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Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 02:40 PM
Right now, my PCs (ECL 8) are engaged in marshalling a resistance against an evil human empire run by an ancient cult of wizards, the Gavir di Zezhuavdrilin. In a (perhaps misguided) effort to provide a bit of verisimilitude, I've organized the empire's military into a force organization table, in order to determine the likelihood of levelled opponents of various classes whenever the PCs cause trouble. I like the idea of being able to just grab a bunch of baddies of various levels and hit play, so I'm trying to stat out generic soldiers of various types ahead of time.

Your basic soldier is a 1st level warrior, obviously, and provides nothing more than cannon fodder against the PCs. On the other hand, 1st level warriors who survive a few fights become 2nd level warriors, and so on. The enlisted groundpounder remains a warrior throughout his career, and a rough correlation exists between experience and rank. So the standard-issue enlisted personnel are taken care of, right through the various ranks of sergeants. Likewise with the commissioned officer corps, for whom I've statted up generic Marshals at various levels. Although Marshals are weak as hell for PC use, I think they're absolutely perfect for turning a crowd of mooks into a decent threat in this setting. I tweaked the class to give them Full BAB and tied the radius of their aura to their class level, just so I wouldn't constantly find myself looking at them and wishing they were Bards.

The problem came when I got to the specialist corps. This army needs some rank and file brute squads (Fighters), chaplains (Clerics of Hextor), pactseekers (Binders), scouts (Scouts, probably), and probably some field artillery (Sorcerers or Warmages), as well as a few other specialty roles that I'm not thinking of right now.

I want to do a stat block for each of these roles at various levels of experience (I'm thinking 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th, to correspond with what I've already done with the enlisted soldiers and officers). It's a daunting task, however, and I'd love a bit of help from any willing Playgrounders.

I'm using a standard elite array for all of these guys, as they're meant to be generic. Standard NPC WBL. I want them to be relatively effective, without relying on any PC-class optimizer tricks. Also, each level should be built off the level that precedes it. I'd like the progression to stand to reason as a generic "career" path for the role.

Oh, and all humans. The Annuvian Empire is pretty xenophobic.

Any Playgrounders out there willing to take one of these roles off my hands and give me a progression?

EDIT: Chaplains provided by Dyllan. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7739505#post7739505) Thanks again, man

Brutes being handled by Sofawall. Thank you also.

Anyone care to take a crack at the Binders, Scouts, and Warmages (Danin, are you doing those? If so, you are a god. :smallbiggrin:)?

Danin
2010-01-21, 02:50 PM
Well, if instead of level 1 warriors you went for level 1 fighters, that would give you mooks with 3 feats and 900 gold worth of loot. Throw on some decent armor, tower shields, the feats Shield Wall, Phalanx fighting, and Weapon Focus and back them up by a marshal and you have a fairly formidable wall of mook. If they rock halfplate, that ends up being something in the air of 24 ac at level 1, and +5 to hit (Given 14 strength and a marshal's aura).

It's an effective way of keeping mooks relevant in higher level play.

I wouldn't mind helping out doing the Warmages either. It's a fun class, and I have an hour to kill.

sofawall
2010-01-21, 02:53 PM
I'll take on the Fighters.

Effective, but not ridiculous, right? I assume not chargers, but formation fighters?

Also, cavalry is needed. Light skirmishers, too (although Scouts can probably overlap this role).

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 02:57 PM
I had thought about going with Fighters for the basic soldiers, but it messed with my willing suspension of disbelief. Basic soldiers just have to be warriors; Fighters are the superhardened specialty asskickers. The difference between a Warrior and a Fighter at 1st level is really just a feat and some gear anyhow. I don't need the cannon fodder to have a high AC. I want them to drop like flies when the PCs decide to target them. In the meantime, however, they can toss out a lot of attacks which translate into serious damage as long as that Marshal is tossing his auras around.

Your Shield Wall, Phalanx Fighting idea would make great sense for a brute squad though.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 02:59 PM
I'll take on the Fighters.

Effective, but not ridiculous, right? I assume not chargers, but formation fighters?

Also, cavalry is needed. Light skirmishers, too (although Scouts can probably overlap this role).

Formation fighters are preferred, yes. I'll save my charging for the cavalry.

I will eventually need cavalry stats, but right now the game is restricted to an urban setting, so they're not needed yet.

I was planning on keeping the Scouts as my primary skirmisher force, but I'm open to suggestions.

Also, thank you for helping out. My brain was hurting looking at the walls of stat blocks awaiting me.

Cicciograna
2010-01-21, 03:00 PM
I greatly suggest you Heroes of Battle: it has many information regarding troops, ranks, artillery, plus accessory rules and feats for managing a military organization.

Eldariel
2010-01-21, 03:03 PM
Second row should use Polearms with first row having sword&board; combine this with (readied) Aid Another and they can be surprisingly efficient (readied to defend against some tough opponent's attack, readied to help the "group leader's attack"). I'd frankly prefer Rangers and Scouts to Fighters and Warriors; they make for much more realistic soldiers as they have the key abilities like Spot, Listen, etc. and some mobility.

Experts if you're keeping it NPC-class only. Scouts are great skirmishers (duh), particularly mounted units I like as Scouts provided you get rid of the stupid errata that you can't Skirmish while Mounted (whoever came up with that is the first on my list).

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 03:03 PM
I greatly suggest you Heroes of Battle: it has many information regarding troops, ranks, artillery, plus accessory rules and feats for managing a military organization.

I have Heroes of Battle and it's a fantastic resource for everything army related except a semi-realistic set of stats for generic troops of various varieties.

I hate, hate, hate their sample soldiers appendix. It was the first place I turned when I started this particular undertaking, and it was less than worthless to me.

I absolutely love it for everything else, though, so go figure.

Harperfan7
2010-01-21, 03:06 PM
Standard Imperial Light Infantry
human war 1
1d8+4 (8hp)
Init +0
Speed = 30ft.
AC = 15 (+3 armor, +2 shield)
Longsword +3
1d8+1
Javelin +1
1d6+1 20ft.
F+3, R+0, W-1
Str 13, Dex 10, Con 12,
Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8
Intimidate +3, Listen +3, Spot +3
Longsword Focus, Toughness
Possessions: Studded Leather, Heavy Wood Shield, Longsword, x3 javelins.

If you have complete warrior, look up the phalanx fighting and disperse formation tactics.

Aldizog
2010-01-21, 03:08 PM
I had thought about going with Fighters for the basic soldiers, but it messed with my willing suspension of disbelief. Basic soldiers just have to be warriors; Fighters are the superhardened specialty asskickers. The difference between a Warrior and a Fighter at 1st level is really just a feat and some gear anyhow. I don't need the cannon fodder to have a high AC. I want them to drop like flies when the PCs decide to target them. In the meantime, however, they can toss out a lot of attacks which translate into serious damage as long as that Marshal is tossing his auras around.

Your Shield Wall, Phalanx Fighting idea would make great sense for a brute squad though.
I'd actually strongly support the Shield Wall, Phalanx Fighting idea for the rank-and-file. The rank-and-file are individual human beings that want to live; they're going to prefer fighting styles that let them stay alive. Likewise, their commanders will realize that troops dishing out damage but dropping like flies are not as good as troops that sting like bees but can hold the line and stay in formation.

The brute squad might be the ones a little more willing to take risks, be less concerned with holding formation, and rely on offense. They're a smaller group, they fight smaller groups of opponents, and they can eliminate their targets with a powerful first attack. If the HP mechanics are at all reflective of in-game reality, then they might be tough enough to think (like PCs do) that they can probably survive a hit or two.

sofawall
2010-01-21, 03:14 PM
When are these needed? I could have these done by later tonight, if needed.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 03:14 PM
Second row should use Polearms with first row having sword&board; combine this with (readied) Aid Another and they can be surprisingly efficient (readied to defend against some tough opponent's attack, readied to help the "group leader's attack"). I'd frankly prefer Rangers and Scouts to Fighters and Warriors; they make for much more realistic soldiers as they have the key abilities like Spot, Listen, etc. and some mobility.

Oh boop, I forgot to include a very important houserule in my original petition. I've made Listen/Spot class skills for everyone. Since most of the classes that lack it don't have enough skill points to max them out anyhow (absent some serious juking), I've found it doesn't take anything away from the Rogues, Rangers, etc., while still allowing everybody the opportunity to see/hear something sometimes.

I really don't see any reason why a trained adventurer should have to pay double for something that is the right of every Commoner.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 03:15 PM
I'd actually strongly support the Shield Wall, Phalanx Fighting idea for the rank-and-file. The rank-and-file are individual human beings that want to live; they're going to prefer fighting styles that let them stay alive. Likewise, their commanders will realize that troops dishing out damage but dropping like flies are not as good as troops that sting like bees but can hold the line and stay in formation.

