Difference between revisions of "Illusion Powers (FiD)"

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Illusion is the art of perception and deception through sensory projection.
 +
It is concerned with perception, not substance. Illusion powers are most often used to deceive, but they can also be used to educate, direct, or reveal patterns that are otherwise hard to notice.
  
Illusion is the art of perception and deception. It is concerned with perception, not substance.
+
Illusion can create sights, sounds, scents, sensations of touch, and other sensory phenomena, but these are always suggestive and indirect. The primary focus of Illusion is vision. Illusionists whose primary sense is not sight would instead focus on projections tuned to their dominant sense, but this is not covered by these rules.
Illusion powers are most often used to deceive, but they can be used to educate and to discern new things.
 
It can create some sounds, scents, sense of touch, and other sensory phenomena, but the main focus of Illusion is on vision.
 
Illusionists whose primary sense is not sight would instead focus on illusions to their primary sense, but this is not covered by these rules.
 
  
Illusions create images of creatures and objects that are objectively real in the sense that it registers on physical senses, including those of living creatures and sensory devices. Such images are still unreal in that they are mere projections, not the actual physical thing projected. An illusion cannot affect objects (other than sensors) unless the power explicitly says it can. An illusion of weight would cause scales to react, but could not cause a bridge to collapse.  
+
Illusions create images of creatures and objects that are objectively real in that they register on physical senses, including those of living beings and sensory devices. Such images are unreal in that they are projections rather than physical matter. An illusion cannot affect objects, structures, or creatures through force unless the power explicitly says it can.
A lift with a weight limit sensor could be made to shut off, but if the sensor is overridden, the lift would work normally despite the illusory overload.
+
An illusion of weight may cause scales to react, but it cannot cause a bridge to collapse. A lift with a weight sensor may shut down due to an illusory overload, but if the sensor is bypassed, the lift functions normally.
  
Illusion attacks cause pain and apparent wounds, but can only kill indirectly, by causing the mind to shut the body down or provoking actions with lethal consequences.  
+
Illusory attacks cause real pain and apparent wounds that fade into insignificance at the end of the score. Illusions cannot kill directly; they can only kill by provoking actions with lethal consequences.
You should describe each illusory attack, and any defense or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.
+
Each illusory attack should be described fictionally, and any vulnerability or resistance that would apply to the described attack also applies to the illusory harm.
Harm is more likely to lead to shock and awe than physical injury and to a coma rather than death.
+
 
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack cognitive abilities.  
+
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack the capacity to interpret sensory input. This includes objects and creatures below a threshold of perception, such as bacteria and ordinary plants. Observers may perceive such targets as taking damage, but the apparent damage fades over time.
This includes all objects but also creatures under a certain threshold of perception and imagination, like bacteria and ordinary plants.
 
Observers will perceive that objects and primitive creatures to take damage, but this apparent damage fades over time.
 
  
Illusion creatures are called specters.  
+
Illusion creatures are called specters.
They are very good actors and believe themselves to really be what they portray, allowing their illusions to respond to events without the user's intervention.  
+
Specters are structured to behave as if they truly are what they portray, allowing their illusions to respond dynamically without constant intervention from the user. Some specters are highly specialized, believing themselves to be specific people, animals, objects, or even terrain features and are very good at playing their role. Finding or creating such specters may require a flashback or a long-term project.
There are specters that believe themselves to be all sorts of things, people, animals, items, even terrain features, but finding the right specter may require a flashback or even a log-term project for unusual ones.
+
Specters that are aware of their illusory nature are more flexible but less convincing.
Spectres that are aware they are illusion spirits are less specialized, not as good at what they do, but they can portray many different things.
 
  
The plane of Illusion is a plane of dreams, very ephemeral and subjective. It can change in moments and is shaped by dreamers world-wide.  
+
The plane of Illusion is a plane of dreams: ephemeral, unstable, and subjective. It shifts rapidly and is shaped by the dreaming minds of the world. Creatures with powerful imaginations may create persistent dream-realms of their own. Such realms can be studied or manipulated to influence their creator, but doing so is difficult and dangerous.
Creatures with powerful imaginations create their own dream-realms which persist even when they are not asleep.
 
Such realms can be studied for information and manipulated to change the mind of their creator, but this is difficult and dangerous.
 
  
 
== Illusion Power Effects Table ==
 
== Illusion Power Effects Table ==
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Command'''
 
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Command'''
 
|valign="top"| '''Menacing Mirage''' <br> Scary or awe-inducing images or sounds.  
 
|valign="top"| '''Menacing Mirage''' <br> Scary or awe-inducing images or sounds.  
 +
|valign="top"| '''Message Mirage'''  <br> Send an illusion of yourself to communicate.
 
|valign="top"| '''Majestic Mirage''' <br> Full-sense scary or awe-inducing illusions.
 
|valign="top"| '''Majestic Mirage''' <br> Full-sense scary or awe-inducing illusions.
|valign="top"| '''Message Mirage'''  <br> Send an illusion of yourself to communicate.
 
 
|valign="top"| '''Mirage Arcana'''  <br> Vast scary illusions.
 
|valign="top"| '''Mirage Arcana'''  <br> Vast scary illusions.
 
|-
 
|-
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== Expanded Illusion Powers ==
 
== Expanded Illusion Powers ==
A recuring problem with illusion is that you need to conceal that they appear out of nowhere.  
+
A recurring problem with Illusion is concealing the fact that projections appear out of nowhere.
This makes illusions more effective when you have some time to prepare, but having your illusion appear behind a corner can be effective enough, or you can pretend to create something real using other Forms you may or ay not have.
+
Illusions are most effective when you have time to prepare or when their appearance can be plausibly masked — emerging from behind a corner, through smoke, darkness, or visual clutter.
 +
 
 +
Illusions can also be made more convincing by framing them as the result of other forces or Forms, whether or not you actually possess those powers. The illusion does not need to explain itself; it only needs to delay doubt long enough to matter.
 +
 
 +
 
  
 
=== Attune ===
 
=== Attune ===
Harness the power to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with beings and phenomena from other planes of existence.
+
Harness the power of Attune to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with Illusion beings and phenomena.
 +
 
 +
Consequences depend on what happens around you while you Attune. 
 +
Having helpers or protection reduces risk, and dismissing a willing specter may even be '''Controlled'''. 
 +
Common Consequences include a specter losing control of its projection, nearby illusions destabilizing, or other Illusion creatures intervening.
 +
 
 +
==== Dream Detection ====
 +
Detect specters and Illusion powers.
  
The consequences usually depend on what happens around you when you do it. Having helpers and bodyguards reduces the consequences, and sometimes a creature wants to be dismissed making the situation controlled. Attune Illusion consequence might be that the target loses control of itself, or that other creatures appear to intervene.
+
You can see Illusion spirits and detect Illusion creatures and powers. 
 +
This is commonly used to identify projections, hidden specters, or summoned illusions so they can be dispelled or dismissed.
  
'''Dream Detection'''
+
Using Dream Detection may spoil illusions, but you must actively apply it. 
Detect illusory creatures and powers.
+
Even when you know an illusion is false, you still perceive it normally.
  
You can see Illusion spirits and detect illusory creatures and powers.  
+
A '''Limited Outcome''' suffices against a creature or effect you can clearly see.
This is usually done to spot an illusion or a summoned creature so that it can be dispelled or dismissed.  
+
A '''Standard Outcome''' is required if it is hidden.
This can spoil illusions, but you must actively use it to spot illusions, and you still perceive them even when you know they are not real.
+
A '''Great Outcome''' is required if it is concealed behind solid barriers.
  
Limited outcome suffices against a creature you can clearly see. You need greater outcome against a creature that is hidden (standard outcome) or behind a solid wall (great outcome).
+
==== Sever Spectre ====
 +
Dismiss a specter or end an Illusion power.
  
'''Sever Spectre'''
+
Dismissing a specter is difficult and usually requires a '''Great Outcome'''
Dismiss a specter or end an illusion power.
+
A weakened specter requires only a '''Standard Outcome'''. 
 +
A specter that wishes to be dismissed requires only a '''Limited Outcome'''.
  
Dismissing a creature is hard and usually requires great outcome. A creature that has been wounded or otherwise weakened only needs standard outcome. A creature that wants to be dismissed requires only limited outcome.
+
You can also force a specter to materialize or reveal its true form. 
 +
This is easy but limited in range: 
 +
* '''Limited Effect''' works only within reach. 
 +
* '''Standard Effect''' reaches across an area based on Tier (p. 220).
 +
* '''Great Effect''' reaches across a distance determined by Tier.
  
You can also use this to force an Illusion Spirit (a specter) to materialize or revert to their true appearance.
+
You can dispel any Illusion power, as well as powers that alter appearance or sustain specters.
Forcing an Illusion spirit to materialize is easy, but limited in range; if the creature can get away from you it will disappear.
+
This is often used as a Set Up to improve Position when opposing powers are in play.
Limited effect only works on spirits within reach.
 
Standard effect can reach out to any target in an area based on your tier (p 220).
 
Great effect reaches out to a range covered by tier (p 220).
 
 
You can dispel any Illusion power or a power that changes appearance or affects a specter or illusion.
 
Dispelling is often used as a setup action to help another character in a situation when the opposition is using powers.
 
This improves the position of the supported action.  
 
  
It can also be used to break the continuing effects of powers.
+
When used directly, the Effect is usually Limited unless the target relies on Illusion for protection or concealment.
When used directly, the effect is usually limited unless the opponent is relying on powers for their safety.  
+
Revealing a specter obsessed with maintaining an identity can be terrifying for it.
Against an opponent in a firefight that hides behind an illusory wall you may have a better effect.
 
For specters obsessed with an identity being revealed like this is extremely scary.
 
  
When dramatically appropriate that a power is hard to dispel, often because it is the crux of the situation, this will not negate the power but instead give you a clue to what you need to do to resolve the situation.
+
When dramatically appropriate, a key Illusion may resist dispelling. In such cases, Sever Spectre provides insight into what must be done to resolve the situation instead of negating the effect outright.
  
'''Summon Spectre'''
+
==== Summon Spectre ====
 
Call a specter from another plane.
 
Call a specter from another plane.
  
Summoning can bring you allies to fight or labor for you, giving you scale. They can also give advice and information related to their power. Summons can use simple effects of their power and maintain power effects you have created.
+
Illusory summons are called specters.
 +
They are Expert Cohort [[Spirit_(FiD)|Spirits]] (p. 96) with Illusion powers and immaterial bodies.
 +
 
 +
Summoning a specific specter requires knowledge of its unique identity, often called a true name.
 +
For technomancers this may take the form of an ID signature, blueprint, or holographic pattern. 
 +
Learning such an identity may require a flashback, a downtime research activity, or a reward from a score.
  
