My companions and I are currently in a mansion with one person living there (the head of the house) and the four of us. We are all level 9, the group consists of a Paladin, a Barbarian, a Witch, and an Alchemist. The head of the home may be a CR 10 - 12 we are not sure. We have keys to the entire home, but many of the items in the home have faint transmutation aura radiating from them, many items including gems are rigged with an alarm spell etc. I do have Silence and have used it for smashing glass and stealing a couple bloodstones. I ask you this Paizonians, how can we safely loot this mansion the most effectively, if this involves assassinating the evil head of the house then we shall do that also. Nonviolent ways are encouraged so if you have any suggestions that would be great. At this level of course spells like dimension door and teleport are accessible. I have a UMD of 21 so I can use any scroll essentially, and possess a fairie dragon as my improved familiar. Nobody besides the improved familar has Greater invisibility but our alchemist had provided me with extracts of invisibility. We could buy a scroll of greater invis if its required to get this job done.
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*sees thread title*
*sees OP's suggestions*
*sees party has a Paladin*
*dusts hands from thread and backs away slowly*
*sees thread title*
*sees OP's suggestions*
*sees party has a Paladin*
*dusts hands from thread and backs away slowly*
Sorry the Paladin does not know about this plan, he will be blissfully unaware sleeping while we do this in the middle of the night.
It would take a fairly generous GM to allow a party involving a Paladin to either "assassinate" the owner of the mansion, or to just rob the place without the Paladin paying a price for it.
Has the head of the house done anything to justify attacking him, or is this a campaign where merely being of Evil alignment is sufficient for a Paladin to make an un-provoked attack?
The head of the house is a known drug smuggler with an evil alignment. Has not committed an evil act directly against us, but the Barbarian and Witch in particular are out for loot. The Paladin is not involved in this plan, the alchemist however is assisting us.
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Mansions are difficult to loot. They tend to be too big to fit in any extradimensional space. This leaves you with either
1) take it apart and sell the materials (at considerably less than the value of an intact mansion)
or
2) fake property deeds / impersonate the owner and sell it where it is.
You could just incapicate the BBEG, but killing is probably better to prevent reprisals. Then just loot away.
We murdered the druglords family and she assisted us. We are currently just there for a couple nights but she has offered to let us stay there for as long as we like. They all (the whole family) detected as evil when our paladin ran his check. Our paladin now wants to interrogate the head of the house one last time, and if she doesn't cooperate he is all for killing her. These creatures are Rakshasas disguised as humans.
A few Unseen Servants and maybe ten charges off a wand of Floating Disk should clean the place out nicely. You'll have to leave the piano behind, and the evidence of your thievery will follow you around.
So you have a good hold on that fruit in a jar do you?
Don't let it go for any reason, certainly not because you can't get you hand free unless you do. I mean, it's not like Rakshasha are about corrupting people, or even might have the physical form of a bit of loot.
How would you deal with all the alarms?
I didn't even mention anything about a dungeon?
Oh ok, ya we have cleared out the mansion no more threats within it just the head of the house.
A few Unseen Servants and maybe ten charges off a wand of Floating Disk should clean the place out nicely. You'll have to leave the piano behind, and the evidence of your thievery will follow you around.
Wouldn't the unseen servants trigger the alarms? Would I need to cast detect scrying or anything for this mission to be successful?
Abjuration spells can be detected with perception checks. (Magic traps)
If there are more than 1 on the same item the dc drops by 4
If one abjuration spell is active within 10 feet of another for 24 hours or more, the magical fields interfere with each other and create barely visible energy fluctuations. The DC to find such spells with the Perception skill drops by 4.
I discovered mostly transmutation within the premise using detect magic
Third level or lower transmutation auras?
Not sure, GM said faint transmutation auras. I have Silence, would that help me clean this establishment out?
5 Caster Level Magic Item, 3 Spell Level for faint auras.
Did you get a sub-school?
Do you think they would be buffing spells?
I don't think so, there's nobody left in the Mansion just the new head of the house. The most powerful head of the house was slain by us.
I don't know anything about sub schools, all I can say is I'm an Invoker.
I’m looking at a list of transmutation spells of third level or lower. Did you try picking up one of the items?
