[3.PF] Building a Master of Illusion Boss

[Mr. Zolrane]

Okay, so I've been brainstorming boss encounters for an upcoming Pathfinder campaign and I was wondering if anyone can help me with this idea. I want to make a boss that can essentially turn an entire room into an illusory funhouse that will confound and delay the players while another adversary completes a ritual. I would like it to be a Bard, mostly for flavor reasons, but anything will do. What I need is advice on the proper spells to give him, as well as tactics.

The room:

A rectangular room with four pairs of columns and parapets between. The windows, as well as part of the ceiling are stained glass (not really relevant, just for atmosphere).

The objective:

Stall the players with illusions in massive quantities, preferably ones powerful enough to change the appearance of the room itself.

Thoughts?

EDIT: Also, I have access to the following sources:

SRD
PFSRD
Complete Arcane

[Zaq]

Stall the players . . . for what purpose? Until the BBEG has finished his Evil Plot Ritual? Until the BBEG has maneuvered his minions in the perfect position for a blitz strike? Until the party gets bored? Until the BBEG has gotten away and planted enough evidence on the PCs to frame them for his nefarious deeds?

Basically, what do you want these illusions to DO? WHY does the bad guy want to use them to hold the PCs where they are?

EDIT: I can't read. To stall for time while another bad guy completes a ritual. I swear I read the opening paragraph. Let me think for a minute.

OK, so, if this fellow uses illusions, that's great, but what happens if one PC breaks through? Making it very difficult is fine, but PCs always tend to find a way to see through your illusions, and you need a contingency plan for if that happens on, say, round 2. (I do think that the players should get some kind of victory for that . . . and if they manage to either get away or muscle past this guy, depending on how you've got the place set up, you need to be prepared for if they burst in on the ritual before it's complete.)

What if the PCs don't see through the illusions per se, but say "to hell with these weird traps and monsters he's summoned, I'm going after him anyway" and just charge through?

Basically, you need to plan out what's going to happen if the PCs don't even try to get through the illusions and are just beguiled over and over, what happens if they break through in several different manners, what happens if they break through immediately, and so on.

Also, is this fellow going to fight to the death, or is he going to try to escape? Illusions can be very good for that sort of thing, depending on what direction you want to take that in.

What level are the PCs?

[Absol197]

If you're not adverse to Homebrewed stuff, I made a metamagic feat that really helps with this for my illusionist BBEG:

Microcosm (Metamagic)
You can wrap your illusions around people's minds like a shroud, causing them to experience it as if it were real.
Prerequisites: Int 15
Benefit: You may apply this metamagic feat to any illusion (glamer) spell you cast. By adding a phantasm component, subjects that interact with your illusion sense it as real. For instance, by casting illusory wall Microcosm to mask an open archway in a wall, creatures that touch the "wall" that they see feel an actual wall. In reality, the creature actually unknowingly bends down to touch the floor, reaches over the archway (if it can reach) to touch the wall above, or some other similar action. The creature, and any other creature affected by the Microcosm, does not realize this and instead sees the target as touching the illusory wall.

Any creature affected by a Microcosm is treated as interacting with it, and so are allowed a Will save to negate the Microcosm and disbelieve the illusion. Creatures that succeed are aware of the illusory nature of the objects they see (As long as they interact with them normally, such as by touching them), and notice the strange behaviors of those still affected by the Microcosm.

Microcosms that stretch the illusion too far, such as an illusion of a castle in midair, when no other solid surfaces are around for affected creatures to substitute for the objects they see, fail, and the spell is wasted. A Microcosm adds the phantasm descriptor, and is a mind-affecting effect. A Microcosm takes up a spell slot four level higher than the spell's normal level.

Basically, you mix phantasm elements into a glamer, and cause people to subconsciously interact with neaby objects as if they were the illusory objects that you created. The current level adjustment for this feat is Spell Level + 4, but I never really balanced it, so it might be anywhere from +3 to +5.

