Illusion Magic in 5e Dungeons & Dragons

Illusion magic in Dungeons and Dragons is powerful, fun, and totally awesome. Let's chat about this seriously underrated school of magic! Don't forget to subscribe, comment & share. New episodes every Wednesday.
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[@trenonian2124]

This is my go to demonstration on what Mirage Arcane can do: i.redd.it/psuz4clo0kw01.jpg

[@Cuntrag89]

Great episode boys! Y'all forgot Illusory Dragon! Excellent, damaging and thematically rich 8th level illusion spell!

[@nicholaswhaling7233]

About invisibility, ever have a character imitate Wash in Red vs Blue s13 ep18? "Hi there."

[@gmscott9319]

0:51 On the subject of Necromancy, "...we'll raise it at a later date..." I see what you did there.

[@sevenofcrows7]

Because since the days of Babylon you had clerics call on spirits or gods to heal or even attempt to ressurect. Necromancy is often conflated with black magic when many medieval priests invoked the spirits of saints or angels to heal someone. This is the basis of necromancy is using divination (the prayer) and the actual healing (necromancy). Your turning someone who should be dead back to life by unnatural means. It goes waaaaayyy back. Necromancy isn't just raise zombies and evil moustached wizards.

[@itzybitzyspyder]

@@sevenofcrows7 you missed the joke..."raise" it at a later date...like Raise Dead.

[@skaggawagga3360]

These intros, guys... Top. Tier.

[@Aleph-Noll]

i really enjoy all the work they put into the video thumbnail lol

[@TV-jn4dh]

Might have been better if they had switched seats for it. Then again, it would've been too obvious.

[@hexchad765]

I will forever remember the Fleetwood Mac image with their faces on it

[@christipherlivingston9347]

"Conjure Phantom Steed!" *Pulls out 2 coconut halves*

[@mikegould6590]

Come along, Patsy!!!

[@animeovr9000]

How'd you get them coconut?! *said in a terrible and possible offensive french accent*

[@alexanderchippel]

@@animeovr9000 Migration!

[@samuelevans738]

@@alexanderchippel how would a swallow carry coconut halves all the way from their native land to England? You khnigits and your silly imaginary steeds.

[@benjaminsheffer6945]

I was about to check the Player's Handbook and see if two coconut halves were actually the material component for the spell...then I remembered the reference.

[@jamessimmons9998]

I had a character that constructed a persistent flame inside of a glass sphere (made with glassblowers tools). He whipped it out during a black market magic weapons deal and told everyone it was a magical explosive. Sometimes the best illusions are just clever lies.

[@Klespyrian]

All illusions are clever lies

[@jamessimmons9998]

Some aren't all that clever, and some are plenty more than "just" lies (in the case of magical illusions).

[@mikegould6590]

James Simmons I like players who use their powers to create such mundane and expected images or sounds that the enemies never expect. Like an Arcane Trickster becoming a stack of small crates outside an Inn when The constabulary is in pursuit. Or using Disguise Self to look like a vagrant, guardsman, scullery maid, or other ubiquitous personage that the residents would never suspect. Illusionists need to think less like players and more like their enemies. What’s plausible... what’s expected... THEN pull out the fireballs and Sneak Attacks.

[@paulcoy9060]

If I was playing an Illusionist, I might meet with the DM earlier, and ask if I could show up with a different mini from my actual character, like a burly fighter, and see how long it takes for my other players to pick up that something is weird. Fighter Illusion shoots a bow and arrow, but actually casts Magic Missile? Might be fun for a couple sessions.

[@thegraphite]

Definitely, illusions are all about the lie! I'm creating a character that's a changeling illusionist. Nothing about this guy is ever real!

[@Medicae131]

Personally I like the idea that the inconsistency in the spell schools is a part of the world. Like I imagine wizards and sorcerers in magic universities and other such places are constantly in a heated debate over which spell belongs in which school.

[@merlinmeurer5339]

Love it! Its like science, not everyone will agree with you.

[@deplorablemecoptera3024]

Archmage Serian the seer of the dark tower has long debated that healing spells should be classified under necromancy, however the divine order of arcane clergy has opposed this, citing the negative connotation associated with the school. Serian, despite his clout with the arcane academy at Verinsford, has been unable to convince the theologians of Elisha, that spells which can literally bring people back from the dead should be grouped together. The rebuttal of course is that while healing spells have nominally similar effects to necromantic spells, they bring back not just the body, but also the spirit, further, the two spell types have very different iconography, somatic components, and verbal steps, which indicates that they were developed separately.

