7 Blades of Grief: Builds Wanted

[Getsugaru]

I'm designing a campaign and have decided that the power behind the throne of the kingdom of the alleged primary antagonist is "one of the Blades of Grief." The thing is, I know each Blades' Theme, but not how to build them. Here's the theme of each Blade:
7 Blades of Grief Themes:

1: Shock. Commonly uses Surprise Rounds; probably goes Ethereal/Astral
Weapon: Rod of Surprises,
Race: Marrulurk
2: Denial. Focuses on Defense and Countering; Possibly uses Counterspell
Weapon: Dagger of Denial, Spiked Shield, etc.
Race: Axiomatic Sentry Snowflake Ooze
3: Bargaining. Offers you choices, most of which end badly; uses Curses
Weapon: Chain of Obeisance,
Race: Need suggestions.
4: Fear. Knows your fears and uses them as weapons; uses Paralysis
Weapon: Morningstar of the Many,
Race: Human Lich
5: Anger. Commonly uses Rage; Probably going to be like Belkar, i.e. a "SEXY SHOELESS GOD OF WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Weapon: Death Spike,
Race: Lizardfolk Kaorti (Transformed by Vile Transformation)
6: Despair. Tries to make you give up on everything, esp. taking "The Master" down; uses Stone
Weapon: Scourge of Pain,
Race: Joystealer
7: Acceptance. Accepts any decision what s/he believes "Fate" has decided.
Weapon: Spear of Retribution
Race: Draegloth


I am new to the DMing side of the dice, so I humbly ask for your help in this endeavor.

Also, just to let you know, each Blade of Grief has Disciples of Grief that serve each Blade, and have a mark on a specific part of their body matching their superior's sign. I was going to have them be like Dragonmarks, but I decided against it. Disciple suggestions would be helpful. They don't have to have class levels, but should be about CR 5-10. Blades should be about CR 13-20.
Thanks again.


Changelog
Will update as necessary
9/28/2011-4:10 PM--Updated Blade#2's Race
9/25/2011-8:47 PM--Added Races, more Weapons; Gave Acceptance a role
9/25/2011-3:47 PM--1st post

[Hirax]

They don't have to have class levels, but should be about CR 5-10. Blades should be about CR 13-20.



Just to be sure, would you like the approximate CRs laddered, so that for instance you have one at each CR between 13-20? How high op are your players?

[tyckspoon]

You want them martial, caster-y, or whatever works out best? Fear, for example, is probably going to be best as a Fear Witch (Heroes of Horror caster prestige class), because that grants the ability to break fear immunity. Which is something almost any party capable of taking on a CR 13+ foe is going to wind up with almost by accident.

[Boci]

In aditiona to what what said above we need to know what sources are available and how powerful the PCs are.

[Getsugaru]

You want them martial, caster-y, or whatever works out best? Fear, for example, is probably going to be best as a Fear Witch (Heroes of Horror caster prestige class), because that grants the ability to break fear immunity. Which is something almost any party capable of taking on a CR 13+ foe is going to wind up with almost by accident.
Whatever works out best would be great. As long as it isn't as crazy-powerful as, say, Pun-Pun or LRRH, it's fine if they're optimized.

Just to be sure, would you like the approximate CRs laddered, so that for instance you have one at each CR between 13-20? How high op are your players?
I'd like them to be of different CR so that I can throw them at the party over time. Minimum CR 13 because they're going to fight (and probably beat) the Ruler of the Kingdom around level 6-8. To answer your questions, go with high op.

[Getsugaru]

In aditiona to what what said above we need to know what sources are available and how powerful the PCs are.
Any source that isn't 3rd party. I'm already using some stuff from Eberron and Faerun, and I'm possibly going to allow some Kalamar, but until I post otherwise, no Kalamar.

[Das Platyvark]

I don't know about the build, but I feel that acceptance should be based around not defense, per se, but around standing still, being hit, and just not taking damage.

[JaronK]

I'm assuming you want martial characters due to the name.

