Titanium Dragon
2008-03-02, 02:01 AM
I'm planning on running the following encounter in my next adventure:
Carmot’s Home
It has been a long, annoying journey since you retrieved the Count’s son, but at least you were able to return home for some rest and relaxation. You unlock the door with your key with an audible click, then enter the house. As you step in, however, you stop short. A man garbed in black leather armor, dangling a kukri from one finger, eyes you from your chair; he seems to have been waiting for you. He speaks in a strange, rolling voice. “I see you have returned at long last. The shadows have been waiting for you. Now, tell me: where is Carmot’s work? Where is the blood-red gem he made? Tell me, and you will not be tortured.”
The characters have a short while to talk with this man (a shadowdancer named Aran); he won’t answer their questions about who he is, who sent him, or why he needs it, and if they ask too many questions (or the wrong ones) he may guess they have other knowledge as well. Eventually, he’ll tire of talking, rise to his feet, and say “Enough” and the shadows will seem to collect around him and he’ll vanish. At this point his companion, an assassin named Jered, will have completed his study of Isendil and will drop down from the second floor and attempt to make a death attack against him. If the characters attack Aran, the shadowdancer on the chair, before three rounds are up, then the assassin will continue his study until it is complete, then join the fray.
It is possible for the characters to spot the other two characters; it is DC 36 to spot Jered hiding on the landing above them, and DC 24 to spot Aran’s shadow. If the characters spot Jered and announce it or otherwise indicate it, then Jered’s concentration will be interrupted and the both of them will immediately hide in plain sight, then attack (though in this case, this will be in the first round of combat, so the characters may win initiative and go first).
The two are both shadowdancers and will constantly flicker in and out of the shadows in order to attack the characters; typically they will make a sneak attack, revealing themselves, then hide, moving slightly or even moving away from the characters in order to confuse them as to their locations. If the fight looks like it is going badly and they can’t win, the two will flee; Aran may make an illusion of shadows as a distraction while they flee.
If the bodies are examined, both are carrying a piece of paper with Isendil and Kadrin’s names on it, their pictures, and instructions in thieves’ cant to kill them both. The writing is quite elegant, and the art of Isendil and Kadrin is fairly high quality. There is no signature on the paper.
Aran – CR 10; Medium humanoid; Human Rogue 7/Shadowdancer 3; Neutral Evil; HD 7d6+3d8+20; 58 hp; Init +4; Spd 30 ft.; AC 21 (22 vs one foe), touch 15 (16 vs one foe), flat-footed 17; Base atk +7/+2, Grp +8; Atk Kukri +13 melee (18-20/1d4+2); Full Attack Kukri +13/+8 melee (18-20/1d4+2); SA Shadow Illusion, Sneak Attack +4d6, summon shadow; SQ Darkvision, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Trap Sense +2, Trapfinding, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge; SV Fort +5, Ref +12, Will +3; Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8
Hide in Plain Sight (Su): Can hide while being observed. If done after attacking, will count as a move action.
Shadow Illusion (Sp): Acts as per the spell silent image; usable 1/day.
Summon Shadow (Su): Aran is accompanied by a summoned shadow, see below.
Skills: Hide +22, Move Silently +22, Bluff +12, Gather Information +12, Intimidate +6, Perform (Dance) +12, Sleight of Hand +17; Tumble +17, Search +15, Spot +13, Listen +13
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Focus (Kukri), Weapon Finesse
Equipment: Bracers of Dexterity +2, Buckler +1, Shadow Studded Leather Armor +1 (+5 to hide checks, total value 3500 gp), Ring of Deflection +1, Padded Boots (+5 to move silently, 2500 gp), Kukri +1, 400 gp
Aran’s Shadow – Undead 5; Lawful Evil; HD 5d12; 33 hp; Init +2; Spd Fly 40 ft. (good); AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11; Base atk +2, Grp -; Atk Incorporeal touch +4 melee (1d6 Str); SA Create Spawn, Strength Damage; SQ Darkvision 60ft., incorporeal traits, +2 turn resistance, undead traits; SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +5; Str -, Dex 15, Con -, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 13
Skills: Hide +10 (+14 in shadowy areas), Listen +8, Search +4, Spot +8
Feats: Alertness, Dodge.
