Help with my BBEG

[Joshinthemosh]

So in an upcoming one shot/campaign I am trying to make a ranking military officer betray his LN nation. His former nation is sending criminals(my PCs) as the first wave to try and eliminate him because they can't sully their lawful little hands. All the while getting a look at how strong the BBEG is.

Disclaimer: 3.X and Pathfinder material where it helps. All books are on limits. level 13 build for this BBEG

So questions

1st-Batman Sorcerer? Is it possible? I presume so but obiviously a Wizard has more options..... The current build is Pathfinder Sorcerer 7/Marshal 1/War Weaver 5. It will lose two caster levels this way. The first is for flavor the second because War Weaver dictates it. Ideas for a similarly military themed Sorcerer if you have better ideas? Also race ideas? I know that he will be a minority race but that race can be anything.

2nd-I really think that this guy has the Leadership feat. High Cha score, a military officer etc. But my prior DMs have banned the feat for obivious reasons so I really don't have experience with how the dang thing works and how to keep it balanced for a 8th to 9th level campaign. Someone kindly explain?

Thanks

[mabriss lethe]

Since he's the BBEG, he doesn't really need the Leadership feat (that's for players, unnecessary for a villain.) Just give him a couple of bodyguard lackeys that are 2-3 levels lower and a gaggle of disposable minions for the encounter.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Sorcerers do best with a Dragonblood race, many of which can be found in Dragon Magic. Races of the Dragon has a few, but they're all reptilian in appearance and may be a bit too out of the ordinary. Dragon Magic has the Silverbrow Human, which loses the racial skill points but gets Feather Fall 1+(1/5 level) per day as a spell-like ability, and always has Disguise as a class skill, plus the dragonblood subtype. Use the Draconic Aura feat from that same book instead of a Marshal dip. I'd pick Stamina for marching troops, or Toughness to grant DR 2/Magic to his men, which can make a world of difference in a large battle. Also consider using the Dragonblood Sorcerer racial substitution levels in Races of the Dragon.

I'm not familiar with Pathfinder spells, but I know in standard 3.5 a Sorcerer's advantage over a Wizard is that they can get spells from every school, whereas a Wizard typically specializes and misses out on a few useful spells due to dropping a school. For example, Enchantment has spells like Power Word: Pain, Ray of Stupidity, and Ray of Dizziness, all extremely powerful spells. Evocation is easier to lose, but in the high levels you can't use Greater Shadow Evocation to copy Iceberg or Invoke Magic. In any case, he should get a Circlet of Rapid Casting from MIC for low-level crowd control spells like Web and Glitterdust (or PF equivalent).

I'll agree that giving him some lieutenants and bodyguards would be more appropriate than wasting a feat on Leadership. He has a DM-given role in society that makes people follow him loyally, taking Leadership would be redundant.

Due to the dragonblood-theme, maybe give him a Dragonkin guard from the Draconomicon. They have a notoriously low CR, especially if you add 'nonassociated' class levels like Bard, though I'm not sure if the PF CR system has fixed that. A Dragonkin Bard 8 with the elite array is only CR 7, and you can give him a Badge of Valor (MIC), the feat Song of the Heart (ECS), and the spell Inspirational Boost (SC) to grant everyone a +5 IC bonus. Give him the feat Large and In Charge from Draconomicon, along with Combat Reflexes and a spiked chain, which it gains proficiency with for free as soon as you write it into the stat block as per creature types.

Another lieutenant can be a Dragonfire Adept from Dragon Magic, with the Entangling Exhalation feat in Races of the Dragon, to keep all the opponents severely debuffed. He should use a longspear and have Combat Reflexes as well, since it will already be difficult for their opponents to maneuver into a tactically advantageous position.

His other mooks can be Gnome Fighter 6's with heavy shields and the Titan Fighting feat from Races of Stone, so their Dodge feat grants +4 against a target bigger than they are instead of the standard +1. They should take the Efficient Defender feat in Cityscape, and trade Ride for Tumble (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) as a class skill along with the Swift Tumbler feat also in Cityscape. They should have Combat Reflexes and use Weapon Finesse with Broadblade Shortswords in Complete Adventurer, and wear light or medium armor to better benefit from a high Dex.