# What else is arcane mark for?



## TYPO5478 (Apr 9, 2007)

Besides casting _instant summons_, what else is _arcane mark_ good for?

At the risk of getting this thread moved, feel free to mention house rules in addition to RAW.


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## fafhrd (Apr 9, 2007)

Per Dungeonscape, they can be handy for keying friends to boon traps.


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## TYPO5478 (Apr 9, 2007)

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Dungeonscape.  What are boon traps and why would friends need keying to them?


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## frankthedm (Apr 9, 2007)

TYPO5478 said:
			
		

> Besides casting _instant summons_, what else is _arcane mark_ good for?



Being a DBZ fan I hold _Arcane Marking_ in high regard...






And when your minions are not strong enough to ruin countrysides, _Arcane Marking_ them lets people know not to mess with the minion unless they want to mess with _you_.


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## Mistwell (Apr 9, 2007)

A one-month-long tattoo.

Non-dispellable graffiti.

Waymarkers in the wilderness that don't go away, and don't harm the tree or rock they are put on.

Invisible short instructions to your minions on how to avoid traps (note - inform minions to cast see invible before entering lair).


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## frankthedm (Apr 9, 2007)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> Invisible short instructions to your minions on how to avoid traps (note - inform minions to cast see invible before entering lair).



Really?

_This spell allows you to inscribe your personal rune or mark, which can consist of no more than six characters. _


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## fafhrd (Apr 9, 2007)

TYPO5478 said:
			
		

> Sorry, I'm not familiar with Dungeonscape.  What are boon traps and why would friends need keying to them?




Boon traps are locations that buff or heal your friends as opposed to gimping your enemies.  Arcane mark allows the trap to discern friend from foe via read magic.


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## Caliban (Apr 10, 2007)

Mark everyone in your party, and hope the doppelganger can't case "Detect Magic".


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## Hypersmurf (Apr 10, 2007)

frankthedm said:
			
		

> Really?
> 
> _This spell allows you to inscribe your personal rune or mark, which can consist of no more than six characters. _




Sure.  You just need to cast a whole lot of Arcane Marks and use a binary code - Mark, Space, Mark, Mark, Mark, Space, Space, Mark...

-Hyp.


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## TYPO5478 (Apr 10, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Sure.  You just need to cast a whole lot of Arcane Marks and use a binary code - Mark, Space, Mark, Mark, Mark, Space, Space, Mark...
> 
> -Hyp.



Why not use Morse?

Seriously, is that all we can think of?  Nothing like scrying bonuses or abjuration perks?


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## Gerion of Mercadia (Apr 10, 2007)

IMC, Arcane marks are virtually impossible to forge.  If a document needs an Arcane Mark to be authentic - +50 when it comes to the forge check.


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## TYPO5478 (Apr 10, 2007)

Excellent idea!  Anything else?


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## fafhrd (Apr 10, 2007)

TYPO5478 said:
			
		

> Nothing like scrying bonuses?




Oh, I dunno.  Giving a girl a tramp stamp oughta make her "familiar" doncha think?


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## Jack Simth (Apr 10, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Sure.  You just need to cast a whole lot of Arcane Marks and use a binary code - Mark, Space, Mark, Mark, Mark, Space, Space, Mark...
> 
> -Hyp.



You can get a higher information density by giving the Mark a meaningful orientation; a simple four-point (Up, Right, Down, Left - indicated by which direction the "top" of the Mark points) doubles your information density.  The greater amount of discernment you can get out of your minions, the greater information density you can put into a given mark.


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## ThorneMD (Apr 10, 2007)

I use them to rework the teleport spell in my world.  Basically, you can only teleport to areas that have your arcane mark and there is a limit to the number of arcane marks used for this purpose.  Something like 1/5 wizard or sorcerer levels you have.  So a 20th level wizard can always teleport to 5 desired locations.


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## HeavenShallBurn (Apr 10, 2007)

frankthedm said:
			
		

> _This spell allows you to inscribe your personal rune or mark, which can consist of no more than six characters. _




Six characters can include a great deal of information.  Just look at the old Signals Books from the British Navy in the age of sail.  A few guidlines and a simple code can carry a lot of information.  First character is X category, Second Y, etc. combined with single-character signals for things you expect to commonly be communicated.  Hell while I'm at it I could base it on a simplified version of the procedure for reporting enemy activity


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## Mistwell (Apr 10, 2007)

frankthedm said:
			
		

> Really?
> 
> _This spell allows you to inscribe your personal rune or mark, which can consist of no more than six characters. _




Are you saying you cannot alter the orientation? That your mark cannot be an arrow-shape? That you cannot use multiple castings to form an orientation of a larger symbol?


