Game-breaking Spells

[reanjr]

Don't you think it's a little implausible that the bad guys stand around all day maintaining this illusion in case they get scried?

I suppose one could be very liberal with the "trigger cannot be based on some quality not normally obvious to the senses, such as alignment" part of Programmed Image. You can sense scrying, so you can have an illusion triggered whenever someone scrys. It would also immediately notify you of someone scrying cause you'd see the image appear.

 

[Felix]

Can you find a rule that states the Necromancer cannot store 25 skeletons in his bag of holding?

There's a problem with this?

How much does a skeleton weigh? If it's more than 60 lbs, then 25 skeletons can't fit even in the largest bag.

Even then, 250 cubic feet (the largest bag) is 10x5x5. That's two 5-foot-cubes. A medium creature takes up one 5x5x5 cube. You can squeeze four of the same size creature into the space they occupy, with the exception of Small creatures who get twice that many. Are we talking about Tiny Skeletons here? Or perhaps they're the skeletons of a high school football team that fit into a VW?

Or the necromancer is welcome to grab one out every turn as a standard action. 25 rounds later he'll be dead 22 rounds ago.

Or he could dump the whole thing in his square, eh? And be pinned by 1000lbs of skeleton that all stay in his square until their own initiative count comes up.

And if the Necromancer wants to jaunt around with 60lbs worth of skeletons in a bag that can't help him in a pinch, I'd say let him. The Bag of Holding helps him mobilize his troops, carrying them from one place to another, but it isn't any help if he attacks or is attacked unprepared.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Not at all. (See Detect Scrying Brd, Sor/Wiz 4, duration: 24 hours and False Vision (Brd, Trickery, Sor/Wiz 5, duration 1 hour/level). The bad guy keeps detect Scrying up regularly and when he picks up an attempt, casts False Vision off a scroll. Then he prepares. . . .

Don't you think it's a little implausible that the bad guys stand around all day maintaining this illusion in case they get scried?

 

[Pyrex]

Well, their hipbones probably wouldn't fit through the opening...

 

[kolikeos]

all these spells you mentiond can only be used by powerful beings, (comperd to the everyday loozers/commoners) which are about 1% of the world population. we play the power weilding beings, not the everyday loozers, so i see nothing wrong in using such spells.

 

[reanjr]

How much does a skeleton weigh? If it's more than 60 lbs, then 25 skeletons can't fit even in the largest bag.

Human skeleton wieghs in the realm of 15-25 lbs. actually.

Even then, 250 cubic feet (the largest bag) is 10x5x5. That's two 5-foot-cubes. A medium creature takes up one 5x5x5 cube. You can squeeze four of the same size creature into the space they occupy, with the exception of Small creatures who get twice that many. Are we talking about Tiny Skeletons here? Or perhaps they're the skeletons of a high school football team that fit into a VW?

No, we're talking about folding them up. As skeletons without ligaments/tendons/muscles, they would be able to fold up to approximately 4 cu. feet. each.

Or the necromancer is welcome to grab one out every turn as a standard action. 25 rounds later he'll be dead 22 rounds ago.

As I stated before: I'm not talking about game balance. I'm talking about the story. And if you wanted, you could pull out one skeleton, give him the bag and have him get the rest of the guys out.

Or he could dump the whole thing in his square, eh? And be pinned by 1000lbs of skeleton that all stay in his square until their own initiative count comes up.

And if the Necromancer wants to jaunt around with 60lbs worth of skeletons in a bag that can't help him in a pinch, I'd say let him. The Bag of Holding helps him mobilize his troops, carrying them from one place to another, but it isn't any help if he attacks or is attacked unprepared.

No the main problem is that the the downfall to having skeletal troops is that they tend to be destroyed really easily in incidental combat. He has circumvented this and can bring them out at any convenience. Traps ahead? Can't disarm? Pull out a skeleton, send him forward first. Found brief respite in a cul-de-sac in the dungeon? Pull out all the skeletons for some quick (non-?)meat shields.

 

[reanjr]

Well, their hipbones probably wouldn't fit through the opening...

Bags of holding are 2ft x 4ft. I'd say a pelvis can fit through there nicely.

 

[Bauglir]

Not at all. (See Detect Scrying Brd, Sor/Wiz 4, duration: 24 hours and False Vision (Brd, Trickery, Sor/Wiz 5, duration 1 hour/level). The bad guy keeps detect Scrying up regularly and when he picks up an attempt, casts False Vision off a scroll. Then he prepares. . . .

Fine - so he casts False Vision after he detects the scry attempt. The scryer first sees the target look up suddenly, pull out a scroll and cast a spell from it, then the image suddenly flicks to one of the target sleeping.. not terribly convincing

 

[Bauglir]

Bauglir, there's a piece of Wondrous Architecture in the Stronghold Builder's Guide that does exactly that - any attempt to scry on the rather largeish area around it automatically returns incorrect information, with no roll possible to resist it.

A very very handy item, which every BBEG with a base of operations should own at least one of. ^_^

Wow really? I don't have that book. How much does that cost?

 

[FireLance]

Fine - so he casts False Vision after he detects the scry attempt. The scryer first sees the target look up suddenly, pull out a scroll and cast a spell from it, then the image suddenly flicks to one of the target sleeping.. not terribly convincing

Frankly, if you can set up a trap that uses true seeing to trigger cone of cold, I don't see why you can't set one up that uses detect scrying to trigger false vision.