Do you know old school tricks for new school Pathfinder?

I was listening to a Pathfinder Chronicles podcast last night. One of the contributors mentioned that old school players from AD&D 1E, have recently started coming to PFS. And what they've brought to the table is old school tricks. The example was a player who cast light on a coin and tossed it into a dark room. I think it's friggin' genius.

Do you know any old school tricks?

Cleric Glyph of Warding on a weapon, every time the cleric draws the weapon, they say the name of the glyph, and whenever it strikes an opponent it activates the damage (usually elemental).

You had to say the name of the glyph when touching the surface to avoid triggering it.

Pendin Fust: Wouldn't the blast hit you too?

Poke *everything* with a 10 ft spear. If it moves, poke harder.

Run away. That was a good one we used to do.

Fire trap on extra belt pouches to punish thieves

Piton greatest thing ever. Pin doors or Windows closed with them climb with them ,make improvised spears, spikes for a quick trap, and more lol.

And no no it glyph of warding arrows for the ranger. That way you dont take dmg.

Caltrops get a bag. Place them in doors along 5ft halls and make the enemy come to you.

Marbles throw them down a hall as the ranger and mage start shooting into a room and watch things trying to charge you slip everywhere

Barrel of smoked herring red if they have. Killers for the first kolbold to surrender to you use him to trap and watch camp while your delving and to take to local kolbold tribes to keep them behaving. Nite for large tribe bribes you Amy need several barrels.

Deeper darkness on a coin and continuance flame on another use as needed.... Keep them in a small leather pounch or hooded lantern to shut them off...... Also farmers and others love continuance light rocks.......

Cast silence on a pebble and move up next to enemy spellcasters to disrupt their spells. Throw it away when you need to be able to hear.

At low lvls oil throw it into a room on an enemy anything you want to burn really and have the wizard or someone with alchemist for light it that way it doesn't go boom if you do a crunchy

If the bar we're aiming for is "more novel than a light spell on a coin" (BTW, pros cast it on a pebble or stone-no point in throwing away money), I've got several:

A bag of flour thrown into the air is a poor-man's Glitterdust spell.
Mark liberal use of chalk to mark your passage through a dungeon or cave labyrinth.
Use a piece of mirror to look around corners or through gaps under doors (if big enough).
A bell tied to a string as a simple alarm.
Continual flame inside of a locket around your neck allows for a simple flashlight that you can turn off when you need to.
A caster can tack spell scrolls to the inside of a tower shield to provide full cover from ranged attacks while being able to cast buffs/walls/battlefield control spells (the penalty on attack rolls doesn't mean anything in those situations).
Liberal use of livestock to get trough a trapped corridor.

Also, the best advice is, "If the DM describes it, you can use it."

Bucket of hot coals in a torture room? You can throw that to deal fire damage. The same goes for pots of stew and burning campfires. Is there dust or sand on the ground? Grab and handful and throw it at the enemy to try to blind them for a few rounds.

One other trick similar to the silenced rock is darkness on the nock of a crossbow bolt or arrow. Aim, have the caster drop the spell and shoot to put a blob of darkness anywhere you want it up the the max range of the weapon. BTW, don't cast it in the head of the arrow, it'll get stuck in the surface and negate the effect.

It's a new variation on an old favorite:

Communal mount as a trap finder. It's like mount only you get one per party member.

Saw dust lots of saw dust.... Or flour..... That and a torch poor man's fireball

Note that continual flame/darkness dispel/negate one another as soon as they are brought into the radius of the other spell.

There are several very good 'wonderpacks' of survival gear and alchemical stuff bumping around. It's funny how when you really go looking through stuff how much is out there, and what it can do.

Didn't everyone have a 'base adventurer's pack' with pre-sorted gear so they didn't have to decide what to buy for their level 1's, back in the day?

==Aelryinth

I'd also like to mention Ashiel had a very good thread going on basic ways to 'optimize the game' and tricks that people could use even at low levels...which is basically 1E survival tricks. Remember, 1E was a lot harder on people then 3.5 is.

==Aelryinth

Yep I miss my gear list all 100 lbs of it characters would drop it before comabt lol

Once you're rocking with Silence, Silent Image is way more convincing.

We used to put Cont. Light (would be Cont. Flame, now) on a hard stone, then cover it in clay and let the clay dry, for a sort of light grenade. Thicker layers of clay are harder to break, but more certain to fall away when broken.

