BTW, a recap on how, once a wizard has somehow fled (or even has been killed by the Sorcerer, since the Meteor Strike doesn't prevent the Wizard's Clone to activate...) can use of no less than TEN ways to locate someone you don't know based on a rough description like "the guy that killed my friend or me", in a world where the DM doesn't take any action besides what is provided by the rules [and yes, that's the strange one where nobody is ever surprised].
1. Commune.
By RAW, you can ask three questions and must receive a correct answer on all case. There is a paragraphe stating that deities aren't necessarily omniscient so the DM can always veto some information, but that's DM fiat to block the spell, not to provide the RAW-abiding correct answer. Questions can only be answered by yes or no. Anyone who played "Who is it?" can imagine how to draw a composite face of the culprit in a few questions, and identifying his name takes a few tries (Is the name starting with A?...) Drawback: it takes a long time since you can reliably cast it only once per long rest.
2. Contingency
Contigent Sending triggered on "Whenever I hold a golden rod right toward the person who killed my friend". I know, it's a contrived trigger, but by RAW there is no limit on the trigger. Magic happens. Two casting separated by a Teleport and you can get a rather precise reading on the location of the culprit.
3. Glyph of Warding
Triggers are more limited. Choose a visual spell light that can target an area in a spell glyph, triggered by proximity of the guy you seek, of which there is no limit. Nothing defeat the Rod of Dichotomy ^2. Drawback : can take a few days.
4. Scrying
You only need to have heard of the target. Best case: it works. But even if it fails, you gather information. If the target is protected from appearing to magical sensors, you can see their surroundings. That's enough to attempt a teleport. Of course you risk failing, so prepare to take a few days to work. If the spell simply fails but you can recast it the next round, you gained information that the target is under a spell protecting him from being targetted (if it was a succesful saving throw, the spell couldn't be cast for 24h). Try later. Drawback: Team Sorceror could be all under permanent Nondetection. Deduce that he's burning 80 kgp a year on diamond dust. Use Investigation skills to identify such a large scale buyer's business associates. Scry them.
5. Legend Lore
Given the effort of the Sorcerer not to be identified, it could be argued that he isn't of legendary importance. In a "Sorcerer King" scenario, however, where he has already subverted many cities by impersonating wizards doing bad things and then saving key, gullible, people in the last minute and repairing the material damage to become a hero, he would be of legendary importance and would be exposed to information gathering this way. As in "Who is the guy who used immense magic to save King So-and-So?" Drawback: doesn't work in a fledgling ennemy starting his career and who never did something talesworthy. On the other hand, it should work on the level 20 Assassin, since level 20 are planar heroes. You might always get some intersting tidbit, like the place he was last seen.
6. Visions of the Past
Can get visual and emotional informations on the target without targetting it. Good to use on an item like "a corpse", when investigating a series of suspicious wizard murders. Drawback: you need some forensic talent to gather the relevant item, like the poison used by the assassin, a pinch of lime a bunch of out-of-season snow or a catterpillar cocoon.
7. Resurrection
Unless the Sorcerer achieves consistant killing without being seen by its victim, and that means 100% of the time, not even "nearly always" will do, there will be a victim who will have seen him. Resurrect the deceased Wizard and interrogate him. If he isn't cooperative, kill him again and Speak with his skull. Getting information will make the other information gathering venues easier to open.
8. Divination
With the DM having lost any adjudication power, he must provide a truthful answer to an activity to occur in the next seven days. It's limited to an "event, goal or activity", which is pretty narrow. "Will my walk directly east over the next hour make me closer to my the assassin who killed by friend?" is therefore a perfectly valid question. Triangulate as needed.
9. Summon or be an Invisible Stalker.
Given the shortage of CR 6 air elemental, the DM has no other choice of providing an invisible stalker for a summon. One hour is largely enough to get the information you need, provided you speak Auran. Actually a few rounds of chatting are enough. If the DM cheats by using DM fiat to deny Invisible Stalker, which would be against the rules set up for this contest but has nonetheless been claimed to be the case by SOME participants in the thread, just cast True Polymorph on your pet rock.
10. Summon an Orthon
Upcast Summon Greater Daemon to level 9. You can specify a demon type, choose "Orthon". Do whatever is needed to take control of it. If needed, make a Simulacrum of one. Send him to the place the Sorcerer is, located by one of the aforementionned means, like an Invisible Stalker. Just ask him to do one attack and leave. Bonus: works across planes if the Sorcerer decides to Planeshift away if your alpha strike happens to fail.
