I recall first encountering Dungeons and Dragons' illusionist class back in the original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook. Back then, if you were an arcane caster, you were either a "Magic User", or an Illusionist. But while it's an intriguing notion to role-play a slick Mysterio-like weaver of illusion who hides behind shadows and makes his opponents question reality, putting that into practice in actual game at the table can present some challenges.
Most illusion magic in Dungeons & Dragons doesn't have concrete rules, and that leads to ambiguity and frustration. What if the player makes an illusory dragon to scare off the orc warband? How convincing is that illusory wall of fire that's slowly advancing on the carrion crawler? Does the evil priest believe that the PCs were able to convince all those cavaliers to join the party, or are they just an illusion?So this is the question: As a dungeon master, how do you rule when your players use illusion magic? Exactly how should your NPCs react?
Illusion vs Phantasm
Before I get to the nitty gritty on illusions, I've got to address something I hadn't realized before recently. Perhaps you already knew this, but I only just found out that in 5th edition, the level 2 spell Phantasmal Force doesn't work at all the way it had in previous editions. Rather that simply being a basic illusion spell, Phantasmal Force is only visible to a single target - it exists only in that target's mind, and anyone else simply doesn't see it. Because of this, the target "rationalizes any illogical outcomes from interacting with it", which means that if there's something that doesn't quite make sense, unlike with an illusion spell, the most that the target will do is spend an action taking the Study action (2024 rules) to examine the phantasm with an investigation check. According to the spell description, the phantasm can even do real (psychic) damage! Very different from an illusion in fifth edition.
The Nitty Gritty on Illusions
With Phantasmal Force out of the way, the remaining spells that we're going to focus on are the cantrip Minor Illusion, the first level spell Silent Image, the 3rd level spell Major Image, and the 6th level spell Programmed Illusion.
Minor Illusion is unique in a few ways. It's the only illusion that doesn't require concentration, it's the only illusion that has no verbal component, and it's a cantrip, which makes it infinitely re-castable. These three things make it surprisingly powerful as an illusion.
However, as this is only a cantrip, there are quite a few limitations. Firstly, it only creates a completely silent image which fits within a 5-foot cube, or else a sound. Secondly, although this isn't explicitly laid out in the spell description, I would rule that because the spell has no concentration and the caster can simply set it and forget it, the behavior of the illusion for the length of its one-minute life is decided at the time of casting. The illusion cannot react to any external stimuli, by which I mean you could not create a beetle which flees when a creature approaches. If that beetle is set to flee at the 45-second mark, then it does so regardless of any goings on in the real world. This is the trade-off with a spell that doesn't require concentration.
Silent Image, as a first-level spell, has a number of benefits over Minor Illusion. Aside from bypassing the aforementioned limitations of a spell without concentration, it can cover three times the area, or up to a 15-foot cube. Secondly, you can take an action to move the illusion anywhere within its 60-foot range. Lastly, it lasts for up to ten minutes.
Major Image is a huge improvement on Silent Image. In addition to including both sound and visual components, the area is expanded to a 20-foot cube and a 120-foot range. But most importantly, it includes both temperature and smell. Your illusory wall of fire can actually feel hot, although it can't do damage. Your otyugh illusion can smell like a sewer.
And if you elect to spend a 4th-level spell slot, the illusion becomes permanent! Ruling an illusion's behavior after its caster is no longer concentrating can be a tricky DM call, but rather than ruling that it become a semi-sentient entity of its own, I'd rule that its post-concentration behavior remains in line with whatever it had done during the period when its caster was focused on it.
The ability for a 7th-level caster to create a permanent illusion opens up some insane possibilities. Your wizard could conceal his hideout's entrance with the permanent illusion of a waterfall or a raging fire. Your party can set camp for the night and leave a pack of dire wolves pacing back and forth at the edge of camp, glaring menacingly out into the dark forest. The possibilities are endless, and this is what makes illusionists so interesting.
