BBEG: Help me develop please!

[INDYSTAR188]

Hey everyone thanks for checking this thread! What I want to do is flesh out the BBEG for my 4e campaign. I am looking for him to be on three different levels of power: a hero, paragon, and epic level tier. Specifically I'm looking for powers, HP's, saves, anything that makes for a good villain.

I'm hoping that at first he's much more powerful, so they run away from him and then in paragon he's slightly more powerful but has to flee (probably due to some kind of environmental issue), and in epic tier its a good even fight. My idea is that he is a human wizard who also is a noble of sorts in Cormyr. I want him to worship Orcus (more on that later).

- So for heroic tier I'm looking for a Level 12 Necromancer type.

- For paragon I'm wanting a Lich at say level 19 but cooler than one in the MM.

- And epic level I'm looking for an ArchLich build.

So the story for the campaign is thus: The players are working for an old retired adventurer who has created a adventuring guild/mercenary company in a town I made up in Cormyr. They are looking into an attack by goblins on the town and a slave ring going on in the local area. They find a note from BBEG to a minion in which he is clearly telling him to capture more slaves to sell AND says he's looking for an item he needs for a foul ritual.

The PC's will come back to town in time to see their patriarch being arrested for having an expired adventuring charter and who is the one there doing the arresting? Of course, our BBEG! He arrests them all and gives them an option: stay in jail or go retrieve an item he needs... this will be the Graveyard of Col Fen adventure from Open Grave (but leveled up appropriately and the Onyx Skull they find will be a part of the Wand of Orcus.) As insurance he keeps their patriarch in jail while they go.

Once they get back he takes the item and they are ushered back to jail. Realizing the guy is an evil liar they are told by patriarch to just leave him (they probably will refuse) and they'll break out and retrieve said skull. They will then need to find a way to identify the item (cuz they don't know how super evil it is) and they are told a wizard in the Thunderspire Labyrinth might know.

So thats what I have right now (you know how PC's can change everything you have planned in about 2 minutes of play). I will say that they will have to deal w/undead coming after them (since they have the skull) and that at first its random, every so often, and it will gradually increase and Cormyr will start to be overwhelmed. I know that in Paragon they're gonna do a lot of adventuring in the Shadowfell.


And if it matters the PC's are currently at 2nd level:

- Greatspear Fighter - Eladrin
- Valorous Bard - Half Elf
- Centered Breath Monk - Razor Claw Shifter
- Artful Dodger Rogue - Elf
and on again off again
- Staff Wizard - Deva

[Ralcos]

Hmm... this is a tricky deal you want.
What I would do is actually make seperate Character Sheets for each tier character, experimenting to find an acceptable build.
What else can I teach???

[Epinephrine]

Hey everyone thanks for checking this thread! What I want to do is flesh out the BBEG for my 4e campaign. I am looking for him to be on three different levels of power: a hero, paragon, and epic level tier. Specifically I'm looking for powers, HP's, saves, anything that makes for a good villain.

Do you want a solo in each instance? Elite? I'll happily throw some ideas together. Personally, I might make him an elite foe at lower level (say, controller [leader], with some minions/lieutenants) and opt for solo at epic. In between, I am not sure - maybe in paragon have traps rather that creatures to support him, and put him more at solo-type stats, but with less true firepower than a full MM3/monster vault solo so that the traps/hazards can take up some of the slack. Gives him a different sort of encounter at each tier that way, with him taking more of a central role with each encounter.

Once the kids are in bed I'll see what I can come up with - I'm sure you'll have lots of suggestions :)

[INDYSTAR188]

I love the idea of him being an elite at 12, and I was already planning on him having a Skull Lord for a Lieutenant. So a fight w/both of them sounds like it would be pretty nasty. I think a controller/leader type is what I'm going for. I want him to have a signature move that levels with him. Something necrotic, cold, or dominating (or all, who knows?!). Perhaps a icy terrain power that slows or freezes people to the ground for a round (save ends) and a necrotic power that causes fear for attacking him? I appreciate your time and help... now I gotta go put my little one to bed!

[Epinephrine]

Ok, I put together a cold-themed, psychic-type necrotic caster (controller) at level 12. He's got a fair number of actions, though not a ton of outright damage.


BBEG, Necromancer (of Doom!)
Medium natural humanoid Level 12 Elite Controller
1400 XP
HP 240; Bloodied 120 Initiative +9
AC 26; Fort 24; Ref 25; Will 26
Resist 5 necrotic, 5 cold
Speed 6 squares
Saving Throws +2 Action Points 1

Traits
Creeping Frost ♦ Aura 1
Any enemy who starts and ends his turn in the aura suffers 5 cold damage.

Loyal Defender
The BBEG, N (oD!) gains +2 to all defenses when adjacent to an enemy suffering from Bend Loyalty.

Standard Actions
Draining Touch ♦ At-Will (basic attack)
Attack: Melee Touch; +15 vs Reflex
2d6 + 6 necrotic damage, and ongoing 5 necrotic damage.

Gnawing Spirits (necrotic) ♦ At-Will
Attack: Area Burst 1 within 10; +15 vs Reflex (or maybe Fortitude? Depends on how you envision this working. Fort might be better, to give the Fighter an attack that he's strong against.)
2d6+8 necrotic damage, slide each enemy in burst 1 square.