[@openaardvark419]

Serian is close, but the soul is adrift in the planes when you die. This clearly indicates that raising the dead is a combination of conjuration and necromancy.

[@himboghost629]

Some schools dip into eachother and blend together in places because, like science or art, magic isn't completely separated into different categories for are convenience

[@iGuttsi]

I like the idea of a recurrent villain falling for an image of a fireball and getting pissed, and not expecting it to be real the next time and just getting blasted. All blackened and soot covered like a lunch luny tunes cartoon.

[@kyubii972]

Recreating other spell effects with Illusions, I can't believe I never thought of that..... Thank you

[@dogle9258]

How do you think the damage should be done?

[@the_rose_garden01]

Yeah, my favorite thing to do is make darkness with illusions

[@romera27]

Be real... You just want to create the illusion of that sweet Shaq meat in front of you! Oh MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDD!!!

[@rudeboyjohn3483]

@@romera27 I want that sweet Shaq Meat

[@subsume7904]

​@@dogle9258 it wouldn't do any damage, it's an illusion

[@tobyferleman9376]

A combo I like is Minor Image cantrip plus the Keen Mind feat. Make perfect 3D maps of places you’ve explored, act as the party’s sketch artist, help the rogue or craft person create forgeries of things you’ve seen.

[@djtigon]

Magic Mouth + minor illusion - "Help me Obi-Wan, you're my only hope"

[@mochristie5419]

I always felt illusion and enchantment - if played well- can be far scarier than necromancy given their potential for moral quandaries of such

[@Altyrell]

That's actually what I hate the most when people [not target you] complain/demonize/hate on the School of Necromancy. Cause hell: Any Enchantment Spell that a 14th Level & higher Enchanters casts, the Target no longer knows that they'd even been hit by an Enchantment, on top of the Enchanters can also modify/erase memories. Once an Illusionist gets their first 5th Level Spell Slot, they can take up Dream & from what I read, the Target believes that it is a natural Dream. So, unless the Illusionist makes the Messenger appear monstrous & terrifying, the Target doesn't get to make ANY kind of save. So the Illusionist can shape the Target's dream to (over time) slowly make said Target fall in love with the Illusionist or Messenger (if the Illusionist makes another Creature be the Messenger). There is no save that the Target gets to make because the Messenger isn't appearing monstrous &/or terrifying.

[@mochristie5419]

I mean illusionary reality has some terrifying reality warping implications and think of feeblemind as a spell- possibly the nastiest spell effect

[@Bluecho4]

One hack I've considered for Mind Flayers is to make them not need brains as such, but the mental energy therein. So they can keep humanoids captive and subject them to stimuli that makes them think, feel, dream, or remember certain things, that the Illithid then devours. And so one way they could do this would be to strap a man in a chair, create an illusion of his wife, that they then "kill" in front of him. Once he's at the peak of despair, they eat both that despair and the memory of experiencing it. That way, they can do it all over again the next day. (For reference, they would be doing the same thing to his wife, using an illusion of the husband.) Endless suffering for the victim, endless food for the Mind Flayers. All with illusions (and some power I would give to the Illithids to eat memories). Turning people to zombies seems almost quaint by comparison.

[@grandiflora8479]

This reminds me; I had a conversation with someone once where I tried pointing out how useful necromancy could be and how some cultures it might not be considered evil if it is voluntary. The other person reacted by saying that raising a corpse is never justified and that they would rather let children die horribly then raise a single corpse to protect them. (I gave them a scenario where you had a scroll of a necromancy spell to raise a corpse, stuck under rubble, orc is moving in to slice up a child). They would rather let the child be horribly murdered then raise a nearby corpse to protect them, and made very clear that they thought I was a complete monster for even considering using necromancy in any scenario. I dont get how altering peoples memories, brainwashing them to agree with you or such things is any better then that... you are essentially changing what kind of person they are at their core, you are not just disrespecting someone´s body (wich is definantly a good argument against raising an unwilling dead person), you are destroying the being they fundamentally are and reshaping into what suits your needs. An interesting thing for me is potentially having in a setting that it is legal to raise a *willing* dead person.... but an unwilling one is a horrible crime. Because you are then using their body for your own needs ignoring their wishes.

