Of Basilisks

[Greengiant]

For one of my plot ideas in the future involves a colony of basilisks. The characters find a whole colony in the rocky environs at the edge of a desert. The colony is easy to locate because of the numerous statues of different races and whatnot located around. They will fight the basilisks, hopefully, and find out some type of reason to get one of the statues turned back into a human, maybe he is the only person that knows the location of a treasure, or something else. Either way, this event will be a ready part of any quest I need.

My question, if you do not care to read that, is:

"Can a basilisk's stone stare be dispelled in any way?"

[SurlySeraph]

Yes. Stone to Flesh, Break Enchantment, and probably other ways.

[Greengiant]

Yes. Stone to Flesh, Break Enchantment, and probably other ways.

Ah thank you, I was worried that a break enchantment or dispel spell wouldn't work because the spell wasn't currently active. I had never even thought of Stone to Flesh.

[Fax Celestis]

Petrifying Gaze (Su)

Turn to stone permanently, range 30 feet; Fortitude DC 13 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based.

As a permanent supernatural attack, the only way (in core, at least), is the stone to flesh spell. There may be some other methods outside of core to remove it, but that's the easiest.

It's easier to prevent it: something as simple as looking away gives 50% miss chance; a blindfold, the blindness/deafness spell, or the synesthete psionic power gives immunity. The Blind-Fighting feat helps against the possibility of missing too.

[Glyphic]

To be a little less mean, or if your party doesn't have the right means to overcome a hive of basilisks (they're going to fail that save eventually..) you might consider having the gaze do dexterity damage, or a progression of magical effects; like immobilize --> slow --> paralyzed --> eaten.

[Tacoma]

Get goggles enchanted with the extra power to create illusionary black boxes right over the eyes of any creature, statue, painting, etc. If the goggles see an eye, it puts a black box over it before you see it.

So no miss chance because you still see the entire rest of the monster.

[Fax Celestis]

Get goggles enchanted with the extra power to create illusionary black boxes right over the eyes of any creature, statue, painting, etc. If the goggles see an eye, it puts a black box over it before you see it.

So no miss chance because you still see the entire rest of the monster.

Ooooooooooooor get goggles of synesthete. They're something like 3k gp a head.

[Tacoma]

I like my character seeing the world as if it were a censored Japanese adult movie.

[holywhippet]

As a permanent supernatural attack, the only way (in core, at least), is the stone to flesh spell. There may be some other methods outside of core to remove it, but that's the easiest.

Strangely enough, break enchantment will work by core as well. The spell details suggests it won't work, but the short text version clearly states it counters petrification: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists...erWizardSpells

Personally I think that's because they did a copy and paste from 3.0 though.

[Fax Celestis]

Strangely enough, break enchantment will work by core as well. The spell details suggests it won't work, but the short text version clearly states it counters petrification: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists...erWizardSpells

Personally I think that's because they did a copy and paste from 3.0 though.

This spell frees victims from enchantments, transmutations, and curses. Break enchantment can reverse even an instantaneous effect. For each such effect, you make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level, maximum +15) against a DC of 11 + caster level of the effect. Success means that the creature is free of the spell, curse, or effect. For a cursed magic item, the DC is 25.

If the spell is one that cannot be dispelled by dispel magic, break enchantment works only if that spell is 5th level or lower.

If the effect comes from some permanent magic item break enchantment does not remove the curse from the item, but it does frees the victim from the item’s effects.

A basilisk's gaze is not an enchantment, transmutation, or curse, nor is instantaneous. It does not even possess a caster level, as it doesn't emulate a spell. The second clause also does not apply: since it is not a spell effect, it also doesn't apply.

The abbreviated text refers to the flesh to stone spell, which it does defeat.

[kopout]

To be a little less mean, or if your party doesn't have the right means to overcome a hive of basilisks (they're going to fail that save eventually..).

this is why I always wanted to play a grimlock (that and my grand plan to behead a monster with a petrifying gaze and put its heed on a spike that way all I would have to do Is wave it in front of me and presto no enemies )

[Fax Celestis]

this is why I always wanted to play a grimlock (that and my grand plan to behead a monster with a petrifying gaze and put its heed on a spike that way all I would have to do Is wave it in front of me and presto no enemies )

You know, there's a feat for that.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Don't forget to hand out Blindfolds of True Darkness before they show up.

[UserClone]

Gazeblind Goggles? I could've sworn that was an item somewhere, but I am AFB...

[Prometheus]

Ooooooooooooor get goggles of synesthete. They're something like 3k gp a head.

Pfft - you only need a monocle of synesthete, that should save you 1.5k right?

(I don 't actually think a DM will go for this).

[Greengiant]

To be a little less mean, or if your party doesn't have the right means to overcome a hive of basilisks (they're going to fail that save eventually..) you might consider having the gaze do dexterity damage, or a progression of magical effects; like immobilize --> slow --> paralyzed --> eaten.

I'm not worried about being mean to my players. I told them when they started their characters, "this is going to be a hard campaign, I'm not fudging anything, and I'm going to throw some hard stuff at you. You're going to need to use all of your resources just to get by." It's been the best campaign ever so far. They buy everything they need to prevent pretty much everything. Their response to that speech was, "Kay", or the like.

I plan to have the basilisk's stare slowly start turning them to stone, like, two rounds worth. They should survive, actually.