Jered – CR 10; Small humanoid; Halfling Rogue 5/Assassin 4/Shadowdancer 1; Neutral Evil; HD 9d6+1d8+10; 46 hp; Init +5; Spd 20 ft.; AC 20 (21 vs one foe), touch 15 (16 vs one foe), flat-footed 16; Base atk +6/+1, Grp +2; Atk Dagger +14 melee (19-20/1d4+2); Full Attack Dagger +14/+9 melee (19-20/1d4+2); SA Death Attack, Poison Use, Sneak Attack +5d6, Spells; SQ Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, +2 Save vs Poison, Trap Sense +1, Trapfinding, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge; SV Fort +4, Ref +16, Will +3; Str 10, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8
Death Attack (Ex): After studying a victim for 3 rounds, Jered can make a death attack with the possibility of paralyzing or killing the victim if they fail a DC 16 Fort save. Paralysis lasts 1d6+4 rounds. Note that this attack only works if the target can be successfully sneak attacked.
Hide in Plain Sight (Su): Can hide while being observed. If done after attacking, will count as a move action.
Skills: Hide +26, Move Silently +24, Bluff +6, Climb +8, Disguise +6, Jump +8, Perform (Dance) +6, Tumble +17, Search +15, Spot +13, Listen +15
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse
Equipment: Bracers of Dexterity +1, Buckler +1, Shadow Studded Leather Armor +1 (+5 to hide checks, total value 3500 gp), Padded Boots (+5 to move silently, 2500 gp), Dagger +2, 4 Daggers, 350 gp
Spells:
1st level (can cast 4/day): Disguise Self, Feather Fall, Sleep, True Strike
2nd level (can cast 2/day): Cat’s Grace, Darkness
After the battle, characters with Knowledge (Arcana) or Knowledge (local) may make a knowledge check:
DC 10: Shadowdancers are warriors who have supernatural power over shadows, allowing them to hide in plain sight and bend them to their own purposes.
DC 15: (Arcana) Shadowdancers draw their powers from the plane of shadow, but unlike shadowcasters do not do so in the same sort of magical manner; their association with dancing is perhaps what allows them to do so, but the mechanism is unknown. (Local) Some shadowdancers are rangers, guardians of the woods; others are assassins, who kill people for money or sometimes some unknown agenda.
DC 20: There are several organizations which employ shadowdancers; at least two separate groups exist in Quyai, another in the sylvan jungles, and another somewhere unknown. Only the first and last groups have assassins in their numbers; only the one of the groups in Quyai (the one without assassins) and the unknown one have shadowcasters, while the other in Quyai is pure muscle. The one in the jungle is mostly composed of elves, and mostly rangers and rogues at that.
My questions are regarding the interaction of hide in plain sight and sneak attack.
1) There aren't really rules for hiding in the middle of combat while fighting, despite the fact that HiPS is a core ability; at least, the rules do not appear to be in the PHB. What penalty would there be for someone to walk up to someone while hidden, stab them with their dagger, then HIPSing? Would they take a -20 penalty to their Hide check as per sniping?
2) Would they have to take a move action to hide, again as per sniping? I'm assuming yes, otherwise you could take a full attack then HIPS, which seems a bit silly.
3) If one character sees a hidden character, and another doesn't, if the character who sees the hidden person points them out to the other person, will they be able to see them (or at least re-roll their spot check)? And if one of the assassins decides to not attack in a round, do the characters get to make Spot checks against them every round?
4) Can the assassins HIPS as part of a move action and attack someone (rather than the opposite order) in a single round? I'm assuming again yes, and while they probably wouldn't do this (as the fighter in the party would probably shred them in a single round due to their relatively low AC, and they do have information on the characters) I wanted to know if it was an option.
