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So I'm slowly going through Three Faces of Evil with a scalpel and making the adjustments need to give my higher level players a challenge for this place.
There is a room with fanatic worshipers. Now the scaling advice says just give them levels of fighter, but I had something a little more sadistic and appropriate.
Could I give them an Alchemist fire in each hand, have them charge towards the party, and as a free action drop the potions at their feet. The result of this I assume would be an automatic 1 damage to each person and them selves in a 5 ft radius.
Now my other question is, since these are fanatics, I plan on this being suicidal. If they generate an attack of opportunity and will most likely die in one hit, do they drop the Alchemist fire at their feet, for the same effect?
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Originally Posted by Gotterdammerung
I weep for all the GM's and players who come here for help and instead get taught how to be prejudice towards classes. D&D is supposed to be a game that plunges you into a world of imagination and instead people around the world are standing around a table arguing over "tiers".
I misread that as "fanfic worshippers". But thanks to my cultural training, that's much scarier.
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Originally Posted by killem2
since these are fanatics, I plan on this being suicidal. If they generate an attack of opportunity and will most likely die in one hit, do they drop the Alchemist fire at their feet, for the same effect?
You do drop whatever's in your hands when you fall unconscious, including when you die. Looks RAW from here.
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Could I give them an Alchemist fire in each hand, have them charge towards the party, and as a free action drop the potions at their feet. The result of this I assume would be an automatic 1 damage to each person and them selves in a 5 ft radius.
Now my other question is, since these are fanatics, I plan on this being suicidal. If they generate an attack of opportunity and will most likely die in one hit, do they drop the Alchemist fire at their feet, for the same effect?
Yes you can drop as free action, but dropping flask doesn't say they explode.
Yes you can drop as free action, but dropping flask doesn't say they explode.
If you use something that is considered a splash weapon, the rules state that "A splash weapon is a ranged weapon that breaks on impact" so dropping would cause it to break, triggering the effect. I think the key difference here is a substance in a container designed to break on impact is different than a normal container taking falling damage.
__________________ “No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.” ― Steven Brust
"In God we trust. All others we investigate." - United States Army Military Police Corps
Well, you could just strap them in vests lined with highly explosive alchemical compounds, give them a few levels in rogue, and send them running at an unaware group....
Our just have them all chug Elixers of Death Throes, a relatively cheap single use consumable wondrous item. Have them labeled as "Potions of Fanatical Power".
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A beholder’s favorite foods include small live mammals, exotic mushrooms and other fungi, gnomes, beef, pork, colorful leafy vegetables, leaves, flower petals, insects, and birds.
Could I give them an Alchemist fire in each hand, have them charge towards the party, and as a free action drop the potions at their feet. The result of this I assume would be an automatic 1 damage to each person and them selves in a 5 ft radius.
Why can't they just throw the flasks at the PCs' squares? Ranged touch attack vs. AC 5, and they're not guaranteed to die.
Suicide is cute thematic, but not always necessary.
EDIT: Fine, I changed it.
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Originally Posted by Emperor Tippy
By level 20 though, you aren't capturing a wizard. A character lives to level 20 by being the most ruthless, lucky, capable, and paranoid bastard around. A wizard is throwing around a 30+ Int score and has, entirely in character, planned contingencies for his contingencies. He may well be running around with flat out total immunity to harm, he does not walk outside without an entire bevy of defensive magics around him and enough magic items to buy himself a nation.
Last edited by Slipperychicken : 10-29-2012 at 12:42 PM.
It seems like an iffy ruling on if they break. To me, it seems like they would, I mean they are flasks, you don't want them sturdy enough to resist breaking.
The suicide is not needed I agree, but it is for the flavor. Besides, their entire purpose is basically to just take up time for guards to get into place, they are expendable.
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Originally Posted by Gotterdammerung
I weep for all the GM's and players who come here for help and instead get taught how to be prejudice towards classes. D&D is supposed to be a game that plunges you into a world of imagination and instead people around the world are standing around a table arguing over "tiers".
Throwing the flasks at the player's squares + using the elixir of death throes seems like the most fitting, most optimal and most sadistic use.
Also, tanglefoot bags are awesome.
If you REALLY want the most bang for your psychotically devoted henchman, might I recommend the Pathfinder Implant Bomb feat, either as-is or for inspiration.
Knowledge (local) being trained only, and not a class skill for many classes, means that your average human may well not be able to identify other humans! This may explain the exceptional quantity of half-human hybrids.
Yes you can drop as free action, but dropping flask doesn't say they explode.
A glass flask has 1 hit point and a hardness of 1. When its owner dies, consider it dropped from a height of, oh, let's say, 5'. It should take 1d3 damage (half of 1d6) - a roll of 2 or higher breaks it.
A glass flask has 1 hit point and a hardness of 1. When its owner dies, consider it dropped from a height of, oh, let's say, 5'. It should take 1d3 damage (half of 1d6) - a roll of 2 or higher breaks it.
