Phantasm: Reality Impaired

Quote :

Phantasm (Realistic, Multi-Sense, Area)
Type: M • Range: LOS (A) • Duration: S • DV: (F ÷ 2) +2
Trid Phantasm (Realistic, Multi-Sense, Area)
Type: P • Range: LOS (A) • Duration: S • DV: (F ÷ 2) +3
These area spells create convincing illusions of any object, creature, or
scene the caster desires. They can create an illusion of anything the
caster has seen before, from a flower or a credstick to a dragon breathing
fire, as long as the illusion is no larger than the spell’s area.
Anyone who might pierce the illusion must successfully resist the
spell. Simply make one Spellcasting Test and use the hits scored as the
threshold for anyone that resists at a later point.
Phantasm only affects living beings, while Trid Phantasm affects
technological sensors as well.

Due to my particular characters nature, I am starting with Aura masking which essentially gives me masking and extended masking, so not only can I hide my nature but any spells or powers I am sustaining. So My plan at this point is to precast Phantasm and sustain it while hiding the aura. I will be taking a -2 to everything because Foci are unavailable to spirits. So my question is, how much control do I have over the spell as I sustain it? Mid fight would I be able to turn the aparently inactive phantasm into a troll kicking open the door behind the Lone Star FRT and lay down supresive fire? What sort of actions would it take for this type o manipulation? And would the action depend on the magnitude of the manipulation? And after some one has beaten that particular casting of phantasm I would asume that they would be immune to all other images of it.

I would say that there's no reason you can't control the spell to do that. You can move the area of a sustained spell with a Complex Action, but you have to maintain line of sight. Also, keep in mind that if something happens that could shake your concentration, the GM can call for a Spellcasting+Willpower (2) test to keep from dropping the spell. Other than that, I'd say it's a Complex Action to change what's happening in the illusion in a significant way (the troll kicking in the door who wasn't there a few seconds earlier), and simply maintaining the spell is enough to make the illusion change in minor, expected ways (having the troll turn to follow running targets).

Some spells in Shadowrun are really, really powerful if you stop to think what they are doing. If your illusion is of a sentient creature, Phantasim really is a powerful spell, it's almost like making an artifical intelligence. At least from my reading it seems to imply that the illusion is real as real so that would mean if you make an illusion of a troll it's going to be moving around, reacting to it environment in complex ways. I just don't see an illusion of a troll that stands stiff as a board exept that he raises and lowers his axe all the time as something that's going to fool anybody so my assumption (especialy as the force goes up) is that the illusion reacts in realistic ways.

That said the spell does not talk about the posibility of changing the illusion and I think this is probbably because you cannot. When you cast the spell you write the script for you illusionary play, you could even write in contengency plans, etc. but once the spell is cast all you can do is sit back and watch the show like everybody else.

Will is right that there is a generic rule that with a complex action you can move the area of a susstained spell and if you have moving the area as a contengincy I could see it happening in a fluid and belivable way (unless you illusion is clearly of something that should be immobile.)

My take is that you could precast the spell and sustain it but you would have to have some pretty clear contingincies and triggers. You could to a degree even control the spell ("if I point at someone using my little finger then the troll charges and attacks that person.") In that case control would be handled throug the normal action system (gesture is a free action).

Though I think this is a pretty resonable interpretation of the rules it's also complicated so if we want to make a house rule that you can "reprogram" the illusion with a complex action (as Will described) I would be OK with this but it could make the spell much more powerful.

That's a fair point. Allowing the illusion to change partway for Phantasm would kind of be like allowing a Mask spell to change the disguise when you round a corner without casting it again. I don't think that'a precendent any of us want to set. I think playing it the way Kelley says is better. The illusion is what it is when you cast it, and if you want it to be something different later, you have to cast a different illusion.

Ok, so what your saying is that I could precast the illision with a "Script" that says when this happens a Troll bust through a door so on and so forth? I think that is still workable.

If the illusion can react to things that happen then, yes, I think you could write a script. It probably deserves a close read of the sidebar in street magic that talks about what magic can and cannot do, but I think reacting to 'trigers' is something that magic can do. Again, I haven't had time to read the sidebar closely so this is kind of just going on memory.