The brute squad might be the ones a little more willing to take risks, be less concerned with holding formation, and rely on offense. They're a smaller group, they fight smaller groups of opponents, and they can eliminate their targets with a powerful first attack. If the HP mechanics are at all reflective of in-game reality, then they might be tough enough to think (like PCs do) that they can probably survive a hit or two.

Great point. Now I have to go revise my enlisted boyos. Oh well.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 03:17 PM
When are these needed? I could have these done by later tonight, if needed.

That would be awesome, but you're doing me the favor here. We might end up playing tonight, so I'd love to have them by then if it's possible.

sofawall
2010-01-21, 03:22 PM
I'll start at 9 and work my way down, seeing as how these are the elite guys... I'll see how far I get.

Just for the record, with the rank-and-file being turtles now, do we want more turtles, or something a bit more offensive? Should they have just main weapons, or a bow as well? THF or sword-and-board?

Just trying to make these as close to what you want as possible.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 03:26 PM
I'll start at 9 and work my way down, seeing as how these are the elite guys... I'll see how far I get.

Just for the record, with the rank-and-file being turtles now, do we want more turtles, or something a bit more offensive? Should they have just main weapons, or a bow as well? THF or sword-and-board?

Just trying to make these as close to what you want as possible.

Since the rank and file are being recrunched into more defensive fighters, I think I'd prefer THF for the Brutes. Heavy armor and big weapons, but let's still hang back from a charge build. Some ranged weapons are good, but shouldn't be the focus.

Thanks again.

sofawall
2010-01-21, 03:27 PM
Last question, I hope. (I keep thinking of things...)

Warblade?

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 03:29 PM
Last question, I hope. (I keep thinking of things...)

Warblade?

No, thanks. Warblades exist in my world, but they're kind of rare. Also, since these guys are meant to be generic and used in mass combats, I'd like to keep the bookkeeping at a minimum.

sofawall
2010-01-21, 03:31 PM
No, thanks. Warblades exist in my world, but they're kind of rare. Also, since these guys are meant to be generic and used in mass combats, I'd like to keep the bookkeeping at a minimum.

Cool.

Alright, working it up now...

Dyllan
2010-01-21, 03:32 PM
I could stat out the Clerics of Hextor. Destruction and War domains sound appropriate?

I'll put together a list of prepared spells as well. I assume they'll be in the back lines. As they won't be able to spontaneously cast healing, they'll need some cure spells prepared... I imagine they don't care about much about individual members of the rank and file, but healing the specialists seems important. Otherwise, should they mostly stay behind the rank and file and focus on buffing and the occasional offensive spell? Seems a better strategy than self buffing and making themselves into melee monsters, as that doesn't help the army much.

Also, any restrictions on source books?

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 03:39 PM
I could stat out the Clerics of Hextor. Destruction and War domains sound appropriate?

I'll put together a list of prepared spells as well. I assume they'll be in the back lines. As they won't be able to spontaneously cast healing, they'll need some cure spells prepared... I imagine they don't care about much about individual members of the rank and file, but healing the specialists seems important. Otherwise, should they mostly stay behind the rank and file and focus on buffing and the occasional offensive spell? Seems a better strategy than self buffing and making themselves into melee monsters, as that doesn't help the army much.

Also, any restrictions on source books?

Destruction and War sound perfect. Your assumptions are all right on the money as well. One small edit is that I only used Hextor as the placeholder deity for ease of reference. In my campaign world, the LE god of war is named Angmar, and his favored weapon is the longsword (just in case you were planning on focusing their melee tactics on that flail).

Books allowed are PHB, DMG, MM I, the Complete Series, PHB II, SpC, and MIC. Other books are also a part of my world (ToB and ToM, for example), but let's keep the Clerics inside those boundaries.

Dyllan
2010-01-21, 03:52 PM
Alright, I'm on it.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 03:54 PM
Alright, I'm on it.

Thanks again.

thorgrim29
2010-01-21, 04:02 PM
I don't have much time to build characters right now, but I think one or a few soldiers out of a big unit should be badasses (think Titus Pullo from Rome for example, he's a rank and file soldier, but he kicks major booty and he's the legion hero). For example, have a cumulative 5% chance per 10 rank and file soldiers present of having one of them be a level 1d10min5 fighter/warblade/barbarian/ranger/whatever

Eldariel
2010-01-21, 04:04 PM
Oh boop, I forgot to include a very important houserule in my original petition. I've made Listen/Spot class skills for everyone. Since most of the classes that lack it don't have enough skill points to max them out anyhow (absent some serious juking), I've found it doesn't take anything away from the Rogues, Rangers, etc., while still allowing everybody the opportunity to see/hear something sometimes.

I really don't see any reason why a trained adventurer should have to pay double for something that is the right of every Commoner.

Good houserule. But yeah, I'll maintain the suggestion; second rank with reach weapons using mostly readied actions and first rank with S&B; makes for +2 AC per guy Aid Anothering (successfully) and +2 to attack vs. tough opponents; allows the group to mostly keep everyone alive except vs. very high To Hit, and hit just about anything.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 04:05 PM
I don't have much time to build characters right now, but I think one or a few soldiers out of a big unit should be badasses (think Titus Pullo from Rome for example, he's a rank and file soldier, but he kicks major booty and he's the legion hero). For example, have a cumulative 5% chance per 10 rank and file soldiers present of having one of them be a level 1d10min5 fighter/warblade/barbarian/ranger/whatever

I thoroughly agree, and have already included a means for this to occur when appropriate. Since I've statted my rank and file warriors up to level 9, it's an easy thing to inject one when needed.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 04:09 PM
Good houserule. But yeah, I'll maintain the suggestion; second rank with reach weapons using mostly readied actions and first rank with S&B; makes for +2 AC per guy Aid Anothering (successfully) and +2 to attack vs. tough opponents; allows the group to mostly keep everyone alive except vs. very high To Hit, and hit just about anything.

This is definitely the tactic of choice when they're in formation. Given the current urban setting, however, it's not always possible for them to fight in that fashion. The regiment with which the PCs are currently contending have been commandeered to serve as a guard force in the city until new orders are received. There's a civil war on, and martial law is in full effect.

Tyndmyr
2010-01-21, 04:27 PM
Just remember, whenever using the phrase "The rank and file", both of those words have other meanings, which can be used in game to hilarious effect.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled optimization.

Eldariel
2010-01-21, 04:29 PM
This is definitely the tactic of choice when they're in formation. Given the current urban setting, however, it's not always possible for them to fight in that fashion. The regiment with which the PCs are currently contending have been commandeered to serve as a guard force in the city until new orders are received. There's a civil war on, and martial law is in full effect.

In a city, Skirmishing is more efficient anyways. Heavy use of cover, readied actions to move, mostly ranged weapons (Crossbows or Longbows), generic Urban Warfare except when clearing out rooms.

Dyllan
2010-01-21, 04:37 PM
Should I be equipping them per the NPC Gear Value chart on page 127 of the DMG?

Also, how do you feel about consumable items (ie potions and wands). For something like this, I would probably avoid them (or risk flooding the campaign with wands of cure light wounds), but if you want me to use them I will.

Matthew
2010-01-21, 06:49 PM
Have you sorted out serjeants, lieutenants and captains? I remember there is some guidance in the DMG and also in the 3.0 Allies & Enemies supplement, but that was a bit like Heroes of Battle, in that the common soldiery did not really accord with what the DMG seemed to suggest.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 07:09 PM
Have you sorted out serjeants, lieutenants and captains? I remember there is some guidance in the DMG and also in the 3.0 Allies & Enemies supplement, but that was a bit like Heroes of Battle, in that the common soldiery did not really accord with what the DMG seemed to suggest.

Sergeants are promoted from within the ranks of the enlisted men. They are veteran soldiers who have been active long and well enough to be placed in authority over other enlisted men with less seniority. The garden variety sergeant is therefore just a higher level warrior than the men he commands. Otherwise, he's a specialist of some variety.

Lieutenants, captains, and the like are drawn from the higher social strata and trained as officers. They're the Marshals, unless they've got a specialty of their own, in which case they'd be multiclass Marshal/whatever else (the multiclassers are rare enough that I'll stat them up on a case by case basis; for generic work, I don't need them).

