As a Magus, what can I do about Invisible creatures?


Advice


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Like the title, what options do I have besides Spell Blending to get spells like See Invisibility? Is there any items out there that allow for seeing invisible creatures?

I know True Seeing is available as a 6th level spell. Looking for lower level spells or items.


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GLITTERDUST

Also, if an enemy attacks you in melee you know where they are. If an enemy attacks you at range (or with a reach weapon) you know what direction they're in, but not the distance. A cone-shaped burst like Glitterdust is very helpful when you know the direction but not the exact square.

Also, if you know the square they're in but don't have a Glitterdust left, TRUE STRIKE has a secondary effect that isn't often talked about - you ignore miss-chances due to concealment.


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Should've mentioned already that I knew about Glitterdust but Thanks for reminding me about True Strike.

I need something that can keep me from missing out on a spying enemy or someone controlling a summoned monster while invisible. Ran into this problem this evening and by the time I was able to move close to his location, he teleported away when he lost his invisibility.

I was planning on a Ring of Spell Storing at some point in my future.


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I mean, that's gonna be rough anyway. Even with See Invisibility active it's perfectly possible for the enemy to simply hide and summon monsters to attack you.

One higher level trick (which you'd need Spell Blending for) is the spell SUMMONER CONDUIT.

EDIT: It's a 5th level arcane spell, but if you have a good UMD (or a divine caster in the party) you can get it in a wand.


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Don't overcomplicate things. Find a reliable way for you or an ally to gain Scent. Got a Magus Arcana coming up? Don't have a Familiar yet? GET one.

Bats get Blindsense; cats, donkey rats and foxes get Scent. I'm sure there's other things here I'm missing. All of these will allow you to at least locate the square an invisible creature is standing in from 30' away.

Worried about a weak familiar being targeted and destroyed by an enemy? A level dip into something with an Animal Companion might do it. Don't want to rely on someone else? Alter Self is a level 2 Magus spell and if you pick a form with Scent, you get Scent.

Now people will undoubtedly point out that this is not optimal, and of course it's not a perfect solution, but scent DOES locate the square occupied by an invisible creature 30' away. Under ideal conditions, it can even let you find the square 60' away, though under poor conditions you're limited to 15'.

Knowing the square occupied though then lets you: cast Glitterdust; throw a bag of flour; drop a Fireball; tell your other party members to target that square; etc. I just feel like folks don't consider Scent as a viable option sometimes, and it's served me well a couple times as both a player AND a GM.


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Oh yeah. If this comes up a lot for you the ARCANE SCENT ARCANA might be useful.


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MrCharisma wrote:

I mean, that's gonna be rough anyway. Even with See Invisibility active it's perfectly possible for the enemy to simply hide and summon monsters to attack you.

One higher level trick (which you'd need Spell Blending for) is the spell SUMMONER CONDUIT.

EDIT: It's a 5th level arcane spell, but if you have a good UMD (or a divine caster in the party) you can get it in a wand.

Can I use Spell Blending to gain spells that are labeled as Occult Rituals like Summoner Conduit?

That's a mighty fine looking spell if I do say so myself.


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"Occult Rituals" is a link to another list of spells (and spell-adjacent rules, like rituals). It's not a label for that spell.

It's like the link to "All Spells" or "Mythic Spells", or the links to class spells, eg. "Summoner (unchained) | Warpriest | Witch | Wizard | Occult Rituals".

Everything below the white horizontal line below the words "Occult Rituals" is specific to that spell. The stuff above that white line is just links to lists of similar abilities.

And don't worry, I was confused by that at first as well =P

Oh, and you can use Spell Blednding to grab any spell on the Wizard/Sorcerer list (or 2 spells if they're lower level).

Spell Blending (Ex) (Ultimate Magic pg. 12): When a magus selects this arcana, he must select one spell from the wizard spell list that is of a magus spell level he can cast. He adds this spell to his spellbook and list of magus spells known as a magus spell of its wizard spell level. He can instead select two spells to add in this way, but both must be at least one level lower than the highest-level magus spell he can cast. A magus can select this magus arcana more than once.


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If you know there is an invisible creature in the general area an area of effect spell can work. Fireball has a 20-ft radius so if you are off by about 10 feet you have a good chance of hitting them anyways.

Sovereign Court

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Arcane Sight allows you see the illusion aura put off by a (magically at least) invisible creature. Soulsight Goggles lets you do that permanently for 15k, and get some bonuses vs incorporeal creatures.

Lenses of Situational Sight are cheaper at 5k, though its 10 1 minute increments of See Invisibility (and/or detect magic, and/or darkvision).

