Let's trick the baddies!

[Salabrian]

Looking for interesting ideas for ploys/cons/capers to mess around with and "debuff" enemies.

I just recently built a new trickster character (Illusionist Mage) for my group's mythic campaign, and I'm going to be trying to play up as much as I can the kind of character who uses his brains/skills just as effectively as his magical abilities. I'm trying to think ahead so I have a nice bank of tricks up my sleeves that will be both interesting as well as effective. So hit me up with your ideas! For the purposes of your brainstorming, you can assume crazy high bluff and disguise skills, plus a full compliment of illusions and other spells 5th level or lower (for now), as well as convenient Shadow Stepping ability for the purposes of getting behind enemy lines and getting out again quickly. And remember the guy's mythic so if double-casting in one round is completely necessary, that's an option. Also FYI, the rest of the party is 10th level currently and has a balanced assortment of ranged, tank, DPS, and buffing players.

Here's what I have so far (note-- many of these ploys assume going in disguised as the enemy first):

Book Club:

Give separate explosive runes “scrolls” to a group of the enemy and instruct them to gather together and read it all in unison when the adventurers come.

Sword of Truth:

Give the monster a non-magical sword/mace/whatever that it’s not proficient in and tell it that it’s a magical uber-powerful gift from his demonic overlord (or whatever).

Bless You:

Tell the monster you’re going to bless its weapon/holy symbol/etc., take the item and disappear.

Sleeper Cell:

Tell one or a few monsters in a group of baddies that one or more others in their group are paladins in disguise.

Orders are Orders:

Tell one or a few monsters in a group that their demonic overlord orders the execution of a particular individual in their group as punishment for past failures.

Closer Than Your Friends:

Tell the monster/group that the adventurers approaching are false crusaders or disguised monsters here to lay a trap for some other adventurers. Get the group in prime position and then attack.

Master of Illusion:

Tell a monster that someone in the party is an illusion and to ignore that person. It may seem like they are damaging you, but it’s not real, just part of the magic.

Draft:

Call out to one baddie as if he was your ally and say the time has come to remove his disguise, then cast an illusion spell over him making him look like a paladin to the other baddies.

Watch Your Step:

: Create a pit and an illusion of a pit immediately next to it, blocking off all approach. Have Elliot spring attack across the illusion, and then create another actual pit in the same place after he’s back across. Sit back and wait for the enemies to run over the “fake” pit.

Poor Man’s Banish:

Create an identical illusion of the floor under a monster’s feet. Next round, make a big show of “banishing” him to the celestial prison plane of never-ending torment, and create a pit underneath him. He falls through, effectively vanishing. Now intimidate other creatures as appropriate.

Voices in Your Head:

Convince an intelligent monster that it has gone insane by whispering in its ear while invisible.

Push to Open:

Create an illusion wall blocking off a group of creatures and then cast stinking cloud or cloudkill in the area through the wall. If needed, reinforce by readying a Wall of Force spell to cover just the area the creatures inside try to break down while maintaining an avenue through a different part of the illusion wall to pelt them with fun things.

Happy conning!

[Salabrian]

Best ploy creator gets my character's next disguise personality named after him/her? And a gold star?

[Corvino]

I'd talk to your GM about this, in general. Let them know (nonspecifically) you're going to try a few tricks that rely on deception to get around encounters or generally exploit low-will enemies. If they're okay with rule of cool then I imagine they'll allow you a lot of leeway. If they're precious about the story going exactly as it is in their binder then expect trouble.

Not additional tricks as such, but worth considering.

*Edit* For a trick, how about this:
Use disguise self/sleeves of many garments/a hat of disguise to look like a member of the enemy group. Walk up to a group of them and present a document, claiming to be one of their boss' assistants with orders. Light a candle or two to see it better. The document (that you forged earlier) doesn't have an official seal on it, so you apologise and go to get it sealed. Walk away, then hit the candles you lit with pyrotechnics.

[bfobar]

I assume your bluff is super high.