[@grandiflora8479]

Also a personal story of that.... in my groups previous campaign we had gotten the mother of one supporting character killed wich made him inherit some things we wanted. So our halfling bard tried convincing him to give it up but failed his roll, so he tried casting an enchantment spell to force him into wanting to agree, wich also failed, so he then cast alter memories to make him forget the entire conversation before trying to convince him again, this time it worked. Especially screwed up as he genuinely respected the party for a while, and had been betrayed by us once before. I wasnt there at the time the "persuasion" was happening but... its probably one of the most morally questionable things our bard ever did and he acted like it was completely normal... kind of a moment of fridge horror.

[@thecastleredfox978]

That intro threw me off so bad I tried refreshing the video twice to fix the "sound sync" problem I thought the video was having. Very good WebDM, very good!

[@uhdude34]

Rolling at nat 1 like....

[@kerryburt9498]

Same

[@KyoPewz]

No I rolled a nat 1, because I'm sick, I'm exhausted and tired, so I get disadvantage. I didn't even register that it wasn't Jim's voice and was wondering why Pruitt was smirking.

[@sdgundum990]

Why can't certain spells be multi-schooled? Surely in the vast history of magic disciplines some wizards of different schools collaborated on a project or two.

[@WebDM]

Best point made by a prolapsed anus in a while...?

[@anthonynorman7545]

Berthas Prolapsed Anus That makes sooooo much sense! It's the magical WEAVE.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

I was thinking something similar. Just have some thematic changes depending on the school you are casting it with.

[@Eunostos]

I am stealing that, thank you.

[@dogle9258]

Wasn't 2E set up like that. Many spells would have multiple schools (well max of two i think). Back then though, it was a choice to specialize and came with a cost.

[@johnhast1979]

I can tell you as a hunter a decoy is very effective . If a model made of plastic or foam can fool animals . Then spells that shows them an image would fool them also .

[@paulcoy9060]

But would it depend on the shape of a decoy? Like, do you have a duck with it's wings in the air, or in a standard resting on water pose? Can animals recognize a decoy if it is a different size or color? I know ravens can recognize humans, but pigeons are dumb as bricks, so it might just depend on the specific animal.

[@johnhast1979]

paul coy a duck decoy with its wings up will work as long as it’s duck shaped . I have seen deer decoys with large holes in the body still have bucks come in to fight it . For ducks if the real ducks see the decoys floating or setup in a Field even if the decoys wings are up or in mid flight pose they will still fly down .

[@kylethomas9130]

You bring up a good point, everyone always talks about how animals can smell fear, but if you pose yourself to look as big as you can, and make loud noises, you can intimidate most any predator. These examples of DMs saying such illusions fail, must have a world where animal IQ is on par with literate civilians.

[@TheNerdySimulation]

Pseudo-Damage is something I didn't realize I have been accidentally utilizing in my games whenever I have effected a PC with Illusion-like effects. I'm also partial to describing scenes to one player in depth and making sure to exclusively single them out in both my grammar and mannerisms and then when another player attempts to interact with that false image only perceived by another player, I simply ask them, "What thing? You don't see a thing there." And it works so well with not only immersing players in the game, but also tends to cause non-terrible players to roll with the punches and really play out the scene appropriately.

[@Klespyrian]

Aaaaaaand add that to the pile of ways I will be using illusions towards my players.

[@HoundofOdin]

One of the best illusionist wizards I ever played a game with reskinned almost all his spells to be scent based instead of sight or sound based. He distracted guards with the scent of smoke, charmed enemies with alluring scents, and inadvertently killed farmer with a smell so bad it sent him into shock. Good times.

[@adamharman7108]

I’m gonna have to borrow that idea next time I play an illusionist

[@HoundofOdin]

He called his character "the Great Nasalmancer" so feel free to borrow that too.

[@dogle9258]

Awesome!

[@WaltRBuck]

Illusion in 5e takes a special type of DM and players. My DM would just be like "nah nothing happens." The are a lot of ideas Id mess around with if I had a different dm. Too many DMs prescribe to the "you solve it by murdering it" mode. It gets boring.

[@ahobbitstail7022]

Walt R. Buck Be a DM and show them new options.

[@16m49x3]

Too many? How many DMs have you experienced? I'm the opposite, always trying to give people opportunities for other solutions. But they just go for the murder solution anyway. And then has to run away because I didn't make the encounter so that that would be possible...

[@Klespyrian]

Then switch DMs

[@Kajiyaification]

thats an injoke at our table. Hey i can disable the enemy put them to sleep then do that or that. Yeah i got the best status condition thou? huh?! Dead, its great the opponent cant do anything else.

