Trap the Soul
Trap the Soul
Conjuration (Summoning)
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S, M, (F); see text
Casting Time: 1 standard action or see text
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: Permanent; see text
Saving Throw: See text
Spell Resistance: Yes; see text
Trap the soul forces a creature’s life force (and its material body) into a gem. The gem holds the trapped entity indefinitely or until the gem is broken and the life force is released, which allows the material body to reform. If the trapped creature is a powerful creature from another plane it can be required to perform a service immediately upon being freed. Otherwise, the creature can go free once the gem imprisoning it is broken.
Depending on the version selected, the spell can be triggered in one of two ways.
Spell Completion
First, the spell can be completed by speaking its final word as a standard action as if you were casting a regular spell at the subject. This allows spell resistance (if any) and a Will save to avoid the effect. If the creature’s name is spoken as well, any spell resistance is ignored and the save DC increases by 2. If the save or spell resistance is successful, the gem shatters.
Trigger Object
The second method is far more insidious, for it tricks the subject into accepting a trigger object inscribed with the final spell word, automatically placing the creature’s soul in the trap. To use this method, both the creature’s name and the trigger word must be inscribed on the trigger object when the gem is enspelled. A sympathy spell can also be placed on the trigger object. As soon as the subject picks up or accepts the trigger object, its life force is automatically transferred to the gem without the benefit of spell resistance or a save.
Material Component
Before the actual casting of trap the soul, you must procure a gem of at least 1,000 gp value for every Hit Die possessed by the creature to be trapped. If the gem is not valuable enough, it shatters when the entrapment is attempted. (While creatures have no concept of level or Hit Dice as such, the value of the gem needed to trap an individual can be researched. Remember that this value can change over time as creatures gain more Hit Dice.)
Focus (Trigger Object Only)
If the trigger object method is used, a special trigger object, prepared as described above, is needed.
Conjuration (Summoning)
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S, M, (F); see text
Casting Time: 1 standard action or see text
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: Permanent; see text
Saving Throw: See text
Spell Resistance: Yes; see text
Trap the soul forces a creature’s life force (and its material body) into a gem. The gem holds the trapped entity indefinitely or until the gem is broken and the life force is released, which allows the material body to reform. If the trapped creature is a powerful creature from another plane it can be required to perform a service immediately upon being freed. Otherwise, the creature can go free once the gem imprisoning it is broken.
Depending on the version selected, the spell can be triggered in one of two ways.
Spell Completion
First, the spell can be completed by speaking its final word as a standard action as if you were casting a regular spell at the subject. This allows spell resistance (if any) and a Will save to avoid the effect. If the creature’s name is spoken as well, any spell resistance is ignored and the save DC increases by 2. If the save or spell resistance is successful, the gem shatters.
Trigger Object
The second method is far more insidious, for it tricks the subject into accepting a trigger object inscribed with the final spell word, automatically placing the creature’s soul in the trap. To use this method, both the creature’s name and the trigger word must be inscribed on the trigger object when the gem is enspelled. A sympathy spell can also be placed on the trigger object. As soon as the subject picks up or accepts the trigger object, its life force is automatically transferred to the gem without the benefit of spell resistance or a save.
Material Component
Before the actual casting of trap the soul, you must procure a gem of at least 1,000 gp value for every Hit Die possessed by the creature to be trapped. If the gem is not valuable enough, it shatters when the entrapment is attempted. (While creatures have no concept of level or Hit Dice as such, the value of the gem needed to trap an individual can be researched. Remember that this value can change over time as creatures gain more Hit Dice.)
Focus (Trigger Object Only)
If the trigger object method is used, a special trigger object, prepared as described above, is needed.
Oh, you meant in the game, never mind.
Or Summon Undead III to get a ghoul and have that eat it.
BBQ sause, and about 15 minutes a pound at 350 and a large appetite.
I like your thinking. :D
-Fire works well, a large bonfire and burn it to ashes. Magical fire spells could be used to destroy a corpse as well. Alchemist fires and acid could work as well. Scatter the ashes
-A wizard could just cast Disintergrate, that would do it.
