Phantasmal Thief

Phantasmal Thief — D&D 2024

Campaign adaptation — unofficial. Phantasmal Thief was not published in SRD 5.2.1. These are complete optional 2024 rules, not an official Wizards of the Coast spell.

The invisible thief. You create an invisible, intangible-looking magical agent next to one creature you can see within range. It can handle one accessible item weighing 10 pounds or less, but cannot open locks, remove armour or clothing worn by a creature, or steal an unattended object. The agent cannot pass through solid barriers. A captured item becomes invisible while carried by the agent. The agent is not a creature, makes no attacks, and cannot be damaged, but the spell can be dispelled.

Taking an item. When you cast the spell, and as a Bonus Action on later turns, command one attempt. For an item in an open pouch, pocket or other accessible place on the creature, the victim makes a Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC. On a success, the creature detects and prevents that attempt; otherwise the agent takes the item. To seize an item actually held in a hand, the victim instead makes a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC; success keeps the item. A failure removes the item without dealing damage. Creatures able to see invisible things perceive the agent, but must still resist an attempt as described.

Delivery. On a later turn, you use a Bonus Action to command the agent to bring the single stolen item to you; it can move up to 30 feet each round and must remain within 60 feet of you. It cannot begin another theft while carrying an item. After delivering an item snatched from someone’s hand, the spell ends. If the spell ends while the agent holds an item, it drops at the agent’s position.

Example: A wizard with spell save DC 18 targets a merchant’s loose gem in an open purse. The merchant’s Wisdom (Perception) check totals 15, so the agent steals the gem. On a later turn the wizard spends a Bonus Action to bring it back, provided the agent can reach the wizard within the spell’s range and movement limit. This is the 2024 adaptation, not the legacy disarm rule.

Edition basis: 2024 spellcasting rules and its Perception, saving throw and action rules.

Phantasmal Thief — D&D 2014

Campaign adaptation — unofficial. No spell of this name is published in SRD 5.1. This is a ready-to-play 2014 conversion, not an official 2014 spell.

You summon an invisible magical servant beside one creature you can see within 60 feet. It can steal a single accessible item weighing no more than 10 pounds from an unlocked bag, open pouch or pocket. It cannot open a lock, take unattended property, remove secured armour or clothing, pass through a wall or affect more than one item at once. A stolen item becomes invisible while the force holds it. The force cannot be harmed by attacks but can be dispelled.

Commands and resistance. As part of casting, and using your action on subsequent turns, direct one theft or delivery. An owner targeted for an accessible, unheld item makes a Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC; success notices the agent and stops the attempt that turn. If it fails, the force takes the item. For an item the creature is holding, it instead makes a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC: success prevents the disarm, failure lets the force take that item. Seeing invisible creatures reveals the force, but does not automatically prevent a held-item saving throw.

Retrieval and limits. Bringing the object back takes a later action; the force moves up to 30 feet per turn and must stay within 60 feet of you. It cannot start another theft while carrying an object. After delivering something disarmed directly from a hand, the spell ends. If Concentration ends before delivery, the item drops where the force is.

Example: A sorcerer with spell save DC 17 tries to take a guard’s held dagger. The guard rolls a Strength saving throw of 14 and loses the dagger. On the next turn the sorcerer uses an action to bring it back; their ordinary attacks and bonus actions remain governed by 2014 action economy. A failed save does not incapacitate the guard.

Edition basis: 2014 spellcasting and the Arcane Trickster’s established invisible-hand pickpocketing principle; this spell’s exact theft mechanics are new campaign rules.

Phantasmal Thief — Pathfinder 1e

Campaign adaptation — unofficial. No Pathfinder 1e printing of Phantasmal Thief is cited here. This version adapts the legacy spell to Pathfinder’s own Steal, Disarm and CMD rules; it is not a Paizo-published spell.

The force. The spell summons an invisible magical thief in an unoccupied space beside a creature within range. Direct it once each round as a free action. It can attempt to take one accessible item from a creature, carry it back or restore it to its previous place. It cannot open a lock, take an unattended object, remove worn armour or take more than one item at a time. It moves up to 30 feet per round and cannot travel beyond the spell’s range. Items in its grasp become invisible. The force is not a creature, cannot be damaged, and is subject to Dispel Magic.

Detection and theft. Against a creature that might notice the force, make a Stealth check for it with a +20 modifier opposed by the creature’s Perception check. A creature detecting the attempt stops the theft of an unheld item that round. Otherwise, an attempt to take an accessible carried item uses the Steal maneuver; a held item uses Disarm. Roll 1d20 + caster level + your spellcasting ability modifier against the target’s CMD, as in Pathfinder’s telekinetic combat maneuvers. The attempt does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the target has spell resistance, resolve that first. The force may retry a failed attempt on a later round while the spell lasts.

Delivery. The thief needs a subsequent round to deliver a stolen item; it cannot attempt another theft while carrying one. Once it brings a weapon or other held item removed by Disarm to the caster, the spell ends. Any undelivered object drops where the force ends.

Example: A 15th-level wizard with Intelligence 24 (+7) uses the converted spell against a guard with CMD 32. The special Steal/Disarm modifier is +22 (15 + 7), so a roll of 11 gives 33 and succeeds after any spell resistance and detection conditions have been resolved. The force returns the item on a later round, not immediately.

Rules basis: Telekinetic Maneuver, Pathfinder combat maneuvers and Telekinesis. Those are authentic Pathfinder rules; Phantasmal Thief’s conversion is optional.

Phantasmal Thief — D&D 3.5e

An invisible force appears and follows its caster’s silent directions as a free action on the caster’s turn. It can steal an object from a creature, take it to the caster, or return it to where it came from. It cannot take things lying unattended or open a locked chest. It has a +20 Hide modifier and a +20 Move Silently modifier, and it can be detected by a creature using Listen or Spot.

If it remains unnoticed, the force may take a possession that its target is not holding or wearing, even something inside a Bag of Holding. Stealing takes one round; bringing the object back takes another. It carries only one object at a time, which turns invisible while in its grasp. If detected by the creature being robbed, it cannot take the item that round but can try again next round.

To take an object from someone’s hand, it attempts a disarm as though it had Improved Disarm and a +20 Strength modifier. After bringing that disarmed object to the caster, the force vanishes. The force cannot be damaged, although applicable Dispel Magic can end it.