captainocd
First Post
Short story:
My PCs are in a sunken tower infested with undead. They are one room away from encountering a lone Pale Reaver disguised with it's Image of Life power. The Pale Reaver's passive Bluff is only 15 (Take 10 + 2 for 1/2 level + 3 CHA mod) and the parties' Druid has a passive Inisight of 16. Meaning, by simply walking into the room, he'll see right through her disguise or be recognize the her appearance is an illusion. I'm sort of a stickler for the rules and don't fudge rolls or numbers in favor of either the monster or the PCs, but I really want the Pale Reaver's disguise to go unrecognized. Is there a way within the rules that I can make this happen? I don't want to "squelch" my Druid's abilities just because I want the Pale Reaver to get the jump on them.
Long story:
My PCs are exploring a sunken tower, located somewhere within the Witchlight Fens, southwest of Fallcrest. Sightings of undead have been reported in and around the marshes and the PCs were sent to investigate. After a harrowing trek through the wetlands and an ambush by a Lizardfolk hunting party, the PCs arrive at the decrepit tower. The main, and seemingly only entrance, has sunken beneath the surface so the PCs scale the tower walls to find another way in. On the roof, they find a rusted iron door they they are forced to break open, alerting the tower's occupants to their presence.
They've descended down the tower, encountering undead on the way, and have finally reached the stairs that lead to the first floor. Up until now, every room has been pitch black, however light can be seen at the end of the stairwell. In the room below, they discover a female human sitting on the pedestal of a broken statue in the middle of what looks like almost like a museum, smoking a pipe. Her dress is indicative of an adventurer... or a thief, and she has a disappointed look on her face. She reacts sarcastically to the PCs, saying "Don't bother. Everything's already been swiped. I should have known better," referring to the empty frames hanging on the wall and the shattered display cases that border the room.
In reality, she is a Pale Reaver disguised with it's Image of Life power. Her appearence is how she looked when she was still alive. She was betrayed and murdered by her cohort when they came to rob the tower initially. Due to the circumstances of her death and the tower's connection to the Shadowfell, she rose as a Pale Reaver.
She introduces herself as Leena, a "treasure hunter" and engages the PCs in conversation. If they ask how she got inside (they came through the only available entrance which was rusted shut), she uses her Insubstantial Transformation power and claims that she is a gifted infiltrator. She tries to convince the PCs to accompany her into the basement, promising a vault full of riches. If they ask how she knows of such a vault, she acts ditzy and says "There's ALWAYS a vault!" After a bit of roleplaying and some bluff checks, if she earns the PCs trust, she will accompany them into the next room, using her "powers" to pass through an iron door to unlock it and lead the PCs into the tower basement. At this point, I divulge Leena's abilities to the PCs which are based on Splug's stat block:
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/2083/leena1.jpg
This more or less seals the deal, even to the most paranoid of metagamers, that Leena isn't going to betray them and that I intended for her to join them in order to progress the story somehow. That isn't so, though, as at the first ideal opportunity, Leena will attack them. She will remain undercover until this time, though, using Accomplice to get around the "until she attacks or is attacked" clause in Insubstantial Transformation.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5608/leena2.jpg
I built her as a Pale Reaver with the Shadowborn Stalker template. I plan to have her as a recurring character in the tower (which extends deep into the bog) who will phase through a wall or floor to escape whenever bloodied or alone.
Because of the way my PCs play, they will immediately assume that Leena is an enemy, even before she opens her mouth, so it's critical that this worry isn't compounded by the Druid's passive Insight check. The obvious changes I could make are to make Leena trained in Bluff, but I feel like that is a direct spit in the face to the Druid. I am making a specific change to a monster in order to counter my player's character build. It seems really dirty. Any advice on how I can get her Bluff to 17 "legally"?
Also, exactly how does passive Insight interact with Image of Life? Do I use Bluff to determine the DC or "recognize effect as illusory" on page 185 of the PHB. I've no problem if they see threw her active bluff checks, but it just seems odd that the Druid walks into the room and is like "Oh, look, a ghost" and ruins this cool story opportunity.
While I'm asking questions: Can I give a Lurker a Soldier Template, etc? If I do, what HP/Defence do I use? The Soldier or the Lurker?
Thanks guys, us new DMs really depend on you vets.
