Gimme a monster(s)

[Little Brother]

I want monsters, and maybe NPCs for an organization, who can challenge a party of T1-3, being a (probably Cloistered)Cleric, an Arcane caster of some sort(pro'lly a wizard), a Warblade, a Druid(I think? He said he liked the Sidhe Scholar, but I dunno, maybe a Psion/Erudite or Archivist, he's expressed interest in all of them), and maybe something else(He's expressed interest in Binder and Bard, but might not be part of it). Optimized, probably very.

I need to fight them, I want them to fear for their lives. Them winning is not required, but they need a chance, so no Emerald Legion. Official material only, and a singe boss monster. Also, no magic. This group is supposed to be against all magic, sorta terroristy. Psionics might be okay, I dunno, but I want them to be martial, including the boss, and any monster minions he has.

Can this be done? The best idea I had was a Wyrm of War with all the Tiger Claw abilities instead of casting, but that seems to be an ass-pull.

[Steward]

What level is the party?

[Little Brother]

What level is the party?'Bout 10, give or take one.

[Steward]

A non-magic using foe for a group of Tier 1 optimized casters is going to be tricky, I think. CR is right out -- anything CR 10 without spell-like or supernatural abilities at all is going to be a pushover.

Golems (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/golem.htm) might be good for a challenge. You could put a greater stone golem or a brass golem (MM2) as the 'big boss', and probably tweak their stats a bit to make up for the party's strength once the classes/builds are finalized.

[Little Brother]

Actually, for a boss-guy, I got an idea:

Human Factotum 3/Swashbuckler 3/Fighter 1(Hit and Run variant)/Iaijutsu Master 5/Battledancer 1/Monk 2/Marshal 1/Paladin of Tyranny 2/???

This gets me Intelligence to damage, plus many times charisma modifier if the target is flat-footed(Which it will be, since the build gets Int+Dex+Cha to initiative), it gets intelligence+wis+cha onto its AC when unarmored. Furthermore, it gets Int+Cha to trip attempts. Issue is really survivability, but I like the light, fast, clever, mental-based, Tarquin-esque fighter.

Thoughts/Improvement? How much higher level than them should this guy be? Or should I just scrap this build and start over?

[Little Brother]

A non-magic using foe for a group of Tier 1 optimized casters is going to be tricky, I think. CR is right out -- anything CR 10 without spell-like or supernatural abilities at all is going to be a pushover.

Golems (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/golem.htm) might be good for a challenge. You could put a greater stone golem or a brass golem (MM2) as the 'big boss', and probably tweak their stats a bit to make up for the party's strength once the classes/builds are finalized.I like golems a lot(And they fit, they're elemental, and not inherently magical), but I want it to be like a full organization, a smart, competent, dangerous terrorist organization. Golems are good, but I want human-ishs, sentient things, to be the mainstay of the organization.

[Steward]

Oh, that's a good point. I was thinking more like the golems would be the servants of the actual intelligent members of the organization -- the human-ish types would be in charge and the golems would handle the actual head-to-head combat with powerful spellcasters. If the monsters should be the main members of the organization though... I'm really not sure. I can't think of any intelligent human-like creatures that are tough enough to challenge multiple mid-level spellcasters without using supernatural or spell-like abilities. You might have to use class levels or refluff something else from a Monster Manual or something.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I'd use Shadow Creature (LoM) Whisper Gnome (RoS) Swordsages, with Extra Silence and Silencing Strike. Give them Darkstalker (LoM) with Improved Feint and Assassin's Stance. Next to a caster he can move-action feint to make them think he's missed with a standard-action strike, and he readies an action to (5-ft. adjust if necessary and) attack or use a martial strike if they cast a spell, with Silencing Strike. They can also ready an action to use Silence centered on a point in space if an opponent casts a spell with a verbal component, which automatically ruins the spell. Not extremely dangerous, but extremely anti-caster and the 50% miss chance for Shadow Creature will help against melee threats.

Possibly throw on werecreature and use a Serval from Sandstorm as the base animal. You could also make Whisper Gnome bruisers, give them Warblade and/or (Idiot) Crusader with Titan Fighting (RoS) and Iron Heart Surge and they'll be extremely difficult to handle.

It would be good to throw in some kind of big melee beast with a potentially game-ending special ability, not necessarily a decision maker. Umber Hulks come to mind, or maybe Half-Dragon Trolls if the BBEG is a dragon, or maybe Dragonkin with class levels. A Dragonkin Fighter with ITWF, Brutal Throw, Quick-Draw, and (gloves of endless) javelins is an extremely dangerous foe.

I'd make the BBEG a dragon and use the Wyrm of War archtype in Dragons of Eberron. He would still get spellcasting, but can learn Tiger Claw maneuvers instead of spells. I'd give him (Greater) Dispel Magic for sure, and AMF if he can, along with Xing Mongoose and whatever other Tiger Claw tricks you can come up with. I'd guess he'd be spending spell slots to initiate maneuvers instead of the typical per-encounter plus recovery mechanic.