Clarification on an AoO case

[just__al]

The party will be fighting a Rakasha and his Improved Familiar Imp.
When the battle starts, the Imp will be invisible (he's always invisible because people don't know the Rakasha isn't a human and they don't believe him to be evil).

Any way, the Imp will enter a player's square to sting them, won't provoke because he's invisible (anything I need to keep in mind here?)

Once he attacks, he'll be in the players square. When he leaves the square, he'll provoke, yes? He won't have the opportunity to leave the square right away because he'll have moved in and attacked.

Am I missing anything here?

 

[Li Shenron]

I'd just say that as long as it's invisible, no AoOs for those who cannot see it.

If it turns visible after attacking, of course it provokes AoOs normally then.

If it helps, you can think that the rule is "you don't get an AoO against someone you cannot see" instead of "an invisible creature doesn't provoke AoOs".

 

[JimAde]

But if I'm the imp, I move in and wait. Then on my next action, I attack and move (in that order). He'll still provoke the AoO, but the opponent won't get a full attack on him as well.

 

[Sammael]

Give the imp Quicken Spell-Like Ability and Flyby Attack.

Move in, sting, turn invisible, move out. No AoO.

 

[Sammael]

Gah. Imp's caster level for invisibility is only 6. You'll have to give him Practised Spellcaster as well.

 

[Dimwhit]

But shouldn't the player get a spot/listen check to notice the presence of an invisible creature, then to pinpoint it? Granted, it wouldn't be easy, but it's only a DC 20 spot to notice the presence of an invisible creature within 30'.

 

[Crimson_Manticore]

Remember that you cannot make an AoO while flat footed unless you have combat reflexes. So if the imp's sting was the event that started the combat, he can get away without an AoO if he rolles high on his initiative.

 

[kjenks]

You didn't mention giving the party a Sense Motive check to get a "Hunch" that something is wrong. This kind of skill check takes a minute (ten rounds), per the PH description of Sense Motive. You should also give subtle role-playing clues, like purring and growling while talking as the Rakshasa.

In addition to the Spot checks Dimwhit mentioned (one per party member), the Imp would also need to make Move Silently checks, even while flying, opposed by a Listen from each and every party member.

Change Shape isn't a perfect disguise. You should also give each and every PC a Spot check opposed by the Rakshasa's amazing Disguise skill to notice something wrong with his human guise. I'd give a Ranger with Favored Enemy: Human his bonus on this check, even though the rakshasa is an Outsider pretending to be Human, but that's a DM decision. Since adventurers are by nature suspicous, I might give them all an automatic Take 10 on their opposed Spot checks, per the rules for the Disguise skill, or I might roll for them. Remember that when using change shape, a rakshasa gains an additional +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. If reading an opponent’s mind, its circumstance bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks increases by a further +4.

As a DM, it would be best if you rolled ALL of these skill checks secretly, so the players don't have a clue what's going on until the battle is on. Keep track of what each character rolls, so when they're surprised, you can tell them exactly why.

Get the Spot, Listen and Sense Motive total from each character, and make sure you know the Favored Enemy bonus of any rangers in the party.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Listen vs Invisible..

IIRC, it takes a move action to pinpoint an invisible creature, so they may know that its around, but won't be able to do much about it.

 

[kjenks]

IIRC, it takes a move action to pinpoint an invisible creature, so they may know that its around, but won't be able to do much about it.

Not quite. It's a free action:

Action: Varies. Every time you have a chance to hear something in a reactive manner (such as when someone makes a noise or you move into a new area), you can make a Listen check without using an action. Trying to hear something you failed to hear previously is a move action.

And here...

A creature can use hearing to find an invisible creature. A character can make a Listen check for this purpose as a free action each round. A Listen check result at least equal to the invisible creature’s Move Silently check result reveals its presence. (A creature with no ranks in Move Silently makes a Move Silently check as a Dexterity check to which an armor check penalty applies.) A successful check lets a character hear an invisible creature “over there somewhere.” It’s practically impossible to pinpoint the location of an invisible creature. A Listen check that beats the DC by 20 pinpoints the invisible creature’s location.