Mental Illusions: Can attacks look like nothing?

[mrnate4ta]

Does a Mental illusion that can do damage:
1. have to look like something that can cause damage to the char attacked(laser, tiger, punch) or can it look like nothing is happening?
2. be an illusion of an invisible character hitting someone who can't see invisibles?
3. look the same to everyone (if it is an area effect )i.e.
five chars. in a room named Illusion Man, mike, tom, bob and bill( Illusion Man makes an area effect mental illusion that bob is stabbed by a floating knife). do they see bob stabbed or do they see themselves stabbed?
What if they were on different floors would some only hear it?

[Sean Waters]

Mental illusions are not obvious to anyone who is not being attacked by them unless they have mental awareness or somesuch. The illusion is entirely in the head of the target so cannot usually be seen at all by anyone even if they can sense mental attacks.

At the level that you cause damage then you can make major perceptual changes anyway, so, whilt I would suggest that an AoE should generally have the same effects for everyone, you have a lot of latitude over what everyone perceives.

Finally whilst mental illusions that damage can be from 'invisible' attacks even to the target, I would suggest that requires a higher level of mental illusion: if you 'see' yourself being hit with a laser then your mind works with the illusion - if you just start hurting then the illusion is less consistent and so works effectively at a penalty.

[ghost-angel]

Yeah, if it were an "invisible attacker" I would say you'd have to convince the target there is in fact an invisible attacker somewhere nearby first before attempting to damage them - upping the level needed to affect them.

If they know, for instance, your team has an invisible martial artists then the illusion doesn't require any more of a stretch than an illusion of a gun being pointed at them; since the brain is already aware of such a threat.

Just hitting them out of nowhere with "an invisible attacker" is possible, but really difficult.