Scan NPC Spell?

[kalos72]

Is there a spell or something to scan NPCs and get their stats? Or if they are Psionic maybe?

My party wants to focus recruitment on NPC's that either have stats that support a PC class or psionic...

What would you say is an ability minimum for that?

[Malimar]

There's a thing in one of the books (Complete Adventurer, maybe?) where you can use the Sense Motive skill to get a sense of a creature's HD relative to your own.

There's also the Appraise skill, which, when combined with the fact that a creature's value as a slave is based on their CR (specifically, CR^2x100 gp, as per Lords of Madness), can technically tell you a creature's CR.

There's of course the detect <alignment> line for alignment, and detect undead/detect animals or plants to tell if they're undead, animals, or plants. Detect thoughts can tell you if they have an Intelligence score.

That's all the stat-detecting things I can think of offhand, but I'm sure there's more.

[Nifft]

Spellthief of a certain level can learn all your spells of a given spell-level when she sneak attacks you.

[Arcanist]

Is there a spell or something to scan NPCs and get their stats? Or if they are Psionic maybe?

Yes. Arcane Sensitivity from Shining South, Detect Psionics (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/detectPsionics.htm), and the Detect Alignment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectEvil.htm) line of spells for a Cleric's Aura.

Ask your DM if you can make something like Paranormal Sensitivity that detects both Arcane, Divine, and Psionics at the same time. I'd put something like that at 2nd level at least, otherwise this spells will suit your purposes rather nicely.

From there, you can use Appraisal and Sense Motive to determine their hit dice to see if they are really Joe Commoner and not a Phyrexian Newt bag guy in disguise.

[XionUnborn01]

I'm afb but there's a spell called Discern Foe or something that I think gives approximate level and so on.

Edit: So I was thinking of Know greatest enemy from the spell compendium

It really only gives an approximate CR. But it's also only a 1st level spell.

[Darth Ultron]

If you go 3rd party the Divination – The All-Seeing Eye is the fifteenth book in the Encyclopaedia Arcane series, has the 2nd level spell: Analyze Creature.

The Negoi had this spell in 2E: The spell provides for the caster the name of the race (as it is known to the creature itself), its general combat
abilities, a brief knowledge of the creatures customs, and what the creature
needs to survive.

It does not have an official conversion after 2E

Also in 2E the Red Knight deity had the spell Analyze Opponent, but again there is no conversion.

[noob]

I believe there was a psionic power that stunned you when you did cast it on a target that had more than 26 int.
Give a dorjé of that power to a creature you know to not be smart(such as an animal wearing an headband of intellect +1) and you can compare int to 26
You can also find the strength of someone by seeing how much that person can carry without slowing down.
Then if someone can guess whenever it progressed or weakened in an attribute you can with a disciple of the void compare all his stats to his lowest and highest stats.
Then you can also compare the lowest stat and the highest stat to 26 with the disciple of the void and the first trick.
Or if you are really ready to spend a lot of time you can even start the strength test to find the exact value of the highest and lowest stats.

[unseenmage]

The Power of Faerun book has rules for attracting specific cohorts and/or followers IIRC.

[DeTess]

Why would they need a spell for this? Just hold try-outs and look for people with the appropriate skills. Endurance, speed and strength for fighters, sneakyness for rogues, moving things with your mind for psions, etc.

[Quertus]

There's also the Appraise skill, which, when combined with the fact that a creature's value as a slave is based on their CR (specifically, CR^2x100 gp, as per Lords of Madness), can technically tell you a creature's CR.

I can't believe that I never thought of that before! Good find.

Do note that, relevant to the OP's quotation, their value will double under certain circumstances - including, IIRC, if they have exceptional stats.

EDIT: so, can we call this a win for team mundane?

[BloodSnake'sCha]

You can always research a spell for it.

[Zaq]

There's a thing in one of the books (Complete Adventurer, maybe?) where you can use the Sense Motive skill to get a sense of a creature's HD relative to your own.

There's also the Appraise skill, which, when combined with the fact that a creature's value as a slave is based on their CR (specifically, CR^2x100 gp, as per Lords of Madness), can technically tell you a creature's CR.

There's of course the detect <alignment> line for alignment, and detect undead/detect animals or plants to tell if they're undead, animals, or plants. Detect thoughts can tell you if they have an Intelligence score.

