How's this guy rate as a villain (build only)

[Hiro]

Note: I still need to do the skills and equipment but here's the basic build:

Race: Fey'ri Unholy Scion
Statistics:

Str: 15 (+2)
Dex: 20 (+5)
Con: 16 (+3)
Int: 23 (+6)
Wis: 20 (+5)
Cha: 25 (+7)

Swashbuckler 3

Class Features:
Base Attack: +3
Base Saves: +3 Fort; +1 Ref; +1 Will
Bonus Feat: Weapon Finesse
Grace +1
Insightful Strike (+Int Mod to Damage)
HD: 3d10+9

Stalwart Sorcerer 4

Class Features: Variant
Base Attack: +2
Base Saves: +1/+1/+4
Summon Familiar: Fiendish Raven
Spellcasting: (6/8/8/8/7/6/4)
(9/5/5/4/3/2/1)
Martial Weapon Proficiency: Elven Thinblade
Weapon Focus: Elven Thinblade
Caster Level: 16
Bonus HP: 20
HD: 4d4+12

Ur-Priest 2

Class Features:
Base Attack: +1
Base Saves: +0/+0/+3
Rebuke Undead: 10/Day
Spellcasting: (6/7/6/5/5/5/5/3/2/1)
caster Level: 10
HD: 2d8+6

Mystic Theurge 8

Class Features:
Base Attack: +5
Base Saves: +3/+3/+7
+9 Arcane and Divine Spellcasting Levels
HD: 8d4+24

Total Base Attack: +11/+6/+1
Total Base Saves: +7/+5/+11

Feats By Level:

1- Iron Will
3- Spell Focus (Evil)
6- Practiced Spellcaster (Sorcerer)
9- Violate Spell
12- Fiery Burst
15- Combat Expertise
18- Hover

Fey'ri Traits

+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Consitution (already applied)
Base Speed: 30'/Fly 40' (Poor)
Medium-Size
Darkvision 60'
Low-Light Vision
Immune to Magical Sleep & effects
+2 will saves vs Enchantment spells and Abilities
Alter Self (At-will; humanoid only)
+2 Racial Bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, search, spot Checks
Elven Blood (Allows for use of the Elven Thinblade technically)
Native Outsider
Demonic Abilities:

Fire Res 10
Detect Thoughts 1/day
Suggestion 1/day
Darkness 1/day

Unholy Scion Traits:

Gain Deflection bonus +7 to AC
Gain 2 Claw Attacks doing 1d4+2 Damage
Special Attacks:

Familial Charm: Mother is under constant Charm Person Spell (Allows for no save, Scion can use any of it's spell-like Abilities with her as the source as well as use her senses at will)

Unholy Strike: Weapons and Claws are Considered Evil-aligned for overcoming DR; +2d6 Unholy Damage to Good opponents

Special Qualities:

DR 10/Good
Fast Healing 4

Spell-Like abilities:

3/day: Charm Person, Protection from Good, Major Image, Poison, True Seeing, Unholy Aura.
1/day: Desecrate, Enervation, Dominate Person, Animate Dead (Max: 80 Skeletons or Zombies with this ability), Unhallow, Harm, Gate (To abyss), Polymorph any object

Immune to Poison and Mind-Affecting Effects
Instant Knowledge
Resistance to Cold 5, Electricity 5, Acid 5, and Fire 5
Spell Resistance 30
Ability Modifiers: (Already applied)
Dex +2, Int +6, Wis +2, Cha +4.

Sorcerer Spells Known:

0-Lvl: Launch Bolt, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Presdigitation, Ghost sound, Dancing Lights, Light, Ray of Frost

1st Lvl: Critical Strike, Grease, Obscuring Mist, Lesser Orb of Cold, Lesser Orb of Electricity

2nd-Lvl: Invisibility, Phantom Foe, Scorching Ray, Ray of Ice, Wall of Gloom

3rd-Lvl: Fireball, Summon Undead III, Wind Wall, Sound Lance

4th-Lvl: Black Tentacles, Enervation, Greater Wings of Air

5th-Lvl: Summon Undead V, Arcane Fusion

6th-Lvl: Lingering Flames

[mucco]

He is dangerous, in a bad way. With 17 class levels and 9th level spells, he has to be a fight for a level 13 party at least. But, he is going to average about 110 hp. If your party is even vaguely optimizing, they're going to be able to drop him in one round.

Also, what would his tactics be? He looks like he has too many abilities and too little actions to be a true challenge, even with Miracle on his side.

Need the PC builds to judge.

[Coidzor]

Those 3 levels of swashbuckler don't really seem to be doing much. And Stalwart Sorcerer seems kind of meh when you're going to be taking so many levels of Mystic Theurge.