Carmot’s Home
It has been a long, annoying journey since you retrieved the Count’s son, but at least you were able to return home for some rest and relaxation. You unlock the door with your key with an audible click, then enter the house. As you step in, however, you stop short. A man garbed in black leather armor, dangling a kukri from one finger, eyes you from your chair; he seems to have been waiting for you. He speaks in a strange, rolling voice. “I see you have returned at long last. The shadows have been waiting for you. Now, tell me: where is Carmot’s work? Where is the blood-red gem he made? Tell me, and you will not be tortured.”
The characters have a short while to talk with this man (a shadowdancer named Aran); he won’t answer their questions about who he is, who sent him, or why he needs it, and if they ask too many questions (or the wrong ones) he may guess they have other knowledge as well. Eventually, he’ll tire of talking, rise to his feet, and say “Enough” and the shadows will seem to collect around him and he’ll vanish. At this point his companion, an assassin named Jered, will have completed his study of Isendil and will drop down from the second floor and attempt to make a death attack against him. If the characters attack Aran, the shadowdancer on the chair, before three rounds are up, then the assassin will continue his study until it is complete, then join the fray.
It is possible for the characters to spot the other two characters; it is DC 36 to spot Jered hiding on the landing above them, and DC 24 to spot Aran’s shadow. If the characters spot Jered and announce it or otherwise indicate it, then Jered’s concentration will be interrupted and the both of them will immediately hide in plain sight, then attack (though in this case, this will be in the first round of combat, so the characters may win initiative and go first).
The two are both shadowdancers and will constantly flicker in and out of the shadows in order to attack the characters; typically they will make a sneak attack, revealing themselves, then hide, moving slightly or even moving away from the characters in order to confuse them as to their locations. If the fight looks like it is going badly and they can’t win, the two will flee; Aran may make an illusion of shadows as a distraction while they flee.
If the bodies are examined, both are carrying a piece of paper with Isendil and Kadrin’s names on it, their pictures, and instructions in thieves’ cant to kill them both. The writing is quite elegant, and the art of Isendil and Kadrin is fairly high quality. There is no signature on the paper.
Aran – CR 10; Medium humanoid; Human Rogue 7/Shadowdancer 3; Neutral Evil; HD 7d6+3d8+20; 58 hp; Init +4; Spd 30 ft.; AC 21 (22 vs one foe), touch 15 (16 vs one foe), flat-footed 17; Base atk +7/+2, Grp +8; Atk Kukri +13 melee (18-20/1d4+2); Full Attack Kukri +13/+8 melee (18-20/1d4+2); SA Shadow Illusion, Sneak Attack +4d6, summon shadow; SQ Darkvision, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Trap Sense +2, Trapfinding, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge; SV Fort +5, Ref +12, Will +3; Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8
Hide in Plain Sight (Su): Can hide while being observed. If done after attacking, will count as a move action.
Shadow Illusion (Sp): Acts as per the spell silent image; usable 1/day.
Summon Shadow (Su): Aran is accompanied by a summoned shadow, see below.
Skills: Hide +22, Move Silently +22, Bluff +12, Gather Information +12, Intimidate +6, Perform (Dance) +12, Sleight of Hand +17; Tumble +17, Search +15, Spot +13, Listen +13
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Focus (Kukri), Weapon Finesse
Equipment: Bracers of Dexterity +2, Buckler +1, Shadow Studded Leather Armor +1 (+5 to hide checks, total value 3500 gp), Ring of Deflection +1, Padded Boots (+5 to move silently, 2500 gp), Kukri +1, 400 gp
Aran’s Shadow – Undead 5; Lawful Evil; HD 5d12; 33 hp; Init +2; Spd Fly 40 ft. (good); AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11; Base atk +2, Grp -; Atk Incorporeal touch +4 melee (1d6 Str); SA Create Spawn, Strength Damage; SQ Darkvision 60ft., incorporeal traits, +2 turn resistance, undead traits; SV Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +5; Str -, Dex 15, Con -, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 13
Skills: Hide +10 (+14 in shadowy areas), Listen +8, Search +4, Spot +8
Feats: Alertness, Dodge.
