The party shadowdancer's shadow companion is making things truly difficult for me as a GM.
They will soon face a fey sorcerer and I am looking for ways to keep the end encounter from being anticlimatic.
I was thinking of casting Tiny Hutt around key areas of the sorcerer's castle in order to prevent the shadow's passage, but I'm not entirely certain that it will work. Will it?
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The party shadowdancer's shadow companion is making things truly difficult for me as a GM.
They will soon face a fey sorcerer and I am looking for ways to keep the end encounter from being anticlimatic.
I was thinking of casting Tiny Hutt around key areas of the sorcerer's castle in order to prevent the shadow's passage, but I'm not entirely certain that it will work. Will it?
Umm no. The spell maybe a force effect, but it's an effect that critters can normally pass through normally. The spell you are looking for is forcecage, resilent sphere or well placed wall of force.
The party shadowdancer's shadow companion is making things truly difficult for me as a GM.
They will soon face a fey sorcerer and I am looking for ways to keep the end encounter from being anticlimatic.
I was thinking of casting Tiny Hutt around key areas of the sorcerer's castle in order to prevent the shadow's passage, but I'm not entirely certain that it will work. Will it?
I would prebuff and rely on miss chance as opposed to regular AC. Summoning monsters should help. It would actually be an easier fight for you if you lowered the sorcerer level, added a decent backup, while keeping the fight at the same EL.
But it does seem as if you've kinda had it out for the shadowdancer from the start (I'm assuming this is the same one you've referenced before when mentioning hide in plain sight).
It's not that I'm out to get him so much as I am out to challenge him and the party. I've simply never dealt with a shadowdancer before.
But it does seem as if you've kinda had it out for the shadowdancer from the start (I'm assuming this is the same one you've referenced before when mentioning hide in plain sight).It's not that I'm out to get him so much as I am out to challenge him and the party. I've simply never dealt with a shadowdancer before.
I think I missed the other thread. What is he doing that is causing so much trouble?
I think I missed the other thread. What is he doing that is causing so much trouble?But it does seem as if you've kinda had it out for the shadowdancer from the start (I'm assuming this is the same one you've referenced before when mentioning hide in plain sight).It's not that I'm out to get him so much as I am out to challenge him and the party. I've simply never dealt with a shadowdancer before.
He wasn't doing anything wrong, really. However our lack of understanding of the hide in plain sight ability was making things difficult. He would basically spring attack in from hiding, attack with sneak attack, spring out again, and make a hide check to rehide, all in one round. Basically nobody could really fight him effectively without readied actions. He would do this all the time, since not being within 10 feet of a shadow is basically impossible.
Very little short of a Forbiddance is going to keep a Shadowdancer's Shadow from wandering about wherever it pleases, as it can simply enter the walls themselves if presented with a wall of force (unless you are force-walling every surface, which seems extravagant)
In smart hands, a Shadowdancer's Shadow is the ultimate scout, as it can tell you where every non-flying creature in the complex is without being detected. As to ways to deal with it....
I am assuming the party has a reputation and the enemy is aware of the shadow and taking countermeasures, otherwise these don't necessarily make sense. On the extravagant, Forbiddance as above. Very expensive, but it will also cause no end of problems for the PCs. For the BBEG with minions on the cheap...I leave you with this quote from the Bestiary:
"Although it is not a magical attack, holy water can affect incorporeal undead."
If many of the guards have a flask or two of Holy Water, your Shadow Dancer is going to start becoming real reluctant to put the Shadow in harm's way.
BTW, if you are willing to invest in a bit of cheese, you can severely hamper a Shadowdancer. Darkness (lowers light one level, not stackable with itself, can't be cast where it is already dark), followed by Deeper Darkness (lowers light 2 levels, not stackable with itself) will plunge most places into pitch black, even with normal light sources. No Light = No Shadows.
Glitterdust is tailor-made for this sort of thing. All you need is a bard, sorcerer, or wizard who can cast 2nd level spells (or with a wand):
School conjuration (creation); Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (ground mica)
Range medium (100 ft + 10 ft/level)
[b]Area creatures and objects within 10-ft-radius spread
Duration 1 round/level
Save Will negates (blinding only); SR noA cloud of golden particles covers everyone and everything in the area, causing creatures to become blinded and visibly outlining invisible things for the duration of the spell. All within the area are covered with the dust, which cannot be removed and continues to sparkle until it fades. Each round at the end of their turn blinded creatures may attempt new saving throws to end the blindness effect.
Any creature covered by the dust takes a -40 penalty on Stealth checks. (emphasis mine)
Hide in Plain Sight is a powerful ability, but you should be able to determine the general area the shadowdancer is hiding in (unless he has a much higher movement speed than normal) well enough to drop a glitterdust within 10 ft. At that point, the -40 penalty on Stealth checks pretty much makes hiding impossible.
Also, a shadowdancer cannot become incoporeal without a spell or magic item. The shadow companion summoned with the Summon Shadow class feature is fairly weak and does not gain any additional abilities beyond those mentioned on pg. 392, including access to any of the shadowdancer's skills and abilities.
Also note that supernatural abilities, unless otherwise noted, still take a standard action to activate. So that means the shadowdancer can't use the Shadow Jump feature to dimension door between shadows in the same round as a Spring Attack.
OT: For a second I was wondering what a Star Wars race had to do with incorporeal creatures.
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Could always try to throw a resilient sphere down on a good section of the party, and hit the shadow too. Then it becomes a 1 vs 1 or 1 vs 2 fight. Force effect stops the shadow from getting out for a while.
Granted getting more than one party member into sphere configuration is hard.
Also, if he's using the thing to scout excessively, might I suggest writing the words explosive runes into some notes the shadow reads?
If your sorcerer has a cleric ally, death wards stop the shadow cold. Really the divine caster is your best counter here.