I am running a campeign in which one of the adversaries wants to cast a spell on the players which is greatly improved by having a pit of the target (hair, nails, etc.)
If the group fights some minions and are injured and then the minions run away I can always just say that the enemy has their blood to use in the spell.
but I was not sure if that would be too trolly so I wanted the players to experience the bad guys actually taking things from them even if they dont get why.
thus I want some minions to attack them and cut off a piece of hair or take a literal bite out of some one ripping off a bit of flesh.
my question is... how should I handle this... does the bad guy SUNDER a characters hair? do a GRAPPLE then bite? should i just say the bad guys are acting strangely "After cutting you he looks at his dagger smiles and runs away" etc etc.
any ideas?
Would be awesome if someone used the 'hairy' cantrip from 2e unearthed arcana to grow a character's hair or beard several feet while he slept. He awakens to the caster trying to cut and gather all the extra hair off without being noticed, or he awakens to discover the kind of tracks that such activities would leave.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Have a new barber show up in twin. Emphasize how popular, how stylish, he is....
Part of me wants to alter the use of the syringe spear for this.
The syringe spear is a martial weapon from adventurer's armory, and it is meant to deliver a dose (usually of poison) on a successful hit. While there is nothing in there about drawing blood, part of me would handwave a modified version of it.
Loading this weapon with poison is a 1 minute action, but that seems like a different process from what we are doing. Maybe just make it a full round action for a single attack and blood withdrawl. Even if you are doing a bit of homebrewing with this, I think that the action with the bizarre weapon should be obvious enough to tip the players off that something is up. The general idea is the same as you suggested: attack, get the blood, and run. The very suspicious nature of the weapon just makes it more fair for the players.
If your foes have access to a sneak, then once you stealth vs perception (or use magic) to get near, a sleight of hand roll (prob. with a not too difficult DC if the player is unaware) could represent taking a lock of hair. Though if the player has any warding items (Rings of Prot, Amul of Nat Armor) the DC might crank up (harder to cut hair obfuscated when it's magically as hard as copper or steel wire).
Being obvious about it would be much more frightening.
A grapple/pin or grapple/damage would be enough, especially if you make mention that the grappler is pulling hair out or gnawing/taking a chunk.
Make it completely obvious that the enemy wants a piece of the PC, and then breaks off combat and runs. That would scare the crap out of me - someone attacking me just to get a piece of my body. And if the PCs are attacked multiple times for the same thing, make it clear that they all work for the same guy and won't stop until they are successful.
Then if the henchman gets away with the piece, it becomes scary. Or the PCs can turnabout and use magic to locate the piece of themselves.
Evil rogue with fodder attacks round one.
After dealing damage the rogue withdraws, protected by the fodder wall.
Rogue visibly wipes dagger on a cloth / into vial is stows it carefully before consuming a potion of invisibility.
Best part, players have about two rounds or so to prevent the rogue from getting away after cluing in on what he is after.
For a perhaps sneakier way of doing it, have the minion strike while the PCs are happily resting in town in an inn, etc. A "fan" comes up to them, all eager to get a chance just to meet her heroes. The fan is fawning over the PCs, and being exceptionally helpful. Then, as the fan interacts with them, she starts taking items that were "touched" by the party. "Greggor's Cup! I can't believe my good fortune!" etc.
Of course, what she's really doing is getting little bits and pieces from the party but doing so in a way that makes her just appear to be an annoying fan. Maybe even make her somebody that the party has helped out previously. Perhaps she is the daughter that was rescued, etc. All the while, she's been working for Mr. Bad Guy.
The cool thing, if done right, is that the party will definitely know something is up, but maybe not suspect what it really is. Its unlikely they'll want to accost somebody they have previously helped, and who is presumably a more or less respected member of the community. They are not likely to try to kill her, and they might even let her keep the items (especially if its something like the fork from an inn, etc. which is really the PCs to keep anyhow). Odds are the party may well put a tail on her to see what is up, but Mr. Bad Guy is patient, and so is the fan. If they follow her, they see her simply setting up her memorabilia display in her home.
The big advantage to this method is that you likely do not have to worry about trying to have a creature escape from the battle. If your players are anything like mine, they never let anyone escape. They'll chase somebody into danger in order to prevent them from getting away.
This is the Steal Maneuver if the stealing character is not taking pains to conceal the act.
It's sleight of hand if they're doing it in secret.
Depending on what kind of game you run, "tavern wenches" are usually in a great position to take away organic materials...