Creating The Horsemen

[Dragonsoul]

For an upcoming part of my Campaign I want the Players to meet (and fight) The Four Horsemen(Well a shard of there power,I image they'd be Epic Characters at full Power).I'm trying to come up with builds ~EL9

My Characters(Gestalt-Moderate Optimisation)
Bard/Barbarian(Uses an Axe)
Warblade/Rogue
Paladin/Ranger
Shegenja/Warlock

Horses Optional

Famine- Lawful Evil
I haven't feasted on a dying world for near a Millenia, you can't stop the death of this one!
I'm thinking Monk for this one, the whole Purity of Body thing that goes with Monk seems Twistedly appropriate, willing for Suggestions though
Pestilence-Chaotic Evil
Death, Decay,Disease it's a thing of beauty,Isn't it?
Utterly Insane, Maybe Cancer Mage, but that seems a bit obvious...
Death-Lawful Neutral
Why Would a want to kill you?You'll come to me soon, Very soon
Rather than the traditional Reaper in a shroud,I'm think Death as a kind of accountant, just totting up the numbers in a ledger
War-Chaotic Neutral
Is the War Just? Well they seem to think so
An archetypical Warrior, just believes in the Glory of Steel on Steel

I want a moderate challenge,I'm perfectly willing to bend the rules to fit a cool concept, assume a Humanoid Opponent, I'll probably slap an outsider Template on them and call it a day....

They've already met Chaos-a horrible Twenty different class monstrosity(With thanks to Terry Pratchett

[Diarmuid]

Do they have to be outsiders?

I would think something undead would fit for Death or Famine quite easily, while a warforged something for War would be quite appropriate.

If you're not stuck on the Humanoid (or even Human shaped) then you could work in something like an Otyugh for Famine in that it's always hungry and eats anything.

[Dragonsoul]

Not really, I'd just make the build as normal and change his type to outsider,

Famine is locked in as a humanoid as he's in my Sunday game,

ooh Warforged that could work

[Matamane]

Horseman Template exists in Advanced Bestiary. Very flavorful and on the mork

[KingofMadCows]

Pestilence is not a horseman. It's actually Conquest.

Here's the passages from the Book of Revelations that describe the Four Horsemen:

"I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, 'Come and see!' I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."

"When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come and see!' Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword."

"When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come and see!' I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, 'A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!'"

"When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come and see!' I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."

[Dragonsoul]

Yeah and the others never let him forget it:smalltongue:

I know its incorrect but I'm just rolling with the incorrect version, I might throw Conquest in as a guy in the back of a bar railing against the injustice of it all.

[TroubleBrewing]

Or you could go with Gaiman's version, where Pestilence leaves in 1920 muttering something about penicillin, and is replaced by Pollution.

[Zonugal]

How about something like:

Death: Necropolitan Human Dread Necromancer 9; this is the typical necromancer set-up but with an ECL of 9 you are limited to a degree. With that said you can have a lot of fun with this type of guy (throw on feats like corpse crafter, life sense and mother cryst). Another approach if you want much more 'mighty' feel would be doing a Bone Knight-focused build (Necropolitan Human Cleric 3/Paladin of Slaughter 2/Bone Knight 4).
War: Warforged Ardent 5/Thrallherd 4; this sets him him with the ability to walk into a town and immediately convert ordinary commoners towards his war-campaign. In fact by simply entering a town he can probably instantly create, through thralls, a cult of murder to instigate a war within the community. For more unified front simply switch out the Warforged for a Necropolitan Human (or even make all the horsemen Warforged for a grim-techno feel).
Pestilence: Necropolitan Human Cleric 2/Monk 1/Cancer Mage 6 is a build that could work well if a bit under-powered (it won't carry the same weight as the other horsemen power-wise). Another approach might be Necropolitan Human Wizard 5/Blood Magus 3/Tainted Sorcerer 1 which amps up the power considerably more while still offering a unique character, focusing on battle-field control spells like Cloudkill go well with this type of character.
Famine: Necropolitan Human Cleric 3/Walker in the Waste 6 is a viable path for this character if proper spells are chosen. Having a villain who sucks the moisture from humans bodies & turns them to mummies with sand/dirt fits pretty well with Famine (while also staying powerful because of the cleric's casting).

[Hawk7915]

I'd assume they all get to be Gestalt? If so...

