Blind Characters [Archive] - Wizards Community

Blind Characters [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Arimis Black
03-14-05, 08:52 PM One of the players in my campaign is playing a Blind half elf archer. does anyone know of any items, artifacts, abilities, etc. that would benifit her?

She has already taken both blind fight and blind sight as well as bonuses to listen checks to compensate, but i am looking mostly for things she could get in treasure form to help her.

anything else would be very helpful
Draco Strang
03-14-05, 09:02 PM The "zen archery" feat would fit the concept, uses WIS modifier instead of dex for ranged attacks.
Johnny Cache
03-14-05, 09:08 PM Here's a direct quote from the SRD:Goggles of Night: The lenses of this item are made of dark crystal. Even though the lenses are opaque, when placed over the eyes of the wearer they enable him to see normally and also grant him 60-foot darkvision. Both lenses must be worn for the magic to be effective.
Faint transmutation; CL 3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, darkvision; Price 12,000 gp.
sampi
03-14-05, 09:30 PM I think that by "normally" they mean what the charcter would normally see, which in this case is nothing...
I'd go with the Zen Archery feat Draco suggested.
Gristooth
03-14-05, 09:40 PM I think there's an item in the Arms and Equipment Guide which gives a person the blindsight ability. I forgot the exact name, but I think it's something like the Blindfold of Utter Darkness.

Personally though, I just don't get the concept of playing blind characters. I mean, people take an intentional handicap for their characters and then look for every game mechanic to get around that handicap (by taking feats or magic items or special abilities), which seems to defeat the purpose of taking the handicap in the first place. That's just me though... :)
HomebrewedMonster
03-14-05, 09:51 PM Blind archer?

I'm confused.
Johnny Cache
03-14-05, 10:15 PM Gristooth - I agree, creating a character with flaws to get extra skills/feats/whatever and then buying items and/or taking feats to nullify said flaws is quite munchy indeed. But if a PC gets a flaw during play, I think trying to find a solution to one's problem is perfectly legitimate.
--------------------
sampi - My thought was, if they meant it the way you say, they would/should have written it "...they allow him to see normally...". The wording is perhaps a bit ambiguous; perhaps we should ask the WizO's to clarify.

In any case, what's not ambiguous (imho) is that the goggles would still grant the wearer darkvision. Something to think about - what would someone with only darkvision see in the day? And would a half-elf with only darkvision be mistaken for a disguised drow? :P

One last thing - I agree with both you and Draco Strang that Zen Atchery would be a good feat to pick up, it's just that Arimis Black was asking about treasure.
------------------------
Speaking of treasure/magic items, here's another couple possibilities for you, Arimis Black:
1. A ring of one wish (I wish I could see again...)
2. The eye of Vecna :eek:
Arimis Black
03-15-05, 01:59 AM just to clarify for those of you that were discussing it, her character was not created blind she was blinded in a battle involving a wish spell, so nothing magical can be done to heal her so were trying to help her by other means

those ideas are great, i'll let her know, please keep ideas coming if you have any more
TheUnknownZombie
03-15-05, 08:40 AM Hear The Unseen - a feat from Complete Adventurer, lets you pinpoint invisible/concealed/unseen enemies as a move action (Listen check required).

Goggles of Night: The lenses of this item are made of dark crystal. Even though the lenses are opaque, when placed over the eyes of the wearer they enable him to see normally and also grant him 60-foot darkvision. Both lenses must be worn for the magic to be effective.
I think the crux of this matter is the lenses are opaque, not transparent. The wearer can see normally despite this, not because. They wouldn't grant any sort of vision to the wearer that they didn't already have (except darkvision, obviously).
okaynowa
03-15-05, 08:54 AM From the SRD:

The character cannot see. He takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class, loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), moves at half speed, and takes a –4 penalty on Search checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Spot checks) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) to the blinded character. Characters who remain blinded for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.

Blindfighting overcomes some of the defensive penalties, but the real problem is that even if your archer makes a successful attack roll against AC, there's a 50% chance she's going to miss anyway due to "concealment." If I were her, I'd work with the DM to develop a Blindfighting "feat tree" to reduce (but not totally eliminate) that penalty.

If you're looking for magic items to help, I'd recommend anything that boosts her Listen checks, or allows something like detect thoughts to locate people. The archer's biggest difficulty is going to be awareness of those distant targets-- perhaps an animated wondrous figurine or semi-sentient ioun stone to act as a "spotter."
Johnny Cache
03-15-05, 05:51 PM Glad to hear it's not a muncher doing a min/max deal. Kudos to your player for sticking with the character despite having a very good reason to retire her.

Perhaps the character might want to go into another class for awhile:
- Six levels of Horizon Walker would allow her to select "Cavernous" as a planar terrain, giving her Tremmorsense.
- Five levels of Dragon Disciple would get her Blindsense, but she might not appreciate the other physical changes.
- Three levels of Psychic Warrior or one of Psion (not prestige classes) would let her select "Feel Light" and/or "Hear Light" as psionic powers.
thinkhard
03-15-05, 06:08 PM being the lazy gamer that i am, if i couldnt yield something to solve the problem right away, i'd make something up. Look at a list of spells, make up a magic item based on them, price it accordingly, then have the player go talk to a wizard to have him make it.

