So, I've been mulling over the deicide thing today and there are a couple ways for me to do each part-
The set up is that as a new God of Blasphemy and Heresy, the Ur Priest is immediately aware of the PCs being contacted by the former gods, specifically Pelor, Heironeous, Boccob, and Ehlonnah, that they may regain their power, as it would defeat him. The PCs were picked up by Fharlanghan, who retained travel powers as an embodiment of travel*, and he and Heironeous are the only gods not worshipped by someone in the party, and Heironeous is there as the resident military expert. Fharlanghan's the only former god that can still get around quickly and easily. The party spent a bit of time with the former gods in Neutral Ground, which means that the UP had an opportunity to prep some stuff. The former gods know that they aren't receiving mortal worship even though it's still there, but they don't know why. So they asked the PCs to ask the Oracle to find what's happening. The Oracle is a creature created by the gods to act as an interface between them and an alien, quasi-sapient multiverse which scared them. They also sealed her up in a demiplane known as The Orrery, which incorporates a powerful magic circle to keep her there. People can visit and leave, but she can't. She's not fond of the gods, having been sealed up in a home that's just under three football fields wide. It's divinely morphic, including by her, but it's still a relatively small place to spend eternity, especially when you have an quasi-sapient thing whispering in your ear. The UP is a full-fledged god, so he can port around as much as he pleases.
So there's the hand off, the triggers, and the gifting.
For the hand off, the options are:
- the UP appear himself, in disguise and give the PCs the triggers. They can make spots and sense motives to discern that something is going on, but the UP is a Wiz5/UP10/Defiler of Temples5, so he has a high bluff and can do a reasonable disguise with magic.
- The UP sends a mindraped servant with a form that won't arouse suspicion. If a celestial shows up and gives the PCs tributes of faith to convey to the gods, they'll probably take it at mostly face value. The servant can even be mindraped to believe the tributes come from the celestial houses, so that even a sense motive of umpteenjillion will still show "they show no sign of falsehood or lie."
For the triggers-
- For reference: Trap the Soul is strong Conjuration. This won't necessarily tip anyone off. But then there's the fact that it actually has two physical components- a gem (material, repository for soul) and a trigger (focus, just some specially prepared token or item). A contingency on the activation is being assumed because that's doable (Even if it requires making these a spell trap), and it's ideal for full efficacy.
Then the options are-
- Trap the Soul's trigger isn't a functioning spell effect, it's more like a prepped spell in physical form. The final word, and the target's name are inscribed on it, and it's completed when the intended target touches the item. This means that there's really nothing to detect on the trigger item. And the item can be anything. So the items can be finely carved statues in the image of the gods, with their names inscribed on the bases, and the final word of the spell incorporated into a slogan or quote of some sort. This would, at least theoretically, allow for a Kn. Arcana check, but it'd be pretty obscure, I'd think.
- Conceivably, the triggers could be treated as if they were the primary form of magic in physical form- magic items. This would mean that they have a strong conjuration aura. That alone will be odd, and possibly raise eyebrows, but much less so than the previously mentioned Necromancy. They could then be subject to a heightened Magic Aura, masking their aura entirely, and a heightened Misdirection, making them detect as something else, either normal objects, or, to be cute, the PCs. The DCs for these illusion spells could range from 23 to 30 or 35, depending on the exact stats of the UP, and the PCs all have Will saves over 10. If Soul Trap triggers detect as magic items, it would stupid to not put these counter measures on them.
The gifting is just a matter of whether I go with the "Contingency: when all triggers have reached intended" or not. The latter obviously is more stupid of the UP, but allows for the PCs to kill only one god accidentally.
Looking for input on how I should handle this. I want it to work, but I also want to be
fair.
*
I decided that godhood in my campaign was a two step process. Step one is to become an Embodiment. A creature makes some representation of a concept, phenomenon, or thing a part of themselves, such as by meditating under a fountain of the elements for a day as it continually deals damage to you, they come to embody it. This conveys expert access to a relevant sphere, the at will ability to Analyze Dweomer with respect to their purview, an at will Detect Spell appropriate to their purview, and the knowledge/awareness of all instances of their purview.
Once an embodiment begins receiving mortal worship, they become a god. A god keeps their embodiment powers, but also can cast touch spells at medium range, use their faithful and instances of their purview as the origin point for their casting, at will Greater Teleport, Gate and Planeshift, the ability to share spells with and see speak through faithful and their purview, and at will Wish, albeit with the limitation of their purview's theme (So a fire god can mimic any fire spell, but not water spells, make items associated with fire, etc), and give mortals inherent bonuses to the three highest stats of the god (15/10/5). Raising dead and adding powers to an item both require planar currency, but the item can be increased beyond the 15kgp limit.
WTB a CR adjustment value for this or at least someway to judge its effect on power level
