Sorcery: Illusion Spells

Sorcery: Illusion Spells

Let's tackle the first "half of the college of Illusion & Creation from GURPS Magic, the college with the most ridiculous art piece in the book. Complex Illusion appears in GURPS Thaumatology - Sorcery, page 18, and Inscribe appears in this post. Some of the following spells were quite difficult to stat up. Independence and Initiative seem to be included in Complex Illusion and hence the other illusion spells. Phantom Flame appears in Pyramid #3-63, page 9.

Control Illusion

Keywords: Resisted (Will).

Full Cost: 10 points.

Casting Roll: IQ.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: Special.

You attempt to take control of an illusion that someone else has cast. Roll a Quick Contest of IQ vs. the original caster’s Will. If you win, you gain control of the illusion, but you must concentrate on it to change its behavior and other parameters that depend on the spell in question. The original caster may recast the spell normally.

Once you stop, your control lingers for one minute per point by which you won the Quick Contest.

Statistics: Mind Control (Accessibility, Illusions Only, -80%; Cosmic, Can affect illusions, +50%; Puppet, -40%; Sorcery, -15%) [10].

Dispel Illusion

Keywords: Area (Leveled), Resisted (Will or spell).

Full Cost: 20 points for level 1 + 25 points/additional level.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: Instantaneous.

Attempts to negate every magical illusion within the area. Casting Dispel Illusion on another magician will remove any Illusion spells and such that he’d previously cast upon himself, but does not affect any of his more distant ongoing illusions nor his ability to cast illusions.

Note how much the sorcerer’s Will roll (minus range penalties) succeeds by; every illusion in the area resists separately with a Quick Contest. Use the spell’s level (if a skill) or the caster’s Will + Talent (if a power); for the latter, the Talent is usually Sorcery Talent or some type of Magery. If the sorcerer wins, the illusion dissipates; it may be recast normally.

Dispel Illusion has no effect on instantaneous illusions (which don’t stick around) or on the secondary effects of lasting illusions (e.g., if a phantom bear has caused injury to a person, their wounds don’t go away).

Statistics: Neutralize Magic (Accessibility, Illusions Only, -80%; Accessibility, Must target subject, not caster, ‑10%; Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Interruption, ‑50%; Ranged, +40%; Sorcery, ‑15%; Variable, Area, +5%) [20]. Additional levels add Area Effect (+50%) [+25].

Illusion Disguise

Keywords: Buff, Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 40 points for level 1 + 12.5 points/additional level*.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim. Use IQ or Artist (Illusion) to determine how convincing the illusion is.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 3 minutes.

This illusion makes a chosen creature look, sound, and feel different, but it doesn’t fool special senses like Infravision or Vibration Sense. The base creature must be of the appropriate size and shape. The base creature must be wholly covered by the spell’s area of effect (see Area; Sorcery, p. 9).

You must win a Quick Contest of IQ – or Artist (Illusion), if better – against the Per of anyone you want to fool; otherwise they notice something “off.” Do not apply range penalties to your roll. Their roll is at +4 if they have reason to be alert for illusions or +10 if you made it appear from out of nowhere. However, even if they successfully “disbelieve,” your illusion doesn’t disappear. Thus, even an obvious illusion can be useful to disguise the creature.

The illusion may be disbelieved, but is otherwise stable. However, it will not move about unless the underlying object moves. Damage done by the underlying creature is unaffected. For example, an illusion disguise of a golem could be cast over a human. The subject would feel and look like a golem, but still would hit like a human! Concentration is not required to maintain the illusion.

Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Advantage, Illusion Disguise, +280%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [40]. Notes: “Illusion Disguise” is Illusion (Emanation, -20%; Extended, Touch, +20%; Independence, +40%; Magical, -10%; Only similar shapes, -20%) [28*]. Additional levels add Area Effect (+50%) to the Illusion Disguise advantage [+12.5*].

* Calculate the total cost and then round down (because the base ability costs just 27.5 points before rounding). Level 2 of the spell costs 52 points, level 3 costs 65 points, level 4 costs 77 points, level 5 costs 90 points, and so on.

Illusion Shell

Keywords: Buff, Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 39 points for level 1 + 12.5 points/additional level*.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim. Use IQ or Artist (Illusion) to determine how convincing the illusion is.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 3 minutes.

This illusion makes a chosen object look, sound, and feel different, but it doesn’t fool special senses like Infravision or Vibration Sense. The base object must be of the appropriate size and shape. The base object must be wholly covered by the spell’s area of effect (see Area; Sorcery, p. 9).

