Mutants & Masterminds 3e - Power Profile - Illusion Powers
Mutants & Masterminds 3e - Power Profile - Illusion Powers
Mutants & Masterminds 3e - Power Profile - Illusion Powers
Illusion Descriptors
Key for the powers in this profile is, of course, the Illusion
effect (Heros Handbook, pages 111112), which has a broad
range of applications. However, many illusion powers are not
necessarily illusion effects, but based off other effects, like Affliction or Concealment, for example. The illusion or sensory
impression may be a descriptor for a different game effect.
Sensory: The Illusion effect is a sensory effect. Illusory powers not containing the Illusion effect or other
sensory effects (Heros Handbook, page 93) may have
the Perception Area extra or Sense-Dependent flaw
to reflect how they act upon the senses.
Illusion Features
Potential Feature effects associated with Illusion Powers
include the following:
An alternate way of handling illusions, particularly hallucinations projected directly into a targets mind, is as
a type of Affliction rather than a sensory effect. In this
approach, illusions have three degrees of effect, just like
other Afflictions:
Overcoming Illusions
Detecting and overcoming illusions requires a degree of
Insight; a successful Insight check (DC 10 + Illusion effect
rank) reveals an illusion for what it is, provided the character has some reason to believe the illusion may be false in
the first place. This reason might be provided by a Perception or other skill check (particularly Expertise, revealing
some factual flaw in the illusion).
Hallucinations can also be overcome through sheer force
of will, a Will resistance check against DC 10 + effect rank.
Hallucinatory illusion powers are generally all Resistible
Modifiers
The following new or expanded modifiers apply to some
of the power effects in this profile.
Offensive Powers
Offensive illusion powers tend to trick targets in dangerous ways or simply overwhelm their senses. At the
extreme end, powerful hallucinations might endanger
a targets mental or even physical health; a victim who
truly believes an illusory attack can suffer sympathetic
damage, perhaps even incapacitation or death.
Illusory Affliction
You place a convincing hallucination of an affliction into
the targets mind, causing the target to react (even at a
subconscious level) as if the affliction were real. The potential effects are wide-reaching, from presenting the illusion
the target is bound in chains or a straightjacket to illusory
illness, attacks by crawling insects, or wracking illusory
pain, perhaps due to equally false injuries or attacks. The
targets Will resistance checks to overcome the Afflictions
conditions represent shaking off the illusions effects.
Illusory Affliction: Perception Ranged Affliction (Resisted and
Overcome by Will), Variable Conditions, Reversible, Subtle 2
points + 5 points per rank.
Illusory Damage
You create an illusion of harm so profound the target
reacts as if actually struck. The attack affects the targets
mind rather than body. Successfully shaking off the illusion with a Will check immediately removes any damage
conditions caused by it.
Illusory Damage: Perception Ranged Damage, Alternate
Resistance (Will), Resistible by Will (removes damage),
Variable 2 (illusionary effects) 2 points + 3 points per rank.
Sensory Deprivation
Your power overwhelms the targets senses, driving them
towards a state of sensory deprivation. Before becoming
completely overwhelmed, the target suffers penalties due
to the inability to properly perceive things.
Sensory Deprivation: Perception Ranged Cumulative
Affliction (Resisted and Overcome by Will; Impaired, Disabled,
Incapacitated) 4 points per rank.
Vertigo
You create an illusion upsetting the victims sense of
balance, causing the world to seem topsy-turvy and inducing vertigo.
Vertigo: Perception Ranged Cumulative Affliction (Resisted and
Overcome by Will; Impaired, Prone, Incapacitated) 4 points
per rank.
Defensive Powers
The primary defensive abilities of illusion are concealment and confusion, making it difficult for opponents to
know where and when to aim their attacks, or even if they
should attack at all!
Hidden Cover
In combat, you make every effort to place yourself behind
cover (Heros Handbook, page 193) which you then conceal
with an illusion. The effect makes it appear that attacks
bounce off you or glance aside before hitting you, while in
reality the attacker has hit the hidden cover and not you.
Successfully overcoming the powers Subtle modifier with
a DC 20 Perception check allows the attacker to become
aware of the boundaries of the cover and work around it
normally.
Hidden Cover: Enhanced Advantage (Evasion 2), Protection,
Fades, Impervious, Subtle, Sustained 3 points +1 point per
rank.
Illusory Concealment
You create an illusion that you are simply part of the background, blending into your surroundings, or effectively
removing you from the perceptions of those around you.
Illusory Double
You create a false double of yourself, usually while remaining hidden, perhaps using another power like Illusory Concealment (previously) or the Hide in Plain Sight
advantage and a Stealth check.