Dyllan
2010-01-21, 07:25 PM
The Clerics of Angmar:
LE
Domains: Destruction, War

Level 1

Str 13
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 15
Cha 10
HP: 1d8+2
AC: 18 (Dex 1, Armor 5, Shield 2)
Init: +1
BAB: 0
Attack: Masterwork Longsword +3 (1d8+1 19-20/x2) or Masterwork Light Crossbow +2 (1d8 19-20/x2)
Saves: Fort: +4, Ref: +1, Will +4
Skills: Concentration 6, Knowledge: Religion 3
Feats: Divine Armor (CD), Divine Fortune (CD), Weapon Proficiency: Longsword, Weapon Focus: Longsword
Equipment: Masterwork Longsword, Masterwork Light Crossbow (80 bolts), Heavy Wooden Shield, Banded Mail
Smite (Destruction Domain Power): 1/day, +4 to hit +1 to damage on single melee attack.
Spells Prepared: 0th: Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Light 1st: Bless, Cure Light Wounds, Magic Weapon*
* = Domain Spell
Rebuke Undead 3/day

At first level, he's mostly about surviving long enough to level again. Bless and his minimal curative abilities are helpful, but will run out quick. However, his divine feats should keep him alive until he runs out of rebuke attempts.

Level 3

Str 13
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 15
Cha 10
HP: 3d8+6
AC: 21 (Dex 1, Armor 8, Shield 2)
Init: +1
BAB: 2
Attack: Masterwork Longsword +5 (1d8+1 19-20/x2) or Masterwork Light Crossbow +4 (1d8 19-20/x2)
Saves: Fort: +5, Ref: +2, Will +5, +1 versus energy drain, inflict spells, death spells and death effects
Skills: Concentration 8, Knowledge: Religion 4, Spot 3
Feats: Divine Armor (CD), Divine Fortune (CD), Weapon Proficiency: Longsword, Weapon Focus: Longsword, Touch of Healing (CC)
Equipment: Masterwork Longsword, Masterwork Light Crossbow (80 bolts), Heavy Wooden Shield, Masterwork Plate Mail, Least Crystal of Lifekeeping on Plate Mail (MIC)
Smite (Destruction Domain Power): 1/day, +4 to hit +3 to damage on single melee attack.
Spells Prepared: 0th: Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Light, Mending 1st: Bless, Cure Light Wounds (x2), Magic Weapon*, 2nd: Cure Moderate Wounds, Divine Protection (SC), Spiritual Weapon*
* = Domain Spell
Rebuke Undead 3/day

Raised Knowledge Religion high enough for the bonus to rebuke attempts, now going to raise spot and listen. With Touch of Healing, he can keep the rank and file alive much longer. If he keeps from casting his Cure Moderate Wounds, he can keep healing 6 points at a time, for free, to anyone who's under half their maximum health. This makes Cure Minor Wounds unnecessary for stabilizing the dead, but it is kept in case all other healing is used.

Level 5

Str 13
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 16
Cha 10
HP: 5d8+10
AC: 22 (Dex 1, Armor 9, Shield 2)
Init: +1
BAB: 3
Attack: Masterwork Longsword +6 (1d8+1 19-20/x2) or Masterwork Light Crossbow +5 (1d8 19-20/x2)
Saves: Fort: +7, Ref: +3, Will +8
Skills: Concentration 10, Knowledge: Religion 4, Spot 5, Listen 4
Feats: Divine Armor (CD), Divine Fortune (CD), Weapon Proficiency: Longsword, Weapon Focus: Longsword, Touch of Healing (CC)
Equipment: Masterwork Longsword, Masterwork Light Crossbow (80 bolts), Heavy Wooden Shield, Plate Mail +1, Cloak of Resistance +1
Smite (Destruction Domain Power): 1/day, +4 to hit +5 to damage on single melee attack.
Spells Prepared: 0th: Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Light, Mending, Detect Poison 1st: Bane, Bless, Cure Light Wounds (x2), Magic Weapon*, 2nd: Cure Moderate Wounds (x2), Divine Protection (SC), Spiritual Weapon* 3rd: Cure Serious Wounds, Aid Mass, Magic Vestment*
* = Domain Spell
Rebuke Undead 3/day

Increased his Wisdom, giving him enough for a bonus 3rd level spell. Spot and Listen increased a bit. Touch of Healing now heals 9 so long as Cure Serious Wounds isn't cast.

Level 7

Str 13
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 16
Cha 10
HP: 7d8+14
AC: 22 (Dex 1, Armor 9, Shield 2)
Init: +1
BAB: 5
Attack: Masterwork Longsword +8 (1d8+1 19-20/x2) or Masterwork Light Crossbow +7 (1d8 19-20/x2)
Saves: Fort: +8, Ref: +4, Will +9
Skills: Concentration 12, Knowledge: Religion 4, Spot 6, Listen 5, Heal 5
Feats: Divine Armor (CD), Divine Fortune (CD), Weapon Proficiency: Longsword, Weapon Focus: Longsword, Touch of Healing (CC), Imbued Healing (CC)
Equipment: Masterwork Longsword, Masterwork Light Crossbow (40 bolts), +1 Heavy Wooden Shield, Plate Mail +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, Healing Belt (MIC)
Smite (Destruction Domain Power): 1/day, +4 to hit +7 to damage on single melee attack.
Spells Prepared: 0th: Cure Minor Wounds (x3), Detect Magic, Light, Mending 1st: Bane, Bless, Cure Light Wounds (x2), Divine Favor, Magic Weapon*, 2nd: Cure Moderate Wounds (x2), Divine Protection (SC), Wave of Grief (SC), Spiritual Weapon* 3rd: Cure Serious Wounds (x2), Aid Mass, Magic Vestment*, 4th: Cure Critical Wounds, Divine Power*
* = Domain Spell
Rebuke Undead 3/day

The Healing Belt adds a bit to his daily healing capabilities. Also, so long as he saves Cure Critical Wounds, he can heal 12 points with his feat. With Imbued Healing, he can now give additional buffs to anyone he heals. He prepares more Cure Minor Wounds now, simply so he can use them to give out the Imbued Healing buffs.

Level 9

Str 14
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 18
Cha 10
HP: 9d8+18
AC: 22 (Dex 1, Armor 9, Shield 2) (+2 against ranged attacks)
Init: +1
BAB: 6/1
Attack: Masterwork Longsword +10/+5 (1d8+2 19-20/x2) or Masterwork Light Crossbow +8 (1d8 19-20/x2)
Saves: Fort: +8, Ref: +4, Will +9 (+1 against energy drain, inflict spells, death spells and death effects)
Skills: Concentration 14, Knowledge: Religion 4, Spot 7, Listen 6, Heal 5
Feats: Divine Armor (CD), Divine Fortune (CD), Weapon Proficiency: Longsword, Weapon Focus: Longsword, Touch of Healing (CC), Imbued Healing (CC), Holy Warrior (CC)
Equipment: Masterwork Longsword, Masterwork Light Crossbow (40 bolts), +1 Heavy Wooden Shield, Crystal of Lifekeeping Least (MIC), Plate Mail +1, Crystal of Arrow Deflection Least (MIC), Cloak of Resistance +1, Healing Belt (MIC), Periapt of Wisdom +2
Smite (Destruction Domain Power): 1/day, +4 to hit +9 to damage on single melee attack.
Spells Prepared: 0th: Cure Minor Wounds (x3), Detect Magic, Light, Mending 1st: Bane, Bless, Cure Light Wounds (x2), Divine Favor, Magic Weapon*, 2nd: Quick March (SC), Cure Moderate Wounds (x2), Divine Protection (SC), Wave of Grief (SC), Spiritual Weapon* 3rd: Conviction Mass, Cure Serious Wounds (x2), Aid Mass, Magic Vestment*, 4th: 1 Cure Critical Wounds (x2), Divine Power* 5th: Cure Light Wounds Mass, Shield of Faith Mass, Flame Strike*
* = Domain Spell
Rebuke Undead 3/day

Cure Light Wounds Mass allows +15 healing with Touch of Healing. Holy Warrior adds +5 on weapon damage rolls so long as Flame Strike hasn't been cast. If Flame Strike is cast, but Magic Vestment isn't, the bonus is +4.


Look good?

Twilight Jack
2010-01-21, 07:32 PM
Look good?

Bad-frickin'-ass, my friend. That's perfect. This is why I wanted to get someone else looking at these. After 12 hours of looking at these statblocks, you start to suffer brain burn. A fresh pair of eyes and a well-cooled brain were just what the doctor ordered.

Thank you again.

Dyllan
2010-01-21, 07:44 PM
Bad-frickin'-ass, my friend. That's perfect. This is why I wanted to get someone else looking at these. After 12 hours of looking at these statblocks, you start to suffer brain burn. A fresh pair of eyes and a well-cooled brain were just what the doctor ordered.

Thank you again.

My pleasure. And I know exactly what you mean. That's why I'm working so far in advance on stuff for my campaign... otherwise I get burnt out.

But people always help me when I ask for it here. I thought it was time to return the favor. And in small doses, statting stuff is fun.

