I think we should be able to illusion our animates, for two reasons.
One, it would be really cool.
And two, to conceal them from trigger-happy guards, militia, sentries and other armed whelps who can't seem to resist taking pot-shots at big dead critters wandering through town, usually to their own detriment. I mean...if we have to illusion our cute little clouds of smoke to avoid trouble with the law, surely walking a freaking minotaur warrior through town square would be frowned upon??
Since it would be a nightmare trying to come up with separate illusions for every creature in the game, I propose simply making creative illusions for the basic size categories. For example, a goblin might appear as a hooded halfling, while the aforementioned minotaur could appear as a battle-scarred giantman warrior. Maybe the really big stuff could look like trees or something...
>
A large tree just walked into the area and planted itself in the ground.
>
A large tree just uprooted itself and walked off.
Just a thought!
~ GtG
