Ajax wrote:Question, did anyone check out the teleport:lesser spell and notice the fact that under duration it states that it takes 30seconds and is not instanteous? Meaning it either takes 30seconds to cast or it takes 30seconds for the materials to move from point A to point B depending on GM inturreptation?
I'm pretty sure that it takes 30 seconds to cast (or for the spell to actually go off once it IS cast).
Also, notice that the range is "touch," meaning that you'd have to touch the fusion blocks.
(This shouldn't interfere with the teleportation, though.)
Also, as has been pointed out, this would take quite a few actions to get off, not to mention quite a bit of preparation.
Start with setting up the ambush in the first place. First, you have to find out where the samas patrol routes are. This could well be tricky, as they may stagger their routines precisely to avoid ambushes and such, or take other precautions.
Second, you have to avoid detection because you don't want to get shot before you get to start your ambush. Since they have the full range of optics, including telescoptic, as well as radars and such, this could be tricky. They only bit of luck there is that they don't have the Detect Ambush or Detect Concealment skills, so if you pick a good spot on the ground or in a tree, and can conceal yourself decently, you might not get spotted. Just make sure that you're at least 2000' away from where the SAMAS will be flying (unless things go wrong), so that you can't be picked up on thermal or infrared.
But say you spend a week and find the patrol paths, figuring out when they'll be where, set up your stake out, wait a while, and see a couple of Sams approach.
Standard cruising speed is 150 mph, probably about 250' up.
The GM would need to do some math here, to figure out when exactly you spot them (how far away they are), and how long your window of opportunity would be, because at 150 mph they're moving at something like a half-mile a melee round (somebody check the math).
Step 1: Mage casts Fly to see which way the samas is going above the tree line.Here's where the radar may well nail you, and where you might get spotted with optics. If you're doing this during the day, all they'll need is to look the right way with their telescopic vision and roll a decent Perception check, unless you've got other tricks up your sleeve.
If you're trying to cast Fly in advance, then you're going to have to recast it a few times if you misjudge things (6 minutes per level, so it would depend on your level).
If you're casting Fly once you spot the SAMAS, then there goes your first action.
Flying into position is your second action.
Step 2: Mage hears Samas approaching - Casts Telekinesis.That's your third action. How many does your mage have?
If he's low level, probably 4, meaning that the first melee round is almost up.
Step 3: Mage uses telekinesis to levitate 4- 16lbs blocks of fusion ( 4d6x10 - 10ft area )4 16lb objects would be 64 lbs, which is over the weight limit for the spell.
Also, the spell description isn't clear how many objects you can pick up in one action.
The easiest way would be to do one block at a time.
So okay, that's your fourth action, which means that the SAM is probably a half-mile ahead of where you spotted him.
Step 4: Mage Sets the Timer on the Fusion Block.He'll likely need the Demolitions skill for this, or at least an ally with the Demolitions skill who set things up where all the mage needs to do is to press a button.
But assuming that he did set things up in advance, that's still another action down for each block you use.
Step 5: Mage casts Carpet of adhesion on each block. Again, this will need to be one at a time. We'll just repeat steps 3-7 for each block.
Another action down.
There's no minimum listed for the size of the carpet, so this should work pretty well.
Step 6: Mage casts Teleport:Lesser on each block directly on top of the Samas head.For me, this is where the big problem comes in.
In order for the spell to work, the location has to be known to him. I think you'd need a REAL good look at that SAMAS' head in order for it to count. Vaguely making out the shape of a head from a distance isn't going to work, you'd have to see it in clear enough detail to know the exact spot that you wanted the block to appear on.
If you have telescopic vision of some sort, that will make it easier, but it would still be pretty tricky.
Also, what exactly a "location" IS as far as this spell goes is up for grabs. "On the Samas' head" might not qualify, in which case you'd have to time the SAM's flight speed and path, and teleport the block into the air in front of him where he'll smack into it and it'll stick, which would be incredibly difficult.
In any case, this takes 2 melee rounds, so the SAM will be about 1.75 miles ahead of where he started by the time you finish casting this spell once.
By the time you cast the spell a second time, he'll be about 3.25 miles ahead.
By the time you cast the spell a third time, he'll be about 4.75 miles ahead.
But the time you cast the spell a fourth time, he'll be about 6.25 miles ahead.
Depending on the duration of your window of opportunity, and what happens after that first block is sent, you might not have time to get all of those blocks sent before he's out of range.
Step 6: Timer goes off.The minimum time is 30 seconds. The time it takes to use the Teleport Lesser spell is 30 seconds.
If you don't give them a bit more time than that, they'll go off immediately as you teleport them.
(this is a good reason to hope you don't get interrupted- if that spell doesn't go off, the bomb still does)
Step 7: Boom.Yup.
When the first bomb goes off, one of a number of things might happen.
-The SAMAS pilot might lose control and crash.
-The Pilot might keep control, but maintain roughly the same pace.
-The pilot might keep control, and slow in order to look for the person who attacked him
-The pilot might speed up to escape the ambush.
I think the last is most likely in most cases, and that's the most important because it's likely to get him out of your spell range before you get all four blocks sent at him.
Not a bad plan, all in all.
It could work, if the GM makes a number of rules calls in your favor, and luck is on your side.