kamikasei
2008-04-18, 05:05 PM
Well, I'm finally getting to play a changeling, and he's a beguiler to boot so he's got disguisin' up the wazoo. I'm puzzling over the interaction of the disguise skill, the changeling's minor shape change ability, and the disguise self spell. My questions, originally posted here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4210857&postcount=80), are spoilered. (Den is the character's name.)
Okay, so Den has a shapechange ability. This is described as granting +10 on the check if it's used to create a disguise.
When does it count as being used to create a disguise? Does he need to make a check whenever he wants to change his appearance, or just when he wants to impersonate a specific individual? Can he change how he looks with impunity without needing to make checks until he wants to specifically fool someone into thinking he's someone else (with the implication that he never has to make such a check to take on a persona he's created himself)?
How are the penalties for race and gender factored in? Are they still present, but the +10 bonus helps cover them? Or are they entirely dispensed with (gender especially, since Den can actually be female if he wants)?
How long does it take to create a disguise using minor shape change? The disguise skill says it takes 10-30 minutes, but the ability is only a full-round action. Does it still take a long time to impersonate a specific person? How about taking on a self-made persona? (This same question applies to the disguise self spell.)
How do minor shape change and disguise self interact? Both grant +10 unnamed bonuses. Do those bonuses stack? If Den changes shape to look like someone and then casts disguise self to change his clothing etc. to match, is that a +20 total bonus or does the spell just cover changing the appearance of the possessions?
In a similar vein, since a hat of disguise mimics the spell, the same questions apply to it. If you rule that the bonuses do not stack, would it be possible to obtain a half-price version of the hat which only works on equipment/clothing in the first place?
The basic questions: what constitutes creating a disguise rather than just changing your appearance; do supernatural abilities and/or spells cut the time required to create a disguise down from the 10-30 minutes specified in the skill to the casting/use time; and how do the bonuses granted interact?
Anyone? This one's been bugging me for a while, and it's likely to become a problem in my RL game soon if a returning player wants to resume her... eh... changeling beguiler.
Okay, so Den has a shapechange ability. This is described as granting +10 on the check if it's used to create a disguise.
When does it count as being used to create a disguise? Does he need to make a check whenever he wants to change his appearance, or just when he wants to impersonate a specific individual? Can he change how he looks with impunity without needing to make checks until he wants to specifically fool someone into thinking he's someone else (with the implication that he never has to make such a check to take on a persona he's created himself)?
How are the penalties for race and gender factored in? Are they still present, but the +10 bonus helps cover them? Or are they entirely dispensed with (gender especially, since Den can actually be female if he wants)?
How long does it take to create a disguise using minor shape change? The disguise skill says it takes 10-30 minutes, but the ability is only a full-round action. Does it still take a long time to impersonate a specific person? How about taking on a self-made persona? (This same question applies to the disguise self spell.)
How do minor shape change and disguise self interact? Both grant +10 unnamed bonuses. Do those bonuses stack? If Den changes shape to look like someone and then casts disguise self to change his clothing etc. to match, is that a +20 total bonus or does the spell just cover changing the appearance of the possessions?
In a similar vein, since a hat of disguise mimics the spell, the same questions apply to it. If you rule that the bonuses do not stack, would it be possible to obtain a half-price version of the hat which only works on equipment/clothing in the first place?
The basic questions: what constitutes creating a disguise rather than just changing your appearance; do supernatural abilities and/or spells cut the time required to create a disguise down from the 10-30 minutes specified in the skill to the casting/use time; and how do the bonuses granted interact?
Anyone? This one's been bugging me for a while, and it's likely to become a problem in my RL game soon if a returning player wants to resume her... eh... changeling beguiler.