Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Choppus 01-05-08, 11:53 AM	For our next session, my party will become the target of a religious fanatic psychopath halfling assassin named Bermadon. Fun times. The scene is set in an area where arcane magic is taboo. I want my little assassin to disguise himself as a monk in the cathedral where they're staying, take out the guard and attempt to assassinate one of the party, or at the very least scare the bejeebers out of them. Anyhoo, here's my dilemma. Bermadon needs to disguise himself as an ordinary human monk of the church (by monk I mean priest or servant of the church, not the monk class). The problem is that he's a halfling, and being a religious fanatic can't use arcane spells (or potions made by arcane spellcasters). It is theoretically possible, and I'm sure he'd be resourceful enough, to get a cleric of the Trickery domain to brew a potion of Disguise Self, however this doesn't allow him change size (albeit a 1ft size increase). It'd give a +10 to his disguise check though... And thus comes my question: Is it possible to use the disguise skill to change your size? It says you can disguise yourself as another race (-2 penalty), but I figure that assumes it's another race the same size. Could he not find some stilts and cruise around as a human for a bit?
LeeAlucard 01-05-08, 04:26 PM	Hey, Belkar Bitterleaf did it. :D
Dalzig 01-05-08, 04:56 PM	Arms and Equipment Guide actually has stilts in it. I'm pretty sure something like that would work, and any self-respecting halfing should be able to hit a balance DC of 5.
Choppus 01-05-08, 05:29 PM	Indeed... and he had a cool hat to boot.
tos_shai_hulud 01-06-08, 03:44 AM	A halfling is on average what, 3½ feet tall? If he can make himself four and a half feet tall (with a spell), he can pretend to be venerable and walk with a hunch. He may look a bit short (and you can even point that out), but being that he is venerable, the party would likely not question it too much (people get shorter as they get older... it's just a fact). So, the disguise penalty would be -2 for a different race, then -2 for each age category difference he is going for (if he is in the prime of adventuring life, he will take a -6 penalty for attempting venerable). You can apply a circumstance penalty to his disguise because he is not actually tall enough to be a true human. Perhaps an additional -2. All told, he would have a -10 from penalties and a +10 from the spell, putting him at a flat roll of his disguise check. That is how I would run it, anyway. Edit: Additionally, without a spell, he can take -25 on his disguise check and attempt to make himself 11 to 25% taller (indicating that a normal disguise check can make you no more than 10% taller). This means that a 3'6" halfling would be able to make himself look about four inches taller without a spell. If he took a -25 on the check, he could make himself 11" taller (about the same as with Disguise Self), and if he took a -50, he could make himself 26 to 50% taller (which would allow him to reach human heights). An easier way to do this is have a potion of Enlarge Person available before drinking the potion of Disguise Self. Both can be made by a divine caster. Of course, he would likely need quite a supply. If you give him 50 of each potion and have him chug them down whenever he is around the party, it might be funny.
Choppus 01-06-08, 11:22 AM	Hey, thanks! You've raised some very interesting points. I saw the bit on epic uses of disguise, but the party's only around 4th level so I've made him 6th level (rogue 5/assassin 1), and since he fell out of the ugly tree his disguise hasn't been so hot. He will have to rely on magical assistance. However you've pointed out that Enlarge Person can be brewed by clerics. That's very useful. Using a potion of Enlarge Person and Disguise Self he effectively still gets a +8 to his disguise check (-2 for impersonating another race). And it'll only set him back 100gp, which is nice. Bermadon is an agent for a sect of the church, they're in the capital city and the church is very prominent, so it shouldn't be any trouble for him to find clerics with strength and trickery domains. Thanks a lot for your help. This is gonna be nasty... :evillaugh:
hovnarr 01-06-08, 11:28 AM	In my party, we have two halflings and the town we're in is racist to halflings. They often disguise themselves as human children to make life easier. If you have trouble with the enlarge potion, perhaps he could be disguised as an orphaned child taken in in his early teens by the monks.
Choppus 01-06-08, 11:43 AM	True... that's also a possibility. Maybe I'll use that elsewhere. The party are staying in the church, so it's important that he look like any of the human monks floating around. Thanks. :)
tos_shai_hulud 01-06-08, 01:56 PM	To save a little money on potions, Permanency Enlarge Person only costs 3050gp (after XP is spent). But, it would require a cleric of at least 9th level with access to the Time domain (which grants Permanency as a 5th level spell) and access to a cleric with the Strength domain (which grants Enlarge Person as a 1st level spell).
Choppus 01-06-08, 04:18 PM	Nah, that won't be necessary. He's performing an assassination which can can be completed within half an hour. That's ample time. The disguise just has to buy him three rounds to study and take out the guard. Besides, Enlarge Person is horrible for him. It reduces his AC, dex, and attack bonus. The strength boost is useless to him, and he'd still only move at 20ft. That, and Time Domain isn't SRD. Thanks though. :)
1 ton ghost 01-11-08, 03:16 PM	there is a far simpler solution... human child. this is one of the best personas one can adopt. small, unassuming, believable. perfect. i've used this for halfling cutpurses and assassins w/ much acclaim. the height discrepancy isn't an issue really and coupled w/ a human "parent", aka spotter (someone to assist rogue skills), it provides a very compelling ruse. this would facilitate a Circumstance modifier ot Bluff at times, who knows. true, you're changing Race, but that's about it. besides, most ppl write kids off as a "non-threat" which affords you more anonymity and discretion, a rogue's bread and butter. don't goodly churches take in orphans all the time? perhaps he's an acolyte (they start off quite young typically). or, stop me if this is "too far", one of the "priests" isn't so, um, virtuous if you know what i mean. ie)he needs the PCs help (can get close to them for sanctuary). he could be working in the stables, he could be an errand boy from a local shop or another church of political body in the city too. so many possible explanations.
