Resolving problem with pentagrams and wish contest of wills

[Steve Plambeck]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

Getting inside the pentagram would be a very bad idea.

That should be on a T-shirt!

[zot]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

I assume that pentagrams in TFT provide two levels of protection... the most obvious one is physical, but the flaw I am referring to would be related to the mental barrier. Losing the 'battle of wills' means the demon fries the wizard from the inside out (picture Scanners).

Getting inside the pentagram would be a very bad idea.

If you don't blow your DX roll, the demon is your summoned creature and getting inside the pentagram is safe. Starting the contest of wills is inherently unsafe and according to the RAW, pentagrams don't provide protection from that anyway.

[zot]

Originally Posted by hcobb

I read it as a mental contest. The wizard's body is untouched but burns into ash.

The blasting to ash part only happens if the wizard is killed, which isn't guarnateed: "Failure means the demon attacks him! If the wizard is killed, try the same IQ contest again. If this roll succeeds, the wizard may be revived after the demon leaves (see Death). However, if this roll is also failed, the demon will blast the wizard to ashes, permanently and totally killing him."

The rules indicate that the demon won't necessarily succeed in killing the wizard and since the rules don't give any reason to think a demon can make a mental attack (only fists and weapons are listed as attacks for demons), I think the attack has to be physical.

[warhorse11h]

Originally Posted by zot

If a wizard fails the contest of wills to gain a wish, the demon attacks him. Page 143 says, "Pentagrams will not protect the wizard in this battle of wills – though a good pentagram would prevent the demon from smashing anything else after he finished off the wizard!"

How is it possible for the demon to attack the wizard when it can't cross the pentagram and it has no ranged attacks?

I suggest this clarification:

If there is a pentagram, the wizard must be on the same side as the demon for the contest of wills to take place. So if a wizard summons a demon into a pentagram, the wizard must enter the pentagram with the demon in order to gain a wish.

Another possible answer is that the wizard, having initiated the contest of wills between himself and the demon, has invalidated the pentagram's protection for himself.

[zot]

Originally Posted by warhorse11h

Another possible answer is that the wizard, having initiated the contest of wills between himself and the demon, has invalidated the pentagram's protection for himself.

How would that work, since demons don't have any ranged attacks and the wizard could run away?

Would the demon get to teleport out of the pentagram but only attack the wizard and have to be careful not to accidentally break anything or hurt anyone else?

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by zot

How would that work, since demons don't have any ranged attacks and the wizard could run away?

Would the demon get to teleport out of the pentagram but only attack the wizard and have to be careful not to accidentally break anything or hurt anyone else?

I really don't think a demon needs to physically touch the wizard to destroy them (although most would probably prefer a more 'hands on' approach if they have the option). They do have the ability to alter reality, after all.

TBH, I think the implied mental invitation would provide sufficient access to the wizard which I think is what warhorse11h is getting at.

[oldwolf]

Demon summonings should be roleplayed.

Well I remember a player, safely in a pentagram, summoning a demon.

I had the demon appear, wearing a spell of invisibility, just outside the pentagram. The demon then tiptoed over to the door of the room and knocked, while calling out "I am here o master, open the door that I may enter and serve thee."

Yes, the player character walked over to open the door.

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by oldwolf

Demon summonings should be roleplayed.

Well I remember a player, safely in a pentagram, summoning a demon.

I had the demon appear, wearing a spell of invisibility, just outside the pentagram. The demon then tiptoed over to the door of the room and knocked, while calling out "I am here o master, open the door that I may enter and serve thee."

Yes, the player character walked over to open the door.

Now that sounds like an IQ challenge to me.

[zot]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

I really don't think a demon needs to physically touch the wizard to destroy them (although most would probably prefer a more 'hands on' approach if they have the option). They do have the ability to alter reality, after all.

TBH, I think the implied mental invitation would provide sufficient access to the wizard which I think is what warhorse11h is getting at.

Sure, this could be a house rule but there's nothing in the current rules to imply that sort of capability. The rules don't allow for demons to use their own wishes or any magical powers at all, for that matter, other than teleport.

I've always been a little disappointed at how relatively powerless demons are when it seems like they should have infinite variety and all kinds of weird powers.

[oldwolf]

Another thought, since it is a contest of wills, one might consider that it is a mental contest of the wizard trying to compel the demon to do his bidding and vice versa. If the demon wins, the wizard is forced to break the pentagram. The demon can then politely request the wizards autograph or rip his head off as he sees fit.