Matthew
2010-01-21, 08:57 PM
Sergeants are promoted from within the ranks of the enlisted men. They are veteran soldiers who have been active long and well enough to be placed in authority over other enlisted men with less seniority. The garden variety sergeant is therefore just a higher level warrior than the men he commands. Otherwise, he's a specialist of some variety.

Lieutenants, captains, and the like are drawn from the higher social strata and trained as officers. They're the Marshals, unless they've got a specialty of their own, in which case they'd be multiclass Marshal/whatever else (the multiclassers are rare enough that I'll stat them up on a case by case basis; for generic work, I don't need them).

I see; even for your specialist forces you are using marshals?

Doppelganger
2010-01-21, 09:10 PM
Out of couriousity, how many mages exist/are on the PCs side? A mid level sorcerer using blaster tactics will chew through one of the mook walls in seconds. If this is high magic, you might consider having skirmishers/anti-magic mages to strike and kill mages a common tactic.

Bibliomancer
2010-01-21, 09:30 PM
You haven't mentioned archers, but using the Teamwork Benefit Missile Volley (PHBII, page 161) can convert a squad of eight first level fighters [archers are often fighters instead of warriors, as mentioned in the Forge of War, because an archer's equipment is 10-15 times more valuable than a front line spear conscript's] into a sniper force capable of dropping mid-level PCs in one round at point blank range, and with the ability to provide quasi-effective support for battles happening hundreds of feet away.

Here's what is would look like (Fighter 1, Human, Elite Array, 900 gp wealth by level as stated normal for NPCs in the DMG):


Str 14
Con 13
Dex 15
Int 10
Wis 12
Cha 8
hp 11
AC: 16 (+4 Chain Shirt, +2 Dex)
Initiative: +2
BAB: +1
Attack (Normal, within 30 feet): Masterwork Composite Longbow (Strength bonus +2) +5 (1d8 +3)
Attack (volley, within 30 feet): Masterwork Composite Longbow +13 (1d8+3)
Attack (maximum range [1650 feet], volley): Masterwork Composite Longbow +3 (1d6 +2)
Saves: Fort: +3, Ref: +2, Will: +1
Skills: Spot +5 Listen +5
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Far Shot
Equipment: Chain Shirt, Masterwork Composite Longbow (Strength Bonus +2), 5 quivers of normal arrows, 5 quivers of swiftwing arrows (hlave range increment penalty in exchange for a d6 damage die for a longbow, found in Races of the Wild, page 165), 150 gp

One of these squads would be EL7, or a level appropriate challenge for the PCs. If they squad is waiting around a corner for them, the PC that gets targeted (assuming AC 23, which is a bit high for level 8 unless one is a front-line combatant) will take an average of 30 damage. Slightly underwhelming, but this build really comes into its own when used to fight distant enemies (for sake of realism, the extra money could be converted into a spyglass to allow someone in the squad to sight the enemy). 1650 feet is outside of the range of even an extended fireball.

Used as a support capacity (given that every member has precise shot), these formations make an excellent third line behind the swordsmen and the pike men.

Interestingly, this build doesn't really need to be scaled up. Due to the huge maximum range, a level 13 encounter could consist of 8 of these squads (outside of fireball range) peppering the PCs with arrows, especially in a siege situation. To bypass protection from arrows, each member of the squad could convert the 150gp extra to three +1 arrows, to be used when an opponent resists the initial volley.



Out of couriousity, how many mages exist/are on the PCs side? A mid level sorcerer using blaster tactics will chew through one of the mook walls in seconds. If this is high magic, you might consider having skirmishers/anti-magic mages to strike and kill mages a common tactic.

This could be bypassed by having a first level warmage with scrolls of fireball attached to each low level unit, just to counter that tactic.

Alternatively, one of the arrow squads above could make short work of any enemy caster in range.

dyslexicfaser
2010-01-21, 10:06 PM
One thing to think about is that archers are going to survive far longer than their meatshields.

Infantry tend to exist to soak up hits from enemy archers, and bog down enemies so the cavalry charges can finish them off. As such, they die with distressing regularity.

Archers, on the other hand, are protected by both infantry and cavalry, so unless they're frequently getting fireballed from magical artillery, outflanked or otherwise taken down, in a system like D&D they'll gain rewards (levels) without taking nearly as many of the risks (death) as their sword-and-board friends, and any mook with a long weekend of training can use a crossbow, sort of the archer equivalent of the pike or spear. Who wouldn't want to be an archer?

Of course, that can all be safely handwaved away if you don't wanna.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-22, 01:39 AM
I see; even for your specialist forces you are using marshals?

For the general officer corps, yeah. There are other specialist forces that have ranks equivalent to those of "officers", but they're not responsible for leading regular troops in the field. A fighter pilot holds an officer's rank, but he does an utterly different job than a captain who's in charge of a company.

So I've kept them seperate for my purposes, with a quick equivalency chart to tell me where everyone stands on the pecking order.

The highest ranked Pactseeker in a brigade is equivalent to a Colonel, but I don't call him Colonel, although every soldier in the brigade still calls him, "sir."


Out of couriousity, how many mages exist/are on the PCs side? A mid level sorcerer using blaster tactics will chew through one of the mook walls in seconds. If this is high magic, you might consider having skirmishers/anti-magic mages to strike and kill mages a common tactic.

There is one arcane magic-user on the PCs side, a Conjurer specializing in BC and mobility. He hasn't banned Evocation, but he tends away from the big blasty unless someone asks him to prepare it. The other characters are a Cloistered Cleric, a Crusader, and an archery specialized Ranger. Interestingly, the Ranger is the big kill-monkey of the party. She didn't optimize her build so very much, but she optimizes the hell out of every combat situation and uses some really cunning tactics and a marvelous facility for rolling above 15 when it counts.

Otherwise, the Annuvian Empire is run by wizards. They understand the nature of magic in warfare and plan accordingly. Between the Warmages (there are very few pure sorcerers in Annuvin, because the Gavir tend to root out those of a sorcerous bent at a very early age and "recruit" them to serve as warmages, guiding their development along a very narrow focus "for the good of the empire"), the Binders, the Clerics, and the Gavir Wizards themselves, the army has a lot of answers for those trying to nuke their way through.


You haven't mentioned archers, but using the Teamwork Benefit Missile Volley (PHBII, page 161) can convert a squad of eight first level fighters [archers are often fighters instead of warriors, as mentioned in the Forge of War, because an archer's equipment is 10-15 times more valuable than a front line spear conscript's] into a sniper force capable of dropping mid-level PCs in one round at point blank range, and with the ability to provide quasi-effective support for battles happening hundreds of feet away.

Here's what is would look like (Fighter 1, Human, Elite Array, 900 gp wealth by level as stated normal for NPCs in the DMG):


Str 14
Con 13
Dex 15
Int 10
Wis 12
Cha 8
hp 11
AC: 16 (+4 Chain Shirt, +2 Dex)
Initiative: +2
BAB: +1
Attack (Normal, within 30 feet): Masterwork Composite Longbow (Strength bonus +2) +5 (1d8 +3)
Attack (volley, within 30 feet): Masterwork Composite Longbow +13 (1d8+3)
Attack (maximum range [1650 feet], volley): Masterwork Composite Longbow +3 (1d6 +2)
Saves: Fort: +3, Ref: +2, Will: +1
Skills: Spot +5 Listen +5
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Far Shot
Equipment: Chain Shirt, Masterwork Composite Longbow (Strength Bonus +2), 5 quivers of normal arrows, 5 quivers of swiftwing arrows (hlave range increment penalty in exchange for a d6 damage die for a longbow, found in Races of the Wild, page 165), 150 gp

One of these squads would be EL7, or a level appropriate challenge for the PCs. If they squad is waiting around a corner for them, the PC that gets targeted (assuming AC 23, which is a bit high for level 8 unless one is a front-line combatant) will take an average of 30 damage. Slightly underwhelming, but this build really comes into its own when used to fight distant enemies (for sake of realism, the extra money could be converted into a spyglass to allow someone in the squad to sight the enemy). 1650 feet is outside of the range of even an extended fireball.

Used as a support capacity (given that every member has precise shot), these formations make an excellent third line behind the swordsmen and the pike men.

Interestingly, this build doesn't really need to be scaled up. Due to the huge maximum range, a level 13 encounter could consist of 8 of these squads (outside of fireball range) peppering the PCs with arrows, especially in a siege situation. To bypass protection from arrows, each member of the squad could convert the 150gp extra to three +1 arrows, to be used when an opponent resists the initial volley.


