Single player game - Wizard Invisibility

[Mordar]

Hi all -

Running a single player game - character is a modified 3 Wiz/3 Clr/3 Mystic Theurge variant with a very nice familiar/companion (effectively a level 9 fighter, unoptimized). As a wise pure caster, the character frequently makes use of invisibility and illusion as primary damage avoidance. Sometimes dosed with fly and summons and the like as well...

Now, there is credit to be given for avoiding conflict, and sometimes the character will be able to do so and still achieve the current goal. However, there will be times when invis-a-sneaking can't work or the campaign will be anticlimactic to say the least. Short of throwing endless numbers of blindsense critters, what creatures, conditions or wrinkles would you recommend I employ to generate some greater danger or threat?

There will be a fair number of opponents with Dispel capability...I really don't feel that the blindsense types will fit the few settings the character will visit (ancient temple, elemental plane, mages' tower - though I do think dry undead shouldn't be impacted by invisibility...they aren't "seeing" things anyway! :smallsmile:), and there's no cause for opponents to have things like dust of appearance or other common PC anti-invis tools.

So, what thoughts does the playground have on the matter?

- M

[sleepyphoenixx]

Soft ground where he leaves footsteps and enemies with decent spot checks are a fairly cheap way to defend against invisible sneakers as long as he doesn't fly.

[Fortuna]

Bead curtains, I believe, are the classic response. Or closed doors.

[Randomguy]

A few enemies with high listen scores and a few sacks of flower on hand will help.

[Crake]

Resetting magic traps with invisibility purge that set off on special doors? They'd go unnoticed by any guards, but they'd be quite efficient with dealing with invisible intruders.

[TuggyNE]

though I do think dry undead shouldn't be impacted by invisibility...they aren't "seeing" things anyway! :smallsmile:

For what it's worth, skeletons, liches, and so forth (and even wraiths) actually do see things in a roughly normal fashion; Lifesense/blindsense/blindsight is not automatic on undead, and without some specific ability vision works the same for all creatures. How this happens is not really explained.

So no, just saying "the skeleton ignores your puny invisibility spell" is not really correct by RAW at all, and is not obviously common-sensical either.


A few enemies with high listen scores and a few sacks of flour on hand will help.

Fixed that for you. Lots and lots of small flowers might work too though I guess?

Also, creatures with scent are useful, such as ordinary guard dogs.

[BowStreetRunner]

Whenever you deal with stealthy characters as a DM, it is handy to look at the various stealth-related abilities and what they do. Then reflect back on which of these abilities the PC does NOT possess and you will see their vulnerabilities.

Trackless Step - a character with this ability does not leave a trail and cannot be tracked. An invisible character still leaves a trail and can be tracked. Note that per the Track (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#track) feat rules, someone without Track can use Survival to follow tracks when the DC is lower than 10. They can also use Search to find tracks with any DC, but cannot follow the tracks with Search.

Camouflage - a character with this ability can attempt to Hide without requiring cover or concealment. An invisible character gains total concealment and a +40 bonus to Hide while immobile or +20 while moving. So the invisible character doesn't need camouflage as they already have concealment. In essence, invisibility is an improved form of camouflage since it also gives a bonus. Note that an invisible character can still be detected if the Spot check beats their Hide check, although they retain the other benefits of total concealment.

Hide in Plain Sight - a character with this ability can attempt to Hide even when being observed. An invisible character still gains the benefits of total concealment if he becomes invisible while being observed, but anyone who observed him disappearing does not require a spot check to locate him unless the invisible character also has Hide in Plain Sight.

Darkstalker (feat) - a character with this ability can Hide even from creatures with blindsense, blindsight, scent, or tremorsense. An invisible character only gains the advantage of total concealment and the ability to hide from creatures that rely on sight. A creature with any of these other senses is not fooled by invisibility.

Move Silently - while a Listen check will tell another character that something is there, they cannot normally pinpoint the location of the invisible character without some other feat or ability. Still, it is better than being completely oblivious to the presence of an invisible threat.

Don't forget that traps (both mundane and magical) aren't generally fooled by invisibility, and area effect attacks can hit an invisible target without having to deal with a miss chance.

[Darrin]

Short of throwing endless numbers of blindsense critters, what creatures, conditions or wrinkles would you recommend I employ to generate some greater danger or threat?


A great deal of creatures have Scent. For the ones that don't, buying a dog is extremely cheap. As a move action, creatures with scent can detect the general direction of an invisible creature within 30' (or 60' if downwind). They can pinpoint an invisible creature with 5', which tells them which square the invisible creature is in (invisible creatures that are pinpointed still get a 50% miss chance). Teaching the dog to "Seek Invisible" should be a fairly simple trick (Handle Animal DC 15).

All creatures can detect an invisible creature with a Listen check as a free action every round. DC is 20 + 1 per 10' of distance, unless the creature is Moving Silently. You also get a free Spot check every round to locate an invisible creature, but the DC starts at 40 instead of 20. Read this (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040921a) for more details. If either check fails, you can re-try the Listen or Spot check as a move action. Thus, a creature could get three tries every round to locate an invisible opponent.

I might have an intelligent creature that was desperate to pick up a handful of dirt (move action) and then throw it in a 10' cone (standard action) to attempt to locate an invisible opponent, with an effect similar to a flour pouch from Dungeonscape (pinpoints creature and reduces miss chance to 20%), but with a shorter duration (1d3 rounds) or allow the invisible creature a chance to brush off the dirt (full-round action).

[Mordar]

For what it's worth, skeletons, liches, and so forth (and even wraiths) actually do see things in a roughly normal fashion; Lifesense/blindsense/blindsight is not automatic on undead, and without some specific ability vision works the same for all creatures. How this happens is not really explained.

So no, just saying "the skeleton ignores your puny invisibility spell" is not really correct by RAW at all, and is not obviously common-sensical either.

For the record, I don't play that way at all...was just fake-complaining that things without eyes shouldn't be distracted by optical illusions :smallbiggrin:

Thank you all for your insight...will definitely look for more Scent options in critters that match the themes!

- M

[Greenish]

Trackless Step - a character with this ability does not leave a trail and cannot be tracked. An invisible character still leaves a trail and can be tracked. Note that per the Track (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#track) feat rules, someone without Track can use Survival to follow tracks when the DC is lower than 10. They can also use Search to find tracks with any DC, but cannot follow the tracks with Search.

Darkstalker (feat) - a character with this ability can Hide even from creatures with blindsense, blindsight, scent, or tremorsense. An invisible character only gains the advantage of total concealment and the ability to hide from creatures that rely on sight. A creature with any of these other senses is not fooled by invisibility.For the sake of completing the list, Drow of the Underdark has a very cheap (for a magic item) set of boots that makes you untrackable and hides your scent.


Teaching the dog to "Seek Invisible" should be a fairly simple trick (Handle Animal DC 15).The "Flush Out (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031125a)" trick should work, too.