During that thread, it is very clear that it is not possible to defeat Bastion in combat.
Bastion is extremely effective in defeating several enemies without even revealing and easily defending oneself from enemies.
The only strategy that opponents are trying to teleport the Sorcerer and remove it from their hunting tactic.
But, Bastion has an extremely efficient defense strategy against this. Let it be called Master of Deception.
It is more than clear that to use this tactic you will need a horrible mix of metagame with DM fiat spells like Wish, Divine Intervention, Commune.
The opponent's Metagame: Bastion is a hidden threat, a psychopath that does not reveal itself, subtle spells allow you to easily destroy entire cities without having the slightest hint of conspiracy. Subtle Spell.
He is extremely manipulative with invincible Deception, Persuation skills and in conjunction with Subtle Mass Suggestion, Subtle Dominate Person, Subtle Glibness, Subtle Detect Through.
His battle is to be inconspicuous and frame Wizards, forcing everyone to believe that the destruction is caused by Wizards. It is impossible to beat him in indirect combat
He also works on powerful spells against Divination like Mind Blank and Nondetection that are constantly renewed.
The metagame starts with the premise knows who the threat is, as he doesn't know, in fact it is more likely that he will start a war between Wizards, since everyone believes that these deaths are caused by Wizards themselves wanting to dominate the other schools of magic.
No, The Wizard knows absolutely nothing about the threat. Rumors say that it is the Wizards that cause this whole crisis.
So, no, cast any spell against someone that you would never know your threat. It's a clear metagame.
Bastion's greatest defense against indirect combat is Master of Deception and Hidden against Divination. The opponent simply pretends that this challenge does not exist and shamelessly uses Metagame.
For example, our friend Wizard conjuring contingencies completely based on Metagame, after all he has no information about the real threat.
It is clear as water, that if it is not possible to defeat him in direct combat, Bastion will create a conspiracy against the Wizards and Bastion's victory is certain.
Uses of DM fiat spells and metagame in a mixture:
Wish
Divine Intervention
Commune
Elemental Conjure
Conjure Animal
Contingency against a enemy's strategy that the caster doesn't know nothing about.
Either any effect that is explicit that the DM decides the effect of the spell or the creatures it will choose is directly a totally DM dependent skill, literally, as this spell description itself is described.
Even worse, the uses of this are still loaded with metagames, as they may not even know what kind of threat.
This only proves that Bastion's strategy is necessary the famous "
DM, I have no idea what is happening, help me" to try to defeat him.
Most interesting of all, that Bastion could use the same strategy more efficiently, it just doesn't because it is obviously DM fiat.
'BTW, a recap on how, once a wizard has somehow fled (or even has been killed by the Sorcerer, since the Meteor Strike doesn't prevent the Wizard's Clone to activate...) can use of no less than TEN ways to locate someone you don't know based on a rough description like "the guy that killed my friend or me", in a world where the DM doesn't take any action besides what is provided by the rules [and yes, that's the strange one where nobody is ever surprised].'
Clone? When you are 0 hp, we estabilize you, avoiding death. So, cast Flesh to Stone, Now you are an statue, forever.
The Wizard is gone, forever.
"1. Commune.
By RAW, you can ask three questions and must receive a correct answer on all case. There is a paragraphe stating that deities aren't necessarily omniscient so the DM can always veto some information, but that's DM fiat to block the spell, not to provide the RAW-abiding correct answer. Questions can only be answered by yes or no. Anyone who played "Who is it?" can imagine how to draw a composite face of the culprit in a few questions, and identifying his name takes a few tries (Is the name starting with A?...) Drawback: it takes a long time since you can reliably cast it only once per long rest."
Commune:
"so you might receive "unclear"
totally DM fiat, you have no idea who is attacking you, you think they are the Wizards themselves and Bastion is totally hidden against Divination. Your answer is "Unclear" because the bastion is hidden against divination.
3. Glyph of Warding
Triggers are more limited. Choose a visual spell light that can target an area in a spell glyph, triggered by proximity of the guy you seek, of which there is no limit. Nothing defeat the Rod of Dichotomy ^2. Drawback : can take a few days.
It failed, because you don't know who is the threat.
Also, we automatically detect all magical traps. just dispel it or just move it more than 10ft with Mage Hand lol
4. Scrying
You only need to have heard of the target. Best case: it works. But even if it fails, you gather information. If the target is protected from appearing to magical sensors, you can see their surroundings. That's enough to attempt a teleport. Of course you risk failing, so prepare to take a few days to work. If the spell simply fails but you can recast it the next round, you gained information that the target is under a spell protecting him from being targetted (if it was a succesful saving throw, the spell couldn't be cast for 24h). Try later. Drawback: Team Sorceror could be all under permanent Nondetection. Deduce that he's burning 80 kgp a year on diamond dust. Use Investigation skills to identify such a large scale buyer's business associates. Scry them.
