General Order #4 (the only one punishable by death)

Argyle

In all of the original Star Trek series, with a galaxy full of plasma weapons, salt sucker monsters, telekinetic powers, ancient robotics, greek gods, doomsday planet killers, time travel, etc., the one and only great taboo, per General Order #4, was to go near planet Talos IV, home of the universe's greatest Illlusionists. Are they really that powerful?

There really is little point in an having illusory fireball if you can cast a real one. With illusions there must be more creative things we could do ... what do you think? Similar to the Kalah circus tent in BG II, I could see some use in changing the appearance of an enemy orc to look like a human adventurer, thereby confusing his mates and perhaps causing them to turn on him. Or perhaps creating some form of illusory terrain, wherein the victims perceive themselves trapped inside a ring of stones or a pit. Or maybe we could use illusory money to pay a merchant for an expensive item? Could an illusion spell create the same effect as resting?

Balrog99

How about making your girlfriend/spouse look like Scarlett Johansen? Just sayin'...

elminster

I think technically the restriction on Talos IV was from General Order #7.

As far as illusion spells go. I think (along with Divination frankly) they present a challenge in terms of how to make them useful in a game vs pnp. A spell like Dream (and its reverse Nightmare) could actually be a useful spell in PnP (both for you and for the purposes of advancing the plot).

Dream
(Invocation, Illusion/Phantasm)
Reversible
Range: Touch Components: V, S
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 turn
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: None

The dream spell enables the caster, or a messenger touched by the caster, to send
messages to others in the form of dreams. At the beginning of the spell, the caster must
name the recipient or identify him by some title that leaves no doubt as to his identity.
As the caster completes the spell, the person sending the spell falls into a deep
trancelike sleep, and instantaneously projects his mind to the recipient. The sender then
enters the recipient's dream and delivers the message unless the recipient is magically
protected. If the recipient is awake, the message sender can choose to remain in the
trancelike sleep. If the sender is disturbed during this time, the spell is immediately
cancelled and the sender comes out of the trance. The whereabouts and current activities
of the recipient cannot be learned through this spell.
The sender is unaware of his own surroundings or the activities around him while he is
in his trance. He is totally defenseless, both physically and mentally (i.e., he always fails
any saving throw) while in the trance.
Once the recipient's dreams are entered, the sender can deliver a message of any
length, which the recipient remembers perfectly upon waking. The communication is
one-way; the recipient cannot ask questions or offer information, nor can the sender gain
any information by observing the dreams of the recipient. Once the message is delivered,
the sender's mind returns instantly to his body. The duration of the spell is the time
required for the sender to enter the recipient's dream and deliver the message.
The reverse of this spell, nightmare, enables the caster to send a hideous and unsettling
vision to the recipient, who is allowed a saving throw vs. spell to avoid the effect. The
nightmare prevents restful sleep and causes 1d10 points of damage. The nightmare leaves
the recipient fatigued and unable to regain spells for the next day. A dispel evil spell cast
upon the recipient stuns the caster of the nightmare for one turn per level of the cleric
countering this evil sending

Same goes with maybe casting an illusionary wall or doing something else that could allow you to avoid unnecessary fights.

CrevsDaak

First, I have no idea about Star Trek at all (on the other hand, I'm a huge SW nerd), second, assuming their power on illusions is unlimited, they could even fake an entire galactic fleet and other things such as that to conquer the whole galaxy.

1. Think "out of the box".
   
2. Apply illusions.
   
3. ???
   
4. Profit.
   

Balrog99 said:

How about making your girlfriend/spouse look like Scarlett Johansen? Just sayin'...

What's the deal with her? I don't find her attractive.

Balrog99

Sorry, she was the 1st actress I could think of. Just got done watching Captain America Civil War before that post...

Neverused

Generally, strong enough illusions DESTROY you, as long as there's no easy way to break through them. The Klingon ship you think you're firing upon? Actually a Federation starship, desperately trying to hail you to figure out why you're attacking them. Basically, once in contact with illusionists strong enough, you can't trust ANYTHING.

DrakeICN

I always figured the best way to use illusionism is to cut down a hanging bridge along a heavily trafickated merchant route, place some spears in the bottom of the gorge and create a perfectly identical illusion bridge where there used to be one. Then take a nap and then cash in big.

Argyle

Ah yes, General Order #7. Chekov may have misspoke in that later episode. And there is nothing wrong with Scarlett Johansen ... until you compare her to Tulsi Gabbard. The illusory bridge is a good one for at least the first few orcs who attempt to cross. Other types of illusions could make enemies drop their weapons and magic items, or turn their backs on you and hence lose sheild bonuses, or waste their magic casting spells at illusory targets. Imagine an illusion version of Sphere of Chaos ... nobody actually teleports, the enemy just believes that it is happening.