Item of Disguise

[lotofsnow]

I don't think any of the guys from my group read these boards, but if your character is currently lying unconscious in the basement of an inn next to a one-armed dead man, don't read any further.




My players are going to have an illithid traveling with them for a short period, but I'd rather not have them know about his true nature until he's ready to reveal it. Since he'll be effectively 8th level, is their an item out there I can use to disguise him? If you need more info about the campaign, let me know.

[ThunderEagle]

Try the hat of disguise for all your disguising needs.

[lotofsnow]

You know, I thought of that but, for some reason, I was thinking it only gave a bonus to disguise checks. But the "disguise self" effect is perfect.

Thank you.

[PinkysBrain]

Since he'll be effectively 8th level

No, he is a 8 HD monster which would be an ECL15 character as a PC/cohort.

Giving him a hat of disguise and some equipment in this case is only natural, but do be careful ... if you give him level 8 NPC gear the level of challenge he presents to the party if they try to combat him will be significantly higher than his normal CR might suggest.

Monsters aren't meant to have much gear, other than their treasure which is rarely much use to them, and monsters with class levels are only meant to have gear as a NPC with that same number of class levels (not their total ECL). Otherwise you really can't trust their CR (not that CR is much good to begin with, but things can get worse).

PS. dunno about your players but detect magic is a rather commonly cast spell in my games, you might want to give him some other common item which gives off an illusion magical aura to cover up his hat of disguise.

[lotofsnow]

No, he is a 8 HD monster which would be an ECL15 character as a PC/cohort.

Giving him a hat of disguise and some equipment in this case is only natural, but do be careful ... if you give him level 8 NPC gear the level of challenge he presents to the party if they try to combat him will be significantly higher than his normal CR might suggest.

Monsters aren't meant to have much gear, other than their treasure which is rarely much use to them, and monsters with class levels are only meant to have gear as a NPC with that same number of class levels (not their total ECL). Otherwise you really can't trust their CR (not that CR is much good to begin with, but things can get worse).

PS. dunno about your players but detect magic is a rather commonly cast spell in my games, you might want to give him some other common item which gives off an illusion magical aura to cover up his hat of disguise.

He'll only have a single class level, Sorcerer. Wouldn't that make him ECL 8 (+7 adjustment and +1 Sorcerer)?

Yeah, they aren't really meant to fight him yet... hence the hat of disguise. He's gonna be a BBEG later on, but, for now, they are going in the same direction. If the PCs attempt to combat him, well, they are all level 1. He has bigger fish to fry, and that's his main priority. Hostile PCs would be a only a nuisance at this point; he would most likely just mind blast them and take off.

The group, who has done only a single session, started at 4 players, but has suddenly blossomed to 7. I know one of the new guys wants to be a Sorcerer, so thanks for pointing out the detect magic flaw in my plans. I'll have to counter that somehow. Another player is leaning towards Paladin. My plan was to use charm monster on him so if he did try to detect evil, he wouldn't care to notice the NPC's aura. Also, the temple they are in would show up as so shockingly evil, he'll probably avoid casting it more than a couple of times.

[Jack_Simth]

Magic Aura deals with Detect Magic. 1st level spell, lasts days/level.

A Ring of Mind Shielding protects against Detect Evil.

Oh - and everyone expects the Hat of Disguise. Get a Ring of Chameleon Power - has the same Disguise Self effect included, but is useful for anyone wanting to hide, too. Also explains the illusion aura.

[Jack Mann]

He'll only have a single class level, Sorcerer. Wouldn't that make him ECL 8 (+7 adjustment and +1 Sorcerer)?

You're forgetting his eight hit dice. These are part of the balance on the mind flayer. If he didn't have these, his LA would be higher (and he'd also become a glass cannon, full of power, but with almost no hit points).

More relevant is the fact that he's approximately CR 9, since sorcerer is an associated class for mind flayers. CR is what you should be basing his wealth on, not ECL. Otherwise, anytime your players fought a giant, they'd get wealth far in excess of what's appropriate to their level.

[lotofsnow]

You're forgetting his eight hit dice. These are part of the balance on the mind flayer. If he didn't have these, his LA would be higher (and he'd also become a glass cannon, full of power, but with almost no hit points).

More relevant is the fact that he's approximately CR 9, since sorcerer is an associated class for mind flayers. CR is what you should be basing his wealth on, not ECL. Otherwise, anytime your players fought a giant, they'd get wealth far in excess of what's appropriate to their level.

Oh! I get it now. Yeah, I was forgetting how the hit dice factored in.

[Bagera]

Get him an item of continuous alter self and turn him into an elan, no need to disguise.

[Fixer]

Perhaps a magic item that gives a competence bonus to the disguise skill?

One of the advantages of JUST using the disguise skill is that it cannot be 'seen through' using any magic other than a Spot check. A Mind Flayer disguising as anything else would have a -4 penalty to the check (gender & race modifiers) but nothing short of a high Spot roll will see through it.

Not even True Seeing will see through a mundane disguise roll.

A magic item that grants a +20 competence bonus to disguise (perhaps only usable by mind flayers), combined with a decent set of skill ranks (single level in rogue can give 11 ranks due to Mind Flayer HD, Intelligence, and rogue level). A +35 to disguise, averaging 10 on a skill check leaves players a 45 to see through it. Assuming level 8 characters maxing out their spot gives them around a +25 (+11 spot, +4 wisdom, +2 alertness, +3 skill focus, +2 racial, +3 miscellaneous something) they will score a 45 if they take a 20 but that's staring at the guy for 20 rounds, which isn't exactly subtle. If they have less than a +25 to spot they simply cannot score high enough (natural 20s are not autosuccesses on skill checks using RAW).