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Silus
2011-01-14, 03:36 PM
Ok, I'm going to be rather vague here with the details, as the people playing in my upcoming campaign frequent these boards.

I just finished making the BBEG for my campaign. He's a Factotum/Ur Priest with a pinch of two other classes. Now comes the part that I'm a bit sketchy on. I'm not sure how to properly outfit the Big Bad. Should I stick to a gold limit, or just go on a shopping spree and rill up the magic item slots?

I'm not going to be giving him intelligent items or artifacts, but I want them to have pretty high end stuff (Bracers of Armor +8 for example). This is my first time making a Big Bad, so a little guidance would be appreciated. He'll be introduced as a lvl 20 vs four lvl 10's (who were given a crazy amount of leeway in their character creation).

Thank ya'll in advance for the advice and guidance.

Edit: I suppose there's no harm giving out the basic info for the BBEG...

Human Factotum 8/Ur Priest 10/Mindbender 1/Wizard 1
Took the Able Learner feat and dumped like 80% of my skill points in Hide, Move Silently, Spellcraft, and Concentration. Along with grabbing the Mindsight feat, not only can he hide like nobody's business, but he can also blindsense anything with a brain within 100 feet.

Chilingsworth
2011-01-14, 03:40 PM
What books are you using (including any campaign-specific sourcebooks)?

Silus
2011-01-14, 03:47 PM
What books are you using (including any campaign-specific sourcebooks)?

To be honest, like.....everything. I told the players that any book that was "official" was open and that they could mix/match any class/race/template combo up to level 5.

I currently have some magic items for the BBEG, but I mostly pulled those from the Magic Item Compendium and the DM Guide.

Chilingsworth
2011-01-14, 03:54 PM
Ok, well two of my personal favorites are the ring of evasion (unless he alreay had evasion from class levels) and a ring of entropic deflection (with boots of striding and springing so you get a 50% miss chance against ranged weapons attacks if you move at least 10ft in a round.) Blast Globes are handy "grenades" and in theory, you could have several sets readied and launch them all at once. There's the usual magic weapons. I'd go for magic light armor over the bracers of armor, myself. +5 Mithral chain shirt is a +9 to AC for less than the cost of the +8 bracers. Also, you can add flat cost abilities like healing and greater healing onto it. You can add deflection to one of the rings as per the rules in the Magic Item Compendium. Other than that, I can't think of too much at the moment.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If I think of anything else, I'll mention it if it isn't mentioned by someone else first. Good Luck!

Crow
2011-01-14, 04:00 PM
Ring of Freedom of Movement is usually quite nice.

Diarmuid
2011-01-14, 04:02 PM
Just remember...anything you give him will likely end up in the loot pile of the PC's if they beat him.

Silus
2011-01-14, 04:06 PM
*Laughs* On my current list I got the Ring of Evasion, and using Ring of Freedom of Movement alongside it, along with the previously mentioned boots. Got Goggles of Draconic Vision, Cloak of Displacement, Major; Belt of Endurance, Periapt of Wisdom +6 and Bracers of Armor +8 as well.

Defiantly gonna give him magic armor (though I don't wanna get too buckwild with the AC as I want the PC's to actually be able to him him a bit at level 10. He's got 22 AC without actual armor right now...), but I'm kinda worried about the weapon he'll use.

Silus
2011-01-14, 04:09 PM
Just remember...anything you give him will likely end up in the loot pile of the PC's if they beat him.

Well he's gonna be introduced as a lvl 20 with the ability to do two standard actions in an encounter and cast up to a level 9 divine spells. I plan on giving him 10-11 levels and the Half Far Spawn template during the final fight as well, so I doubt I'll have to worry much about the PC's killing him early.

Zherog
2011-01-14, 04:14 PM
*Laughs* On my current list I got the Ring of Evasion, and using Ring of Freedom of Movement alongside it, along with the previously mentioned boots. Got Goggles of Draconic Vision, Cloak of Displacement, Major; Belt of Endurance, Periapt of Wisdom +6 and Bracers of Armor +8 as well.

