Yeah, I feel dumb but I just do not get how to use this spell.
I have a game coming up where I will be using an Aboleth, and one of its lair actions is casting Phantasmal Force "on any number of creatures it can see within 60 feet of it."
"You craft an illusion that takes root in the mind of a creature that you can see within range. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, you create a phantasmal object, creature, or other visible phenomenon of your choice that is no larger than a 10-foot cube and that is perceivable only to the target for the duration. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
The phantasm includes sound, temperature, and other stimuli, also evident only to the creature.
The target can use its action to examine the phantasm with an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If the check succeeds, the target realizes that the phantasm is an illusion, and the spell ends.
While a target is affected by the spell, the target treats the phantasm as if it were real. The target rationalizes any illogical outcomes from interacting with the phantasm. For example, a target attempting to walk across a phantasmal bridge that spans a chasm falls once it steps onto the bridge. If the target survives the fall, it still believes that the bridge exists and comes up with some other explanation for its fall - it was pushed, it slipped, or a strong wind might have knocked it off.
An affected target is so convinced of the phantasm’s reality that it can even take damage from the illusion. A phantasm created to appear as a creature can attack the target. Similarly, a phantasm created to appear as fire, a pool of acid, or lava can burn the target. Each round on your turn, the phantasm can deal 1d6 psychic damage to the target if it is in the phantasm’s area or within 5 feet of the phantasm, provided that the illusion is of a creature or hazard that could logically deal damage, such as by attacking. The target perceives the damage as a type appropriate to the illusion."
I'm creating an illusion for each player who fails an NPC who has a dramatic incident with or an archnemesis. Besides taunting the character, I would like these NPCs to attack the character as well.
This is where I need to understand the last paragraph of the Spell clearly.
Is Psychic Damage the only thing I can do to hurt the player? It says phantasm can perform an attack, but how is that attack made based on the Aboleth melee attack, or is it considered an automatic hit? Also, is the perceived damage type just what the character's mind sees, or is it the psychic damage that it takes, not fire damage or slashing damage, for example?
In short, I'm trying to understand how a character under the spell effect a) Interacts with the phantasm. b) Down to the details of how the phantasm can attack the player character.
The character should react as they see fit. If the PC thinks they are standing in a fire they thinks the fire in burniing them, if they think they have been cornered by a bear they thing the bear is attacking them.
The difficulty comes in what the player thinks and does. You can either be open with the player or try to fool them. If you trust the player to control their character as their character would actually behave then I think the former is the better option. If you do try to hide it you say the abolith conjures a monster or a bonfire. aybe the monster seems to have a regenerative ability so no matter how much damage the PC gives it it recovers to look heathy again immedialtey afterwards, when it attacks you can say that it "rolled" to attack but always exceeds the PCs AC. I once did this with a barbarian so of the d6 came up with say a 4 would announce it does 8 (or 9) damage, halved to 4 so the player thinks it is slashing damage.
The issue with hiding it from the players is they are likely to think you got the rules wrong and will query what you are doing if they do suss out it is phantasmal force you are then back to the situation where you have to hope , or force the players control their characters appropriately.
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Yeah, I feel dumb but I just do not get how to use this spell.
I have a game coming up where I will be using an Aboleth, and one of its lair actions is casting Phantasmal Force "on any number of creatures it can see within 60 feet of it."
"You craft an illusion that takes root in the mind of a creature that you can see within range. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, you create a phantasmal object, creature, or other visible phenomenon of your choice that is no larger than a 10-foot cube and that is perceivable only to the target for the duration. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
The phantasm includes sound, temperature, and other stimuli, also evident only to the creature.
The target can use its action to examine the phantasm with an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If the check succeeds, the target realizes that the phantasm is an illusion, and the spell ends.
While a target is affected by the spell, the target treats the phantasm as if it were real. The target rationalizes any illogical outcomes from interacting with the phantasm. For example, a target attempting to walk across a phantasmal bridge that spans a chasm falls once it steps onto the bridge. If the target survives the fall, it still believes that the bridge exists and comes up with some other explanation for its fall - it was pushed, it slipped, or a strong wind might have knocked it off.
An affected target is so convinced of the phantasm’s reality that it can even take damage from the illusion. A phantasm created to appear as a creature can attack the target. Similarly, a phantasm created to appear as fire, a pool of acid, or lava can burn the target. Each round on your turn, the phantasm can deal 1d6 psychic damage to the target if it is in the phantasm’s area or within 5 feet of the phantasm, provided that the illusion is of a creature or hazard that could logically deal damage, such as by attacking. The target perceives the damage as a type appropriate to the illusion."
I'm creating an illusion for each player who fails an NPC who has a dramatic incident with or an archnemesis. Besides taunting the character, I would like these NPCs to attack the character as well.
This is where I need to understand the last paragraph of the Spell clearly.
Is Psychic Damage the only thing I can do to hurt the player? It says phantasm can perform an attack, but how is that attack made based on the Aboleth melee attack, or is it considered an automatic hit? Also, is the perceived damage type just what the character's mind sees, or is it the psychic damage that it takes, not fire damage or slashing damage, for example?
In short, I'm trying to understand how a character under the spell effect
a) Interacts with the phantasm.
b) Down to the details of how the phantasm can attack the player character.
The character should react as they see fit. If the PC thinks they are standing in a fire they thinks the fire in burniing them, if they think they have been cornered by a bear they thing the bear is attacking them.
The difficulty comes in what the player thinks and does. You can either be open with the player or try to fool them. If you trust the player to control their character as their character would actually behave then I think the former is the better option. If you do try to hide it you say the abolith conjures a monster or a bonfire. aybe the monster seems to have a regenerative ability so no matter how much damage the PC gives it it recovers to look heathy again immedialtey afterwards, when it attacks you can say that it "rolled" to attack but always exceeds the PCs AC. I once did this with a barbarian so of the d6 came up with say a 4 would announce it does 8 (or 9) damage, halved to 4 so the player thinks it is slashing damage.
The issue with hiding it from the players is they are likely to think you got the rules wrong and will query what you are doing if they do suss out it is phantasmal force you are then back to the situation where you have to hope , or force the players control their characters appropriately.