Illusory summons are called specters.
+
Specters come in two broad types:
Specters are immaterial, ephemeral, manifesting as mental representations of what they depict.
 
Simple specters are convinced they are in fact something else.
 
This could be anything, from a tree, to a policeman, to a hole in the ground.
 
They use illusion to manifest as what they believe themselves to be, and will go to any length to maintain this role.
 
Advanced specters are tricksters and motivated to cause confusion and push their agenda, which can be quite strange.
 
One specter might love processions, another loves races, a third loves when people use toilets, and all are enthusiastic abut using illusions to realize their very personal agenda.
 
  
{{ : Summon Process (FiD) }}
+
* '''Emulator specters''' believe themselves to truly be what they portray — a person, animal, object, or even a terrain feature. They use Illusion to sustain this identity and will act decisively to preserve it.
  
'''Dream Domain'''
+
* '''Trickster specters''' pursue personal, often eccentric agendas. One might love parades, another races, a third mundane rituals. They delight in confusion and use Illusion creatively to advance their obsessions.
Gate to the realm of dreams or into a dream.
 
  
Illusions are linked to the Land of Dreams, where Illusion is dominant.  
+
==== Dream Domain ====
This is a land of fleeting dreams and illusions, as outlined in the [[#Illusion Powers (FiD)|introduction to the Illusion Form]].
+
Gate to the Land of Dreams or into a dream.
 +
 
 +
Illusion is linked to the Land of Dreams, where Illusion dominates reality.
 +
This realm is fluid, unstable, and subjective, as described in the Introduction.
 +
 
 +
Entering the Land of Dreams is exceptional: your body remains asleep while your consciousness travels. 
 +
Time there is subjective — a single night’s sleep may contain minutes or months of dream-time.
  
 
{{ : Gate Shared Rules (FiD) }}
 
{{ : Gate Shared Rules (FiD) }}
  
Illusion gates offer another option; to physically enter a creature's dreams, a personal dreamscape formed by your target.  
+
Illusion gates may also open into a creature’s personal dreamscape.
This will lead to encounters with that creature's fears and fantasies, and can potentially retrieve lost memories, cure mental ailments, or change the target's personality in radical ways.
+
This requires a supernatural link or the target’s presence.
 +
 
 +
Such journeys confront the dreamer’s fears, memories, and desires. 
 +
They may recover lost memories, influence behavior, or reshape personality, but doing so is dangerous and unpredictable.
 +
 
 +
 
  
 
=== Command ===
 
=== Command ===
Illusions don't control creatures tied to the power; instead, they create illusions that can influence anyone. They are not as direct as issuing commands, you have to craft illusions to provoke the desired reaction.
+
Illusion does not command creatures directly. 
 +
Instead, it creates images and sounds that influence behavior by provoking reactions.
 +
 
 +
Illusion Command is indirect: you must craft a situation that encourages obedience, fear, awe, or hesitation. 
 +
The guiding principle is “show, not tell.” Illusions can move and make sound, but they are poor at extended speech, limited to short emphatic phrases.
 +
 
 +
==== Menacing Mirage ====
 +
Create frightening or awe-inspiring images or sounds.
  
'''Menacing Mirage'''
+
You can give yourself an intimidating aura or create a threatening illusion and sound, roughly human-sized and up to about a cubic meter in volume, or a sound comparable to a lion’s roar.
Scary or awe-inducing images or sounds.
 
  
You create an image and sound of a threatening creature or situation, roughly human-sized or up to a cubic meter in volume.
+
The image can move and react to creatures but lacks even the illusion of physical solidity.
The key principle is "show, not tell", the image can move and make sounds but is poor at speaking, tough it can manage a few emphatic words.
+
This provides sufficient leverage to use Command for intimidation without direct violence or revealing your involvement.
The image can be moved and interact with creatures, but it lacks even the illusion of physical solidity.  
 
This can be a standalone visual or auditory illusion or a modification of an existing object’s appearance.
 
The illusion should provide enough leverage to use Command for intimidation, without actual violence or revealing your involvement.
 
  
'''Majestic Mirage'''
+
==== Message Mirage ====
Full-sense scary or awe-inducing illusions.
+
Send an illusory projection of yourself to communicate.
  
This is a full-sense illusion the size of a small house. It can be a group of about a dozen people or things enough to fill a large room. This illusion can speak, but it is hard to make this convincing unless you can see the image and what it is to interact with.
+
You create an illusion of yourself that appears near a creature you can clearly imagine.
 +
You can see, hear, and speak as if you were present.
  
'''Message Mirage'''
+
The projection follows the target, and your perception is focused on them and whatever nearby features they indicate or interact with.
Send an illusion of yourself to communicate.
 
  
This creates an illusion of you that appears near a creature you have a clear mental image of.
+
==== Majestic Mirage ====
Your image is bound to them, will always stay to them, and your perception is focused on your target and what the target draws into the conversation.
+
Create large, full-sense awe-inspiring illusions.
 +
 
 +
You create a full-sense illusion the size of a house, such as a formation of several dozen figures or enough imagery to fill a small square.
 +
 
 +
The illusion can speak and act out a scene under your broad direction. 
 +
You do not need to micromanage it; it automatically orients itself to interact convincingly with nearby observers.
 +
 
 +
Depending on how it is used, this improves either Effect, Position, or possibly both.
 +
 
 +
==== Mirage Arcana ====
 +
Create vast illusory scenes.
 +
 
 +
This functions as Majestic Mirage on a grand scale. 
 +
You can create the appearance of armies, cities, palace-complexes, forests, or mountains.
 +
 
 +
Simple scenes that do not require detailed interaction are easy to maintain. 
 +
Complex scenes involving many interacting figures require sustained concentration and may call for additional rolls to maintain, though these do not risk Stress like the initial use.
  
'''Mirage Arcana'''
 
Vast scary illusions.
 
  
This is the same as Majestic Mirage, on a much larger scale, up to the entire area you can see.
 
This can create a small army or illusory terrain like a forest or even a mountain.
 
A complex scene requires more concentration to maintain and this might require additional rolls, but such rolls won't cause stress like the intimal use does.
 
  
 
=== Consort ===
 
=== Consort ===
You change the appearance of creatures, first yourself, then others, and finally a crowd.
+
Change the appearance of creatures through Illusion — first yourself, then others, and finally entire crowds.
 +
 
 +
Consort Illusion alters how creatures are perceived, not what they physically are. 
 +
These changes can enable deception, social access, or confusion, but they do not grant new abilities or effect from illusory physical traits.
 +
 
 +
==== Makeover Mirage ====
 +
Create an illusory full-body mask.
  
'''Makeover Mirage'''
+
You add illusory clothing, accessories, and cosmetic details to your appearance. 
Illusory full-body mask.
+
You do not change your physical shape; instead, you alter surface features such as hair, skin tone, facial details, and voice.
  
Add any illusory clothes and accessories to your outfit.
+
This can conceal your identity or create striking, fabulous outfits.
You do not change your body shape, you accessorize and change details such as hair, skin color, and details like face and voice.
+
You cannot change your size or body plan, but illusory clothing and accessories function as an instant disguise.
This can mask your identity or create fabulous outfits.
 
You cannot change your gender or size, but illusory clothes and accessories can act as a disguise.
 
  
'''Monster Mirage'''
+
==== Monster Mirage ====
Assume the appearance of any other creature.
+
Assume the appearance of another creature or object.
  
You can change into the appearance of any creature. This can help your interactions with people, tough extreme size changes are impractical, making yourself tiny will not let you pass through small spaces and people may run into parts of you they cannot see. Making yourself huge more or less requires that you use other powers to physically interact with anything.  
+
You take on the outward appearance of any creature or object.
You don't get any of the abilities of your assumed appearance, you can't breathe water or swim as an illusory fish or fly as an illusory bird.  
+
This can aid social interaction or intimidation.
  
'''Metamorphosis Mirage'''
+
You gain none of the abilities of your assumed form. 
Give a willing or helpless creature any appearance.
+
You cannot fly as an illusory bird, breathe water as an illusory fish, or otherwise bypass physical limitations.
  
This is Monster Mirage applied to others.  
+
Extreme size changes are impractical.
The duration depends of the outcome, limited outcome is very temporary. Standard outcome lasts for the duration of a score. Great outcome lasts a long time and potentially become permanent, depending on the the story.  
+
Appearing tiny does not let you pass through small spaces, and appearing enormous does not grant physical reach — people may collide with parts of you that are not actually present. 
 +
To meaningfully interact at a different scale, you must rely on other powers.
 +
 
 +
==== Metamorphosis Mirage ====
 +
Alter the appearance of a willing or helpless creature.
 +
 
 +
This is Monster Mirage applied to another creature.
 +
Duration depends on the Outcome: 
 +
a '''Limited Outcome''' lasts for a scene,
 +
a '''Standard Outcome''' lasts for the duration of a score
 +
and a '''Great Outcome''' lasts a long time and may become permanent, depending on the story.
 +
 
 +
==== Mob Mirage ====
 +
Change the appearance of many creatures at once.
 +
 
 +
This is Monster Mirage applied to all creatures you can see. 
 +
You may give each an individual appearance or render them as a faceless, uniform crowd.
 +
 
 +
By altering many appearances simultaneously, you can obscure identities and sow confusion. 
 +
This can cause chaos in streets, courts, or battlefields. 
 +
Creatures do not automatically realize their own appearance has changed, compounding the confusion.
  
'''Mob Mirage'''
 
Change the appearance of large number creatures.
 
  
This is Monster Mirage applied to all the creatures you can see.
 
You can give each an individual appearance or create a faceless mob
 
By changing the appearance of many creatures at once, you can confuse people about who is who. This can cause chaos on the street, in a court, or on a battlefield. People will not realize their own appearance has changed unless you let them know, causing further confusion.
 
  
 
=== Finesse ===
 
=== Finesse ===
Illusory weapons and rides.
+
Use Illusion for deceptive weapons, movement, and misdirection.
  
'''Vehicle Veil'''
+
==== Vehicle Veil ====
 
Change the appearance of a mount or personal vehicle.
 
Change the appearance of a mount or personal vehicle.
  
You can change the appearance and to a lesser extent sound of your ride in any fashion you wish.  
+
You alter the visual appearance and, to a limited extent, the sound of a mount or vehicle in any way you choose.
The illusion covers the vehicle and any tracks as long as you maintain the effect.
+
The illusion covers the vehicle and its tracks as long as you maintain the effect.
Covering a large ride like a yacht, bus, or dragon is an Advanced outcome.
 
Altering a huge ride like a tank or ship is a Master outcome.
 
  
You can alter your entire crew's ride as an advanced power.
+
Concealing a very large conveyance, such as a yacht, bus, or dragon, requires a '''Great Outcome'''.
  
