|
Weird question but to elaborate. I was watching the E3 coverage and the new order 1886 trailer and they have the protagonist wandering around with a candle lit bullseye lantern through what I can only assume is an asylum, the lantern wisping out smoke all the while and it got me to thinking, do those items produce a smell like burning oil or candles would?
I know it sounds stupid but if they do wouldn't that also mean creatures with the scent ability could potentially smell one as it gets close and become aware of an interlopers presence? I mean it would really suck if you get found by that pack of werewolves before you round the corner because they can smell your sunrods chemical reaction as you round the corner. Also could be cool for those rare players who manage to gain up the scent ability, being able to sniff through doors and smell lamp oil burning or the magical residue of an activated everburning torch.
So what do you guys think? Do items like sunrods and everburning torches throw off smells as they generate light? Or at least enough to detect with scent?
|
Everburning torches or any other "magic" item, I'd say no unless the description says otherwise, or the GM rules that it does in his or her campaign.
Candlerods and sunrods, or any other "alchemical" items, I'd be inclined to say yes, unless the description says otherwise, or the GM rules that they do not in his or her campaign.
I'd say no... unless they can smell light.
| 8 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'd say no... unless they can smell light.
Dude, my players are going to hate you. I'm gonna home brew a light smelling/eating monster now.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'd say no... unless they can smell light.Dude, my players are going to hate you. I'm gonna home brew a light smelling/eating monster now.
this got funnier the longer I considered it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'd say no... unless they can smell light.Dude, my players are going to hate you. I'm gonna home brew a light smelling/eating monster now.
The photovores of "Sentenced to Prism" by Alan Dean Foster come to mind. IIRC, some were crystalline silicon-based life forms, and others were silicon / carbon mixes.
|
I would think that an everburning torch would not, since the continual flame that powers it doesn't actually burn anything.
A sunrod, on the other hand, probably puts off an metallic/ozone smell like an arc welder or a sparkler.
Yeah, I kinda think of a sunrod as an underwater flare. They kinda smoke a good amount and stink of sulfer/magnesium/gunpowder/whatever. I don't see this as a problem usually unless there is some mechanic in the dungeon that moves the air around faster than the party is traveling. Most dungeons seem to be a bit lacking in the airflow department so I wouldn't rule that scent-based detection would matter any more than usual unless the party stayed still for a while and filled an area with the smell.
|
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
so the Detective with the scent ability (Picture Mr. Holms) points at the murderer and says..."...by the aroma of sunrod still on your clothing, we know that you were the cloaked figure in the cavern at the time if the murder! And you are under arrest!"
aromas hang around and stick to clothing (and other things)... and the next time a smoker walks past you, you'll remember it.
"That's what you slipped in! That's what was on your shoe! And that explains the abrasion on your palm! Let me run that back for you.
[backs up]Malp ruoy no noisarba eht snialpxe taht dna eohs ruoy no saw tahw staht ni deppils uoy tahw staht.
[starts moving forward again]
That's what you slipped in! That's what was on your shoe! AND THAT EXPLAINS THE ABRASION ON YOUR PALM! DAMN I'M GOOD!"
No, I didn't look this up on the web. This is entirely from my memory, and no doubt has many incorrect choices of words.
Ace: You're an extreme workaholic. You recently returned from a trip to Gotan in northern Africa, and upon your return, you took a nasty spill due to some shoddy masonry.
Consul: Impressive. Might one ask how?
Ace: One might. <takes deep breath, then speaks very rapidly> The abrasions on your palm are characteristic of breaking a fall of three to five feet.
Consul: <tries to hide bruise in embarrassment>
Ace: <still in same breath> The remnants of plaster on your shoe point to a bad mason as the culprit.
Consul: <tries to hide shoe in embarrassment>
Ace: <still in same breath> Your new watch, a quality forgery of a Cartier, was most likely purchased in the African black market known to reside in Gotan. <gasps for breath>
Consul: <tries to hide watch under jacket sleeve, then despite obvious shame, tries to muster up some dignity> And my work habits?
Ace: Ah yes. A workaholic. The urine stains on your pants indicate that you are a single-shake man, far too busy for the follow-up jiggle.
this got funnier the longer I considered it.I'd say no... unless they can smell light.Dude, my players are going to hate you. I'm gonna home brew a light smelling/eating monster now.
funny? Try scary
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yeah, I kinda think of a sunrod as an underwater flare. They kinda smoke a good amount and stink of sulfer/magnesium/gunpowder/whatever. I don't see this as a problem usually unless there is some mechanic in the dungeon that moves the air around faster than the party is traveling. Most dungeons seem to be a bit lacking in the airflow department so I wouldn't rule that scent-based detection would matter any more than usual unless the party stayed still for a while and filled an area with the smell.I would think that an everburning torch would not, since the continual flame that powers it doesn't actually burn anything.
A sunrod, on the other hand, probably puts off an metallic/ozone smell like an arc welder or a sparkler.
See, I always thought of the sunrod as a glow stick.I figured the when struck was like breaking the glow stick to mix the chemicals
Everburning torches or any other "magic" item, I'd say no unless the description says otherwise, or the GM rules that it does in his or her campaign.
Candlerods and sunrods, or any other "alchemical" items, I'd be inclined to say yes, unless the description says otherwise, or the GM rules that they do not in his or her campaign.