[Kaiyanwang]

I'm not worried about being mean to my players. I told them when they started their characters, "this is going to be a hard campaign, I'm not fudging anything, and I'm going to throw some hard stuff at you. You're going to need to use all of your resources just to get by." It's been the best campaign ever so far. They buy everything they need to prevent pretty much everything. Their response to that speech was, "Kay", or the like.

I plan to have the basilisk's stare slowly start turning them to stone, like, two rounds worth. They should survive, actually.

IMHO, istakilling gaze attacks are more a defense for monsters than an offense. They simply hamper players ability to strike and target, and reward smart players.

Said this, you are the DM and what you decide it's the right thing.

[Seffbasilisk]

Going to be giving the Basilisks any useful treasure? On half-destoyed statues or whatnot?

Or...are you going to be adding value to the Basilisk's magical parts, like using the Eye for a focus for a Slow spell gives a bonus to caster level, or duration or somesuch?

[BobVosh]

Pfft - you only need a monocle of synesthete, that should save you 1.5k right?

(I don 't actually think a DM will go for this).

I'm now imagining the monocled guild of basilisk hunting. It is a hilarous mental image.

*edit* I won't lie, I also gave them top hats. In full plate.

[Ryavis]

Of course, any wizards they have will be wearing top hats of intellect.

[Yahzi]

The abbreviated text refers to the flesh to stone spell, which it does defeat.

But the full description also says: "If the spell is one that cannot be dispelled by dispel magic, break enchantment works only if that spell is 5th level or lower," and Flesh to Stone is 6th level.

Also, it's completely uncharacteristic for D&D to have a high-level spell that can be undone by a lower level spell; usually, you can curse people at 3rd level and they can't be uncursed till 17th or something stupid.

[Tsotha-lanti]

I won't lie, I also gave them top hats. In full plate.

So they're, what, Old World witch-hunters?

[Greengiant]

Going to be giving the Basilisks any useful treasure? On half-destoyed statues or whatnot?

Or...are you going to be adding value to the Basilisk's magical parts, like using the Eye for a focus for a Slow spell gives a bonus to caster level, or duration or somesuch?

I can't decide on if the clothes and everything should turn to stone as well. Probably, but weapons and whatnot will be dropped when turned to stone, in the panic, I guess. Since it's slow turning to stone, people are going to be in interesting positions when they finally die because their heart or whatever has turned to stone.

I will definitely have some type of sell value to basilisk parts though, as alchemical ingredients.

[Jothki]

They can probably morally get away with looting heavily broken statues, even if they have to bring them back to 'life' first.

[Kesnit]

I'm not worried about being mean to my players. I told them when they started their characters, "this is going to be a hard campaign, I'm not fudging anything, and I'm going to throw some hard stuff at you. You're going to need to use all of your resources just to get by." It's been the best campaign ever so far. They buy everything they need to prevent pretty much everything. Their response to that speech was, "Kay", or the like.

I will start by saying I believe basilisks (without warning) are one of the most sadistic things a DM can do to players. All it does is kill PC's without being able to get them back, since (as was said above), someone will fail a save.

Just telling your players the campaign is going to be hard is not warning them, because there is no way to prepare for everything. We can sit here and say "blindfolds or goggles will solve the problem," but those are of such limited use that the player's probably are not going to randomly take them. (Or even if they had something to use as a blindfold, they aren't going to walk through the dungeon wearing them, making them of limited use.)

I plan to have the basilisk's stare slowly start turning them to stone, like, two rounds worth. They should survive, actually.

Without some kind of warning, all this does is give the PC two rounds to watch themselves be turned to stone.

"Warning" does not mean you (in game or out) need to tell the players about the basilisk. It does mean there should be clear enough hints that the players get the idea. (Statues alone aren't a clue, as not all statues used to be living creatures.) Stories of adventurers going after the creatures and not coming back, then seeing statues scattered randomly is a clue. Statues in uncommon poses is a clue (esp if they have a look of fear). Finding dead bodies with potions/scrolls/wands of Stone to Flesh is a clue.

[ChaosDefender24]

You kidding me? I always give my characters Blindfolds of True Darkness if I can, it's useful in so many situations

[Kesnit]

You kidding me? I always give my characters Blindfolds of True Darkness if I can, it's useful in so many situations

Not sure if this was directed at me, but I'll address it anyway.

This is one optional "warning," though a little vaguer than the ones I listed. By "without warning," I meant sending the PC's against a basilisk with no chance to prepare or avoid being petrified, and no clue what to prepare for.

Since I don't know, what do those blindfolds do? Useful they may be at times, but if they hinder general navigation, they would not be useful against a basilisk because there is a good chance the PCs wouldn't be wearing them when the things appeared.

[vicente408]

The fact that they are surrounded by petrified creatures may give them enough of a clue to be tipped off about the fact that there may be basilisks around.

[ChaosDefender24]

Not sure if this was directed at me, but I'll address it anyway.

This is one optional "warning," though a little vaguer than the ones I listed. By "without warning," I meant sending the PC's against a basilisk with no chance to prepare or avoid being petrified, and no clue what to prepare for.

Since I don't know, what do those blindfolds do? Useful they may be at times, but if they hinder general navigation, they would not be useful against a basilisk because there is a good chance the PCs wouldn't be wearing them when the things appeared.

They block your normal vision but give you blindsight out to 30 feet.
better for indoors than outdoors in terms of traveling, and these basilisks are outside :(

[kopout]

You know, there's a feat for that.

there's a feat for that!?
what is it?
regardless my way is cooler.