How to build the ideal prison break specialist?

[Douche]

I want to make a character whose job it is to break people out of prison, from the outside (although I suppose getting captured could be part of his plan... but he has to be able to bring friends)

Essentially, my character has a large bounty on his head, having made enemies with the prince of his old country. The prince was actually a close friend, but was corrupted by a succubus. Therefore, it might be advantageous for me to let my party members turn me in for a 50k gold bounty. Also, the story might dictate that I have to face the prince to save him.

Anyway, I would like a prison break quest, and my plan is to have the party members hire a sort of David Blaine/Houdini character to break me out once I am imprisoned. I will play that character until we're able to rescue my original character What class, archetype, skills, and spells would be ideal in this scenario? We're level 9, but might be 10 by the time this comes around

[JellyPooga]

GOO Warlock 7 does this very easily.

Relevant Spells Known: Clairvoyance, Invisibility, Dimension Door

1) Use Clairvoyance to scry out the location of the target.
1a) Rest
2) Dimension Door to that location.
3) Cast Invisibility
3a) Rest
4) Grab target
5) Dimension Door outta there

[Douche]

GOO Warlock 7 does this very easily.

Relevant Spells Known: Clairvoyance, Invisibility, Dimension Door

1) Use Clairvoyance to scry out the location of the target.
1a) Rest
2) Dimension Door to that location.
3) Cast Invisibility
3a) Rest
4) Grab target
5) Dimension Door outta there

That is assuming that literally nothing will go wrong. We're going to be breaking into the prison of a paranoid king who turned on his own best friend & became married to a succubus who has corrupted him for years, not one of those Wild West one room sheriffs office that's literally a desk & a single prison cell.

I mean, c'mon man. The DM here is pretty much Players vs DM. I need to be ready to get screwed over 10 times before I get to the front door.

[CantigThimble]

Hrmm, it's very easy to make a character who can escape on their own. Much harder to make one who can get someone else out.

Do you think you will need to get more than one person out at a time?
Are anti-magic fields a possibility?
Will your DM stick to core material, like hallow and the guards and wards spell or will he make his own magical obstacles up?
Is SCAG/Elemental evil allowed?
How does he deal with invisibility and hiding? e.g., if you used the fey warlock 6th level ability to teleport 60 feet and be invisible when you arrive would people chasing you know exactly where you were or would they need to find you?

[JellyPooga]

That is assuming that literally nothing will go wrong.

It's assuming;

1) There's no AMF
2) The cells aren't lead lined
3) The guards don't have See Invisibility active 24/7
4) The guards don't routinely search cells more than once an hour
5) The guards don't just happen to search the prisoners cell while you're resting in it.
6) The prisoner isn't chained with Dimensional Shackles.
7) Not every inch of the cell is trapped.

That's some pretty safe assumptions without calling bull.

I'm not advocating a blind run here. You could spend weeks using Clairvoyance to case the place, learn guard rotations, pass-phrases, the guards names, where they live, who their families are, how good they are at poker, where they keep the keys, etc. etc. Unless they have anti-Clairvoyance magic or items, nothing will stop you learning as much as you'll need. Once you know what you're up against, it's really just a matter of timing.

Hell, don't even bother resting in the cell; just short rest when you're ready then DD in and out. 2 rounds. Done. The Invisibility is just a precaution.

If you want to get elaborate, that's your call, but the more complex the plan, the more there is that can go wrong. A simple plan is better than a complex one and there's not a lot that can go wrong with an in-out strategy.

edit: also, who said anything about going anywhere near the front door?

[CantigThimble]

I honestly can't imagine a DM building a prison for PCs above 5th level that didn't have some kind of teleportation shielding and probably scrying shielding as well. Otherwise there's almost no point in the prison existing. You could try the dimension door strat, and there's a possibility it works, but that's the first thing any DM would plan for.

[Douche]

It's assuming;

1) There's no AMF
2) The cells aren't lead lined
3) The guards don't have See Invisibility active 24/7
4) The guards don't routinely search cells more than once an hour
5) The guards don't just happen to search the prisoners cell while you're resting in it.
6) The prisoner isn't chained with Dimensional Shackles.
7) Not every inch of the cell is trapped.

That's some pretty safe assumptions without calling bull.

