Overcoming 'True Seeing'

Ridley's Cohort · Jul 20, 2006

merelycompetent said:
How To Foil True Seeing:

2. Programmed Illusion: Have everything look like it actually is. PCs detect the illusion, use True Seeing... and everything is exactly the same. Now they start wondering how you fooled True Sight.

That could easily work...

Veigle · Jul 20, 2006

Always wear a set of full plate armor with the visor down?

Always wear a heavy cowl, gloves, and mask? (don;t forget the goggles)

Cover yourself in a lead based actors makeup?

"True seeing, however, does not penetrate solid objects. It in no way confers X-ray vision or its equivalent."

merelycompetent · Jul 21, 2006

After work, when I had the books (3.5 SRD) in front of me:

21. Planar Ally/Planar Binding/ etc.: Have an air elemental surround the BBEG, but not harm him. Subject to DM interpretation - does the air elemental, now visible to the caster with True Sight (note there is no official text that I can find that indicates an air elemental is visible, invisible, naturally invisible, or magically invisible - so I'm assuming that it looks like air), block the caster's view and/or line of effect? Drawback: Air elementals surrounding a moving creature make the target more noticeable. However, the BBEG will look really cool with his black and red cloak/cape constantly billowing in the elemental's breeze. And when he stops to soliloquy, a little dust will swirl by as he poses.

22. Any of the fog spells that reduce visibility. Limited use outside the dungeon/battlefield.

23. Another Curse variant: A violent rain cloud follows the True Seeing caster around, producing a constant downpour in that 5' square. That should block visibility significantly, and attract the BBEG's henchmen.

24. Variant on the illusion ideas: The BBEG actually travels ethereally, by teleport, or similar magic. The "BBEG" that the PCs keep hearing about or following around is actually a simulacrum, or a dominated/telepathically controlled/mundane stand-in who is simply following orders. Domination/telepathic control is more reliable, and True Seeing doesn't reveal it as such. Strategically speaking, the more power and time the PCs waste trying to find the real BBEG, the more opportunities the BBEG has to spot them first and ambush them.

25. Variant on the air elementals: Use invisible stalkers instead.

26. Campaign Plot: Suddenly, the Forces of Evil (or a drunk pixie with an artifact) successfully change the nature of magic (temporarily, permanently, until the PCs fix it), rendering True Seeing, Detect good/evil/law/chaos, and other disguise-penetrating and alignment-revealing spells unusable. Prepare for lots of continent- (and planar-) -wide fun.

Hope this helps.

merelycompetent · Jul 21, 2006

Ridley's Cohort said:
That could easily work...

It did, and quite well, when I was playing a Thief turned Wizard in a cut-throat 2E game. By a confluence of curses, my character became a vampire. Multiple Continual Darkness spells, covered by several programmed illusions to show what was really there, allowed him to operate in daylight, with few noticeable effects. The other PCs/competitors noticed the illusions, used a variety of divinations, and finally settled on True Sight... and spent the next month (real-time) trying to figure out how I'd faked out True Sight. They spent so much time and effort trying to pierce the "disguise" that my character made off with several McGuffins before anyone noticed.

After the campaign ended, several of the players asked how I did it, assuming that my character'd stolen one of the more powerful artifacts in the game (he had, but not one that would allow him to foil True Sight). I had to dodge a lot of thrown books when I fessed up.

starwed · Jul 21, 2006

Dust of disappearance seems to foil True Seeing:

SRD said:
Dust of Disappearance: This dust looks just like dust of appearance and is typically stored in the same manner. A creature or object touched by it becomes invisible (as greater invisibility). Normal vision can’t see dusted creatures or objects, nor can they be detected by magical means, including see invisibility or invisibility purge. Dust of appearance, however, does reveal people and objects made invisible by dust of disappearance. Other factors, such as sound and smell, also allow possible detection.

The greater invisibility bestowed by the dust lasts for 2d6 rounds.The invisible creature doesn’t know when the duration will end.

Moderate illusion; CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, greater invisibility; Price 3,500 gp.

rgard · Jul 21, 2006

Three_Haligonians said:
In Dragon Magazine #337 there is a Sidebar in the article about Eberron's Lords of Dust. This sidebar lists a spell called Cloak of Khyber that specifically states it trumps True Seeing.

Hope this helps a little,

J from Three Haligonians

It helps alot! Thanks for sharing that one!!!

