Phantasmal Force: Nightmare Fuel

[Dr. Cliché]

I'm looking for suggestions for the most creepy, horrifying or nightmarish illusions that can be conjured with Phantasmal Force.

e.g. Worms burst forth from the ground and begin slithering up the target's legs, resisting any efforts to swat them off. Then, as they reach his thighs, they start to burrow into his flesh, disappearing beneath the skin. He can still see the raised lumps as they moved and squirm inside him, burrowing further into his body.

Any ideas?

[hymer]

Riffing off your suggestion: The buzzing of many, many insects, followed by a darkening of conditions, and then millions of tiny stings, stings, stings all over, as the soft, disgusting creatures crawl into your nose, mouth, ears, and eyes, bursting like postules of vileness whenever you mean to sweep them off.

The earth tilts, a crack opens in the ground before you, and a gust of scaldingly hot, noxious fumes sets your hair and clothes on fire, as you tumble towards the crack, which is glowing lava-like.

Your fingers fall off, one by one, turning rotten, snapping off with a disgusting crunch as the bones have turned to brittle cartilage. It then proceeds to your hands, and up your arms.

[CaptAl]

A man sized spider crawls from a crack in the Earth. His legs wrap around your body and you feel something pierce your flesh. A warmth spreads from the area of the bite that quickly turns to numbness as you're engulfed in a cocoon of webbing.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Your skin itches terribly bad, but every time you scratch the top layer rips off in long, bloody sheets. You try not to scratch, but your skin erupts in cracks and crevices, the light spasms of your muscles ripping it while longer movements causes shredding. Your eyelids, throat, and lungs are ripping with every blink and breath. And it won't. Stop. Itching.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Good thread. Phantasmal Force is a tricky one with the way targets rationalize what is going on is part of the phantasm.

[Segev]

The target’s eyes fall out. He can still see through them as they dangle for a moment by the optic nerve, but then it breaks.

But he can still see through them, feel the pressure of impact as they smack wryly onto the ground. He can feel it as they painfully sprout wings, and see in nausea-inducing double vision as they take unsynchronized flight in discordant paths around him.

He feels as toothy maws open just beneath the pupil, and sees himself as they dive and bite, rubbing their moist corneas on him just before snapping away, only to whirl dizzyingly back to attack again.




A chaos beast materializes on top of he target’s ally, and begins transforming and subsiding him. His ally screams and begs for help to get it off. “Cut it! Burn it! Neat it until it lets go! Help me!” his friend pleads in agony and terror.

Of course, the monster fights back if the target moves to help.



There is an assassin stalking the target. It is always out of sight. Always hiding...but he can hear it. And when it stabs him, nobody believes him. It told him they wouldn’t. They’d watch as the assassin cuts him, over and over. Because they think he’s crazy. Just like the assassin planned.



The target’s mount or other similar companion suddenly throws him off or otherwise rejects him. Frothing at the mouth, it turns on him, viciously attacking. He can feel the burning itch of disease in every bite.



The caster, in a bit of theatrics, presses a voodoo doll’s head into his canteen or wine skin or glass of beer, and the target suddenly can’t find air. His vision blues as he feels the fluid in which the doll’s head is immersed in his own head and face, getting in his eyes and nose and mouth. His every breath only fills his lungs with fluid, and it happened faster than he could hold his breath. He’s drowning, then he realizes he’s being held upside-down in the air, as if in mimicry of the way the doll is being held by the caster. He can’t find purchase to move, can’t get his face to air.



The target watches helplessly as stone creeps up his body, starting at his feet, as he slowly petrifies.



A nasty little sprite wielding a needle as if it were a sword sews his mouth shut as it attacks him round by round.



Every time he attempts to speak, a snake wriggles out of his throat, choking off the words he meant to say. The snakes proceed to attack him.

[Zalabim]

Just as a reminder, it creates one object, creature, or some other visible phenomenon that is no larger than a 10' cube. I honestly don't know why I bother telling people what the rules actually are. No one cares.

[bronzemountain]

I'm looking for suggestions for the most creepy, horrifying or nightmarish illusions that can be conjured with Phantasmal Force.

e.g. Worms burst forth from the ground and begin slithering up the target's legs, resisting any efforts to swat them off. Then, as they reach his thighs, they start to burrow into his flesh, disappearing beneath the skin. He can still see the raised lumps as they moved and squirm inside him, burrowing further into his body.

Any ideas?

Justin Bieber stripping. While reading the Twilight series out loud.

[Segev]

Just as a reminder, it creates one object, creature, or some other visible phenomenon that is no larger than a 10' cube. I honestly don't know why I bother telling people what the rules actually are. No one cares.

While a good reminder (especially since the spell’s own example of a bridge spanning a chasm brings to mind a larger gap than a mere 10 feet, even if a ten food chasm with a short bridge over it makes sense), I don’t think anything here yet violates that.

At worst, you’re looking at a one step remove to say you’re making a visible phenomenon with the effects listed.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Ooh, I got another one-

Your armor and weapons are mimics, and they're quickly melting and absorbing your flesh. This one's neat for making the target furiously throw their weapon and start stripping off their armor.

Or how about-

Your internal organs start bursting out around you, curling your flesh inwards. Your malevolent inside-out self struggles against you and tells you to go to sleep, his wicked grin appearing on your exposed, beating heart.

And also-

Your grandparents materialize in front of you with a tray of fresh baked cookies. Your clothes are suddenly extremely loose and falling off. Meanwhile there's a stirge on your back, but your grandparents don't believe you when you say it's there.

[Akolyte01]

Wall of goatse

[Segev]

The target has a brief falling sensation before finding himself in an 8x8 ft. room with a single bed and chains on the wall. A man peers in through a barred window on the sole, sturdy door. Close inspection reveals a tonsure and the collar associated with a church known to deal with madmen. "Calm down," says the monk. "Calm yourself, friend. Don't hurt yourself. The monsters aren't real. You're safe. Take your chamberpot off your head; it isn't a helmet. Are you holding the sword again? Put it down, it isn't real. You'll just hurt your hand on the walls again if you try to attack the "monster" in there with you. Shh..."

[Desteplo]

Iron Maiden style cage that starts to shrink or close up around them

[Dr. Cliché]

Thanks, guys, these are great. :smallsmile:


Also, Segev, you're worryingly good at this. :smalltongue:

[BreaktheStatue]

If you know what the target's loved ones look like, like if it's a reoccurring NPC or whatever, just portray something horrible happening to them.

Alternatively, you could have something like a basket of puppies, on fire. When the PC tries to put them out, they just cry worse.

[Segev]

Thanks, guys, these are great. :smallsmile:


Also, Segev, you're worryingly good at this. :smalltongue:
Thanks! Glad to help.

One more:

A thick fog obscures the battlefield, and one of his allies comes out of it at him, attacking him and calling him by the epithets his side has been using for the caster’s side. Should be designed to imply that his ally sees him as one of the enemies.