How to beat a crafty NPC [Archive] - Wizards Community

How to beat a crafty NPC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
MazrimTaem
02-19-06, 02:25 PM My DM has hinted about a particularly crafty NPC now I'm starting to see signs that this NPC has arrived in our campaign. I play the wizard and it is usually up to me to come up with how to deal with troublesome encounters, but I'm kinda stumped. The character is as follows:

A Bard Spymaster (C.Adv) maxed out, a hard to get character to begin with

Here's where it gets weird, he's accompanied by an awakened flea wizard on his shoulder. This allows spellcasting coming seemingly from no where.

I'm sure there are reasons why this character cannot exist, but fact of the matter is that in our campaign he does and I need help dealing with him and discerning his strengths and weaknessess.
Sikyanakotik
02-19-06, 03:30 PM Awakened flea? Casting spells? That is wrong on so many levels that isn't even funny. :confused:

However, I'm pretty certain a flea would have a horrible Constitution score, and wizards most certainly have pitiful hitpoints. One good Fireball should reduce Mr. Rule 0 Abuse into a blot of chitonous vapour. :D

If not, there's probably nothing you can do against him. The DM had to break quite a few rules to get him to exist in the first place, so he might just break a few more to keep him alive.
Andorxor
02-19-06, 03:51 PM Have you the means to awake fleas yourself?If yes,you coould train your own flea adventurer team,to attack the spymaster and his flea.
KhalaKyRelai
02-19-06, 04:09 PM Sikyanakotik's right. An AoE spell or possibly even an item should do the trick.
Otherwise, you're doomed.
One good Fireball should reduce Mr. Rule 0 Abuse into a blot of chitonous vapour. :D Chitinous vapor? How will he retain his chitinousness if he becomes vapor? :P
Secrets Untold
02-19-06, 04:23 PM "Blot" and "vapor" just don't mix.
kraegor
02-19-06, 05:57 PM Introduce to the campaign "Mr. Spider Monkey"

Watch as he skillfully climbs up the NPC's body and without hesitation, pops the flea into his mouth and bites down.

End of wizard flea.
Sikyanakotik
02-19-06, 06:08 PM Chitinous vapor? How will he retain his chitinousness if he becomes vapor? :P
Because chitin is the primary component of the flea's exoskeleton. The byproducts of the combustion of said chitin would therefore account for most of the resultant blot of smoke, of course! :D

Oh, and thanks. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/Sikyanakotik/koboldgrin.gif
MazrimTaem
02-19-06, 06:57 PM Awaken my own flea adventuring team...or perhaps spider monkeys...turn my DM's dirty tactics agains him??? YES!!! YES!!! Excellent plan.

Just two problems though...
1 How to gain in-game knowledge of the existance of the wizard and...
2 How to zero in on the Spymaster
feartheinvinceblehamster
02-19-06, 07:20 PM My DM has hinted about a particularly crafty NPC now I'm starting to see signs that this NPC has arrived in our campaign. I play the wizard and it is usually up to me to come up with how to deal with troublesome encounters, but I'm kinda stumped. The character is as follows:

A Bard Spymaster (C.Adv) maxed out, a hard to get character to begin with

Here's where it gets weird, he's accompanied by an awakened flea wizard on his shoulder. This allows spellcasting coming seemingly from no where.

I'm sure there are reasons why this character cannot exist, but fact of the matter is that in our campaign he does and I need help dealing with him and discerning his strengths and weaknessess.

There is no valid reason an awakened flea wizard cannot exist. Besides a presumably to low intelligence score.
pmurray@bigpond.com
02-20-06, 02:35 AM Have you the means to awake fleas yourself?If yes,you coould train your own flea adventurer team,to attack the spymaster and his flea.
You guys could even play it out: a separate but parallel adventure of yourselves as a band of fleas hunting down a rogue flea in the sweaty crevices of the bad guy's undergarments.
NotBruce
02-20-06, 02:42 AM well the flea could be an polymorphed tiny wizard (recalibrate the polymorph spell for tiny creatures(but you would need to use the old 3.0 rules for the polymorph). but yea any AOE should do the trick, unless the flea also has a evasion (if you are going to a crazy creature why stop at spell casting, add a few lvls of rogue and go arcane trickster, but that would be plain mean,(I will need to remember that one for the next time I DM :evillaugh ))