'''Mirage Melee'''
+
At Advanced tier, you can apply this effect individually to each of your Crew’s rides.
Create an illusion of a fine and potent melee weapon.
 
  
Illusion attacks cause pain and apparent wounds, but can only kill indirectly, by causing the mind to shut the body down. Level 4 harm is more likely to be a coma than death.
+
==== Mirage Melee ====
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack cognitive abilities.   
+
Create a Fine and Potent illusory melee weapon.
This includes objects but also creatures under a certain threshold of perception and imagination, like bacteria.
+
 
You should describe the illusory attack, and any defense or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.
+
You project the appearance and sensation of a close-range weapon. 
In a fight, using this does not take any more time, activating your attack power is equivalent to drawing a weapon, no more, no less.
+
The attack causes real pain and convincing injury that fades at the end of the score; it cannot kill directly except by provoking dangerous actions.
 +
 
 +
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate targets that lack the capacity to interpret sensory input, such as objects or simple organisms.   
 +
Describe the form of the attack; any relevant vulnerability or resistance applies to the apparent harm.
 +
 
 +
Aside from damage type, this substitutes for a Fine and Potent weapon. 
 +
Activating the illusion in combat takes no more time than drawing a weapon.
 +
 
 +
==== Phantom Path ====
 +
Alter the appearance of roads and paths.
 +
 
 +
You make roads, trails, or passages appear to vanish, divert into poor terrain, or exist where none are present.
 +
 
 +
If observers can see you travel safely along a concealed or false path, the illusion becomes suspect. 
 +
Locals familiar with the terrain are especially difficult to mislead.
  
'''Phantom Path'''
+
==== Phantom Passage ====
Alter the appearance of a road, misleading travelers.
+
Create phantasmal mounts or vehicles.
  
You can make roads and paths seem to disappear or lead into poor terrain and create the appearance of roads when there are in fact none. If others can see you riding on a road you concealed this will lead pursuers to doubt the illusion, and locals who know the terrain are hard to fool.
+
You create semi-illusory mounts or vehicles for yourself and your Crew. 
 +
They function as ordinary conveyances of their type, but appear as misty or shadowy forms, make no noise, and leave no trail.
  
'''Phantom Passage'''
 
Create phantasmal steeds.
 
  
You create phantasmal steeds or vehicles for you and your crew.
 
These perform as ordinary vehicles of their kind, but appear as misty shadows, make no noise, and leave no trail.
 
  
 
=== Hunt ===
 
=== Hunt ===
'''Shadow Seeker'''
+
Track, strike, and reshape the battlefield through Illusion. 
Track anything you have a good mental image of.
+
Illusion Hunt excels at misdirection, pursuit, and apparent force rather than true lethality.
 +
 
 +
==== Shadow Seeker ====
 +
Track anything you have a clear mental image of.
 +
 
 +
You follow the impression a target leaves on the world-image as it moves. 
 +
These traces fade quickly and become unreliable when many similar targets are nearby.
 +
 
 +
Consequences usually arise from the environment or population rather than the trail itself — obstacles, getting lost, hostile attention, traps, or ambushes.
 +
 
 +
==== Shadow Shot ====
 +
Illusory '''Fine''' and '''Potent''' ranged attack.
 +
 
 +
Illusory attacks cause pain and apparent wounds that fade at the end of the score. 
 +
Illusions cannot kill directly; they can only cause lethal outcomes by provoking dangerous actions.
 +
 
 +
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things lacking cognitive capacity, including objects and creatures below a threshold of perception and imagination (such as bacteria).
  
You follow the memory on the image something creates as it moves.
+
Describe the form of the attack; any relevant vulnerability or resistance applies to the illusory harm.
These tracks also don't last long, and get confusing when many similar things are in the area.
 
Consequences here are mainly from the environment and population and various dangers you might get into; obstacles, getting lost, traps, or even an ambush.
 
  
'''Shadow Shot'''
+
This serves as a replacement for ranged equipment in terms of Effect; a mundane '''Fine''' and '''Potent''' weapon is equally effective but causes real damage. 
An illusory fine and potent ranged attack.
+
Using this attack in combat takes no additional time — activating the illusion is equivalent to drawing a weapon.
  
Illusion attacks cause pain and apparent wounds, but can only kill indirectly, by causing the mind to shut the body down. Level 4 harm is more likely to be a coma than death.
+
==== Shadow Shift ====
Obviously illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack cognitive abilities.   
+
Alter the apparent environment.
This includes objects but also creatures under a certain threshold of perception and imagination, like bacteria.
+
 
You should describe the illusory attack, and any defense or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.  
+
You can reshape the appearance of:
Essentially, this ability serves as a versatile replacement for traditional equipment; a fine and potent finesse weapon would be equally effective in combat. Moreover, using this action in a fight doesn't consume any additional time; activating your attack power is akin to drawing a weapon—neither faster nor slower.
+
* a building you are inside, or 
 +
* roughly a city block or one hectare outdoors.
 +
 
 +
The illusion can be dramatic, but it only alters the appearance of existing things.   
 +
You cannot create new structures or render objects truly invisible.
 +
 
 +
Examples include making a slum appear like a palace complex or a field appear as a jungle.
 +
 
 +
The illusion affects all senses, but offers no physical resistance when force is applied.
 +
You may add environmental effects such as mist, rain, smoke, temperature shifts, and scents.
 +
 
 +
Shadow Shift is commonly used as a '''Set Up''', but it can also alter behavior — smoke, rain, snow, or darkness often cause people to flee, hide, or seek shelter.
  
'''Shadow Shift'''
+
Consequences may distract allies, strain concentration, or allow some opponents to pierce the illusion.
Change the appearance of your surroundings.
 
  
You can cover a single house indoors or a city block or about an acre outdoors.
+
==== Shadow Surge ====
The change can be dramatic, but only changes the appearance of things that exists, it cannot create new things or make things invisible.
+
Illusory attack similar to a '''Fine''' and '''Potent''' grenade.
The illusion affects all senses, but if pushed against it offers no physical resistance.
 
You can create environmental effects like mist, rain, smoke, and the heat and scents like that of a bog or fire.  
 
  
Example are to make rocks and trees look like statues or make a fence appear as a strong wall.  
+
An escalation of Shadow Shot. 
 +
This affects all enemies in a single location, trading precision for scale. 
 +
This allows full Effect against an entire gang of cohorts.
  
This is usually used as a setup, but may also change how people act in reaction to the environment—rain, smoke, or snow and the like are likely to make people want to stay indoors or run out as the case may be.
+
The illusion may include apparent environmental damage, convincing at a glance but fading quickly once examined.
Consequences commonly distract you and your allies or allow a few opponents to pierce the illusion.
 
  
'''Shadow Surge'''
 
Illusory attack similar to a fine and potent grenade.
 
  
An escalation of Shadow Shot, this affects all enemies in a single location. The effect is more powerful but less precise. The illusion even includes some illusory damage to the environment, which can fool onlookers but soon fades
 
  
 
=== Prowl ===
 
=== Prowl ===
Erase your own image and that of allies. Illusion is good at hiding, but offers little aid to mobility.
+
Hide, slip away, and reposition through Illusion.
 +
Illusion excels at concealment and deception, even enabling movement through misdirection.
  
'''Invisibility'''
+
==== Invisibility ====
 
Become almost invisible.
 
Become almost invisible.
  
Become almost invisible, you can use Prowl to sneak just about anywhere.
+
You erase most visual cues of your presence, allowing you to Prowl into places that would otherwise be impossible to enter unnoticed.
This is a very good stealth power, but not perfect, the air wavers just a bit and you glow very faintly in the dark. Sounds you make, strong light, and perfect darkness are your enemies.
+
 
 +
The illusion is not perfect
 +
Air shimmers slightly, you emit a faint glow in darkness, and you still produce sound.
 +
Strong light, total darkness, sudden movement, and noise make detection easier.
  
'''Image Exchange'''
+
==== Image Exchange ====
 
Teleport and leave an image behind.
 
Teleport and leave an image behind.
  
Create an illusion of yourself at a spot you can see within the range of a long-range weapon.
+
You create an illusion of yourself at a location you can clearly see.
This has to be your actual appearance, and cannot be invisible or disguised.  
+
You can then exchange positions with it.
You then exchange position with this image.
+
 
If you are in disguise, you can drop that disguise as a part of using this power, making you and your image identical in appearance.
+
The illusory double attempts to flee or act believably on its own, drawing attention and creating confusion.
  
'''Shared Self'''
+
==== Shared Self ====
 
Allow others to use Invisibility and Image Exchange.
 
Allow others to use Invisibility and Image Exchange.
  
Allies still use their own Prowl action.
+
You extend Invisibility and Image Exchange to your allies. 
 +
Each participant rolls their own Prowl Action and suffers their own Consequences. 
 +
This is often a '''Group Action'''.
 +
 
 +
==== Illusive Excursion ====
 +
Teleport your Crew between similar-looking places.
 +
 
 +
You teleport yourself and your Crew between two locations that are visually similar enough that casual observation cannot distinguish them.
 +
 
 +
You must be familiar with the destination. 
 +
Illusive Excursion excels at escapes, but is risky when used to infiltrate hostile territory.
 +
 
 +
You may use other illusions to make the locations match more closely.
 +
 
 +
This is regional travel — remaining within the same city or area — but is usually sufficient to escape almost any situation.
  
'''Illusive Excursion'''
 
Teleport crew to a similar-looking place.
 
  
Teleport between two places that look so similar causal observation cannot tell them apart.
 
You can use other illusions to make the two places match.
 
This is regional travel, you stay within the same city or region, but it is generally sufficient to escape just about any situation or location.
 
Both effect and position is worse unless you know where you are going, which means it is great for escapes but less so for intrusion into an enemy's territory that you are likely to be much less familiar with.
 
  
 
=== Skirmish ===
 
=== Skirmish ===
'''Illusory Armor'''
+
Prosper in the chaos of battle through deception and misdirection.
Block psychic damage.
+
 
 +
==== Illusory Armor ====
 +
Resist illusory harm.
 +
 
 +
You absorb harm caused by Illusions, allowing you to ignore most Harm from dangerous dreamscapes, illusory environments, or deceptive sensory effects such as phantom flames, fumes, or collapsing terrain. 
 +
{{ : Damage Resistance Template (FiD) }}
 +
 
 +
==== Illusory Elite ====
 +
Fine and Potent illusory melee attack.
 +
 
 +
You make a close-range attack through projected force, pain, or apparent injury. 
 +
Illusory attacks cause real pain and convincing damage that fades at the end of the score; they cannot kill directly except by provoking dangerous actions.
 +
 
 +
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate targets that lack the capacity to interpret sensory input, such as objects or simple organisms. 
 +
Describe the form of the attack; any relevant vulnerability or resistance applies to the apparent harm.
  