-Feeding it to something is possible, you would need a creature that could easily consume the entire body though. A gelentous cube would be useful as they would disolve the bones as well. you could summon a goul to eat it as suggested. But that still leaves the bones, which also need to be destroyed
-Dismembering the body, put the pieces into a bag of holding and then place the bag of holding inside of another bag of holding for the win. Bit expensive and risky though.
With no real access to fire, magics or creatures to eat it then you may have to get more desperate:
-Use hammers, clubs etc to hammer the corpse into a fine liquid mush. This could be then dumped into a large body of water, or failing that dig a large hole and mix it with the dirt.
Until you can destroy the body sufficiently, tie it up,take out it's eyes, remove it's tongue, blindfold and gag it. No better yet, dismember the body and secure each peice seperately, nail the hands to a board, so they can't grab anyone. Also blind it and remove the tongue then blindfold and gag the head. This way even if it comes back to life it won't posea threat.
If you need to destroy the soul (Because of True Rez issues) I suggest finding a Barghest and feeding him to it. It should eat the guys soul. Planar Binding should be able to get you one so it's way lower level then Trap the Soul. Just be sure to mess with probability to make that 50% chance a 100% chance.
Another fine way of trapping the guys soul (without actually messing with trap the soul) is to turn him into an undead under your command. I'd make it a zombie so it doesn't think about betraying you, or about anything at all really. If you're worried about his friends finding it make it a skeleton and hide it in the Negative Elemental Plane. Or your safe deposit box.
Eat it. Seriously.
Or Summon Undead III to get a ghoul and have that eat it.
Awwww, I was gonna suggest this
Don't stand near it though.
-Reanimation does not block or hedge out a soul. Just violates the corpse. Evil too as is aiding and abetting a ghoul I woudl think. Pretty macabre, but clever.
-Apothecary should have sufficient acids and basic goodies for dissolving. Leather workers/paper makers have a ton of this stuff, lye especially. Very caustic.
-Flesh to Stone? Pulzerize then seperate I guess. Other transmutations.
-Plane Shift it (if affordable/accessible) to hostile environment
-Pig Farmer. ;) Of course you don't wanna' go sifting around through pig sh-t now, do ya?
I had a question concerning about what to do with the body of an enemy we recently killed. My group and I are currently playing a 3.5 edition game and one of the evil guys we were up against was an insane half-dragon blighter. Story wise, we have to find some way to utterly destroy the body and/or trap the soul so as the blighter cannot come back later but our DM left it up to us to find a way and my group can't think of anything. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated
Poor Man's Trap The Soul.
Buy a Bag of Holding I, put the body inside, and shove a dagger through it.
EDIT: Ah nuts - was beaten to it, kinda. Touche, pfunked.
The correct answer to your problem is "fire". if fire doesn't solve your problem, you're not using enough of it.
disintigrate is a personal favorite, tho its better put to use on the bad guy BEFORE he's dead
But easier to hit AFTER he's dead.
-Pig Farmer. ;) Of course you don't wanna' go sifting around through pig sh-t now, do ya?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was thinking of "Snatch" in this thread
Remove the hair and teeth *before* feeding the body to the pigs, because...well because of what 1 ton ghost said 
step two bag of holding type one because phylactery are very light and small, and portable whole, or sell it off to a high priest of pelor/insert good aligned super deity here.
the result of this will be that there is no body for the phylactery to regrow hence he does not come back as a lich, and he cannot come back as anything else, this also means that you don't have to find the spell trap soul which you can't learn till level 15th level, but wizards can become liches as early as 11th level so by the time you can cast 6th level spells the problem can be solved, now then the only problem with having it as a phylactery is that you have to keep bad guys from getting it otherwise they might be able to use true res and bring him back, but with his soul trapped in a phylactery that doesn't work at all. so if you feel confident enough in leaving it floating in a big mostly empty plane of existence that is a good solution, the other means that it is now protected by a powerful good aligned God with the income to summon forth/ pay for, heros to come and either protect the item and a large pile of other items that should never fall into the hands of evil, from doing just that.