I'm not advocating a blind run here. You could spend weeks using Clairvoyance to case the place, learn guard rotations, pass-phrases, the guards names, where they live, who their families are, how good they are at poker, where they keep the keys, etc. etc. Unless they have anti-Clairvoyance magic or items, nothing will stop you learning as much as you'll need. Once you know what you're up against, it's really just a matter of timing.

Hell, don't even bother resting in the cell; just short rest when you're ready then DD in and out. 2 rounds. Done. The Invisibility is just a precaution.

If you want to get elaborate, that's your call, but the more complex the plan, the more there is that can go wrong. A simple plan is better than a complex one and there's not a lot that can go wrong with an in-out strategy.

edit: also, who said anything about going anywhere near the front door?

Well, our party has 2 amulets of nondetection and See Invisibility is divination, so we can remain invisible.

I doubt the ENTIRE prison will be an AMF, but it's safe to assume parts of it would be. Also, it's a dwarven prison so there might be traps.

And it's not that your plan on it's is too simple or uninspired. It's that it has no back-up plan or contingency. Passwall, knock, pass without trace, spiderclimb (we've actually got boots of spider climbing too), hold person, feign death, nondetection (even though we have the amulets), confusion, hallucinatory terrain, mislead, modify memory, seeming. These would all be useful suggestions that would creatively allow you to plot a prison escape. "Dimension door & invisibility" is not a specialist. It's just any mage. It's not someone who would conceivably be paid by bandit lords & crime bosses to break them out of the most highly guarded facilities in the world.

[JellyPooga]

I honestly can't imagine a DM building a prison for PCs above 5th level that didn't have some kind of teleportation shielding and probably scrying shielding as well. Otherwise there's almost no point in the prison existing. You could try the dimension door strat, and there's a possibility it works, but that's the first thing any DM would plan for.

It's context and setting dependent. If the setting is one where characters of higher than 5th level are common, sure, the "scry and 'port" probably won't work. In your typical "magic higher than 3rd level spells is considered god-like" fantasy setting where city guards aren't spellcasters, armies of guys with spears and crossbows exist and castles are actually worth a damn, your average prison, even if built by a paranoid King, isn't going to be decked out to resist the capabilities of high level adventurers.

If this guy is being held in the fantasy equivalent of super-max, then no single build will be able to do the job with any kind of certainty. If this is truly a GM vs. Player situation, then forget magic. It'll be counterspelled, AMF'd or otherwise completely negated. The next most obvious character would be a Rogue build, non-AT. Now assume all DC's are too high for you to even attempt. Even with Expertise. Scratch Rogue. That leaves us with Barbarian or Fighter. Barbarian has more HP and has Rage to Resist most damage, so go for that.

In a true GM vs. Player, "it's so unfair" scenario, your "Houdini" character should be a Barbarian mounting an all-out assault on the prison. Any other attempt will just be shut down out of hand with the claim "what sort of prison would be built with X flaw?" as a defence. At least in combat, most GMs play by the rules.

Good Luck. :smallannoyed:

OR you can assume that the prison will be designed appropriately for a 9th level solo B&E adventure. So, what characters are good solos and what characters are good at breaking, entering and extracting?

- Rogues are pretty good solo, but lack significant magic. At 9th level, we can assume magic will give us a significant advantage. So much so that I think we require it. AT only provides 2nd level spells; not significant enough an advantage IMO.
- Bards are pretty boss too, but play better in a party than solo and might come a cropper if the proverbial hits the fan.
- Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin and Cleric really don't have the tools for this kind of mission.
- Sorcerer is far too blast-focused.
- Ranger is a possible, but this ain't a wilderness adventure.
- Druid is also a possible, but while he can get in pretty easy with Wild Shape, getting someone else out is more of a problem.
- Wizard is a very good candidate; he's got the tools and the versatility, but if we're assuming GM vs. Player, we probably need something more than just magic and we might need endurance. Pre-10th Wizards are still a little glass-cannon; if the heist goes long, or he ends up burning out his spell slots, he could well get stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Which leaves Warlock (funny that it was my 1st suggestion earlier). A Class that has some very handy magical tricks. A Class that has the ability to be adaptive and with decent endurance, despite having a relatively limited skill set that just so happens to marry up quite nicely with the themes of stealth, infiltration and (potentially) extraction too.