The character who invented this feat was the Master of Illusion at the world's greatest Wizard's College. Some of the fun uses he put it to:

Casting mirage arcana so that all of the doors out of his library lead right back into his library (an inescapable room sort of thing).

Invisibility Microcosm so that people subconsciously avoid him while he's invisible, making it almost impossible to run into him accidentally.

This is a stretch, but making it so that anyone who enters his office without his permission feels as though they're lost in a swirling black void, being constantly dragged by some unknown force farther and farther away from the door back into the College. In reality, they're just flailing around on the floor.

In the final climactic battle between the PC's army and his army, he cast another mirage arcana to make it seem as though he had plane shifted everyone on the battle field to a forest in the middle of the Plane of Shadow, which demoralized about half of the players' army ("This guy can plane shift armies?!?! I'm out of here!")

[Mr. Zolrane]

EDIT: I can't read. To stall for time while another bad guy completes a ritual. I swear I read the opening paragraph.

It's okay, I lapse in that area sometimes too:smalltongue:


OK, so, if this fellow uses illusions, that's great, but what happens if one PC breaks through? Making it very difficult is fine, but PCs always tend to find a way to see through your illusions, and you need a contingency plan for if that happens on, say, round 2. (I do think that the players should get some kind of victory for that . . . and if they manage to either get away or muscle past this guy, depending on how you've got the place set up, you need to be prepared for if they burst in on the ritual before it's complete.)

Oh, by all means, if they find a way out they've earned the right to bust in there and mess jank up. I haven't planned out (yet alone statted up) the specifics of that eventuality yet, but it's a definite possibility.


What if the PCs don't see through the illusions per se, but say "to hell with these weird traps and monsters he's summoned, I'm going after him anyway" and just charge through?

Basically, you need to plan out what's going to happen if the PCs don't even try to get through the illusions and are just beguiled over and over, what happens if they break through in several different manners, what happens if they break through immediately, and so on.

One thing in particular I want to do is have so many illusory doubles of the boss that the only way to find out which one was real if you failed your save to disbelieve would be to start shooting them one at a time. Additionally he's going to say and do all sorts of things to distract their attention away from him. After a few rounds he might say "All this time and you haven't even bothered to look on the ceiling." When one of them inevitably does, I'm going to have them catch a glimpse in the corner of their eye of something scurrying up on the ceiling. It will, of course, be another illusion. Maybe ambush them with something that likes to chill on the ceiling sometime prior to make them extra paranoid :smallamused:[/quote]


Also, is this fellow going to fight to the death, or is he going to try to escape? Illusions can be very good for that sort of thing, depending on what direction you want to take that in.

He has no intentions of dying and lacks the raw power required to pull off a TPK singlehandedly. He merely wishes to stall them so his boss can take care of business.


What level are the PCs?

I dunno where exactly they'll be by then. Probably 7-8.

[maysarahs]

I take it you probably don't want to use the shadowcraft trick of making illusions realer than reality?

You could use hallucinatory terrain to make more pillars (and the existing ones invisible), invisible spell(is that in the SRD?) shadow conjuration (wall of stone) to make them bump into invisible walls, minor image to make a maze of stone walls, you could try to pass him off as a conjuror until the last moment? you could try to make a maze of mirrors? im not sure what the rules for that would be. alternatively, fill a room with fog(IIRC you can only move half your speed in a fog?), and real walls of something, and slow their progress with illusory dead ends and real ones?

[Zaq]

How long in advance will he know that the PCs are coming? What will he know about the PCs specifically at that point? Tailoring illusions specifically to the audience can be a delightfully effective strategy if you can justify it in-character.

Also, will the room be illusioned up the wazoo before they walk in the door, or is he going to snap his fingers and remake the room as he pleases?

[Absol197]

Level 7 to 8?

Hmm, then my feat's not going to be much help. You may like a bard best, but wizard or sorcerer is going to be the only way to get illusions strong enough to hold them off for long enough. Even if you give him 3 levels on the party (which would mean his boss likely has even more), a bard still only has 3rd-level spells. The best illusion bards have at that level is major image, which requires concentration.