Defiantly gonna give him magic armor (though I don't wanna get too buckwild with the AC as I want the PC's to actually be able to him him a bit at level 10. He's got 22 AC without actual armor right now...), but I'm kinda worried about the weapon he'll use.

Bracers of armor and actual armor don't stack - they both grant an armor bonus to AC.

Silus
2011-01-14, 04:16 PM
Bracers of armor and actual armor don't stack - they both grant an armor bonus to AC.

Ah, ok. Suppose I should switch them for the Bracers of Dex =P

CaeruliusVentus
2011-01-14, 04:34 PM
It blows the gold limit out of the water, but the MIC has the robe of the magi or something like that. Basically every essential item for a caster fully maxed out and it takes up only one item location. The trade off is it costs 200,000 gp. But putting one of those on a BBEG means you can focus on getting more flavor items or fun stuff to mess with PC's heads.

Silus
2011-01-14, 04:38 PM
It blows the gold limit out of the water, but the MIC has the robe of the magi or something like that. Basically every essential item for a caster fully maxed out and it takes up only one item location. The trade off is it costs 200,000 gp. But putting one of those on a BBEG means you can focus on getting more flavor items or fun stuff to mess with PC's heads.

I took a look at that. Might be a little much for the first encounter. Maybe save that for the second date =P

Cieyrin
2011-01-14, 04:51 PM
It blows the gold limit out of the water, but the MIC has the robe of the magi or something like that. Basically every essential item for a caster fully maxed out and it takes up only one item location. The trade off is it costs 200,000 gp. But putting one of those on a BBEG means you can focus on getting more flavor items or fun stuff to mess with PC's heads.

Vest of the Archmagi is what you're thinking of.

As for the Armor vs. Bracers argument, with the way the MIC rules work, you could have both Armor and Bracers and just fill the Bracer's enhancement bonus with good armor special abilities, if you run out of enhancement bonii on the armor. Since the armor bonus is a common bonus, you can add it to any set of bracers at cost, so it works out pretty nice.

peacenlove
2011-01-14, 06:37 PM
Give him items/feats that grant him rerolls on attacks/saves. Nothing is more dissapointing than a 1 on a save vs polymorph (difficult to defend against btw)
Since you play on a high powered campaign, taint (heroes of horror) gives 4 bonus feats with some drawbacks and devotion to an elder evil (elder evils) gives 5 bonus feats. These could be used to tank his defenses or give him many abilities.
Undeath is a decent defense, however in practice most players will find many ways to make this a disadvantage to the villain (example: disruption mace and the aforementioned 1 on the save, sunburst, disintegrate, polymorph any object).
Look for powerful once / day powers/abilities from items. Magic Item Compendium has a hefty amount of them.
Accompany him with minions with similar mindset. A shadowcaster with 2 quicken empower and maximize metashadow feats and 9th level mysteries (or a psion with schism and linked power) is a barely contained supernova.
As a good villain he should be prebuffed with potions and buffs from underlings / crafted grafts / inherent bonuses rather than rely on items which could be used against him at the second confrontation with the PC's.
A ring of (greater) counterspells and some spellblades (from players guide to faerun i think) vs dispel tactics is also necessary, unless you play pathfinder where dispel magic got nerfed hard.
A precasted chain contingency (from tome and blood, i don't remember if it was updated) will trigger 3 6th level spells, that will help him escape no matter what.

The_Jackal
2011-01-14, 06:43 PM
Will the campaign be over when Mr. BBEG dies? Because otherwise, you need to make sure you don't give him anything you don't want the players to have.

Silus
2011-01-14, 09:21 PM
Will the campaign be over when Mr. BBEG dies? Because otherwise, you need to make sure you don't give him anything you don't want the players to have.

Yes, if the BBEG dies, the campaign is pretty much over. There are always ways around it, of course (crazy-powerful illusion, clone, ect.), but when I made the character, I was mostly thinking of ways for him to survive. With his magic items and feats, he can move at 45-feet per round and drop a Summon Monster 9 while doing so. Nothing stalls for you like 1d3 Barbed Devils that can summon in more Devils.

