Dread illusion is a fear with a shape. A mage of Reverie calls it out of the Welter, and it takes the form of whatever the enemy least wants to see: a shadow too long for its body, a face at a window, a sound behind the door.
It strikes at the mind, and its blow is real enough. But it has nothing inside. Any blow at all, however light, unmakes it.
It costs nothing to keep. Reverie cultivators say that is because it is not really there. A fear needs no feeding; it holds its shape only for as long as the enemy believes in it. For the same reason it adds almost nothing to the kingdom's Weight. Heaven does not count what is not there.
The cultivators add something darker. Every Sealborn wakes remembering a life somewhere else, and the dread shapes, they say, most often wear what their callers feared in that other life. Mages from gentle worlds find the shapes they call strange and puzzling. Mages from harder ones do not.
Player-visible facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack | 400 |
| Counter attack (defensive strike) | 0 |
| Hit points | 1 |
| Recruitment cost per unit | Called or acquired; no recruitment price |
| Ordinary upkeep per unit per spent turn | 0 geld, 0 mana, 0 population |
| Can be dismissed | Yes |
These are base unit values. Battle reports show effective attack and hit points after current effects. Defence uses resistance; no single defence score is exposed.