A wizard at that same level would have access to great illusions like mirage arcana and veil, which will really help out your cause.

A good strategy for this guy, if you're dead set on going bard, is to have lots of Use Magic Device, and scrolls of higher level illusions, then go invisible and use ventriloquism in order to throw his voice. That way, he can talk to the party, and they will never know where he actually is. He can even have the incantations from his spells be ventriloqisted, which is nice.

Having illusory summoned creatures is actually rather difficult: the best way is either major image, but that requires concentration, like I said earlier, so you get one monster at a time, or programmed image, which will act like a creature for a short time on its own, without needing concentration. Programmed image, unfortunately, is a 6th-level spell; available to your Wizard 11, but not a Bard 11.

EDIT: As others above have said, having an idea of what the party is like in advance, as well as having things set up beforehand, is almost necessary to pull this off well. I always forget about shadow conjuration; gthat's a good one you should look into. I personally like the "maze of mirrors" idea.

[Mr. Zolrane]

I take it you probably don't want to use the shadowcraft trick of making illusions realer than reality?

You could use hallucinatory terrain to make more pillars (and the existing ones invisible), invisible spell(is that in the SRD?) shadow conjuration (wall of stone) to make them bump into invisible walls, minor image to make a maze of stone walls, you could try to pass him off as a conjuror until the last moment? you could try to make a maze of mirrors? im not sure what the rules for that would be. alternatively, fill a room with fog(IIRC you can only move half your speed in a fog?), and real walls of something, and slow their progress with illusory dead ends and real ones?

All good ideas. I'm also open to homebrewing the room up to amplify his illusory powers as well.


How long in advance will he know that the PCs are coming? What will he know about the PCs specifically at that point? Tailoring illusions specifically to the audience can be a delightfully effective strategy if you can justify it in-character.

Also, will the room be illusioned up the wazoo before they walk in the door, or is he going to snap his fingers and remake the room as he pleases?

Good questions. He'll know their coming well enough in advance to do whatever his wicked little heart desires in preparation. He'll have intimate details into the life of the ranger, I dunno about the others yet.

And I haven't decided if they'll find the room like that. Probably not; I think it'll be scarier to have the room transform before their very eyes.


Level 7 to 8?

Hmm, then my feat's not going to be much help. You may like a bard best, but wizard or sorcerer is going to be the only way to get illusions strong enough to hold them off for long enough. Even if you give him 3 levels on the party (which would mean his boss likely has even more), a bard still only has 3rd-level spells. The best illusion bards have at that level is major image, which requires concentration.

A wizard at that same level would have access to great illusions like mirage arcana and veil, which will really help out your cause.

A good strategy for this guy, if you're dead set on going bard, is to have lots of Use Magic Device, and scrolls of higher level illusions, then go invisible and use ventriloquism in order to throw his voice. That way, he can talk to the party, and they will never know where he actually is. He can even have the incantations from his spells be ventriloqisted, which is nice.

Having illusory summoned creatures is actually rather difficult: the best way is either major image, but that requires concentration, like I said earlier, so you get one monster at a time, or programmed image, which will act like a creature for a short time on its own, without needing concentration. Programmed image, unfortunately, is a 6th-level spell; available to your Wizard 11, but not a Bard 11.

EDIT: As others above have said, having an idea of what the party is like in advance, as well as having things set up beforehand, is almost necessary to pull this off well. I always forget about shadow conjuration; gthat's a good one you should look into. I personally like the "maze of mirrors" idea.

I'm fine with him having a few levels on them. There's going to be very little in the way of outright bloodshed if he can help in anyway. He wants to save them for his boss's latest terrible beastie. And yeah, the boss will be beyond their capabilities at this point: evil undead druid with lots of fey supporters.

[erikun]

Grab a gnome, give them the Spell Focus: Illusion feats, have fun?