[@rbbearthwormjim]

One of favorite things about running games is getting surprised by the players out of the blue solutions... it makes the game kinda like off road joy drive rather then a roller coaster on tracks both fun but off road you can find surprises or danger over every hill.

[@fhuber7507]

Nasty thing to do is have a blaster mage working with an illusionist. At level 1: unseen servant takes pebbles and drops them on the orcs... illusionist casts a minor illusion of a rock-slide coming down. Orcs fail save... Orcs pass out. Much later: Major illusion, red dragon.. as the illusionist makes it "breathe" the other mage casts wall of fire on the line the fire breath would have taken. Now you have real fire damage appearing to come from the illusion... make it breathe again. I was DMing when a pair of players started pulling that kind of stuff on me... and I couldn't think of a reason for it to not work.

[@anniedarkheart5224]

The Orcs could also brace for shock (where they attempt to block the 5x5 of rocks with their arms). Once it passes through them, they know it's an illusion. Launching Fireballs don't cause passing out save DCs, why should rocks turns a cantrip into a save-or-die? Illusions for the intent to do cool intentions is great, but this is just mechanically inconsistent with how anything even close to resembling it functions. The orc illusion could have some interesting rewards when treated mechanically appropriate: Orcs dodge the rocks, they don't know it's an illusion (so they get punished for successfully saving) and could make them walk around it or be used as cover. If they fail and it hits them (consistent with any other spell/trap effect) and they realize it's an illusion. Unseen Servant's action even assist with this, maybe they get treated as having advantage on the save (which is good for the illusionist!). In this way, the illusion functions like a typical D&D phenomenon but instead the enemies are punished for succeeding - which would be the actual power of the illusion and what the Unseen Servant was attempting to assist them with.

[@Fauxhawx]

The face Pruitt makes at the end of the into made me bust up

[@merrickdees]

Could we get more guides like this for the other magic schools?

[@WebDM]

Yes. Not all at once but we plan on getting to em eventually

[@ZrinNZ]

The temporary damage is a really cool idea. You guys have talked about it before how 1st level magic is essentially godlike power to the perceptions of commoners. Why wouldn't a Major Image illusion of a fireball impacting a group of village militia affect them magically so much that their minds are absolutely convinced they are blasted by fire?

[@torinnreactsgaming]

"Your illusions will be all the more potent, if occasionally, you drop a fireball on something." Lol. Your illusions will be better, if you occasionally drop 8d6 fire damage on things. So very true.

[@solsticelacer]

I'm happy you're doing this and hope for more schools of magic. I enjoy the idea of a bullshit wizard who is a pure illusionist who only imitates the effects of other magic, but an extremely convincing one; capable of warping people's perception of reality, make enemies believe their flesh is melting off, an army of demons is coming over the horizon, and the sun is falling out of the sky..

[@averageshmoejoe]

I’m literally playing the 3rd session of an illusion wizard tonight, so the timing is perfect

[@kdolo1887]

White Wolf's Mage: The Ascension has simultaneously the best fluff and the worst crunch when it comes to magic.

[@ItsFuckinLoona]

Before I continue onward, that intro was honestly very unsettling! But I guess that is the point of illusion magic, so good job! lol

[@Dragonphoenix25]

Ventriloquism at his best :P

[@ashvandal5697]

I really hope you go through every school back to back.

[@coopervantine5826]

Thank you so much for this! I’ve been in the hospital for the past 36 hours and was looking for this the entire time. Awesome!

[@braxtonrasmussen2110]

Cooper VanTine get better soon! Sorry you're stuck there all day

[@coopervantine5826]

Braxton Rasmussen Thanks! I just got home half an hour ago. Great video as always!

[@robswayze8188]

Get well soon 😊

[@WebDM]

Welcome home! Hope you're OK and glad you enjoyed the video!

[@braxtonrasmussen2110]

Glad too hear man! Stay healthy ;) 9 out of 10 doctors recommend not dying

[@CitanulsPumpkin]

As long as the DM is smart enough to play along with your illusions I think one of the best illusionists in the game is a Warlock with minor illusion, and the invocations that grant infinite use of silent image, disguise self, and invisibility. At least in the early game. Late game spells like mirage arcana, programmed image and such give the edge back to bard and wizard, but warlock can still put out enough simple illusions that the enemy will eventually fail the investigation checks.

[@mr.mallard2121]

I love how you guys pick a scenario, such as bears and wolves in this, and use that as a continual means of explanation. Consistency is great

[@MakeVarahHappen]

I made an offensive illusion cantrip which is basically Sheleigh but works only on thrown weapons and does psychic damage. With it you can basically become Psylocke from X-Men.