That's all the stat-detecting things I can think of offhand, but I'm sure there's more.

Hmm. Assuming that using Appraise on a critter is the same as using Appraise on an item (which might not be RAW, but I’m not aware of RAW text that does specify how long it takes on a critter—though there may be some in LoM, which I do not have open at the moment), that takes 1 minute. Which, to be honest, seems kinda creepy. Are there any spells/feats/skill tricks/items that meaningfully reduce the amount of time it takes to Appraise something?

[kalos72]

Thanks all, the idea was to scan for potential recruits without them knowing and then approach them quietly. perhaps a custom psionic ability is worth while here...

In particular, I am trying to recruit psionics to increase the local population. My group is designing a psionic mythal for their city and want to fill it will people that can have access to the powers. Similar to an udoxias from Jhaamdath.

What ability scores would be considered "special" in a commoner, 13 or above?

[Eldariel]

Mindrape [Book of Vile Darkness] is the best option to this end; tells you absolutely everything. Though less invasive options like Geas or Dominate Person can accomplish similar ends. Not very subtle of course, but you can always wipe their minds with the Mindrape (or Programmed Amnesia/Modify Memory or such in the case of the lesser options) and thus it'd feel like nothing happened. Also you can alter anything you want in their mind like make them unswervingly loyal to you or some such. Or make them believe they're newts or just educate them.

That said, just arrange a combat tournament (full lethality with party Cleric on Revivify duty to ensure no casualities) or something with the covert purpose of hiring the ones who perform. Seeing them in action will tell you all you need to know. Make the main proze alluring but trivial to you, like a spellcasting service or such.

Martial Lore skill tells you of their maneuvers, too.

Mindsight gives you their mentals with all the potential that entails.

Generic divinations like Commune or Contact Other Plane also work.

[trollburgers]

Is there a spell or something to scan NPCs and get their stats? Or if they are Psionic maybe?

My party wants to focus recruitment on NPC's that either have stats that support a PC class or psionic...

What would you say is an ability minimum for that?


The closest I know about, besides checking alignment, is arcane sight.


If you concentrate on a specific creature within 120 feet of you as a standard action, you can determine whether it has any spellcasting or spell-like abilities, whether these are arcane or divine (spell-like abilities register as arcane), and the strength of the most powerful spell or spell-like ability the creature currently has available for use.

[mabriss lethe]

Well, if you want to boost your population in a hurry, you could try using mindraped Deepspawn (lost empires of Faerun).

Step 1. acquire deepspawn, the more the better.

Step 2. acquire psionic characters through whatever method you like.

Step 3. Feed the characters to the deepspawn. (true res, or similar afterwards is optional)

Step 4. The deepspawn will continuously spawn exact copies of the psionic npcs that they've eaten. I don't remember the exact rate, but it's faster than a lot of other methods. I want to say it's once a week or so, but I could be mistaken. Assuming I'm somewhere in the ballpark, over the course of a year, each deepspawn will produce roughly 50 fully functional adults to populate your Mythal. I was mistaken. it's 4d6 days between spawning, so an average of about 2 weeks each.

[Arcanist]

The closest I know about, besides checking alignment, is arcane sight.


If you concentrate on a specific creature within 120 feet of you as a standard action, you can determine whether it has any spellcasting or spell-like abilities, whether these are arcane or divine (spell-like abilities register as arcane), and the strength of the most powerful spell or spell-like ability the creature currently has available for use.

There is also a Psionic version of it, that is a Psionic power, that is only accessable through a feat (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070629a).

[kalos72]

Well, if you want to boost your population in a hurry, you could try using mindraped Deepspawn (lost empires of Faerun).

Step 1. acquire deepspawn, the more the better.

Step 2. acquire psionic characters through whatever method you like.

Step 3. Feed the characters to the deepspawn. (true res, or similar afterwards is optional)

Step 4. The deepspawn will continuously spawn exact copies of the psionic npcs that they've eaten. I don't remember the exact rate, but it's faster than a lot of other methods. I want to say it's once a week or so, but I could be mistaken. Assuming I'm somewhere in the ballpark, over the course of a year, each deepspawn will produce roughly 50 fully functional adults to populate your Mythal. I was mistaken. it's 4d6 days between spawning, so an average of about 2 weeks each.

