My two-weapon fighter just acquired a Ring of Blinking and I am very intrigued by its possibilities. Obviously the defensive aspect is a real boon (a little overpowered in my honest opinion), but I'm also exploring whatever tricks I can to get full use out of it.
As I understand it, in a nutshell, these are the rules surrounding Blink:
Attackers suffer 50% chance of failure.
Spells targeting you have a 50% chance of failure.
you gain a +2 attack bonus against foes who can not See Invisible or Ethreal creatures.
1/2 damage from falling.
1/2 damage from area effects.
Force effects apply as normal.
Your own spells (not applicable to me) and attacks have a 20% chance of failure.
In addition, it states that you may move through solid objects, through living beings and even move three dimensionally (up and down). Whenever you are moving through solid matter (including living things), there is a 50% chance every 5' that you turn solid and are shunted out to the nearest cleary space, suffering 1d6 points of damage per 5' traveled in the process.
Now that opens up a world of possibilities, as does some of the language concerning one's interaction with the Ethreal Plane. The concept we've decided on is that the Blinking is primarily random, but that your focus on staying in one plane or another can influence it slightly (to account for a 20% miss chance by you as compared to a 50% miss chance by your foes). My GM and I are working closely together to anticipate some of the uses or situations that may arise so that combat doesn't bog down in play - here are some of the things we've come up with so far:
Rather than 1/2 damage from a fall, you have a 50% chance of either taking full damage or no damage, which ultimately works out to the same thing, but seems more appropriate to the mechanics and spirit of the thing. Same thing with non-Force based Area Effects, though saving throws still apply.
Each time I use the ring, there is a 5% chance that I may attract a random unfriendly Ethreal being, leaving me to deal with it on one plane and my foes on the other. They can occupy the same space and I interact with them roughly the same way, so it could make some encounters very interesting.
I can use the ring to move through a medium or smaller creature's space without provoking an attack of opportunity from them when I do so. I would provoke an AoO from others with this movement as normal though, which then has the normal chance of failure. Any large or greater creature who's space(s) I try to move through will be treated as solid matter, with chances to materialize and be shunted aside as normal. For practicality's sake we've decided that I can not end my turn 'inside' anything solid and for reality's sake if I am ever shunted out my turn ends immediately with me Sickened until the start of my next turn.
I can move half of my full normal movement upward or downward as a move action but must end my turn on solid matter or I will fall immediately at the beginning of my next turn. Difficult terrain only has half its normal effect on me, but restraints remain in place just as clothing or weapons would.
My own projectile attacks (like bows or thrown weapons) have a 0% chance of failure because they stop being Ethreal the moment I release them. Conversely, they have a 100% chance of failure against Ethreal creatures for the same reason. We're still debating this, as the argument could be made that the projectile stays whatever it was when I released it, which would then put it back in the 20% chance of failure for targets on both planes. If that were the case, it would mean that 'dropped' items would follow suit.
We're still considering other possibilities. I'd be very interested to hear thoughts from others, both with regards to creative uses of the ring and potential rule interpretations for situations that may arise. Also, a quick question - generally speaking, do you determine whether or not a spell or attack fails before making attack rolls and saving throws, or after?
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I like most of these, but the 20% miss chance is there for a reason. Blink defeats True Seeing, which is a powerful bonus, and you need to pay a little price for it. I would say that a projectile launched stays in the same plane it's launched in. If you want to shoot at an ethereal creature, there's a 20% chance you'll shoot in the material plane instead.
Also, See Invisible does absolutely jack against Blink. You're not invisible, you're ethereal.
I like most of these, but the 20% miss chance is there for a reason. Blink defeats True Seeing, which is a powerful bonus, and you need to pay a little price for it. I would say that a projectile launched stays in the same plane it's launched in. If you want to shoot at an ethereal creature, there's a 20% chance you'll shoot in the material plane instead.
Also, See Invisible does absolutely jack against Blink. You're not invisible, you're ethereal.
We thought the 5% chance of attracting Ethreal attention was a nice 'falvor' way to make up for some of its benefits, putting a little risk in their that could spice up play. My GM insinuated that in certain areas (like regions where undead were mor ecommon), that chance might go up and the encounter might not be so random.