My favorite all time bluff was changing my appearance to look like a hobgoblin captain, marching into a barracks full of hobgoblins, and ordering them to do calisthenics (I am your new senior drill sergeant! Now give me 100!). The bluff worked (high roll too), so the third exercise I made them do was a human (hobgoblin) pyramid. Then I blasted them with an intensified burning hands. Killed all 12. (GM ruled that they lost their dex bonus and nobody beat the save without it.)

[ElMustacho]

Disguise as an enemy, then make an illusion of yourself on yourself. Meet the enemy group, they'll attack. Tell them: "I'm on your side!". Dispel the illusion. Infiltration complete!

Disguise your entire group as the enemy group. Meet them. Then say:" What? They must be spies! They look like us! Get a move, buddies! We have to report this to the boss!". Confusion complete!

Make an illusion of money and put it in a chest. Call the enemies. Tell them: "If you betray your master, you can have all of this!" This is of course evil.

[Mr.Fishy]

Candy Gram!

[Proley]

Disguise an enemy as the "hero", carrying around a really shiny full plate armour and appropriate holy symbols. Then arrive as "one of them" revealing you killed the hero, and should report your findings to the boss. Ta da, you're face to face with the boss, now illusion "the heroes" outside, guards go to respond, ta da, you're alone face to face with the boss! Now kill him, disguise self as him, hide the body, and when your troops come back to report to you that they failed to find the hero, you command the minions to kill the failure lietenants, and announce you have mercenaries coming in to help get things in order. Ta da, the party walks in and you have an army!

Carry a mimic around with you, then illusion it being part of a treasure trove. Feed your mimic a healthy diet of baddies.

Cursed items, need I say more?

If you're fighting an organized enemy, acquire as many uniforms and such as you can. Also, when able, try to chat up one of the members as an everyday joe, so you can pick up mannerisms and lingo.

There's fun to be had with various feather tokens, lacing CLW potions with poison, then offering first-aid to enemies, or even just leaving them lying around after you've infiltrated. Razor blades hidden in food, or, for longer term shenanigans, moving everyone's stuff to other people's quarters. Sow dissent amongst the enemy ranks!

[Salabrian]

Corvino wrote:

If they're precious about the story going exactly as it is in their binder then expect trouble.

Good call. Our GM tends to be pretty cool about things like this as long as it's something fun (and in fact encourages unconventional solutions to problems), but I'm definitely going to check in with him to make sure I'm not stepping on his toes storywise.

That pyrotechnics idea is absolutely perfect. I'd been looking for more "trap" type spells to use (limited to CRB and APG) and I hadn't considered pyrotechnics. Thanks!

bfobar wrote:

human (hobgoblin) pyramid

Straigh-up Genius. My dude doesn't currenly have any burn spells equipped, but it might be worth it just for this.

ElMustacho wrote:

"If you betray your master, you can have all of this!"

Good call! I'd thought about using illusion gold to buy things in game but decided to steer away from it just because of the ease of breaking the game and cheese-factor. But fake money reward for enemies betraying their boss is much more palatable. Can't believe I didn't think of that, so thanks.

Mr.Fishy wrote:

Candy Gram

Wha?

Proley wrote:

lacing CLW potions with poison, then offering first-aid to enemies

This is particularly devious. Could have all sorts of fun with the different poisons out there. And oh the lols to be had with feather tokens.

Thanks folks! Keep 'em coming.

[Corvino]

You could also use bluff to suggest that an enemy's superior needed them to safeguard a valuable item them has a silence effect. Disguise and so on are of course a prerequisite. Suggests this, go and retreive and give them this (worthless) item and give it to them.

As a result, enemy casters are neutered as they refuse to give up the valuable (useless) silenced item.

[MrSin]

Salabrian wrote:

Mr.Fishy wrote:

Candy Gram

Wha?

Candy Gram for Mr Mumbo!

[ErrantPursuit]

MrSin wrote:

Salabrian wrote:

Mr.Fishy wrote:

Candy Gram

Wha?

Candy Gram for Mr Mumbo!

I have no idea who Mr. Mumbo is, but Mongo never did get any candy.