I didn't mention archers because I've already got archer squads taken care of, in pretty much this precise fashion. Fighter 1, with good gear and feats, using the PHBII volley stuff. I included a veteran archer build of Fighter 2, but didn't feel any need to scale them beyond that. I stick a single lieutenant (read: Marshal 3) with them and call it a day. They've proven most effective so far, forcing a PC retreat the first time I pulled them out.

sofawall
2010-01-22, 01:49 AM
Wind wall might be effective against them.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-22, 03:07 AM
Wind wall might be effective against them.

Against archers? Certainly; it's the purpose of the spell. On the other hand, wind wall isn't always prepared, nor is a wind wall normally movable once it is placed. Finally, if you're willing to chart out the parabolic path of an arrow volley, it's entirely possible to drop arrows down over the wall onto targets, given the proper range.

I am blessed with the ability to do such math very quickly, and I generally presume that a few different Knowledge skills might impart the same ability on a sufficient roll.

I've allowed such rolls in the past, in circumstances where the wind wall was placed in such a way as to allow a parabola to circumvent it. Success on the roll means that the leader of the archer squad knows to move the squad X feet in Y direction, then fire at Z angle to get over the wall. Remember that the spell only creates a wall 5 ft. in height/caster level.

Ravens_cry
2010-01-22, 03:37 AM
I have a certain fondness for a well organized army, rather then the ragtag band of 'heroic' misfits who seem to always somehow win, against all logic or odds.
I just want you to know, I am rooting for your guys, Twilight Jack.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-22, 09:47 AM
I have a certain fondness for a well organized army, rather then the ragtag band of 'heroic' misfits who seem to always somehow win, against all logic or odds.
I just want you to know, I am rooting for your guys, Twilight Jack.

Thanks for that. I'm rooting for some of them, myself.

Care to help out? I still need Binders, Scouts, and Warmages (maybe).

Twilight Jack
2010-01-22, 02:33 PM
Dyllan, I just came across a bit of an issue. Our 1st and 3rd level clerics don't have the prerequisites for the divine feats you gave them. The feats require a minimum divine caster level of 5th.

Care to swap out the feats for others, or shall I?

Ravens_cry
2010-01-22, 02:52 PM
Thanks for that. I'm rooting for some of them, myself.

Care to help out? I still need Binders, Scouts, and Warmages (maybe).
Sadly, I am a terrible builder, and I don't have access to the books those classes are in. *makes appropriate face of consternation* But you're welcome.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-22, 02:58 PM
Sadly, I am a terrible builder, and I don't have access to the books those classes are in. *makes appropriate face of consternation* But you're welcome.

No worries. Just would love all the help I can get. My brain is starting to reconstitute itself, so I may take a fresh crack at some of these guys myself.

The Binders are the ones I can tell I'll need help the most, though. I've never played one and so my build-fu is weak. I've got a pretty good handle on the Anima Mage PrC, but that's a completely different animal, really.

Bibliomancer
2010-01-22, 03:58 PM
I'll take a stab at warmages, assuming you still need them.

1st
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 15
HP: 10
AC: 17 (Dex +1, Breastplate +5, Wooden Light Shield +1)
Initiative: +1
BAB: +0
Attack: Shortspear -1 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +1 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +1, Ref: +1, Will: +2
Skills: Intimidate +6, Spot +4, Listen +4, Concentration +5
Feats: Battle Caster, Toughness
Equipment: Breastplate, Light Wooden Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, Scroll of Fireball (CL 5th) Scroll of Fireburst (CL 5th)
Spells: 0th: 5/day see warmage spell list
1st: 4/day see warmage spell list
Caster Level 1st
Note: +2 damage to all spells, only applied once per spell (affects all targets of a fireball, but only one of two magic missiles of a magic missile spell). Does not apply to scrolls.

At this point, the warmage's effectiveness on the battlefield is limited to sniping wounded targets of opportunity and using his scroll of fireball to counterspell any attempt to fireball his unit out of existence. He would rarely operate independently. When forced to, he would cast fireburst as soon as an opponent charged him. It helps that a warmage appears like a guard or possibly an officer due to the armor he is wearing.3rd
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 15
HP: 16
AC: 18 (Dex +1, +1 Breastplate +6, Wooden Light Shield +1)
Initiative: +5
BAB: +1
Attack: Shortspear +0 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +2 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +2, Ref: +2, Will: +3
Skills: Intimidate +8, Spot +6, Listen +6, Concentration +7
Feats: Battle Caster, Improved Initiative, Sudden Empower
Equipment: +1 Breastplate, Light Wooden Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, 2 Scrolls of Fireball (CL 5th) 2 Scrolls of Fireburst (CL 5th)
Spells: 0th: 6/day see warmage spell list
1st: 6/day see warmage spell list + Kelgore's Firebolt (PHBII)
Caster Level 3rd
Warmage Edge +2
Save DCs 12 + spell level

At third level, the warmage's effectiveness has not increased dramatically. However, he now has access to Kelgore's Firebolt, allowing him to 3d6 +2 damage consistently, and 150% of that once per battle with the Sudden Empower spell. Still best used behind a thick layer of mooks. Can use his intimidate skill to justify having cannon fodder between himself and the enemy.5th
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 16
HP: 25
AC: 19 (Dex +1, +1 Breastplate +6, +1 Wooden Light Shield +2)
Initiative: +5
BAB: +2
Attack: Shortspear +1 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +3 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +2, Ref: +2, Will: +4
Skills: Intimidate +11, Spot +8, Listen +8, Concentration +9
Feats: Battle Caster, Improved Initiative, Extra Edge
Equipment: +1 Breastplate, +1 Light Wooden Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, Scroll of Fireball (CL 5th) Scroll of Greater Fireburst (CL 15th)
Spells: 0th: 6/day see warmage spell list
1st: 7/day see warmage spell list + Kelgore's Firebolt (PHBII)
2nd: 5/day see warmage spell list
Caster Level 5th
Warmage Edge +4
Save DCs 13 + spell level

Charisma was raised at level 4. At this level the warmage can finally cast 2nd level spells, and often uses fireburst if the enemy gets too close. He could have bought a Cloak of Charisma +2, but since most of his spells are ranged spells with no saving throw, there wouldn't be much benefit to that at this level. He has been entrusted with a CL15 scroll of greater fireburst for extremely bad situations. However, due to the expense of these scrolls, the warmage will only use it in a situation of grave importance, ie, he is at less than half hitpoints and his entire escort it dead. As a result, PCs might be able to acquire this scroll if they act quickly. Note that as the PCs level up, warmages of this rank will eventually be given orders to use scrolls like these on the PCs at the earliest opportunity.7th
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 18
HP: 34
AC: 19 (Dex +1, +1 Breastplate +6, +1 Wooden Light Shield +2)
Initiative: +5
BAB: +3
Attack: Shortspear +2 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +4 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +3, Ref: +3, Will: +5
Skills: Intimidate +14, Spot +10, Listen +10, Concentration +11
Feats: Battle Caster, Improved Initiative, Extra Edge, Spell Focus (Evocation), Sudden Empower
Equipment: +1 Breastplate, +1 Light Wooden Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, Scroll of Greater Fireburst (CL 15th), Cloak of Charisma +2
Spells: 0th: 6/day see warmage spell list
1st: 7/day see warmage spell list + Kelgore's Firebolt (PHBII)
2nd: 7/day see warmage spell list
3rd: 5/day see warmage spell list + Leomund's Tiny Hut
Caster Level 7th
Warmage Edge +4
Save DCs 15 + spell level

At long last, this rank of warmage finally has access to fireball, as well as gaining Sudden Empower back as a bonus feat. This officer can also use Leomund's Tiny Hut to provide a position with total concealment in situations where stealth is not an option.9th
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 18
HP: 52
AC: 23 (Dex +1, +1 Full Plate +9, +1 Light Wooden +2, Ring of Protection +1)
Initiative: +5
BAB: +4
Attack: Shortspear +3 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +5 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +4, Ref: +4, Will: +7
Skills: Intimidate +14, Spot +10, Listen +10, Concentration +11
Feats: Battle Caster, Improved Initiative, Extra Edge, Spell Focus (Evocation), Sudden Empower, Greater Spell Focus (Evocation)
Equipment: +1 Fullplate, +1 Light Steel Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, Scroll of Greater Fireburst (CL 15th), Cloak of Charisma +2, Cloak of Resistance +1, Ring of Protection +1, 5 potions of invisibility
Spells: 0th: 6/day see warmage spell list
1st: 7/day see warmage spell list + Kelgore's Firebolt (PHBII)
2nd: 7/day see warmage spell list
3rd: 7/day see warmage spell list + Leomund's Tiny Hut (PHB)
4th: 5/day see warmage spell list
Caster Level 9th
Warmage Edge +5
Save DCs 16 + spell level

Combining armored mage (medium) with the battle caster feat allows this warmage to wear full plate, giving him a respectable AC for a full caster without protective spells. Having Evard's black tentacles on the list gives him some degree of battlefield control, and Sudden Empower combined with the orb series of spells represents a good chance to drop an enemy caster of higher level with a lucky shot. Use potions of invisibility to drop out of sight in combat, then run or get in a fireball from a rooftop position.

