To catch a sorceress

[Shining Wrath]

OK, so I want bad NPCs to catch an NPC sorceress, with the PCs joining the melee post-capture. The boss of the bad NPCs wants to have a face to face with the sorceress (alive) for Reasons that don't much matter for this situation.

Now the NPC sorceress has the following salient characteristics:

Level 9
Elf (so Trance)
Alert feat (so will not be surprised)
Knows Still Spell metamagic, so can cast without verbal and without somatic components
Knows Quicken metamagic
Knows Dimension Door


When the bad NPCs attack, they pick the lock (stealthy rogue, obviously) on her room at the inn and burst in. Obviously, the first couple of guys through the door are going to be eating nasty magic of some sort, but mooks are expendable to the BBEG. Her husband is in the room with her, so she's not going to just poof out of sight. He's a 9th level Ranger, archery focus, so while he's not in an ideal situation in melee he can't be ignored. She's likely to believe they can handle the situation until proven otherwise. Which is where you come in. I need something that doesn't require a super-high level bad guy that can capture a sorceress, given the advantage of numbers and bad guys who are more scared of their boss than they are of taking Fire Bolt to the face.

My first thought is nets, followed by Hold Person (sorcerers don't get Wisdom as a proficient save), followed by some sort of poison that will "knock her out" - but I don't think there's a poison that renders someone incapable of taking an action, and Still Spell means she can Dimension Door as long as she's got a sorcery point left and is capable of acting. If necessary I can home brew such a poison, but that seems sorta cheesy.

The goal is for the PCs to slow down the bad guys until the husband can catch up and undo whatever's been done to take her out of combat (e.g., lesser restoration, or an antidote potion, or whatever), at which point the bad guys will probably run for their lives because an angry pair of 9th level characters, plus a first level party, plus the inn has a bouncer or two ... well, their boss is scary, but this is getting ridiculous.

[Daishain]

If I remember right, oil of taggit causes unconsciousness.

But if I were to take those two out in a surprise assault while leaving at least the sorceress alive, I'd lead with Feeblemind, preferably paired with something that would decrease the odds of her making the save. After that, the D&D world does have inscribed shackles and other items that prevent casting spells, even if they aren't statted in the DMG.

[MrStabby]

Yeah, one use magic items and potions might help - scroll of Maze? Monk with stunning? A silence spell could be pretty awesome to help.

Maybe the spells to turn the floor to mud then trap their feet in stone?

If you want to be really cheeky drop some magical darkness over the whole thing so the players only see the result.

[Shining Wrath]

Oil of taggit might be the ticket.
Feeblemind is pretty high level (8?) and I'm looking for something that can be fixed by the cast on hand. Feeblemind requires high level magic to undo. Feeblemind is one of the nastiest spells out there, actually.
The players get to see the bad guys lugging the sorceress like luggage down the hallway while the sounds of her husband dealing with the mooks that stand between him and her emanate from their room.
EDIT: Silence doesn't do that much to a sorcerer with Still Spell metamagic other than make them burn Sorcery points.

[MrStabby]

Hmm. How about the sorceress and husband are staying in the inn. As part of the Mooks Dasardly plot they keep sending room service to their room and waking them up. The sorceress and ranger have not rested so have very few spells and are easily overwhelmed. :smallsmile:

[Shining Wrath]

Hmm. How about the sorceress and husband are staying in the inn. As part of the Mooks Dasardly plot they keep sending room service to their room and waking them up. The sorceress and ranger have not rested so have very few spells and are easily overwhelmed. :smallsmile:

Hehe.

Knock knock.

Who is it?

Room service.

WE DIDN'T ORDER ANYTHING, DAMMIT!

Sorry, wrong room. Sotto voice I think it's working ...

