False Success of the Fool

When the spell is cast upon a character, it generates a powerful phantasmal illusion in her mind, which makes her believe she has just completed the task she was on.

Celtic Druids and the Tuatha de Dannan  
By Dominique Crouzet

Illusion (Phantasm) [Mind-affecting]

Level: Bard 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 5, Witch 4, Satire 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One living creature
Duration: Permanent (special, see text)
Saving Throw: Will negates (special, see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes

Whatever the victim is doing when the spell is cast, she will believe she just finished it. That is, she believes she just completed the task, which she intended to bring to completion when the spell was cast. Now, as the spell does not tell the caster what was this intent, he could get some surprise with an unexpected reaction from his victim. Otherwise, the spell creates a phantasm in the victim’s head, which overcome reality, but only to a certain extent. If the reality is obviously not what the victim believes, she gets a Will saving throw for disbelief. If the reality as elements on which the phantasm may rely on, the victim doesn’t get a saving throw. In between cases may give penalties to the save at GM’s discretion.

Here are some examples:

• The character was in melee combat. Once the spell has been cast, she will see her opponents slain, subdued, or fleeing, as was her first intent. If the opponents act in an appropriate manner, she will get no saving throw; if she searches for their corpses and do not find them, she will be entitled a saving throw; and if the opponents attack her, the spell will be cancelled.
• The character was casting a spell, or had the intend to cast one. Once the spell has been cast, she believes she did cast the spell. If she was in the process of casting, she stops, with the spell lost; if she hadn’t yet begun, she doesn’t cast at all, believing she just did it. If her target(s) obviously do not suffer from the spell effects, she is entitled a saving throw. If the target(s) perform some appropriate gesticulation (even if they are really bad actors), she doesn’t get any saving throw.
• The character was requesting gold. Once the spell has been cast, she stops, absolutely convinced she gained it. If she gets a sack of copper pieces, even if in fewer quantity that was requested, she doesn’t get any saving throw. If she doesn’t get any sort of -token gold-, she gets a saving throw.
• The character was sculpting a statue. Once the spell has been cast, she stops, convinced the statue is finished. If it still is a shapeless rock, she is entitled a saving throw. The more that rock will resemble a statue, the greater will be the penalty to the save.
• The character was resting. Once the spell has been cast, she will feel and believe she is fully rested, no matter how much time she really rested. However, if she tries to do some strenuous activities that would get her on the brink of exhaustion, she gets a saving throw. If she fails her saving throw, she will unknowingly suffer some penalty to any to-hit or skill roll, and will eventually fall down in a faint.

The GM must consider the circumstances, to allow or not a saving throw, or to allow a save with a penalty of up to ·10. A successful save reveals to the victim the illusory image warping her senses, with the reality appearing normally behind it.

Arcane Material Components: A bit of hallucinatory mushroom, plant, or substance. (Usually a Profession: herbalist and Spot checks with DC=15 are sufficient to get them for free in a nearby forest.)