wrecan 01-11-08, 03:34 PM	A potion of eagle's splendor will help you with those disguise checks. A masterwork disguise kit grants an additional +2 competence bonus (or a gudance potion for a +1 competence bonus). Disguising oneself as a human child (for instance if the monastery is known to take in the occasional orphan?) will work nicely. Give him 5 ranks in Bluff for the synergy bonus. If you want to be really cheesy, hire a boatload of professional disguise artists to Aid Another on your Disguise check. Essentially, you have a team of professional make-up artists and costumers helping make you look like a human child. Since Aid Another provides an unnamed bonus, they stack. Since there is only one Disguise check, rolled when you don the disguise, they can help you put on the disguise before you even sneak into the monastery. And the only limit to the bonus is the DM's decision on how many disguise artists can help you out. (I usually max out such bonuses at +5.) Also, this monastery wouldn't have any halfling monks in it? Remember also that it take 1d3 x 10 minutes to put on a disguise. While you're buying poitions, you might ask that Trickery-domain cleric for a potion of Nondetection. Anyway... +10 disguise self +9 ranks in Disguise (class skill for Rogues and Assassins) +5 Aid Another checks +2 Bluff synergy +2 Eagle's splendor +2 masterwork disguise kit -2 Age Category disguise -2 Racial disguise +26 TOTAL That should do just fine, assuming a child's disguise won't be out of place.
mvincent 01-11-08, 07:56 PM	fanatic psychopath halfling assassin <snip> needs to disguise himself as an ordinary human monkSo he can't even use his own assassin spells (like alter self)? Maybe give him a wand of alter-self made by a cleric with the Shifter domain (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Shifter_(DnD_Cleric_Domain)). :D Alternately, he could hire a cleric of trickery to cast polymorph any object on him. Or have a cleric with the strength domain cast a persistent enlarge person spell on him. Or have the enlarge person spell made permanent via a Solar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/angel.htm) or (as mentioned) a cleric with the time domain.
Choppus 01-12-08, 09:47 AM	Wow... that's impressive. +26?! Man, if I give him enough resources he can really go to town. However I must remember he is making an assassination attempt against the players. If he succeeds someone will die, so by limiting his resources I can scale the encounter back enough so that they stand a chance of spotting him before he death-attacks whoever happens to be standing guard outside the door. Also, I want to limit how much treasure the party will get after they take him out, as he's already got heaps of nice stuff. I'd be happier if I can make do without the potions (obtained from hard-to-find clerics of obscure domains), permanency, teams of make-up artists, etc. He's a lone agent and a psychopath, but a smart one. Thanks for the idea of using a human child. I like it. We have a cleric in the party and a fighter who I'll try to push down the paladin path, so I think I'll try to keep the rest of the priests as 'virtuous' as possible... :) Maybe he'll pose as a stable boy. Ah, I can already see their faces... "Without warning, the child flicks a dagger from his sleeve and stabs you in the groin. Make a fortitude against his death-attack. Now make another against the poison." The way I've planned the encounter, the party should survive without any losses unless he manages to take out the guard silently and get inside with everyone asleep, in which case someone won't wake up in the morning. There's lots the party can do to save themselves, and I'll give them plenty of opportunities, but at the same time I want to impress upon them the seriousness of their enemy. Yeah, I'm bending his fanaticism a bit by letting him cast Assassin spells on himself. They're technically Arcane, but it works like Bard spells. I'll let it slide. Thanks for your help everyone.
1 ton ghost 01-12-08, 01:27 PM	yes, these are good ways to get your numeric value up as high as possible. the problem i find isn't the final product, it's the ways and means. that is, a whole team of ppl assisting your Disguise check isn't, um, terribly wise and/or professional. flavor wise, it seems kinda', well, like you're exploiting the situation just to min/max, an opinion though, nothing more. criminally, it's dangerous and it leaves the assassin more vulnerable to PC legwork/intel. that said, most assassins rely primarilly on anonymity and self-sufficiency. more ppl that have a hand in the crime, more lose ends than can roll over on said criminal. it's almost like an equation, graphable even. more ppl/crooks involved w/ caper 'x', the easier the Gather Info roll to find someone involved and ultimately work your way up the food chain till you get to the "source". yeah, i tend to let the PCs help augment their buddy's Disguise, but they're committed to a mutual cause and the like. party loyalty too (one can hope), not joe schmoe that's assissting a possibly known violent criminal. and seriously, how many astheticians, make-up artists, and the like are immediately available even in a metropolis? most would be in the pocket of the gentry or nobility to make them look good, not free-lancing. why go out on a limb when you have a sure (and legal) thing at home too? i guess, apart from all this rambling, what i mean to say is the risk of getting your Disguise super high w/ outside help isn't always worth the risk, especially for wetwork. besides, not all these PCs have Spot as a class skill, and the ones that do can be avoided easilly enough to target less visually gifted ones.
wrecan 01-13-08, 12:14 AM	a whole team of ppl assisting your Disguise check isn't, um, terribly wise and/or professional. That's only +5. It' still +21 without the Aid Other.
SaveRobertFrostborn 01-16-08, 01:46 AM	I dunno if I'd let all those stack. Isn't a disguise kit and disguise ability preempted by the disguise self spell?
wrecan 01-16-08, 06:18 AM	I dunno if I'd let all those stack. Isn't a disguise kit and disguise ability preempted by the disguise self spell? No. The disguise self spell has an unnamed bonus so it stacks with everything but another spell.