Alternatively, at this level replace Battle Caster, Improved Initiative and Extra Edge, with Arcane Thesis [Fireball] (Complete Mage), Delay Spell (Complete Arcane), and Easy Metamagic [Delay Spell] (Dragon Magazine 325) to produce a character who can use delayed fireballs as 4th level spell slot at CL11. Thus, if the PCs hold still for 5 rounds (ie, are sleeping) one of these ambush mages could use all 5 4th level spell slots to do 40d6 points of fire damage (4 DC 18 saves for half) plus Evard's black tentacles on the area before the PCs realize he's there. For this to be most effective, replace fullplate with potions of fly (no MS checks, invisibility = no Hide checks).

Sorry if they aren't exactly masterpieces of optimization. These are pretty general and, I hope, passable within the bounds suggested.

I have Tome of Magic. Do you want me to take a look Binders, or would you prefer to do those yourself?

Twilight Jack
2010-01-22, 04:03 PM
I'll take a stab at warmages, assuming you still need them.

1st
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 15
HP: 10
AC: 17 (Dex +1, Breastplate +5, Wooden Light Shield +1)
Initiative: +1
BAB: +0
Attack: Shortspear -1 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +1 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +1, Ref: +1, Will: +2
Skills: Intimidate +6, Spot +4, Listen +4, Concentration +5
Feats: Battle Caster, Toughness
Equipment: Breastplate, Light Wooden Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, Scroll of Fireball (CL 5th) Scroll of Fireburst (CL 5th)
Spells: 0th: 5/day see warmage spell list
1st: 4/day see warmage spell list
Caster Level 1st
Note: +2 damage to all spells, only applied once per spell (affects all targets of a fireball, but only one of two magic missiles of a magic missile spell). Does not apply to scrolls.

At this point, the warmage's effectiveness on the battlefield is limited to sniping wounded targets of opportunity and using his scroll of fireball to counterspell any attempt to fireball his unit out of existence. He would rarely operate independently. When forced to, he would cast fireburst as soon as an opponent charged him. It helps that a warmage appears like a guard or possibly an officer due to the armor he is wearing.3rd
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 15
HP: 16
AC: 18 (Dex +1, +1 Breastplate +6, Wooden Light Shield +1)
Initiative: +5
BAB: +1
Attack: Shortspear +0 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +2 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +2, Ref: +2, Will: +3
Skills: Intimidate +8, Spot +6, Listen +6, Concentration +7
Feats: Battle Caster, Improved Initiative, Sudden Empower
Equipment: +1 Breastplate, Light Wooden Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, 2 Scrolls of Fireball (CL 5th) 2 Scrolls of Fireburst (CL 5th)
Spells: 0th: 6/day see warmage spell list
1st: 6/day see warmage spell list + Kelgore's Firebolt (PHBII)
Caster Level 3rd
Warmage Edge +2
Save DCs 12 + spell level

At third level, the warmage's effectiveness has not increased dramatically. However, he now has access to Kelgore's Firebolt, allowing him to 3d6 +2 damage consistently, and 150% of that once per battle with the Sudden Empower spell. Still best used behind a thick layer of mooks. Can use his intimidate skill to justify having cannon fodder between himself and the enemy.5th
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 16
HP: 25
AC: 19 (Dex +1, +1 Breastplate +6, +1 Wooden Light Shield +2)
Initiative: +5
BAB: +2
Attack: Shortspear +1 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +3 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +2, Ref: +2, Will: +4
Skills: Intimidate +11, Spot +8, Listen +8, Concentration +9
Feats: Battle Caster, Improved Initiative, Extra Edge
Equipment: +1 Breastplate, +1 Light Wooden Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, Scroll of Fireball (CL 5th) Scroll of Greater Fireburst (CL 15th)
Spells: 0th: 6/day see warmage spell list
1st: 7/day see warmage spell list + Kelgore's Firebolt (PHBII)
2nd: 5/day see warmage spell list
Caster Level 5th
Warmage Edge +4
Save DCs 13 + spell level

Charisma was raised at level 4. At this level the warmage can finally cast 2nd level spells, and often uses fireburst if the enemy gets too close. He could have bought a Cloak of Charisma +2, but since most of his spells are ranged spells with no saving throw, there wouldn't be much benefit to that at this level. He has been entrusted with a CL15 scroll of greater fireburst for extremely bad situations. However, due to the expense of these scrolls, the warmage will only use it in a situation of grave importance, ie, he is at less than half hitpoints and his entire escort it dead. As a result, PCs might be able to acquire this scroll if they act quickly. Note that as the PCs level up, warmages of this rank will eventually be given orders to use scrolls like these on the PCs at the earliest opportunity.7th
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 18
HP: 34
AC: 19 (Dex +1, +1 Breastplate +6, +1 Wooden Light Shield +2)
Initiative: +5
BAB: +3
Attack: Shortspear +2 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +4 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +3, Ref: +3, Will: +5
Skills: Intimidate +14, Spot +10, Listen +10, Concentration +11
Feats: Battle Caster, Improved Initiative, Extra Edge, Spell Focus (Evocation), Sudden Empower
Equipment: +1 Breastplate, +1 Light Wooden Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, Scroll of Greater Fireburst (CL 15th), Cloak of Charisma +2
Spells: 0th: 6/day see warmage spell list
1st: 7/day see warmage spell list + Kelgore's Firebolt (PHBII)
2nd: 7/day see warmage spell list
3rd: 5/day see warmage spell list + Leomund's Tiny Hut
Caster Level 7th
Warmage Edge +4
Save DCs 15 + spell level

At long last, this rank of warmage finally has access to fireball, as well as gaining Sudden Empower back as a bonus feat. This officer can also use Leomund's Tiny Hut to provide a position with total concealment in situations where stealth is not an option.9th
Str 8
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 18
HP: 52
AC: 23 (Dex +1, +1 Full Plate +9, +1 Light Wooden +2, Ring of Protection +1)
Initiative: +5
BAB: +4
Attack: Shortspear +3 Melee (1d6-1, x3) or Longbow +5 (1d8-1, x3)
Saves: Fort: +4, Ref: +4, Will: +7
Skills: Intimidate +14, Spot +10, Listen +10, Concentration +11
Feats: Battle Caster, Improved Initiative, Extra Edge, Spell Focus (Evocation), Sudden Empower, Greater Spell Focus (Evocation)
Equipment: +1 Fullplate, +1 Light Steel Shield, Shortspear, Longbow, Scroll of Greater Fireburst (CL 15th), Cloak of Charisma +2, Cloak of Resistance +1, Ring of Protection +1, 5 potions of invisibility
Spells: 0th: 6/day see warmage spell list
1st: 7/day see warmage spell list + Kelgore's Firebolt (PHBII)
2nd: 7/day see warmage spell list
3rd: 7/day see warmage spell list + Leomund's Tiny Hut (PHB)
4th: 5/day see warmage spell list
Caster Level 9th
Warmage Edge +5
Save DCs 16 + spell level

Combining armored mage (medium) with the battle caster feat allows this warmage to wear full plate, giving him a respectable AC for a full caster without protective spells. Having Evard's black tentacles on the list gives him some degree of battlefield control, and Sudden Empower combined with the orb series of spells represents a good chance to drop an enemy caster of higher level with a lucky shot. Use potions of invisibility to drop out of sight in combat, then run or get in a fireball from a rooftop position.

Alternatively, at this level replace Battle Caster, Improved Initiative and Extra Edge, with Arcane Thesis [Fireball] (Complete Mage), Delay Spell (Complete Arcane), and Easy Metamagic [Delay Spell] (Dragon Magazine 325) to produce a character who can use delayed fireballs as 4th level spell slot at CL11. Thus, if the PCs hold still for 5 rounds (ie, are sleeping) one of these ambush mages could use all 5 4th level spell slots to do 40d6 points of fire damage (4 DC 18 saves for half) plus Evard's black tentacles on the area before the PCs realize he's there. For this to be most effective, replace fullplate with potions of fly (no MS checks, invisibility = no Hide checks).

Sorry if they aren't exactly masterpieces of optimization. These are pretty general and, I hope, passable within the bounds suggested.

I have Tome of Magic. Do you want me to take a look Binders, or would you prefer to do those yourself?

They're perfectly lovely. Thank you very much. I'll use them precisely as-is.