Just a thought, and this may well be a spoiler, Atalius.
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Rakshasa
Source Bestiary 3 pg. 224
Rakshasas are born on the Material Plane, but they are not of it. They possess the powers and shapes of fiends, but their fates are inexorably tied to the mortal world, and it is there that they seek to rule. The reincarnations of manipulators, traitors, and tyrants obsessed with earthly pleasures, rakshasas are the embodiments of the very nature of materialistic evil. After dying violent deaths, these spirits are so tied to worldly decadence and selfish concerns that they take shapes that better reflect the baseness of their lives and are reborn as fiends. Thus have sages come to know these beings as the “earthbound evils.”
While there are many different types of rakshasas, from the lowly raktavarna to the powerful maharaja, the most commonly encountered members of this race are not known by any other name—they are more powerful than some members of their kind and less powerful than others, and represent the ideal midpoint between servitor and master. These rakshasas can be recognized by their animal heads (those of great cats, snakes, crocodiles, apes, and birds of prey being the most common) and backward-facing hands. Feral traits and strangely reversed joints are a hallmark of all types of rakshasas, in fact, features that most rakshasas can hide through their supernatural ability to change shapes or by means of powerful illusions.
A rakshasa cannot impregnate another of its own kind, and so new rakshasas come into being via the coupling of a rakshasa and a non-rakshasa or, rarely, that of two non-rakshasas. A rakshasa born to non-rakshasa parents generally only occurs when one or both of the parents commits a great evil during the mother's pregnancy, allowing the disembodied spirit of a previously slain rakshasa to reincarnate into the world by usurping the unborn offspring's body. Rarely, such blasphemous births afflict good or innocent parents, typically in cases where the parents are exposed to great evils beyond their control. A rakshasa grows to maturity more quickly than a human, and often functions as a full-grown adult earlier than age 14. Despite this quick maturation, a rakshasa can live for 500 years or more before dying, at which point its spirit seeks a new host to be reborn in, continuing the vile cycle of fiendish reincarnation over and over again.
Rakshasas believe that each and every creature in the universe has a proper role to play, and that success comes from understanding one's position and working to improve it. Rakshasas don't see castes as good or evil, but rather as purely pragmatic. Creatures of higher caste should be respected for their great power, and those of lower caste should be pressed into willing service to expand the holdings of those of higher castes as their betters seek greater wealth and influence.
There are seven castes in rakshasa society (from lowest to greatest): pagala (traitors), goshta (food), adhura (novices), darshaka (servants), paradeshi (rakshasa-kin), hakima (lords), and samrata (lords of lords). The rakshasa caste system encompasses not just all of rakshasa society, but all of life—although only rakshasas can attain the stations of darshaka and above.
While rakshasas are forced to admit that the gods have powers greater than their own, most rakshasas scoff at the concept of divinity as a whole. The gods are among the most powerful beings in existence, to be sure, but too many examples of powerful, ambitious, or merely lucky mortals attaining divinity exist for rakshasas to pay religious homage to such creatures. Rakshasas see their own transitions from mortals to otherworldly beings as marks of their own fathomless potential and their initial steps on the path to godhood. Thus, as a race, rakshasas deny the worship of deities, although they welcome alliances with the servants of such peerlessly potent beings when it serves their purposes.
The skin of a rakshasa is remarkably resistant to physical damage, able to ignore or greatly reduce most weapon attacks. Holy weapons capable of piercing this skin, however, can reach a rakshasa's vitals and do significant damage. As a result, in lands where their kind are well known, rakshasas take great pains to disguise themselves with magic when they are among enemies.
Rakshasa Immortals
The rakshasa immortals are rakshasas who have ascended beyond mortality—they are no longer bound to the cycle of reincarnation and rebirth most rakshasas endure, and are truly immortal. Such creatures, given the span of countless lifetimes to perfect their art and master their cruelties, approach the power of gods. The following list includes several (but by no means all) rakshasa immortals known to the world. Among them, Ravana is the greatest and most ancient.