Well in theory, could you charm the deepspawn and just have him produce every human he has eaten, ever? Are these offspring like the original in level/class etc or just physical blank copies? I need to research these guys... :)

[Goaty14]

Powersight is a 1st level druid spell that tells you the ECL of whatever creature you use the spell against, not counting negative levels. Go get an archivist or artificer to make you an at-will item of it.

Do note that it doesn't show class levels, so using it to get human psionic users of at least 5 HD might get you a varying amount of classes, all with the same result.

[mabriss lethe]

Well in theory, could you charm the deepspawn and just have him produce every human he has eaten, ever? Are these offspring like the original in level/class etc or just physical blank copies? I need to research these guys... :)

The spawn have all the class abilities of their.. ah.. "donors"

[thethird]

Why not use detect magic / psionics (or arcane eyes) and check if they have buffs / cast anything?

(Incidentally I am a fan of Mind Mask, Secrets of Sarlona)

[Anymage]

To step way back, are magical and/or psionic abilities something that only a few people in the campaign world can exhibit, or are they things that anybody with the right stats can learn how to do? If the former, do there tend to be signs beforehand?

If there are signs, a good Gather Information check should be able to get you some pointers to the people who are a little off. If it's anybody with the right stats, I can't help but feel like a "learn stats" spell is pointless overkill. Assuming that they don't have any reason not to act at their full potential - and few commoners have any reason to downplay themselves - you can generally get a rough idea of their stats just by watching. Either hang out in the town for a bit, or listen to gossip in the tavern about who in town is especially bright. Watching yourself would probably be Spot or Search, possibly Sense Motive, while listening in to gossip would most likely be Sense Motive.

Edit: And to give your GM ideas. If magical talent is a special gift that only a small percent of the population has, other casters interested in apprentices are also going to be out looking for good prospects. If magic is something anybody with the right stats and resources can learn, smart people with good backgrounds are likely going to want learn it on their own. The free agents will at best be too poor to be sent off to Hogwarts, at worst they'll have some reason that they don't want to go. Or reasons why right-thinking casters want to give them a wide berth. Remember that other people in the world also have their own self-interest in mind, and that NPCs aren't just resources waiting for you to pluck them.

[Troacctid]

To my knowledge, the most comprehensive "scanning" ability in 3.5 belongs to the Urban Savant prestige class (Cityscape pp100–104). With a successful DC 15 Knowledge check made as a move action, you can learn the target's BAB, AC, combat-related feats, special attacks or options, hit dice, damage reduction, saving throws, and special weaknesses.


Hmm. Assuming that using Appraise on a critter is the same as using Appraise on an item (which might not be RAW, but I’m not aware of RAW text that does specify how long it takes on a critter—though there may be some in LoM, which I do not have open at the moment), that takes 1 minute. Which, to be honest, seems kinda creepy. Are there any spells/feats/skill tricks/items that meaningfully reduce the amount of time it takes to Appraise something?
Rules Compendium, page 12:
https://i.imgur.com/4OGSXGo.png

[kalos72]

Thanks again all!

The reason for me wanting to do this very low key or imperceptible to most was that I was assuming someone with a Diplo of 99 could basically take every damn craftsmen a city had in a day and I am SURE the Mayor would have issue.

Imagine me sending this guy to Waterdeep to find the best craftsmen. I have a big rally, 500 of Waterdeeps best craftsmen show up. I Friendly them, then I Fanatic them. And the next morning they are all selling their shops and moving their families to Neverwinter.

Thats the type of ****e to start a war over.

But I tend to overthink things... :P

[Nifft]

The whole Fanatic thing is Epic-only, which is to say it's from an experimental & optional rule set from 3.0e which didn't get much love in 3.5e and that lack of love shows.

Don't even allow it to exist unless you intend to run an Epic-level game.

[noob]

Thanks again all!

The reason for me wanting to do this very low key or imperceptible to most was that I was assuming someone with a Diplo of 99 could basically take every damn craftsmen a city had in a day and I am SURE the Mayor would have issue.

Imagine me sending this guy to Waterdeep to find the best craftsmen. I have a big rally, 500 of Waterdeeps best craftsmen show up. I Friendly them, then I Fanatic them. And the next morning they are all selling their shops and moving their families to Neverwinter.

Thats the type of ****e to start a war over.

But I tend to overthink things... :P

Start by diplomancing leaders and you are sure to avoid wars.(why did you even think by starting by anything else than the leaders)