[@TheCaptainstupendous]

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN IS NOW PLAYING IN YOUR HEAD

[@Nougatbars]

Suzy Cyanide Tik Tok is playing in my head instead. HELP.

[@brightboar4421]

Suzy Cyanide godsdamned illusionist! YOU WIN THIS ROUND.

[@mikegould6590]

Illusions - a topic that causes as many arguments as alignment. Illusions vs Enchantment - which is which: - Illusions affect the senses. How the player character/target reacts/behaves to that input is up to them. - Enchantments affect how something behaves. It's appearance isn't necessarily altered. The player's responsibility: Creativity and plausibility. Illusions require the player to be able to both think on their feet and come up with solutions at the drop of a hat. However, those solutions should be reasonable and plausible. Using an illusion to make yourself look like a guard when infiltrating a castle is believable. Making yourself look like a keg of water or an old crate is believable. Making Orcus appear out of nowhere when you've both neither seen what Orcus looks like and cannot yet use sound as an effective element to reinforce belief is a reason to fail. The monster's responsibility: They should have a reason to believe that the illusion might be real. A charging bear might stop if it looks like the ground is opening up in front of it, but it will certainly SMELL that the pile of fish is fake. KNOW. YOUR. TARGET. Assassins might break for it if a group of constables are running forward while blowing whistles and shouting. The assassins might not likewise believe that you're now a giant apple. If a target has a plausible excuse to believe a given illusion in a given circumstance, than a DM should side with the player if possible. If the player creates ridiculous illusions that have no reasonable reason to exist or are so fantastical as to be not believed, the DM should side with the monsters. I've had "illusionists" at our table, and sadly they haven't been able to meet either criteria. Therefore if someone asks about this subclass or school of magic, I will advise them that they will have their creativity pushed. If they can be reasonable and plausible, I might not have anyone make an Investigation check. When things become fantastical, that's when the saving throws and checks start. Thanks guys. Great topic, and one worth discussing.

[@traviscochran9253]

Not since the alignments show has their been such an awesome intro. Great job as always guys!

[@astarum349]

I would love to see one about an enchanter wizard. Online I always see people saying "you should play a bard or a warlock instead", either because you have to spread your stats too thin with an enchanter wizard or just because the enchanter wizard is straight worse than the other two. I was thinking about this school because I wanted to play a character that loves to be "in control" not of the party decisions but rather of situations. That feeling of a character having a stronger presence than the non player character when interacting, etc. I can even imagine a high level enchanter being able to pull the strings on entire cities or kingdoms.

[@Tuchulu]

"This is my waifu" is a great quote. Neckbeard illusionist? yes please. Also no thanks.

[@ArawnNox]

I managed to trick players with the simple effects in Minor Illusion, I was really proud of that moment. Nothing more than the sound of wolf howls drew them from their hiding spots. Then dancing lights in the humanoid shape drew one player from the party right in to a will-o-wisp.

[@Troommate]

I don't mind Illusion Wizards as long as they have Fireball in the spell list just in case XD

[@Telleryn]

For the pseudo-damage, having a resolve meter as well as a HP meter could work, maybe based off wisdom or charisma depending on class

[@ryancparker]

The spell you’re looking for like Shocking Grasp that blinds the enemy and prevents attacks of opportunity is called Color Spray

[@mordiveer5957]

This is my favorite school of magic, i like to use improved minor illusion to make black discs appear over someone's eyes while the boom voice of what claims to be a god tells them they have been struck blind for upsetting the god or something like that. This was a great video with TONS of stuff to think about.

[@DravenDresden]

I was once in a mini-campaign that had 2 Wizards. We came up to a castle. The Other Wizard and I came together and basically pulled a Mysterio (Far From Home) to save it from 'an attacking demon.' We were welcomed with open arms and given a pretty substantial reward on top of it! :D

[@therosonjablunski6524]

"exercise of frustration" that was amazing. Great video!

[@Daredhnu]

already off to a great start with that intro, just the right mix of unsettling and brilliant.

[@MatthewNope]

Actually very helpful! Having some issues deciding the limits of each type of illusion...

[@windsgrace688]

The blurring of the lines of magical schools is precisely why I'm so fascinated with games with mechanics like Mage: The Ascension. You can create the same illusion by directly affecting their mind or by bending the light to create the image. I'd love if you guys did a video on that, despite it being an old game at this point.

