I want to have an undead priest guarding the treasure room, but I though of having the players reach a certain spot of the room trigger his release. Does detect magic or traps work for that?
Let me rephrase the question: Is that scenario detectable by a skills check or can I keep it hidden?
It should be detectable by traps at the least. Not hard to prevent Detect Magic from working, just do not use magic.
As for stopping them from detecting a trap, you could always 'guild the lilly'. That is, take the trap and make it obvious with an easy way to disable it but the easy disable only disables a secondary trap. Give the real trap a nearly impossible DC of 30 to detect.
Example:
You search for traps, roll, gets a 26, detects a a wire that releases a giant boulder. It is easy to cut the wire.
They cut the wire and activate the trap, but nothing happens (that they can see).
I want to have an undead priest guarding the treasure room, but I though of having the players reach a certain spot of the room trigger his release. Does detect magic or traps work for that?
Let me rephrase the question: Is that scenario detectable by a skills check or can I keep it hidden?
If it's a magic trigger, you can limit the detection to what school of magic it is (abjuration, most likely), without letting them know exactly what it does
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Thank you all for the replies. You've given me some things to think about, and I'm sure the answer is in your combined replies. If you're interested, I'll stop back and let you kno0w what I come up with.
So what if I use a Glyph of Warding, on the floor, and it triggers a Summon Undead spell. Is it still detectable by a traps check, or would it be detect magic?
So what if I use a Glyph of Warding, on the floor, and it triggers a Summon Undead spell. Is it still detectable by a traps check, or would it be detect magic?
glyph of warding has its own rule for spotting it, assuming it's placed somewhere visible and not inside a chest or something
The glyph is nearly invisible and requires a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to be found.
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Glyph of Warding states:
When you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph that later unleashes a magical effect. You inscribe it either on a surface (such as a table or a section of floor or wall) or within an object that can be closed (such as a book, a scroll, or a treasure chest) to conceal the glyph. The glyph can cover an area no larger than 10 feet in diameter. If the surface or object is moved more than 10 feet from where you cast this spell, the glyph is broken, and the spell ends without being triggered.
The glyph is nearly invisible and requires a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to be found.
You decide what triggers the glyph when you cast the spell. For glyphs inscribed on a surface, the most typical triggers include touching or standing on the glyph, removing another object covering the glyph, approaching within a certain distance of the glyph, or manipulating the object on which the glyph is inscribed.
So if you put the Summon Undead spell in the GoW and place the GoW on the back of a door lined with a thin sheet of lead and have it trigger when the door is opened...
Is there a reason the players must be the ones who activate that consequence?
It's kinda railroad-ish. There can (and probably should) be some level of guidance (a moderate kind of railroading), but there is a poorly-defined limit when it turns into a Disney carnival ride.
You need to have a very good reason to force the players to be responsible for causing this encounter. It's not that it should never be done. It's that it shouldn't be done without a good reason.
(This is merely a yes/no question for yourself. There is no need to explain the answer to us.)
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I want to have an undead priest guarding the treasure room, but I though of having the players reach a certain spot of the room trigger his release. Does detect magic or traps work for that?
Let me rephrase the question: Is that scenario detectable by a skills check or can I keep it hidden?
First thing to ask yourself is do you want the party to be able to detect it in advance or not? If you don't want them to detect it before it appears, you can certainly do so. Otherwise, what's in there to see? It could even be there but not an apparent threat, such as a tapestry, painting or fresque from which it gets out. It could detect as a trap or magic depending what you decide.
Is the undead priest corporeal or incorporeal? It could wait invisible or heavily obscured by ghastly shadows and even hidden with a set DC if you want to possibly cause a surprise. It could not even be there until the party arrive and be summoned, teleported, gated or plane shifted from the ethereal where it is linked to this room for some reason that brings him forth when intruders enter it or do something specific. It could be a eerie music that calls it up, transported through melodic sounds or requiem from the underworld....
You may also determine what brings it up in terms of power source? Is it arcane magic? Is it a divine curse? Is it otherwordly? If it's magical yet not visible, a Detect Magic may sense it's presence without being able to see any aura.
So if you determine where it is or how it come up, from there you should be able to determine the rest as well based on what you want for the encounter.
Is it really a trap if the undead priest is watching from outside the room?