Absorb damage from illusions.
+
Aside from damage type, this substitutes for equipment; mundane weapons are just as effective.
This allows you to ignore most harm from a dangerous dream and illusory environments, such as a dreamscape or toxic fumes or  illusory lava.  
+
Some targets may be more or less vulnerable to specific attacks, but this is the exception.
{{ : Damage Resistance Template (FiD)}}
 
  
'''Illusory Elite'''
+
==== Illusory Obstacle ====
Fine and potent illusory melee attack.
+
Create illusory obstructions that negate Scale.
  
Illusion attacks cause pain and apparent wounds, but can only kill indirectly, by causing the mind to shut the body down. Level 4 harm is more likely to be a coma than death.
+
You conjure convincing hindrances — spectral allies, false barriers, shifting mazes, or concealing mist — that break up enemy formations.
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack cognitive abilities.
+
This negates the advantage of numbers without creating lasting terrain.
This includes objects but also creatures under a certain threshold of perception and imagination function, like bacteria and plants.
 
You should describe an illusory attack, and any defense or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.  
 
Besides variety in the type of damage, this only substitutes for equipment, mundane weapons are just as effective. Certain targets may be more or less vulnerable to certain attacks, but this is the exception.
 
  
'''Illusory Obstacle'''
+
==== Illusionary Onslaught ====
Negate scale.
+
Fine and Potent illusory attack against all enemies in the skirmish.
  
This creates an illusory hindrance, perhaps spectral allies, perhaps a maze or concealing mist. The effect is to deny the advantage of scale.
+
This is Illusory Elite applied across the entire engagement.
 +
You negate the advantage of numbers and spread your Effect across multiple opponents, inflicting normal Skirmish Harm against a Cohort Gang.
  
'''Illusionary Onslaught'''
 
Fine and potent illusory attack against all.
 
  
Illusory Elite on a larger scale.
 
Turns you into a one-man army. Not only do you negate the advantage your enemy may get from numbers, you also spread your effect to hurt all your enemies in the skirmish.
 
  
 
=== Study ===
 
=== Study ===
Study and analyze illusions and images to gain insight and knowledge. The outcome required depends on range, limited outcome for touch, standard outcome for line-of-sight, and great outcome to reach a target you know of or have some link to, but which is out of line-of-sight.
+
Study and analyze illusions and images to gain insight and knowledge. The outcome required depends on range.
 +
* Limited outcome for touch.
 +
* Standard outcome for line-of-sight.
 +
* Great outcome to reach a target you know of or have some link to, but which is out of line-of-sight.
  
These powers can spoil illusions, but you have to actively use them to have any effect.
+
These powers can spot illusions, but you have to actively use them to do so.
  
Position depends on the situation. Safely in your base the position is controlled. In the middle of a fight or when pinned down the position is desperate. Sometimes thing you are researching it dangerous in itself, worsening position, consequences may give you knowledge that lacks crucial details.
+
Position depends on the situation. Safely in your base the position is controlled. In the middle of a fight or when pinned down the position is desperate. Sometimes thing you are researching it dangerous in itself, worsening position.
  
'''Identify Illusion'''
+
==== Illusion Insight ====
Identify illusions.
+
Learn the powers and abilities of an illusion.
  
This gives the name of the ability used and very basic information in narrative terms, but not details or actual rules.
+
Learn of any powers or special abilities the illusion has. This includes actual rules and game effects as well as what the illusion hides or disguises.
You learn that what you see is an illusion and what it is supposed to depict, but not what was originally there.
 
  
'''Illusion Insight'''
+
==== Illusory Memory ====
Learn the powers and abilities of an illusion.
+
A view from your memory.
  
Learn of any powers or special abilities the illusion has. This includes actual rules and game effects as well as what the illusion hides or disguises.
+
You create a scene from memory.  
 +
This is detailed and may contain things you do not consciously remember.
 +
Others can help you inspect this image and draw their own conclusions, but it is very hard for them to tell if this is truly a memory or an illusion you created using Sway.
  
'''Illusory Echoes'''
+
==== Illusory Echoes ====
 
A view from the past.
 
A view from the past.
  
See a past view of an place, image, illusionist, or specter.
+
Illusory Memory, but it is from the past of your current location, you need not have been present.
This is much like playing a film backwards, but you can skip sections that do not interest you.
+
You can zoom in on events of interest.  
This power works anywhere on any view, not just on illusions.
 
  
'''Panopticon'''
+
==== Panopticon ====
 
You see everything in a wide area.
 
You see everything in a wide area.
  
 
You see everything in a wide area. Darkness, walls and barriers do not limit vision, but enclosed spaces do.
 
You see everything in a wide area. Darkness, walls and barriers do not limit vision, but enclosed spaces do.
 
Provides a detailed view of events involving Illusions as far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest.  
 
Provides a detailed view of events involving Illusions as far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest.  
You can then play back what you see in the area (not just the illusions), like Illusory Echoes.
+
You can then play back what you see in the area (not just the illusions), like Illusory Echoes over this vast area.
  
 
=== Survey ===
 
=== Survey ===
Line 411: Line 506:
 
* Great outcome can look into far-away places and spots you had no idea existed.
 
* Great outcome can look into far-away places and spots you had no idea existed.
  
'''Detect Illusion'''
+
==== Detect Illusion ====
 
You can detect illusions and invisible things.
 
You can detect illusions and invisible things.
  
 
This is a basic spotting power, selectively sensing illusions of a sort you specify.
 
This is a basic spotting power, selectively sensing illusions of a sort you specify.
  
'''Perceptive Image'''
+
==== Perceptive Image ====
 
Create an illusion, reality updates it.
 
Create an illusion, reality updates it.
  
Make a small illusory image of a known location.  
+
Make a small illusory image of a known location.
The image is updated in real time as long as you concentrate on maintaining it.
+
This will show the location as it looks now and the image is updated in real time as long as you concentrate on maintaining it.
  
'''Real Image'''
+
==== Real Image ====
 
Let reality make an illusion.
 
Let reality make an illusion.
  
 
As Perceptive Image, but focused on a known creature rather than a location, following that creature around as it moves.  
 
As Perceptive Image, but focused on a known creature rather than a location, following that creature around as it moves.  
  
'''Omnipresence'''
+
==== Omnipresence ====
 
Create an illusion of a huge area, reality updates it.
 
Create an illusion of a huge area, reality updates it.
  
 
As Perceptive Image but on a grand scale; you can represent several city blocks or a large terrain feature such as a wood, field, or hill and shift the view to see from a certain angle or location.
 
As Perceptive Image but on a grand scale; you can represent several city blocks or a large terrain feature such as a wood, field, or hill and shift the view to see from a certain angle or location.
 +
  
 
=== Sway ===
 
=== Sway ===
 
Convince others by showing them illusions.
 
Convince others by showing them illusions.
  
'''Persuasive Phantom'''
+
==== Persuasive Phantom ====
 
Convincing visual image up to the size of a human.
 
Convincing visual image up to the size of a human.
  
 
Create a full-sense image of something of human size or smaller.
 
Create a full-sense image of something of human size or smaller.
 
This can be a creature that tries to convince observers, or something like a signpost.
 
This can be a creature that tries to convince observers, or something like a signpost.
The image appears real to all senses, but if seriously pushed against it is immaterial.
+
The image appears real to all senses, but if pushed hard it is revealed to be immaterial.
  
'''Phantasmal Procession'''
+
==== Phantasmal Procession ====
 
Full-sense illusion of a stage and actors.
 
Full-sense illusion of a stage and actors.
  
 
Similar but larger than Persuasive Phantom.  
 
Similar but larger than Persuasive Phantom.  
 
An illusion of a few dozen people or things like a large carriage or street scene. You can move the illusion as long as you move all the components, something left behind will soon disappear. This allows you to make an illusion of a group of monsters or people that move about, but their tracks and any items left behind will soon disappear as they move out of an area.
 
An illusion of a few dozen people or things like a large carriage or street scene. You can move the illusion as long as you move all the components, something left behind will soon disappear. This allows you to make an illusion of a group of monsters or people that move about, but their tracks and any items left behind will soon disappear as they move out of an area.
 +
This is also precise enough to make forged documents.
  
'''Phantom Thought'''
+
==== Phantom Thought ====
 
Draw illusion from another's mind.
 
Draw illusion from another's mind.
  
 
Similar to Phantasmal Procession, but you give control over the illusion to a target's subconscious. You can give a general theme of the illusion, and the target will fill in the details. This frees you from having to concentrate on controlling the illusion, and it will always look  and act appropriately to the target's expectations.
 
Similar to Phantasmal Procession, but you give control over the illusion to a target's subconscious. You can give a general theme of the illusion, and the target will fill in the details. This frees you from having to concentrate on controlling the illusion, and it will always look  and act appropriately to the target's expectations.
A target with high self-confidence will be able to convince any illusory creatures to do as they wish, but this actually makes it harder for the observer penetrate the illusion.
+
A target with high self-confidence may be able to push the illusion to fit their agenda, but this actually makes it harder for an observer penetrate the illusion.
  
'''Private Phantasm'''
+
==== Private Phantasm ====
 
An illusion around a creature replaces all sensations.
 
An illusion around a creature replaces all sensations.
  
 +
The target must be in your power for you to do this.
 
You encase the target in an illusion that controls every sensation the target perceives.  
 
You encase the target in an illusion that controls every sensation the target perceives.  
The target must be in your power for you to do this.
 
 
This places the target in an illusory world entirely of your creation.  
 
This places the target in an illusory world entirely of your creation.  
You can create a theme for the illusion that repeats with simple variations, or you can give control to the target's subconscious having it play out the targets desires or fears. You can take detailed control at any time when you touch the target. The target appears to be asleep, and any interaction with the target's actual body will be incorporated into the illusion, allowing the target to be fed, clothed, and led.
+
You can create a theme for the illusion that repeats with simple variations, or you can give control to the target's subconscious having it play out the targets desires or fears. The target appears to be asleep, and any interaction with the target's actual body will be incorporated into the illusion, allowing the target to be fed, clothed, and led.
 +
You can take detailed control at any time when you touch the target, and you may be able to trick the target into acts provoked by events in the Private Phantasm.
 +
 
  
 
=== Tinker ===
 
=== Tinker ===
Use illusion to alter items of all kinds or create illusory items out of nothing, giving the impression you can create amazing things.
+
You can create an illusion of any type of object, with an appearance as glamorous as you wish, but it is insubstantial.
 +
More advanced illusory tinkering can give these illusions limited reality.
 +
The outcome determines how long it will last. 
 +
 
 +
* Limited Outcome makes an object that lasts for immediate use.
 +
* Standard Outcome lasts for the duration of a score.
 +
* Great Outcome is semi-permanent. 
 +
* Something larger than a human, very complex, or of higher Quality Level than your Tier or Lifestyle increases the needed Outcome.
  