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## Hypersmurf (Apr 10, 2007)

HeavenShallBurn said:
			
		

> Six characters can include a great deal of information.




Yes, but it's not a variable six characters.

For example, my personal rune or mark of six characters or less might be "-Hyp."

I could cast Arcane Mark to inscribe -Hyp. on a sword, or to inscribe -Hyp. on a wall, or to inscribe -Hyp. on a harlot's shoulder.  But I couldn't cast Arcane Mark to inscribe "GOWEST" at one intersection, and "GONRTH" at another intersection, despite those being only six characters long, because they aren't my personal rune or mark.

-GONRTH.


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## fafhrd (Apr 10, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Yes, but it's not a variable six characters.
> 
> For example, my personal rune or mark of six characters or less might be "-Hyp."
> 
> ...




Why not?  Is it stipulated somewhere that you can't change your mark?


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## Alpha Polaris (Apr 10, 2007)

Similar to the boon trap keying, I use them when casting Glyph of Warding and specifying the trigger condition as "anyone not bearing my arcane mark" (glyphs can be set according to physical conditions). Allowing this for alarm spells or other magical traps wouldn't be too far fetched, I guess.


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## Thanee (Apr 10, 2007)

It's good for marking your friends to be able to discern it's them and not a doppelganger. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Dross (Apr 10, 2007)

fafhrd said:
			
		

> Why not?  Is it stipulated somewhere that you can't change your mark?




If you keep changing your specific identification rune, is it really your mark? I certainly would say no. If you changed it due to circumsatnces, i'd be okay with it (change your mark to represent that you now command the king's western army for instance, but see below).

A personal mark makes you identifiable. How does "GOWEST" then "GONRTH" then "OPNDOR" make someone personally identifiable?

Then there is the other problem, what mark people rememebr you by. Where I work changed their name 15 years ago (and their symbol or "arcane mark"), people still know us by that old name and symbol, but not the new. If you never encountered the old mark, you would not recognise it as the same company.


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## Nifft (Apr 10, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Yes, but it's not a variable six characters.
> 
> For example, my personal rune or mark of six characters or less might be "-Hyp."




What if your personal mark were "XYZ-->" (or anything else with directionality). Cue the cuneiform alphabet!

Anything you can do with lines, you can do with a few _arcane mark_s. At least it solves the "GONRTH" problem; just point the arrow end north.

Cheers, -- N


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## Nifft (Apr 10, 2007)

Dross said:
			
		

> If you keep changing your specific identification rune, is it really your mark?




What if all of them changed at once? It would be your mark, but people would need to look it up every time to confirm it's still the right one.

That would be annoying IMHO... but possible.

Cheers, -- N


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## ElectricDragon (Apr 10, 2007)

These are House Rules but here they are:

1. Allows use of _teleport_ spell as if area with your _arcane mark_ has been "studied carefully."
2. Allows use of _scrying_ and _greater scrying_ as if the subject with your mark is "familiar."
3. Allows _telepathic bond_ and _lesser telepathic bond_ to stretch to coexistent planes if all parties are marked.
4. Allows _telepathic bond_ to stretch to coterminus planes if all parties are marked.
5. Requires a Forgery check DC10 + _arcane mark_'s caster's level to fool _locate creature_ spells into identifying false targets with _mislead_, _nondetection_, and _polymorph_ spells.
6. Requires a Forgery check DC10 + _arcane mark_'s caster's level to fool _locate object_ spells into identifying false targets with _polymorph any object_ spells.

IMC _arcane mark_ is chosen at 1st level and can only be changed at 6th level and every level evenly divisible by 6. This does not change previously scribed marks, so a 20th level wizard could have up to 3 previous marks and one current one.

Ciao
Dave


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## Aaron L (Apr 10, 2007)

I always wanted them to make more spells keyed to Arcane Mark the way Drawmij's Instant Summons is.  Arcane Mark (and Wizard Mark before it) has always been one of my favorite spells, for the flavor if nothing else.  I allow Teleportation with no chance of failure to any location you have Marked, but this use destroys the mark if the location isn't actually "very familiar" to the caster, and am always looking for new ideas on how to use it.


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## Kae'Yoss (Apr 10, 2007)

Mistwell said:
			
		

> Waymarkers in the wilderness that don't go away, and don't harm the tree or rock they are put on.




Who says? The long-term effects of thaumic radiation on plants and other living entities is insufficiently explored. Wait until that tree carries leaves or fruit in the form of your arcane mark - which makes it easy for militant druids to identify the culprit.


