Phantom cast (4E)

Phantom Cast

You direct imaginary actors and musicians, assembling and directing a phantom cast of support actors.

Level: 9	Component Cost: 900 gp
Category: Deception	Market Price: 125 gp
Time: 10 minutes	Key Skill: Arcana
Duration: 6 hours; see text

You create a background cast for a performance or event; orchestral musicians, supporting actors, background dancers, background vocalists or bit actors. You give this phantom cast a script to follow, and they will act out their roles, never taking center stage but performing their roles capably if nonremarkably (similar to a perform check result of 15).

This can also be used to create bit players in an event or scene designed to impress or deceive; you can create an illusory parade of troops, an illusory merchant caravan, or even an illusory lynch mob. The illusion lasts as long as you take part in the scene they are acting out or until the duration runns out. Anyone interacting with the phantom cast gets an Insight check opposed by Arcana skill modifier +10 to penetrate the illusion; talking to or otherwise interacting with an individual performer gives such a check each round. It is a good idea to have real actors about to handle any individual interaction that comes up.

The size of the phantom cast depends on the result of the Arcana check. Each comes with illusory gear needed for the role. Each phantom actor can be highly individual, as long as they all fit the act. Normal cast members are Medium or smaller. Bigger cast members take up more of the ritual's capacity, a Large cast member counts as 4; Huge as 16, and Gargantuan as 80 medium or smaller creatures.

The size of the phantom cast depends on the result of the Arcana check.

Arcana Check Result	Number of actors
9 or lower	3
10-19	10
20-29	30
30-39	100
40 or higher	300