[@monmonrage]

There is a series of books called the Cloak Games, the main character uses illusion magic to conjure a fake sun in a room a couple of times

[@gmilare0]

Dude... That intro... That is one of the reasons you guys are my favorite RPG channel.

[@caseyhullfish1345]

I think you could consider the school of Illusion a subset of Evocation, where those who practice the school focus on evoking light in highly specific patterns, instead of just for brightness

[@infamousgrosso]

I'm super happy to learn about this archetype I've long looked over, this has a ton of great RP potential!

[@Demogorgon7007]

“That’s the rules.. let me go get the manager” 😂

[@GarretHouse]

You guys always get a thumbs up from me for just having awesome intros! The rest of the video is always good too I guess...

[@chrisschuber9149]

I DM a group for newbies that has been going a while. About two weeks ago the Warlock in my party used Phantasmal Force. She says, "I want him to think his eyeballs are actually mice burrowing into his skull." Love this group.

[@ostrichking6]

That beginning was perfect. You guys are too good at this.

[@ingram2617]

Illusion magic was much more powerful in older editions. In 1e AD&D Phantasmal Force was 1st level, massive aoe, did damage, and only called for a save if the creatures affected would have a logical reason for disbelieving the illusion. It made the illusionist have to get creative, and only make illusions that would be as believable as possible.

[@douglasnorthcutt5588]

15 seconds in and I love this episode already. I hope u guys do all the schools of magic.

[@satorimystic85]

BEST INTRO EVER!!! Totally failed my investigation and got confused for a moment

[@itsRadioRage]

Hell ya new Web DM series on the schools of magic. Conjuration is the best, battlefield control with teleportation to boot. Not to mention the shenanigans which can be achieved by a School of Conjuration wizard with his steam mephits running around with 30 extra hp.

[@eliaspatrikis1926]

I like the idea of a wizard who is a detective who recreates crime scenes with his illusions and its kind of like batmans detective mode. Maybe hes got keen mind so he can recall the crime scene so incredibly well he doesnt need to sketch it or take notes he just casts a spell and it appears. I imagine it looks like when thanos changes titan from a wasteland to when it was flourishing in infinity war.

[@academic0chris]

Re: illusion damaging cantrip; why not reskin the new Cleric Word of Radiance cantrip from Xanathar’s Guide? Instead of it being divine, it’s intense sound and light and have it do sonic damage in a burst. Give it to bards too.

[@lycandula]

I use the Metal Gear box trick all the time with my Arcane Trickster. There's also the one way illusory wall that grants you virtual total cover... Until the enemy wizard throws a fireball through it. Speaking of Arcane Trickster, I think we all know that the Shadow Blade spell was designed with that archetype in mind. 🙄

[@Jza_Dragon]

Evasion feature

[@Nurk0m0rath]

Perhaps, except for the fact that Shadow Blade creates a weapon which works with extra attack and does more damage than any other weapon out there (excepting Flame Tongue swords or any equivalent homebrew). So the more attacks a character has, the better they can make use of this spell. AKA, fighters with Shadow Blade are brutal. The Arcane Trickster only gets the one attack, and actually does more damage just by virtue of backstabbing somebody than they do from the spell (at level 20, it's 10d6 sneak vs a 3d8 sword). The Eldritch Knight gets 4 attacks with a 3d8 blade at 20th level, dealing 12d8 damage on a regular turn (not counting any bonus action or reaction attacks that he gets to make) and double that during an action surge.

[@estebancepeda4532]

Had a friend play a gnome illusionist and his signature move was to put pitch black boxes with deafening screams around people’s heads

[@Bluecho4]

One idea I had was to target enemies next to ledges, creating Minor Illusions of a scary man with a hideous face, and an ear-piercing scream, right next to the enemy. Spook them so hard, it causes them to flinch back and possibly fall. It doesn't need to stand up to serious scrutiny, it just has to induce the fear response in that split second.

[@rjanssafttheiii4697]

In my headcanon the schools of magic are simply constructs of mortals to be able to more easily identify certain consistent applications of magic. Magic isn’t by nature sorted into schools, but it can behave in a variety of ways when cast as a spell. Studies of these variants led to the concept of schools, and over time arcane philosophers placed the school before the source.

[@lukerabon7925]

I had a thought about the Illusion and Enchantment overlap specifically. When the Illusionist was introduced, it was the only "specialized" version of the Magic-User (what would become the Wizard). It shared a few spells with the MU, but basically all its spells shared or original were about tricking and manipulating. So you got Fog Cloud, even though it summoned a very real cloud of fog, because that allowed you to hide things. And it also got pretty much all the classics of what would now be considered the Enchantment school of magic. The overlap exists because no one was thinking Illusion and Enchantment would be split up later.