I'm not entirely sure how it defeats True-Seeing since you're theoretically flickering back and forth between the two planes multiple times in a single round - you'd be seen by the naked eye equally well as True Seeing would reveal you...
My thoughts mirror yours regarding See Invisible, but that's how the spell was worded. Do you think we should do away with the attack bonus completely, or that we should apply it as normal against targets who were unable to see ethreal creatures, regardless of whether or not they could see invisible ones?
Hm. What about circumstance bonuses to Stealth and to avoid being Tracked since I would theoretically only be in the Prime Material Plane half the time, being invisible, silent and intangible the other half of the time?
I would think then that similar penalties to skills like Climb or Swim would be appropriate, but of course I would probably just turn the ring off under those circumstances...
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I'm not sure how it defeats True-Seeing since you're theoretically flickering back and forth between the two planes multiple times in a single round - you'd be seen by the naked eye equally well as True Seeing would reveal you...
My thoughts mirror yours regarding See Invisible, but that's how the spell was worded. Do you think we should do away with the attack bonus completely, or that we should apply it as normal against targets who were unable to see ethreal creatures, regardless of whether or not they could see invisible ones?
True seeing will reveal you. But it doesn't allow your weapons and spells to affect ethereal creatures. Unlike with invisibility, seeing a blinking creature is barely half the battle.
I always thought it should completely negate falling damage (or reduce it to 1d6 or something). You aren't moving down when ethereal, right? So your movement is stopping completely every second or so.
Meh, whatever.
I always thought it should completely negate falling damage (or reduce it to 1d6 or something). You aren't moving down when ethereal, right? So your movement is stopping completely every second or so.
Meh, whatever.
Our thought process was that a fall happens very quickly, and theoretically you maintain your momentum when you blink otherwise moving would be impossible... so the question then became, were you solid when you hit the ground (and take full damage) or intangible (and take none)?
We're also debating the possibility of ruling that 'blinking' is extremely hard on the body, and that one can only do it for 1 round/point of Constitution after which its use results in 1 point of bleed damage every round (cumulative, so 1 the first round, 2 the second, etc.) to continue after the ring is no longer in use until treated as Bleed damage normally requires.
I don't think I like it, but I'm trying to be magnanimous because I intend to abuse the hell out of the thing. My GM's point is that he has no problem with my using it in combat, but thinks there should be something to discourage my running around with it constantly on.
We're also debating the possibility of ruling that 'blinking' is extremely hard on the body, and that one can only do it for 1 round/point of Constitution after which its use results in 1 point of bleed damage every round (cumulative, so 1 the first round, 2 the second, etc.) to continue after the ring is no longer in use until treated as Bleed damage normally requires.
I don't think I like it, but I'm trying to be magnanimous because I intend to abuse the hell out of the thing. My GM's point is that he has no problem with my using it in combat, but thinks there should be something to discourage my running around with it constantly on.
If your wanting a downside which is more flavourfull take your lead from good ole HP Lovecraft /call of cthulhu.
The Etheral plane can contain some pretty freaky and messed up stuff that material being were never really meant to see.
While blinking there is a chance you'll come across indescribable horrors and images of beings which don't conform to 3 dimensions, and creatures that somehow exists inside you momentarily warping your sense of being.
As a result (insert own mechanic) whenever your blinking you run the risk of going insane. this is a cumulative chance since the more insanity your mind is exposed to the weaker you resolve becomes until your mind finally breaks.
I would suggest a mechanic partially separate from your stats so e.g. you don't start taking mental stat damage just for using it.
so you have a pool of say 100 and start losing points when you blink, when you start getting down to 20-10 range bad things start happening, and when you reach 0 your insane and effectively an NPC and no longer a PC.
you can increase that pool of 100 by being heroic and or participating overtly in social occasions which reinforce and rebuild your mind. but never allow the regains to exceed the drain from excessive blinking.
I think with the GM doing some rolling while your blinking as describing lovecraft style some of the messed up images your seeing you could have alot of fun with it. Might even get to the point your character is so afraid of blinking he stops, or perhaps seeing these insane images becomes an addiction he want to blink more and more often all the time losing his mind by inches.