You must win a Quick Contest of IQ – or Artist (Illusion), if better – against the Per of anyone you want to fool; otherwise they notice something “off.” Do not apply range penalties to your roll. Their roll is at +4 if they have reason to be alert for illusions or +10 if you made it appear from out of nowhere. However, even if they successfully “disbelieve,” your illusion doesn’t disappear. Thus, even an obvious illusion can be useful to disguise the object.

The illusion may be disbelieved, but is otherwise stable. However, it will not move about unless the underlying object moves. Damage done by the underlying object is unaffected. For example, an illusion shell of a horse could be cast over a wooden horse. It would stamp and nicker like a horse, but could not be ridden! Concentration is not required to maintain the illusion.

Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on objects, -10%; Advantage, Illusion Shell, +280%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [39]. Notes: “Illusion Shell” is Illusion (Emanation, -20%; Extended, Touch, +20%; Independence, +40%; Magical, -10%; Only similar shapes, -20%) [28*]. Additional levels add Area Effect (+50%) to the Illusion Shell advantage [+12.5*].

* Calculate the total cost and then round down (because the base ability costs just 27.5 points before rounding). Level 2 of the spell costs 51 points, level 3 costs 64 points, level 4 costs 76 points, level 5 costs 89 points, and so on.

  

Know Illusion

Keywords: Information.

Full Cost: 8 points.

Casting Roll: IQ.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: Instantaneous.

Determines whether the subject (person, object, or area) is an illusion or a creation. The GM will secretly roll against the caster’s IQ minus range penalties (p. B550) to the subject, which the caster must be able to see. If the sorcerer is familiar with the illusion or creation spells in question, this will reveal them. Otherwise, the GM will use the margin of success to determine how much information to give the sorcerer.

Statistics: Detect (Illusions; Link, +10%; Sorcery, ‑15%; Vision-Based, ‑20%) [4] + Detect (Creations; Link, +10%; Sorcery, ‑15%; Vision-Based, ‑20%) [4].

  

Perfect Illusion

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 57.5 points for level 1 + 12.5 points/additional level*.

Casting Roll: None. Use IQ or Artist (Illusion) to determine how convincing it is.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Indefinite.

Like Complex Illusion (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, page 18), but also fools Infravision, Dark Vision, taste, smell, and Vibration Sense.

Statistics: Illusion (Extended, Dark Vision, +25%; Extended, Infravision, +10%; Extended, Taste/Smell, +20%; Extended, Vibration Sense, +10%; Independence, +40%; Ranged, +40%; Sorcery, ‑15%) [57.5*]. Additional levels add Area Effect (+50%) [+12.5*].

* Calculate the total cost and then round up.

  

Phantom

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 82.5 points for level 1 + 37.5 points/additional level*.

Casting Roll: None. Use IQ or Artist (Illusion) to determine how convincing it is.

Range: 50 yards.

Duration: Indefinite.

Like Perfect Illusion, but if the subject believes in the phantom, the phantom has substance and may proceed to strike, grapple, shove, and so on as if it were real. A phantom has ST equal to the level of this spell multiplied by 5 and DX of the sorcerer. The phantom can only exert force as if it was a pair of invisible hands. See the Telekinesis advantage (B92) for more information.

Statistics: Illusion (Extended, Dark Vision, +25%; Extended, Infravision, +10%; Extended, Taste/Smell, +20%; Extended, Touch, +20%; Extended, Vibration Sense, +10%; Independence, +40%; Link, +10%; Ranged, +40%; Reduced Range, 1/2, -10%; Sorcery, ‑15%) [57.5] + Telekinesis 5 (Accessibility, Only on those who believe in the illusion, -20%; Increased Range, x5, +20%; Link, +10%; Magical, -10%) [25]. Additional levels add Area Effect (+50%) to the Illusion advantage and add 5 more levels of Telekinesis [+37.5*].

  

Simple Illusion

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 34 points for level 1 + 12.5 points/additional level*.

Casting Roll: None. Use IQ or Artist (Illusion) to determine how convincing it is.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Indefinite.

Like Complex Illusion (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, page 18), but only fools vision.

Statistics: Illusion (Independence, +40%; Ranged, +40%; Sorcery, ‑15%; Visual Only, -30%) [34]. Additional levels add Area Effect (+50%) [+12.5*].

* Calculate the total cost and then round up (because the base ability costs just 33.75 points before rounding). Level 2 costs 47 points, level 3 costs 59 points, level 4 costs 72 points, level 5 costs 84 points, and so on.