Minor Illusion: Seeing is Believing
Usable By: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Spell Level: 0 (cantrip)
School: Illusion
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 1 minute
Components: S, M (a bit of fleece)
You create a sound or an image of an object within range that lasts for the duration. The illusion also ends if you dismiss it as an action or cast this spell again.
If you create a sound, its volume can range from a whisper to a scream. It can be your voice, someone else’s voice, a lion’s roar, a beating of drums, or any other sound you choose. The sound continues unabated throughout the duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends.
If you create an image of an object—such as a chair, muddy footprints, or a small chest—it must be no larger than a 5-foot cube. The image can’t create sound, light, smell, or any other sensory effect. Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, because things can pass through it.
If a creature uses its action to examine the sound or image, the creature can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature.
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Illusion magic has the highest potential to solve any problem. It's the school that lets you bring into existence whatever thing you need to manipulate a scenario and get actors in the space to act differently. Need a hulking ogre to terrify the local halflings? Illusion magic can do that! Need the back door of the bar to get broken down to get some heads to turn? Illusion magic can do that! Minor Illusion is the introductory form of illusions for most characters, and honestly may be the only illusion spell you ever feel you need.
Minor Illusion gives you the choice of a sound or grouping of sounds coming from somewhere within 30 feet of you for up to a minute or an illusory silent object. On its own it can’t give off light, make smells or produce other sensory effects that could convince others of its reality, and other physical things pass right through it. These two tools offer you access to functionally the existence of any five foot or smaller object and sound in any space within 30 feet of you so long as people believe it is there and don’t try to touch it.
Are you stealing a valuable cask of wine? For the next minute, it’ll look like its still there! Need some more bargaining power to leverage a deal in your favor? Create the voice of an angry nobleman coming from the room over to aid your chances. If you can think of a sound or object that could assist you in solving some problem, Minor Illusion can act as a form of said sound or object.
Notably this can’t make creatures, and does require somatic and material components. When used for deception, keep in mind creatures that can see your hands can easily tell when you’re performing magic, so discretion is key. Tables with frequent investigation checks and lead to this spell feeling quite underwhelming and more harmful than helpful, while tables that rarely check the nature of things may find it opens up the floodgates for wacky and wild ideas and plans to pour into your games.
If you like solving problems with tools limited to just your imagination, Minor Illusion is an excellent starting point. Be prepared for things to go horribly wrong when that magical greatsword you illusion into your barbarians hand accidently phases through something.
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