For Fear, go with Necropolitan Rogue 1/Zhentarium Fighter 9/Scarlet Corsair 5 with Imperious Command. Every round as a Swift action he Intimidates everyone within 30' to cowering, and they stay that way for Cha rounds. If you're not immune, he's going to get you. Also give him the Eviscerator line of feats from Libris Mortis so his attacks terrify enemies. Consider throwing in Lion Totem Barbarian one so he can pounce, and give him a pair of Enfeebling Lifedrinker Kukris (two negative levels per hit, -1d6+2 Str per crit). The party members who aren't cowering in terror have to do with rapid level drain, which really hurts. Should probably be backed up by other undead supporters, including lots of level drainers.

JaronK

[Boci]

1st blade:
Shock: Swashbuckler 12 / Swordsage 1, using assassin's stance for a total of 8d6 sneak attack. Catch them suprised via hide and high initiative, use distracting ember and cloak of deception to continue inflicting SA damage.

2nd blade:
Denial: Crusader 3 / Wizard 2 / Jade Phenix mage 9. Use a spicked chain, possibly in combination with a dagger of denial which has dance of steel from spell compendium/complete mage cast on it. Use thicket of blades to limit movement and make sure dual ward is one active at the begninning of combat (attempt counter 1 spell as an immediate action). As soon as duel ward is expended, use your quicken casting class ability to attack and cast it next round as a swift action for free.

3rd:
Bargaining: Depends on how seriously you want to take the choices aspect. You may need to invent some spells which force you to choose, such as taking penalties/ongoing damage until you attack an ally with lethal force or something. In any case cleric would be s good class. A primitive weapon like a greatclub adored which tribal charms like feathures and dream catchers should work well.


4th:
Fear: Dread necromancer 5 / dread witch 4 / pale master 7. Drop a portable hole of pre created undead at the beginning of the battle to use as meat shield (destructive retribution optional) and then start casting fear spells, possible augmenting the effect which summoned incorporeal undead. Scyth would fit the death theme.

5th:
Anger: Barbarian 6 / Frrienzied beserker 6 / Runescared beserker 5. Pretty simple.

Not sure about the last two though.

[Getsugaru]

Ok, I've seen some good suggestions on classes, but not for races, feats, etc. Natural HD creatures like Draegloths, Marruspawn, Kaorti, etc. are acceptable. Also, Templates are fine too, but if templates are used, use them less on Creatures with HD than Creatures without.

[Mockingbird]

Well, for Fear, make him someone with spells like Phantasmal Killer, Weird, and Fear for starters..

[Boci]

Ok, I've seen some good suggestions on classes, but not for races, feats, etc. Natural HD creatures like Draegloths, Marruspawn, Kaorti, etc. are acceptable. Also, Templates are fine too, but if templates are used, use them less on Creatures with HD than Creatures without.

No offence, but it’s your game, you do it. Whilst many playgrounders, like me, will be happy to help you with the character concepts, fully stating out 7 high level NPCs is a bit much. You may find someone willing to do that, but I wouldn't count on it.

If you just want a couple of feats suggested for each blade then I apologize for the above, but it is starting to sound like you want us to fully stat them out.

[Getsugaru]

No offence, but it’s your game, you do it. Whilst many playgrounders, like me, will be happy to help you with the character concepts, fully stating out 7 high level NPCs is a bit much. You may find someone willing to do that, but I wouldn't count on it.

If you just want a couple of feats suggested for each blade then I apologize for the above, but it is starting to sound like you want us to fully stat them out.

None taken. I see your point. I guess I did sound like that. I'm not after you fully stating them out. I'm going to stat them out a bit further and update the original post with some of the suggestions you guys have given me. Again, sorry if I made it sound like I wanted you to fully stat them out for me.

[Hirax]

Shock
Swordsage5/assassin10
Give this character spring attack and a collar of umbral darkness (Tome of Magic), so that he can nail someone with a sneak attack to paralyze or kill at his option, and then quickly dive back into cover. The collar will give him +10 to movement that will stack with boots of springing and striding, for a total of 50' a round which will greatly helping him use spring attack. Add the quick trait from the SRD if you want to up it to 60.' Give him feats such as sickening strike, terrifying strike, and aleval school (all from Drow of the Underdark) so that even if his sneak attacks don't kill, they'll severely debuff his victim. Swordsage will give him good maneuvers such as shadow jaunt and assassin's stance to get sneak attack as a swordsage. optimize death attack DC if you're feeling evil, but since this is the first one, maybe go easy on them, your call.