Move Actions
Twist the Hook (psychic, varies) ♦ Recharges on 4-6: Targets one enemy suffering ongoing damage in burst
Taking advantage of his foe's pain, the BBEG, N (oD!) escalates his suffering, driving him where the BBEG, N (oD!) wills.
Attack: Close Burst 5; +15 vs Will
Hit: Slide the target 3 squares and target is dazed until the end of their next turn. The target takes psychic damage equal to the ongoing damage.
This power has as a keyword the type(s) of ongoing damage the target is suffering.

Minor Actions
Bend Loyalty (psychic) ♦ When no enemy suffers from Bend loyalty: 1/round
Attack: Ranged 5; +15 vs Will
Hit: Slide target 6 squares to a square adjacent to the BBEG, N (oD!). Target enemy suffers from Bend Loyalty (save ends). While under the effects of Bend Loyalty the target may not target the BBEG, N (oD!) with attacks or powers, and is not affected by the Creeping Frost aura. Bend Loyalty ends if the BBEG, N (oD!) attacks the target.

Puppeteer's Whimsy (Psychic) ♦ At-Will: 1/round, targets an ally or enemy suffering from Bend Loyalty within the burst
Attack: Close burst 10;
The BBEG, N (oD!) slides the target up to their speed, and the target makes a basic attack against a target of the BBEG, N (oD!)'s choice.

Triggered Actions
Chilblain Siphon (necrotic) ♦ Encounter
With a grasping motion, the BBEG, N (oD!) robs his enemy of vitality, standing straighter as health flows into him, leaving his opponent chilled and haggard.
Trigger: an enemy within 5 squares spends a healing surge
Action: Interrupt
Targets one enemy in range - the enemy spends its surge as normal, but regains no hit points. Instead, the BBEG, N (oD!) gains 40 temporary hit points, and the target instead suffers ongoing 5 cold damage.

Str: 12 (+7) Con: 16 (+9) Dex: 16 (+9)
Int: 22 (+12) Wis: 16 (+9) Cha: 20 (+11)

He should probably be paired with some minions that can deal ongoing damage and the Skull Lord you mentioned; this will allow him to control his foes by using their suffering against them, jerking them into position for his blasts or to set his allies up in flanks. A single foe that closes with him can be made docile and serve to defend him, he can send his puppet to attack his foes, then move next to him to gain protection. The Chilblain Siphon is a memorable type of power, robbing an enemy of their hard-earned healing surge.

You wanted a power (signature move) that could grow, the puppet-type power was the one I was thinking of, escalating it to a true dominate-type power later. Twist the Hook might also be a reasonable one to make stronger, having him be a bit sadistic, and having greatest power over those already suffering. It could probably safely be used 1/round in that it is mostly control (the extra 5 damage or so isn't that big), but I don't want to overpower him.

[INDYSTAR188]

Epinephrine your a genius! Thats what I was looking for! Just curious how do you determine what stats are good for him at 12? My original plan was to pick a monster from the mm and just refluff but I wanted to have an original baddie w/a memorable feel. I think we nailed it. It'll be especially interesting to see what the PC's do about it.

[Epinephrine]

Epinephrine your a genius! Thats what I was looking for! Just curious how do you determine what stats are good for him at 12? My original plan was to pick a monster from the mm and just refluff but I wanted to have an original baddie w/a memorable feel. I think we nailed it. It'll be especially interesting to see what the PC's do about it.

I'm glad you like it - for stats, the basics are easy from the D&D update, page 39: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/UpdateCompiled.pdf

That gives a good set of HP, defenses, and damage for single target and multiple target attacks. Ongoing damage can take the place of normal damage, and is probably worth about 1.5 times its value (so ongoing 5 is equivalent to ~7.5 damage - the expected value is actually higher, but with granted saves and the delay in acquiring it it's probably fairier to discount it slightly).

Damage should be reduced slightly for strongly controlling attacks, and increased if the power is encounter or slow recharge.

An Elite should have a damage output similar to two creatures, so tack on a way to deliver a minor action attack, or give them a standard action attack that allows double attacks, or something similar. I tacked on a minor damage move action that's conditional (probably 5 damage, some control, only affects foes with ongoing damage, recharges 50% of the time) for flavour, and to make it more controllery. You can fish for ideas from other monster's powers - the idea of using a charmed creature for protection comes from one of the nymphs (or maybe a dryad?) that derives a +3 to defenses for being adjacent to a charmed creature. As to getting the power level right, that can be tricky, but if you follow the guidelines for HP, defenses, attack damage and bonuses you should be in the right ballpark.

[Sipex]

I really like the idea of stealing a healing surge from a PC. That's an interesting mechanic.

[INDYSTAR188]

I'm pretty excited about it. I think I'm going to throw the Lich template onto this guy for paragon and level him up appropriately. I will argue with myself about what type of terrain is going to be best suited for this encounter. I know the dues ex machina is going to be a portal to the Shadowfell. Is it possible to open one instantly? I think the ritual is a 10 minute deal.

[Sipex]

The ritual takes time, yes, but it's not the only route.

Maybe give the lich an artifact (some sort of shadow crystal) which, when broken, creates a portal to the shadowfell? It could break after a particular PC's attack.

edit: But give the lich a reason to have it of course if you go this route.

[INDYSTAR188]

So after some debate I decided that the Skull Lord will be an encounter at the beginning of the BBEGs keep. Probably at the end of a drawbridge w/ a moat filled w/necrotic filth. I'm thinking Zombie Hulks here, maybe a Wraith or Ghoul. But now that leaves me to decide what to put w/the BBEG for his encounter. I'm not real sure what would work really well with his style. Any ideas on an epic first encounter w/him would be much appreciated!