Poll - How do You Write Illusion Magic?

[Deleted member 85769]

Magic is magic. It's neutral by default and simply depends on how, who, and why use it. But then there is illusion magic that sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual, making them question their perception, memories, or sanity. Sounds familiar? That's also the definition of gaslighting.

How do you write illusion magic in your settings? How it works, its limitation, and your main character's stance on it?

 

[CharlesEBrown]

In Between Worlds it comes up a few times - though charms are used more often than illusions for most of the story. It is just another tool for the skilled magic-user to employ.

In Strange Awakening, it is the purview of the Fae, their kin, and those they favor (or curse), and plays a big role for a large chunk of the story that I'm just getting to. The main character finds them annoying but useful.

As an aside, in role playing games it is often my favorite type of magic to use (either as a player or a game master), so I may have a different take on it than most.

Oh, and as for how I would write it, well, other than the examples above, ever see an old comic strip called "Mandrake the Magician" (He also appeared in Charleston comics for a while, before DC bought them, and was part of their Defenders of the Universe book)? His illusions seemed absolutely real at first, and then were just an outline and then gone; I always try to go that route myself if I can.

 

[ChronicSleeper]

I love illusion magic as a concept, just imagine trolling your opponents so hard that if they ever survive their encounter they'll be forever second-guessing themselves and sleeping with one eye open. It really is only as good as the author makes it to be, but it could fall under gaslighting territory yes. You could never be too comfortable around an Illusion mage... who knows if the entire world you're experiencing with your five senses is a careful bubble of illusions cast by them?

 

[RecursiveDescent]

A good illusion has no room for allowing the target to question anything the illusion doesn't want them to, to that point it can either just be as simple as a lie or full blown pure gaslighting.

This is actually something I considered for my trash first attempt at writing. The magic system there is just insanely OP in terms of scaling.
Anyone can do basically anything they have the comprehension, focus, and talent to do, but illusion is practically at the top. The catch is that you'd have to maintain a perfect visualization of what you want them to see without ever being distracted during the process, which meant while many could use illusion spells, few could actually maintain it while doing other things at the same time.

My first villain I'm proud of explores just that, because she's a master of illusion spells.
Even to the point my mc almost got tricked into killing her sister, only barely dodging it because of a magic item that could give a short vision of the future, and still being traumatized after having to watch it happen from outside the illusion.

And she really capitalizes on the potential of the magic too. Since the magic is so flexible, there were plenty that could block or break out of the illusion just as easily, especially if they hear her uttering the spell to cast it.
So, she always wore a covering over her face to prevent lip reading, only ever whispered the spell, and used illusions on everyone around her regularly, so that no one aiming to betray her could ever tell if what they were seeing was real or fake.

 

[ScarletWeeb]

Depends on the user, and how it's executed.

Itachi will use it as a weapon to cause misery and pain.

Aizen will just gaslight you.

 

[GlassRose]

I mean it depends on the type of illusion. The way I see it, illusion is more of a classification than a thing in and of itself, and there are two ways to go about it. There's physics illusions and mental/soul illusions.

Physics illusions rely primarily on light magic to make false images, and air magic for sounds. You can also use something like earth or water to make a puppet or solid shape, and then apply the illusion over it to make it look like a real object/person.

Mind/soul illusions can be interesting because they can take basically any form imaginable, like a dream, and can be accompanied by other mental affects to make the illusion more effective, whether that's fear, overlooking, or believability manipulation.

Mental illusions are probably more believable and take less skill and focus, but more flimsy, and has to be applied to each opponent individually (or infused as a passive spell into an area), versus a physics illusion that take more skill to set up and requires active control, but has the potential to interact with surroundings physically, and affect all viewers.

 

[corruption]

Illusion is when you make something seem to be what it is not. Even if making what is real seem to be an illusion.
An illusionist merely focuses on that.
Making you question everything is gaslighting.
Using it to make decoys in battle, entertain people with a color show or other things are not gaslighting.
Technically, cosmetic spells, like a glamour to hide scars would count as illusion. Same with spells to project magnified images of things.

The difference as it if something is gaslighting or not is if the person doing intends to make someone else question their sense of reality

How I would write it? There are many ways illusions could be created. I would have to consider that as a technical aspect for it. However, I would have to consider if I want the audience in on the trick before the characters find out, to foreshadow it, or to let them find out as the characters find out.

 

[Mugong]

Magic is magic. It's neutral by default and simply depends on how, who, and why use it. But then there is illusion magic that sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual, making them question their perception, memories, or sanity. Sounds familiar? That's also the definition of gaslighting.

How do you write illusion magic in your settings? How it works, its limitation, and your main character's stance on it?

Illusory magic is top 5 magic.

