Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Endarire 09-05-06, 04:25 PM	A major villain in my campaign is LE and has access to nearly any material resource he desires. He is LE at his core but fakes his true alignment by appearing to fight evil and seem almost paladinic to the uninformed masses; however, is there something in the current rules that would allow him to register as good on detect good while not evil on detect evil? I know undetectable alignment would shield him from everything, but I don't want people to become suspicious if he would get "no reading" instead of "not good" and "not evil." He is divine rank 0, though I doubt it'll matter. -EE
dvlsadvct 09-05-06, 04:28 PM	Misdirection might do the trick. Except he would have to carry around something good. Somewhat weak, however. Perhaps couple it with an undetectable allignment.
LogicNinja 09-05-06, 04:31 PM	Misdirection on something with a Good aura is the way. If it's a magical object that's Good for some reason, then it has the bonus of showing up as "Good", "Not Lying," "Magical" (which is appropriate for any important person, they'll have lots of magic on'em), etc.
PhaedrusXY 09-05-06, 04:33 PM	The bad thing is that it allows for a Will save...
PhoenixInferno 09-05-06, 04:37 PM	There's a feat that gives you a chance to register as "not-evil" - I think it was in Champions of Ruin or Waterdeep: City of Splendors. Touch of Benevolence, I believe it was called.
Roivas 09-05-06, 04:40 PM	Touch of Benevolance also indicates the character is torn between good and evil, this guy sounds rotten to the core but looks good to anyone who counts. I myself would just let him have access to a spell on par with Nystul's Magic Aura, that has to be cast daily but can give a false alignment. Or I would allow that will save spell but make the DC really high so only the players catch it, then they can try to expose him.
UMiskatonic 09-05-06, 04:44 PM	It is appropriate for a powerful person to carry around a ring of mind shielding. A desire for privacy does not indicate evil, the powerful forces of good might get tired of walking into ambushes after a while.
pawsplay 09-05-06, 04:48 PM	If he used a ring of mind shielding, and had one of his stoolies replace or pose as a good cleric, I think he would have all the cover he needs.
jstorrie 09-05-06, 05:59 PM	If he's Divine Rank 0 you may as well just house-rule that he's able to mask his own alignment against mortal detection methods.
sCRuLooSe 09-05-06, 07:06 PM	Smymaster from Complete Adventurer or Zhentarim(Sp) Spy from Players guide to Faerun (if I remember correctly) might be what you are looking for. At 7th level from the former and 5th from the latter, divination magic automatically reads your cover id instead of providing the correct reading. This might be a bit too large of a dip, though, depending on what you want you BBEG to do, though.
BardicEvil 09-05-06, 09:12 PM	Depending on his level, a DC 70 Bluff check will do this. It works as long as he's awake, so he'll need to rest it each day... if he sleeps that is. At level 20, with the right couple of feats (Persuasive, Silver Palm, or Skill Focus Bluff come to mind) and an item of +30 to bluff, this shouldn't be too hard to pull off with a decent Charisma (don't forget the item to buff that Charisma!). So we have 23 skill + 30 item + 7 feats + 6 Cha (after a +6 cloak and assuming 16 Cha) and that's a base of 66. So, on a roll of 4 or better, he's fooling most mortals without having to pull divine caveat. You can always toss in a luckstone if you want. :) Unless someone catches him unconscious or beats his bluff check, they won't know he's not LG. He'll fool all the detection spells easily. Plus, it'll give him a reason to start getting antsy once the characters start becoming more powerful. There's always the possibility that one of them might see through his act.
Endarire 09-06-06, 01:01 AM	Part of the reason for his act is because he wants to recruit the party, including the paladin, into mass genocide by killing off or neutralizing everything alive after an undead plague. -EE
TavishArtair 09-06-06, 01:15 AM	Depending on his level, a DC 70 Bluff check will do this. It works as long as he's awake, so he'll need to rest it each day... if he sleeps that is. At level 20, with the right couple of feats (Persuasive, Silver Palm, or Skill Focus Bluff come to mind) and an item of +30 to bluff, this shouldn't be too hard to pull off with a decent Charisma (don't forget the item to buff that Charisma!). So we have 23 skill + 30 item + 7 feats + 6 Cha (after a +6 cloak and assuming 16 Cha) and that's a base of 66. So, on a roll of 4 or better, he's fooling most mortals without having to pull divine caveat. You can always toss in a luckstone if you want. :) Unless someone catches him unconscious or beats his bluff check, they won't know he's not LG. He'll fool all the detection spells easily. Plus, it'll give him a reason to start getting antsy once the characters start becoming more powerful. There's always the possibility that one of them might see through his act. At that point, actually, we want something that allows us to always take 10 on Bluff checks. Rogue 10 would work, and picking skill mastery for Bluff. A changeling with the first racial substitution level (from Races of Eberron) in rogue could also work, and be much faster. A level of Exemplar (CAdv) for its Skill Mastery offers the same opportunity. I can't think of anything else, though, off the top of my head.
BardicEvil 09-06-06, 11:18 PM	Part of the reason for his act is because he wants to recruit the party, including the paladin, into mass genocide by killing off or neutralizing everything alive after an undead plague. -EE Whoah... ok, a good bluff and high diplomacy will definitely be necessary for that. That and one heck of a good spin to get your players to buy into it. Might be easier if he's revered and in a position of power (possibly high in the church the paladin belongs to) and can pull the religious crusade angle. I always love it when a paladin is torn between doing the good thing and doing what their church tells them. Great way to challenge the player with some RP. Will they fall, or not? Though maybe that's my innate desire to laugh as the self-righteous fall. :evillaugh
PhoenixInferno 09-07-06, 12:43 AM	And you have a reason to take Touch of Benevolence, although its not the perfect solution.
thorian 09-07-06, 02:39 AM	There is also the Misrepresent Alignment spell from Races of Eberron. It lasts 1 hour/level and you get to pick the alignment you register.
tsuyoshikentsu 09-07-06, 05:40 PM	Part of the reason for his act is because he wants to recruit the party, including the paladin, into mass genocide by killing off or neutralizing everything alive after an undead plague. -EEArthas much?
PhoenixInferno 09-07-06, 05:43 PM	Arthas much?The Lich King was built as a character already, don't forget.
Endarire 09-07-06, 11:51 PM	Not Arthas, but Alamar from World of Xeen. While he's truly evil because he's warped, he's using 'good deeds' to get the worship of the remaining living people of Xeen so he can advance in divine rank. -EE