And yes, if you could take a look at Binders, that would rock. My experience with Binders is very limited, but I have a lot of flavor associated with them in this particular empire. Essentially, the wizards of the Gavir have, within just the last few years, been given reason to believe that their original patron may still exist as a vestige. They've thrown considerable resources into reinvigorating the lost arts of pact magic amongst those minions talented enough for the task, as well as a few of them pursuing the Anima Mage's path, all in hopes of contacting their millenia-lost master and finding a way to reinstitute his power in the world.

Bibliomancer
2010-01-22, 05:04 PM
They're perfectly lovely. Thank you very much. I'll use them precisely as-is.

And yes, if you could take a look at Binders, that would rock. My experience with Binders is very limited, but I have a lot of flavor associated with them in this particular empire. Essentially, the wizards of the Gavir have, within just the last few years, been given reason to believe that their original patron may still exist as a vestige. They've thrown considerable resources into reinvigorating the lost arts of pact magic amongst those minions talented enough for the task, as well as a few of them pursuing the Anima Mage's path, all in hopes of contacting their millenia-lost master and finding a way to reinstitute his power in the world.

So...they worship a vestige? Interesting.

Out of curiosity, what else can you tell me about the setting (it won't affect the builds, but I'm inquisitive).

Twilight Jack
2010-01-22, 07:02 PM
So...they worship a vestige? Interesting.

Out of curiosity, what else can you tell me about the setting (it won't affect the builds, but I'm inquisitive).

Essentially, yeah, they do. Although they didn't know that until about a decade ago. The Gavir di Zezhauvdrilin are an exceedingly ancient cult, dedicated to reviving a wizard who tried to ascend to greater godhood and bring his 13 most powerful acolytes along as lesser deities, essentially creating an entire pantheon singlehandedly. It involved a lot of epic spellcasting and the near total subjugation of the entire Prime Material Plane, along with a giant cataclysm that wiped out 95% of the world's prior arcane and historical knowledge, standard high fantasy stuff.

Anyhow, it happened about 3,500 years ago and the cataclysmic goings on ensure that most of how it all went down is confined to myths and legends these days. The story the Gavir tell says that Hananduir succeeded in ascending, but not before being severely weakened by his remaining foes in the mortal world. A group of the other gods (many of whom he had made deals with to secure his place amongst them) used this moment of his ascension to betray him, as the ancient pacts preventing their direct intervention in the material world ceased to apply the moment he became one of them. Even in his weakened state they feared they could not kill him, nor could they strip him of the divinity he'd attained, so they placed him in eternal slumber and sequestered him away where he would never be found.

Throughout the three millenia since, the Gavir have been trying to track him down. For most of this time, they've been operating under the assumption that he was asleep somewhere on the Material Plane. Any of the other planes on the Great Wheel would have placed him within the reach of his remaining allies amongst the gods and archdevils, as would any demiplane prison any god might construct. All their research told them that only the Material Plane provided for a truly secure prison, due to the strictures of the Pact Primeval.

Obviously, no mortal magic could hope to uncover what the gods had hidden away, so the Gavir's pursuit of their master slowly eroded, especially as the cult's worldly power increased. In the past few centuries, their reverence to Zezhuavdrilin (their title for Hananduir) has been little more than lip service, coupled with the status within the order that comes with discovering a new bit of lore about his possible whereabouts.

On the other hand, the Gavir seized control of the mighty city of Annuvin about six hundred years ago, and have steadily expanded the city's reach in the time since. Today, Annuvin rules all territory from the Blackstaff Mountains to the Iskeben Sea, and the Gavir di Zezhuavdrilin rule Annuvin. It's not godhood, but it certainly doesn't suck.

Some 50 years ago, the ruling council of the Gavir ceded their highest seat to a wizard who claims to have been amongst them for centuries, although no one knew him. Only the inner circle of the council were supposedly privy to his true identity; the rest of the Empire merely spoke of him as the Porcelain Man, due to the exquisitely beautiful mask which covered his face at all times. Within the Gavir itself, he was referred to only by his title, Ipsissimus.

He began moving the cult even further away from pursuit of the Zezhuavdrilin, focusing their efforts on consolidating their arcane and military might to further expand their conquests. He was the most powerful member of the Gavir in thirty generations, and many amongst them whispered that the reason he was so uninterested in finding Hananduir is that he was Hananduir, escaped from the gods' prison by his own power.

A little more than ten years past, however, the most revolutionary discovery in the cult's history was made. An Adeptus within the Gavir was researching the lost magics of the time before the cataclysm, and rediscovered the art of pact magic. His studies left him with no doubt that the void of nonexistence was the true resting place of Hananduir, a place beyond the reach of both mortal magic and the gods themselves. Every clue that had seemed to point to the Material Plane led far more sensibly to this where that was nowhere. Of course, as the art of pact magic was lost to the cataclysm, knowing that Hananduir had been thrown into nonexistence was little good. His vestige would have to be discovered and contacted. Eagerly, he took his discovery to the council, that they might organize the entire cult towards the necessary arcane research.

The council, however, was not of one mind on what should be done about this revelation. The old guard Magi, still loyal to the stated purpose of the Gavir, wished to dedicate all the resources of their empire to the pursuit of Hananduir's vestige. The Porcelain Man and his allies, however, thought the information irrelevant in light of current events. "Let sleeping gods lie," Ipsissimus spat, "we stand at the threshold of ultimate might. Why wrench a failed godling of ages past out of his coffin so that he might claim that which we have earned without him?"

Needless to say, a schism formed within the Gavir. The old guard began dedicating their resources to rediscovering the lost arts of binding vestiges, while the Porcelain Man attempted to sabotage their efforts at every turn. Over the course of the next seven years, hundreds of subjects of the Empire were trained as Binders, with many of the wizards themselves learning how to incorporate this lore into their current arcane might.

After seven years, however, the Ipsissimus tired of subtlety. He struck out at his most powerful rivals within the council, beginning with the Magus Majiestera. He conjured an army of demons, men, and dragons to the walls of her citadel, the city of Blackmoor (so named in a shameless nod to Dave Arneson). They fell upon the whole of the city without mercy, and the Porcelain Man murdered the Magus within her own bedchambers. By morning, the entire city lay in ruins.

The rest of the Gavir marshalled their forces and struck back, and so began the Annuvian Civil War, about 4 years ago.

Wow, that was a lot of typing. Anything else you'd like to know?

reefwood
2010-01-22, 09:47 PM
I have to say that I'm enjoying this thread. It's given me some ideas, and I liked reading the background post. In particular, having higher level soldiers already statted out is a good idea, and going well that idea is the one of having an occasional bad*ss in the mix of regular soldiers.

I'm running what may loosely be called a campaign, and it takes place in a war setting. There is not much of a background, though. This campaign came about as a way to try out Pathfinder with the war setting simply being something new that we'd never done before .

We only play once every other month or so, and everyone is still at lower levels (PCs are 3rd right now). Soldiers on both sides are usually warriors. Low-level officers are either a higher level and/or multiclassed. Equipment is pretty standard military fare for everyone, but the PCs have a little extra leeway in specializing their gear, along with taking spoils from the battlefield. And the PCs aren't heroes. At least not yet. They started out as barely above run-in-the-mill soldiers and are bit higher than that right now but not by much.

The first battle had the PCs at 2nd level with each one in charge of three War1 soldiers (sword & shield) and a group of four War1 archers was on their side to control too. They were storming a beach. The whole coastline was being attacked, but of course, we just focused on the small sliver with the PCs, and this was actually the third wave of attack, so that's why the defending enemy didn't have huge numbers, and the big guns were busy defending more important sections of the beach. The enemy was made up of several (10-12?) Elven War1 archers, three Dwarven War1 soldiers, and a human War1 manning a low-powered ballista... originally I was going for a rapid-fire type weapon but due to its high damage output, opted to work in the opposite way and took a full-round to reload... in retrospect, I should have gone with the rapid-fire version. The enemy had a few terrain advantages, but the PCs equipped their grunts with tower shields which helped level the playing field.

