rockdeworld
2011-10-14, 10:06 PM
I read Rich's article on creating a villain, and used it for two. One is the BBEG of my adventure, a reoccurring villain (after a fashion), and I'm posting here (with an altered name) because I want to know what you guys think of him.
Brass
The magitek golem Brass was created by a necromancer wizard named Bryon who wanted to learn as much about the act of creating life as possible, and so created as many different kinds of life as possible, including golems, ghouls, zombies, skeletons, wights, etc.
Bryon taught Brass about the cycle of life and how it could be created through many different means. Bryon made Brass his assistant and even taught him basic magic lessons. Being one of the created and not the creator, Brass saw what Bryon didn't: that most of those brought back from the dead would prefer being dead, and life created from nothing was empty and felt worthless, hence would do whatever it was told. However, Brass himself was happy to be useful to his master and creator, Bryon, and that Bryon was interested in his growth, and that relationship continued for just over a year.
On Brass's first "birthday," Bryon was killed and sent on by a cleric (whose god thought Bryon's work was blasphemous) leading the nearby village with torches and pitchforks. Brass escaped the destruction, but was crushed by the loss. He began questioning his existence, for he knew his master had gone on, but did not know if a golem like himself would be able to do the same.
Brass sought to speak to his master and creator, and did so thanks to the necromancy he had learned. However, his master had no words of encouragement for him regarding golems in the afterlife. Brass went to the churches, but none had ever encountered a being like him before, and could not satisfactorily answer his questions, even contacting their deities. With no help from the church, Brass went after answers with the aid of his necromancy by speaking to the dead, bringing dead back to life to answer his questions, and then sending them back when they couldn't. He queried everywhere, continually going to different villages to speak to their ancestors. His reputation was shot as a graverobber and a monster, but he ignored it, concerned only with finding out what would happen to him in the afterlife. When people began attacking him, he created undead to protect himself.
With the dead not helping him, Brass contacted other planes, requesting the help of devils when angels could not answer. The devils had never seen anything like him before and had no idea what would happen to him either, but lied and promised him answers nontheless. They convinced him to perform tasks for them in order to secure their assistance. Having no other option, he bartered with them, but they only gave him bits and pieces of information, never the entire truth that he wanted. In addition to working with devils, Brass continued to study necromancy in order that he might find the truth out on his own. His driving goal was to determine what would happen to him after he died, then to secure his afterlife.
Continual frustration of this goal built up a lot of emotion inside Brass. He exploded in rage and hit a villager who was verbally attacking him, and found to his surprise that it felt _good_. To Brass, not only was it justified, but it felt good to punish someone for doing wrong to him. When another ignorant fool attacked him later, he did it again, and the same thing happened again. Hurting other people for hurting him became a regular outlet for Brass, and he stopped minding if one of his skeletons, zombies, or devil followers killed one of the torch and pitchfork mob people.
Brass's travels took him across Strangia, into Ingary, to High Norland, Southeast to Granish, and even, with the coaching of the devils, across the planar boundaries to Finality, the planar metropolis of Acheron.
There his education intensified, and he learned the mysteries of necromancy. The mysteries furthered his prowess with magic, but the final mystery caused Brass extreme pain, because it revealed to him that he had no afterlife. Like most living things, Brass was dying, his body slowly breaking down with only a hundred or so years left, but with no afterlife to look forward to. The pain caused by learning that fact was the final straw that sent Brass into madness. What had once been hope, then determination, now changed to suffering. Finding out that his years of frustrated searching were fruitless left Brass filled with rage. He resented those living people who had joyful eternity, either in the celestial or demonic planes, to look forward to, and wanted them to suffer; to share his pain.
His studies have found a way to force others to live with his suffering. If he succeeds, it will have an effect equivalent to a continuous Symbol of Pain + nauseating status, no save, no SR, for all living creatures.
Primary Emotions: Resentment, Pain
History: Above
Scale: All living creatures on the planet
Goal: Force everyone alive to suffer.
Needs: An ancient artifact will allow him to achieve his plan: a small stone platform, 5'x5'x6". It was originally made to create world peace, with the method of giving everyone the feelings of its user, who would sit on it and meditate, with the platform making him a part of all minds and giving him the power to heal them. When its darker purpose was discovered and abused, it was destroyed and disjoined. But being an artifact, it couldn't be destroyed, and the disjunction didn't destroy its magical properties, only suppressed them. It was shattered into 500 pieces, and each piece was Sequestered, and then hidden throughout the planes (which was allowed by the other planes because it only works on the Prime Material Plane) so that no one would ever find it. Rejoining the magic of the platform requires a spellcaster to perform a spell-turning ritual on the disjunction, and the spellcaster must have caster level at least equal to the caster who put the disjunction on the platform in the first place, namely 40.