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## Voadam (Apr 10, 2007)

Cast it on a homicidal criminal PC. Tell the PC it is an invisible mark of justice that will affect them if they harm living beings in a city. Have a fellow PC wizard cast a divination and while smirking confirm the existence of the spell. Now let the evil PC adventure with the rest of the good party. See OotS for an example of this in action.


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## Loincloth of Armour (Apr 10, 2007)

In my games I have a number of small magic items that are triggered/keyed only by people with the appropriate _arcane mark_ on their person.

The secret police use it to identify themselves.  They have a small disk that only glows when it is held in the hand of someone with the appropriate mark.

Low-level, one-shot, short-range teleport items that only work when activated by someone with the right mark.  Gives the bad guys a quick 'get out of death at the PC's hands' card, but not too bad if the players capture it.  (I do allow the PCs to change the triggering condition on the item, but it takes time and effort.)

Doors that are _arcane locked_ for anyone without the mark, but for those with the mark an _unseen servant_ opens the door and closes it behind them.

As others have done, a lot of traps keyed to ignore those with the mark.


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## evilbob (Apr 10, 2007)

ElectricDragon said:
			
		

> 1. Allows use of _teleport_ spell as if area with your _arcane mark_ has been "studied carefully."
> 2. Allows use of _scrying_ and _greater scrying_ as if the subject with your mark is "familiar."
> 3. Allows _telepathic bond_ and _lesser telepathic bond_ to stretch to coexistent planes if all parties are marked.
> 4. Allows _telepathic bond_ to stretch to coterminus planes if all parties are marked.
> ...





			
				Loincloth of Armour said:
			
		

> In my games I have a number of small magic items that are triggered/keyed only by people with the appropriate _arcane mark_ on their person.
> The secret police use it to identify themselves.  They have a small disk that only glows when it is held in the hand of someone with the appropriate mark...
> Doors that are _arcane locked_ for anyone without the mark, but for those with the mark an _unseen servant_ opens the door and closes it behind them.
> As others have done, a lot of traps keyed to ignore those with the mark.



These are all really neat ideas.  I wonder, however, if keying a _mark_ to a spell like scry or teleport doesn't actually sort of reduce the effective power of that spell?  Or are you saying that the spell works like normal, except that if a wizard popped in, _marked_ something, and then popped out, they could still teleport there as if they had "studied" the place "carefully," even though they had not?  (Same with scry - a quick brand and then, boom:  "familiar?")


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## fafhrd (Apr 10, 2007)

Kae'Yoss said:
			
		

> Who says? The long-term effects of thaumic radiation on plants and other living entities is insufficiently explored. Wait until that tree carries leaves or fruit in the form of your arcane mark - which makes it easy for militant druids to identify the culprit.




"Early this morning we started receiving reports of battle between the Ashbound Druidical Sect and Deneith mercenaries in the employ of the Eldeen Ranchers Association.  The A.D.S. had previously vowed retaliation against the ranchers over the creation of Rune Corn(TM)"


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## Loincloth of Armour (Apr 10, 2007)

evilbob said:
			
		

> These are all really neat ideas.  I wonder, however, if keying a _mark_ to a spell like scry or teleport doesn't actually sort of reduce the effective power of that spell?




While I can't speak for *ElectricDragon*, I think the idea here was to allow the spells to exist in the game, but set up a few more restrictions on them to make them less subject to player abuse.  Ie: less Scry-buff-teleport if you've got to have your _arcane mark_ at a location, but it will still allow you to flee back to your stronghold when you're in deep doo-doo.

In my case, I use the _arcane marked_ magic items to provide lower level threats with cheap, more easily made items.  Sort of like Dragonmark items in Eberron: they allow effects only for those with the mark (although in this case, it's _arcane mark_ as opposed to Dragonmarks).  

I admit, it's somewhat of a DM 'cheat' to give NPCs magic items that would otherwise be out of their price range, and yet not be game breaking when (not if) the players get their hands on them.  Ie: Bad guy lieutenants carry a one-shot _dimension door_ item that is keyed to the presence of the BBEG's _arcane mark_ being on the user.  If the lieutenant can use it to escape, great (recurring villian).  If the PCs kill the lieutenant and take the item, great... there's a plot hook to draw the characters in ("Who does this mark belong to"), and the fact it requires that specific _arcane mark_ it keeps certain magic items out of circulation with the party for a while.  I do allow them to 're-key' the item, but assign a cost in gold and time to soak up some of that extra cash PCs always seem to have lying around.

Besides, doors that open by themselves and close after someone are great for atmosphere.  It also allows the bad guys a better chance to get away if they don't have to stop and spend a move action opening the door themselves.