Illusion
The broadest and simplest illusion power: you can create
different types of false images and sensory impressions.
The most common Illusions are both visual and auditory,
costing 3 points per rank.
Movement Powers
Most apparent movement powers created by illusion
are faked, such as an illusory double apparently able to
fly, teleport, or walk through walls (being immaterial)
through clever manipulation of the illusion, connected to
the one semi-movement power associated with it.
Illusory Projection
You create an image of yourself similar to the Illusory
Double power (previously), except you place your consciousness within the image, allowing you to perceive
through it as if you were actually present, and to channel
other sensory effects through its senses. Your effect rank
determines the distance you can project your illusory
self. The normal Insight check to detect Remote Sensing
becomes a check to sense that the projection is not real
instead.
Illusory Projection: Remote Sensing (Visual, Aural, and
Mental), Side-Effect (physical body is defenseless and
immobile, 2), Noticeable 1 point for rank 1 + 2 points per
additional rank.
Utility Powers
Illusion powers have scores of potential uses, and cunning
illusionists are always looking for ways they can trick
others, often in unexpected ways.
Illusory Disguise
You can use illusions to change your appearance. This
does not change any of your traits, but provides a +20 circumstance bonus to Deception checks to convince others
you are what you appear to be. Your rank in Morph determines how extensive the change in appearance can be,
from a narrow group of forms at rank 2 up to any appearance at rank 4.
Illusory Disguise: Morph, Resistible by Will 4 points per rank.
Sense Memory
You have a perfect memory for sensory experiences, similar
to the Eidetic Memory advantage (Heros Handbook, page
81), except your recall of information is not enhanced but,
given a sensory power, you can perfectly recreate any sensation you have experienced. This ability may allow you to
create more detailed and exacting illusions, such as the
sound of a symphony performance, re-created just as you
heard it. At the GMs discretion, Sense Memory can provide
you with a circumstance modifier, increasing the Difficulty
Class of noticing flaws in your illusions.
Sense Memory: Feature 1 (Perfect Sense Recall) 1 point.
True Perception
Those who work with illusions often learn to perceive
past them, right to the true nature of things. This power
is roughly equivalent to Immunity to Illusions and can be
treated in much the same way.
True Perception: Senses 5 (all senses Counter Illusions) 10
points.
Vocal Mimicry
You can accurately reproduce any voice. This ability is
most effective when coupled with a change in appearance or some other way of concealing your appearance,
such as speaking over a telephone or speaker system
where the listener cannot see you.
Vocal Mimicry: Illusion 2 (Aural), Limited to Voices 1 point.
Illusion Complications
Playing with perceptions can create complications, particularly since illusionists rely heavily upon subtlety and
deception to make their powers effective. The following
are some complications involving illusion powers that can
crop up in your M&M games.
Addiction
The power to edit reality, or at least perception of it, can
become addictive, and illusionists might fall prey to living
in a world of fantasy sensations rather than dealing with
hard, cold reality, to the point of ignoring real-world needs
and responsibilities. Similarly, an illusionist might addict
others to the same types of fantasies, then have to deal
with fulfilling the addicts needs.
Fame
A known special effects or artistic illusionist might be
quite famous as an artist or performer, although this fame
cuts both ways: in addition to dealing with hordes of
adoring fans and the ever-curious media, the illusionist may
run into problems if the true nature of his or her powers is
widely known. A known illusion may startle, but will not
affect someone for long if theyre certain it is not real.
Prejudice
Illusionists are deceivers by nature and may prove unpopular with some, given their potential for misleading others,
causing them to question everything they see, hear, or
otherwise experience. Known illusionists can create some
paranoia, which may be directed back at them.
Power Loss
Having others see through or disbelieve their illusions is
just one way in which illusionists may find their powers
overcome. Some may also have other circumstances rendering them effectively powerless. For example, a fey illusionist who casts faerie glamours might see them dispelled by the touch of cold iron, while a technological
effects wizard might face difficulties with electromagnetic interference and similar technical problems.
Secret
The most common secret for illusionists is that they have
illusion powers in the first place! Illusions tend to be more
effective when the targets dont know they are not real,
so illusionist characters may pretend to have different
powers, or no powers at all, using their illusions to occasionally trick their foes and leaving them wondering what
happened. Situations where the illusionist struggles to
hide the truth, or takes a less convenient path to maintain
the secret, award a hero point.
Weakness
Illusionists who rely solely on their powers of deception
often face the complication that they have no real defenses. This in itself isnt worth a hero point award, but
situations where an opponent sets out to exploit the characters vulnerability may be, such as when an illusionist
hero faces off against a foe specially equipped to ignore
or resist illusions, leaving the hero open to attack.
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