Defiantly going to need potions and expendables though. (Blackwater Domain Draught? Lvl 9 spell is summon a Fiendish Kraken)

Only problem I think is that this guy isn't big on the "stand and fight" thing. He's like....a magic plane hopping Carmen Sandiego. Get in, grab the thing, get out.

Chilingsworth
2011-01-15, 08:20 AM
Yes, if the BBEG dies, the campaign is pretty much over. There are always ways around it, of course (crazy-powerful illusion, clone, ect.), but when I made the character, I was mostly thinking of ways for him to survive. With his magic items and feats, he can move at 45-feet per round and drop a Summon Monster 9 while doing so. Nothing stalls for you like 1d3 Barbed Devils that can summon in more Devils.

Defiantly going to need potions and expendables though. (Blackwater Domain Draught? Lvl 9 spell is summon a Fiendish Kraken)

Only problem I think is that this guy isn't big on the "stand and fight" thing. He's like....a magic plane hopping Carmen Sandiego. Get in, grab the thing, get out.

I don't think summoned devils can summon more devils. Still, 1d3 barbed devils should tie the party up anyway.

Zherog
2011-01-15, 10:05 AM
I don't think summoned devils can summon more devils. Still, 1d3 barbed devils should tie the party up anyway.

This is correct.


A summoned creature cannot use any innate summoning abilities it may have, and it refuses to cast any spells that would cost it XP, or to use any spell-like abilities that would cost XP if they were spells.

Toliudar
2011-01-15, 12:19 PM
If defeating the BBEG means that the campaign ends, then I guess you can give him whatever you want. I find aberration/undead/draconic/outsider/whatever grafts are a great way to give a villain a useful item that PC's can't easily scoop up after and use for themselves. Plus flavourful, badass and creepy.

Keinnicht
2011-01-15, 04:00 PM
In the nonmagical realm:

I like to give any reasonable high-up bad guy with character levels some kind of flavor item. Not worth too much, just an art object the PCs can sell. Think of Xykon's crown, for example. Or a bunch of gigantic ornate rings, or something.

Cieyrin
2011-01-15, 04:17 PM
In the nonmagical realm:

I like to give any reasonable high-up bad guy with character levels some kind of flavor item. Not worth too much, just an art object the PCs can sell. Think of Xykon's crown, for example. Or a bunch of gigantic ornate rings, or something.

Make it classy. A hollowed out elephant tusk pipe. :smallbiggrin:

Myth
2011-01-16, 06:51 AM
Remember that a single level 20 character should be a deadly encounter for 4 level 10s unless they are cheezing trough the roof. That being said, if you pull his punches so he doesn't TPK them in one round, be sure to have some purchased Crafted Contingencies. Greater Teleport and the likes.

Also, if he can hide that well pump up his Sleight of Hand. Have him slip a Necklace of Strangulation on the party's Wizard. That's a great way to start the encounter - they'll be up against him and they'll have to beat him before the Wizad dies of constriction.

You can also have him wield a staff with custom spells. Something like a staff with Time Stop and the likes.

Silus
2011-01-18, 11:19 PM
Remember that a single level 20 character should be a deadly encounter for 4 level 10s unless they are cheezing trough the roof. That being said, if you pull his punches so he doesn't TPK them in one round, be sure to have some purchased Crafted Contingencies. Greater Teleport and the likes.

Also, if he can hide that well pump up his Sleight of Hand. Have him slip a Necklace of Strangulation on the party's Wizard. That's a great way to start the encounter - they'll be up against him and they'll have to beat him before the Wizad dies of constriction.

You can also have him wield a staff with custom spells. Something like a staff with Time Stop and the likes.

Well he's going to be like a Planar Carmen Sandiego, hopping the planes and causing all sorts of chaos (Stealing the Pact Primeval, jacking up the laws on Mechanus, opening "escape" portals on Carceri, ect. ect..). Methinks I'll give him a custom magic item that is similar to the Ankh from Warcraft 3. In the event of being killed, the item Planar Shifts the wearer to a previously specified plane and performs a True Resurrection, then is rendered useless.

"But....we killed you!"
"I got better."