Although a lot of the other ideas are pretty good mine just involves a smaller bag of holding.
Now, the easiest way to start is by taking the head off at the fourth caudal ver...
Oh, wait, dispose of a body in the GAME? Ohhh, sorry, silly me.
We tend to leave bodies where they fall.
Or, if you REALLY need to hide it, cram it into a sack with some rocks and drop it in a moat/river/lake/well.
Burn it or dissolve it in acid.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was thinking of "Snatch" in this thread
Heh, nice/respect.
I still love Bricktop walking in nonchalantly while they're hefting the cadavre, "Hope this is not a bad moment..." That's good black comedy IMO.
Reminds me of Vincent & Jules in the theoretical scene ("Pulp Fiction") where they're moving Marvin's corpse, sans head, and Bonnie comes in unexpectantly, Vince turns around in an OMG moment, gasping
. Enter: "The Wolf" (H. Keitel). Not that there's no throw-away car and compactor dynamic in Faerun or Eberron, but a "cleaner" in light of this like The Wolf, should be a real boon to any assassin type demographic. More than 1 body was discretely disposed of in a wagon or cart that accidentally caught fire, immolating the corpse. It has enough plausible deniability, particularly when mitigating its payload (hay, thatch, lamp oil, whatever). And it's not like CSI: Waterdeep ;) is gonna' note, "Hey, no smoke in the lungs." That's too bold. There are only so many ranks you can put in Heal (autopsy), you know?
Anyway, I suppose some considerations are in order for discrete killings/dmg control:
-Particularly gruesome kills, apart from the body of evidence, leave a fair amount of clues, ie)blood all over the room/PCs/etc (Marvin's grey matter in hair/Franky 4-Fingers & missing arm, etc). Slashing dmg particularly is more telling. This has been mitigated a few times in a few of my sessions, particularly during contract killings where stealth & expediency are more attractive than raw dmg output. A death attack w/ a rapier to the neck is probably gonna' be easier to negotiate than a greatsword decapitation.
Typically, Prestidigate (Clean) tidies up a crime scene/PC quickly/efficietly. That cantrip has a zillion & 1 uses, see Tome and Blood. Necromantic or negative energy magics might fit the bill too.
-Leaving your own blood/hair/DNA, etc at the crime scene is a major leg up to the investigator. Plus, it's one Hell of a link for Scry. Again, clean up. This is often why we'd infiltrate a home pre wetwork, find the mark's cameo, grooming area, etc; swipe a hairbrush, used healing implements (bloody gauze, etc), used condom/tampon (I know, I know, DNA :rolleyes
or equivalents, anything to lower the Will Save per link on Scry for better intel to improve our chances of assassination later. A rushed or unplanned job is likely to have a Snatch/Pulp Fiction moment.Having done this, later, you can dovetail the final execution easier so you don't have to worry as much about disposing of said corpse, etc. Plus, it might make the killing easier (preferable to attack in prefered environment, time of day, target asleep or flat-footed, etc). Endless possibilities.
-Speak w/ Dead; don't leave the head or give them no reason to employ spell. If the hit looks like a natural causes/accident, so be it.
-Like our own legal system in many "civilized" ;) areas in game, no body = no murder.
-Another coincidence; "Point of No Return" (American remake of "La Femme Nikita"), Harvey Keitel (again, hmm) plays a cleaner. Shows up w/ judicious acids to dispose of body in the bathtub. This should be noted in that it's not going to break down into a fortune of PHB's Acid, Flask thereof as lesser combat worthy ones, a higher pH (lower price?) over time, should do the trick. Now, usually only the nobility/gentry class would have bathtubs, so, factor that in as well. Otherwise, you could dump them down the privy I suppose. High degree of bacteria will break down a corpse very fast. Feces, urine, vomitous can mask decay fairly easilly as well.