[mattie_p]

I agree with Coidzor, swashbuckler isn't doing anything. I'm pretty sure you can't successfully gish divine AND arcane classes simultaneously through a theurge *. Either theurge it, or gish it (arcane OR divine) but not both. But honestly, what are the tactics like? Why does it need divine/arcane/thinblade? Can't it just have minions out the wazoo?

If you are looking for DMM, then cleric X / PRC X will get you there fine, with decent BAB and armor proficiencies. If arcane meta-magic shenanigans, better off with sorc X + Wiz Y + practiced sorc + UM (10) + finish up Wiz for all kinds of free metamagic.



* Not without extreme cheese on the level of pun-pun or other TO. Look, just pick one or two things to do. You really can't do everything. Tough.

[Metahuman1]

Needs a level of spellsword somewhere.

[eggs]

My first thought is that it looks really cheesy (not in the optimization sense).

Also, Elfs don't get Thinblade proficiency without shelling out a feat. But that's basically the same as a Rapier, so there's not really any reason not to handwave it.

In terms of encounter balance:
Basically, this thing's important feature is that it's an Ur-Priest. If you try to put it into melee, it'll be torn apart without rabid self-buffing ahead of time. But its spells are going to set some serious limits on the build's appropriateness.

With Ur-Priest CL 18, Blasphemy will straight-out destroy the party if the party members have under 14 HD (no save); that could introduce a bit of a narrative problem against a lower-level party (if they're really problems, why doesn't this guy just kill them?). Your sweet spot is probably going to be using this against a level 14-16 party: the Ur-Priest is scary because it gets 9th level spells early, not because it uses them well; level 17 Wizards and Clerics bring more brute force into a fight than Ur-Priest 10.

As mentioned before, this is pretty fragile. I'd recommend focusing Spell and ability selection on the Sorcerer side more on Immediate defense actions, because it has some pretty good ones - Celerity (overpowered for PCs, almost expected for Big Bads), Wings of Cover, even the Dungeonscape Spell Shield ACF can be interesting for a villain.

This would leave the Ur-Priest side free for various offensive/Control options. Use them.

There's a weird temptation that often goes with the Cleric spell list to use those spells to pretend to be a Fighter just because you can get bigger numbers than the Fighter. Don't do that. For two reasons.
1-This guy is squishy.
2-Spell slots are better used to just shut down encounters than they are to pretend to be the one guy on the battlefield who can't just shut down encounters. Focusing on casting also makes for more interesting tactical problems on the players' part.

You haven't listed tactics or Ur-Priest spells prepared, but be sure to have the tools up to boost your saves and touch AC, effects prepared to get initiative, to resist easy shut-downs like Mind Attacks, Death effects, etc., to launch some meangingfully inhibiting debuffs, to present some interesting defenses like Repulsion, Ironguard or Spell Immunity, to have an interesting Contingency set, to slip away if the party hasn't appropriately locked down dimensional travel, etc. Basically, to act as a full caster with 9th level spells.

[Hiro]

The party consists of a heal-bot cleric, 2 tanks and a skillmonkey rogue.

the Ur-priest tactics adn spells consist of mostly battlefield control, debuffs and summoning minions.

The swash is simply there for a better base attack and the +2 fort required to get into Ur-priest at a level lower than 9.

Actually the thinblade is a rapier that does longsword damage and able to be used with weapon finesse.

But thsi is a rough draft version I admit. I still need to fine tweak

but remmeber: the unholy scion can use it's abilities through it's mother and if she' a royal or even upper class nobility and perhaps even good aligned. the PC's can't attack her without feeling bad.

AND the scion has fast healing with the ability to camp the battle or slip away.

Plus that nasty +2d6 unholy damage on melee attacks with a Base to rival a cleric or mid-level fighter. if it hits a good aligned opponent.

But you guys are right. It may be better to be either fully one or the other. in erms of caster vs melee. the fey'ri preferred class is sorcerer wich is why I used it instead of wizard.

Oh look at the "easy shut down counter" in unholy scion (it's in heroes of horror btw) full immunity to mind-affecting effects.

[Coidzor]

You want into Ur-Priest before 9th Level?

Savage Bard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantSavageBard) is the class for you. Gets its saves right for the class by 2nd level and should have enough class skills and skill points to take care of those prereqs as well.

[Hiro]

I tweaked this as a different character How's this look?

