Post-Cognition

[TotallyNotEvil]

So, we've stumbled upon a small forge that an enemy has been using to make a super-rare alloy.

He is a powerful lich, tho, and well outside the Cleric's Rebuke range, and being a Sorcerer, winning opposed charisma checks is not guaranteed, and the entire situation is held on a knife's edge anyway.

Is there some spell that allows you to see the past of a certain object?

[Zanos]

Hindsight lets you see the past, but it's Bard 6, Wiz/Sorc 9.

Are you trying to find him or something? Not sure what Cha checks or rebuking has to do with seeing the past.

[Inevitability]

Object Reading (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/objectReading.htm) is a 2nd-level power that does something close to what you want.

[TotallyNotEvil]

Hindsight lets you see the past, but it's Bard 6, Wiz/Sorc 9.

Are you trying to find him or something? Not sure what Cha checks or rebuking has to do with seeing the past.

I want to figure out the proccess, how he does it.

Can't realiably Command Undead on him to do it, can't Rebuke him, so I thought about post-cognition.

[Mr Adventurer]

Gloves of Object Reading, from the Magic Item Compendium, are based on that psionic power as well, if you don't have psionic classes to hand.

[TotallyNotEvil]

Object Reading (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/objectReading.htm) is a 2nd-level power that does something close to what you want.

Gloves of Object Reading, from the Magic Item Compendium, are based on that psionic power as well, if you don't have psionic classes to hand.
To answer you both, the object's owner is more or less known, the problem is that we can't reliably interrogate him.

We want to know the method he used for forging the stuff, as we have access to the room and the forge itself. Hindsight would be ideal, but too high a level, currently highest broad-list casters are 11th level Wizard and 11th level Cleric.

Tho a Sorcerer is close to 14th, might allow for shenanigans through Lesser Wish. This secret is quite valuable.

[tyckspoon]

Legend Lore should be useful here, as the forge's products have presumably been used by legendary characters to do legendary things (as defined by the spell, ie 'participating in 11th-level or higher adventures.') If the alloy it makes is inherently magical or permits the creation of rare and unusual magical items, the alloy and/or forge itself may also qualify as legendary, and having the actual forge on hand to cast the spell should permit getting some direct useful information - note that Legend Lore can yield "...legends that are still current, legends that have been forgotten, or even information that has never been generally known." So the fact that nobody living aside from the lich may know how this forge and its special resulting alloy works should not prevent you from learning things about it, that's what the magic is for.

The forge probably has traces of the alloy made with it still there, as well - if you can find a bit to scrape off the edges, you could do a Legend Lore directly on the alloy. Since it probably involves some kind of rare/unusual material in its construction that should give you some tips on what its made of; quenching it in the blood of dragons or folding in ground scales of the Tarrasque or whatever should certainly qualify as legendary actions!

If the forge itself is inherently magical as part of its function, Identify and its big brother Analyze Dweomer should help you figure out how to work with it.

[Nifft]

I want to figure out the proccess, how he does it.

Can't realiably Command Undead on him to do it, can't Rebuke him, so I thought about post-cognition.

Can you bring him back to life and Mind Probe (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/mindProbe.htm) the guy?

[Psyren]

So, we've stumbled upon a small forge that an enemy has been using to make a super-rare alloy.

He is a powerful lich, tho, and well outside the Cleric's Rebuke range, and being a Sorcerer, winning opposed charisma checks is not guaranteed, and the entire situation is held on a knife's edge anyway.

Is there some spell that allows you to see the past of a certain object?

The guy is a lich, meaning he is minimum 11th level, so you can check up on his past via Legend Lore (or its big brother, Vision.) SRD:


As a rule of thumb, characters who are 11th level and higher are “legendary,” as are the sorts of creatures they contend with, the major magic items they wield, and the places where they perform their key deeds.

That forge he's using is going to be one of the latter categories, so you should be able to find out about all the times he's used it post-lichdom at a minimum.

[Inevitability]

Hypercognition (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/hypercognition.htm) is very heavy-duty, but it can basically let you discover any knowledge that exists in the multiverse.