invisibility

[Rosenkreux]

Dont u think that an invisibility ring is a strong item that costs only 20.000gp?

i got a character in my game that uses it to steal from stores and similar things, not only that, but he also uses it every round in combat to make his sneak attacks.

I cant make every NPC that owns a store to be a high level character so he can use his skills to bust the PC, neither can i make every NPC in combat use invisibility purge or similar skill.......

Does anyone who already had a problem like this one help me?

 

[Dash Dannigan]

Invisibility not improved invisibility right? A standard action to activate so 1 round is spent activating the ring. Next round he can make a sneak attack and then reappears. Does this ring have charges or a use/day?

Objects picked up are still visible unles he can put them in a pocket or under his clothes. So nothing big, though there'll be a chance someone will see the object rise into the air and angle in a funny way then disappear.

A simple permanent detect magic device that glows when magic is active nearby shouldn't be too expensive. These stores do take inventory right? If the thieving happens from the same place or multiple stores in a district you may find local steps being taken to prevent robbing, perhaps a mage with see invisibility wanders the streets on patrol...

 

[kreynolds]

Does anyone who already had a problem like this one help me?

There are many things that can give away the presence of an invisible creature. First and foremost, a good Spot check reveals their presence. Other revealing factors can be water, mud, dirt, dust on the floor, tassles hanging from the ceiling, narrow isles of clothing that are impossible to walk through without brushing against them, bells on the door, etc.

Also, though they can be expensive, magic items can help. Any self-respecting magic dealer should have an Invisibility Purge safeguard set up somewhere in his shop, either near a vault, storeroom, or the main floor. Such a device, one that would negate invisibility within a 25-foot radius, would run about 30,000 gp (see the Lantern of Revealing in the DMG). If you want it bigger, you can go all the way up to a 100-foot radius, though that would run you 120,000 gp.

Conversely, you can cut the price of the lantern substantially by having it useable a limited number of times per day. A lanter of revealing (25-foot radius) that only functions once per day would only cost you 6,000 gp. Such a device is worthwhile if it is used in conjunction with things that can give away an invisible creature's position, such as those mentioned above.

 

[Rosenkreux]

the description of the ring says..... (i dont have the book, these are not the exactly words)........ it works like the invisibility spell, and doesnt say the number of charges, i assume they are unlimited.

and he still gems from the local jewlery, but only one time in every diferent city (but he stills gems worthing 3000 - 5000 gp each time..........

 

[kreynolds]

Does this ring have charges or a use/day?

Without any further info, I'm assuming he's talking about the one in the DMG, which doesn't have limited charges or a limited duration (except for when you attack).

 

[Murrdox]

It depends what kind of Magic setting you're using (high, or low) and what sort of Merchant you're dealing with.

Basically, this is how I think of it. A Merchant is going to have some sort of security systems in place in his shop - the total of which are probably worth about 1/2 what he has in his inventory at any given time.

What does this mean?

Well, if your invisible rogue wants to steal an ear of corn from a street-vendor, then he can probably get away with it, unless the shop-keeper is very observant.

However, if your rogue is trying to steal a +3 shortsword from a magical weapons dealer... chances are that merchant is pretty wealthy. He may have "See Invisibility" permanently cast upon him (this costs half as much as the ring itself, I believe... only 10,000!) Or he may have an "Invisibility Purge" zone around his shop. It all depends on how much money the merchant has.

Also remember that when a Merchant is stolen from, he's not going to keep it to himself, unless he's a member of the Night Masks or something. He'll tell the city guard. And once the city guard starts getting 3 or 4 reports inside of a week of items "mysteriously vanishing", they may hire a high-level wizard to bring the culprit to justice.

Do NOT let your players steal from most shops unless they are particularly ingenious about it. Rogues can easily abuse invisibility, but you have to know that as a DM, you have ways around it.

