Can you see through your own illusions?

[Citadel97501]

Hello all, I was just wondering if you can actually see through your own illusions? I am reading another thread where people suggested using Silent Image to create objects that block line of sight, but it doesn't prevent your own actions as you can see through it? I am just wondering if this is legitimate, and if so where is this stated?

[col_impact]

The caster discerns it for what it is since he or she casted it.

https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/86918/are-illusionists-subject-to-their-own-illusions

[Segev]

At the very least, the caster can poke it so they know. If they position it right as they cast it, they may not even need an action. Place it so your finger is half an inch into it. Of course, this assumes you’re putting it practically (if not literally) on top of yourself.

If you’re doing the thing where you’re hiding inside a shrubbery image, the fact the branches aren’t poking you is definitely physical interaction.

[HappyDaze]

A weird interpretation might be that a caster must believe in their own illusions or else the spell fails. This isn't the rules, but I remember a Champions character that had such a limit on his illusion-casting powers. It was even more interesting because, while he could make illusions of creatures, he couldn't then control the behavior of those illusions.

[Demonslayer666]

Yes, you absolutely know that you cast an illusion.

[Segev]

This got me thinking: what if the illusionist WANTS to be fooled? Not in a "lie to yourself" sort of way, but just in the same sense a painter wants to appreciate his painting, or an engineer wants to examine the blueprints he's drafted. An illusionist using minor illusion to take notes probably wants to read them, and having the background appear "through" them would make that harder.

This led me to picturing it being like a Magic Eye thing: if you know it's an illusion, you can make it faint by focusing beyond it, but if you focus on actually seeing it (or hearing, smelling, or feeling it), you can perceive the illusion clearly. It's not supposed to be a disadvantage to have overcome the illusion, after all.

[col_impact]

This got me thinking: what if the illusionist WANTS to be fooled? Not in a "lie to yourself" sort of way, but just in the same sense a painter wants to appreciate his painting, or an engineer wants to examine the blueprints he's drafted. An illusionist using minor illusion to take notes probably wants to read them, and having the background appear "through" them would make that harder.

This led me to picturing it being like a Magic Eye thing: if you know it's an illusion, you can make it faint by focusing beyond it, but if you focus on actually seeing it (or hearing, smelling, or feeling it), you can perceive the illusion clearly. It's not supposed to be a disadvantage to have overcome the illusion, after all.



Well, you can always use Shape Water to make the illusion opaque to even yourself.

[Man_Over_Game]

I'd imagine that every one has the choice of seeing the illusion's original image, it's just that your mind is able to see through it once you realize it's not real. That's what makes the most sense to me.

[col_impact]

Shape water can also be used to make animated globs of liquid. So you can make an Arcade console by combining Shape Water and Minor Illusion.

[EggKookoo]

Yes, you absolutely know that you cast an illusion.

This is it. Since you can see through an illusion once you know that it is an illusion, you would immediately be able to see through an illusion you create since you know you're creating an illusion. In fact I'd say you have no real choice -- you can't not see through it. So you couldn't, for example, block your line of sight to something you wished to avoid seeing with one of your own illusions.

[NorthernPhoenix]

I'd personally rule that you can't literally see right through it, but you for sure know it's fake (no rolls), and can act accordingly.

[tieren]

Illusions in general are a hotly debated topic, you can find threads here in the hundreds of pages hashing out the fine points (What would you see in the illusion of a mirror; can you make the illusion of a pit in the ground; can you make a forced perspective 2 dimensional illusion the size of a doorway of an empty room to disguise the fact your party is in the room, etc...).

Personally I would always allow the caster to see through their own illusions. the rule for other people discerning the illusions has a line about objects passing through it and then you realize its an illusion and can see through, by extension it is widely believed since the caster realizes what he did the same would apply.

A stricter reading of the rules does not make an explicit exception for the caster and could be interpreted to require even the caster to make the intelligence check to see through it.

Illusions can be the most powerful tools in the game or completely useless depending on how your DM feels about some of these interpretations. If you are thinking of playing an illusionist I would definitely have a conversation with them first.

Protip:
I had an illusionist that carried around a lot of parchments, sometimes he would make an illusionary wall with an illusionary parchment on it saying "This Wall is an illusion" other times he would just tack up a real parchment saying the same thing to a real wall, messes with the enemy heads.

[EggKookoo]

A stricter reading of the rules does not make an explicit exception for the caster and could be interpreted to require even the caster to make the intelligence check to see through it.

Maybe, but the wording of most if not all illusion spells say that if a creature becomes aware that something is an illusion, either by poking at it and seeing its hand pass through, or by making an Int check, the illusion becomes faint and semi-transparent and all that. The check isn't to make the illusion see-through, it's to determine that it's an illusion in the first place. However you come to the realization that it's an illusion, you can see through it. Presumably the caster knows it created the illusion.