Rich

rgard · Jul 21, 2006

merelycompetent said:
True Seeing, that penultimate divination spell that foils dopplegangers, demons, dragons, illusions, and deceptions. It is the bane of DM deviousness. That doesn't stop me from having BBEGs use it against the PCs, though. What's good for the goose...

How To Foil True Seeing:

1. Unique spell: Anti-Magic Wall
2. Programmed Illusion: Have everything look like it actually is. PCs detect the illusion, use True Seeing... and everything is exactly the same. Now they start wondering how you fooled True Sight.
3. Mind Blank, depending on your rulings of how the spell works.
4. Hordes of duplicates of the item/person. Simulacrum, mass polymorph effects, and the like are great for this.
5. Mundane disguises are not penetrated/revealed by True Seeing.
6. Hide skill.
7. Magical Blindness.
8. Modified Ioun Stone: Detects and zaps anyone who uses True Sight within a 300' radius. That tells the archers who to focus their poisoned flaming shocking acidic sonic arrows on.
9. Wall of Force (blocks line of effect).
10. Wall of Iron/Stone/Ice.
11. Flesh to Stone. Drawback: It allows a save.
12. Prismatic wall/sphere.
13. A full company of Death Knights (make them actual Knights, from the PHBII, or Knight/Warlocks) following the PC in the ethereal, waiting to pounce on him when he detects them.
14. Invisible summoned creature following the caster around. Whenever he starts to cast/use an item with True Sight, hit with a targetted Greater Dispel. Creature's next action is to, hopefully, teleport away while everyone's suffering from surprise.
15. Curses. Lots of them. Along the lines of: True Seeing will still work, but some aspect of what is viewed will show up as false. For example: The farmer over by the butcher's shop appears, under True Seeing, as a balor.
16. Long-term spells: The potential target of the spell casts a unique spell on the PC. The spell sits until the PC casts/uses True Sight. Then the spell detonates, causing 1d4 hp/level (save for 1/2) in a 5' radius. Caster has to make a concentration check now. At the very least, the caster/item user has now drawn lots of attention to himself. "I cast True See-BOOM!!!" Make sure the spell is built according to the normal rules, and that the NPC has it in his/her spellbooks - for the PCs to find or hear about once they get wise to it.
17. National laws against using spells like this. Summoned elementals, epic spells, city magic items outline the caster/user with a brilliant, scintillating glow. A disembodied voice repeatedly announces, "Attention!! You have made illegal use of unauthorized divination magics! Remain where you are until the authorities arrive!" Don't you just love Lawful nations with a long history of powerful wizards and clerics?
18. A familiar with a ring of counterspells, a high Spellcraft skill, and a readied action.
19. Wish/Miracle: I Wish that all attempts to use True Seeing on me automatically fail. Very subject to DM interpretation.
20. The BBEG sends spies after the PCs, all equipped with True Sight, detect magic, analyze dweomer, and high Spellcraft skills. They are under orders and equipped to retreat (via teleport, gate, skills, etc.) if spotted. Then, after gathering up all the info available, follow up with assassins who are now outfitted and buffed against the PCs specifically, and attack in overwhelming numbers when the party is split, or someone goes off by their lonesome. Strongly recommend that you reserve this only for highly intelligent, high-level BBEGs -- the sort who are campaign-climax battles.

Hope this helps.

That all helps as well!

Thanks,
Rich

rgard · Jul 21, 2006

Hey All.

Instead of individually responding to each post, I'll now say thanks for the current and any future responses!

You've all been helpful.

Thanks much!!!
Rich

Solarious · Jul 21, 2006

Mask of Misplaced Aura, from the Sharn, City of Towers book overrides True Seeing. It's made into a specific aura/disguise, however, and isn't good for 'on the fly' disguises or remaining undetected by someone with True Seeing. The aforementioned Khyber Cloak throws the same loop at True Seeing, but requires you to maintain the disguise (I think) for at least a month before it kicks in, setting similar limitations to the Mask of Misplaced Aura.

If you really want to get by unoticed past someone/thing with True Seeing up, you should probably make a character with astronomical Hide and Move Silently scores (which are easier to bump up than Spot or Listen), and then get a Hide in Plain Sight ability.

Overcoming 'True Seeing'

Ridley's Cohort

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Veigle

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merelycompetent

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merelycompetent

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starwed

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rgard

Adventurer

rgard

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rgard

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Solarious

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