-Animal/monsters eat remains; chumming the water (coastal/tropics) to draw out sharks/gators/etc may help. Ghouls/Trolls will eat nearly anything too, despite how rancid/putrid it may be. Intelligent critters can be destroyed after feeding to prevent any further investigation/divine magics betraying disposal. Plus a little extra XP in the pocket never hurt anyone, no?
-Nature takes it's course; depends on climate. A body in the tropics open to the elements, will be reduced to skeletal remains in about 1 week. Similar time in deserts. More time in cooler regions, etc. A frozen body is also easilly dismembered w/out mess for orderly disposal as well.
-Teleport it & killers out. Once dead, it's an "object", not a person, hence no Save or persons transported spell limitation. This will give you way more downtime/flexibility to figure out what to do if rushed.
-Gentle Repose. Is there an opposite if you will? Putrify Body etc? I could've sworn there was a lower lvl spell that facilitates decomposition w/out busting out high lvl magics (Disintegrate), etc. I know there is a magic item or 2 that reduces a body to dust to prevent future reanimation and the like.
There are only so many ranks you can put in Heal (autopsy), you know?
Shouldn't that be Profession(Coroner)?
Side Effects: ten minutes after dinner little Joey declares "Help! I'm Posessed!" and all hell breaks loose.
Shouldn't that be Profession(Coroner)?
One could make an arguement for that I suppose were there actual coroners in said era, proto-renaissance or otherwise. Still, I like where your head's at.
Even by the Old West, post Civil War (U.S.), they were more or less just undertakers in normal towns, while real doctors and surgeons in more prestigious spheres of influence might take up that mantle. Still, largely subsumed under "Heal" I'd wager. Coroner though, is way the Hell more advanced in terms of science & tech than what a typical D&D campaign would afford.
Closest approximation IMO, uh, Profession Mortician? Largely this would flirt w/ some of Heal's tenets then stray into embalming, cleansing, cosmetics (death masks, annoitings, etc) & minor reconstruction (nothing fancy, sutures, reattaching some limbs, etc), maybe simple organ removals & examinations ala autopsy & necropsy, but not so in depth.
Still, largely hamstrung by the working tech & knowledge of the alleged time; no gas spectrometers, microscopes, DNA labs, all the bells and whistles that punch up prime time cop shows now a' days basically. Only good recourse that is actually telling is probably the province of necromancy & divination. Seriously, a typical thug probably won't realize w/out Spellcraft that a Speak w/ Dead can solve a cold case easilly, "Who killed you?"
Bam, open and shut murder, straight to arrest then sentencing...
I guess Heal gets the sh-t end of the stick often enough and I encourage creative initiative w/ it for alot of PCs. It's kind of an all encompassing (kinda' fake IRL) mechanic that should definetly be used for more than just poisonings, HP, disease, etc. You'd be amazed how it's been used:
-Basic autopsy to discern stomach contents of person/monster 'x' often sheds light into past whereabouts, prefered prey, things like that. Often enough to prompt a Knowledge ____ check to provide some tactical clue later. This can often be parleyed w/ Survival and the like nicely.
-Further autopsy/necropsy for specific tissue/organ extraction; there's been many a wyvern for example, that was felled, then quickly set upon w/ a healer & healer's kit in an attempt to excise the venom sac (poison stinger), then Gentle Repose(d), for future resale or Craft Poisonmaking refining later. Just look at the sticker price. It's staggering. However, I levy physical dmg delt, possible recovery (it's not always a given), etc. There is no automatic profitable monster strategy that works 100% of the time. Takes careful/realistic DM'ing I guess.
-Mid fight, many PCs have used it to establish a crude guess as to the enemy's current HP to abjucate tactical resources in defeat/victory. ie)If it's almost dead, should I not waste spell 'x' then? Of course, having a good working knowledge on the monster's HD/HP range beforehand w/ the relevant Knowledge ____ check gives you a jump point to shoot from.
