Lower Level Astral Projection 3.5

[Clementx]

I was looking for a spell or magic item available to a midlevel antagonist to replicate the exploratory and invunerability effects of Astral Projection. Basically, I want my BBEG to telecommute to various underlings, and therefore encounter the PCs early in the campaign, but have them unable to harm each other. Mostly to explain why he didn't slaughter those lvl3 adventurer s on sight when they killed some of his minions.

My initial thought was astral projection but in gaseous form. But I'm up for anything. Divining and remote illusion avatar for telepresence, shadow magic, incorporeal planeshifting, construct remote control...anything from 3.5 or sensible homebrew.

[DrMotives]

Level 1 psionic power, "join with astral traveler", level 3 power "astral caravan".

[Hackulator]

If sensible homebrew is ok, just give him a spell that does exactly what you want, allows him to project an image over long distances and sense/talk through it, but no spells or offensive ability at all. If you're ok with homebrew it seems like you're over-complicating this.

[Clementx]

If you're ok with homebrew it seems like you're over-complicating this.
Simple until a player wants to learn it, or throws up a sphere of invunerability, and I've no idea what level this effect should be. Hence searching for examples of other effects to base it on. Beside, "something like level 6" , I don't know where to start.

Wow, lvl3 psionics does a poor man's plane shift. Good to know.

[Crake]

Level 1 psionic power, "join with astral traveler", level 3 power "astral caravan".

Those don't actually project you though, you physically travel to the astral plane with those powers.

[Piggy Knowles]

The easiest way of accomplishing this that I can think of is chain of eyes plus lesser telepathic bond. Chain of eyes lets the BBEG see through someone's eyes, while telepathic bond let them communicate telepathically over any distance. All it costs is a 3rd-level and a 2nd-level spell, and it lasts. He can act through multiple disposable minions this way, possibly even with multiple such minions at once.

Astral projection itself is available fairly easily at low level via lesser planar binding a nightmare, which also doubles as a super cool mount for a bad guy, so bonus. But that won't make him unable to harm your PCs in return, so not really what you're looking for.

If he operates via possession (magic jar, being a ghost, etc), he can also directly possess some low-level mooks pretty easily.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Well, if LA buyoff is allowed, how about taking 3 levels of the ghost savage progression (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040117a) to grab malevolence, so you can possess other creatures. Since each level is worth a point of LA (as you don't actually gain any HD), just buy off each level of LA as you take it. Since you ever only have +1 LA (at most), they can all be bought off with a few thousand XP at a really low level.

Then your low level BBEG can either take Leadership at level 6, or he can go psion/thrallherd and get psionically compelled minions (note: thrallherd is not mind-affecting), for a ready-made BBEG organization. Just possess the highest level minion, who seems to be the leader, but is in fact the evil lieutenant. That will protect the master if he is "killed," while he can just go get another evil lieutenant. And if you're using psion, feel free to use the astral caravan power for exploring the multiverse.

And the PCs could encounter him as a ghost early on. Affecting ghosts is hard. Destroying them is much harder. And your BBEG might be mostly out of power points (or spells) due to an unrelated struggle against something nasty, so he's tapped out and can't do much about it until the next day, at least.

[Jack_Simth]

I was looking for a spell or magic item available to a midlevel antagonist to replicate the exploratory and invunerability effects of Astral Projection. Basically, I want my BBEG to telecommute to various underlings, and therefore encounter the PCs early in the campaign, but have them unable to harm each other. Mostly to explain why he didn't slaughter those lvl3 adventurer s on sight when they killed some of his minions.

My initial thought was astral projection but in gaseous form. But I'm up for anything. Divining and remote illusion avatar for telepresence, shadow magic, incorporeal planeshifting, construct remote control...anything from 3.5 or sensible homebrew.


The Ivory Goats (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#ivoryGoats), specifically:
The Goat of Travail: This statuette becomes an enormous creature, larger than a bull, with the statistics of a nightmare except for the addition of a pair of wicked horns of exceptional size (damage 1d8+4 for each horn). If it is charging to attack, it may only use its horns (but add 6 points of damage to each successful attack in that round). It can be called to life just once per month for up to 12 hours at a time. (Underline added)

A Nightmare (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/nightmare.htm) has:

Astral Projection and Etherealness (Su)

These abilities function just like the spells of the same names (caster level 20th); a nightmare can use either at will.

There you go. You want Astral Projection? You can get it 1/month for a 21k item... and it can be made by a Cleric-11 (or an Artificer-9; theoretically an Artificer-4, but that requires some hefty cheddar involving some notes about caster levels and the Ur-Priest, and is not suitable for most tables).However: That BBEG could still hurt the players just fine. So that's probably not what you want.

Greater Scrying (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/scryingGreater.htm) passes a Message spell just fine. Scry on a minion, and you can follow it around and give it orders via message - as well as anyone within ten feet of your minion - no problem. Players don't get to see the BBEG, though. Combine it with a Seeming (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/seeming.htm), however, to designate who's supposed to be relaying orders, though? That could work.

If your BBEG has Improved Familiar, and grabs a Mirror Memphit (Expidition to the Demonweb Pits), then the BBEG could have a half-powered version of himself for free 1/day (spell-like simulacrum). Telepathic Bond that. The PC's even get to "kill" the BBEG (to no real effect, but still).

[Hackulator]

Simple until a player wants to learn it, or throws up a sphere of invunerability, and I've no idea what level this effect should be. Hence searching for examples of other effects to base it on. Beside, "something like level 6" , I don't know where to start.

Wow, lvl3 psionics does a poor man's plane shift. Good to know.

Just have it be a spell the BBEG researched and created himself. It's not obtainable except maybe if they kill him they can get it as "loot". As for sphere of invulnerability, since it doesn't do anything offensive or directly to anyone, that spell really doesn't matter.

[Crake]

To actually answer the OP's question, he could lesser planar bind a Nightmare (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/nightmare.htm), and have it astral project him.

[Feantar]

Book of Vile Darkness, Evocation, Mirror Sending. It kind of does what you seem to want, from a communication standpoint. It replaces the reflection of an individual in a mirror with the caster, who can see as if he stood where the mirror is and can communicate. Level 4 Sorc/Wiz level 3 Mortal Hunter (which is a prc you will never, ever take).

PS: Astral Projection is a really bad analogy for what you want. You essentially want a non-spell conductive project image of unlimited range.

[Clementx]

Thanks everyone, you have given me lots of ideas. The various telepathy/divination tricks will be filed away for minion-master tactics on a local scale. I'll have to come up with a magic item for teleconference through illusion and scrying effects at arbitrary ranges/interplanar when I need them.

[Chalhubard]

You could always planar bind a Nightmare.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Crake

[Clementx]

Okay, so new idea. Astral projection is indeed overkill for what I need. I dont want to enable unlimited 'scry location' in my setting, but I want arbitrary distance teleprescence to a prepared location. Thought of just burying a bunch of skeletal mice and scrying on them, but how about a magic item that does that?

Unseeing Eye. Cl8th, mod necromancy. Preserved eyeball that allows a spellcaster with knowledge of its location to their scrying abilities to view it. from elsewhere. Eye resists with its Will save (+6, no usual scrying modifers). If the Eye is attended by another creature or moved more than 100ft from the last known location, all scrying attempts fail. 4,000gp? Wild guess on price, but the Eye doesn't provide any ability to use divination, just avoid limitations.

Also, considering using the model of crystal ball to allow more effects to be centered on it. Like arcane eye (lol) to roam away. Half as much as balls?