I'm inclined to agree.
See, I always thought of the sunrod as a glow stick.I figured the when struck was like breaking the glow stick to mix the chemicals
It's a metal rod with a gold tip. I imagined it being like a sparkler that somehow doesn't put of heat or sparks. I don't know if that means it should have a smell, though.
honestly, i thought the tip was just magical gold or something... so it burned just into pure light.
|
|
honestly, i thought the tip was just magical gold or something... so it burned just into pure light.
Nahh no magic all alchemy.
Now the real way it can come up is that if it emits a smell a creature with scent can spot it at 30 ft. with no wind. Now on top of that you have the fact that its scent is a radius and can slip around things like corners, cliffs, and doors making a creature with scent able to "spot" your sunrods before you or your light come slinking round the corner. That's more where I see it becoming a problem.
Actually it would be a tremendous problem with dragons who have senses that are supposed to be like 4 times stronger than the next leading killing machine.
Lol now I can totally see a group of dragonslayers joking about the first time they tried to sneak a dragons lair and how they got chased out because the damn thing could smell the melting gold dust in their sunrods at the entrance.
|
|
The PCs holding the sunrod probably smell stronger than the sunrod after spelunking around in sewers or moldy caverns or what have you.
Personally, I think the alchemical items probably give off an odor as part of their alchemical reaction, BUT Charlie Bell has a good point. Unless you yourself have no scent for some reason, it all comes out the same since whether the creature is smelling you or your sunrod, it will detect you.
Edit (Additional Thought) - Of course, if the creature smells you AND a sunrod (and knows its a sunrod, torch, etc.), then it can infer that you can't see in the dark, which might present tactical opportunities for the creature.
|
|
The PCs holding the sunrod probably smell stronger than the sunrod after spelunking around in sewers or moldy caverns or what have you.Personally, I think the alchemical items probably give off an odor as part of their alchemical reaction, BUT Charlie Bell has a good point. Unless you yourself have no scent for some reason, it all comes out the same since whether the creature is smelling you or your sunrod, it will detect you.
Edit (Additional Thought) - Of course, if the creature smells you AND a sunrod (and knows its a sunrod, torch, etc.), then it can infer that you can't see in the dark, which might present tactical opportunities for the creature.
Exactly. And if you have that rare party that actually takes the time to bathe from time to time it might be the sunrod that gets you popped. Ohh lord, now I have to point out to my party that it's been about 3 weeks in game and I think only 1 of them has bathed.
The rules say nothing about it, but I would consider it fair to rule that a sunrod emits a smell from the alchemical substances. Most certainly at the moment it is activated.
|
|
If they bathed, they smell like soap. Or like the oil on their armor or leather gear, or like the rations they're carrying, or the parchment their scrolls and spellbooks are made of, or like any number of other smellable things on them.
Heck, the Viet Cong could smell US Troops and differentiate them from natives, and the VC didn't have the scent ability.
|
]QUOTE=PRD]Sunrod: This 1-foot-long, gold-tipped, iron rod glows brightly when struck as a standard action. It sheds normal light in a 30-foot radius and increases the light level by one step for an additional 30 feet beyond that area (darkness becomes dim light and dim light becomes normal light). A sunrod does not increase the light level in normal light or bright light. It glows for 6 hours, after which the gold tip is burned out and worthless.Yeah, I kinda think of a sunrod as an underwater flare. They kinda smoke a good amount and stink of sulfer/magnesium/gunpowder/whatever. I don't see this as a problem usually unless there is some mechanic in the dungeon that moves the air around faster than the party is traveling. Most dungeons seem to be a bit lacking in the airflow department so I wouldn't rule that scent-based detection would matter any more than usual unless the party stayed still for a while and filled an area with the smell.I would think that an everburning torch would not, since the continual flame that powers it doesn't actually burn anything.
A sunrod, on the other hand, probably puts off an metallic/ozone smell like an arc welder or a sparkler.
Gold and iron. Iron and gold don't smell, at least to human senses. It is not heated by the alchemical (or it would say so), so I don't thik it would produce any noticeable smell.
|
|
If they bathed, they smell like soap. Or like the oil on their armor or leather gear, or like the rations they're carrying, or the parchment their scrolls and spellbooks are made of, or like any number of other smellable things on them.Heck, the Viet Cong could smell US Troops and differentiate them from natives, and the VC didn't have the scent ability.
We smell of what we eat. We don't notice that when we are between people that has the same general eating habit as us, but when we meet people with noticeably different eating habits we notice it and with some experience we can say from were they come.
I'd say a sunrod would definitely have a smell, probably metallic, but not a particularly strong one. Everburning torches are magic and scentless.
|
|
Gold and iron. Iron and gold don't smell, at least to human senses. It is not heated by the alchemical (or it would say so), so I don't thik it would produce any noticeable smell.
True, gold and iron don't smell, but chemical reactions do. While alchemy is make-believe, it would not be a large leap to decide that alchemical reactions are akin to chemical reactions.
Since alchemy is make-believe, unless the devs or the persons who create a setting state one way or the other, a GM is free to rule either way in his or her campaign/game.
However, I definitely lean towards the idea that alchemical reactions are akin (or similar to) chemical reactions.