Cont. Light on a stick in a tube, with lines on each, makes a trip-light.

Your GM might rule that Silence doesn't go through walls. Then try doors. Then try that clay trick from above. Because silently silencing a spellcaster as you backstab him is way better than having him sense the silence when you're 15' out.

Pendin Fust: Wouldn't the blast hit you too?

I always used it on a spearhead with a distinction of spearhead being a different part of the spear (a metal head on a wooden pole essentially) and carved the glyph on the head.

Never tried with a sword, but could argue the same as the hilt, handle, and blade are all separate, carve the glyph on the blade, shouldn't affect you.

It would also depend on what the glyph was...Can be paralyze if you're high level enough, but cold or fire damage was always 25 sq ft going out from the glyph in the games I played.

The situation is not as extreme as it used to be, but we used to have problems fairly often with opponents that you basically could not hit. But you could grapple them.

So cast immunity to fire, put on about 6 bandoleers full of alchemists fire, grapple, intentionally crushing the vials, and letting both of you burn up.

I don't remember if that was 1st or 2nd Ed.

Mark liberal use of chalk to mark your passage through a dungeon or cave labyrinth.

I used to turn this one around to throw pursuers off, by leaving false directions on the wall.

This one time, I wrote "Dave! We headed north! We'll wait for you!" You know, as if we were waiting for a companion. We actually headed east, or whatever.

It worked. We eventually ambushed the party following us when it was convenient for us.

Wait are these things 'old school?' I thought they were just tricks... am I getting old?

Evasion is a 3rd ed thing, but a great trick with a fully loaded necklace of fireballs!

Approach enemy, pull smallest fireball, deliberately fail the save and take your lumps.

Because you failed a save against magical fire, all the other fireballs go off! You make your saves normally against them!

With a DC of 14 most saves will be successful. However, the baddies still take half damage while you take no damage at all.

For the few you fail your save against, take your lumps. If that worries you, get some fire resistance.

I used Prestidigitation to change pre-existing chalk marks in a maze where we were being pursued.

We had a Monk named Silencio Roberto who we'd cast Silence on and let him go grapple the opposing casters.

I've rolled balls filled with bells down a corridor to get guards to run by through my threatened range with AoOs.

I've used Magic Aura on a box and left it as bait (with a sheet with Explosive Runes inside of it)

Because characters have so many more hit points and healing resources compared to prior editions, the need for "tricksy tricksy gamerses" has decreased a LOT.

Poke *everything* with a 10 ft spear. If it moves, poke harder.

Yup, the 10' pole was downright compulsory adventuring equipment. Usefl for testing traps, poking stuff and making bridges and whatnot.

And just so as it happens, the portable hole is 10' deep.
Which could also be filled with water... for a whole series of lil tricks for special occasions. Traps, giant boulders.

Now for a really scary combination, grab a gigantic rock, shrink it (24h!) stuff all that cloth into a portable hole. and when the moment comes, toss that cloth and recreate your rock.. :D
....like from a flying position, dropped down on a orc camp/tarrasque/evil stronghold...

see lvl 5 wizards can be scary :p

Edit: ah damn.. it has been nerfed. Buit i guess you casn still drop a few dozen smaller rocks. Thats still 2*2*2' rocks.

or zombies. those tricks are still known tho.
Then there was meepo. Fabricate, mc murlyn, simulacrum etc tricks.

There was no internet back then tho, so the 1ed tricks were unorganized, and never really becoming famous, outside magazines atleast.

...a lightning bolts main use used to be shooting down stalagmites that would impale the enemy..

Oh yeah. Rambo movies -> explosive rune + arrow

More modern version: shield + permanent symbol of death
(oh wait, i forgot to cover it in town.. hahaha!)

Or a GEMULCRA. Nothing says a simulacrum has to look like the creature. You just choose the looks, so turn your balor into looking like a gem and inset it into a wall from where its set to toss fireballs to the end of days. Or as a ioun stone of sorts.

I've always found the Periapt of Proof Against Poison useful. You can pour a flask of contact poison over your head, and start grappling.

The post about grappling with Alchemist's Fire reminded me of this.

I used Prestidigitation to change pre-existing chalk marks in a maze where we were being pursued.

