sneak attack with improved invis.

[noretoc]

I am pretty sure this has been discusses before, but I have no idea where, so I'll ask the question. Does this seem really unbalanced. My party has a rogue and a wizard who work together well. The wizard makes scrolls for the rougue who then uses them and cast improved invis on himself. Then he can kill go to town. I know that when you are attacked by an invisable opponent, you get an idea where he is, and you can attack that square. That dosen't change the fact that you are still denied your dex bonus and the rogue can sneak atack you every round until the spell wears off.
I have been trying to think of way to aviod this. I don't mind the rogue getting his sneak attacks, but I think there should be some defense. One idea my group thought of, is that once the rogue attacks, the victim knows he is there and can defend himself. This only lasts while the rogue is adjacent. If the rogue moves out of the threatened area, then he may move back in in another direction, and make another smeak attack. He must spend at least one round out of the threatened area though, enough for the victim to lose track of where he is.
I know a lot of people probably think this is taking away from the rogue, but in my opinion it just make anyone else without using this tactic obsolete. To be able to deliver 5d6 per attack per round with no chance for the victim to avoid it, (even if he runs, the rogue can follow him) seems a bit unfair to me.

 

[James McMurray]

The foes of high level characters should generally have the ability to detect invisibility or dispel it in some way. Granted, not all of them will, but quite a few should.

Also, it takes time to scribe a bunch of scrolls. If the party is taking too much time, be sure to take into account what their foes are doing in that time as well: shoring up defenses, hiring new troops, studying new spells, etc.

Finally, if anyone finds themselves on the receiving end of an unstoppable invisible rogue, they sghould flee. Then they will either flee for good o find themselves a counter for the next time they meet that rogue.

Hope this helps

 

[Dr. Zoom]

Question: What is the rogue's Use Magic Device bonus? He needs to make two checks to use the scroll. He must decipher the scroll first (DC 25 + spell level; 29 in this case) and then roll 20 or more to cast the spell. If he does not roll at least a 27 on this check, his caster level will not be high enough and there will be a chance of failure or mishap.

 

[green slime]

There are other more mundane methods of combating invisibility, which the well prepared opponent will have handy:

1) Nets
2) Sand, dust, water vapour, pools of water... These all give away the rogue.
3) Area affects in general, even simple ones ( grease)
4) Caltrops and the like
5) Grenade-like missiles; even a near miss has a spash effect.

 

[Shin Okada]

Improved Invisibility is a good combo. No doubt. But still, this is not that all mighty.

5d6 sneak attack damage. So your PCs are at least 9+ level right? At this level, so many opponents ...

1) can see or otherwise detect invisible character.
2) can cast invisibility purge, dispel magic, glitterdust, etc.
3) have some kind of magic items to deal with invisible foe (potion of See Invisible, dust of appearance, etc).
4) have uncanny dodge or Blind-Fight feat.
5) are immune to critical hit and thus not a subject to sneak attacks.
6) be wearing fortified armor.

Also note, a rogue cannot make sneak attacks if the opponent have some degree of concealment. Darkness and Fog can be trouble. Blur, very common 2nd level spell, can negate sneak attacks unless the rogue have True Seeing or something.

And, Improved Invisibility is not a spell with long duration (1 minuets per level). One cast of the spell will be enough for a battle, but that rogue cannot be invisible all the way of an adventure. Just try to increase the number of encounters. This kind of combo can be a trouble if you only put limited numbers of big showdowns. If you put more small fights in an adventure (or in a day), spell oriented combos can not be that good.