Obstacles: Finding the fragments with their sequester. Getting the fragments back using clones where possible. Helping his clones survive on the planes where the fragments are hidden. Rejoining the magic of the platform. The powerful Royal Wizards of Ingary and, to a lesser extent, the Royal Gadgeteer of Strangia.
Influence: Originally Brass moved openly, using his magic to take down anyone in his way, especially back when he was researching the afterlife. However, with his current plan he has become a manipulator who moves in secret, because his task is so large and his simulacrums so weak by comparasin that if others were to learn of his plan, they would have the time to build an army or convince some powerful people or even deities to stop him.
Resources: Necromancy creations, genius-level intelligence, 9th level spells, 51 simulacrums of varying levels, an army of devils (and each simulacrum has a smaller army of weaker devils), the tension that has sprung up around steampunk technology, protection from good adventurers in Finality, great wealth in Finality with the ability to create wealth on the Prime Material plane by magic
Each simulacrum has necromancy creations, genius-level intelligence, and a small army of devils
Plan: Through his devil contacts, Brass knows where the pieces on the other planes are, leaving only 50 on the planet to be discovered. During his studies, he created Simulacrums to help him. He now has exactly 51 of them, 5 level 7, 7 level 8, 8 level 9, and 31 level 10, one of which is Sequestered and in the event of his death will awaken and revive him. There are 51 so that on the off-chance anyone counts them and destroys the first 50, they'll imagine he somehow broke the rules and got a wand of Simulacrum and won't suspect there is one left. The simulacrums share Brass's goals absolutely, and for the same reasons that he himself has, because they _are_ him.
When he finds all the pieces of the platform, he'll sit on it and permanently damage everyone else's brain to the extent that they all feel continuous pain. He sends out his clones, most of which he has permantly Polymorph Any Object'd into powerful forms native to the planes they must travel to, in pairs of 2 to collect 20 fragments at a time. A few teams have already returned with their collection of fragments, and cause suffering across the land for fun. Brass himself waits in Finality with his army of devils to recreate the platform and return to exact his revenge. He will overcome this with the help of simulacrums in a ritual that will combine their caster levels, so he needs at least 2 level 10 simulacrums around to complete his scheme (4 if he himself is not around).
2 of Brass's clones have started a war between the King of Strangia and a group of rangers who hate everything about steampunk technology and want to overthrow the Royal Gadgeteer, which should keep those groups occupied until his plan is complete. He counts on the Royal Wizards of Ingary being too wrapped up in their own affairs (family and the protection of the country) to worry about him if he keeps his plan secret from them, so operates from a different plane to not attract their attention.
Boundaries: Won't destroy nature if it doesn't hurt anyone, won't do anything strictly helpful.
Personal Threat Level: High. Level 20 partly-optimized wizard.
Treats Minions: Simulacrums well, ensuring their protection on the planes they travel to with proper equipment. Others not well, Brass is a control freak due to his mastermind status, and will verbally abuse others when they screw up.
Visual quirks: Glowing eyes and a mechanical body that is technologically beyond anything else in existence.
Theme Music: Down with the Sickness (Disturbed)
Escape plan: Simulacrums: Fly away with Invisibility, Teleport (if able), Brass: Die and come back with the 7th Mystery and/or a Simulacrum Wishing him repaired
I'd also like to get some feedback on his power level: Is he a fair challenge for 3 level 20 PCs and 2 level 18 Cohorts with Frank and K rules (including a F&K Samurai, F&K Fighter with Mage Slayer, and a Gadgeteer)?
Character Sheet (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=331181)
Greater Rod of Quicken Metamagic (up to 9th level spells)
Contingency: Celerity if lost the initiative
Spells prepared (some with scrolls):
5 1st: Ray of Enfeeblement, Silent Image
5 2nd: Rope Trick, Invisibility, Web, Bull's Strength
5 3rd: Protection from Energy, Slow, Stinking Cloud, Ray of Exhaustion, Haste, Fly, Unluck
5 4th: Solid Fog, Resilient Sphere, DimDor, Black Tentacles, Celerity
4 5th: Teleport, Overland Flight, Wall of Stone, Baleful Polymorph
4 6th: Greater Dispel Magic (Area or Target), Acid Fog, Chain Ray of Exhaustion, Chain Unluck
4 7th: Chain Enervation (hit everyone 1d4 neg levels, gain 5hp per level), Energy Immunity, Forcecage
5 8th: Irresistible Dance (with reach from Archmage class!), Mind Blank, Greater Prying Eyes, Avascular Mass
4 9th: Foresight, Shapechange, Gate, Prismatic Sphere, Maw of Chaos, Chain Greater Dispel Magic (21 targets)
Tactics: 1st round Time Stop (Quickened Time Stop if Foil'd), Gate in 2 Great Wyrm Red Dragons, after that crowd control
Brass
The magitek golem Brass was created by a necromancer wizard named Bryon who wanted to learn as much about the act of creating life as possible, and so created as many different kinds of life as possible, including golems, ghouls, zombies, skeletons, wights, etc.