this reminds me of the time I played a psion and was killed and the druid revived me in to an eagle. And from then on it was much fun to be had in the forest :devil: (this is also thing that I have done in a few games)
Andorxor
02-20-06, 06:55 AM here is no valid reason an awakened flea wizard cannot exist. Besides a presumably to low intelligence score.
I think the lifespan of 1 1/2 years would be a problem too.He would be dead before he has learned to read.
feartheinvinceblehamster
02-20-06, 09:57 AM I think the lifespan of 1 1/2 years would be a problem too.He would be dead before he has learned to read.

okay...that's one flaw. Maybe awaken extends the critters life too?
Feor
02-20-06, 10:37 AM As for figureing out that the flea exists, I suggest a spellcraft check to identify exactly where the spell effect is coming from, followed by a spot check to spy the little bugger.
MazrimTaem
02-20-06, 10:41 AM Maybe when he was awakend he was laying next to a copy of "How to become a lich in just two weeks" written in Flea-bonics!!
feartheinvinceblehamster
02-20-06, 12:06 PM ^

so now it's an awakened flea lich wizard? this gets more and more disturbing every post.
BardicEvil
02-20-06, 12:34 PM becoming a lich would've taken spells that were probably beyond the little neonate caster's ability.

Now a necropolitan spellcaster flea on the other hand...

Who worships the deity of undeath...

And has taken levels of druid, just so that he can awaken other fleas and sacrifice them to his dark god in exchange for power and the services of a flea-succubus...

Now that would be a GM toy. :)
Freedom
02-20-06, 01:54 PM I think the lifespan of 1 1/2 years would be a problem too.He would be dead before he has learned to read.

I have to admit I feel a little silly even adding to this thread, but this is an interesting point. The Awaken spell (side note: only works on animals and trees, and the flea is a vermin) grants the creature sentience, and one of the main characteristics of sentience is an awareness of one's own mortality. If the flea has enough intelligence to be a caster, it could certainly look back on its life as a flea and realize that he only has a few months to live. Given that the awakened creature has no particular empathy or connection with the caster that created it, I highly doubt it would be happy to spend its short time alive being some spy's lackey.

Another thing to consider is that Awaken is a Druid only spell, and to assume that some Druid awakened such a creature on behalf of a person who only wanted to use it as a tool is highly suspect.

Also, the flea's movement rate - while fast for a bug of its size - can't be any faster than 5 feet every 2 rounds and its senses don't extend far enough to grant it a line of effect for targeting spells very much farther than something it is sitting on. The amount of logistical problems being ignored in this situation is staggering.

Christ I feel like a dork now.
Atar
02-21-06, 02:59 PM Hmmm, I'm surprised noone has mentioned this... But Detect Thoughts (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectThoughts.htm) should help you out. In your second round you detect the presence of this 'other' mind. Which is notably stronger than most others around, if you'd be worried about that (a wizard needs a decent Int score after all). This would give you an IC reason to cast Detect Magic and locate the little bugger in the same place as his master. Since your NPC is a caster aswell as the bard / spymaster it should be fairly obvious that the other mind is a caster that is somewhere near him, if not on him (you detected two mind, one stronger than the other. Then you detect two casters, in the same place). As soon as your character realizes this, ask for a spot check or simply point the fact out.
'Hey! You've brought along some friend (or foe) we haven't met. Would you mind very much if you introduce him?'

Remember that its probaly some plot thing you've just not fully grasped yet, so don't draw those weapons as soon as you find out he has a flea companion. I'd advise to play along or find out in secret. Your DM might not like the meta-gaming aspect of you figuring this out and then translating it into your character. I use meta-gaming as a loose term here, your character should be able to figure it out himself. But since your DM hasn't given you the oppertunity to do so, the subject of meta-gaming might arise since you are suddenly casting two rather specific Detect spells while in his NPC's presence.

