Explosive Cloak for Undead/Constructs

[hector212121]

I just had a bout of inspiration. Everyone's always thinking of explosive runes as something to use on offense--what about using it defensively? This is best suited to either a necromancer's minions, a lich, or a golem.

First, take a bunch of sheets of hide--something you can write on, but that'll be sturdy enough to actually make a cloak out of. Inscribe Explosive Runes on each hide....with the Merciful Spell metamagic on them. Then sew it all up. Ideally, you'll have 10-20 inscribed runes.

Now, your melee opponents have a choice. They can either act like you're gaze attacking them and avert their gaze(incurring a good 20% concealment, and, if you go with gaze attack rules, having a 50% to trip the runes anyway), go in blindfolded(50% concealment, don't even know what tile you're in, but no risk of runes) or look and trigger the spell. Since whoever's wearing the cloak will be immune to nonlethal(hence undead or constructs), most likely only your enemies will suffer the damage-- some multiple of 6d6 nonlethal damage, depending on how ruthless the gm is, or, if being used by a PC, how much they like your... 'ingenuity'.

I can easily see capped-skeleton necromancers charging as many runes as possible to equip their skeletons with. Besides simply not taking out undead, nonlethal even leaves them capable of taking hostages, and, if they decide not to, they can simply coup de grace the unconscious.

And that's not even STARTING on whether damaging a explosive rune counts as a attempt to erase it!

Also, the cloak will be left intact since as far as I can tell, nonlethal damage doesn't do anything to objects.

Now, of course, this does have the obvious weak point of OTHER golems/undead, but this should give a budding necromancer the edge they need to get REALLY started, or the edge a master necromancer needs to stay at the top of the food chain.

Does anyone see any possible problems with this idea, from a rules perspective that is?

[unseenmage]

As a minionmancer with a fondness for Constructs I gotta say I like the idea.

Technically a piece of parchment with Explosive Runes written on it isn't a Magic Item, just a mundane item affected by a spell. Soooo, couldn't one Animate Objects the parchment cloak itself and have it BE the minion?
Pathfinder even has that nifty clause where a Construct's master can place a hand on it and command it to be quiescent for a time for repairs and whatnot. And Animated Objects don't stop being the object they were after becoming animated. Swords are still sharp, paper still burns, etc.

So, you get yourself a mass of parchment or leather or whatever, Explosive Runes the whole mess, Animate Objects it, then send it out after hostages. Rinse and repeat for an amusing quest thread.


I like this plan entirely more than is good for me. Cuz at our table whatever shenanigans we pull our GM can, and will, kick up to notches untold. :smallbiggrin:

[khadgar567]

I for my self is more like a dresden style guy if ı gonna gift some one with suicide cape why not craft it as engraving with same color with cape

[hector212121]

As a minionmancer with a fondness for Constructs I gotta say I like the idea.

Technically a piece of parchment with Explosive Runes written on it isn't a Magic Item, just a mundane item affected by a spell. Soooo, couldn't one Animate Objects the parchment cloak itself and have it BE the minion?
Pathfinder even has that nifty clause where a Construct's master can place a hand on it and command it to be quiescent for a time for repairs and whatnot. And Animated Objects don't stop being the object they were after becoming animated. Swords are still sharp, paper still burns, etc.

So, you get yourself a mass of parchment or leather or whatever, Explosive Runes the whole mess, Animate Objects it, then send it out after hostages. Rinse and repeat for an amusing quest thread.


I like this plan entirely more than is good for me. Cuz at our table whatever shenanigans we pull our GM can, and will, kick up to notches untold. :smallbiggrin:

Potential problem with the animated object thing--once they're animated, they're no longer technically a object. So... your gm might decide that animate objects conflicts.

Another nice thing is that it won't damage the area around it, or items; Merciful explosive runes= looter's dream. Low risk, high reward--if 1 goes off, you'll take out the weaker half of a 3rd level party, while if 2 or 3 go off.... A dungeon keeper would be looking at around 13.5k profit from doing absolutely nothing(if they sell and then enchant with the profits, or we say that a magic item can be 'disassembled' into half the value, otherwise somewhere between 7 and 13k depending on how much they can use)

...Merciful explosive runes are so much more useful than non merciful ones in general, in fact. You can plaster them to the inner side of a door to ensure that no adventurer can flee unscathed, for instance. Or, if you don't have a dungeon, nail them to the door of a villain's house without having to worry about the possibility of killing a innocent....