As for sneak attacking... Think of it this way... If he is using a normal ring of invisibility, then everytime he attacks, he becomes visible. Then, next turn, he has to spend his attack to become invisible again. So he only gets to attack every other round. Okay, big deal, he gets sneak attacks all the time... but face it, Rogues are GOING to sneak attack nearly all the time.

 

[Pielorinho]

Guard dogs.

Invisibility doesn't cover up your scent, and it shouldn't be a difficult trick at all to get a dog to growl and bark when someone smelly and audible but not visible approaches. On the contrary, getting a dog NOT to freak out around invisible creatures would be the challenge.

Slightly more difficult would be to train a dog to attack an invisible opponent. But you could still do it.

If there's a rash of robberies, shopkeepers ought to start bringing their dogs to the store with them. And they'll probably get together and hire a wizard to patrol the streets.

Or a druid. Druids can wildshape into bats, who (via blindsight) can see invisible opponents all the time.

As for combat:
Definitely remember that activating the ring takes a standard action, and that attacking someone makes the wearer visible. That's one sneak attack/2 rounds, not a huge deal.

And intelligent opponents can make it much more difficult, by readying an action against Mr. Invisibility. Here's what you do:

"I ready an action to trip that invisible bastard as soon as he appears!" (or grab him, or cast a spell on him, or simply attack him).

Technically, events will go down like this:

-Readied guy readies an action as above.
-Invisible guy decides to attack.
-Readied guy's readied action goes off.
-Readied guy attacks visible guy (who has not yet turned visible).
-Invisible guy attacks; still invisible, he does sneak-attack damage.
-Invisible guy turns visible.

Goofy, eh? Welcome to the wonderful world of readied actions. (to make it make more sense, you can easily rule that in this case, the readied action goes off just after its triggering event begins -- i.e., after the rogue has made his attack).

Good readied actions include:
-Grab him! (so that he can't turn invisible and escape)
-Cast faerie fire on him!
-Throw a tanglefoot bag on him!
-Do something else that limits his mobility or his ability to turn invisible!

A ring of invisibility is definitely a nice item, but an enemy who's expecting it can defeat it with a little bit of tactics.

Daniel

 

[Artoomis]

1. It takes a standard action to activate the ring.

2. You become visible if you attack any creature.

3. Objects that vanish from a store are certainly likely to cause suspicion. If it happens often enough, magical aid will be sought. This could be in many forms - mundane or magical alarms, magical protection for expensive items, etc., etc.

Of course, you should also remember that "invisible" does not equal "undetectable." Spot checks apply as per the rules, and bonuses may be allowed if one sees something float up and vanish, for example. It's pretty reasonable for shopkeepers to have Spot and Listen as a maxed-out class skills.

Unhasted and in combat the wearer of a Ring of Invisibility will be able to get a sneak attack every other round. Yes, it's nasty, but at 20,000 gp it's expensive enough that by the time you have one you can expect to start running into foes for whom invisibility is not an issue (blindsight).

 

[Pielorinho]

and he still gems from the local jewlery, but only one time in every diferent city (but he stills gems worthing 3000 - 5000 gp each time..........

Just saw this. Lemme turn it around on you:

How much would a merchant need to offer your PCs to get them to track down a thief? Would your PCs do it for 5,000 gp?

If so, then so would another party of characters, a party of NPC bounty hunters. Probably they'd do it for a lot less, if they were assured that the thief had a bunch of magic items.

A merchant who's just had 5,000 gp stolen from her is going to be willing to pay good money for vengeance and to prevent further thefts like that. If she doesn't, then every two-bit third-level wizard in town is going to get some fancy ideas.

Daniel

 

[Rosenkreux]

ok, i got u ideas and thanx for your help, but i cant use all that without using Metagame options (nonroleplaying options), i mean, i cant have every merchant in a small Thorp have invisibility purge, or expensive detect ways......

about the dog, its not every merchant who are willing to leave a dog inside his store.... its bad for business......






Viewing u ideas gave me a few more..........



Just another question....... If the PCS got caught and arrested, the local militia has the power to take the ring from them, along with a hard punishment, right?