Maybe make the item have some sort of permanent "clairvoyence" cast on it, except instead of it giving the user a vision of some surroundings far away, it gives the wearer a vision of their immediate surroundings.
sampi
03-15-05, 06:45 PM How about using Wish to restore her sight? A good wizard might be glad to do this or maybe sell you a scroll :D
thinkhard
03-16-05, 02:47 PM GAH why didnt i think of this before???? Dont paladins/clerics have Cure Deafness/blindness somewhere? Its gotta be in either exhalted deeds, PHB, or Complete divine.
TheUnknownZombie
03-16-05, 09:03 PM It's in the PHB.
Arimis Black
03-19-05, 06:29 PM good idea but Cure blindness doesn't work if a wish spell was used to make it permanent. She screwed up IC and brought it on herself so the DM doesn't want to just give her her sight back, but he doesn't want to make it impossible for her either.
Arimis Black
03-19-05, 06:30 PM also, where do i find Zen Archery? its not in any of my books.
Creeg
03-19-05, 06:43 PM also, where do i find Zen Archery? its not in any of my books.
Complete Warrior
werewolves of london
03-20-05, 08:19 PM I been feeling rather nice lately so here is a feat from our product The Wilds-There and Back from Black Dagger Game Designs (http://groups.msn.com/BlackDaggerGameDesigns/welcome.msnw)

Jackrabbit Ears [Special Ability]
You hear as well as a Jackrabbit at a range.
Prerequisite: Wis 15, Alertness, 12 ranks in Listen, Jackrabbit as animal companion, familiar or pet living in the wilds.
Benefit: You increase your hearing range to 50 feet in the wilds.
Normal: Your hearing normally is around 30 feet.
Special: Jackrabbit Ears Feat may not be used indoors where the sounds are too subtle or the sounds have set up a feeling of normalcy.
Kursk
03-20-05, 08:58 PM just to clarify for those of you that were discussing it, her character was not created blind she was blinded in a battle involving a wish spell, so nothing magical can be done to heal her so were trying to help her by other means

