Themed Characters That Have Nothing To Do With Bears! (Sorry.)

[Deth Muncher]

Okay, I know how much this forum just LOVES to make bear-themed things, but honestly, I just can't bear to bring one of those into my campaign.

As well, long long ago, you guys helped me come up with some really neat characters for my campaign, that I never had a chance to implement. But I will now. Oh yes, I will now. And I need you guys' help to come up with how best to stat them up! After six years of playing this game, I feel pretty confident with myself in certain aspects, but y'know, the collective Playground hivemind never ceases to amaze me with what you can pull up.

So, without further ado, let's give some parameters.

-These are bad guys. Bad, bad dudes, who are not out to save any presidents from ninjas.
-They should, ideally, be able to function apart, but also deal well together as a party.
-I'm looking for these guys to be...eh, let's say Tier 2.5. I want them to be difficult, but not broken.
-If possible, I'm looking at building a level 10 build and a level 15 build for each character, since I don't know when each character is going to be encountered by the party.
(I'm not ACTUALLY asking you to build these characters, unless you really want to, I'm just trying to look at good options for each of the concepts at the given op-level.)

So, we have:
-The brothers, codenamed Frio and Fuego. Originally, I had thought of them as mages, one specializing in cold and the other in fire-based magic, but the more I thought about it, the more I might be willing to accept that they could be Warlocks as well, going the Hellfire/Hellrime Warlock route, or something on the Psionic route using the Cryo/Pyrokineticist PrC. The idea with them, though, is that they should be specializing in the elemental damage that goes with their name (if you don't speak Spanish, frio (with an accent on the I) is cold and fuego is fire), and if they were to be able to cast any goodly number of spells, they should be casting ones thematic to their element (i.e. Freezing Fog, Wall of Fire, etc). Racially, I'm thinking either humans or some sort of elf.

-Spike. That's this guy's schtick as well as his name - he's just supposed to be spiky. Ideally a fighter type, maybe the Street Fighter (or is it Thug?) class which nets him some Sneak Attack as well as fightery goodness. Bonus points if you can figure out a way for him to shoot spikes (I think the Burnoose of a Thousand Thorns in Sandstorm might do it, as well as the Spiked Shield). He might use a spiked chain to fight with, but honestly, unless he can go all Mortal Kombat and use it to grapple people over to him so that he can give them spiky hugs, he probably wouldn't. He's probably a Half Orc/Troll/Giant.

-The Colonel. Here's an interesting one - The Colonel is actually a Gelugon, or Ice Devil. He's well known for sporting a pith helmet, and making his mandibles resemble a big mustache. Ice Devils are 14HD, though, so this actually isn't quite so much about what he could have level-wise, but actually, about what he would summon. I'm well aware of what the MM entry says he can or would summon (or what would be in a troupe with him) but I'm wondering, now that 3.5 is long since done with, if some of the devils he could summon might be better replaced with others. For the purposes of this exercise, consider he normally can have several up to 12 Bearded Devils and up to 4 Bone Devils at his command.

-Bartleby. This is actually the most difficult concept, and I have no idea how it would work other than just a few basic ideas. But basically, the concept of Bartleby is to just make the PCs unable to fight back anymore. This isn't on the "let's kill them quickly" kind of thought, but rather, the kind of sapping of willpower and various powers that stun to make the PCs eventually unable to muster the ability to fight, let alone move. But he wouldn't be direct, if he didn't have to be - like, Hold/Command Person/Monster sounds like an obvious choice, but that's too straightforward. Bartleby would rather try to convince the PC that they didn't want to move anymore, rather than just outright deny them. As a secondary character goal, he'd probably have some sort of attack denial strategy, be it counterspells, or being really hard to hit, or what have you, just so I can have the glee of, when one of the PCs gets angry and yells "WHY WON'T YOU DIE" I can respond "I would prefer not to."