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## Dross (Apr 11, 2007)

Nifft said:
			
		

> What if all of them changed at once? It would be your mark, but people would need to look it up every time to confirm it's still the right one.
> 
> That would be annoying IMHO... but possible.
> 
> Cheers, -- N



hhmm, as stated, possible, but then all written directional indiccations (like 'GONRTH') would be useless. I'd also go far to say that the orientations would remain the same as when initially casted (which would make pre-planning rather involved).

However I feel that that such an interpretation wonders into houserules territory.


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## ElectricDragon (Apr 11, 2007)

evilbob said:
			
		

> These are all really neat ideas. I wonder, however, if keying a mark to a spell like scry or teleport doesn't actually sort of reduce the effective power of that spell? Or are you saying that the spell works like normal, except that if a wizard popped in, marked something, and then popped out, they could still teleport there as if they had "studied" the place "carefully," even though they had not? (Same with scry - a quick brand and then, boom: "familiar?")




Well, yes, sort of. For teleport, this is on cue. But scrying can only be attempted on a creature, not an area (use clairvoyance for that). Add the two together to be able to teleport to an area only seen by scrying on a person that has your mark (teleport as if studied carefully).

Ciao
Dave


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## Bad Paper (Apr 11, 2007)

In one of Monte Cook's adventures, there is a throne where if anyone other than the throne's owner touches it, the throne curses the toucher and places an _arcane mark_ upon that person.

The curse: -4 on saves vs spells or spell-like abilities cast by the owner of the throne.

When the owner encounters the party, it checks for the _mark_.  If present, it concentrates all its abilities on the easy meat first.

And yes, I do mean "it."


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## Thikket (Apr 11, 2007)

I see no reason why the orientation of an _Arcane Mark_ could not be altered on casting. Imagine casting this on a piece of paper -- will the mark always be "right side up", no matter how you turn the paper?

Anyway, it's neat that a bunch of people thought of using the _Arcane Mark_ as a cipher, which is exactly what a high-ish level NPC did in one of my old campaigns.

His mark was a staff with a distinguished tip and end. You could easily do the same thing with anything that has a distinguishable front and back (like an arrow |--->).

The cipher was created by placing the mark in any of the 12 clock positions and either putting the mark "high" or "low"; that is, the four horizontal positions

```
|--->               <---|
|--->               <---|
```

would all have different character representations. This allows for 24 distinct characters, which is more than sufficient. To make the cipher a little less trivial for the players (since this is a direct substitution cipher, you'd be able to figure it out with a decent sample size), I defined some orientations/heights as common digraphs (two letter pairs like "th" or "in") and omitted a few rather unnecessary characters completely ("c" and "q" can be spoofed by other letters, 
"z" and "j" are very infrequent and could be similarly replaced). This was also nice in that it lowered the number of spells to cast to properly mark a word or phrase (oftentimes the word or phrase was truncated as well, or written in text-message style).

At first I thought the angles might be a little confusing (eyeballing 7 o'clock vs. 8 o'clock seems tricky sometimes, especially with small lines), but the players had no problems on that front, probably since I helped them out by printing the dang things out when they found them.

The messages were never really important, but sometimes they were nice bonus clues. One of the players (the one who had permanent _Arcane Sight_, heh) took notes of any diagrams they found and caught on to the cipher relatively early, and it became a source of fun information for them. I guess people enjoy cryptoquotes in the paper, and this is a perfect example of that.


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## Deset Gled (Apr 11, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> I could cast Arcane Mark to inscribe -Hyp. on a sword, or to inscribe -Hyp. on a wall, or to inscribe -Hyp. on a harlot's shoulder.  But I couldn't cast Arcane Mark to inscribe "GOWEST" at one intersection, and "GONRTH" at another intersection, despite those being only six characters long, because they aren't my personal rune or mark.
> 
> -GONRTH.





This, or course, is why King Smith always sent a party of four travelers to lead the army.  Gonorth, the noble necromancer, Gosouth, the sneaky sorcerer, Goeast, the evangelical evoker, and Gowest, the waskily wogue.  Together, they could leave marks to lead the army through the thickest forest or most challenging maze.


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## lukelightning (Apr 11, 2007)

frankthedm said:
			
		

> _This spell allows you to inscribe your personal rune or mark, which can consist of no more than six characters. _




Six characters? Sweet! Mine are an Archmage, a Cleric....  

Seriously, though, I interpret this spell as creating the same mark every time you cast it; you have one set "personal mark" which you can't change.


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## fafhrd (Apr 11, 2007)

It may be of some use to note that in Eberron, you're allowed to perform an alternate 10 minute casting time version of arcane mark along with use of the forgery skill to try and replicate someone else's mark.


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