WAR: Goliath Barbarian/Frenzied Berserker//Warblade

- I know it's not optimal, but it IS war. A d12 HD, epic fort saves, huge strength, great initiator levels, and rage. A shame he can't get high enough for Inspire Frenzy :smallamused:.

DEATH: Necropolitan Rogue/Assassin//Wizard (Necromancer)

- Can get a little gishy with a Scythe he blows proficiency for. Has access to a ton of death effects and can create plenty of undead. Cleric might also be appropriate though.

PESTILENCE: Human Druid/Blighter (optional)//Poison Use class. Ninja is especially possible for Ki powers and Wis to AC.

- Not as optimal, but makes use of poison and disease spells to wreck people while still having access to a lot of powerful tricks.

FAMINE: Human Spellthief // Hexblade/Blackguard

- This may seem like a "lolwut" build, but let me explain. With high CHA and plenty of skill points, he is a skilled diplomancer allowing him to manipulate others and spread famine by thievery, deception, and utter market control. He causes famine not through any particular spell or class feature, but because he is a shrewd and intelligent businessman that can market nutrient-less food to the masses and make it seem appealing; persuading people to starve themselves to match his/her own beauty (very Gaiman-esque, I know).

Of course, while you can have some fun RPing this with your party, having them enter towns of starving thin people and abject poverty with the clever "scale-slinging merchant" one step ahead of them, it's hard to do "Famine" in combat. This build tries though. This build can "starve" spellcasters of their spells and spell resistance. It can use curses, debuffs, and auras to drain other's powers too, and his saves will be astronomically high. It should all help make for a very exhausting fight :smalltongue:.

Hope that helps!

[Cespenar]

For some out-of-the-ordinary suggestions:

War: Some kind of lock-down build. Ironic, as in, he will wait for you to attack, and then massacre you. "If you sow violence, you reap violence."

Famine: Druid. Wildshape into a wolf, summon more wolves, send them to devour anything in their paths.

Pestilence: Focused Specialist Necromancer. Heavy use of debuffs.

Death: This one is mainly for the coolness factor, but Swordsage, using Shadow Hand and Diamond Mind. Shadow Jaunts behind someone, raises his scythe, and Insightful Strikes or X Nightmare Strikes the fellow into oblivion.

[kardar233]

B]Famine:[/B] Druid. Wildshape into a wolf, summon more wolves, send them to devour anything in their paths.

Does MoMF give Wildshape: Vermin? If so, you can go super-iconic by Wildshaping into a Locust Swarm.

[Urpriest]

For Famine, I'd go with a Cleric with the Hunger or Gluttony domain. You won't get Bite of the King (Swallow Whole!) at level 9, but you'll still get some decent eating themed spells.

[Matamane]

Advanced Bestiary has 4 pretty good pre made horsemen

[Cespenar]

Does MoMF give Wildshape: Vermin? If so, you can go super-iconic by Wildshaping into a Locust Swarm.

Yes, at level 5, but I'm not sure if Swarms are an acceptable shape. If so, very cool.

[Physics_Rook]

I was thinking of taking things along a different line. Rather than turning them into direct representations of their names, I thought it might be interesting to broaden the context of what their name implies their goals are.

WarGoal: To create conflict.
Traits: Manipulates others into needless, ceaseless conflict of any and all kinds.
Concept: Able to remain inconspicuous while maneuvering others.
Possible Class: Beguiler - To manipulate others.
War enjoys creating the countless smaller conflicts that help set in motion the large ones.

DeathGoal: To end a person's way of life.
Traits: Chaotic and relentless in pursuit of ending life as they know it.
Concept: Shape events that will drastically alter and change people utill they are no longer recognizable.
Possible Class: Factotum - To always have the right solution (destruction) to every problem (life).
Death seeks only to end a person's way of life. Whether or not this means the beginning of a new one doesn't matter to him.

FamineGoal: To lessen the quality of life.
Traits: Rains fire on the world to destroy all things that might help people. (Food, technology, knowledge, ect.)
Concept: Wants people to have less of everything.
Possible Class: Sorcerer - To physically destroy things.
Famine doesn't want to kill anyone, he just wants to leave everything worse than when he found it.

Pestilence/ConquestGoal: To destroy or usurp the thoughts, minds, and morals of others.
Traits: Corrupts and manipulates others in order to gain even more power to corrupt and manipulate.
Concept: Gains power through popular support, and undermining/sabotaging the opposition.
Possible Class: Cleric - To be revered and respected.
His only desire is to pervert the minds or others, and to twist people into helping him to continue corrupting others.