Difference between revisions of "Illusion Powers (FiD)"
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{{FiD}} | {{FiD}} | ||
{{FiD-Powers}} | {{FiD-Powers}} | ||
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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 | + | 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. |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | Illusionists whose primary sense is not sight would instead focus on | ||
| − | Illusions create images of creatures and objects that are objectively real in | + | 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 | + | 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 pain and apparent wounds | + | 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 | + | |
| − | This includes objects | + | 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. |
| − | Observers | ||
| − | Illusion creatures are called specters. | + | 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, | + | 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 | ||
| − | Such realms can be studied | ||
== Illusion Power Effects Table == | == Illusion Power Effects Table == | ||
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== Expanded Illusion Powers == | == Expanded Illusion Powers == | ||
| − | A | + | 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 === | === Attune === | ||
| − | Harness the power to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with beings and phenomena | + | 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 | + | Detect specters and Illusion powers. |
| − | You can see Illusion spirits and detect | + | You can see Illusion spirits and detect Illusion creatures and powers. |
| − | This is | + | 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'''. | |
| − | Standard | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | + | 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. | Call a specter from another plane. | ||
| − | Illusory summons are called specters. | + | 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 | + | Summoning a specific specter requires knowledge of its unique identity, often called a true name. |
| − | For | + | 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. | |
| − | |||
| − | Time | ||
{{ : Gate Shared Rules (FiD) }} | {{ : Gate Shared Rules (FiD) }} | ||
| − | Illusion gates | + | 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 === | === Command === | ||
| − | + | Illusion does not command creatures directly. | |
| − | The | + | 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. | |
| − | The image can | + | This provides sufficient leverage to use Command for intimidation without direct violence or revealing your involvement. |
| − | |||
| − | + | ==== Message Mirage ==== | |
| − | Send an | + | 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 | + | 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 do not need to | + | |
| − | + | 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 === | === 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. | |
| − | This can | ||
| − | You cannot change your size | ||
| − | + | ==== Monster Mirage ==== | |
| − | Assume the appearance of | + | Assume the appearance of another creature or object. |
| − | You | + | 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. | |
| − | This is Monster Mirage applied to | + | 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 === | === Finesse === | ||
| − | + | Use Illusion for deceptive weapons, movement, and misdirection. | |
| − | + | ==== Vehicle Veil ==== | |
Change the appearance of a mount or personal vehicle. | Change the appearance of a mount or personal vehicle. | ||
| − | You | + | 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 | + | 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 ==== | |
| − | Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate | + | 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 | + | 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 === | === 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. | |
| − | Illusory attacks cause pain and apparent wounds | + | Consequences usually arise from the environment or population rather than the trail itself — obstacles, getting lost, hostile attention, traps, or ambushes. |
| − | Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate things | + | |
| − | + | ==== 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 === | === Prowl === | ||
| − | + | Hide, slip away, and reposition through Illusion. | |
| + | Illusion excels at concealment and deception, even enabling movement through misdirection. | ||
| − | + | ==== Invisibility ==== | |
Become almost invisible. | 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. | Teleport and leave an image behind. | ||
| − | + | You create an illusion of yourself at a location you can clearly see. | |
| − | You then exchange | + | 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. | Allow others to use Invisibility and Image Exchange. | ||
| − | This is often a | + | 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 === | === 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. | |
| − | + | {{ : Damage Resistance Template (FiD) }} | |
| − | Illusory attacks cause pain and | + | ==== Illusory Elite ==== |
| − | Illusory attacks cannot affect insensate | + | 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 | + | 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 === | ||
| Line 381: | Line 470: | ||
* Great outcome to reach a target you know of or have some link to, but which is out of 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 | + | 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 | + | 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. | 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. | ||
| Line 416: | 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 ==== | |
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 ==== | |
Create an illusion, reality updates it. | Create an illusion, reality updates it. | ||
| Line 427: | Line 517: | ||
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. | 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. | 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 ==== | |
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 ==== | |
Convincing visual image up to the size of a human. | Convincing visual image up to the size of a human. | ||
| Line 447: | Line 538: | ||
The image appears real to all senses, but if pushed hard it is revealed to be immaterial. | 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. | Full-sense illusion of a stage and actors. | ||
| Line 454: | Line 545: | ||
This is also precise enough to make forged documents. | This is also precise enough to make forged documents. | ||
| − | + | ==== Phantom Thought ==== | |
Draw illusion from another's mind. | Draw illusion from another's mind. | ||
| Line 460: | Line 551: | ||
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. | 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. | An illusion around a creature replaces all sensations. | ||
| Line 468: | Line 559: | ||
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 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. | 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 === | ||
| − | + | You can create an illusion of any type of object, with an appearance as glamorous as you wish, but it is insubstantial. | |
| − | You can create an illusion of | + | 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 | + | 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 | + | 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. | ||
| Line 484: | Line 581: | ||
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. | 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. | Make items invisible or create illusory items out of nothing. | ||
| Line 497: | Line 594: | ||
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. | 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 but unlike other illusory attacks, these can affect mindless things such as objects. | 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. | 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. | 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. | ||
| Line 515: | Line 615: | ||
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. | 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. | Illusion of damage to an object. | ||
| Line 525: | Line 625: | ||
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. | 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. | Illusion of damage to a place. | ||
| Line 531: | Line 631: | ||
Can make a fine and potent illusory attack. | Can make a fine and potent illusory attack. | ||
| − | + | ==== Shadowy Shatter ==== | |
Phantom Fracture, but semi-real. | Phantom Fracture, but semi-real. | ||
| Line 538: | Line 638: | ||
As the illusion fades over time, so does your ability to exploit it. | As the illusion fades over time, so does your ability to exploit it. | ||
| − | + | ==== 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'''. | ||
| + | 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. | ||
Latest revision as of 17:05, 30 December 2025
| Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page |
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.
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.