Looking for a needle in a haystack - ideas please

[Thirsty]

Hi all.

My party has been given a rather difficult task and we're rapidly running out of ideas as to how to go about doing it.

We're looking for a flying boat that sunk in a lake. When I say lake, small sea would be a more appropriate term. We also have no idea what the boat looks like as it is thousands of years old (we know it's there because of the legends), although it is supposed to made of gold (legends again).

In our party we have the services of a cleric, 2 mages, a barbarian and a druid (all around 13th level). Unfortunately we can't rely on much other support because a.) we're miles away from anywhere and b.) we don't have as good PR as the bad guys have and most of the world wants to kill us.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Cheers
Thirsty

 

[Dragongirl]

Well if the mages have divination spells you could try to "see" what happened to the boat before it sunk. Would let you know what it looks like and the general area it went down.

 

[Felix]

Find a bard and ask him to ask around. See if his bard buddies know anything about it. If it's legendary, they'll know. They might even have pictures.

Or, hire an aquatic Bloodhound PrC person if that orginization is in your world. They could track it down.

Talk to mermen, aquatic elves, kuo-toa if they don't attack you, and whatever fishpeople you can find.

Have the druid Awaken a fish and talk to it.

 

[Aeolius]

find a magic item that can detect precious metals...perhaps the "gold tooth"?

 

[humble minion]

The druid's 'commune with nature' might be a worthwhile bet. I seem to recall (from a mention in Sepulchrave's story hour - plug, plug!) that you can use CWN to find large concentrations of metal. And the range of the spell is enormous.

 

[Happiest_Sadist]

Ideas: The druid can wild shape into a shark or other aquatic animal and canvas the bottom in likely areas, although this may take a long time. Speak with animals is good.

You can have your cleric cast commune and play 20 questions to find it. Use a map and divide it into grids.
Cleric: Is it in the north half of the lake?
West Half?
North quarter?

This can narrow the search considerably. If the lake is say 32 miles by 32 miles, then you can find the location within 1 mile with only 10 questions.

 

[nameless]

Perhaps you could have one of the divine spellcasters (or arcanists if they have the spell) use a Calling spell to get an extraplanar critter who will help. With a Planar Ally spell from the Cleric, you can get 5 tritons to come and help. It's also entirely possible that an outsider could have been alive thousands of years ago and knows firsthand information about the ship.

But really, the Druid should be able to scry on the ship, and then tell a wizard how to teleport there. Really, it's not too hard for a wizard or cleric to Scry, but the Druid can do it anywhere he can find a still pool.

As a final option, assuming time is flexible, you could go on a short quest to find a Rod of Treasure Detection or some other magic item that helps to locate other objects.

 

[Dragongirl]

You can have your cleric cast commune and play 20 questions to find it. Use a map and divide it into grids.
Cleric: Is it in the north half of the lake?
West Half?
North quarter?

Hehe I like that idea. Will have to remember it if I ever get into a situation like that.

 

[Femerus the Gnecro]

Wouldn't the 'discern location' spell solve your problems?

-F

 

[Larry Fitz]

How about this?


****************************************************
Find the Path

Divination
Level: Clr 6, Drd 6, Knowledge 6, Travel 6
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 3 rounds
Range: Personal or touch
Target: The character or creature touched
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: None or Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No or Yes (harmless)

The recipient of this spell can find the shortest, most direct physical route to a specified destination. Note that the spell works with respect to locales, not objects or creatures within a locale. The location must be on the same plane as the character at the time of casting.

The spell enables the subject to sense the correct direction that will eventually lead him to his destination, indicating at the appropriate times the exact path to follow or physical actions to take. The spell frees the subject, and those with him, from a maze spell in a single round.

This divination is keyed to the recipient, not his companions, and does not predict or allow for the actions of creatures (including guardians).

****************************************************

Now bear with me, while the golden ship is an object, thet place where it sank is a location, your Druid through successive castings should be able to find it pretty quickly....