The horrors of constant True Seeing...

[Kid Charlemagne]

But by all means, let's set a literal interpretation of the spell (that may or may not have been tweaked in Sage Advice) ahead of what's actually fun at the table.

Hey, it may very well be that a literal interpretation of the spell is more fun at the gaming table. I've seen so many people complaining about tactics that wouldn't be an issue if they'd read the specifics beforehand and enforced the actual rules that are already in place.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Hey, it may very well be that a literal interpretation of the spell is more fun at the gaming table. I've seen so many people complaining about tactics that wouldn't be an issue if they'd read the specifics beforehand and enforced the actual rules that are already in place.

If you read the post I'm responding to, fun doesn't appear in the equation at all, just a "stfu, no-rules-knowing n00b" tone.

But really, this isn't a tactics thread, this is a "what are some fun complications and encounters that can arise out of this" thread. If there are players at your table who don't want cool and interesting encounters, they should probably go watch TV in the other room and stop gumming up the works.

 

[FoxWander]

Well, before an interesting thread gets locked because of name-calling and hurt feelings, here's the spell description from the SRD:

You confer on the subject the ability to see all things as they actually are. The subject sees through normal and magical darkness, notices secret doors hidden by magic, sees the exact locations of creatures or objects under blur or displacement effects, sees invisible creatures or objects normally, sees through illusions, and sees the true form of polymorphed, changed, or transmuted things. Further, the subject can focus its vision to see into the Ethereal Plane (but not into extradimensional spaces). The range of true seeing conferred is 120 feet.

True seeing, however, does not penetrate solid objects. It in no way confers X-ray vision or its equivalent. It does not negate concealment, including that caused by fog and the like. True seeing does not help the viewer see through mundane disguises, spot creatures who are simply hiding, or notice secret doors hidden by mundane means. In addition, the spell effects cannot be further enhanced with known magic, so one cannot use true seeing through a crystal ball or in conjunction with clairaudience/clairvoyance.

So, YES the character can see through invisibility, he'll also see the medusa hiding behind a hat of disguise, AND also any polymorphed demons, celestials, dragons, etc. that are wandering the city. Plus, I'm sure it won't be long before he "focuses" his vision to see the Ethereal plane and possibly gets the beejeesus scared out of him from whatever the evil mind of his DM says is lurking on the border ethereal.

So, most of the (pretty cool, I must say) suggestions that have been made so far are perfectly fine for the "odd and bizzarre encounters" Arravis was originally looking for.

Here's MY suggestion to screw with your all-seeing one: sometime when he passes a mirror have him notice that he himself is not what he appears!

 

[Psychotic Jim]

First of all, it might be good to ask what your world is like. Is it filled with hidden secrets and conspiracies, spirits lurking behind every shadow? It would probably be best if all of these bad things were lurking in the background already before the PC got the this new ability. It might be prudent not to change your world much just to make things difficult the PC for getting a new ability.

That said, there's a lot that you could do with ghosts and spirits on the Ethereal Plane. Ravenloft has a take on this with ethereal resonance, the leftofter emotional remnants of dramatic events made physical on the Ethereal Plane. Presumably, if the character focused, he could see these more emotional/psychologically drawn out versions of the material world. Weak ghosts and spirits unable to materialize on the Material Plane, after seeing that a human can communicate with them, might spread the word and start gathering around the character to get him (often simply by begging) to do their wishes on the Material Plane. His true-seeing ability might in this way serve as a sort of "weirdness magnet", to put it into GURPS terms.

Another instance might be that many of his allies are not what they seem. They are helping him for reasons that are less altruistic than he suspected before. Now the character has to decide whether or not to still ally with them.

 

[D+1]

Seeing all the signs ACTUALLY saying things like, "Breed", "Consume", "Buy", "Stay Asleep", "Submit to Authority", etc. And lots and LOTS of Dopplegangers everywhere.

[For those who don't recognize this - see the really good/bad B-movie by John Carpenter, They Live!]

 

[D+1]

1) Unbeknownst to the citizens of the booming metropolis, residing in the ethereal, is a gargantuan horror/titan that looms broodingly over the city. Does the creature stand as a guardian or is it a nightmare of malevolance that awaits the means to enter our world.

STOLEN!

 

[Simplicity]

A plague begins to rapidly spread in the city. Priests can heal the disease, but they are overwhelmed by the number of afflicted. The priests have sensed some sort of diabolic involvement with the plague, and they ask the players to investigate, if possible. They worry that some sort of cult may be responsible.

The PC with True Seeing notices something unusual in the afflicted areas: some people wear invisible golden badges (triangular, pointing up, with an iridescent line up the middle). These people never seem to catch the plague, regardless of how many around them catch it. If asked about the badges, these people reply similarly: "I have no idea what your talking about." Attempts to remove the badges cause pain to their wearers, and they fight against it.

If a badge is actually removed, the person weaing it dies... The badge sprouts six legs, opens its triangular golden wings to reveal it's iridescent body, and fires a proboscis at the one foolish enough to remove it. The "badges" are actually plague-bearing beetles from the Abyss. These creatures attach to the hearts of their unknowing victims for sustenance. Those who are hosts to the beetles are immune to the plague they carry, but unwittingly spread the disease wherever they go.

There are various ways to go with this:
1) The PCs may be in trouble for "killing" an innocent citizen (perhaps even in public) when they removed the badge. Witnesses may think the players used black magic to do the victim in.
2) A PC may acquire a badge-beetle of their own. They must discover how to remove it without killing themselves.
3) The beetles need to be removed from the city as a whole. The PCs must track down those who carry them before they reproduce.

 

[yangnome]

hmmm i think one of my players will be cursed with this ability, or one similar to it during our next session....

 

[Steverooo]

Gord the Rogue

In his Gord the Rogue series of books, Gygax had Gord acquire a sword that granted him True Sight. In one episode, Gord and two of his friends (Curly & Chert) visit the local... ah... bordello, and Curly & Chert wonder why Gord isn't interested in all of the beautiful women working there... He doesn't bother to tell them that they are dallying with Night Hags, and such-like stuff... I never understood that Gord!

In "Ecology of the Doppleganger", way back when, the author had a captured one declare that the Dopplegangers wanted Human females. If the pseudo-medieval society is as gender-neutral as today, you could have a bordello for female patrons with some of those.

Hermits are good. They can be dragons, or true holy-men (or non-men), or even Herculean demigods.

Limbo should be really fun to look at... ;-p

 

[Matafuego]

I liked the idea of "invisible places" like the floating invisible prismatic spheres.
Maybe some invisible buildings floating around too or invisible entrances to places that the government/a guild want to keep secret for whatever obscure reasons...
Also i'd toy with the idea of polymorphed things in the cuty. Maybe even polymorphed people. How would anyone react if he found out that table in the bar is a polymorphed orc...? (I think you CAN do that with polymorph any object)