Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as an Illusion Warrior

Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted mix illusion magic and combat prowess for a beguiling fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character. The Illusion Warrior character for 5E D&D brings magical mischief to any adventure. Let’s get into it.

Behind the CBG — Illusion Warrior

Every CBG we create considers the journey as much as the final outcome. We aim to present a guide suitable for any level of 5E D&D play whether you’re pursuing an epic campaign from start to finish, starting beyond 1st level or choosing a character for a one shot. Then we take those concepts and develop an NPC or creature version of the character build for DMs to incorporate into their games. All of this gets packaged up and laid out in a PDF you can find over at Dungeon Master’s Guild. We’ve got dozens of pay what you want products at DMG, many of them best sellers so if you want to check those out start with the Illusion Warrior here.

All about the character story

Each CBG starts with a character concept sticking to a particular schtick, from the Mind Breaker’s psyche crushing smites to the Illusion Warrior’s sneaky spells and cloaked casting. Sometimes puns and pop culture references instigate the creation of a CBG too.

For us it’s important to consider who these characters are as individuals and why they follow these particular paths. One special thing to note with this CBG is while we always aim to make the journey to 20th level as practical as possible — none of these characters “come online” after an awkward slog through many levels — the Illusion Warrior’s dizzying array of deceptive features come out of the shadows at 7th level. Not for nothing but a multiclass fighter and rogue in 5E D&D is a massively powerful combination already and the Illusion Warrior leaning heavily into themes of misdirection means they can put those features to fantastic use.

Our take on the Illusion Warrior celebrates one of my personal favorite 5E D&D races, the svirfneblin or deep gnome. As part of the nobility in their subterranean homeland this character’s adventuring career represents being a part of an organization trained to defend their home and companions in the Underdark. Using illusion, trickery and stealth, deep gnomes survive below the surface surrounded by deadly dangers all around.

There Can Be More Than One. The original idea for this character is inspired by the movie Highlander III: The Final Dimension. In it, the immortal Kane is interested in mastering the power of illusion. We set out to make a warrior who wields illusion to defeat enemies and protect the things they care about.

Beguiler NPC for 5E D&D

Full disclosure — the NPCs and creatures we make in CBGs are some of my favorite bits of 5E D&D content to create. We step back and look at the character build to find the standout features that feel like signature abilities. The juice! From there we consider what sort of person or people would possess or gain these abilities and build a stat block around them. More often than not the section of a CBG For Dungeon Masters presents a generic creature.

For a military, mercenary organization, kingdom or noble house, having a squad of magical spies on the roster makes a formidable force. These operatives can get in and out of dangerous situations through guile and misdirection. Able to disappear into a crowd or even in the middle of a fight, a beguiler looks like something ordinary, but of course is anything but.

Now You See It..or Do You? A clever beguiler is the ultimate distraction. Operating alone with utmost stealth, a beguiler could use their illusory double to lead pursuers astray while following from behind themselves! What you think you see is never the case — a beguiler will keep you looking for the secret, keeping you fooled the entire time.

“The Pledge. Even when a beguiler is in plain sight, it takes a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot a beguiler that has neither moved nor attacked. A creature that tries to enter the beguiler’s space while unaware of the beguiler is surprised by the beguiler.“ (A beguiler also has traits called The Turn and The Prestige for all you stage magic enthusiasts out there.)

If your next 5E D&D game needs a character who distracts, misdirects and beguiles enemies  — whether you’re the DM or a player — check out the Illusion Warrior Character Build Guide here.

*Featured image — Beguiler is a class for D&D 3.5 found in the Player’s Handbook 2 illustrated here as Anastria and Korrik. Beguilers are masters of misdirection and cloaked casting with a really evocative title we borrowed for the creature version of the Illusion Warrior. [Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast]

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