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Malfunctioned
2011-02-25, 07:41 PM
So I'm running a newbie game for some friends soon and I've got most of it planned out.

The only problem is that I'm having trouble thinking about how I'm going to build the BBEG.

The image that I have for him is a young, handsome noble of some kind. He's rich and charismatic but also incredibly immature and spoilt.

Essentially his backstory, in brief anyway, is this.

A powerful king pledged his land to whichever of his sons proved the most capable. He ended up giving it to his second born, which angered the third born immensely (this being the BBEG). He attempted to kill the new heir in a fit of rage and for this was banished.

He set about attempting to gain control of what he feels is rightfully his, and the rest of the world whilst he's at it, and in his journeys he managed to gather a group of like-minded individuals with him. When he returned he was suddenly much more powerful and the new king didn't stand a chance. Now the rest of the world is next. It is also noted that he carried with him a golden orb that seemed to radiate power.


So yeah. That's badly written but I hope it gets the idea across. I was thinking of making him a bard with a focus on Perform: Oratory but I wasn't too sure. Any advice on how he might come across to you?

And yes. He does hold the Gold Orb of Dragonkind.

Runestar
2011-02-25, 07:56 PM
You could make him the thrall of some demon lord or archdevil (ie: the class lvs from dragon/BOVD), which could explain his sudden increase in power.

Or maybe warlock, refluffing the class to represent pacts with darker powers. Perhaps even some sort of warlock/hellfire warlock/thrall of X combination?

Here is an article of one such person. Scroll down for Davoren Hellsheart.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070314

He could easily be anything. When you say power increase, what sort are we looking at here? Physical or magical?

Malfunctioned
2011-02-25, 08:31 PM
I should of mentioned, It's a core only game.
I may use the pact with a demon lord thing though....


And the increase is both physical and magical. He's basically become an increased version of himself, which probably fits his selfish nature.

Runestar
2011-02-25, 10:37 PM
One idea is to use the stats for a demon lord or archdevil aspect, and reskin it to be your prince.

Only irritating thing is that so many of them are large sized.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070216a

At first glance, dispater or levistus seem the most fitting, being cr10 and medium sized.

Vknight
2011-02-25, 11:09 PM
I would agree to that. Also if core only, I believe there is a 'Graft' in one of the core books give him that demon stuff and a graft for one arm.

Crossblade
2011-02-26, 12:32 AM
Ok, first since it's a newbie game, don't optimize the BBEG too much. Second, there are no grafts in DMG, PHB, MM. (Closest to core for grafts are Races of Dragon and Libris Mortis)

Third, for building a core BBEG, what is the party made up of? Depending on how good or bad the group of players is at optimizing can really affect the ideal BBEG. From what I read, I'd make him a high Cha Barbarian (rage and what not); no that isn't usually the important stat for a Barb, but the most interesting characters are usually the ones that don't fit the mold. If you're opposed to Barbarian, you can go Bard... or heck, even CR +4 Aristocrat could be a tough battle if he has mooks.

Vknight
2011-02-26, 12:43 AM
Thats part of the reason I pointed out you should include it if its in one of the core books, because I was forgeting.

Also every BBEG should have 25% of him built out of cheese.