Wtf. That was the
biggest metagame I've ever seen. You don't know who your threat is, you think they are the Wizards themselves, you don't know what spell is on them, much less their components and you don't even know if it's a creature, a deity, a curse or even an ally Wizard. Bastion does not need to buy anything, just steal, loot and kill, after all it is undetectable and most of the time it will be with Mind Blank, which has no cost.
5. Legend Lore
Given the effort of the Sorcerer not to be identified, it could be argued that he isn't of legendary importance. In a "Sorcerer King" scenario, however, where he has already subverted many cities by impersonating wizards doing bad things and then saving key, gullible, people in the last minute and repairing the material damage to become a hero, he would be of legendary importance and would be exposed to information gathering this way. As in "Who is the guy who used immense magic to save King So-and-So?" Drawback: doesn't work in a fledgling ennemy starting his career and who never did something talesworthy. On the other hand, it should work on the level 20 Assassin, since level 20 are planar heroes. You might always get some intersting tidbit, like the place he was last seen.
Again, It's metagame
You don't know who your threat is, you think they are the Wizards themselves, you don't know what spell is on them.
you don't even know if it's a creature, a deity, a curse or even an ally Wizard.
Their original names are not legendary, nor are assassins who are
impostors. Remember, Hidden threat and no declared threat. And again, I am protected against Divination.
7. Resurrection
Unless the Sorcerer achieves consistant killing without being seen by its victim, and that means 100% of the time, not even "nearly always" will do, there will be a victim who will have seen him. Resurrect the deceased Wizard and interrogate him. If he isn't cooperative, kill him again and Speak with his skull. Getting information will make the other information gathering venues easier to open.
Again, another DM fiat spell.
"If its soul is free and
willing, the target returns to life with all its hit points."
Dead creatures believe they were killed by Wizards' spells.
After all, the last thing they saw was spells from Wizards, like Subtle Meteor Swarm.
"Answers are usually brief, cryptic, or repetitive, and the corpse is under no
Compulsion to offer a truthful answer if you are
Hostile to it or it recognizes you as an enemy."
It failed again, if you defeat them.
He will be able to lie to you and simply take you to death. After all, whoever killed him, for him, was apparently a Wizard.
8. Divination
With the DM having lost any adjudication power, he must provide a truthful answer to an activity to occur in the next seven days. It's limited to an "event, goal or activity", which is pretty narrow. "Will my walk directly east over the next hour make me closer to my the assassin who killed by friend?" is therefore a perfectly valid question. Triangulate as needed.
Again with DM fiat and failed against hidden against Divination.
9. Summon or be an Invisible Stalker.
Given the shortage of CR 6 air elemental, the DM has no other choice of providing an invisible stalker for a summon. One hour is largely enough to get the information you need, provided you speak Auran. Actually a few rounds of chatting are enough. If the DM cheats by using DM fiat to deny Invisible Stalker, which would be against the rules set up for this contest but has nonetheless been claimed to be the case by SOME participants in the thread, just cast True Polymorph on your pet rock.
Another DM fiat spell and Metagame. Again, you have no idea who your target is.
The only thing you can choose from this spell is CR 6 or lower. The DM will send you an Air Elemental. Unfortunately, you can't choose anything. In fact, if this skill were not DM fiat, Bastion would slay any Wizard very easily, thank you for being DM fiat.
When you become an Invisible Stalker, you are no longer you and you have not been summoned, "Flautless Tracker" does not work if you do not summon this creature and you just killed yourself, it doesn’t have a Quarry, it will stop exist.
Ahahahha
You just killed yourself.
10. Summon an Orthon
Upcast Summon Greater Daemon to level 9. You can specify a demon type, choose "Orthon". Do whatever is needed to take control of it. If needed, make a Simulacrum of one. Send him to the place the Sorcerer is, located by one of the aforementionned means, like an Invisible Stalker. Just ask him to do one attack and leave. Bonus: works across planes if the Sorcerer decides to Planeshift away if your alpha strike happens to fail.
Another useless spell.
Summary:
Everything, absolutely everything you did is loaded with DM fiat spells/abilities and Metagame. No single tactic you did was really effective against Bastion's defenses.
It is clear that the defeat of the Wizards is imminent.