Aksha of the Second Breath
Bundha the Singing Butcher
Caera the Blood Bather
Dradjit the Godslayer
Hudima the Kinslayer
Jyotah, He Who Walks Among the Gods
Kunkarna the Dream Warrior
Mursha the Beastmaster
Otikaya the Spirit Archer
Prihasta, General Between Heaven and Hell
Ravana, The First and Last
Surpa the Avenger
Vibhishah the Seeker
Zabha the Desecrator
Creatures in "Rakshasa" Category
Name CR
Amanusya 6
Avatarana 12
Dandasuka 5
Marai 8
Rakshasa 10
Rakshasa Maharaja 20
Raktavarna 2
Tataka 15
Rakshasa, Raktavarna
What at first appears to be a bejeweled blade shimmers and writhes, transforming into a hideous, red-eyed serpent.
Raktavarna CR 2
Source Bestiary 3 pg. 1 (Amazon), Pathfinder #7: Edge of Anarchy pg. 86 (Amazon)
XP 600
LE Tiny outsider (native, rakshasa, shapechanger)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect magic; Perception +9
Defense
AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +2 natural, +2 size)
hp 22 (3d10+6)
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +4
DR 5/good or piercing; SR 17
Offense
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +8 (1d4–2 plus poison)
Special Attacks detect thoughts (DC 13)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +8)
Constant—comprehend languages
1/day—charm person (DC 13), suggestion (DC 15)
1/week—commune (CL 12th, 6 questions)
Statistics
Str 7, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 14
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 12 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Alertness, Weapon Finesse
Skills Bluff +12, Climb +14, Disguise +16, Escape Artist +6, Perception +9, Sense Motive +9, Stealth +17, Swim +11; Racial Modifiers +4 Bluff, +8 Disguise
Languages Common, Infernal, Undercommon; comprehend languages
SQ change shape (Tiny living object), master’s eyes
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or rack (3–10)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Change Shape (Su) As a full-round action, a raktavarna can take the shape of a handheld object, most often an ornamental light, a one-handed weapon, or a piece of treasure. If the rakshasa remains stationary in such a form, it can attempt Stealth checks even while being observed. It can remain motionless in object form indefinitely, but reverts to its true form as soon as it takes any action.
Master’s Eyes (Su) A raktavarna can designate a single creature as its master as a standard action. If the raktavarna is a spellcaster’s familiar, its master is automatically that spellcaster, and the raktavarna cannot change this. As a full-round action, a raktavarna’s master can observe the world as if looking through the raktavarna’s eyes. The master must concentrate to maintain this link each round. The master’s visual senses are suppressed for this time, and he uses the raktavarna’s darkvision, detect magic, and regular eyesight to observe the world. This ability has no limit on range, and functions even across planar boundaries. If the raktavarna is slain while its master is using this ability, the master is stunned for 1d4 rounds (no save).
Poison (Su) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Wis plus modify memory; cure 1 save. Each time a victim takes Wisdom damage from this poison, a modify memory effect causes the victim to forget the previous minute’s interactions with the raktavarna, as long as the raktavarna is no longer visible or is in object form. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Made up of smoke, blood, and gold, raktavarnas are the least of the rakshasas—they are born not from humanoids, but from the souls of rakshasas who failed utterly in their previous incarnation and who are thus reborn from a serpent’s egg.
These terrors drift through society, passing from hand to hand as weapons or strange tokens from foreign lands, curiosities brought home by traders and emissaries and given to leaders as tribute. In this manner the raktavarnas gain entry into corridors of power throughout the world, and what they see, their foul masters know. A raktavarna’s servitude to a master ends only when its master decrees, or (more commonly) upon the master’s death. Little disconcerts raktavarnas more than having no master, and when they are cast adrift in this manner, they seek a replacement as soon as they can.
A 7th-level lawful evil spellcaster with the Improved Familiar feat can gain a raktavarna rakshasa as a familiar.
I’m looking at a list of transmutation spells of third level or lower. Did you try picking up one of the items?
Not yet no, he said some were rigged with the alarm spell I believe. Could I just cast silence on myself and walk around looting the joint?
Actually I did smash glass and take a few gems but I told GM I cast silence on myself and smash the glass. That particular attempt was successful. After that small win I called it a day and returned to my quarters to plot how I will clean out the entire premise.