Ha! Not too long ago, I had a few players whose characters broke curfew in Lastwall's Castle Everstand, where our homebrew is taking place. When the guards inevitably saw them poking around where they weren't welcome, they demanded to know who gave the characters permission to leave their barracks. The characters claimed their superior officer did ... and handed over forged paperwork. Just as the guards were realizing the paperwork wasn't legit, the characters ran past them, back toward the barracks ... but not before the magus cast prestidigitation on the paperwork so their forgery would never be detected. Those poor, confused guards.

An old Favorite on mine was Grease.. then web... then Flaming sphere (or some type of fire)...

Too bad Grease is no longer flammable...

Oh yeah. Rambo movies -> explosive rune + arrow

More modern version: shield + permanent symbol of death
(oh wait, i forgot to cover it in town.. hahaha!)

Or a GEMULCRA. Nothing says a simulacrum has to look like the creature. You just choose the looks, so turn your balor into looking like a gem and inset it into a wall from where its set to toss fireballs to the end of days. Or as a ioun stone of sorts.

GEMULCRA??

It doesn't work. Simulcra are copies of creatures. You can't have a simulcra look like something else.

==Aelryinth

Fire trap on extra belt pouches to punish thieves

Carry a bag of devouring too. For good measure.

Let's see...

muddy field
transform mud to stone for hard surface to retreat over.
transform stone to mud to mire pursuing army
transform mud to stone to trap pursuing army

cursed items where very common
most players eventually had a home or stronghold
so we tended to fill out homes with cursed items incase someone broke in to rob us (also common while out adventuring)

i don't remember the details, but there was a plan with exploding bags of holding full of acid and/or alch fire and throwing those close to the etherial plane (but i don't think the bags do that anymore)

We used to do alot with shrink item until the GM blew a gasket and eliminated the spell

shrink a bunch of boulders
put in small locked box
pay merchant to take on his ship to whereverstan
follow ship
boulders regain size crunch through hull
ship sinks
loot wreck with skeletons

shrink item on the pins holding a bridge together

shrink item on large stone pillars
then bury them upright under the castle walls

shrink item on a 35 foot long ballista bolt
cast unerring strike (or something like that)
fire at dragon

pay patient elves to grom giant sugar crystals
cast shrink item on crystal
give to fat baron as candy
watch his head explode when he bites down

Liberal use of chalk to mark your passage through a dungeon or cave labyrinth.

Use a piece of mirror to look around corners or through gaps under doors (if big enough).
A bell tied to a string as a simple alarm.
Continual flame inside of a locket around your neck allows for a simple flashlight that you can turn off when you need to.
A caster can tack spell scrolls to the inside of a tower shield to provide full cover from ranged attacks while being able to cast buffs/walls/battlefield control spells (the penalty on attack rolls doesn't mean anything in those situations).
Liberal use of livestock to get through a trapped corridor.

Yep. Used all of those. (Well, I personally never used the 'scrolls on the back of my shield' trick. But I saw it done.) And the "kobold guide on a 10' pole". Follow in his footsteps to avoid the traps; if he nobly steps on a trap it doesn't hurt the guy on the other end of the pole.

Nowadays I use "Arcane Mark", rather than chalk - it's harder to erase. In fact I had a character who was doing that 25+ years ago (although I believe I had it on a signet ring, rather than as a cantrip; those weren't in the ruleset we were using).

Wasn't the "bell on a string" the material component of the "Alarm" spell, anyway? (consults rulebooks) Almost; "Alarm" came along in 2e, and the material components were a small bell and some fine silver wire.

AdAstraGames wrote:

I used Prestidigitation to change pre-existing chalk marks in a maze where we were being pursued.

Ha! Not too long ago, I had a few players whose characters broke curfew in Lastwall's Castle Everstand, where our homebrew is taking place. When the guards inevitably saw them poking around where they weren't welcome, they demanded to know who gave the characters permission to leave their barracks. The characters claimed their superior officer did ... and handed over forged paperwork. Just as the guards were realizing the paperwork wasn't legit, the characters ran past them, back toward the barracks ... but not before the magus cast prestidigitation on the paperwork so their forgery would never be detected. Those poor, confused guards.

Anything created by prestidigitation looks crude and obviously fake. When players do that kind of thing in my games, I tell them it produces something that looks like it was written in thick crayon, by a six year old. And... the guards didn't notice obvious somatic and verbal components?

Fire trap on extra belt pouches to punish thieves

I did this once. Once.

It killed me and one other party member when he was searching my pouches for healing potions to get me back up on my feet.