Position depends on how quiet your workplace is and how much time you have to work with. The outcome determines how long it will last. Most illusory tinkering will only be good for a single scene, but if your outcome surpasses that required for the outcome you want, you can stretch the outcome until the end of the score. Long-term projects can create permanent illusory objects.
+
Position depends on how quiet your workplace is and how much time you have to work with.
  
Consequences can change details of the illusion, such as altered colors or the object becoming too pretty, bent, twisted or markings, letters, and numbers giving cluse or just not making sense.
+
Consequences can change details of the illusion, such as altered colors or the object becoming too pretty, bent, twisted, or with markings, letters, and numbers giving clues or just not making sense.
  
'''Illusory Enhancement'''
+
==== Illusory Enhancement ====
 
Change the appearance of an object up to man size.
 
Change the appearance of an object up to man size.
  
 
Change the appearance of an object up to man size. This can seem to give abilities your item do not actually have or hide abilities it does have.
 
Change the appearance of an object up to man size. This can seem to give abilities your item do not actually have or hide abilities it does have.
You don't change the basic form and size of the object, but you can change details, turning a stick into a weapon, a log into a mount, or clothes into armor—or the opposite. This is a full-sense illusion, including sight, sound, smell, and touch. This can create illusory kit to impress, or hide actual kit as just clothing or even rags. Items can create appropriate effects in their vicinity, such as recoil and muzzle flash from weapons, but don't work at range. If used, the items function normally, the illusion has no effect on  effectiveness, but an illusory item can cause illusory harm in melee.
+
You don't change the basic form and size of the object, but you can change its form and appearance, turning a stick into a sword, a log into a mount, or clothes into armor—or the opposite. This is a full-sense illusion, including sight, sound, smell, and touch. This can create illusory kit to impress, or hide actual kit as just clothing or even rags. Items can create appropriate effects in their vicinity, such as the recoil and muzzle flash of a gun, but don't work at range. If used, the items functions as the original object, the illusion does not change effectiveness, tough it can fool people into using the item in the wrong way.
  
When used against creatures,
+
==== Phantasmal Fabrication ====
Illusion attacks cause pain and apparent wounds, but can only kill indirectly, by causing the mind to shut the body down. Level 4 harm is more likely to be a coma than death.
 
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack cognitive abilities.
 
This includes objects but also creatures under a certain threshold of perception and imagination, like bacteria.
 
You should describe the illusory attack, and any defense or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.
 
 
 
'''Phantasmal Fabrication'''
 
 
Make items invisible or create illusory items out of nothing.
 
Make items invisible or create illusory items out of nothing.
  
Line 488: Line 588:
 
A weapon made invisible might grant an advantage at the start of a fight but battering will soon make it visible.
 
A weapon made invisible might grant an advantage at the start of a fight but battering will soon make it visible.
  
'''Shadow Structure'''
+
When used against creatures,
 +
Illusory attacks cause pain and apparent wounds which fades into insignificance at the end of the score. Illusions can only kill by provoking actions with lethal consequences.
 +
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack cognitive abilities.
 +
This includes objects but also creatures under a certain threshold of perception and imagination, like bacteria.
 +
You should describe the illusory attack, and any vulnerability or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.
 +
 
 +
==== Shadow Structure ====
 
Create semi-real things that only work for your crew.
 
Create semi-real things that only work for your crew.
  
As Phantasmal Fabrication, except that things you create can be semi-real, able to do what a poor example of such a thing usually does, but only when you will it to do so. For example you can create an illusory stone bridge that supports you and allies as a rickety wooden bridge would, but doesn't support others at all. Tools and weapons made this way perform as a basic example of what they imitate, functional but not fancy or exact.
+
As Phantasmal Fabrication, except that things you create can be semi-real, able to do what a poor example of such a thing usually does, but only when you will it to do so. For example you can create an illusory stone bridge that supports you and allies as a rickety wooden bridge would, but doesn't support others at all. Tools and weapons made this way perform as a basic example of what they imitate, functional but not fancy or exact but unlike other illusory attacks, these can affect mindless things such as objects.
  
'''Mass Mirage'''
+
==== Mass Mirage ====
 
Phantasmal Fabrication on a grand scale.
 
Phantasmal Fabrication on a grand scale.
  
This is similar to Phantasmal Fabrication, but you mass produce objects, even a set of different objects. You can also make something huge, such as a ship, building, or small landscape.
+
This is similar to Shadow Structure, but you mass produce objects, even a set of different objects. You can also make something huge, such as a ship, building, town, or small landscape.
 +
 
  
 
=== Wreck ===
 
=== Wreck ===
 
Cover things with illusions of destruction. Illusion is one of the weaker wrecking powers since its unreal until Shadowy Shatter, you can make things look broken to deny them to the enemy but its hard to get much use of the destruction yourself.
 
Cover things with illusions of destruction. Illusion is one of the weaker wrecking powers since its unreal until Shadowy Shatter, you can make things look broken to deny them to the enemy but its hard to get much use of the destruction yourself.
 +
On the bright side you can cause apparent mayhem without any lasting collateral damage.
 +
This makes Wreck illusion great as a getaway distraction, when a gate or bridge collapses behind you.
  
 
Position depends on the situation; if you are unseen and undisturbed and know what you are pretending to bring down you have a controlled position. If lots of enemies are about, you don't know what you will uncover, or you might trigger an accident the position might be desperate.
 
Position depends on the situation; if you are unseen and undisturbed and know what you are pretending to bring down you have a controlled position. If lots of enemies are about, you don't know what you will uncover, or you might trigger an accident the position might be desperate.
  
 
The outcome required depends on the size and structural strength of your target. Standard outcome is a car-sized hole in a brick or mortar wall. Construction significantly weaker than this only demands limited outcome. A smaller hole stil need the same outcome. Something larger and/or stronger requires great outcome.  
 
The outcome required depends on the size and structural strength of your target. Standard outcome is a car-sized hole in a brick or mortar wall. Construction significantly weaker than this only demands limited outcome. A smaller hole stil need the same outcome. Something larger and/or stronger requires great outcome.  
The item is still there, but appears obviously broken. Its hard to make multiple such outcome credible, if you make an illusion of a rifle breaking ten times someone is bound try to use their "broken" rifle and find it works.
+
The item is still there, but appears obviously broken. Its hard to make multiple such outcomes credible, if you make an illusion of a rifle breaking ten times someone is bound try to use their "broken" rifle and find it works.
  
'''Faux Fracture'''
+
==== Faux Fracture ====
 
Illusion of damage to an object.
 
Illusion of damage to an object.
  
This is illusory destruction of fragile things that you could destroy with a sledgehammer.  
+
This is the illusory destruction of fragile things that you could destroy with a sledgehammer.  
 
This applies to both people and objects.  
 
This applies to both people and objects.  
Illusion attacks cause pain and apparent wounds, but can only kill indirectly, by causing the mind to shut the body down. Level 4 harm is more likely to be a coma than death.
+
Illusory attacks cause pain and apparent wounds which fades into insignificance at the end of the score.
Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack cognitive abilities.
+
Illusions can only kill by provoking actions with lethal consequences.  
This includes objects but also creatures under a certain threshold of perception and imagination function, like bacteria and plants.
+
Unlike other illusory attacks, Wreck Illusion can affect objects and insensate things that lack cognitive abilities.  
You should describe an illusory attack, and any defense or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.  
+
You should describe an illusory attack, and any vulnerability or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.  
  
'''Phantom Fracture'''
+
==== Phantom Fracture ====
 
Illusion of damage to a place.
 
Illusion of damage to a place.
  
Line 522: Line 631:
 
Can make a fine and potent illusory attack.
 
Can make a fine and potent illusory attack.
  
'''Shadowy Shatter'''
+
==== Shadowy Shatter ====
 
Phantom Fracture, but semi-real.
 
Phantom Fracture, but semi-real.
  
 
Phantom Fracture, except that the damage you do is semi-real, able to be exploited, but only when you will it to be so.  
 
Phantom Fracture, except that the damage you do is semi-real, able to be exploited, but only when you will it to be so.  
 
For example you can create an illusory hole in a wall you and your crew can use, but which doesn't let others pass.   
 
For example you can create an illusory hole in a wall you and your crew can use, but which doesn't let others pass.   
 +
As the illusion fades over time, so does your ability to exploit it.
  
'''Apocalyptic Artistry'''
+
==== Apocalyptic Artistry ====
 
City-sized Phantom Fracture.
 
City-sized Phantom Fracture.
  
 
Rather straightforward, this just scales things up.
 
Rather straightforward, this just scales things up.
 +
 +
 +
 +
=== Wreck ===
 +
Create illusions of destruction and collapse.
 +
 +
Illusion does not wreck directly, as its effects are unreal until Shadowy Shatter. 
 +
Illusion excels at causing apparent mayhem without lasting collateral damage. 
 +
This makes Wreck Illusion ideal for getaways and misdirection — a bridge that seems to collapse behind you, a gate that appears smashed, or a building that looks unsafe to enter.
 +
 +
Position depends on the situation. 
 +
If you are unseen, undisturbed, and understand what you are pretending to destroy, the Position is '''Controlled'''. 
 +
If enemies are present, the structure is unfamiliar, or the illusion risks provoking real accidents, the Position may be '''Desperate'''.
 +
 +
The Outcome required depends on the apparent scale of the destruction. 
 +
A '''Standard Outcome''' creates the illusion of a car-sized breach or collapse. 
 +
A smaller breach still requires the same Outcome. 
 +
Larger-scale destruction requires a '''Great Outcome'''.
 +
 +
Repeated or excessive use strains credibility — an illusion of a rifle breaking ten times invites someone to test it and discover it still functions.
 +
 +
 +
=== Wreck ===
 +
Create illusions of destruction and collapse.
 +
 +
Illusion does not wreck directly, as its effects are unreal until Shadowy Shatter. 
 +
Illusion excels at causing apparent mayhem without lasting collateral damage. 
 +
This makes Wreck Illusion ideal for getaways and misdirection — a bridge that seems to collapse behind you, a gate that appears smashed, or a building that looks unsafe to enter.
 +
 +
Position depends on the situation. 
 +
If you are unseen, undisturbed, and understand what you are pretending to destroy, the Position is '''Controlled'''. 
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If enemies are present, the structure is unfamiliar, or the illusion risks provoking real accidents, the Position may be '''Desperate'''.
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The Outcome required depends on the apparent scale of the destruction. 
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A '''Standard Outcome''' creates the illusion of a car-sized breach or collapse. 
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A smaller breach still requires the same Outcome. 
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Larger-scale destruction requires a '''Great Outcome'''.
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Repeated or excessive use strains credibility — an illusion of a rifle breaking ten times invites someone to test it and discover it still functions.
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==== Faux Fracture ====
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Create the illusion of damage to an object or creature.
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You create the appearance of destruction to objects or creatures you could plausibly destroy with a sledgehammer.
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Illusory attacks cause real pain and apparent damage that fades at the end of the score. 
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They cannot kill directly; lethal outcomes only occur if the illusion provokes dangerous actions.
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Describe the form of the damage; any relevant vulnerability or resistance applies to the apparent harm.
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Unlike most illusory attacks, Wreck Illusion can affect objects and insensate things that lack cognitive capacity, though the damage itself remains unreal.
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==== Phantom Fracture ====
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Create the illusion of damage to a solid structure.
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This is Faux Fracture applied to stronger targets, such as walls, gates, or fortifications. 
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It functions as a Fine and Potent illusory sledgehammer when used against creatures.
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==== Shadowy Shatter ====
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Create semi-real illusory destruction.
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This functions as Phantom Fracture, but the damage becomes temporarily exploitable at your discretion. 
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You might create an illusory hole in a wall that you and your Crew can pass through, but which quickly fades.
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As the illusion fades, so does your ability to exploit it.
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==== Apocalyptic Artistry ====
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Create city-scale illusions of devastation.
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This expands Phantom Fracture to a massive scale, creating the appearance of widespread destruction across districts or entire cities.