Jered – CR 10; Small humanoid; Halfling Rogue 5/Assassin 4/Shadowdancer 1; Neutral Evil; HD 9d6+1d8+10; 46 hp; Init +5; Spd 20 ft.; AC 20 (21 vs one foe), touch 15 (16 vs one foe), flat-footed 16; Base atk +6/+1, Grp +2; Atk Dagger +14 melee (19-20/1d4+2); Full Attack Dagger +14/+9 melee (19-20/1d4+2); SA Death Attack, Poison Use, Sneak Attack +5d6, Spells; SQ Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, +2 Save vs Poison, Trap Sense +1, Trapfinding, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge; SV Fort +4, Ref +16, Will +3; Str 10, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8
Death Attack (Ex): After studying a victim for 3 rounds, Jered can make a death attack with the possibility of paralyzing or killing the victim if they fail a DC 16 Fort save. Paralysis lasts 1d6+4 rounds. Note that this attack only works if the target can be successfully sneak attacked.
Hide in Plain Sight (Su): Can hide while being observed. If done after attacking, will count as a move action.
Skills: Hide +26, Move Silently +24, Bluff +6, Climb +8, Disguise +6, Jump +8, Perform (Dance) +6, Tumble +17, Search +15, Spot +13, Listen +15
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse
Equipment: Bracers of Dexterity +1, Buckler +1, Shadow Studded Leather Armor +1 (+5 to hide checks, total value 3500 gp), Padded Boots (+5 to move silently, 2500 gp), Dagger +2, 4 Daggers, 350 gp
Spells:
1st level (can cast 4/day): Disguise Self, Feather Fall, Sleep, True Strike
2nd level (can cast 2/day): Cat’s Grace, Darkness
After the battle, characters with Knowledge (Arcana) or Knowledge (local) may make a knowledge check:
DC 10: Shadowdancers are warriors who have supernatural power over shadows, allowing them to hide in plain sight and bend them to their own purposes.
DC 15: (Arcana) Shadowdancers draw their powers from the plane of shadow, but unlike shadowcasters do not do so in the same sort of magical manner; their association with dancing is perhaps what allows them to do so, but the mechanism is unknown. (Local) Some shadowdancers are rangers, guardians of the woods; others are assassins, who kill people for money or sometimes some unknown agenda.
DC 20: There are several organizations which employ shadowdancers; at least two separate groups exist in Quyai, another in the sylvan jungles, and another somewhere unknown. Only the first and last groups have assassins in their numbers; only the one of the groups in Quyai (the one without assassins) and the unknown one have shadowcasters, while the other in Quyai is pure muscle. The one in the jungle is mostly composed of elves, and mostly rangers and rogues at that.
My questions are regarding the interaction of hide in plain sight and sneak attack.
1) There aren't really rules for hiding in the middle of combat while fighting, despite the fact that HiPS is a core ability; at least, the rules do not appear to be in the PHB. What penalty would there be for someone to walk up to someone while hidden, stab them with their dagger, then HIPSing? Would they take a -20 penalty to their Hide check as per sniping?
2) Would they have to take a move action to hide, again as per sniping? I'm assuming yes, otherwise you could take a full attack then HIPS, which seems a bit silly.
3) If one character sees a hidden character, and another doesn't, if the character who sees the hidden person points them out to the other person, will they be able to see them (or at least re-roll their spot check)? And if one of the assassins decides to not attack in a round, do the characters get to make Spot checks against them every round?
4) Can the assassins HIPS as part of a move action and attack someone (rather than the opposite order) in a single round? I'm assuming again yes, and while they probably wouldn't do this (as the fighter in the party would probably shred them in a single round due to their relatively low AC, and they do have information on the characters) I wanted to know if it was an option.