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Etcetera
2009-09-02, 04:36 AM
Does anyone know of any 3.5 Core sneaky tricks off the top of their heads. Stuff to slow down people, conceal and mislead. I have marbles, wire, concealed daggers, caltrops, etc but nothing really outstanding.
Any suggestions?

PinkysBrain
2009-09-02, 04:47 AM
Sneak attack with acid flasks and alchemist fire is deadly. Tanglefoot bags are effective if a bit expensive at low level. Drop some smokesticks (free action) while running and throw an alchemist fire at it for an impromptu smoke screen.

loopy
2009-09-02, 05:12 AM
A trick I stole from one of the FR books (I think it was an Artemis Entreri idea). Crush up glass into powder, serve with beverage or jellied food, then wait for victim to die of internal bleeding/hemorrhaging.

And 'Cure Poison' doesn't help at all! :smallbiggrin:

Boci
2009-09-02, 05:14 AM
A trick I stole from one of the FR books (I think it was an Artemis Entreri idea). Crush up glass into powder, serve with beverage or jellied food, then wait for victim to die of internal bleeding/hemorrhaging.

And 'Cure Poison' doesn't help at all! :smallbiggrin:

I'm not too sure that works, given that there is a macho traditions of eating the glass of the vodka shot.

Etcetera
2009-09-02, 05:15 AM
That sounds sneaky, tricksy and a really good idea. Plus, no chance of poisoning yourself.
Edit: Snopes says it doesn't work though...

loopy
2009-09-02, 05:22 AM
Eh. With no knowledge of if it would actually work or not, I'd rule of cool it in.

But thanks for destroying one of my assassins favorite tricks, haha. :smallsmile:

Boci
2009-09-02, 05:22 AM
That sounds sneaky, tricksy and a really good idea. Plus, no chance of poisoning yourself.
Edit: Snopes says it doesn't work though...

There was that idea from CSI NY. The piece of wale baline I think that was tied together with intestine. Same concept. Feed it to them and then wait for them to die.


Eh. With no knowledge of if it would actually work or not, I'd rule of cool it in.

But thanks for destroying one of my assassins favorite tricks, haha. :smallsmile:

Your welcomne. I'm sure there could be a special kind of extra sharp glass that is not safe to digest.

Etcetera
2009-09-02, 05:24 AM
On the same subject, in core is there anyway to gain safe use of poison without becoming a blackguard or assasin?

Boci
2009-09-02, 05:26 AM
On the same subject, in core is there anyway to gain safe use of poison without becoming a blackguard or assasin?

Posion immunity? Have a celric standing by to cast neutralize poision?

Etcetera
2009-09-02, 05:33 AM
Lets assume someone was off on a mission to assasinate someone else. In the interest of stealth the cleric is left behind. It assasin needs to use poison so he has a decent chance of killing his target in one hit. But while applying the poison he accidentally poisons himself(Yeah, I know) and is unable to complete his mission. Both the Blackguard and Assasin PrC havce no risk of poisoning themselves. Is there any other way to get this in core (or could I try and get it as a feat or by spending skill points)

Eloel
2009-09-02, 05:58 AM
Druid & Monk get immunity to poison eventually. You can't poison yourself if you're immune to it.

PinkysBrain
2009-09-02, 06:03 AM
It's a ranger 3 spell, so you can buy potions of neutralize poison ... expensive though.

Grumman
2009-09-02, 06:04 AM
One of my characters carries a fragile flask filled with ingested poison, in case of emergencies. It's not the sort of thing that sees much use, but five doses each of retch and dark reaver powder is a good last-ditch attempt to persuade the big nasty monster to stop trying to eat you.

Curmudgeon
2009-09-02, 06:18 AM
Spring-loaded caltrops.

Basically, 3 of the 4 prongs are hinged and fold up alongside the other prong. Squeeze them together and they fit into a cylindrical area; let them go and they behave like normal caltrops. Get 7 of them together (6 around 1) and put them into a weapon sheath. Then you can deploy them quickly: draw a weapon (caltrop bundle) as a free action during normal movement, and drop them as another free action. (Based on the weight of iron of sufficient strength to puncture boots, you'll only get 6-7 caltrops in a standard 2 lb. bag, so this cylindrical handful should be adequate to "cover" a 5' square.) I like to strew these caltrops while tumbling.

LibraryOgre
2009-09-02, 08:21 AM
Problem with the crushed glass option: it's easily overcome by a simple "Cure Light Wounds" spell.

"What? He's bleeding internally? Dies omnes requiscat. No, he isn't."

loopy
2009-09-02, 08:30 AM
Except it'd be like CLWing someone while the arrow was still inside them. It'd fix the damage, but as soon as you moved again, the injuries would start over.

That is, if it worked. :smallsigh:

Etcetera
2009-09-02, 08:38 AM
Damn folklore and conjecture. But apart from a short discussion on the uses of powdered glass (very little), does anyone have any other ideas?

Person_Man
2009-09-02, 09:25 AM
One of the most overlooked and useful Skills is Sleight of Hand. Take a second to re-read it. You'll learn:


It's a DC 20 to lift a small object from a person.
Even if your target beats your Sleight of Hand check with their Spot check, you still lift the object, as long as you make the DC 20.
You may perform a Sleight of Hand check as a free action by taking a -20 penalty on the check.