From the SRD:
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The basic rule is simple: 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6.
Falling less than 10 feet does not deal damage to anything per RAW; the DM is eligible to fudge the rules, but he/she did say "Does this tactic work by RAW?" in the title.
Knowledge (local) being trained only, and not a class skill for many classes, means that your average human may well not be able to identify other humans! This may explain the exceptional quantity of half-human hybrids.
Throwing the flasks at the player's squares + using the elixir of death throes seems like the most fitting, most optimal and most sadistic use.
I keep seeing this reference to 'elixir of death throes' and am wondering if someone can provide a source. Otherwise, since the spell 'death throes' in SC is a 5th level spell and Brew Potion only works on spells up to 3rd level, this would not normally work.
__________________ “No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.” ― Steven Brust
"In God we trust. All others we investigate." - United States Army Military Police Corps
I keep seeing this reference to 'elixir of death throes' and am wondering if someone can provide a source. Otherwise, since the spell 'death throes' in SC is a 5th level spell and Brew Potion only works on spells up to 3rd level, this would not normally work.
'Elixir' is generally the term the rules use for 'a potion-like item created as a Wondrous Item.' Strictly speaking it's a custom magic item, but it's also one of the most straightforward and least abusive ways of using those rules, similar to making scrolls of assorted non-PHB spells.
So it's basically a potion created from a spell that specifically is not allowed to be made into a potion. Not a first time the item creation rules have been abused, and not the last.
So it's basically a potion created from a spell that specifically is not allowed to be made into a potion. Not a first time the item creation rules have been abused, and not the last.
Not only is the spell higher than 3rd level and thus ineligible for potion-crafting, it would also cost 1125gp for 9d8 (40.5 average) Force damage, single-use. That's a really bad deal, considering you can just have minions read Explosive Runes for free and deal 6d6 (21 average) Force damage. As a 3rd level spell. For free. And you don't even need to worry about the PCs disabling them nonlethally and wasting your gold and effort.
Using the same spell slot as the Death Throes, you can slap Empower onto the Explosive Runes for 31.5 average damage. Again, for no cost beyond the loser devoted follower you just wasted. On that thought, just use summons to deliver the payload, and spare your cultists for another day.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Emperor Tippy
By level 20 though, you aren't capturing a wizard. A character lives to level 20 by being the most ruthless, lucky, capable, and paranoid bastard around. A wizard is throwing around a 30+ Int score and has, entirely in character, planned contingencies for his contingencies. He may well be running around with flat out total immunity to harm, he does not walk outside without an entire bevy of defensive magics around him and enough magic items to buy himself a nation.
So it's basically a potion created from a spell that
specifically is not allowed to be made into a potion. Not a first time the item creation rules have been abused, and not the last.
Elixirs may look like potions, but they are not potions.
Elixirs are Wondrous Items and so follow a different set of rules.
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π = 4
Consider a 5' radius blast: this affects 4 squares which have a circumference of 40' — Actually it's worse than that.
Depending on the level of your henchmen, they could always take Fiery Ki Defense and run in to grapple the PCs like little flaming saibamen. Not quite suicidal, but then again the only better for a fanatical cult member than martyring himself is getting the job done without dying. Of course being NPCs, their fate is to become a charred corpse regardless....these are Adventurers we're talking about after all.
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Falling less than 10 feet does not deal damage to anything per RAW; the DM is eligible to fudge the rules, but he/she did say "Does this tactic work by RAW?" in the title.
While you are correct, damage is actually not required here. All splash weapons "break on impact" by RAW, therefore the exact height/damage of the fall is irrelevant.
"Impact" is not defined anywhere in the rules, thus it is up to the DM to decide whether a given situation qualifies.
Anyone knows blue is for sarcas'ing in · Use of gray may indicate nitpicking · Green is sincerity · "Take 10 SAN damage from Dark Orchid"
I often hop into threads for just one thing
... let's try this again, but this time without the one-round TPK, all right?
*bah*
One round TPK's are just fine. I didn't hit the mooks with Magic Aura or Nondetection so Detect Magic or Arcane Sight will show that they are highly magical. PC's that get in close contact with highly magical individuals without taking precautions deserve to be boomed.
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People who think Tippy equals win.
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Tippy equals win.
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Tippy, your signature is right. You equal win.
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And Tippy does in fact=win.
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Clearly, this is because Tippy equals Win.
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I'm unsure, but I think that is why Tippy = Win.
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Tippy=Win
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Wow... Tippy, you equal win.
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This post contains 100% Tippy thought. May contain dangerous amounts of ludicrousness and/or awesomeness.
Our just have them all chug Elixers of Death Throes, a relatively cheap single use consumable wondrous item. Have them labeled as "Potions of Fanatical Power".
Can you tell me where to find this please?
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Does this tactic work by RAW?
Tippy=Win
