Need to Scare the Hell out of this party (3.5)

[Overlord Rion]

Okay, here it goes. It has been request that I make a 14th level melee fighter to scare the living hell out of a party of 6ish.

The party consists of (from what I have been told)

One Necromancer who loves using Night's Caress, a Crossbow fighter who tends to kill things quickly, a Buff/Healer/Unhittable Cleric, a Beatyour****/Unhittable fighter, and one halfling rogue who's hide check is usually something like a 45.

Only banned books are BoED and BoVD, he's Lawful Neutral, and an elf. NPC abilities, traits, templates, flaws are all green lighted. Only thing I need to avoid is enhancement bonuses. Assume WBL, and ignore his armor. Also, his stats are whatever they need to be.

[Acanous]

Make a Crusader/Cloistered Cleric/Ruby Knight Vindicator.
Give him a Persisted Wraithstrike and a persisted death Ward at the beginning of the day, and there's an item in the MiC that grants True strike 3/day as a swift action. I think they're bracers.

You'll need boots of flying, and preferrably an item that lets you blink.

That's about all you need, actually, unless you want to go into serious cheese and kill them instead of just scaring them.

Edit: Relevant thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130462)

[Overlord Rion]

Scaring can also and probably will involve killing them all. My friend the DM has told me many stories of this group, especially the crossbow fighter, destroying his encounters.

[JeminiZero]

Okay, here it goes. It has been request that I make a 14th level melee fighter to scare the living hell out of a party of 6ish.

When you say "scare" them do you mean:
1) You want the character to be able to crank out nigh infinite fear effects (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235933) in one round, that will leave the party panicked, (and with brown trousers)... OR

2) Make a nigh-infinite damage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241913) exploit character that pretty much ignores any AC less than 100, and drops even the toughest of them in one hit.

[Telonius]

Have six pet rust monsters with you.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Scaring can also and probably will involve killing them all. My friend the DM has told me many stories of this group, especially the crossbow fighter, destroying his encounters.

...A fighter with a crossbow destroys his encounters?

Yeah. You don't need much to kill this group. Just make a Zhentarim Soldier 9/Spirit Lion Totem barbarian 1/warblade 4. Make a basic Power Attack-Leap Attack-Shock Trooper (Heedless Charge) charger. Put a bunch of boosts and counters on it.

[Arbane]

One hundred Kobolds throwing Green Slime bombs at them from a ledge?

[Rallicus]

Basically, the DM can't manage to create balanced encounters that are difficult enough for the party? So his solution is for you to make someone over twice their level.

Pfft. Sounds like a great campaign. What a wonderful solution, "killing them" and all that.

[JoeYounger]

Basically, the DM can't manage to create balanced encounters that are difficult enough for the party? So his solution is for you to make someone over twice their level.

Pfft. Sounds like a great campaign. What a wonderful solution, "killing them" and all that.

it was worded poorly, but I believe the party is level 14, and it consists of 6ish players.

[Hohat]

Basically, the DM can't manage to create balanced encounters that are difficult enough for the party? So his solution is for you to make someone over twice their level.

Pfft. Sounds like a great campaign. What a wonderful solution, "killing them" and all that.

Well, I'll be surprised if one NPC will be able to off them. In my experience, you can make a super powerful NPC, but if he doesn't have minions, it's 5 turns of being beat on before you get your turn again.

In other words- Quality without some lower-level quantity to distract is gonna die.

Unless they can't hit him.

[Rallicus]

it was worded poorly, but I believe the party is level 14, and it consists of 6ish players.

Ah, you're right.

Disregard my last statement then. :smallbiggrin:

[Philistine]

it was worded poorly, but I believe the party is level 14, and it consists of 6ish players.

Are you sure? I read it the same way Rallicus did, and I only count 5 party members listed in the next paragraph: Necro, Cleric, Rogue, and 2xFighters. And the idea of a crossbow-wielding Fighter wrecking encounters is difficult enough to credit at level 6, much less 14. And while ridiculous, getting +45 to Hide checks at level 6 would be... juuuuuuuust possible, by investing basically all the character's resources into that one skill via every trick in the book.