[Anderlith]

Try an antimagic/dispell net. Even without that you could rule that if the bad guys entered the room while invisible or in a globe of darkness snuck up to the sorceress & attached a manacle & chain to her so that even if she dimension doored the chain would still be attached, still tying her to the bad guys who would then grapple/dogpile her & knock her out. Heck, a big damager dealing mercy damage could just one shot knock her out

[Shining Wrath]

Try an antimagic/dispell net. Even without that you could rule that if the bad guys entered the room while invisible or in a globe of darkness snuck up to the sorceress & attached a manacle & chain to her so that even if she dimension doored the chain would still be attached, still tying her to the bad guys who would then grapple/dogpile her & knock her out. Heck, a big damager dealing mercy damage could just one shot knock her out

I'm trying to NOT give my level 1 PC party phat lewt of the "antimagic / dispel net" variety. I think that since Dimension Door lets you escape from a grapple it ought to let you escape from manacles unless they are enchanted, which leads back to the phat lewt problem.

The idea of someone one-shotting her unconscious has some appeal. I'll have to see if I can make that happen without bringing some super-powerful baddie on the scene.

[Easy_Lee]

I think sending a monk at her, preferably shadow, and just saying that she failed her CON save once or twice in the two rounds it took to knock her out would be good enough.

[Finieous]

1st level PCs? So all of this is to figure out what the 9th+ level NPCs do to each other?

I say make up a poison, put it in her breakfast cereal, and cut to the part where the PCs get to do something fun.

[Draken]

Poison is probably what you want.

Three good options on that end. All of them scheduled for nighttime because that is when sane criminals kidnap people.

Option 1: Building across the street. One duergar. One (repeating) heavy crossbow. Two doses of drow poison. No illumination anywhere.

Option 2: One criminal in the kitchen. Some Torpor in the meal of the couple.

Option 3: One criminal posing as a maid/cleaner. Leave behind something for aroma (incense?) on the couple's room. Lace it with Essence of Ether.

All options also obviously require a squad of goons to pick up the poisoned pair up and take them off.

[Shining Wrath]

Poison is probably what you want.

Three good options on that end. All of them scheduled for nighttime because that is when sane criminals kidnap people.

Option 1: Building across the street. One duergar. One (repeating) heavy crossbow. Two doses of drow poison. No illumination anywhere.

Option 2: One criminal in the kitchen. Some Torpor in the meal of the couple.

Option 3: One criminal posing as a maid/cleaner. Leave behind something for aroma (incense?) on the couple's room. Lace it with Essence of Ether.

All options also obviously require a squad of goons to pick up the poisoned pair up and take them off.

These are all good choices. #1 can be modified with two duegar in two windows, of course. Option #3 might not work as this isn't a higher end place (it's what's available - they aren't cheap), so that would cause suspicions in any reasonable party.

[Shining Wrath]

1st level PCs? So all of this is to figure out what the 9th+ level NPCs do to each other?

I say make up a poison, put it in her breakfast cereal, and cut to the part where the PCs get to do something fun.

This is to give the PCs a different sort of challenge; instead of "PCs defeat the monsters" this is "PCs figure out on the fly that the key to this encounter is free the high level caster and how can we help make that happen".

Any bunch of level 1 characters can bash in the heads of some goblins. This is going to be a test of problem solving skills in the middle of a moving battle.

[Shining Wrath]

I think sending a monk at her, preferably shadow, and just saying that she failed her CON save once or twice in the two rounds it took to knock her out would be good enough.

That goes along with the one-shot idea; send a couple of expendable mooks into the room to absorb the obvious response to doors bursting open in the middle of the night, then follow with heavier hitters.

[Flashy]

Her husband is in the room with her, so she's not going to just poof out of sight.

This actually doesn't apply, since dimension door allows you to bring along one other willing creature. Poison before the fight even starts is definitely the way to do.

[weaseldust]

They could just stuff her in a portable hole and block the opening. Or find any other way of forcing/tricking her into a demi-plane where they can speak to her but she can't teleport out. (Dimension Door can't take you outside the plane you're currently on, right?)

[Shining Wrath]

This actually doesn't apply, since dimension door allows you to bring along one other willing creature. Poison before the fight even starts is definitely the way to do.

Hmmm. She might not do it anyway; a pair of 9th level characters being swarmed by mooks might think the local thieves' guild just did some poor recon and bit off more than they can chew. As high level PCs, it is their moral obligation to kill Stupid Evil.

But yeah, I think someone getting some poison into the room somehow is the ticket.

The traditional "blow powder under door" scene from 101 movies comes to mind.