Lastly, Programmed Illusion. If a permanent Major Image opens possibilities, then the 6th-level spell Programmed Illusion opens a whole universe of them. Programmed Illusion is permanent, but begins completely inert, only activating when a specific trigger occurs. After activated, the illusion carries out a scripted performance that can last for up to five minutes, then goes dormant for ten minutes, after which it can be activated again.
A scripted illusion can seem boring, and certainly the first thing that comes to mind is leaving some kind of message in place to warn or inform anyone who comes by. But creative players can easily surprise the DM with an angry wyvern that emerges from its lair only when the lair is approached, or a section of cave which threatens to collapse when anyone comes by.
Reward Creativity
If illusion magic comes up as a possible point of contention, rather than allowing things to devolve into bickering during a session, make a temporary ruling and have a talk with the player(s) after the session ends.
This offline discussion can help you to set guidelines and expectations. A player should understand that creativity is at the heart of illusion magic, and that if they're using the same tricks all the time, they won't continue to work - either because the affected NPCs catch on, or simply because the DM is getting tired of the same tedious routine. It may be a bit meta - perhaps it's true that the same trick would work over and over if it's pulled on different people every time - but in a game, that simply isn't interesting and isn't fun. If the illusionist comes up with something fresh and clever, then not only should it work, you might want to grant inspiration as a reward.
Potential Uses
In general, there are a few key ways in which I can imagine illusions being implemented. By far the most often used will be to trick someone. In fact, this is generally the only way anyone will ever use an illusion spell. After all, it's intangible. If you're not using it to deceive someone, what the heck is it even for?
Another way I've read of illusions being used by players is to conceal. There are players who will use a minor illusion to create a small wall or box to hide behind, thereby blocking vision and gaining concealment from any ranged attacks. This character would be heavily obscured, and thus attackers would have disadvantage. I would allow this. Any attacker who spends a single action to examine that illusion can make a save and then see right through it, completely negating its advantage. Ducking around a corner is a much better option for your illusionist.
What about a player who wants to create an illusory monster? Be it a dragon or a pack of wolves, you can handle this the same way. Interaction with the illusion instantly reveals it for what it is, so your illusionist can never have the illusionary creature(s) make a successful attack against an enemy - they'd have to ensure that the illusion misses every time. More than that, any successful attack by an enemy against the illusion would also reveal what it is. So what is even the illusion's armor class? I'd house rule this. Assuming that the illusion is being actively controlled by a concentrating caster, they could theoretically make the AC be anything they want. But if a creature suddenly dodges a skillful spear thrust by zipping back too quickly to be natural, the attacker is going to realize that the illusion is fake. It's going to look like bad CG. So I'd rule that the illusionist could make his illusion's armor class as good as his spell save DC - if he has his illusion dodge anything that hits a higher armor class, then the attacker will get another save to see through the illusion each time.
I've also read online about players who want to create an illusory box around their foe to effectively blind that foe. But with this and any other similar applications, I'd consider the following two lines, both from the spell description, although they're not in the same paragraph.
Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, since things can pass through it.
If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature.
My read on this is that when a creature touches the illusion, they immediately know that it's an illusion. And if they know it's an illusion, they can then see through it, and the illusion no longer blocks sight. The way I'd rule this for a character who put an enemy into an illusionary box is that the creature can't see through it for the first few seconds, i.e. the time before its next turn. This allows any characters engaged with that enemy to back off without suffering attacks of opportunity. But on the enemy's turn, the first thing it's going to do is poke at that illusionary box with a weapon, and this instantly reveals that box as an illusion, allowing the enemy to see right through it.
A player might argue that he could attack the boxed enemy with advantage, but keep in mind that any attackers can't see the attacker inside that box either. Like much of illusion magic, this quickly gets nitpicky as players try to box just the enemy's head or some such other nonsense. You should work with your players to find a path that allows them to use their illusion to have fun and be effective without allowing cantrips to become game-breakingly powerful or having every battle be approached the same way.
Closing Thoughts
The players and the DM should really have an understanding about what kind of illusions are acceptable at the table, and which repetitive shenanigans are just going to cause grief. A ten-minute offline discussion before the game session can go a long way and is certain to be better than surprising the DM midway through the session.
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