My PCs are in a sunken tower infested with undead. They are one room away from encountering a lone Pale Reaver disguised with it's Image of Life power. The Pale Reaver's passive Bluff is only 15 (Take 10 + 2 for 1/2 level + 3 CHA mod) and the parties' Druid has a passive Inisight of 16. Meaning, by simply walking into the room, he'll see right through her disguise or be recognize the her appearance is an illusion. I'm sort of a stickler for the rules and don't fudge rolls or numbers in favor of either the monster or the PCs, but I really want the Pale Reaver's disguise to go unrecognized. Is there a way within the rules that I can make this happen? I don't want to "squelch" my Druid's abilities just because I want the Pale Reaver to get the jump on them.
Long story:
My PCs are exploring a sunken tower, located somewhere within the Witchlight Fens, southwest of Fallcrest. Sightings of undead have been reported in and around the marshes and the PCs were sent to investigate. After a harrowing trek through the wetlands and an ambush by a Lizardfolk hunting party, the PCs arrive at the decrepit tower. The main, and seemingly only entrance, has sunken beneath the surface so the PCs scale the tower walls to find another way in. On the roof, they find a rusted iron door they they are forced to break open, alerting the tower's occupants to their presence.
They've descended down the tower, encountering undead on the way, and have finally reached the stairs that lead to the first floor. Up until now, every room has been pitch black, however light can be seen at the end of the stairwell. In the room below, they discover a female human sitting on the pedestal of a broken statue in the middle of what looks like almost like a museum, smoking a pipe. Her dress is indicative of an adventurer... or a thief, and she has a disappointed look on her face. She reacts sarcastically to the PCs, saying "Don't bother. Everything's already been swiped. I should have known better," referring to the empty frames hanging on the wall and the shattered display cases that border the room.
In reality, she is a Pale Reaver disguised with it's Image of Life power. Her appearence is how she looked when she was still alive. She was betrayed and murdered by her cohort when they came to rob the tower initially. Due to the circumstances of her death and the tower's connection to the Shadowfell, she rose as a Pale Reaver.
She introduces herself as Leena, a "treasure hunter" and engages the PCs in conversation. If they ask how she got inside (they came through the only available entrance which was rusted shut), she uses her Insubstantial Transformation power and claims that she is a gifted infiltrator. She tries to convince the PCs to accompany her into the basement, promising a vault full of riches. If they ask how she knows of such a vault, she acts ditzy and says "There's ALWAYS a vault!" After a bit of roleplaying and some bluff checks, if she earns the PCs trust, she will accompany them into the next room, using her "powers" to pass through an iron door to unlock it and lead the PCs into the tower basement. At this point, I divulge Leena's abilities to the PCs which are based on Splug's stat block:
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/2083/leena1.jpg
This more or less seals the deal, even to the most paranoid of metagamers, that Leena isn't going to betray them and that I intended for her to join them in order to progress the story somehow. That isn't so, though, as at the first ideal opportunity, Leena will attack them. She will remain undercover until this time, though, using Accomplice to get around the "until she attacks or is attacked" clause in Insubstantial Transformation.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5608/leena2.jpg
I built her as a Pale Reaver with the Shadowborn Stalker template. I plan to have her as a recurring character in the tower (which extends deep into the bog) who will phase through a wall or floor to escape whenever bloodied or alone.
Because of the way my PCs play, they will immediately assume that Leena is an enemy, even before she opens her mouth, so it's critical that this worry isn't compounded by the Druid's passive Insight check. The obvious changes I could make are to make Leena trained in Bluff, but I feel like that is a direct spit in the face to the Druid. I am making a specific change to a monster in order to counter my player's character build. It seems really dirty. Any advice on how I can get her Bluff to 17 "legally"?
Also, exactly how does passive Insight interact with Image of Life? Do I use Bluff to determine the DC or "recognize effect as illusory" on page 185 of the PHB. I've no problem if they see threw her active bluff checks, but it just seems odd that the Druid walks into the room and is like "Oh, look, a ghost" and ruins this cool story opportunity.
While I'm asking questions: Can I give a Lurker a Soldier Template, etc? If I do, what HP/Defence do I use? The Soldier or the Lurker?
Thanks guys, us new DMs really depend on you vets.