It's easy to boost Skill checks. So you can walk up to an enemy, and pretty much lift every unattended object they're wearing. Spell Component pouch, holy symbol, potions, magic items, quiver, unused weapons, etc. The only thing that limits Free Actions is your DM. You'll find that it's quite easy to shut down most casters and ranged builds, and there's nothing they can do about it.

But wait, there's more! You can also plant items on your enemy with a Sleight of Hand check. If you're in a civilized area, "find" something illegal (poison, drugs, the king's stolen jewels), go to the town guard and say that your enemy approached you and offered to sell you the illegal whatever, then go with them to confront your enemy. Plant the illegal whatever on him, and he's off to prison.

But wait, there's more! There's a hilarious and cheap object in the Planar Handbook called the Elemental Loadstone: Each loadstone weighs 50 lbs. You can throw one or use it in a sling for 2d6 damage. Or you can use make a Sleight of Hand check to plant one on an enemy, potentially loading them down to such a point that they go above their carrying capacity and can’t move. Since you can theoretically make as many Sleight of Hand checks per round as you want, you should be able to quickly immobilize anyone who comes within your reach (assuming they’re wearing cloths or armor, that you have the Quickdraw feat, and that you can carry enough loadstones to weigh them down).

But wait, there's more! If you have an Animal Companion, you can Share Spells up to 30 ft away by taking the Companion Spellbound feat. Use Sleight of hand to plant your tiny Companion directly on your enemy, and then find some spell that covers you (and your companion) in Fire or Acid or whatever. Or just cast Polymorph, and see what happens when your enemy is suddenly in the same space as a Cryohydra.

Etcetera
2009-09-02, 09:32 AM
Nice! I can't use the lodestone (It's not Core), but contact poison, bags of devouring, and other such nasties could be used. I didn't know about removing components pouches, but that'll probably be of use.

Temet Nosce
2009-09-02, 09:37 AM
A personal favorite of mine is flour. Ever heard of a fuel air explosive? AKA, the poor mans nuke. The originals occurred in mills from the flour in the air (and sometimes leveled multiple buildings). They're cheap, hideously powerful, and easy to arrange.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-09-02, 09:38 AM
1. Get tower shield to provide you wtih total concealment.
2. Hide behind tower shield.
3. Your equipment is also hidden when you hide. This includes the tower shield.
4. ???
5. Profit.

Etcetera
2009-09-02, 10:10 AM
Thanks for reminding me about flour! The tower shield trick is rather cheesy, but thanks for trying:smallsmile:. I suppose flour could also be used to find invisible things. And make bread.

Cyrion
2009-09-02, 10:43 AM
One of the sneaky tricks I use on a regular basis is to carry around asafoetida. It's used IRL in exorcisms and smells absolutely disgusting. Very good for screwing up something's ability to track you by scent or to make them socially unacceptable for a while. Chili powder is a possible alternative.

I also make a point of doing flashbangs and darkbangs- cast continual light or continual darkness (or whatever they renamed them to in your favorite edition) on a small object. Then enclose it in a clay shell to conceal the light or darkness. Now you've got a projectile to suddenly change the lighting conditions around you. A simple variation gives you an excellent flashlight.

Etcetera
2009-09-02, 10:47 AM
Hmmm. I have an everburning rock, so I could just put that inside a clay ball...

LibraryOgre
2009-09-02, 10:47 AM
The problem with the elemental lodestone is that pretty much everyone is going to notice when you drop 50# on them, even if they don't notice that you're the one who did it. On the other hand, you might be able to get away with a tindertwig in someplace with a lot of friction (between their legs, under their arm). Bonus points if you stick a smokestick in there, too. Walking + tindertwig + smokestick = fire and pain and smoke.

Jack Zander
2009-09-02, 10:49 AM
At a bit higher levels, get a core loadstone (cursed item) get remove curse cast on you, then slieght of hand it to someone else. They can't get rid of it until they get a remove curse.

Optimystik
2009-09-02, 10:58 AM
Except it'd be like CLWing someone while the arrow was still inside them. It'd fix the damage, but as soon as you moved again, the injuries would start over.

That is, if it worked. :smallsigh:

After you find out the healing isn't working, just wear an item with Fast Healing/Regeneration until you... ah... "express yourself." Problem solved.

ericgrau
2009-09-02, 11:17 AM
Flour bombs (small bags of flour) are a popular way to reveal invisible creatures, once you locate them (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#invisibility). For caltrops (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#caltrops) they take a while to set up, so you want to use them in a 5 foot wide hallway or plenty of prep time. Lay down a line the full width of the passageway and put a melee guy or two in front of it. You want to keep daggers, lock picks, other small objects, etc. hidden on your person for roleplaying situations in towns or what not where they don't allow weapons, or in case you ever get captured. Not much use in your typical dungeon though. See sleight of hand (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/sleightOfHand.htm). A rope, grappling hook, pitons and a hammer are commonly useful, given a decent enough climb (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/climb.htm) and use rope (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/useRope.htm) modifier. Tanglefoot bags (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#tanglefootBag) for delaying one of your enemies while your team kills his allies. Smokesticks (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#smokestick) for concealing which way you ran at a tee junction or foiling ranged attackers so you can close into melee. Thunderstones (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#thunderstone) give an easy AoE deafness to casters, giving them a 20% spell failure chance each round. A mirror lets you look around corners with less chance of being seen. Smearing contact poison (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#poison) on things could have a million uses. Um, that's all I could think of at the moment, but maybe you'll find more.