Devil went dow to Georgia he was looking for a soul to steal...

[Metahuman1]

Ok, so, crazy 3.5 Campaign. First, My DM, Jeshua, if you are reading this, stop. Stop now. You know who you are. I'll wait.


... ... ...


Ok, so, Last session ended with my party finding out that we are going to have to have a music contest with the lord of the first level of hell. On the wager is the souls of 3 NPC's that we REALLY need cause there souls are basically plot McGuffin's Vs. The souls of the party and all our friends and family's.

Winner takes all. 1 Song Each to an impartial audience. Whomever emotionally moves them more wins.


The rules dictate that he cannot use magic.

We, however, can use any magic we like and any skills or other special ability's to aid ourselves.

The Venue for the contest is the dream scape of the NPC, who's basically currently incapacitated. I am the only party member trained in Lucid Dreaming.

I am running a Sorcerer 6/ Mage of the Arcane Order 9/ Red Wizard (DM made an allowance to get in.) 2.

The rest of the party is a Barbarian 5 / Fighter 11 whom with some shenanigans on my part and DM consent has been polymorphed into a Storm Giant basically forever. A Warblade X (I know he has Iron Heart Surge but I'm not sure past that.) Swordsage X (totally unsure here.) Iai-Jutsu Master X (I know there's at least 5 Levels here.), and a 17th level Ranger whom has Hanks Energy Bow, and finally, a Swordsage 4/Rogue 5/Avenger 8. The last one is trained in preform and does have a magic flute that seems to have some odd effects and I suspect is a custom item the DM made for plot.

Right then.

I need as many tactics and tricks and Ideas as I can get before 01/28/17 to boost that Rogues Preform Check so that we can try to win this music competition!

[Zanos]

1 Song Each to an impartial audience.

The rules dictate that he cannot use magic.

The Venue for the contest is the dream scape of the NPC, who's basically currently incapacitated. I am the only party member trained in Lucid Dreaming.
There's a lot of loopholes for him to use to cheat here.

Example 1: The definition of "magic" might only include spells. He uses his Supernaturals, Spell Likes, or Immediate effects to boost himself without using "magic."
Example 2: He has his minions torture the sleeping NPC while he's playing. Or just tortures them in the dream. Emotionally moving someone more than Archdevil tier torture is pretty hard.
Example 3: He himself uses lucid dreaming, since it's a nonmagical skill.
Example 4: You win, and then he just kills you, because wagering your soul with a Devil is Evil, and he gets it anyway.

I think the best way to win would be for you to actually cheat, and somehow get him to accept magical aid, like a no-save spell with an aura that increases his perform check. He will then have broken the rules of the contest, and forfeit.

[animewatcha]

I see no rules that say no attacking each other.

[Metahuman1]

Zanos: I'm open to that idea as a fall back. ( I Do it, boost his check a little, and if he wins, I show he had magical help. If We win anyway, I don't even worry about it.)


I don't think he's going to pull the claims our souls anyway bit. 2 reasons. 1: I know the DM is reimagining his personality a little. Think Lucifer from Neil Gaiman's Sandman and related comics. 2: We've got an elder evil rapidly positioning itself to tear the entire planar cosmology asunder with no exceptions. The party are the best chance to stop it as all other relevant forces are basically entrenched in such a fashion that they won't get a clean crack at the problem in time due to an eon's long intricate cosmic chess game to get the planes in such a state. Thus, he does, if we win, have at that point a vested interest in us continuing to win all the way to win the day. Self Preservation.



animewatcha : The Iai-Jutsu Master is already thinking of that. Let him get a couple of notes into the performance, and then Iai-Greater Mountain Hammer his Instrument which I expect to be a fiddle to try and throw him off.


So, those are good. But I need more stuff I can do with magic to tip the odds in our favor.

[Hiro Quester]

What kind of preparations are possible? How much time do you have?

Do you have time to buy items? Check out a bard guide for magic instruments, items (vest of legends) that boost perform skill.

Do you have time to prepare spells, or buy scrolls or potions? E.g. spells that help with a skill check, or enable rerolling a skill check. E.g. Fleeting Fame gives +2 to next perform check. Improvisation gives aluck pool of bonus to use on a series of skill checks. Guidance, alter fortune....