[@WallyDM]

Awww yeah. Web DM has the best damn introductions on the internets. You are setting the bar high gentlemen and I dig it.

[@nodddyyyy]

I've been waiting a long time for this video, and it did not disappoint!

[@Tigerboyswagg]

I just checked mirage arcane, the general shape stays the same. So you couldn't turn a mountain into flatlands and vice versa

[@touche881]

The intro alone made me a subscriber. Never seen these guys before in my life, but ya know

[@lanceward5904]

Jim, I love how you basically said that Weird suffers as a spell because it's not Wish XD

[@androgenius_alisa]

Phantasmal force is awesome as is. Just because you can conjure things that don't deal damage or make things that seem more threatening than they are, like a lava pool. I also LOVE interaction between phantasmal force and illusiory reality

[@CorpseGr1nd90]

That intro was so unsettling jeeezus haha, but I’m so into delving into the schools of magic

[@R2-DPOO]

My wish was granted I love that you’ve done this video!

[@Crunchatize_Me_Senpai]

I don't know if you guys are into Magic: The Gathering or not, but if so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Ravnica book coming out later this year. Love you guys!

[@WebDM]

We've talked about it on our podcast! Patreon.com/webdm

[@PlaneWalker18]

Okay nerd moment. The entire story of Final Fantasy X are solid illusions out of sacrificial magic. A whole illusion city.

[@beauvillamor621]

That....actually checks out with the bits of lore I remember.....holy shit

[@ecksluss]

Hell yeah. Dreams made "reality"

[@Ekigane]

I once played an Aaracokra wild magic sorcerer and wild magic made me a 1 yr old or something, basically dm made me smaller than 5ft cube, but due to race's accelerated growth I could still act as character. I once used minor illusion or something with this character to hide myself with an illusion of dying. Enemy failed investigation check and walked away and with the right opportunity I struck to save an ally and win fight

[@Zoltri]

So, I'm only half way through the video, but I wanted to write this up just because Illusion has always been my favorite school of magic without a doubt, and I didn't want to lose my thoughts after another 15 minutes. I've never had the opportunity to play with a DM who really cared about utility magic, and it's made me always just sort of dream about the day where I can play an idea I have for a wizard who looks at killing as "The easy answer" and views combat situations as a puzzle, something to take pride in when you can come up with a solution which doesn't involve just burning people, or draining their life essence, but rather focuses on manipulating the battlefield like a game board. Turning people against each other, breaking lines of sight, inspiring terror or convincing the opponents to surrender with his primary tools being Illusion and enchantment. Practical to play? Not really, but I hope it at least reflects my kind of view when it comes to illusions, I want the school to encourage creative thinking, and coming up with fun and unique solutions to problems rather then just hurling a fireball and calling it a day. I love the phantasmal area of spells, I think it's an amazing mix, but I really with that they pushed that philosophy much harder with the school and as illusionists got stronger it became a much more potent effect where illusions stopped being a trick of perception, and began to play with peoples minds like silly puddy. I end up DMing most games I'm in, and if someone really showed interest in playing an illusionist, I'd 100% encourage and do all I could to help them make their idea come to life. Personally I kind of think phantasmal spells shouldn't have set damage, and rather damage should come more so from context and believably rather then just flat out (X amount of damage per round.) What I mean by this is I feel like if someone's hit by a phantasmal killer which the illusionist makes into a horrific death knight wielding a soul rending blade, I think it's damage should reflect a general assumption of what that kind of character could do, the same thing with phantasmal force, I think falling into a pit of lava should reflect the damage you'd assume something like that would cause, while simply getting hit by a powerful gale of icy wind would deal less. But the big part about that is CONTEXT. Falling into a pit of lava in the middle of a bar.. would be really hard to believe, and as such unless they fail horribly on some kind of check, they know it's bullshit. In the same, but if in the middle of a battle taking place in the feywilds, using a phantasmal spell to make the character thing they just sliced a vine, and caused a near by plant to grab and pull them in, grappling them in place and releasing toxic fumes? I'd call that pretty believable. Just kind of my thoughts.. It would need more specifics sorted out to make it fair, but I feel like the easiest way to explain illusion magic is just... It has so much potential for fun that the current game just needs a good DM to make it really come to life.

[@Maxxx2000]

Would love to see you guys talk about the newer Druid paths.