Bryon taught Brass about the cycle of life and how it could be created through many different means. Bryon made Brass his assistant and even taught him basic magic lessons. Being one of the created and not the creator, Brass saw what Bryon didn't: that most of those brought back from the dead would prefer being dead, and life created from nothing was empty and felt worthless, hence would do whatever it was told. However, Brass himself was happy to be useful to his master and creator, Bryon, and that Bryon was interested in his growth, and that relationship continued for just over a year.
On Brass's first "birthday," Bryon was killed and sent on by a cleric (whose god thought Bryon's work was blasphemous) leading the nearby village with torches and pitchforks. Brass escaped the destruction, but was crushed by the loss. He began questioning his existence, for he knew his master had gone on, but did not know if a golem like himself would be able to do the same.
Brass sought to speak to his master and creator, and did so thanks to the necromancy he had learned. However, his master had no words of encouragement for him regarding golems in the afterlife. Brass went to the churches, but none had ever encountered a being like him before, and could not satisfactorily answer his questions, even contacting their deities. With no help from the church, Brass went after answers with the aid of his necromancy by speaking to the dead, bringing dead back to life to answer his questions, and then sending them back when they couldn't. He queried everywhere, continually going to different villages to speak to their ancestors. His reputation was shot as a graverobber and a monster, but he ignored it, concerned only with finding out what would happen to him in the afterlife. When people began attacking him, he created undead to protect himself.
With the dead not helping him, Brass contacted other planes, requesting the help of devils when angels could not answer. The devils had never seen anything like him before and had no idea what would happen to him either, but lied and promised him answers nontheless. They convinced him to perform tasks for them in order to secure their assistance. Having no other option, he bartered with them, but they only gave him bits and pieces of information, never the entire truth that he wanted. In addition to working with devils, Brass continued to study necromancy in order that he might find the truth out on his own. His driving goal was to determine what would happen to him after he died, then to secure his afterlife.
Continual frustration of this goal built up a lot of emotion inside Brass. He exploded in rage and hit a villager who was verbally attacking him, and found to his surprise that it felt _good_. To Brass, not only was it justified, but it felt good to punish someone for doing wrong to him. When another ignorant fool attacked him later, he did it again, and the same thing happened again. Hurting other people for hurting him became a regular outlet for Brass, and he stopped minding if one of his skeletons, zombies, or devil followers killed one of the torch and pitchfork mob people.
Brass's travels took him across Strangia, into Ingary, to High Norland, Southeast to Granish, and even, with the coaching of the devils, across the planar boundaries to Finality, the planar metropolis of Acheron.
There his education intensified, and he learned the mysteries of necromancy. The mysteries furthered his prowess with magic, but the final mystery caused Brass extreme pain, because it revealed to him that he had no afterlife. Like most living things, Brass was dying, his body slowly breaking down with only a hundred or so years left, but with no afterlife to look forward to. The pain caused by learning that fact was the final straw that sent Brass into madness. What had once been hope, then determination, now changed to suffering. Finding out that his years of frustrated searching were fruitless left Brass filled with rage. He resented those living people who had joyful eternity, either in the celestial or demonic planes, to look forward to, and wanted them to suffer; to share his pain.
His studies have found a way to force others to live with his suffering. If he succeeds, it will have an effect equivalent to a continuous Symbol of Pain + nauseating status, no save, no SR, for all living creatures.
Primary Emotions: Resentment, Pain
History: Above
Scale: All living creatures on the planet
Goal: Force everyone alive to suffer.
Needs: An ancient artifact will allow him to achieve his plan: a small stone platform, 5'x5'x6". It was originally made to create world peace, with the method of giving everyone the feelings of its user, who would sit on it and meditate, with the platform making him a part of all minds and giving him the power to heal them. When its darker purpose was discovered and abused, it was destroyed and disjoined. But being an artifact, it couldn't be destroyed, and the disjunction didn't destroy its magical properties, only suppressed them. It was shattered into 500 pieces, and each piece was Sequestered, and then hidden throughout the planes (which was allowed by the other planes because it only works on the Prime Material Plane) so that no one would ever find it. Rejoining the magic of the platform requires a spellcaster to perform a spell-turning ritual on the disjunction, and the spellcaster must have caster level at least equal to the caster who put the disjunction on the platform in the first place, namely 40.