[JoeYounger]

Are you sure? I read it the same way Rallicus did, and I only count 5 party members listed in the next paragraph: Necro, Cleric, Rogue, and 2xFighters. And the idea of a crossbow-wielding Fighter wrecking encounters is difficult enough to credit at level 6, much less 14. And while ridiculous, getting +45 to Hide checks at level 6 would be... juuuuuuuust possible, by investing basically all the character's resources into that one skill via every trick in the book.

I am not sure, haha, but that was how I read it. :P You're just as likely as I am to have the correct interpritation!

[dropdadgbe]

See if you can find a feat that allows Rending. There's a way to do it with Razorclaw Shifters, if nothing else. Along similar lines, you may be able to find an animal that rends and base a lycanthrope on it.

Next, have the fighter tear off someone's arm and beat them with it (maybe with Cleave?). Better yet, have the rend deal enough to knock the character unconscious, and beat one of the other PCs with it. Bonus points if the second PC gets knocked out too.

If that doesn't scream at them how outmatched they are, I don't know what will.

Other ideas:

Make the fighter a dual-wielding spellthief and steal all the cleric's cure spells so he can't cure spontaneously for a minute.

Set the fight inside an antimagic field.

If they've never heard of a Frenzied Berserker, the fact that it keeps fighting long after it should be dead is terrifying. If they're more experienced players, it probably won't shock them.

Use sundering attacks.

[Overlord Rion]

No, the party is level 14, and he has some support. I've seen some of the stuff that crossbow fighter does. It seems like it shouldn't be possible, but he is in no way shape or form, cheating or doing stupid crap.

He does what a martial class is supposed to do-deal significant amounts of damage in short order.

[Hiro Protagonest]

No, the party is level 14, and he has some support. I've seen some of the stuff that crossbow fighter does. It seems like it shouldn't be possible, but he is in no way shape or form, cheating or doing stupid crap.

He does what a martial class is supposed to do-deal significant amounts of damage in short order.

What's the fighter's build? Does the DM favor lots of mooks while the fighter has mediocre damage but lots of attacks? Does he favor solo enemies while the fighter goes for "one shot, one kill"?

[sonofzeal]

No, the party is level 14, and he has some support. I've seen some of the stuff that crossbow fighter does. It seems like it shouldn't be possible, but he is in no way shape or form, cheating or doing stupid crap.

He does what a martial class is supposed to do-deal significant amounts of damage in short order.
Oh - Lightning Mace + Adaptive Weapon?

The Buffetting Fist graft from Magic of Eberron confers nigh-immunity to ranged attacks, and a half-decent knockback effect. That plus the aforementioned Death Ward should put some fear into the party as their best tricks slide off him like water off a duck's back. Give him Sunder too, for added "omg" factor.

[Urpriest]

Against a big party you really need some form of crowd control. Whatever build you go for should have a fear element, with Never Outnumbered and Imperious Command or equivalent abilities to keep the players from winning due to numbers alone.

[Bloodgruve]

How do you scare a party?

Take away their actions.
Take away their ability scores.
Take away their items.
Take away their spells.
Steal their castle/town/city.
Kill their friends and contacts.

Summon Cthulhu and eat their sanity :)

Blood~

[JeminiZero]

Is nightstick stacking a go? A DMM cleric might work.

I was thinking of Divine Magician to get Friendly Fire, and persist that to block the fighter.

[Fable Wright]

I second the Zhentarium Fighter suggestion. Add Imperious Command and Never Outnumbered, and the party Cowers the first round of combat, and then 1 character in melee range with the fighter cowers each round. Add Spirit Lion totem for charge, so he's always full attacking, and Factotum 4 to round it out. Why Factotum? +Int to Saves, AC, and/or Attack/Damage rolls, and +4 to intimidate. Space it out Spirit Lion Totem Whirling Frenzy Barbarian 1/Factotum 1/Zhentarian Fighter 9/Factotum +3, and you can Font of Inspiration several times to increase the time you can rule combat at. First level spells can be surprisingly good, and since all the wizard ones are on your class list, you have access to wands as well. Heck, if you add in one more level of Factotum, the character can use Wraithstrike to really start the abuses. Use a Wand Bracer to pull out a Wand of Wraithstrike, use it, put it back, put your hand back on your sword, and then full attack the fighter. You don't get to Cower them that turn, but you're still getting through all of the other defenses. Add in Death Ward and Buffeting Fist, and the party would be well and truly terrified by this mysterious character.