Such as behind the painting or watching though a hole in the ceiling? Or even a periscope system.Nothing magic and the guard is not in the room exactly.
A find traps skill or spell would not find it but a good observation/perception check would give the players a chance to see something.
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I want to have an undead priest guarding the treasure room, but I though of having the players reach a certain spot of the room trigger his release. Does detect magic or traps work for that?
Let me rephrase the question: Is that scenario detectable by a skills check or can I keep it hidden?
It should be detectable by traps at the least. Not hard to prevent Detect Magic from working, just do not use magic.
As for stopping them from detecting a trap, you could always 'guild the lilly'. That is, take the trap and make it obvious with an easy way to disable it but the easy disable only disables a secondary trap. Give the real trap a nearly impossible DC of 30 to detect.
Example:
You search for traps, roll, gets a 26, detects a a wire that releases a giant boulder. It is easy to cut the wire.
They cut the wire and activate the trap, but nothing happens (that they can see).
Minutes later they meat the undead.
If it's a magic trigger, you can limit the detection to what school of magic it is (abjuration, most likely), without letting them know exactly what it does
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Is he animate before, just locked in a coffin? Or is this bringing him to life?
Thank you all for the replies. You've given me some things to think about, and I'm sure the answer is in your combined replies. If you're interested, I'll stop back and let you kno0w what I come up with.
Thank you again,
Patrick
When it’s a jar!
…a MAGIC JAR.
So what if I use a Glyph of Warding, on the floor, and it triggers a Summon Undead spell. Is it still detectable by a traps check, or would it be detect magic?
glyph of warding has its own rule for spotting it, assuming it's placed somewhere visible and not inside a chest or something
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Keep in mind that Detect Magic states:
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Glyph of Warding states:
When you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph that later unleashes a magical effect. You inscribe it either on a surface (such as a table or a section of floor or wall) or within an object that can be closed (such as a book, a scroll, or a treasure chest) to conceal the glyph. The glyph can cover an area no larger than 10 feet in diameter. If the surface or object is moved more than 10 feet from where you cast this spell, the glyph is broken, and the spell ends without being triggered.
The glyph is nearly invisible and requires a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to be found.
You decide what triggers the glyph when you cast the spell. For glyphs inscribed on a surface, the most typical triggers include touching or standing on the glyph, removing another object covering the glyph, approaching within a certain distance of the glyph, or manipulating the object on which the glyph is inscribed.
So if you put the Summon Undead spell in the GoW and place the GoW on the back of a door lined with a thin sheet of lead and have it trigger when the door is opened...
Is there a reason the players must be the ones who activate that consequence?
It's kinda railroad-ish. There can (and probably should) be some level of guidance (a moderate kind of railroading), but there is a poorly-defined limit when it turns into a Disney carnival ride.
You need to have a very good reason to force the players to be responsible for causing this encounter. It's not that it should never be done. It's that it shouldn't be done without a good reason.
(This is merely a yes/no question for yourself. There is no need to explain the answer to us.)
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
First thing to ask yourself is do you want the party to be able to detect it in advance or not? If you don't want them to detect it before it appears, you can certainly do so. Otherwise, what's in there to see? It could even be there but not an apparent threat, such as a tapestry, painting or fresque from which it gets out. It could detect as a trap or magic depending what you decide.
Is the undead priest corporeal or incorporeal? It could wait invisible or heavily obscured by ghastly shadows and even hidden with a set DC if you want to possibly cause a surprise. It could not even be there until the party arrive and be summoned, teleported, gated or plane shifted from the ethereal where it is linked to this room for some reason that brings him forth when intruders enter it or do something specific. It could be a eerie music that calls it up, transported through melodic sounds or requiem from the underworld....
You may also determine what brings it up in terms of power source? Is it arcane magic? Is it a divine curse? Is it otherwordly? If it's magical yet not visible, a Detect Magic may sense it's presence without being able to see any aura.
So if you determine where it is or how it come up, from there you should be able to determine the rest as well based on what you want for the encounter.
Is it really a trap if the undead priest is watching from outside the room?
Such as behind the painting or watching though a hole in the ceiling? Or even a periscope system.Nothing magic and the guard is not in the room exactly.
A find traps skill or spell would not find it but a good observation/perception check would give the players a chance to see something.