Latest revision as of 17:05, 30 December 2025

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Illusion is the art of perception and deception through sensory projection. It is concerned with perception, not substance. Illusion powers are most often used to deceive, but they can also be used to educate, direct, or reveal patterns that are otherwise hard to notice.

Illusion can create sights, sounds, scents, sensations of touch, and other sensory phenomena, but these are always suggestive and indirect. The primary focus of Illusion is vision. Illusionists whose primary sense is not sight would instead focus on projections tuned to their dominant sense, but this is not covered by these rules.

Illusions create images of creatures and objects that are objectively real in that they register on physical senses, including those of living beings and sensory devices. Such images are unreal in that they are projections rather than physical matter. An illusion cannot affect objects, structures, or creatures through force unless the power explicitly says it can. An illusion of weight may cause scales to react, but it cannot cause a bridge to collapse. A lift with a weight sensor may shut down due to an illusory overload, but if the sensor is bypassed, the lift functions normally.

Illusory attacks cause real pain and apparent wounds that fade into insignificance at the end of the score. Illusions cannot kill directly; they can only kill by provoking actions with lethal consequences. Each illusory attack should be described fictionally, and any vulnerability or resistance that would apply to the described attack also applies to the illusory harm.

Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack the capacity to interpret sensory input. This includes objects and creatures below a threshold of perception, such as bacteria and ordinary plants. Observers may perceive such targets as taking damage, but the apparent damage fades over time.

Illusion creatures are called specters. Specters are structured to behave as if they truly are what they portray, allowing their illusions to respond dynamically without constant intervention from the user. Some specters are highly specialized, believing themselves to be specific people, animals, objects, or even terrain features and are very good at playing their role. Finding or creating such specters may require a flashback or a long-term project. Specters that are aware of their illusory nature are more flexible but less convincing.

The plane of Illusion is a plane of dreams: ephemeral, unstable, and subjective. It shifts rapidly and is shaped by the dreaming minds of the world. Creatures with powerful imaginations may create persistent dream-realms of their own. Such realms can be studied or manipulated to influence their creator, but doing so is difficult and dangerous.

Illusion Power Effects Table

Action Basic Advanced Master Apex
Dice Minimum 2d Minimum 4d Minimum 6d
Stress Avoid fumble (2+). Succeed (4+). Full success (6). Critical (2 sixes).
Attune Dream Detection
Detect illusory creatures and powers.
Sever Spectre
Dismiss a specter or end an illusion power.
Summon Spectre
Call a specter from another plane.
Dream Domain
Gate to the realm of dreams or into a dream.
Command Menacing Mirage
Scary or awe-inducing images or sounds.
Message Mirage
Send an illusion of yourself to communicate.
Majestic Mirage
Full-sense scary or awe-inducing illusions.
Mirage Arcana
Vast scary illusions.
Consort Makeover Mirage
Illusory full-body mask.
Monster Mirage
Assume the appearance of any other creature.
Metamorphosis Mirage
Give a willing or helpless creature any appearance.
Mob Mirage
Change the appearance of large number creatures.
Finesse Vehicle Veil
Change the appearance of a mount or personal vehicle.
Mirage Melee
Create an illusion of a fine and potent melee weapon.
Phantom Path
Alter the appearance of a road, misleading travelers.
Phantom Passage
Create phantasmal steeds.
Hunt Shadow Seeker
Track any creature you have a good mental image of.
Shadow Shot
An illusory fine and potent ranged attack.
Shadow Shift
Change the appearance of your surroundings.
Shadow Surge
Illusory attack similar to a fine and potent grenade.
Prowl Invisibility
Become almost invisible.
Image Exchange
Teleport and leave an image behind.
Shared Self
Use Invisibility and Image Exchange on others.
Illusive Excursion:
Teleport crew to a similar-looking place.
Skirmish Illusory Armor
Block psychic damage.
Illusory Elite
Fine and potent illusory melee attack.
Illusory Obstacle
Negate scale.
Illusionary Onslaught
Fine and potent illusory attack against all.
Study Identify Illusion
Identify illusions.
Illusion Insight
Learn the powers and abilities of an illusion.
Illusory Echoes
A view from the past.
Panopticon
You see everything in a wide area.
Survey Detect Image
Sense illusions and invisible things.
Perceptive Image
Create an illusion, reality updates it.
Real Image
Let reality make an illusion.
Omnipresence
Create an illusion of a huge area, reality updates it.
Sway Persuasive Phantom
Convincing visual image up to the size of a human.
Phantasmal Procession
Full-sense illusion of a stage and actors.
Phantom Thought
Draw illusion from another's mind.
Private Phantasm
An illusion around a creature replaces all sensations.
Tinker Illusory Enhancement
Change the appearance of an object up to man size.
Phantasmal Fabrication
Make items invisible or create illusory items out of nothing.
Shadow Structure
Create semi-real things that only work for your crew.
Mass Mirage
Phantasmal Fabrication on a grand scale.
Wreck Faux Fracture
Illusion of damage to an object.
Phantom Fracture
Illusion of damage to a place.
Shadowy Shatter
Phantom Fracture, but semi-real.
Apocalyptic Artistry
City-sized Phantom Fracture.

Expanded Illusion Powers

A recurring problem with Illusion is concealing the fact that projections appear out of nowhere. Illusions are most effective when you have time to prepare or when their appearance can be plausibly masked — emerging from behind a corner, through smoke, darkness, or visual clutter.

Illusions can also be made more convincing by framing them as the result of other forces or Forms, whether or not you actually possess those powers. The illusion does not need to explain itself; it only needs to delay doubt long enough to matter.


Attune

Harness the power of Attune to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with Illusion beings and phenomena.

Consequences depend on what happens around you while you Attune. Having helpers or protection reduces risk, and dismissing a willing specter may even be Controlled. Common Consequences include a specter losing control of its projection, nearby illusions destabilizing, or other Illusion creatures intervening.

Dream Detection

Detect specters and Illusion powers.

You can see Illusion spirits and detect Illusion creatures and powers. This is commonly used to identify projections, hidden specters, or summoned illusions so they can be dispelled or dismissed.

Using Dream Detection may spoil illusions, but you must actively apply it. Even when you know an illusion is false, you still perceive it normally.

A Limited Outcome suffices against a creature or effect you can clearly see. A Standard Outcome is required if it is hidden. A Great Outcome is required if it is concealed behind solid barriers.

Sever Spectre

Dismiss a specter or end an Illusion power.

Dismissing a specter is difficult and usually requires a Great Outcome. A weakened specter requires only a Standard Outcome. A specter that wishes to be dismissed requires only a Limited Outcome.

You can also force a specter to materialize or reveal its true form. This is easy but limited in range:

  • Limited Effect works only within reach.
  • Standard Effect reaches across an area based on Tier (p. 220).
  • Great Effect reaches across a distance determined by Tier.

You can dispel any Illusion power, as well as powers that alter appearance or sustain specters. This is often used as a Set Up to improve Position when opposing powers are in play.

When used directly, the Effect is usually Limited unless the target relies on Illusion for protection or concealment. Revealing a specter obsessed with maintaining an identity can be terrifying for it.

When dramatically appropriate, a key Illusion may resist dispelling. In such cases, Sever Spectre provides insight into what must be done to resolve the situation instead of negating the effect outright.

Summon Spectre

Call a specter from another plane.

Illusory summons are called specters. They are Expert Cohort Spirits (p. 96) with Illusion powers and immaterial bodies.

Summoning a specific specter requires knowledge of its unique identity, often called a true name. For technomancers this may take the form of an ID signature, blueprint, or holographic pattern. Learning such an identity may require a flashback, a downtime research activity, or a reward from a score.

Specters come in two broad types:

  • Emulator specters believe themselves to truly be what they portray — a person, animal, object, or even a terrain feature. They use Illusion to sustain this identity and will act decisively to preserve it.
  • Trickster specters pursue personal, often eccentric agendas. One might love parades, another races, a third mundane rituals. They delight in confusion and use Illusion creatively to advance their obsessions.

Dream Domain

Gate to the Land of Dreams or into a dream.

Illusion is linked to the Land of Dreams, where Illusion dominates reality. This realm is fluid, unstable, and subjective, as described in the Introduction.

Entering the Land of Dreams is exceptional: your body remains asleep while your consciousness travels. Time there is subjective — a single night’s sleep may contain minutes or months of dream-time.

There are things that are possible to do here that are not allowed in the regular world. Appropriate effects are reduced one step in difficulty, from advanced to basic, master to advanced, and apex to master. This opens the possibility of new super-apex powers that have to be negotiated with the game master. Such effects rarely reach outside the plane of origin, but if they affect creatures there the effect may remain when you return to the mundane world.

This can also be used to contact creatures too powerful to summon. This allows you to ignore tier when creating the gate, but gives you no power over the target. The creature may then use the gate to come to you, call you into its presence, send minions, or communicate with you at a distance.

Illusion gates may also open into a creature’s personal dreamscape. This requires a supernatural link or the target’s presence.

Such journeys confront the dreamer’s fears, memories, and desires. They may recover lost memories, influence behavior, or reshape personality, but doing so is dangerous and unpredictable.