Druid life jacket: fighter falls in water. Cast chill metal on him. Water freezes around him, fighter floats to surface. Hot tea for him and Chipped ice drinks for everyone else.

Firetrap everything.

Attacked by a suit of armor. Chill metal. wait 2 rounds.. create water. Suit freezes shut.

Create water for a nice big puddle. Call lightning.

Fastball special.

Bag of holding and a cow. Attacked by an animal. Drop the cow.

The thief/rogue dance. thief if front looking for traps. Checks the door. Moves to the back in case of attack from behind. Fighter opens the door.
If nothing attacks the rogue moves back in front.

Bag of holding full of lamp oil.

Astral rift trap: rig a bear trap so that it puts a bag of holding inside a portable hole.

In an age of sunrods and continual lights spells, I still carry torches. Useful for setting things afire without spells, as a disposable light source, to finish off an unconscious troll

When I began playing my current character, a half orc with darkvision, I decided to forego the torches. That came back to bite me in the ass when we needed a torch, and everyone at the table looked at me. Now I have 5 and haven't used a single one.

Let's see...

muddy field
transform mud to stone for hard surface to retreat over.
transform stone to mud to mire pursuing army
transform mud to stone to trap pursuing army

Better to use dispel magic as the second spell. Has the same effect, is automatic, and uses a lower level spell slot.

Also, a lot of your shrink item tricks don't work in Pathfinder due to size limitations.

It doesn't work. Simulcra are copies of creatures. You can't have a simulcra look like something else.

==Aelryinth

The disguise check says differently. From the spell: You must make a Disguise check when you cast the spell to determine how good the likeness is.

So you just make a terrible likeness that happens to look like something else.

It doesn't work. Simulcra are copies of creatures. You can't have a simulcra look like something else.

==Aelryinth

Sculpt simulcraum spell disagrees

Ganryu wrote:

Pendin Fust: Wouldn't the blast hit you too?

I always used it on a spearhead with a distinction of spearhead being a different part of the spear (a metal head on a wooden pole essentially) and carved the glyph on the head.

Never tried with a sword, but could argue the same as the hilt, handle, and blade are all separate, carve the glyph on the blade, shouldn't affect you.

It would also depend on what the glyph was...Can be paralyze if you're high level enough, but cold or fire damage was always 25 sq ft going out from the glyph in the games I played.

I was mostly concerned with the the blast being a 5ft radius explosion. It would hit you to unless the weapon was long-range.

Notice that the spell says that the blast hits everything within the radius, not just the person who touched it. Even if you have a password to prevent it from triggering when you touch it you would take damage from the blast itself when someone else does unless you have a longer weapon, like a spear.

Immovable Rod + Sovereign Glue.

Immovable Rod + Sovereign Glue.

+shield. Leave it up in the high sky a few miles up. Now you have a solid ground to teleport your foes to.

There used to be a good rule of thumb for stuff that grew fast after shrinkage. The daern fort. Too bad that one appears to be gone nowadays. :(

Also the immovable rod is no longer a slayer of stuff that swallows you.

Oh and. Dragon comes swooping down... +wall of force

And all those applications of cursed items. Buahhha! feeding evidence to a bag of devouring. Or just using it as a chamberpot. Or filling it with rubble when digging a tunnel.

Skills werent so great back then. Or more like very imprecise. I do wonder if an 80s player will go picking up craft alchemy and knowledge engineering and get that foldable knife of many tools... after which everyone else is permanently screwed :D

robe of vermin for the desperately hungry. Robe of immolation if you just had a live pig, but no way to roast it...

And paladins with immunity to poison never needs to care much about what they eat. Dirt, trash, wood.. everything goes. They are immune :p

Shrink Item and a pool of lava.

Shrink Item and a pool of lava.

I've done that one too. It's not unheard of for one of my characters to walk around with 5-foot patches of lava shrunk down into harmless cloth strips.

Actually, Shrink Item is spell filled with shenanigans.

You can get vials of poison down pretty small.

Pile of Caltrops too.

Unseen servant. It can drag enough weight to set off traps, I use an unseen servant in almost every PFS scenario I play as my wizard. He Is often dragging around a 75 lb rock with light cast on it. If there is a trap on the ground he will find it, he opens out doors, he opens our chests- if you don't use unseen servant you should- and see if your GM gets a little confused about what to do.

Ooooh. Shrink Item combined with Unseen Servant.

Did someone order a pool of acid?