Denial
You want defense? Sorcerer8/initiate of the sevenfold veil7. That's about as much defense as you're going to want to throw at them, but if you want to be very evil you can have him casting a donut AMF on himself, so melee attackers are doubly screwed against him. Give him the feat trickery devotion, and the key to to your PCs defeating him will be getting rid of his doppelganger. Once his doppelganger is down, he'll need to lower his veils to cast spells. If you want to be evil you can have him just put out another doppelganger capable of casting spells (either from another use of trickery devotion or the project image spell), then put his veils up again, meaning your PCs will have to get him to exhaust uses of his veils, making it a big endurance contest.

Bargaining
To me this one will come down more to an environmental challenge, a chase sort of scenario. Have this bad guy lead your PCs through his lair of traps, where he always seems to be just in their grasp. As they pursue him, have timed choices, where they must make a choice between rescuing hostages, picking up treasure, and other such things, or taking the other choice, which they THINK get them one step closer to the bad guy. This character should be an illusionist, so that they'll really only be rescuing illusory hostages and and getting illusory gold...most of the time. Simply have this character be a wizard5/master specialist10, specializing in illusions of course. Environmental temptations and challenges will be a big part of the challenge here, before they ultimately corner this guy, where he will attempt to persuade them he's willing to betray his fellow blades to help them. If your PCs can't make burly sense motive checks, they might believe some of the information he at first proffers, which seems plausible. The only way they can get more information out of him of course, is to keep him alive. Ultimately of course, he's only giving half-truths that will lead to their peril. Keep stringing your PCs along until they finally realize what he's been doing, at which point they fight him, at which point have him use invisible solid fog, coupled with greater mirror image and other conventional illusions, to prevent them from benefiting from true seeing.

Fear: bard10/dirgesinger5//dreadnecro10/dread witch5
Very straight forward, they need to fight undead minions while your gestalt bard/dreadnecro instills them with fear and debuffs. If you kill one of them, make sure to use the dirgesinger's capstone ability to raise that fallen PC and have it fight them! Look up debuffer bard for more info.

Anger:
I'm going to go a different route here. Monk2/psychic warrior10/fist of the forest3//sorcerer5/swiftblade10 (technically you can't enter swiftblade this way, but meh). The swiftblade class is callled haste personified, well this lawful evil hasty fellow is willing to dole out righteous wrath on anyone that intrudes upon his dominion. Use tashalatora to have the psywar advance monk unarmed damage. Have him use the swiftblade's time stop ability to buff himself to the gills right at the start of the fight, and then enter a feral trance. He'll immediately become huge via the expansion power, and thanks to haste, flurry, and feral trance, he'll be getting lots of attacks per round. A straight forward big hulking boss fight. Pick a race or ability that has spell resistance for this fight.

Despair:
Wizard5/tainted scholar10/archmage5
Make this character an expert diviner. Use this to have him toy with the characters, get into their backstory and throw out illusory plot hooks to tempt the players. This evil guy knows exactly what to tempt your PCs with every time, continuing to get your PCs chasing what they think is their heart's desire, and inciting personal tragedy amongst the party. Make that tainted scholar earn their depravity score. The PCs of course should have no idea it's the boss that's putting these wild goose chases in front of them initially. Only until they find a way to block his scrying will they be able to shut out his influences and pick up the right clues to find their way to him.

Acceptance:
Bard8/ur-priest2/sublime chord2/theurge8//crusade8/divine crusader1/contemplative1/ruby knight vindicator10.
Yep, 3 different level 9 spellcasting progressions. Though a fiery zealot, this guy will also possess an unnerving and calculated calm. He knows what he stands for, and if your PCs are a threat to it, then it's time for them to die. Make sure to fully utilize the immortal fortitude stance, then turn him into clericzilla who can fling spells like a sorcerer on top of that.

[Getsugaru]

Updated Original Post.

[Hirax]

3: Bargaining.
Race: Need suggestions.


Bargaining reminds me that gnomes make excellent merchant lords, for some reason that leads me to thinking an evil gnome (perhaps a svirfneblin (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/gnome.htm#svirfneblin)) the be good choice.

[Piggy Knowles]

Thematically, aren't Sublime Chords supposed to be astrologers? That might fit for the "acceptance" build, especially if you really play up a wandering-oracle type feel.