[GilesTheCleric]

If playing a song takes more than one round (makes sense that it would to me, but the rules aren't concrete), you could get a scroll of Pronouncement of Fate and use that. 25% chance for him to take no actions during his turn, which over the course of 10+ rounds is guaranteed. If he stops playing in the middle of the song, maybe that counts as a failure on the check. The spell sounds like it should definitely work in this situation, given that you have a person beef. You could also cast Silence on someone and send them near him.

Edit: You could also use an illusion spell to make the audience think that you are him, and him you, then all you need to do is roll a regular perform. There's no way your natural check is higher.

[stanprollyright]

All of you get masterwork instruments. The whole party uses Aid Another on the Rogue (you're the backup band) and each of you needs to get DC 10 on your perform check to give him a +2 bonus. It's a circumstance bonus so it should stack.

Vest of Legends is 16000gp and grants a +5 to perform checks.

Pots/scrolls of Divine Insight, Improvisation, etc.

Eagle's Splendor or Cha item

You can add a skill bonus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm#tableEstimatingMagicItemGol dPieceValues) to a magical item for 100gp * (bonus squared)

[Hiro Quester]

Your DM is probably going to want more than a good perform check.

Who is your audience? What will they find "moving"? (Compare "He ain't heavy, he's my brother", Janis Joplin's "Little Girl Blue", Joni Mitchel's River, and "The Legend of Sam McGee". Each song might be moving to a different audience.)

Find a good emotionally moving poem or song, suitable for your audience, and have your rogue "perform" that as a song.

Extra RP credit. Or better yet, write the lyrics to an actual song, or describe the overall idea of the song (What emotions does it convey? How does it grab the audience?).

[Ruethgar]

Use Lucid Dreaming to alter architecture and make a Spell Trap of Guidance of the Avatar.

[KillingAScarab]

Your DM is probably going to want more than a good perform check.

Who is your audience? What will they find "moving"? (Compare "He ain't heavy, he's my brother", Janis Joplin's "Little Girl Blue", Joni Mitchel's River, and "The Legend of Sam McGee". Each song might be moving to a different audience.)You may also need to watch out for racial penalties. This is a game where there are penalties for humor when you and the target are not the same species. It seems reasonable that an elf and a dwarf may not find the same music as moving. Know your audience and you may be able to get around that circumstance.

[Metahuman1]

Hiro Quester: As much time as I can Lucid Dreaming to stretch time out on, taking into account that while he'll likely go along with some of it, he won't allow infinite.

Items: I'll have to check and see how much money we picked up in the last couple of encounters, but my Sorcerer does have Craft Wondrous Items.

Prepair spells, probably. Buy stuff? Unlikely.

GilesTheCleric: That second one is actually possibly viable.

stanprollyright: Ok, Divine Insight, Improvisation, what else?

Hiro Quester: He might. My trump card is that I know a song he cannot hear in real life with out tearing up, and I intend to make that the song we play IC. And OOC. The "Audience" Appears to be stone statues of some kind. I'm assuming some manner of mythical or fairy tale influence on that idea, but which one specifically escapes me at present, and in universe, some flavor of magic I assume.

Ruethgar: Alright, that's good, writing that one down. What else ya got?


KillingAScarab: Possible, but I don't know that there's anything we can do about that one except jack the check modifier so sky high we win anyway.

[stanprollyright]

Items: I'll have to check and see how much money we picked up in the last couple of encounters, but my Sorcerer does have Craft Wondrous Items.

OK, cheapest (fastest) option would be to make a custom wondrous item that adds a bonus to perform. A +4 competence bonus would be 1600gp and can be crafted in a day and a half.


stanprollyright: Ok, Divine Insight, Improvisation, what else?
Spells the give bonuses to any skill check (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=5563545&postcount=6)
Missing from that list is Heroism, which grants a +2 morale bonus to skill checks. Morale should stack with most other methods of boosting skills.

Can also polymorph into a Satyr for a +4 racial bonus to Perform.

[Thurbane]

Not entirely on-topic, but I'm just gonna throw this in here: Vengeful Johnny (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21507039&postcount=177) :smallbiggrin:

[daremetoidareyo]

Lucid dream an amphitheatre with amazing acoustics for yourself, lucid dream your opponent into a sound proof box. Meanwhile, give your barbarian a crash cymbal, disguise him as the devil, and make him do a solo