[Dr.Orpheus]

I saw that "his stats are whatever they need to be" mentioned, just make them all 18's.

[Private]

Always a huge fan of a Druid(or Wildshape Ranger) into MoMF. Be a Wartroll (DR 5/Adamantine, Regeneration 9/Acid, SR HD+8, Dazing Blow).

Or a Pyro/Cryo-Hydra paired with Stormguard Warrior and Combat Reflexes.

Might not be the most broken BBEG ever, but it'll probably hurt.

Edit: Be a Warforged. 5 WS Ranger/ 7 MoMF / 2 Warforged Juggernaut, Wildshape into the Wartroll and you are immune to all damage except Acid. Just to really scare them.

Edit 2: I just remembered that it has to be an elf. Maybe this can be his buddy.

[Arbane]

Well, I'll be surprised if one NPC will be able to off them. In my experience, you can make a super powerful NPC, but if he doesn't have minions, it's 5 turns of being beat on before you get your turn again.

In other words- Quality without some lower-level quantity to distract is gonna die.

Unless they can't hit him.

What he said. You want to mess up a team of adventurers, you need an enemy team - either a bunch the same level or a little higher, or one Big Bad and a bunch of weaker support-lackeys.

[denthor]

Simple a 6th/5th mage/cleric with a second level spell spectral hand Range 100 feet plus 10 feet per level. This puts the mage well out of the distance of the cross bow.

Touch attack spells by pass lots of armor.

Ghoul touch

Vampiric touch

Curse

magic missles

Wave of fagtige off of scroll this will limit them to one action if they miss the saving throws.

Have magical pet from the out planes imp/quasit to draw there attention

Second Character

7th level fighter Long bow with magic arrows.

Third character

8th level thief have this character scout out there camp

Kill there transportation so they only have their feet to travel on.

[Dr.Orpheus]

No spectral hand just won't cut it the Xbow will just fire in to the next range increment and take a -1 to hit.

[Flavel]

Have the fight begin in a 3' wide corridor as the first character in line negotiates a 90 degree turn...

[animewatcha]

What's the touch ac like? Perhaps spell traps of ray of stupidity ( sr, but no save ).

[Randomguy]

You could try using a Glaivelock (You know, the warlock gish that uses eldritch glaive) in a room with an intelligent trap of greater dispel magic (Or, if money isn't an object, then chain dispel). (like the counterspelling trap in dungeonscape).

The trap dispels buffs and counterpells the spellcasters.

You should have 3 levels of hexblade, for mettle and great saving throws. Buff your saving throws as well as you can to avoid that necromancer's night's caress.

Take levels in hellfire warlock and take the bind vestige (naberious) feat to counter the constitution damage. Naberious loves to rant, so now you've got a typical, monologuing villain.
Also take a level in mindbender, so you can grab mindsight and spot the halfling. A little bragging here wouldn't be out of place. Extra style points if you've got your back turned when he comes in and you say "I seee youuu" into his mind using telepathy.

Eldritch glaive so that you can hit the unhittable people.

Use a scroll of wind wall to stop the crossbow archer's arrows.

You'd need your alignment to change to chaotic neutral or neutral evil, though.

Alternatively, use similar tactics with a hexblade/sorcerer gish (like the sorcadin gish but you lose an extra caster level). Make sure you still grab that level in mindbender, though.

[Telonius]

Is Deflect Arrows or Snatch Arrows an option?

[Tokiko Mima]

No matter what you do, you need to make sure you somewhat even the action disadvantage your fighter is facing. The players will get 6 actions to your fighters one action. Just 2 levels is not enough to counter this.

So plan on having some support. I recommend 2-4 Ur-lock (Warlock+Ur-priest) pixies with flyby attack. Make them sound like angry bees when in combat, and constantly dart behind hard cover, emerging only to attack and move back behind something else. If one of them is an Eldritch Disciple as well, he can keep the fighter healed, while another dispels/countermagics, while another focuses on buffs/debuffs and area eldritch blasts.

Because they're invisible and only attack when your fighter is attacking, you can even try to get the players to assume that the fighter is actually healing himself, buffing himself/debuffing them, countering their spells, and blasting them with magic from an unseen source.