So, thoughts? Also, assume that all bad guys have wealth appropriate to a character of their level, sans the Colonel - he gets whatever's in his entry under treasure. They're all direct lackeys of the BBEG, so they've got access to whatever they want - and from whatever campaign setting they want, too.

[Arcanist]

-The brothers, codenamed Frio and Fuego. Originally, I had thought of them as mages, one specializing in cold and the other in fire-based magic, but the more I thought about it, the more I might be willing to accept that they could be Warlocks as well, going the Hellfire/Hellrime Warlock route, or something on the Psionic route using the Cryo/Pyrokineticist PrC. The idea with them, though, is that they should be specializing in the elemental damage that goes with their name (if you don't speak Spanish, frio (with an accent on the I) is cold and fuego is fire), and if they were to be able to cast any goodly number of spells, they should be casting ones thematic to their element (i.e. Freezing Fog, Wall of Fire, etc). Racially, I'm thinking either humans or some sort of elf.

I recommend going Elemental Savant on this route. Make them both Sorcerers and give them access to Fusion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/fusion.htm)

If all goes according to plan, they should look like this when fused:
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs12/f/2006/330/6/0/Twinrova_by_Airewathiel.jpg

Bonus points if you play this as they die (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O-JwfjGDrU&feature=related). :smallamused:

[Ranting Fool]

Okay, I know how much this forum just LOVES to make bear-themed things, but honestly, I just can't bear to bring one of those into my campaign.

Yay for bad puns!

[Deth Muncher]

I recommend going Elemental Savant on this route. Make them both Sorcerers and give them access to Fusion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/fusion.htm)

If all goes according to plan, they should look like this when fused:
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs12/f/2006/330/6/0/Twinrova_by_Airewathiel.jpg

Bonus points if you play this as they die (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O-JwfjGDrU&feature=related). :smallamused:

You're a bad person and you should feel bad.

But I love it. Is it bad that I haven't played OoT in so long I completely forgot about them?


Yay for bad puns!

You think mine are bad? You should see some from some of those other threads, they're almost unbearable.

Oh. Oh gods no. I'm doing it. SAVE YOURSEEEEEEEEEEEEEELF.

[Alleran]

You think mine are bad? You should see some from some of those other threads, they're almost unbearable.

Oh. Oh gods no. I'm doing it. SAVE YOURSEEEEEEEEEEEEEELF.
I find myself able to bear the terrible nature of these puns quite well, as a matter of fact.

[Deth Muncher]

I find myself able to bear the terrible nature of these puns quite well, as a matter of fact.

Get out.

In any event, I think I actually have to do a Beary McBearington character as a hidden boss for this game. If you happen to have a link to the old Bear thread, I'd appreciate it.

[Alleran]

Get out.
Now you're just being unbearably rude.

In any case, do you mean this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140757) thread?

[danzibr]

Would the fear route be appropriate for Bartleby? Like Shneekey's CW Samurai? Or if you have someone immune to fear, get some way to overcome it, like Dread Witch.

[Deth Muncher]

Now you're just being unbearably rude.

In any case, do you mean this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140757) thread?

Aye, that were the one. Now that we have both been made to bear witness to it, let us never speak of it again.


Would the fear route be appropriate for Bartleby? Like Shneekey's CW Samurai? Or if you have someone immune to fear, get some way to overcome it, like Dread Witch.

Well, not exactly. Fear might be worth it, if I reflavor it as soul-crushing ennui. Which reminds me, isn't there a spell called Crushing Despair or Overwhelming Doom or something like that?

In any event, thinking along those lines, abilities that inflict fatigue/stun that are stackable is more like what I'm thinking. Same concept of "Stack effects until you can't move" but instead of fear, having it be stuff like Exhaustion/Fatigue or Dex drain until people literally just fall over.

[dspeyer]

For Bartleby, how about an unbodied (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/unbodied.htm) beguiler/cerebromancer (or straight psion with some homebrewed illusion powers? What the PCs interact with is a major image, (or occasionally astral construct or dominated commoner). So when the fighter cuts off Bartleby's arm, Bartleby comments "I prefer not to lose that arm" and it regrows.

