Living Inside Something Else, and how do I design it?

[Lewis W Beard]

All,

This is for the Rochelle-Klamath campaign. If you are a player in that
campaign, don't read this. Thanks.

I wan't an NPC who is, among other things, able to live in a ring or
in an amulet or the like. In other words, the NPC can become as a
ghost and merge with the ring and live in it and communicate with the
wearer mentally (mindlink I guess) and then come out and become solid
/ corporeal.

My first thought would be desolidification + shrinking, 0 END, and
whatever I need to make it work while unconscious (persist + always
on). MindLink or maybe just X-Ray vision to allow the NPC to see out
of the object. However, I'm wondering if there are better ways? Are
there any ways that don't involve desolidification? Etc.

Thanks,

Lewis

[Sammy]

I'd do it with transform - see my post on the "Turning Foes Into
Shape-Changed Allies" thread.

[Doug McCrae]

If you regard being 'inside' the ring as being in another dimension it
could done with just Extra Dimensional Movement. I think mind link can
be bought to be across any dimension. It's a little simpler than
shrinking + desolid.

[Lewis W Beard]

Doug (and Sammy),

ddmc...@yahoo.co.uk (Doug McCrae) wrote in message news:<a2b4653.04030...@posting.google.com>...

I'm just not quite sure how to go about it. The reason I hesitate
about using desolid or extra dimensional is that I want the character
to be able to see and attack while "in" or "part of" the object. I
don't want him to be immune to being hurt, so desolid isn't
appropriate. If a foe hits the object he is in, BOOM, the character is
hit. Then the character living in the object could fire back or
something.

Imagine an Acid Genie (dumb idea but I'm trying to avoid mentioning
specifics) that could jump inside your uncle's class ring, or anything
with a piece of jade in it for that matter. He fuses with the ring.
Damage to the ring would be applied to him also (both take full
damage) but he could shoot his gouts of acid out of the ring. Of
course the character can also manifest in normal genie form outside of
the jade.

So, it seems to be some weird combination of transform and shrinking.
Or the inverse of duplication ("me and something else join"). However
if in a large object, it could also be viewed as growth plus transform
(though when inside the object, his physical attributes would be
irrelevant so only the size would matter, not the other stuff from
growth). I suppose transform could handle the size issues inherently.
Maybe it is just transform? with the target being self only and the
target being "me fused into any object made from jade". I still want
the character to have access to dex for the purposes of making hit
rolls but he'd be DCV 0 (or whatever an inanimate object is) for
defense purposes.

Lewis

[David Meadows]

"Lewis W Beard" <le...@lwb.org> wrote in message
news:c581d835.04030...@posting.google.com...
> Doug (and Sammy),

>
>
> Imagine an Acid Genie (dumb idea but I'm trying to avoid mentioning
> specifics) that could jump inside your uncle's class ring, or anything
> with a piece of jade in it for that matter. He fuses with the ring.
> Damage to the ring would be applied to him also (both take full
> damage) but he could shoot his gouts of acid out of the ring. Of
> course the character can also manifest in normal genie form outside of
> the jade.

Multiform. Base form: "acid genie"; second form: "small item made of jade".
The second form would have the same mental stats and skills and some of the
same attacks but would have some powers unavailable (buy down running and
swimming to 0", buy Str and Dex down to zero (but remember to buy some
combat levels or your acid attack will be pathetic), etc.) and would have
some extra powers (shrink always on, perhaps more resistive defence, etc.)
The multiform power itself would require a focus: "small item made of jade".

> So, it seems to be some weird combination of transform and shrinking.
> Or the inverse of duplication ("me and something else join"). However
> if in a large object, it could also be viewed as growth plus transform

A third multiform form: "large item made of jade".

> (though when inside the object, his physical attributes would be
> irrelevant so only the size would matter, not the other stuff from
> growth). I suppose transform could handle the size issues inherently.
> Maybe it is just transform?

Except, in 4th edition, Transform specifically says you can't transform
*yourself*, only others.

> I still want
> the character to have access to dex for the purposes of making hit
> rolls but he'd be DCV 0 (or whatever an inanimate object is) for
> defense purposes.

Buy down Dex to zero, that gives you 30 points back. Those 30 points in
combat levels will buy an OCV of 15 :-o

--
David Meadows
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