Command

Illusion does not command creatures directly. Instead, it creates images and sounds that influence behavior by provoking reactions.

Illusion Command is indirect: you must craft a situation that encourages obedience, fear, awe, or hesitation. The guiding principle is “show, not tell.” Illusions can move and make sound, but they are poor at extended speech, limited to short emphatic phrases.

Menacing Mirage

Create frightening or awe-inspiring images or sounds.

You can give yourself an intimidating aura or create a threatening illusion and sound, roughly human-sized and up to about a cubic meter in volume, or a sound comparable to a lion’s roar.

The image can move and react to creatures but lacks even the illusion of physical solidity. This provides sufficient leverage to use Command for intimidation without direct violence or revealing your involvement.

Message Mirage

Send an illusory projection of yourself to communicate.

You create an illusion of yourself that appears near a creature you can clearly imagine. You can see, hear, and speak as if you were present.

The projection follows the target, and your perception is focused on them and whatever nearby features they indicate or interact with.

Majestic Mirage

Create large, full-sense awe-inspiring illusions.

You create a full-sense illusion the size of a house, such as a formation of several dozen figures or enough imagery to fill a small square.

The illusion can speak and act out a scene under your broad direction. You do not need to micromanage it; it automatically orients itself to interact convincingly with nearby observers.

Depending on how it is used, this improves either Effect, Position, or possibly both.

Mirage Arcana

Create vast illusory scenes.

This functions as Majestic Mirage on a grand scale. You can create the appearance of armies, cities, palace-complexes, forests, or mountains.

Simple scenes that do not require detailed interaction are easy to maintain. Complex scenes involving many interacting figures require sustained concentration and may call for additional rolls to maintain, though these do not risk Stress like the initial use.


Consort

Change the appearance of creatures through Illusion — first yourself, then others, and finally entire crowds.

Consort Illusion alters how creatures are perceived, not what they physically are. These changes can enable deception, social access, or confusion, but they do not grant new abilities or effect from illusory physical traits.

Makeover Mirage

Create an illusory full-body mask.

You add illusory clothing, accessories, and cosmetic details to your appearance. You do not change your physical shape; instead, you alter surface features such as hair, skin tone, facial details, and voice.

This can conceal your identity or create striking, fabulous outfits. You cannot change your size or body plan, but illusory clothing and accessories function as an instant disguise.

Monster Mirage

Assume the appearance of another creature or object.

You take on the outward appearance of any creature or object. This can aid social interaction or intimidation.

You gain none of the abilities of your assumed form. You cannot fly as an illusory bird, breathe water as an illusory fish, or otherwise bypass physical limitations.

Extreme size changes are impractical. Appearing tiny does not let you pass through small spaces, and appearing enormous does not grant physical reach — people may collide with parts of you that are not actually present. To meaningfully interact at a different scale, you must rely on other powers.

Metamorphosis Mirage

Alter the appearance of a willing or helpless creature.

This is Monster Mirage applied to another creature. Duration depends on the Outcome: a Limited Outcome lasts for a scene, a Standard Outcome lasts for the duration of a score, and a Great Outcome lasts a long time and may become permanent, depending on the story.

Mob Mirage

Change the appearance of many creatures at once.

This is Monster Mirage applied to all creatures you can see. You may give each an individual appearance or render them as a faceless, uniform crowd.

By altering many appearances simultaneously, you can obscure identities and sow confusion. This can cause chaos in streets, courts, or battlefields. Creatures do not automatically realize their own appearance has changed, compounding the confusion.


Finesse

Use Illusion for deceptive weapons, movement, and misdirection.

Vehicle Veil

Change the appearance of a mount or personal vehicle.

You alter the visual appearance and, to a limited extent, the sound of a mount or vehicle in any way you choose. The illusion covers the vehicle and its tracks as long as you maintain the effect.

Concealing a very large conveyance, such as a yacht, bus, or dragon, requires a Great Outcome.

At Advanced tier, you can apply this effect individually to each of your Crew’s rides.

Mirage Melee

Create a Fine and Potent illusory melee weapon.

You project the appearance and sensation of a close-range weapon. The attack causes real pain and convincing injury that fades at the end of the score; it cannot kill directly except by provoking dangerous actions.

Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate targets that lack the capacity to interpret sensory input, such as objects or simple organisms. Describe the form of the attack; any relevant vulnerability or resistance applies to the apparent harm.

Aside from damage type, this substitutes for a Fine and Potent weapon. Activating the illusion in combat takes no more time than drawing a weapon.

Phantom Path

Alter the appearance of roads and paths.

You make roads, trails, or passages appear to vanish, divert into poor terrain, or exist where none are present.

If observers can see you travel safely along a concealed or false path, the illusion becomes suspect. Locals familiar with the terrain are especially difficult to mislead.

Phantom Passage

Create phantasmal mounts or vehicles.

You create semi-illusory mounts or vehicles for yourself and your Crew. They function as ordinary conveyances of their type, but appear as misty or shadowy forms, make no noise, and leave no trail.


Hunt

Track, strike, and reshape the battlefield through Illusion. Illusion Hunt excels at misdirection, pursuit, and apparent force rather than true lethality.

Shadow Seeker

Track anything you have a clear mental image of.

You follow the impression a target leaves on the world-image as it moves. These traces fade quickly and become unreliable when many similar targets are nearby.

Consequences usually arise from the environment or population rather than the trail itself — obstacles, getting lost, hostile attention, traps, or ambushes.

Shadow Shot

Illusory Fine and Potent ranged attack.

Illusory attacks cause pain and apparent wounds that fade at the end of the score. Illusions cannot kill directly; they can only cause lethal outcomes by provoking dangerous actions.

Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things lacking cognitive capacity, including objects and creatures below a threshold of perception and imagination (such as bacteria).

Describe the form of the attack; any relevant vulnerability or resistance applies to the illusory harm.

This serves as a replacement for ranged equipment in terms of Effect; a mundane Fine and Potent weapon is equally effective but causes real damage. Using this attack in combat takes no additional time — activating the illusion is equivalent to drawing a weapon.

Shadow Shift

Alter the apparent environment.

You can reshape the appearance of:

  • a building you are inside, or
  • roughly a city block or one hectare outdoors.

The illusion can be dramatic, but it only alters the appearance of existing things. You cannot create new structures or render objects truly invisible.

Examples include making a slum appear like a palace complex or a field appear as a jungle.

The illusion affects all senses, but offers no physical resistance when force is applied. You may add environmental effects such as mist, rain, smoke, temperature shifts, and scents.

Shadow Shift is commonly used as a Set Up, but it can also alter behavior — smoke, rain, snow, or darkness often cause people to flee, hide, or seek shelter.

Consequences may distract allies, strain concentration, or allow some opponents to pierce the illusion.

Shadow Surge

Illusory attack similar to a Fine and Potent grenade.

An escalation of Shadow Shot. This affects all enemies in a single location, trading precision for scale. This allows full Effect against an entire gang of cohorts.

The illusion may include apparent environmental damage, convincing at a glance but fading quickly once examined.


Prowl

Hide, slip away, and reposition through Illusion. Illusion excels at concealment and deception, even enabling movement through misdirection.

Invisibility

Become almost invisible.

You erase most visual cues of your presence, allowing you to Prowl into places that would otherwise be impossible to enter unnoticed.

The illusion is not perfect. Air shimmers slightly, you emit a faint glow in darkness, and you still produce sound. Strong light, total darkness, sudden movement, and noise make detection easier.

Image Exchange

Teleport and leave an image behind.

You create an illusion of yourself at a location you can clearly see. You can then exchange positions with it.

The illusory double attempts to flee or act believably on its own, drawing attention and creating confusion.

Shared Self

Allow others to use Invisibility and Image Exchange.

You extend Invisibility and Image Exchange to your allies. Each participant rolls their own Prowl Action and suffers their own Consequences. This is often a Group Action.

Illusive Excursion

Teleport your Crew between similar-looking places.

You teleport yourself and your Crew between two locations that are visually similar enough that casual observation cannot distinguish them.

You must be familiar with the destination. Illusive Excursion excels at escapes, but is risky when used to infiltrate hostile territory.

You may use other illusions to make the locations match more closely.

This is regional travel — remaining within the same city or area — but is usually sufficient to escape almost any situation.


Skirmish

Prosper in the chaos of battle through deception and misdirection.

Illusory Armor

Resist illusory harm.

You absorb harm caused by Illusions, allowing you to ignore most Harm from dangerous dreamscapes, illusory environments, or deceptive sensory effects such as phantom flames, fumes, or collapsing terrain. You increase the effect of Skirmish rolls for endurance in such environments. Roll Skirmish to resist such Harm. 1-3: No reduction. 4-6: Reduce Harm by 1 level. Critical: Reduce Harm by 2 levels. As a Master power, you can protect an ally for a score; as an Apex Power, you can protect your crew. Allies roll their own Skirmish dice.

Illusory Elite

Fine and Potent illusory melee attack.

You make a close-range attack through projected force, pain, or apparent injury. Illusory attacks cause real pain and convincing damage that fades at the end of the score; they cannot kill directly except by provoking dangerous actions.

Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate targets that lack the capacity to interpret sensory input, such as objects or simple organisms. Describe the form of the attack; any relevant vulnerability or resistance applies to the apparent harm.

Aside from damage type, this substitutes for equipment; mundane weapons are just as effective. Some targets may be more or less vulnerable to specific attacks, but this is the exception.

Illusory Obstacle

Create illusory obstructions that negate Scale.

You conjure convincing hindrances — spectral allies, false barriers, shifting mazes, or concealing mist — that break up enemy formations. This negates the advantage of numbers without creating lasting terrain.

Illusionary Onslaught

Fine and Potent illusory attack against all enemies in the skirmish.

This is Illusory Elite applied across the entire engagement. You negate the advantage of numbers and spread your Effect across multiple opponents, inflicting normal Skirmish Harm against a Cohort Gang.


Study

Study and analyze illusions and images to gain insight and knowledge. The outcome required depends on range.

  • Limited outcome for touch.
  • Standard outcome for line-of-sight.
  • Great outcome to reach a target you know of or have some link to, but which is out of line-of-sight.

These powers can spot illusions, but you have to actively use them to do so.

Position depends on the situation. Safely in your base the position is controlled. In the middle of a fight or when pinned down the position is desperate. Sometimes thing you are researching it dangerous in itself, worsening position.

Illusion Insight

Learn the powers and abilities of an illusion.

Learn of any powers or special abilities the illusion has. This includes actual rules and game effects as well as what the illusion hides or disguises.

Illusory Memory

A view from your memory.

You create a scene from memory. This is detailed and may contain things you do not consciously remember. Others can help you inspect this image and draw their own conclusions, but it is very hard for them to tell if this is truly a memory or an illusion you created using Sway.

