[alister]

 I new topic has come up at our table about the Trid phantasm spell. Our mage wants to use it as masking, silence and invisibility for the whole area. Reading the description compels that liberal use of the spell but the drain is only one point higher than improved invisibility and it is also area of effect which doesn't seem balanced to me. the only way this make since to me is if trid phantasm (like all other spells) only affect the targets inside the area of effect while improved invisibility would only make one person invisibility to all targets (if the mage gets net hits) which would give incentive to players to take more than trid phantasm. what do you think of this solution?

[PiXeL01]

I have always interpreted the spells as adding to an area without removing anything. So unless you add sound to drown out the noise made by the runners it would still be picked up. The spell might add
Visual cover but not change the runners appearance ( that’s the mask spells).

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

I new topic has come up at our table about the Trid phantasm spell. Our mage wants to use it as masking, silence and invisibility for the whole area...

The best solution is to not let that player use one spell to duplicate the effects of another spell, much less three other spells.

Besides, there's nothing in the description that says it makes things that are there disappear.  It only makes things that aren't there (seem to) appear.

[Sphinx]

Trid Phantasm (SR5 p.291) creates a realistic, multi-sensory illusion contained in one area (Force radius) anywhere within the caster's line of sight. It can definitely be seen by people outside the area of the spell, but anyone viewing it has a chance to resist with Intuition + Logic ("Physical Illusions," SR5, p.290).

Some GMs let players get away with the "I create an illusion of an empty corridor" trick, but that can get pretty abusive. I agree with PiXeL01 and SSDR ... the spell can add something, not remove something. You could cover up a quiet sound with a louder one, or cover up a person or object with a larger illusion, but you can't erase sounds or objects from the scene.

TL;DR: Trid Phantasm can give you something to hide behind (or inside), but it can't make you silent or invisible.

[Reaver]

Trid Phantasm (SR5 p.291) creates a realistic, multi-sensory illusion contained in one area (Force radius) anywhere within the caster's line of sight. It can definitely be seen by people outside the area of the spell, but anyone viewing it has a chance to resist with Intuition + Logic ("Physical Illusions," SR5, p.290).

Some GMs let players get away with the "I create an illusion of an empty corridor" trick, but that can get pretty abusive. I agree with PiXeL01 and SSDR ... the spell can add something, not remove something. You could cover up a quiet sound with a louder one, or cover up a person or object with a larger illusion, but you can't erase sounds or objects from the scene.

TL;DR: Trid Phantasm can give you something to hide behind (or inside), but it can't make you silent or invisible.

I too agree.

[mbisber]

I agree also.

But, even a powerful Mage, with Power Focus and Spellcasting 12, has to be pretty careful that the Phantasm does not appear outright silly. I believe the caveat for resisting Manipulation Spells could easily apply.

[PiXeL01]

Except it’s an illusion spell. And at that power level magician and and should bend reality a little.

[mbisber]

Rules as written should not violate common sense.

While my Mage might get 10 net hits with her spell, showing a Dragon squeezing through a corridor toward the targets; I as GM, would allow resistance as for any Mental Manipulation Spell.

[Michael Chandra]

No see, you wouldn't resist it so you'd still see it, you can't change that. But you'd still realise it's nonsense. So cute that you see a dragon squeezing through, but even if I fail to pierce the Illusion, that simply means I sound the alarm for a high-powered mage running an Illusion, so get HTR and astral support over asap.

[Beta]

Also remember that you can't slide the aoe, only re-locate it.  Which will make it very hard to line everything up perfectly from every perspective.  Depending on the illusion re-locating the area is, IMO, grounds for anything from a new resistance test to automatically realizing that it isn't real.  So an illusion of a truck over where you are parked is fine, but trying to make an illusion of a truck over your motorcycle as you ride down the road is not as apt to work well.

[HP15BS]

The closest you could really get would be camouflage. Ideally, you'd use it like ruthenium polymer coating - illusion what's behind you to be covering you. But as mentioned already, that's too difficult for even the smartest of mages to pull off very well - especially while moving.  So if you want an effect like that, then you'd be better off just getting the rp coating.

Probably the best that you could reliably pull off would be the 'ol picture-in-front-of-the-camera trick.  That'd let you move around behind it without giving anything away.  It'd be easier, but still difficult, to get the perspectives right (simulating distance, etc), and having 2 observers would likely thwart you every time just because it'd be so difficult. 
Unless you specialized in that kind of thing... maybe.

[mbisber]

Depending on the illusion re-locating the area is, IMO, grounds for anything from a new resistance test to automatically realizing that it isn't real.

A Mage might have lots of experience with an image. But, I believe the comparison with Manipulation is apt.
 

[PiXeL01]

The mage isn’t manipulating anything. The mage isn’t controlling the thoughts of anyone viewing the scene that has been created. The mage is only adding images, sounds, and sensations. Trid Phantasm is basically a 4d hologram, though very lifelike. It has nothing to do with manipulation magic at all.

[adzling]

whatever you decide it FOR CERTAIN will not work like masking metamagic, it has no illusionary effect on the astral plane.

anyone viewing the scene from astral would be unaffected by the illusion.

[Michael Chandra]

Only ways to fool the Astral that I know of are Masking and Manascape.