Test my Knowledge (Arcana)

[MerakSpielman]

Nice try Merak!

Oops! I didn't read it very well, and it was so short... I have nobody to blame but myself. So I'm a spell-less, equipment-less wizard... Can I assume I'm in a standard cell, with stone walls and iron bars? Are any torches visible? Guards? How far do I have to go before I've escaped?

Spoiler

My thought process now, go through the PHB and find spells with no material component. Give myself spell mastery of these spells. But I'll need to do the aforementioned research before I can do this.

 

[Thanee]

Yep, standard. There are torches at the walls in a decent distance, guards coming in every now and then, etc.

You're on the right way now (at least the one I had thought about as a solution, there could be more), tho.

How about my answer to your well question... is that what you thought about (the second one, the first is more of a joke )?

Bye
Thanee

 

[MerakSpielman]

Solutions for Well/Sphere puzzle:

Spoiler

1. Passwall,
2. Stone Shape, or
3. Transmute rock to mud. (and dig through the mud)

Generally, it is more effective to go walk three or four feet from the sphere and cast your passage spell on the stone at your feet to create a diagonal tunnel into the well.

 

[silentspace]

Merak, here's a bunch of thoughts -

Spoiler

I thought Stone Shape too. The stone plugging the hole is the one that is shaped. Surely there is a way to stone shape the sphere into something that allows passage? Then you'll just need a rope to get down? Other ways: 1 - Summon an earth elemental (can it move through earth carrying objects?). 2 - Lesser Planar Binding on an outsider who can go etherial. 3 - Gaseous Form (if it allows you to go in and out of gaseous form more than once during the spell's duration). 4 - Dimension Door (if you can use the single spell twice ). 5 - Buy a team of heavy horses and ropes and pull the damn rock out. Then climb down the hole.

Well? Anything?

Edit - oops you beat me to it.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Solution for Thanee's puzzle:

Spoiler

Have Spell Mastery: Blink. Go through the walls.

 

[CRGreathouse]

That's not fair, the commoner cannot use the scroll!!!

Thanee:

Spoiler

Sure he can. He's human, so he takes Cosmopolitan (Use Magic Device) and Skill Focus (Use Magic Device) and 4 ranks (since it's now a class skill).

He gets 4 (ranks) - 4 (Cha) + 3 (SF) + 2 (Cosmopolitan) = +5. If he rolls a 20, he can hit the DC 25 'activate blindly'. Wait... with Int and Cha of 3, he can't cast the spell anyway, even with Emulate Ability Score (since the commoner can't hit DC 32). Oh well; it was kind of cheating to use activate blindly instead of use a scroll, after all.

OK, new plan: the commoner takes one rank of UMD and none of the feats. His penalty is -3. When he attempts to activate the scroll, automatically gets a mishap (DMG 238). One of the mishaps is "spell takes effect at some random location within the spell's range"...

 

[silentspace]

Thanee -

Spoiler

5th level - Spell Mastery the most useful third level spell - Suggestion! Get the guard to give you a key. 1st level - Spell Mastery Mage Hand and get the key?

 

[MerakSpielman]

Merak, here's a bunch of thoughts

Silentspace -

Spoiler

1. The earth elemental will be dispelled when it reaches the anti-magic field. It couldn't carry you anyway, but it could have carried the figureine out for you. 2. This should work. I couldn't figure out a good way to put a Wall of Force in, but I thought about it. 3. Gaseous Form - I wouldn't allow multiple gaseous-nesses from one spell. Anyway, the anti-magic field would dispel it once you were in. 4. DD is prevented by the dimensional ancher. 5. Good luck finding a team of horses in the vast stony wilderness . Besides, 15 tons is pretty huge, even for a very large team of horses, and a lot of the mass of the sphere is down in the hole, so there'd have to be some lifting action, too.

 

[silentspace]

Merak - heh, didn't read your puzzle properly

 

[MerakSpielman]

Merak's Puzzle #2:

You are a first level mage trapped in a magically locked iron cage held elevated 30' above a river.

You have no ranks in swim, and estimate you would drown if you enter the water. Ten miles downstream is a fishing city that straddles the river.

You do not have spell mastery, you do not have a familiar, and all your spells have been used up.

The only equipment you have is a scroll of detect magic, a sewing needle, and a potion of cure light wounds.

Escape the cage.

(yes, I have a solution to this one.)