The second adventure only had 2 PCs. Part of how this campaign is set up allows players and characters to jump in and out as they please. The only returning player/PC was in charge of a small division (which worked out nicely since this player is the one who least likes to be in charge of controlling multiple characters, so he could just tell the other player / new PC what needed to be done, and that second player sort of became second in command to do all the actual work, and he loved doing that sort of thing). Anyway, in addition to War1 soldiers and archers, the PCs had an NPC archer in charge of the archers (War1) and a healer (War1/Adept1), mage (War1/Adept1), and scout (War1/Exp1). Also, this session was a little bit more of the standard adventuring lines. While the main army marched to a major city, the PCs were sent to let smaller villages know who was in charge now. I introduced a [I]glyph of warding as a landmine and made the players super cautious (and this was something else that I thought about putting into the first session but didn't then wish I had). In the first village, they met resistance from the mayor and his kids (the town heroes = 3rd level PC classes with a higher level Adept or Adept/Exp as mayor), but after the battle (where the PCs were impressive), the rest of the people didn't care much who was in charge (this area had been conquered back & forth over the decades) as long as they could live relatively undisturbed. Since the PCs killed the mayor, part of the challenge was finding the right person to leave in charge. They went with the captain of the guard (the middle choice by my standards) and did it so quickly that the other two options didn't even come into play (a corrupt merchant and wise working woman). The second village was abandoned. The division split up with half following a trail into the forest where they were attacked by zombies. They were tired from the long travel and retreated from the forest but camped out there rather than continuing back to the village. When they awoke, some of their soldiers had gone missing (including those on watch), and that freaked out the players. Soon after, one of the soldiers awoken from healing ran off into the forest, and the players dared not follow. They were even more freaked out when they got back to the second village, and the soldiers left behind were also missing. In the end, only one PC (Wiz3) escaped the area. Everyone under his command had gone missing.

We are now in the middle of the third adventure. Two PCs (Human Drd3 & Warforged Ftr3) returned from the first adventure. They are in charge and each has "the best man" from his respective division (Human Clr2 cavalry and Warforged Ftr2 infantry-buster). The surviving PC (Wiz3) from is leading the way, and they also have a Clr3 (other player from second adventure). Everyone was given a mount, but only the two cavalrymen are any good on them. The first battle pitted them against a mix of 10 War2 (Human swordsmen, Half-orc spearmen, Half-elven archers) led by a Gnome Bard. It was a pretty tight fight at times with the big gun PC going down once or twice, but the PCs mopped up in the end.

Gosh, that was much more than I expected to type too.

Bibliomancer
2010-01-22, 09:51 PM
Nope, that more or less covers it. Oh, except...is the war ongoing? How are the PCs related to it, and how much do they know? A brief summary would be OK, although additional details are always informative.

Interesting back story for the campaign, by the way. Well thought out.

Here's a stab at the Binders:

1st
Str 14
Con 15
Dex 10
Int 12
Wis 8
Cha 13
HP: 10
AC: 14 (Chain shirt +4)
BAB: +0
Attack: Longspear +2 Melee (1d8+2, x3) or horns +3 Melee (1d6+3, +1d8 on a charge, x2)
Saves: Fort: +4, Ref: +0, Will: +1
Skills: Listen +1, Sense Motive +3, Spot +1, Ride +2
Feats: Favored Vestige (Amon), Weapon Focus (Horns)
Equipment: Chain Shirt, 2 Potions of Invisibility, Longspear
Vestige: Amon
Vestige Abilities: 20 feet line of fire once every 5 rounds (2d6, Ref 11 for half), Darkvision 30 feet

A new student to pact magic, a binder of this level is focused on Amon, the void before the altar, practically to the exclusion of all else. Their survival rate is not spectacularly high, but then the ruling wizards are pursuing the path of Anima Mage, and so are merely using this as an excuse to test vestige abilities in combat, as well as find a use for certain element too unstable to be officers but too charismatic to be shock troopers.3rd
Str 14
Con 15
Dex 10
Int 12
Wis 8
Cha 13
HP: 23
AC: 15 (+1 Chain shirt +5)
BAB: +2
Attack: Longspear +5 Melee (1d8+2, x3) or horns +6 Melee (1d6+3, +1d8 on a charge, x2)
Saves: Fort: +5, Ref: +1, Will: +2
Skills: Listen +3, Sense Motive +5, Spot +3, Ride +2
Feats: Favored Vestige (Amon), Weapon Focus (Horns), Favored Vestige Focus (Amon)
Equipment: +1 Chain Shirt, 2 Potions of Invisibility, Longspear
Vestige: Amon
Vestige Abilities: 40 feet line of fire once every 5 rounds (4d6, Ref 13 for half), Darkvision 30 feet
Pact Augmentation: +1 to attack rolls5th
a7th
a9th
a

Only had time for 1st and 3rd. I'll do the others later today or tomorrow.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-22, 11:00 PM
Nope, that more or less covers it. Oh, except...is the war ongoing? How are the PCs related to it, and how much do they know? A brief summary would be OK, although additional details are always informative.

Interesting back story for the campaign, by the way. Well thought out.



The war is still ongoing. It's consuming the entire empire, with neither side gaining much ground. As far as numbers are concerned, the old guard Gavir have a marked advantage. Most of the old and powerful wizards came down on the side of the Zezhuavdrilin. The loyalists have the bigger armies, by virtue of controlling more of the large cities in the empire, holding the entirety of the central and southern regions. They've also conscripted the majority of the able-bodied males to serve as cannon fodder. Of course, the war could have been over long ago, one way or the other, if the wizards themselves took the field. The Gavir themselves are all very into their own self-preservation, so any wizard above Dominus-grade (read: 11th level or higher) is keeping to their heavily warded citadels and letting their armies do the majority of the fighting.

By contrast, the Porcelain Man is the most powerful wizard in the empire, by a pretty substantial margin. He has far fewer powerful wizards standing with him, though, and a much smaller dedicated fighting force. He currently holds only the capital city of Annuvin and its surrounding territory along the northern edge of the empire. On the other hand, he has far fewer reservations about getting his hands dirty personally. Every now and then, he just shows up at a loyalist city with an army of men and tanar'ri and razes the place to the ground, killing everyone. In the meantime, his main army holds their small territory with abyssal support and superior defensive terrain.

The loyalists are beginning to realize that their only real chance to bring this to a close is an all-out assault on the city of Annuvin, with all 24 of the surviving loyalist Magisters and Magi (the rank awarded to those wizards capable of casting 8th and 9th level spells, respectively) attempting to personally confront and destroy the Porcelain Man. They hesitate because they know that this course of action would be a one-way trip for many of them, and none of them have any guarantees that they'll be among the survivors. Level 15+ Lawful Evil wizards don't get where they are by taking those sorts of risks.

Of course, there's always plan A. Keep the war going on just long enough to discover the vestige of Hananduir, then devise a ritual to reinstate him to full existence. They've already got a pretty good idea of how such a feat could be accomplished, but they've got to find him in the infinite expanse of nowhere first. He is, after all, a vestige that has never been bound, so it's not as if they're going to find his seal and summoning instructions in any tome.

The PCs know the basics of the war's progress to this point, but not the details of why the Gavir are suddenly so interested in vestiges, nor the reason for the schism between the Porcelain Man and the loyalists. They are from a somewhat more enlightened nation on the other side of the Blackstaff Mountains and originally made the journey to investigate the recent resurgence of pact magic in the empire of Annuvin on behalf of the church of Gwydion. Two of the PCs are members of the church (a Cloistered Cleric and a Crusader), and they are accompanied by an elven Ranger and a young human Conjurer who was born in the Annuvian city of Barrow. He was 15 when the war broke out, the son of a chamber maid in an inn. He was conscripted, but couldn't face the prospect of dying on the end of a sword. He deserted and wound up being rescued from certain death by a wizard from the neighboring nation and taken in as an apprentice. Without burdening you with the entire campaign journal, his mentor turned out to be a bastard and now he's loosed on the world.

Both the Cleric and the Crusader were born in Annuvin (the empire, not the city itself) as well, which is why they were chosen for this mission (they know the language and the culture). But now they're back in Barrow, and the Conjurer and his elven lover (the Ranger) have decided they're not content to merely investigate Binders. They want to do something about the hideous oppression under which the people live, and the Conjurer is further motivated by the desire to get his mother and little sister out of the empire. So they're attempting to engineer a resistance against the Gavir. Under normal circumstances, this would be an impossible undertaking. The Gavir tend to crush any hint of insurrection without mercy, but the war has the majority of their attention directed towards the north, and the most powerful wizard currently in Barrow is the Dominus Inquisitor, who's more powerful than them but not by too much. Later in the campaign, they will likely become more active participants in the larger struggle, but for now they're just trying to oppose the rule of the Gavir within a single small city.

Smythen
2010-01-25, 07:29 AM
Can you post the material you have made yourself?
Im going to DM soon and im sick of using monsters all the time, violence between humans is much more interesting from a roleplaying point of view.
This thread is very usefull, thx very much to everyone for their good work.

Twilight Jack
2010-01-25, 10:11 AM
Can you post the material you have made yourself?
Im going to DM soon and im sick of using monsters all the time, violence between humans is much more interesting from a roleplaying point of view.
This thread is very usefull, thx very much to everyone for their good work.

I'll format some stuff for the forum and post it in a few hours. I'd love to help.