As I said, GOO Warlock 7 with the three spells I mention can do this easy in an ideal setup. That leaves you all the rest of his Class Features and Spells Known to plan for other contingencies and maybe even a 1-3 level Rogue dip to pick up Expertise, Cunning Action and an Archetype (I'd recommend AT, but Mastermind would also be an option) to handle more mundane matters.

A Charlatan Background for False Identity, particularly the ability to forge documents, is probably your go-to.

Feats: Actor, Dungeon Delver, Keen Mind, Lucky, Observant and Skulker are all solid options. Pick your poison.

[JellyPooga]

Name: Iniduoh the Insidious
Race: Human
Background: Charlatan
Class: Rogue 1/GOO Warlock (Tome Pact) 8

Ability Scores (27pt.buy)
Str: 9+1=10
Dex: 15+1=16
Con: 9+1=10
Int: 10+1=11+1=12
Wis: 13+1=14
Cha: 15+1=16+1=17

Feats
Actor, Observant

Skills
(Charlatan) Deception, Sleight of Hand
(Rogue) Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Stealth

Tools
Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit, Thieves Tools

Spells Known
Cantrips: Friends, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion + Guidance, Mending, Message
1st: Charm Person
2nd: Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Misty Step, Suggestion
3rd: Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Gaseous Form
4th: Dimension Door

Rituals: Alarm, Find Familiar + (if can get them) Animal Messenger, Beast Sense, Feign Death, Identify, Meld into Stone, Speak with Animals, Unseen Servant, Water Breathing

Invocations
Devil's Sight - 120ft see in (magical) darkness normally
Book of Ancient Secrets - gain and learn rituals
Eldritch Sight - Detect Magic at will
Mask of Many Faces - Disguise Self at will

Class Features
Expertise (Investigation, Thieves Tools)
Thieves Cant
Sneak Attack (1d6)

Pact Magic (2/short rest, 4th lvl)
Awakened Mind
Entropic Ward
Pact of the Tome

Tactics
- Scry, bluff, charm and steal your way into knowing everything there is to know about the target location, who inhabits it, their routine, etc. etc.
- Contact the target (Find Familiar or Animal Messenger, if possible) and inform them of the plan.
- Infiltrate the target location; teleport, disguised, as mist, underwater...however you like really.
- Disable all traps and hazards along the way, including magical ones.
- Grab the target and get out the most convenient way possible.

[Joe the Rat]

Pretty solid, a lot of flexibility. MoMF for blending in is an infiltrator's dream.

Sorcerer 7 does make for a decent blitz runner. Clairvoyance around 'till you find you target, DD in, Bonus Action to spend 6 SP for another 4th level slot, grab your target and DD out. One more level, and you don't need to convert SP.
You still have 6 more spell options (+cantrips) to round out your B&E options and general utility. Gaseous Form would get you past the dimensional shackles, I do believe. I'm thinking subtle spell metamagic is essential here.

Nice thing about clairvoyance is that it keeps you from getting AMF/leadblocked, since anything that would block/stop magic will keep you from spying your target in the first place. Then you know a more conventional or social engineered approach is needed.

[ruy343]

Conjurer with Keen Mind feat could be really awesome: why pick a lock if you can conjure the key itself!

However, one thing that the sorcerer and warlock build you've mentioned have going for them is that they can actually talk to people reasonably well. Sorcerers also get Enhance Ability to grant advantage to all charisma checks, which could be very helpful for a social approach as well.

[Willie the Duck]

Name: Iniduoh the Insidious...


Why not start out as rogue for 1 more skill? Perhaps athletics or acrobatics for climbing around on buildings or crawling through ductwork?

[JellyPooga]

Why not start out as rogue for 1 more skill? Perhaps athletics or acrobatics for climbing around on buildings or crawling through ductwork?

Save proficiencies; my knee-jerk instinct was Wis/Cha > Dex/Int, but thinking about it, Dex and Int are both pretty good Saves for an infiltrator who has to deal with illusions and traps and getting the extra Skill on top is just gravy. Good call.

(previous, quoted, post edited)

edit: It would've been nice to have kept the Arcana proficiency, but it's not really necessary.