Name: Valen Astrilyn
Race: Human Katane
Level: 23
Class: Cleric of Oghma 2/Wizard 5/Rogue 1/Spellwarp Sniper 5/Master of Shrouds 5/Mystic Theurge 5

Statistics:

Str: 14 (+2)
Dex: 18 (+4)
Con: 15 (+2)
Int: 20 (+5)
Wis: 20 (+5)
Cha: 18 (+4)

Total Base Attack: +13/+8/+3
Total Base Saves: +8/+7/+17

Class Features:

Rogue: Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding
Wizard: Summon Familiar (Stoat/Weasel), Scribe Scroll, Extend spell
Cleric: Domains: (Charm/Trickery)/ Powers: Charm +4 Cha for 1 min. 1/day; Trickery: Add Bluff, Hide, Disguise to Class skills; Rebuke Undead 10/day)
Spellwarp Sniper: Spellwarp, Sudden Raystrike +2d6, Precise Shot, Ray Mastery, +5 Wizard Spellcasting Levels
Master of Shrouds: Extra Rebuking, Rebuke Undead, Summon Undead (Shadow, Wraith; 8/day), Improved Summoning, +5 Cleric Spellcasting Levels
Mystic Theurge: +5 Cleric and Wizard Spellcasting Levels

Feats: Augment Summoning, Daunting Presence, Imperious Command, Improved Toughness, Point Blank Shot, Profane Lifeleech, Ranged Spell Specialization, weapon Focus (Ranged Spell)

Spellbook:

All 0-Lvl Spells
1st Level: Protection from Evil, Protection from Good, Grease, Obscuring Mist, Unseen Servant, Comprehend Languages, Identify, Magic Missile, Silent Image, Expeditious Retreat, Hail of Stone, All Lesser Orb Spells, Guided Shot, Backbiter, Shieldbearer

2nd Level: Resist Energy, Glitterdust, Darkness, Shatter, Scorching Ray, Flaming Sphere, Ray of Ice, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Minor Image, Blindness/Deafness, Cat's Grace, Levitate, Pyrotechnics, Rope Trick,Sting Ray, Shadow Spray

3rd Level: Dispel magic, Summon Monster III, Hold Person, Suggestion, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Wind Wall, Fly, Haste, Slow, Shrink Item, Reverse Arrows, Acid Breath, Sound Lance, Shadow Binding, Undead Torch, Steeldance

4th Level: Black Tentacles, Summon Monster IV, Dimension Door, Arcane Eye, Charm Monster, Confusion, Resilient Sphere, Bestow Curse, Enervation, Fear, Stone Shape, Orbs of Force and Sound, Know Vulnerabilities (Made Permanent), Force Missiles, Voice of the Dragon, Spell Enhancer

5th Level: Wall of Stone, Teleport, Prying Eyes, Cone of Cold, Wall of Force, Magic Jar, Waves of Fatigue, Transmute rock to mud, Telekinesis, Permanency, Duelward, Summon Undead V

6th Level: Superior Resistance, Acid Storm, Reflective Disguise, Imperious Glare, Ray of Entropy, Revive Undead, Legend Lore, Summon Monster VI, Geas, Contingency, Circle of Death, Mage's Lucubration, Flesh to Stone

7th Level: Antimagic Ray, Energy Immunity, Radiant Assault, Final Rebuke, Awaken undead, Evil Glare, Greater Teleport, Plane Shift, Phase Door, Insanity, Projet Image, Control Undead

8th Level: Spell Engine, Lightning Ring, Blackfire, Moment of Prescience, Polar Ray, Polymorph any object, Horrid Wilting

-----------------

Cleric Spells prepared:

0-Lvl: Create water x2, Light, Detect Magic, Guidance x 2, Cure Minor Wounds

1st Lvl: Doom x 2, Protection from Good, Sanctuary x2, Sign, Nightshield

2nd Lvl: Veil of Shadow, Desecrate, Death Knell, Silence x2

3rd Lvl: Magic Circle vs Good, Searing Dark x2, Clutch of Orcus, Tremor

4th Lvl: Divine Power x2, Cure Critical wounds, Negative Energy Aura

5th Lvl: Greater Vigor, Greater Command x2

6th Lvl: Antilife Shell

-------------------

Katane Traits (Found in Dragon Magazine)

60% Chance to auto-revive upon death as a vampire
Detected by "Detect Undead" as an 11HD Vampire

Darkvision 60'
Immunity to Energy Drains & Domination Power of Vampires
Gain Improved Initiative as Bonus Feat
Cold Resistance 5
Electricity Resistance 5
Damage Reduction 5/Silver
50% Fortification
Improved Evasion vs Negative Energy
Slow Aging
Can sense Vampires, Vampire Spawn, Katanes & other bloodsucking undead at 200'

+2 save bonus vs Fear, Poison, Disease, Paralysis & Necromancy School Spells
+4 Racial bonus to Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently & Spot
+2 Bonus on Rebuke vs vampires & Vampire spawn
+2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Cha (Already applied)

