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Hi
Can someone explain how scent works in regards to invisibility?
Specifically, does an invisible wizard still get concealment when standing beside a creature with scent?
Thanks
Yes.
A creature with scent can "detect an invisible creature as it would a visible one," meaning Creature With Scent (Scenty) can pinpoint which square Invisy is in with a DC 0 Perception check. Scenty can then target that square with an attack, but still suffers miss chance from concealment, because Scenty still can't see Invisy (unless Scenty also has blindsense or something).
There's a bit more to it than that.
For example, scent doesn't always tell you where your opponent is:
The creature detects another creature’s presence but not
its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a
move action. If the creature moves within 5 feet (1 square)
of the scent’s source, the creature can pinpoint the area
that the source occupies, even if it cannot be seen.
Also note that whenyour opponent has Total Concealment, you usually don't know where he is. You never attack him because all you can do is attack the square you think he is in:
If you have line of effect to a
target but not line of sight, he is considered to have total
concealment from you. You can’t attack an opponent that
has total concealment, though you can attack into a square
that you think he occupies. A successful attack into a
square occupied by an enemy with total concealment has a
50% miss chance (instead of the normal 20% miss chance
for an opponent with concealment).
So, without Scent (or any other special sense) you are extremely unlikely to know where the invisible guy is. So pick a square. If you get it right, you can roll to hit his AC then you still have a 50/50 chance of missing anyway. If you get it wrong, you wasted your attack on an empty space.
Even with scent, you can only pinpoint adjacent enemies. If the invisible guy is only 5' away, you can safely pinpoint his square (still a 50/50 chance to miss). If he's 10' away or more, you cannot even pinpoint his square, though with a move action you can narrow it down to a general direction - I imagine this is cone-shaped area with the invisible guy somewhere in the cone, but not always centered or it's too easy to figure out where to attack). The best you can do is attack with your ranged weapon or reach weapon by randomly picking any square and hoping you picked the right one.
(When I DM with invisible monsters, I don't put them on the battlemat. Sure, I have to track their locations in my head, but I used to play blindfold chess all the time, tracking 32 chess pieces, so tracking one, or a few, invisible bad guys is nothing).
Believe me, the first time your players have to fight something that can remain invisible, or can use invisibility at will, they'll seriously consider getting all kinds of spells, scrolls, wands, etc., of any spell that can reveal invisible enemies.
So, without Scent (or any other special sense) you are extremely unlikely to know where the invisible guy is. So pick a square. If you get it right, you can roll to hit his AC then you still have a 50/50 chance of missing anyway. If you get it wrong, you wasted your attack on an empty space.
Ideally the player should roll to hit no matter if s/he picks the right or wrong square, s/he will of course always miss if the wrong square is targeted. That will keep the player guessing; "did I miss because I hit to low AC, did the GM roll concealment, or did I pick the wrong square?".