[RPG] Can you use Silent Image and Illusory Reality to create a real tarrasque

class-featurednd-5eillusionwizard

In my campaign there is a level 14 illusion wizard who has used the Illusory Reality feature and silent image to create a real mind-controlled tarrasque.

Then he used Malleable Illusions to make it into a gem that he would later one-shot our big bad with.

This powergaming is ruining my campaign! Is this legal or am I missing something? If it's legal, what do I do to fix my game?

Best Answer

From your question I get that player in question used Illusory Reality to make illusionary tarrasque real. However it is impossible by RAW:

When you cast an illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one inanimate, nonmagical object that is part of the illusion and make that object real.
[...]
The object can't deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone.

The sword becomes a lump of coal

This is the fun part of being a high level illusionist: you're essentially a reality warper. There is no contradiction between Malleable Illusions and Illusory Reality. The first one allows you to change the nature of the illusion (as long as it fits within the normal parameters of the spell), while the second one allows you to make one inanimate object in that illusion real.

A real illusion?

The crux of this is you must consider the sword made real by Illusory Reality as still part of the illusion, so that it can be morphed by Malleable Illusion. In other words, the real sword must also be illusory.

And yes, real things can be illusory in D&D. Consider the creation spell. It is from the Illusion school, and is able to create anything from vegetable matter to mithral. It is composed of the same stuff as the illusions in Illusory Reality:

Creation

You pull wisps of shadow material from the Shadowfell to create a nonliving object of vegetable matter [...]

Illusory Reality

By 14th level, you have learned the secret of weaving shadow magic into your illusions to give them a semi-reality.

Note that anything you create with creation can actually be morphed by Malleable Illusion, because creation fits the requirements of Malleable Illusion.

It stands to reason things made real by Illusory Reality can be altered by Malleable Illusions as well.

Rule of Cool

Both class features, MI and IR, are part of the same Wizard school. They should be complimentary and not exclusive. That is, what point would there be in a Wizard losing access to one ability (MI) by applying another (IR)?

The heart of the illusion school is tricking other people. Imagine how fun/cool it would be to hand someone a sword and, 6 seconds in to the battle, watch as that sword becomes a lump of coal? As a player who plays an illusionist, stuff like that is incredibly satisfying because it gets to the core of what that school represents.

Conclusion

The two class features do not contradict each other. An illusion spell which creates real objects is subject to MI in the same way purely sensory illusions are. It is cooler to allow it than to restrict it.

So, yes, MI can interact with an object made real by IR.

[RPG] Can a “real” illusion be seen through

No, because the Illusion can no longer be passed through.

To quote Major Image:

Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, because things can pass through it.

Illusory Reality

When you cast an illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one inanimate, nonmagical object that is part of the illusion and make that object real. For example, you can create an illusion of a bridge over a chasm and then make it real long enough for your allies to cross.

Because the Illusion is now temporarily a real, tangible object, it assumes all facets of reality - a lack of translucency. Because the spell specifies that only one object of the illusion becomes real, it follows naturally that the rest of illusion remains illusory to the Illusionist and enemy.

Whether or not the enemy knows that the illusion is now a tangible object is not specifically covered, and up to DM fiat.