The two ways to write it would be either having the reader know the illusion is placed beforehand or make it a reveal. Both can be better at certain points, just depends on the context. Also is quite versatile in usage, being in senses or sight.

 

[AnonUnlimited]

You do it bashfully.

 

[theInmara]

Gaslighting is a specific kind of abuse. It requires repetition and intent, along with careful use of technique.

A lie is not inherently gaslighting.

A string of lies specifically intended to make another person doubt their own sense of reality is what gaslighting is.

An illusion that there is a well on the trail up ahead is a lie. It is not gaslighting.

Repeated illusions used to make it so that a person can no longer trust that anything is real is verging on gaslighting, and could be easily pushed into gaslighting with the addition of some verbal reinforcement. So, an illusion of a well every quarter mile might count.

When, in Star Trek The Next Generation, Picard was being tortured by Cardassians and told that there were five lights when clearly there were only four, repeatedly, coercively, in concert with other attempts at mind control and disorientation, that was gaslighting. The goal was to make him doubt his own senses even when he wasn't looking at an illusion.

---

We haven't written much about illusion magic. The few cases where it has been used, it has not been gaslighting. Typically just a lie, a form of camouflage for something.

We find gaslighting sequences to be onerous and unpleasant to read or watch.

 

[beast_regards]

Isekai FMC: "We will be gaslighting, girlbossing and gatekeeping today..."

 

[TheBestofSome]

I only have one case of illusion magic in my story so far, and that could be considered softcore gaslighting. It's effective invisibility by telling the minds of whoever witnesses it that 'This isn't important. Don't think anything of it.' But as others have said, it depends on the author that writes it. Like most other elements of fantasy, magic varies pretty drastically between works, and that includes illusion magic.

 

[Epithet]

Whenever I approach Illusionary Magicks, under the house of Magic in general, its usually in two formats:

Mental and Physical.

Mentally-manipulative Illusion Magicks fall under the category of spells related to the control of ones senses, particularly their eyesight and their ability to perceive things around them. For instance, a use of mentally-manipulative Illusion Magicks would be switching the scents of two types of tea, or taking the picture of someone else's back, and swapping it with another.
However, in my personal works, this has certain limitations. For instance, to swap the scents of two teas, you must first have the knowledge of both scents yourself to a high degree. As for the back-swapping, it would work like this: If Person-1 is intent on following Person-2, and Person-3 wants them to believe they are following Person-4, then Person-3 would stand behind Person-4 and 2, take an observation of their backs, and then cast their Magic spell to imprint their vision of Person-4's back on Person-2, and vice-versa.

Then, there is Physically-manipulative Illusion Magicks.
This one is trickier, given it actually falls far under the aforementioned control of senses, particularly sight and touch. Through an in-depth knowledge of the way one thing feels and appears, you can replicate it onto any surface imaginable. This also messes with one's mind. For instance, if Person-1 perceives an illusionary wall made out of metal to be metal upon contact, they are to assume that it is, indeed, made of metal.
This would deter them from trying to hit it without a proper reason, as it would likely hurt to hit the 'metal'.
Now, it gets interesting for physical illusions.
Causing things like phantom pains require one to have felt that pain themselves. Such as, if you've been suffering from a blocked nose, you may cast an illusion to fool the target's mind that they themselves have a blocked nose, regardless of their condition. This can be used in a multitude of ways, and if the caster is prepared enough - it can kill.
By imprinting the feeling of their own death onto their target, it will instantaneously kill the target - but it does, obviously, require the caster to first die, and then have a system set to instantaneously cast the illusion spell.

I only have one case of illusion magic in my story so far, and that could be considered softcore gaslighting. It's effective invisibility by telling the minds of whoever witnesses it that 'This isn't important. Don't think anything of it.' But as others have said, it depends on the author that writes it. Like most other elements of fantasy, magic varies pretty drastically between works, and that includes illusion magic.

That actually reminds me of a creature from Dungeons and Dragons - The False Hydra.
What it does is, simply, sing.

Its song makes all those that hear it automatically perceive that the Hydra is not there in the first place, and even if the Hydra attacks and eats someone, everyone will entirely forget about the person in question, as if they had never existed in the first place, with everyone creating an excuse for gaps in logic present.

 

[TheBestofSome]

That actually reminds me of a creature from Dungeons and Dragons - The False Hydra.
What it does is, simply, sing.

Its song makes all those that hear it automatically perceive that the Hydra is not there in the first place, and even if the Hydra attacks and eats someone, everyone will entirely forget about the person in question, as if they had never existed in the first place, with everyone creating an excuse for gaps in logic present.

I never really got into DnD, but I remember reading about that somewhere. The main difference for my illusion is that it's not all that difficult to break, and once broken, it's not easy to reapply. Can't have it be too overpowered, after all.