Maybe Bard 7/Sublime Chord 2/Swiftblade 9/Divine Oracle 1/Sacred Exorcist 1? (Not in that exact order, of course.) Or something, I'm just sort of spitballin' here.

[Getsugaru]

Decided on something. Though I don't know the Race yet, I've decided that the 3rd, Bargaining, shall have 9-10 levels of the Fleshwarper Prestige Class, probably after 6 levels of Adept. Still need a Race, preferably one that would be good for this class...

[Golden Ladybug]

Just a concept, but I think the Blade of Bargaining's modus operandi should involve impossible choices. In combat, not as impressive as the other six, but the lead up to the battle with him forces the PCs to fight their way through close friends and allies, killing people they've fought side by side with because of how the Bargainer has played them off against each other. Once they finally defeat him, they have to make the choice of killing him and ending the threat he poses, or letting him get away to save thousands of innocents from the retribution he promises if they kill him. Killing him reveals that he was true to his word, and they doomed thousands by their actions.

But, of course, there always has to be a Bargain. No matter what, there needs to be a way for the PCs to make a deal to get past whatever challenge the Blade of Bargaining has laid out for them to overcome. But, the price always needs to be too high. They can save the life of a friend who has been controlled by the Bargainer, but they need to give up their right hand to do so. They can bypass his Champion, but they must leave each leave a powerful item of their own behind (One of their weapons, a spellbook, a Staff, etc), never to retrieve it. They can even bypass him completely, defeating him without even fighting...One of them just needs to give up their very selves to do it, and go with the Bargainer as a slave (possibly under a Geas/Quest?).

Whatever the challenge, there is always a cost you can pay to avoid it. But is it worth taking that bargain?

For the race, my first thought was Tiefling, for all the Trickster Archtype conotations, but maybe not. Maybe a Doubleganger?

[Runestar]

Just asking, how "humanoid-looking" must each blade be? Because I am thinking of just using existing monsters instead of statting each npc out individually.

1) Shock - some ambush-type monster like nathrazune raksasha (MM3, cr11) with additional class lvs?
2) Denial - Eldritch Giant (MM3, cr15. Alternatively, use the cr20 version which has an additional 11 cleric lvs tacked on).
4) Fear - One of the builds here should work. http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3809.0
5) Anger - Gerivar (MM3, cr19)
6) Despair - Sorrowsworm demon (MM3, cr17)

[9mm]

For fear you could always go samurai (save or cower as a move action with proper feats); For despair depending on op-fu/your tolerance for homebrew, make a "fixed" Hexblade, and load him up with debuff ablities.

[Getsugaru]

Idea!!!!! What do you guys think of a Sentry Ooze for the Blade of Denial?

[Thiyr]

Beguiler sounds like a great Blade of Bargaining. Focus on charm, suggestion, diplomacy, bluff, etc, and have it focus on behind-the-scenes manipulation. If it has to hit things, feinting and running away, otherwise trying to make the party more likely to work -for- it than -against- it. Failing that, it turns everyone against the party. It tries to have something everyone wants to make its job even easier. Personally, I'd make it a goblin in the vein of the warcraft goblins, but otherwise human would work well as well. If all else fails, it focuses on battlefield control (don't know how well the beguiler can get past the prereqs, but initiate of the 7 fold veils would work well for that.

[Ajadea]

Throwing in my two cp.

1. Shock. Kobold Rogue 3/Sorcerer 6/Swiftblade (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327) 6 (No dragonwrought, no web enhancements, just the plain MM kobold) (CR 14?)

Race: Kobold. No one expects a kobold to go on and kick your sorry arse all over the playing field. It's CR .25. But this one's got enough tricks up its sleeves to be thoroughly awesome.

Feats: At 15 HD, you get 6 of them. Martial Study (Insert Shadow Hand Thing Here) -> Martial Stance (Assassin's Stance) for another +2d6 sneak attack, bringing you up to 4d6 sneak attack. You're lying if you saw that coming on a sorcerer. Practiced Spellcaster will boost your CL up to 14 again. Expeditious Dodge and Mobility are good. That leaves 1 of your choice-metamagic is always fun. I'd get Extend Spell.