Takes 1d4 Damage from a direct hit from Holy Water
Vulnerable to Turning: If Turn attempt would affect Katane: instead imposes a -4 on Attacks, saves, skill and Ability checks until turner attacks the katane| If Katane would be destroyed; instead stuns it for 2d4 rounds

Gain Special Attack: Blood Drain (as Vampire)
Gain Special Quality: Blood Hunger (Make will saves every 3 days or face penalties)

Supernatural ability: charm Person 4/day
Supernatural ability: Spider climb (At-will)
Light Sensitivity

-------------------------

Equipment:

Weapon: Longsword+3 Enchanted with Eager, Dancing & Paralyzing

Belt of Hidden Pouches
Boots of Swift Passage
Bracers of Arcane Freedom
Casting Glove
Circlet of Rapid casting
Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis
Impervious Vestments
Cloak of Resistance +5
Ring of Protection +4
Ring of Weapon Breaking (Gain 10/+5 and breaks weapon if it fails a Fort DC: 20 save upon successful melee hit)

Metamagic Rods: (Greater; quicken) (Lesser: Extend), (Lesser: Still and Silent)
Wand of Cure Light wounds x2, Wand of Mass Inflict Light Wounds x1

Efficient Quiver
Handy Haversack

-----------------------

Battle Tactics:

1st Round: Summon 2 Shadows + Use Quicken Rod to cast anti-life Shell
2nd Round: Direct Shadows to attack, Cast Silence on spellcasters while hanging back
3rd Round: Use Charm Person on strongest-seeming opponent (usually a fighter or rogue), have shadows flank with the charmed opponent or have them focus on spellcasters
4th Round: Utilize Sudden Raystrikes as necessary (since it is affected by all the boosts he has)

[mattie_p]

Name: Valen Astrilyn
Level: 23
Class: Cleric of Oghma 2/Wizard 5/Rogue 1/Spellwarp Sniper 5/Master of Shrouds 5/Mystic Theurge 5

Wizard casting 8th Level spells, Cleric casting 6th level spells.

Hiro, you are getting closer. But by level 23, a wizard/cleric/theurge should be casting 9th level spells in something. Otherwise he's not doing it right. And then he can do anything. If you are trying to lower his tier intentionally, that is cool, but he should be able to summon something better than two shadows (CR 3 each). Is he just playing around with them (the PCs)?

A level 23 straight wiz BBEG should be able to destroy anyone pre-epic through Epic spellcasting shenanigans. With No PRCs. With no focused specialist/master specialist/Initiate of the Seven Veils/Arch Mage. Although that works too, if you want to rule the world. Or make your own world. Whatever.

I think we need some feedback on the PCs you are trying to challenge, and what this villain is trying to accomplish, and why is he playing around with the PCs when he should be able to re-write reality to get rid of them like, a long time ago.

[Runestar]

What lv are your PCs? If you are calculating his cr strictly by the book, you will find that he will be far too weak for his cr. Basically, his prowess has been badly diluted by mystic theurge lvs, and the cr adjustment for feyri and unholy scion. In return, the SLAs you get aren't really any use for that lv, and there is no point having access to so many special abilities when you lack the actions to spam them.

You also seem exceedingly fragile. Too few hp basically.

My advice is to streamline his build by either dropping feyri or unholy scion. If it is an fiendish elf you want, half-fiend elf can fill in nicely. For spellcasting, go either pure sorc or ur-priest (can't recall any good priest builds off hand, but I think an ex-cleric5/ur-priest10 is potent enough as is).

I like to keep it simple. On paper, your build is cr20, so for the same thing, I too can have a half-fiend elf sorc18 (cr21) or fey'ri sorc18 (cr20). :smallsmile:

[eggs]

I think we have an idea of the concept you want, but what level are the players? That's really going to be important - this build, for instance, would be a pushover for a level 15 party (if it's alone, anyway), but it'll be absolutely devastating for a party of level 10s.

EDIT:
If this is supposed to be a villain who's scary as a solo encounter against high-level PCs, be sure you have tools to abuse the action economy. That would mean this guy would have to have enough actions to compete with those of the party's size.

[Hiro]

The Half-vampire version is made to be defeated then rise again as a full vampire )Katane's (in the dragon mag) have a 3% chance cumuulative with HD to rise again after death as one.

Which later adds vampire lord then master vampire PrC an dmore wizard levels.

it's a continuous RP

From what I get (i'm onyl the secondary GM and not privy to all of the details) but the party is lvl 10 or so when they first encounter him and have to flee, then beat him after a few levels.

1 Cleric, 1 Fighter 1 Ranger and a Rogue for party members starting game at lvl 6 is the party.