-As it pertains to this thread (sorry if I've derailed, I mean no disrespect), it might possibly provide useful clues as to dumping a body, etc.
etc. etc. Only really limited by one's creativity. Sadly, far too many players only see what's laid before them in a PHB and think, "It's this and only this" when realistically, it's often (not always) much more. They are only taking what's served before them and not realizing the kitchen is fully stocked, if that doesn't sound too cliche'. Guess it depends on how hungry (motivated/creative) you are and what is reasonable, w/in game balance, and actionable.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated
Ressurect him and have him draw from a Deck of Many Things.
Past that, the whole animate as a zombie thing works as earlier described - at least it keeps him from being resurrected. Remember, destroying the body is irrelevant, because True Resurrection doesn't require even a speck of the original body, just an accurate description of the creature, and your DM might be counting on that. So, like I said, Keeper's fang or unnaming.
Or Barghest, I forgot someone mentioned that.
Cast a Charnel Fire spell (Book of Vile Darkness) on the body. It will completely consume the body with no hope of resurrection. It is an evil spell, yes (the source didn't give it away?), but it works. Way easier than most of the convoluted suggestions in here.
Cheers! :P
Otherwise, you could dump them down the privy I suppose. High degree of bacteria will break down a corpse very fast. Feces, urine, vomitous can mask decay fairly easilly as well.
-Animal/monsters eat remains
Otyugh, anyone?
Otyugh, anyone?
I was gonna suggest pigs, but otyugs have the fantasy feel.
Cast a Charnel Fire spell (Book of Vile Darkness) on the body. It will completely consume the body with no hope of resurrection. It is an evil spell, yes (the source didn't give it away?), but it works. Way easier than most of the convoluted suggestions in here.
Good idea, but not a [Good] idea, you know?
Unsure of the spell level or accessibility too. Not even sure what the OP's parameter's are in terms of PC lvl, resources, target, etc., but often, yeah, the simplest solution is the correct one I guess.
Of course, the obvious issue, are you willing to become evil? And if you're good, well, the casting is right out anyway. IDK, might be worth it.
To be fair, murdering ppl and dumping bodies isn't exactly noble, you know?
Entropy_Judge: Otyugh, anyone?
Hmm, yeah, food for thought... ;)
Other weirdo corpse removal ideas:
How much is a Bag of Devouring?
What happens when a druid Shape Changes into a size appropriate critter and consumes the body of evidence? And then, when they change back?
What happens when a druid Shape Changes into a size appropriate critter and consumes the body of evidence? And then, when they change back?
I'm sure it would work, as long as the druid in question has no qualms about semi-cannibalism and/or eating the remains of sentient beings.
I just realized something about the Otyugh - depending on the person you want removed, it could even be construed as an accident! Ex: Guy is a rival adventurer that is the only other person who knows the location of a hidden vault; have a third party hire him to deal with a sewer-dwelling otyugh, kill him, and feed him to the otyugh, while you come by 'later' and kill it. Poof - you're now a hero.
You just stumbled onto one of the older, more tried and true methods. Nj. I can't remember the specific name for said trick, but it's a classic. More than just a double cross, there's a name to this strategy/dupe. Sorry I can't recall. Many movies, books, TV programs have employed it in varying forms. Can't miss.
I'm sure it would work, as long as the druid in question has no qualms about semi-cannibalism and/or eating the remains of sentient beings.
Well, it's "all natural", heh. None of that processed food city folk always eat. Justification is always a tricky prospect, but some animals in the wild kingdom do eat their own, some more primitive tribal demographics as well, etc etc., but we're getting into some weird metaphysical territory I suppose when a man isn't a man (animal), eats another man as assumed critter, then reverts. IDK, baffeling. Large animals, dinosaurs, whatever qualifies, right?
My concern was the gastro-intestinal issue mechanically speaking. Do stomach contents blur into that shifting gray area like gear and armor during transition? Would that 170 lb man, not so much a problem when you're a polar bear, become, eh, more than a mouthful when you assume true identity? ie)Do you explode in a shower of mixed organs?
Eyes bigger than your stomach and all that jazz...;)
My concern was the gastro-intestinal issue mechanically speaking. Do stomach contents blur into that shifting gray area like gear and armor during transition?