Still, its possible to find out about the flea companion and hell, if either of these two NPC's fail their willsave on the Detect Thoughts spell it will be rather obvious whats their agenda :D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
MazrimTaem 02-19-06, 02:25 PM	My DM has hinted about a particularly crafty NPC now I'm starting to see signs that this NPC has arrived in our campaign. I play the wizard and it is usually up to me to come up with how to deal with troublesome encounters, but I'm kinda stumped. The character is as follows: A Bard Spymaster (C.Adv) maxed out, a hard to get character to begin with Here's where it gets weird, he's accompanied by an awakened flea wizard on his shoulder. This allows spellcasting coming seemingly from no where. I'm sure there are reasons why this character cannot exist, but fact of the matter is that in our campaign he does and I need help dealing with him and discerning his strengths and weaknessess.
Sikyanakotik 02-19-06, 03:30 PM	Awakened flea? Casting spells? That is wrong on so many levels that isn't even funny. :confused: However, I'm pretty certain a flea would have a horrible Constitution score, and wizards most certainly have pitiful hitpoints. One good Fireball should reduce Mr. Rule 0 Abuse into a blot of chitonous vapour. :D If not, there's probably nothing you can do against him. The DM had to break quite a few rules to get him to exist in the first place, so he might just break a few more to keep him alive.
Andorxor 02-19-06, 03:51 PM	Have you the means to awake fleas yourself?If yes,you coould train your own flea adventurer team,to attack the spymaster and his flea.
KhalaKyRelai 02-19-06, 04:09 PM	Sikyanakotik's right. An AoE spell or possibly even an item should do the trick. Otherwise, you're doomed. One good Fireball should reduce Mr. Rule 0 Abuse into a blot of chitonous vapour. :D Chitinous vapor? How will he retain his chitinousness if he becomes vapor? :P
Secrets Untold 02-19-06, 04:23 PM	"Blot" and "vapor" just don't mix.
kraegor 02-19-06, 05:57 PM	Introduce to the campaign "Mr. Spider Monkey" Watch as he skillfully climbs up the NPC's body and without hesitation, pops the flea into his mouth and bites down. End of wizard flea.
Sikyanakotik 02-19-06, 06:08 PM	Chitinous vapor? How will he retain his chitinousness if he becomes vapor? :P Because chitin is the primary component of the flea's exoskeleton. The byproducts of the combustion of said chitin would therefore account for most of the resultant blot of smoke, of course! :D Oh, and thanks. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/Sikyanakotik/koboldgrin.gif
MazrimTaem 02-19-06, 06:57 PM	Awaken my own flea adventuring team...or perhaps spider monkeys...turn my DM's dirty tactics agains him??? YES!!! YES!!! Excellent plan. Just two problems though... 1 How to gain in-game knowledge of the existance of the wizard and... 2 How to zero in on the Spymaster
feartheinvinceblehamster 02-19-06, 07:20 PM	My DM has hinted about a particularly crafty NPC now I'm starting to see signs that this NPC has arrived in our campaign. I play the wizard and it is usually up to me to come up with how to deal with troublesome encounters, but I'm kinda stumped. The character is as follows: A Bard Spymaster (C.Adv) maxed out, a hard to get character to begin with Here's where it gets weird, he's accompanied by an awakened flea wizard on his shoulder. This allows spellcasting coming seemingly from no where. I'm sure there are reasons why this character cannot exist, but fact of the matter is that in our campaign he does and I need help dealing with him and discerning his strengths and weaknessess. There is no valid reason an awakened flea wizard cannot exist. Besides a presumably to low intelligence score.
pmurray@bigpond.com 02-20-06, 02:35 AM	Have you the means to awake fleas yourself?If yes,you coould train your own flea adventurer team,to attack the spymaster and his flea. You guys could even play it out: a separate but parallel adventure of yourselves as a band of fleas hunting down a rogue flea in the sweaty crevices of the bad guy's undergarments.
NotBruce 02-20-06, 02:42 AM	well the flea could be an polymorphed tiny wizard (recalibrate the polymorph spell for tiny creatures(but you would need to use the old 3.0 rules for the polymorph). but yea any AOE should do the trick, unless the flea also has a evasion (if you are going to a crazy creature why stop at spell casting, add a few lvls of rogue and go arcane trickster, but that would be plain mean,(I will need to remember that one for the next time I DM :evillaugh )) this reminds me of the time I played a psion and was killed and the druid revived me in to an eagle. And from then on it was much fun to be had in the forest :devil: (this is also thing that I have done in a few games)