Obstacles: Finding the fragments with their sequester. Getting the fragments back using clones where possible. Helping his clones survive on the planes where the fragments are hidden. Rejoining the magic of the platform. The powerful Royal Wizards of Ingary and, to a lesser extent, the Royal Gadgeteer of Strangia.
Influence: Originally Brass moved openly, using his magic to take down anyone in his way, especially back when he was researching the afterlife. However, with his current plan he has become a manipulator who moves in secret, because his task is so large and his simulacrums so weak by comparasin that if others were to learn of his plan, they would have the time to build an army or convince some powerful people or even deities to stop him.
Resources: Necromancy creations, genius-level intelligence, 9th level spells, 51 simulacrums of varying levels, an army of devils (and each simulacrum has a smaller army of weaker devils), the tension that has sprung up around steampunk technology, protection from good adventurers in Finality, great wealth in Finality with the ability to create wealth on the Prime Material plane by magic
Each simulacrum has necromancy creations, genius-level intelligence, and a small army of devils
Plan: Through his devil contacts, Brass knows where the pieces on the other planes are, leaving only 50 on the planet to be discovered. During his studies, he created Simulacrums to help him. He now has exactly 51 of them, 5 level 7, 7 level 8, 8 level 9, and 31 level 10, one of which is Sequestered and in the event of his death will awaken and revive him. There are 51 so that on the off-chance anyone counts them and destroys the first 50, they'll imagine he somehow broke the rules and got a wand of Simulacrum and won't suspect there is one left. The simulacrums share Brass's goals absolutely, and for the same reasons that he himself has, because they _are_ him.
When he finds all the pieces of the platform, he'll sit on it and permanently damage everyone else's brain to the extent that they all feel continuous pain. He sends out his clones, most of which he has permantly Polymorph Any Object'd into powerful forms native to the planes they must travel to, in pairs of 2 to collect 20 fragments at a time. A few teams have already returned with their collection of fragments, and cause suffering across the land for fun. Brass himself waits in Finality with his army of devils to recreate the platform and return to exact his revenge. He will overcome this with the help of simulacrums in a ritual that will combine their caster levels, so he needs at least 2 level 10 simulacrums around to complete his scheme (4 if he himself is not around).
2 of Brass's clones have started a war between the King of Strangia and a group of rangers who hate everything about steampunk technology and want to overthrow the Royal Gadgeteer, which should keep those groups occupied until his plan is complete. He counts on the Royal Wizards of Ingary being too wrapped up in their own affairs (family and the protection of the country) to worry about him if he keeps his plan secret from them, so operates from a different plane to not attract their attention.
Boundaries: Won't destroy nature if it doesn't hurt anyone, won't do anything strictly helpful.
Personal Threat Level: High. Level 20 partly-optimized wizard.
Treats Minions: Simulacrums well, ensuring their protection on the planes they travel to with proper equipment. Others not well, Brass is a control freak due to his mastermind status, and will verbally abuse others when they screw up.
Visual quirks: Glowing eyes and a mechanical body that is technologically beyond anything else in existence.
Theme Music: Down with the Sickness (Disturbed)
Escape plan: Simulacrums: Fly away with Invisibility, Teleport (if able), Brass: Die and come back with the 7th Mystery and/or a Simulacrum Wishing him repaired
I'd also like to get some feedback on his power level: Is he a fair challenge for 3 level 20 PCs and 2 level 18 Cohorts with Frank and K rules (including a F&K Samurai, F&K Fighter with Mage Slayer, and a Gadgeteer)?
Character Sheet (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=331181)
Greater Rod of Quicken Metamagic (up to 9th level spells)
Contingency: Celerity if lost the initiative
Spells prepared (some with scrolls):
5 1st: Ray of Enfeeblement, Silent Image
5 2nd: Rope Trick, Invisibility, Web, Bull's Strength
5 3rd: Protection from Energy, Slow, Stinking Cloud, Ray of Exhaustion, Haste, Fly, Unluck
5 4th: Solid Fog, Resilient Sphere, DimDor, Black Tentacles, Celerity
4 5th: Teleport, Overland Flight, Wall of Stone, Baleful Polymorph
4 6th: Greater Dispel Magic (Area or Target), Acid Fog, Chain Ray of Exhaustion, Chain Unluck
4 7th: Chain Enervation (hit everyone 1d4 neg levels, gain 5hp per level), Energy Immunity, Forcecage
5 8th: Irresistible Dance (with reach from Archmage class!), Mind Blank, Greater Prying Eyes, Avascular Mass
4 9th: Foresight, Shapechange, Gate, Prismatic Sphere, Maw of Chaos, Chain Greater Dispel Magic (21 targets)
Tactics: 1st round Time Stop (Quickened Time Stop if Foil'd), Gate in 2 Great Wyrm Red Dragons, after that crowd control