Have her get another Wish or Miracle spell to undo it. In any really challenging game a blind character is probably going to bite it sooner rather than later...
nova head
03-20-05, 10:27 PM when one of the my chars went deff by a wish the DM ended up making a magic item "earmuffs of poor listening " my char had to make a a saving each time I wanted to listen to something but I dont mind its still fun.
Its really fun when I fail then I can yell "WHAT??" at the person lol.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Arimis Black 03-14-05, 08:52 PM	One of the players in my campaign is playing a Blind half elf archer. does anyone know of any items, artifacts, abilities, etc. that would benifit her? She has already taken both blind fight and blind sight as well as bonuses to listen checks to compensate, but i am looking mostly for things she could get in treasure form to help her. anything else would be very helpful
Draco Strang 03-14-05, 09:02 PM	The "zen archery" feat would fit the concept, uses WIS modifier instead of dex for ranged attacks.
Johnny Cache 03-14-05, 09:08 PM	Here's a direct quote from the SRD:Goggles of Night: The lenses of this item are made of dark crystal. Even though the lenses are opaque, when placed over the eyes of the wearer they enable him to see normally and also grant him 60-foot darkvision. Both lenses must be worn for the magic to be effective. Faint transmutation; CL 3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, darkvision; Price 12,000 gp.
sampi 03-14-05, 09:30 PM	I think that by "normally" they mean what the charcter would normally see, which in this case is nothing... I'd go with the Zen Archery feat Draco suggested.
Gristooth 03-14-05, 09:40 PM	I think there's an item in the Arms and Equipment Guide which gives a person the blindsight ability. I forgot the exact name, but I think it's something like the Blindfold of Utter Darkness. Personally though, I just don't get the concept of playing blind characters. I mean, people take an intentional handicap for their characters and then look for every game mechanic to get around that handicap (by taking feats or magic items or special abilities), which seems to defeat the purpose of taking the handicap in the first place. That's just me though... :)
HomebrewedMonster 03-14-05, 09:51 PM	Blind archer? I'm confused.
Johnny Cache 03-14-05, 10:15 PM	Gristooth - I agree, creating a character with flaws to get extra skills/feats/whatever and then buying items and/or taking feats to nullify said flaws is quite munchy indeed. But if a PC gets a flaw during play, I think trying to find a solution to one's problem is perfectly legitimate. -------------------- sampi - My thought was, if they meant it the way you say, they would/should have written it "...they allow him to see normally...". The wording is perhaps a bit ambiguous; perhaps we should ask the WizO's to clarify. In any case, what's not ambiguous (imho) is that the goggles would still grant the wearer darkvision. Something to think about - what would someone with only darkvision see in the day? And would a half-elf with only darkvision be mistaken for a disguised drow? :P One last thing - I agree with both you and Draco Strang that Zen Atchery would be a good feat to pick up, it's just that Arimis Black was asking about treasure. ------------------------ Speaking of treasure/magic items, here's another couple possibilities for you, Arimis Black: 1. A ring of one wish (I wish I could see again...) 2. The eye of Vecna :eek:
Arimis Black 03-15-05, 01:59 AM	just to clarify for those of you that were discussing it, her character was not created blind she was blinded in a battle involving a wish spell, so nothing magical can be done to heal her so were trying to help her by other means those ideas are great, i'll let her know, please keep ideas coming if you have any more
TheUnknownZombie 03-15-05, 08:40 AM	Hear The Unseen - a feat from Complete Adventurer, lets you pinpoint invisible/concealed/unseen enemies as a move action (Listen check required). Goggles of Night: The lenses of this item are made of dark crystal. Even though the lenses are opaque, when placed over the eyes of the wearer they enable him to see normally and also grant him 60-foot darkvision. Both lenses must be worn for the magic to be effective. I think the crux of this matter is the lenses are opaque, not transparent. The wearer can see normally despite this, not because. They wouldn't grant any sort of vision to the wearer that they didn't already have (except darkvision, obviously).
okaynowa 03-15-05, 08:54 AM	From the SRD: The character cannot see. He takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class, loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), moves at half speed, and takes a –4 penalty on Search checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Spot checks) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) to the blinded character. Characters who remain blinded for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them. Blindfighting overcomes some of the defensive penalties, but the real problem is that even if your archer makes a successful attack roll against AC, there's a 50% chance she's going to miss anyway due to "concealment." If I were her, I'd work with the DM to develop a Blindfighting "feat tree" to reduce (but not totally eliminate) that penalty. If you're looking for magic items to help, I'd recommend anything that boosts her Listen checks, or allows something like detect thoughts to locate people. The archer's biggest difficulty is going to be awareness of those distant targets-- perhaps an animated wondrous figurine or semi-sentient ioun stone to act as a "spotter."
Johnny Cache 03-15-05, 05:51 PM	Glad to hear it's not a muncher doing a min/max deal. Kudos to your player for sticking with the character despite having a very good reason to retire her. Perhaps the character might want to go into another class for awhile: - Six levels of Horizon Walker would allow her to select "Cavernous" as a planar terrain, giving her Tremmorsense. - Five levels of Dragon Disciple would get her Blindsense, but she might not appreciate the other physical changes. - Three levels of Psychic Warrior or one of Psion (not prestige classes) would let her select "Feel Light" and/or "Hear Light" as psionic powers.
thinkhard 03-15-05, 06:08 PM	being the lazy gamer that i am, if i couldnt yield something to solve the problem right away, i'd make something up. Look at a list of spells, make up a magic item based on them, price it accordingly, then have the player go talk to a wizard to have him make it. Maybe make the item have some sort of permanent "clairvoyence" cast on it, except instead of it giving the user a vision of some surroundings far away, it gives the wearer a vision of their immediate surroundings.
sampi 03-15-05, 06:45 PM	How about using Wish to restore her sight? A good wizard might be glad to do this or maybe sell you a scroll :D
thinkhard 03-16-05, 02:47 PM	GAH why didnt i think of this before???? Dont paladins/clerics have Cure Deafness/blindness somewhere? Its gotta be in either exhalted deeds, PHB, or Complete divine.
TheUnknownZombie 03-16-05, 09:03 PM	It's in the PHB.
Arimis Black 03-19-05, 06:29 PM	good idea but Cure blindness doesn't work if a wish spell was used to make it permanent. She screwed up IC and brought it on herself so the DM doesn't want to just give her her sight back, but he doesn't want to make it impossible for her either.
Arimis Black 03-19-05, 06:30 PM	also, where do i find Zen Archery? its not in any of my books.
Creeg 03-19-05, 06:43 PM	also, where do i find Zen Archery? its not in any of my books. Complete Warrior
werewolves of london 03-20-05, 08:19 PM	I been feeling rather nice lately so here is a feat from our product The Wilds-There and Back from Black Dagger Game Designs (http://groups.msn.com/BlackDaggerGameDesigns/welcome.msnw) Jackrabbit Ears [Special Ability] You hear as well as a Jackrabbit at a range. Prerequisite: Wis 15, Alertness, 12 ranks in Listen, Jackrabbit as animal companion, familiar or pet living in the wilds. Benefit: You increase your hearing range to 50 feet in the wilds. Normal: Your hearing normally is around 30 feet. Special: Jackrabbit Ears Feat may not be used indoors where the sounds are too subtle or the sounds have set up a feeling of normalcy.
Kursk 03-20-05, 08:58 PM	just to clarify for those of you that were discussing it, her character was not created blind she was blinded in a battle involving a wish spell, so nothing magical can be done to heal her so were trying to help her by other means Have her get another Wish or Miracle spell to undo it. In any really challenging game a blind character is probably going to bite it sooner rather than later...
nova head 03-20-05, 10:27 PM	when one of the my chars went deff by a wish the DM ended up making a magic item "earmuffs of poor listening " my char had to make a a saving each time I wanted to listen to something but I dont mind its still fun. Its really fun when I fail then I can yell "WHAT??" at the person lol.