Spells: As a level 10 Sorcerer. So 9/5/4/3/2/1.

0: Like I care. Prestidigitation?
1: Grease, Nerveskitter, Shocking Grasp (because it's punny, also Sneak Attack), 2 of your choice
2: Mirror Image, Wraithstrike, 2 of your choice (I like Dimension Hop [PHB2])
3: Haste (duh), 2 of your choice (may I suggest lightning bolt for the extension of the pun?)
4: Greater Invisibility, Dimension Door
5: Wall of Force/Baleful Polymorph

Tactics: Appear when it's least expected. Middle of the night is a good one. Hasted, invisible, and arguably impossible to hit, depending on your interpretation of Blurred Alacrity. Jump in, jump out, don't give them time to think. Deal a crapload of damage with your sneak attacks (use a dagger or even your fists). If they're going 'what the hell was that?!?!' you're doing it right. Draw the encounter out, keep them jumping until Shocky here goes down.


Denial: Cleric 5/Crusader 10 (CR 15)

Any race will work for this. Hellbred is funny in a dark way. Delusional Half-Elves or Half-Orcs could be fun.

Divine Defiance, Stand Still, Combat Reflexes, Extra Turning. Add the Strength domain, Thicket of Blades manuever, spontaneous domain casting (PHB2), various spiky armors, choose reach weapons to taste. You may not cast spells (Divine Defiance + prepared Dispel Magic). You may not leave this area (Stand Still + Thicket of Blades). Enlarge yourself whenever there is combat (Spontaneous Domain means you can cast Enlarge Person more than 1/day), making your threat range 20 ft.


Bargaining: Some sort of talky manipulative illusionist caster. Beguiler's good. So is Shadowcraft Mage.

Let's get all this out the way right now. The build is secondary.

What matters for bargaining is that this fellow plays for keeps. Every step you take to get at his miserable little face requires a sacrifice. A friendship turns into hatred. Either the prince dies and Bargaining is dealt with, or the prince lives and Bargaining escapes. In every room they pass through, someone must sacrifice a treasure, or a memory. Everything has a price. Make them pay in blood and tears.

Bargaining will offer anything to stay alive. But it will not tell the truth. Offer gold, kingdoms, power. It's all illusions, of course.


Fear: Go ask someone who knows how to use fear tactics better than I do. Make it CR 16 and you'll be good.

Anger: Half-Fey Mongrelfolk Fighter 1/Barbarian 5/Frenzied Berserker 10 (CR 17, 16 HD)

Race: Half-Fey-Mongrelfolk ends up with +2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Wis, -2 Int, which is a pretty good mix, all told. More Dexterity bumps AC up a bit, more Wisdom ups Spot and Listen, and more Constitution gives you another round of Frenzied Berserkeryness to work with. No barbarian actually cares about Intelligence anyways. Half-Fey also provides the valuable immunity to mind-affecting things, to negate any chance at Calm Emotions. Flight gives Anger some options, and deals with the problem of Grease-just have Anger fly around all the time.

Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Destructive Rage, Intimidating Rage. That's just the prerequisites, and eats up 4/7 of the feats you get. But they aren't bad feats, and Power Attack is pretty much your go-to for this. Instantaneous Rage lets Mr. Anger buff up even more before he falls flat on his face.


Despair: Again, I'm not great at this. Layer on the debuffs. Crushing Despair is particularly appropriate.

Acceptance: I don't have a great idea for the crunch. Someone peaceful. Calm. Content. Someone who can sit there, take every abuse that the players think of, and survive it. Not being immune to it, but getting over it. Slippery mind, fast healing (or regeneration), improved evasion.

[Getsugaru]

Updated Original Post.

[Mummy king]

Try a harvester devil (FCII) for bargaining, seems like exactly the role they were invented for.

[Getsugaru]

Try a harvester devil (FCII) for bargaining, seems like exactly the role they were invented for.

I'm afraid I don't have the 2nd Fiendish Codex , or the 1st either. Can you post the stats?

[Mummy king]

I'm afraid I don't have the 2nd Fiendish Codex , or the 1st either. Can you post the stats?

Its not SRD as far as I'm aware, but they have a sanctuary-like effect until they actually make an attack, and a poison which forces a will save against attacking an ally. You could easily homebrew something similar at an appropriate CR?