Which is why I'm fairly sure it would work - D&D is not a medical drama, so a DM would have to house-rule it for it to be a problem. I mean, high level druids can eventually shift into Elementals, right? And a dragon's brain (for example) is bigger than some people, but there's no issue there. Ergo, there's no reason why it wouldn't work.
quoted "What happens when a druid Shape Changes into a size appropriate critter and consumes the body of evidence? And then, when they change back?"
I'm sure it would work, as long as the druid in question has no qualms about semi-cannibalism and/or eating the remains of sentient beings.
Well the reverse presedent is that a body that has been reduced in size by polymorphic powers will revert to it's orriginal form and size. The most prolific example is that of injesting a giant who is polymorphed into something the size of a grape, upon which the spell ends and the giant returns to orriginal size and bursting the swallower.
upon the end of any polymorphing, shapeshifting or size changing spells all effected return to their orriginal sizes, regardless of being consumed or otherwise contained.
Also a bag of holding (or similair device) which breaks will forceibly empty it's contents, not shrink, crush or destroy them to fit inside of the bag.
I would encourage ruling that the druid would forcibly eject the body while returning to proper size, vomiting it up his stomachs contents.
Ruling otherwise could set an exploitable precedent, such as enlarging oneself to fit a set of armor and then returning to normal size, and thus altering the size of the armor to still fit.
3.5 might be just flesh to stone, then stoneshape. Use the stone as the foundation of a building. If you're really mean, put stone to flesh afterward.
Well the reverse presedent is that a body that has been reduced in size by polymorphic powers will revert to it's orriginal form and size. The most prolific example is that of injesting a giant who is polymorphed into something the size of a grape, upon which the spell ends and the giant returns to orriginal size and bursting the swallower.
upon the end of any polymorphing, shapeshifting or size changing spells all effected return to their orriginal sizes, regardless of being consumed or otherwise contained.
Disclaimer: I don't DM.
For the former, I can see it working if the grape-sized giant is Swallowed Whole, but if it's chewed, I can really only see two possibilities, and both involve the magic 'breaking':
Scenario 1: Only 'the giant' is affected by the spell, and pieces that are removed by chewing etc are no longer considered part of him, and therefore will not be affected when the spell wears off.
Scenario 2: The spell is 'broken' when pieces are removed, which revert to full size immediately upon seperation.
However, in my view, neither scenario really has much to do with a polymorphed creature eating another, non-polymorphed, creature - especially if the former stays in the polymorphed shape for 5-8 hours or so, as if it's big enough to actually eat the latter creature, that's pretty much how long it'd take to digest it. If you shapeshift, eat something, and immediately revoke the shapeshift, I'd say your suggestion is pretty good, maybe go for a CON check at a scaling DC comparative to the size of the creature compared to your original form.
I would say that the eaten creature is now - more or less - part of the eater, especially if digestion has taken or is taking place.
I guess the way I'm thinking can be explained (in reverse) with another food analogy. Say a human eats a meal of ... a pound and a half total of food and water, and feels sated. An hour later, still 'full,' he or she shapechanges into a Collossal Dragon - is he or she now starving, since 1.5 lbs of food is nowhere near enough food to feed a dragon of that size (or pretty much any other)? Will he or she be starving when the spell ends because the amount of energy used while in dragon form is far more than a human body can produce, and he/she is now feeling the backlash?
Edit:
Ruling otherwise could set an exploitable precedent, such as enlarging oneself to fit a set of armor and then returning to normal size, and thus altering the size of the armor to still fit.
I see that as a completely different issue. If you pick up and use something of a size that is usable by a new form, it's completely different from eating something. I can understand how one could make the leap to say that if you allow the former you allow the latter, but I can't help but think they aren't truly related.
:evillaugh
On a side note, years ago in one of my campaigns a character in the group got a Well of the Worlds and when he set up his theif's guild he offered body disposal services for a fee. He made a tidy sum of money that way.