Cheaper still at 2,592 gp is the Pipe of Revealing Mists which allows you to check a 30' cone 3/day for invisible creatures. And looks cool.

Lantern of Auras is even cheaper at 2k, and well, it allows you(and the target) to know if magic is in a direction as if you cast detect magic. If the target somehow manages to sit still for 3 rounds you can pinpoint their location.

A Noble's Vigilant Pillbox with just the black pearl remaining is probably the cheapest 'permanent' option... assuming you just need to know if you walk within 10 feet of an invisible creature. And you want to mutter a command word every round and pretend you are a witch or shaman with cackle/chant.

Pulling from my alchemist's toolbox, the Elixir of Spirit Sight is very effective for when you have unexpected guests... but much more expensive (1k for 1 minute) for non-alchemists (due to Alchemical Allocation).

And finally, a wand of Faerie Fire is pretty cheap at 750 gp if you have UMD.

Otherwise, stack your perception check?


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Wand of Invisibility Purge + UMD


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Thanks everyone for the help!
I'm going to find myself some Soulsight Goggles and Wands of Faerie Fire and Glitterdust.

The Exchange

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TxSam88 wrote:
Wand of Invisibility Purge + UMD

Scroll of invisibility purge is much cheaper, though the UMD DC is a bit higher.

Heck, scroll of see invisibility is even cheaper and easier. You'll probably want to take the pragmatic activator trait if you are creating a new character.

Spoiler:
Doing things on the cheap just reminded me of something. Years ago I was playing a PFS game and a character pulled out a scroll of echolocation to deal with enemies he couldn't see. "Great, how are you going to read it? It's dark."

"I did not think this all the way through."


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^Outside of a dog, a scroll is your best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

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Belafon wrote:
"I did not think this all the way through."

I know at least one (single-player) game that intentionally gives your character a scroll of Cure Blindness. Think about it... :)


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Lantern of Revealing is an expensive but good options.
Wand of invisibility purge + UMD + Wand Key Ring (cheap option that helps with UMD).
See Invisibility
Lens of Situational Sight
Mariner's Eye Patch

But also, hiding inside something with a small opening is a low tech way to force someone to confront you more in a way you can handle, even if they are invisible (summoners not withstanding).

And dust, flour, etc can cover an invisible creature and make them visible.


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Belafon wrote:
TxSam88 wrote:
Wand of Invisibility Purge + UMD

Scroll of invisibility purge is much cheaper, though the UMD DC is a bit higher.

Heck, scroll of see invisibility is even cheaper and easier. You'll probably want to take the pragmatic activator trait if you are creating a new character.

** spoiler omitted **

Scroll of invisibility purge = 375GP, 50 scrolls = 18750 GP

Wand of invisibility purge with 50 charges = 11250 GP

I'll go with the wand thank you.


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How many times do you think you'll need Invisibility Purge?

It costs the same for 30 scrolls as for 1 wand with 50 charges, so unless you're casting it at least 30 times over your career it's cheaper as a scroll.

Basically, if you're using ~2 scrolls per level you should convert to a wand. If you're using your wand less than twice per level you should probably be using scrolls instead.


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MrCharisma wrote:

How many times do you think you'll need Invisibility Purge?

It costs the same for 30 scrolls as for 1 wand with 50 charges, so unless you're casting it at least 30 times over your career it's cheaper as a scroll.

Basically, if you're using ~2 scrolls per level you should convert to a wand. If you're using your wand less than twice per level you should probably be using scrolls instead.

Roughly once or twice per game session... so certainly enough to warrant a wan, but of course, YMMV.

The OP posed the question, so it's certainly often enough an occurrence for him to "need to do something about it". Which IMO seems on par with more than twice per level.

The Exchange

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That is a LOT of invisible enemies. Way, way more than you’d find in any Adventure Path or similar Paizo-produced material.


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The other problem is the up front cost; 11K is a lot at 6th level, say. Undoable even. 18K spread over a dozen levels from 6th to 17th is nothing.

PFs banks and loan sharks have missed a trick or two.


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On a slightly side (I'm aware they are druid spells - but a wand/scroll is cheap) note I would imagine the spell Entangle would also reveal an invisible enemy as "This spell causes tall grass, weeds, and other plants to wrap around creatures in the area of effect or those that enter the area."

Likewise Plant Growth and similar spells will limit the caster's effective mobility to such an extent that you prevent their 'normal' movement away.

Dimensional Anchor should also put a stop to the teleport escapes.

Finally protection from evil should help with the summons.

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