Illusory Echoes

A view from the past.

Illusory Memory, but it is from the past of your current location, you need not have been present. You can zoom in on events of interest.

Panopticon

You see everything in a wide area.

You see everything in a wide area. Darkness, walls and barriers do not limit vision, but enclosed spaces do. Provides a detailed view of events involving Illusions as far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest. You can then play back what you see in the area (not just the illusions), like Illusory Echoes over this vast area.

Survey

Perceive and locate illusions. The outcome you need depends on the target's concealment.

  • Limited outcome finds those hiding behind cover and in far places you can only barely see.
  • Standard outcome can look behind walls and into hard cover.
  • Great outcome can look into far-away places and spots you had no idea existed.

Detect Illusion

You can detect illusions and invisible things.

This is a basic spotting power, selectively sensing illusions of a sort you specify.

Perceptive Image

Create an illusion, reality updates it.

Make a small illusory image of a known location. This will show the location as it looks now and the image is updated in real time as long as you concentrate on maintaining it.

Real Image

Let reality make an illusion.

As Perceptive Image, but focused on a known creature rather than a location, following that creature around as it moves.

Omnipresence

Create an illusion of a huge area, reality updates it.

As Perceptive Image but on a grand scale; you can represent several city blocks or a large terrain feature such as a wood, field, or hill and shift the view to see from a certain angle or location.


Sway

Convince others by showing them illusions.

Persuasive Phantom

Convincing visual image up to the size of a human.

Create a full-sense image of something of human size or smaller. This can be a creature that tries to convince observers, or something like a signpost. The image appears real to all senses, but if pushed hard it is revealed to be immaterial.

Phantasmal Procession

Full-sense illusion of a stage and actors.

Similar but larger than Persuasive Phantom. An illusion of a few dozen people or things like a large carriage or street scene. You can move the illusion as long as you move all the components, something left behind will soon disappear. This allows you to make an illusion of a group of monsters or people that move about, but their tracks and any items left behind will soon disappear as they move out of an area. This is also precise enough to make forged documents.

Phantom Thought

Draw illusion from another's mind.

Similar to Phantasmal Procession, but you give control over the illusion to a target's subconscious. You can give a general theme of the illusion, and the target will fill in the details. This frees you from having to concentrate on controlling the illusion, and it will always look and act appropriately to the target's expectations. A target with high self-confidence may be able to push the illusion to fit their agenda, but this actually makes it harder for an observer penetrate the illusion.

Private Phantasm

An illusion around a creature replaces all sensations.

The target must be in your power for you to do this. You encase the target in an illusion that controls every sensation the target perceives. This places the target in an illusory world entirely of your creation. You can create a theme for the illusion that repeats with simple variations, or you can give control to the target's subconscious having it play out the targets desires or fears. The target appears to be asleep, and any interaction with the target's actual body will be incorporated into the illusion, allowing the target to be fed, clothed, and led. You can take detailed control at any time when you touch the target, and you may be able to trick the target into acts provoked by events in the Private Phantasm.


Tinker

You can create an illusion of any type of object, with an appearance as glamorous as you wish, but it is insubstantial. More advanced illusory tinkering can give these illusions limited reality. The outcome determines how long it will last.

  • Limited Outcome makes an object that lasts for immediate use.
  • Standard Outcome lasts for the duration of a score.
  • Great Outcome is semi-permanent.
  • Something larger than a human, very complex, or of higher Quality Level than your Tier or Lifestyle increases the needed Outcome.

Position depends on how quiet your workplace is and how much time you have to work with.

Consequences can change details of the illusion, such as altered colors or the object becoming too pretty, bent, twisted, or with markings, letters, and numbers giving clues or just not making sense.

Illusory Enhancement

Change the appearance of an object up to man size.

Change the appearance of an object up to man size. This can seem to give abilities your item do not actually have or hide abilities it does have. You don't change the basic form and size of the object, but you can change its form and appearance, turning a stick into a sword, a log into a mount, or clothes into armor—or the opposite. This is a full-sense illusion, including sight, sound, smell, and touch. This can create illusory kit to impress, or hide actual kit as just clothing or even rags. Items can create appropriate effects in their vicinity, such as the recoil and muzzle flash of a gun, but don't work at range. If used, the items functions as the original object, the illusion does not change effectiveness, tough it can fool people into using the item in the wrong way.

Phantasmal Fabrication

Make items invisible or create illusory items out of nothing.

You can make more extensive appearance changes, making objects invisible or creating illusory items out of nothing. People using illusory items can manipulate them as if they were real, but the illusion cannot support any weight. You can make larger objects, up to the size of a large carriage. Objects that produce effects can now reach further, such as missiles from a missile weapon reaching out to create illusory damage at range. A weapon made invisible might grant an advantage at the start of a fight but battering will soon make it visible.

When used against creatures, Illusory attacks cause pain and apparent wounds which fades into insignificance at the end of the score. Illusions can only kill by provoking actions with lethal consequences. Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things that lack cognitive abilities. This includes objects but also creatures under a certain threshold of perception and imagination, like bacteria. You should describe the illusory attack, and any vulnerability or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.

Shadow Structure

Create semi-real things that only work for your crew.

As Phantasmal Fabrication, except that things you create can be semi-real, able to do what a poor example of such a thing usually does, but only when you will it to do so. For example you can create an illusory stone bridge that supports you and allies as a rickety wooden bridge would, but doesn't support others at all. Tools and weapons made this way perform as a basic example of what they imitate, functional but not fancy or exact but unlike other illusory attacks, these can affect mindless things such as objects.

Mass Mirage

Phantasmal Fabrication on a grand scale.

This is similar to Shadow Structure, but you mass produce objects, even a set of different objects. You can also make something huge, such as a ship, building, town, or small landscape.


Wreck

Cover things with illusions of destruction. Illusion is one of the weaker wrecking powers since its unreal until Shadowy Shatter, you can make things look broken to deny them to the enemy but its hard to get much use of the destruction yourself. On the bright side you can cause apparent mayhem without any lasting collateral damage. This makes Wreck illusion great as a getaway distraction, when a gate or bridge collapses behind you.

Position depends on the situation; if you are unseen and undisturbed and know what you are pretending to bring down you have a controlled position. If lots of enemies are about, you don't know what you will uncover, or you might trigger an accident the position might be desperate.

The outcome required depends on the size and structural strength of your target. Standard outcome is a car-sized hole in a brick or mortar wall. Construction significantly weaker than this only demands limited outcome. A smaller hole stil need the same outcome. Something larger and/or stronger requires great outcome. The item is still there, but appears obviously broken. Its hard to make multiple such outcomes credible, if you make an illusion of a rifle breaking ten times someone is bound try to use their "broken" rifle and find it works.

Faux Fracture

Illusion of damage to an object.

This is the illusory destruction of fragile things that you could destroy with a sledgehammer. This applies to both people and objects. Illusory attacks cause pain and apparent wounds which fades into insignificance at the end of the score. Illusions can only kill by provoking actions with lethal consequences. Unlike other illusory attacks, Wreck Illusion can affect objects and insensate things that lack cognitive abilities. You should describe an illusory attack, and any vulnerability or resistance the target has that would work against the attack you describe will work against the illusory damage.

Phantom Fracture

Illusion of damage to a place.

Faux Fracture on something strong, like a strong wall. Can make a fine and potent illusory attack.

Shadowy Shatter

Phantom Fracture, but semi-real.

Phantom Fracture, except that the damage you do is semi-real, able to be exploited, but only when you will it to be so. For example you can create an illusory hole in a wall you and your crew can use, but which doesn't let others pass. As the illusion fades over time, so does your ability to exploit it.

Apocalyptic Artistry

City-sized Phantom Fracture.

Rather straightforward, this just scales things up.


Wreck

Create illusions of destruction and collapse.

Illusion does not wreck directly, as its effects are unreal until Shadowy Shatter. Illusion excels at causing apparent mayhem without lasting collateral damage. This makes Wreck Illusion ideal for getaways and misdirection — a bridge that seems to collapse behind you, a gate that appears smashed, or a building that looks unsafe to enter.

Position depends on the situation. If you are unseen, undisturbed, and understand what you are pretending to destroy, the Position is Controlled. If enemies are present, the structure is unfamiliar, or the illusion risks provoking real accidents, the Position may be Desperate.

The Outcome required depends on the apparent scale of the destruction. A Standard Outcome creates the illusion of a car-sized breach or collapse. A smaller breach still requires the same Outcome. Larger-scale destruction requires a Great Outcome.

Repeated or excessive use strains credibility — an illusion of a rifle breaking ten times invites someone to test it and discover it still functions.


Wreck

Create illusions of destruction and collapse.

Illusion does not wreck directly, as its effects are unreal until Shadowy Shatter. Illusion excels at causing apparent mayhem without lasting collateral damage. This makes Wreck Illusion ideal for getaways and misdirection — a bridge that seems to collapse behind you, a gate that appears smashed, or a building that looks unsafe to enter.

Position depends on the situation. If you are unseen, undisturbed, and understand what you are pretending to destroy, the Position is Controlled. If enemies are present, the structure is unfamiliar, or the illusion risks provoking real accidents, the Position may be Desperate.

The Outcome required depends on the apparent scale of the destruction. A Standard Outcome creates the illusion of a car-sized breach or collapse. A smaller breach still requires the same Outcome. Larger-scale destruction requires a Great Outcome.

Repeated or excessive use strains credibility — an illusion of a rifle breaking ten times invites someone to test it and discover it still functions.

Faux Fracture

Create the illusion of damage to an object or creature.

You create the appearance of destruction to objects or creatures you could plausibly destroy with a sledgehammer.

Illusory attacks cause real pain and apparent damage that fades at the end of the score. They cannot kill directly; lethal outcomes only occur if the illusion provokes dangerous actions.

Describe the form of the damage; any relevant vulnerability or resistance applies to the apparent harm.

Unlike most illusory attacks, Wreck Illusion can affect objects and insensate things that lack cognitive capacity, though the damage itself remains unreal.

Phantom Fracture

Create the illusion of damage to a solid structure.

This is Faux Fracture applied to stronger targets, such as walls, gates, or fortifications. It functions as a Fine and Potent illusory sledgehammer when used against creatures.

Shadowy Shatter

Create semi-real illusory destruction.

This functions as Phantom Fracture, but the damage becomes temporarily exploitable at your discretion. You might create an illusory hole in a wall that you and your Crew can pass through, but which quickly fades.

As the illusion fades, so does your ability to exploit it.

Apocalyptic Artistry

Create city-scale illusions of devastation.

This expands Phantom Fracture to a massive scale, creating the appearance of widespread destruction across districts or entire cities.