. If the photons are being blocked, then the illusion will cast a shadow. If you created a rock over the campfire, the campfire would stop emitting light.
The spell isMinor Illusion, not: Transparent Minor Illusion.