Andorxor 02-20-06, 06:55 AM	here is no valid reason an awakened flea wizard cannot exist. Besides a presumably to low intelligence score. I think the lifespan of 1 1/2 years would be a problem too.He would be dead before he has learned to read.
feartheinvinceblehamster 02-20-06, 09:57 AM	I think the lifespan of 1 1/2 years would be a problem too.He would be dead before he has learned to read. okay...that's one flaw. Maybe awaken extends the critters life too?
Feor 02-20-06, 10:37 AM	As for figureing out that the flea exists, I suggest a spellcraft check to identify exactly where the spell effect is coming from, followed by a spot check to spy the little bugger.
MazrimTaem 02-20-06, 10:41 AM	Maybe when he was awakend he was laying next to a copy of "How to become a lich in just two weeks" written in Flea-bonics!!
feartheinvinceblehamster 02-20-06, 12:06 PM	^ so now it's an awakened flea lich wizard? this gets more and more disturbing every post.
BardicEvil 02-20-06, 12:34 PM	becoming a lich would've taken spells that were probably beyond the little neonate caster's ability. Now a necropolitan spellcaster flea on the other hand... Who worships the deity of undeath... And has taken levels of druid, just so that he can awaken other fleas and sacrifice them to his dark god in exchange for power and the services of a flea-succubus... Now that would be a GM toy. :)
Freedom 02-20-06, 01:54 PM	I think the lifespan of 1 1/2 years would be a problem too.He would be dead before he has learned to read. I have to admit I feel a little silly even adding to this thread, but this is an interesting point. The Awaken spell (side note: only works on animals and trees, and the flea is a vermin) grants the creature sentience, and one of the main characteristics of sentience is an awareness of one's own mortality. If the flea has enough intelligence to be a caster, it could certainly look back on its life as a flea and realize that he only has a few months to live. Given that the awakened creature has no particular empathy or connection with the caster that created it, I highly doubt it would be happy to spend its short time alive being some spy's lackey. Another thing to consider is that Awaken is a Druid only spell, and to assume that some Druid awakened such a creature on behalf of a person who only wanted to use it as a tool is highly suspect. Also, the flea's movement rate - while fast for a bug of its size - can't be any faster than 5 feet every 2 rounds and its senses don't extend far enough to grant it a line of effect for targeting spells very much farther than something it is sitting on. The amount of logistical problems being ignored in this situation is staggering. Christ I feel like a dork now.
Atar 02-21-06, 02:59 PM	Hmmm, I'm surprised noone has mentioned this... But Detect Thoughts (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectThoughts.htm) should help you out. In your second round you detect the presence of this 'other' mind. Which is notably stronger than most others around, if you'd be worried about that (a wizard needs a decent Int score after all). This would give you an IC reason to cast Detect Magic and locate the little bugger in the same place as his master. Since your NPC is a caster aswell as the bard / spymaster it should be fairly obvious that the other mind is a caster that is somewhere near him, if not on him (you detected two mind, one stronger than the other. Then you detect two casters, in the same place). As soon as your character realizes this, ask for a spot check or simply point the fact out. 'Hey! You've brought along some friend (or foe) we haven't met. Would you mind very much if you introduce him?' Remember that its probaly some plot thing you've just not fully grasped yet, so don't draw those weapons as soon as you find out he has a flea companion. I'd advise to play along or find out in secret. Your DM might not like the meta-gaming aspect of you figuring this out and then translating it into your character. I use meta-gaming as a loose term here, your character should be able to figure it out himself. But since your DM hasn't given you the oppertunity to do so, the subject of meta-gaming might arise since you are suddenly casting two rather specific Detect spells while in his NPC's presence. Still, its possible to find out about the flea companion and hell, if either of these two NPC's fail their willsave on the Detect Thoughts spell it will be rather obvious whats their agenda :D