Honestly, the biggest problem isn't going to be the build. It will be the fact that the PCs, upon encountering a large, open farmland in the middle of a dungeon, will begin disbelieving it immediately. Even if they don't make their saves, they'll begin searching for the exit. I would recommend Greater Shadow Conjuration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shadowConjurationGreater.htm) mimicing Wall of Stone (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wallOfStone.htm) in front of the exit doorway. Even if they save, that would still force the party to deal with the illusionist, or at least plow their way through the wall to get to the next room.

If you need a lower level spell, then I suppose Shadow Conjuration could mimic... Fog Cloud, perhaps? Mimicing Stinking Cloud will kind of say "look here, something important is inside!" Or you could just use Illusionary Wall (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/illusoryWall.htm).

Hallucinatory Terrain (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/hallucinatoryTerrain.htm) can make a (natural) cavern look like any other natural terrain, including a field outdoors.

Other options include Variant Illusionists (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/specialistWizardVariants.htm#illusionistVariants) which include hide as a class skill - very nice for hiding in your own Hallucinatory Terrain. As for gnomes, the Forest Gnome (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/gnome.htm#forestGnome) gets a +8 hide bonus for wooden terrain, if you want to mimic that.

Ultimate Magus is one I like, as you can give up your spontaneous slots to metamagic your prepared slots. Casting Silenced illusions while you are invisible or hiding is very useful. You can go Illusionist/Bard, if you insist on some bard in there.

I suppose you could also go Bard 10/Sublime Chord, if you want a lot of bard class levels and wizard spellcasting. That seems to be a bit higher level than you intended. I'm not sure that a straight-bard can do too much with illusions alone.

So, we have:

Forest Gnome Illusionist, full ranks in Hide +8 racial bonus, hiding in Hallucinatory Terrain as a wooded area

Human Illusionist/Bard/Ultimate Magus, with Able Learner feat for full ranks in Hide, hiding and invisible, using Bard spell slots to Silent Spell his casting so that the PCs have a hard time locating him

Gnome Illusionist/Shadowcraft Mage, if you intend to kill them with this guy

Obviously, you'll want Spell Focus: Illusion and Greater Spell Focus: Illusion for the highest DCs available. Damage can be done through either shadow spells or through normal summons while the mage hangs back.

[Jack_Simth]

Yeah... level cap is annoying. Invisible Spell from Cityscape would be useful, here. Oh well.

If you really, really want to counfound the party? You'll need a few things:

1) Several scrolls of Illusory Wall (Sor/Wiz 4).
2) Magic Aura (Bard-1)
3) A few scrolls of Wall of Stone (Sor/Wiz 5).
4) A few scrolls of Phantom Trap (Sor/Wiz 2)
5) A few real magical traps
6) Three or mroe rooms along the path to the BBEG

How it works:
1) The first room is covered in actual illusions, including an illusory wall covering a door to the second room; the door has Phantom Trap cast on it. It also has a fake door done by Illusory Wall.
2) The second room is covered in assorted illusions, including several real magical traps, but has Magic Aura cast all over the place so that nothing registers as magical. This room, too, has a door to the next room (this one using traditional hidden wall methods), that has a Phantom Trap on it, and is covered by an Illusory Wall as well. It also has a standard hidden door, which goes to a closet.
3) The third room uses no illusions at all. The doorway to the BBEG's room is paved over by a real Wall of Stone. The door is also in the ceiling (but not in the center - roll, beforehand, to see which square it's in). The entire surface of the room is covered in stone from the Wall of Stone spell.

The first room makes them expect illusions.
The second room makes them expect the illusions to be clever, difficult, and hidden.
The third room has no illusions to find.

The idea being that the first two rooms make them paranoid and expecting something crazy, so they'll keep looking in the third until they find something that doesn't exist. Even if they do figure it out and start smashing things, it'll be a while before they think to cave in the ceiling, especially if it's out of reach.

[Zaq]

The first room makes them expect illusions.
The second room makes them expect the illusions to be clever, difficult, and hidden.
The third room has no illusions to find.

I think that going cold turkey and having no illusions in the third room will tip them off. You'd be better off putting a few illusions in the third room, but nothing major. That'll make them likely to think that there's more to find, but there really aren't.