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HasegawaTakumi
2009-07-13, 05:04 AM
I'm going to run a 3.5 conversion of Keep on the Shadowfell, but with higher level enemies.
I expect the PCs to be around 8th-level when they face Kalarel, and the party will be composed of:

-an Half-Minotaur Human Berserker 7
-a Human Barbarian 8
-a Human Binder 6/Knight of the Sacred Seal 2

-an Elf Binder (8th/9th-level) [NPC]
-a Human Cleric of Pelor 8 [NPC]
-a Human Fighter 5/Sniper Scout 3 [NPC]

(at least, these are the lv I expect them to be, they may be a little different when they reach that point)
(no, I didn't intend to give them that many NPCs to help them.. the cleric and the fighter were unexpected, but my players tend to be kinda unpredictable sometimes...)

Anyway, I was thinking of making Kalarel a gestalt Cleric//Binder... as a Cleric he would worship Orcus, as a Binder he would bind Tenebrous, which, after all, is Orcus' divinity in the form of a vestige... he would need to be at least level 5, so that he could bind Tenebrous, but how powerful would he actually be?

The skeleton sentinels would probably be Human Warrior Skeletons (CR1/3), and I was thinking of using more of them... instead of the wight I'd probably use a ghoul or two (CR1)...

Darwin
2009-07-13, 05:49 AM
CR 1/3 and 1's against a level 8 party? There's no reason to even include them in the encounter at all if they're that weak

Make Kalarel 2 levels above the party, A level 10 Cleric/Binder gestalt should make a strong but not invincible foe. Have the Skeletons be level 5-6 Skeleton Fighters, and give the Wight an equal amount of Sorcerer/Wizard levels.

HasegawaTakumi
2009-07-13, 06:25 AM
Yes, I know, that was stupid... realized it only after posting... I'm a newbie DM, after all... but they will be already weakened by the previous encounters, and since I didn't know powerful Kalarel would be as a gestalt character I wanted to keep their CRs low, just to be sure

I was also thinking of making Kalarel return later in the campaign as an undead Tenebrous Apostate, but the TA advances both soul binding and spellcasting... how do I handle that in gestalt?

Gaiyamato
2009-07-13, 06:33 AM
I'd go the Binder/Clerc. Take some levels in a fighty prestige class that continues spellcasting for Cleric. Maybe even smoe levels of Dread Witch?

Anyway for his minions use the Skeleton Creature from BoVD and give them some class levels. Make them equiv to level 4/5 characters each and make about a dozen of them.

For something Orcus flavoured they could be low LA/CR demons with the Skeleton Creature Template and a level of Warlock.
Your boss could be a Demon/Death Knight Binder/Cleric as well for another idea. :)

Darwin
2009-07-13, 06:33 AM
I'll leave that answer up to someone who knows a bit more about gestalt rules than I do :smallwink:

Gaiyamato
2009-07-13, 06:34 AM
I was also thinking of making Kalarel return later in the campaign as an undead Tenebrous Apostate, but the TA advances both soul binding and spellcasting... how do I handle that in gestalt?

Take it and take some levels in something else on the other side, even perhaps give him a nice juicy template. If you make him undead some levels of evolved undead would be nasty.

Just make sure that what is on the other side does not advance the binder or cleric levels.

Riffington
2009-07-13, 08:44 AM
o keep their CRs low, just to be sure

I was also thinking of making Kalarel return later in the campaign as an undead Tenebrous Apostate, but the TA advances both soul binding and spellcasting... how do I handle that in gestalt?

There are two answers to that.
1: Gestalt suggests you not do that, for balance purposes. But you're the DM.
2: It advances both normally. However, if something (whether hit points, spellcasting, or whatever) is advanced by both sides in a given level, you only pick one of the classes' advancement.