[@basedrex3736]

this was your best intro yet guys, I actually laughed out loud

[@infamousXsniper055]

Invisibility lasts 1 hour with concentration. Additionally, the advantage to having greater invisibility is being able to attack and cast spells while invisible.

[@cmdn8230]

Was just looking for a video like this. Perfect timing lol. Great video! Thanks Guys

[@AmigoRoberto]

I've got a PC that has essentially made a uchiha. Wizard/fighter with a focus on illusion and enchantment because both schools together kind of reflect sharingan abilities. It's actually fun to watch him turn people's brains to mashed potatoes

[@RemVici]

My personal favorite use of magic mouth is to place it on a dagger with the activation condition of it suddenly stopping moving after moving quickly. The message it carries is a whole bunch of screaming and profanity/ begging for help, makes for a great distraction

[@GeminiLibra73]

I've been thinking about these questions for decades. This is the discussion I've been waiting for. My only regret is that I wasn't participating... 😂

[@joshkaid]

Are you going to videos on ALL of the schools? Because I'd very much enjoy that.

[@jimdavis141]

Josh Kaid that’s the plan, but we’re spreading them out instead of the next 8 weeks being schools of magic

[@ongjt491]

It’s also a good series on the ambiguity of magic as well plus a good read

[@paulcoy9060]

Simple solution -- the caster can use 2 sensory triggers. Either Sight and Sound (guard yelling), or Sound and Smell (rotting, moaning zombie in the next room), or Sight and Smell (piles of filth in a sewer hiding your escape route), or Tactile and Sight (solid stone wall blocking the hallway). There's a bunch of combinations, for a dedicated Player who wants to be a great Illusionist.

[@heathenwizard]

A great illusionist is a warlock with the minor illusion cantrip and the Misty Visions invocation. Minor illusion requires no concentration so you can basically have a 15 ft cube illusion with sound effects as many times a day as you want.

[@brianpawlikowski1304]

Shadow Blade is made for the Arcane Trickster. An illusion weapon with Finesse and thrown property that's appears as a bonus action. Psychic damage with sneak attack bonus

[@kahlylroberson2067]

Honestly I absolutely love illusion magic in DnD as it creates the most interesting things in the game. Me as a DM I always want someone to do illusion in order to bring some flavor to the session.

[@MeForWords]

Best intro to date, and that's saying a lot!

[@LotharTheFellhanded]

That was a brilliant opening bit!

[@rileyplaut-deweese1484]

At some point I would love to see a video on optimal (or just downright enjoyable) non-combat or roleplay focused characters!

[@tylerhughes9155]

THE INTRO WAS TERRIFYING. Love you guys

[@michaellittle226]

My group plays AD&D and the illusionist is my second favorite class . I don't know much about 5th but it seems that the illusionist has been seriously nerfed in 5th . Thanks for sharing.

[@BeardkingOfAngmar]

I was really hoping you were going to give some input on Mislead. It not having a 'disbelief clause' makes it pretty interesting.

[@LucaPariah]

I agree on the point of inconsistency in the schools of magic. I would make Raise Dead and other spells like that Evocation, because you're calling a spirit back to its body.

[@MrDmitriRavenoff]

Bonus points for the Diamond Age reference in the outtro.

[@WebDM]

Great book!

[@MagxNolia]

I was in a campaign that ran all the way to 16 and the day I hit level 14 as a illusion wizard and got illusory reality, I was the bane of my DM's existence. There was once an ancient dragon that no one in the party could get down, so immediately I major image a giant 20x20 adamantine ball and chain around its neck and making it real. A bit of fall dmg and breath weapon later, it broke free of it's chains using a legendary action and attempted to fly away again. But then I used malleable illusion on a major image fog I made around us prior as cover and turned it into thick chains wrapped around the dragons wings. We had a discussion whether it was restrained or not which was ended early by our 2 rogues critting it anyway xD

[@kostas5180]

Like always, great job! Keep up the awesome work.

[@animusnocturnus7131]

Actually having advantage on stealth checks when being invisible is the vanilla rule in 5e, not a house rule. What I did in my campaign last time, when the Wizard wanted to sneak invisible to a group of Goblins in the woods was that I gave him 2 rolls, one to be hidden and one to successfully sneak up on the Goblins. I reasoned that he might be heard by the Goblins and attract some scrutiny while still being able to just not get found. It could have altered the reactions of the Goblins. The Wizard was an Elf however and was pretty dextrous, which made him succeed both checks without a problem. I loved it.