[Deth Muncher]

For Bartleby, how about an unbodied (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/unbodied.htm) beguiler/cerebromancer (or straight psion with some homebrewed illusion powers? What the PCs interact with is a major image, (or occasionally astral construct or dominated commoner). So when the fighter cuts off Bartleby's arm, Bartleby comments "I prefer not to lose that arm" and it regrows.

That is...brilliant.

[SowZ]

Crushing despair is a penalty to saves, 'mfraid. What's wrong with suggestion/charm person?

[Randomguy]

Now you're just being unbearably rude.

In any case, do you mean this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140757) thread?

Now the puns are just getting grizzly.

Have you considered a Frost Mage/ Sandshaper duo for the two elemental wizards? That's a bit more desert and cold then fire and cold, though.

Spike sounds like he would be a Spiker or maybe a bladeling.

[Deth Muncher]

Now the puns are just getting grizzly.

Have you considered a Frost Mage/ Sandshaper duo for the two elemental wizards? That's a bit more desert and cold then fire and cold, though.

Spike sounds like he would be a Spiker or maybe a bladeling.

You know, I had thought about that, and maybe a third brother that's a Storm Mage, but I think that might serve better as something else. I'm not opposed to the idea, though.

Where are Spikers and Bladelings from? MoI?

[Iamyourking]

-The Colonel. Here's an interesting one - The Colonel is actually a Gelugon, or Ice Devil. He's well known for sporting a pith helmet, and making his mandibles resemble a big mustache. Ice Devils are 14HD, though, so this actually isn't quite so much about what he could have level-wise, but actually, about what he would summon. I'm well aware of what the MM entry says he can or would summon (or what would be in a troupe with him) but I'm wondering, now that 3.5 is long since done with, if some of the devils he could summon might be better replaced with others. For the purposes of this exercise, consider he normally can have several up to 12 Bearded Devils and up to 4 Bone Devils at his command.

I'd suggest dropping the Barbazus in favor of 2 Hamatulas and adding 1d6 Hamatulas to the list of things he can summon with 50% accuracy; it keeps the overall encounter level the same without adding more mooks that won't really pose much of a threat and its consistent with the common Hamatula job of being bodyguards. Perhaps he can also have an advanced Bezekira, a 12 HD one will be Huge and fairly modestly strong; and having a sneaky melee brute to hit the party in the rear as they deal with the Hamatulas would be a smart thing for an experienced tactition to do. Also, you should give a him few more SLAs; since Cone of Cold, Ice Storm, and Wall of Ice are kind of boring and predictable and while Unholy Aura is good, it's also passive. I recommend some of Charm Monster, Greater Dispel Magic, and Unhallow (Preferably tied to Deeper Darkness). Finally, I'd highly suggest giving him a magic spear, +1 cold iron of freezing burst would work nicely, so he has a little more bite in melee; it'll be too big for the players to use anyways so you don't have to worry about giving out too much loot.

Alternately you could use the CR 17 Gelugon and have his retinue just be skeletons and zombies he made with Animate Dead; presumably his Major and Sergeant Major would be midbosses at some point in this instance.

For the CR 10 version just have them catch him by himself, or maybe with just enough Barbazus to slow them down.

[Feralventas]

"-Spike. That's this guy's schtick as well as his name - he's just supposed to be spiky. Ideally a fighter type, maybe the Street Fighter (or is it Thug?) class which nets him some Sneak Attack as well as fightery goodness. Bonus points if you can figure out a way for him to shoot spikes (I think the Burnoose of a Thousand Thorns in Sandstorm might do it, as well as the Spiked Shield). He might use a spiked chain to fight with, but honestly, unless he can go all Mortal Kombat and use it to grapple people over to him so that he can give them spiky hugs, he probably wouldn't. He's probably a Half Orc/Troll/Giant."

Half-orc should work fine, but what I'd actually suggest is Psion or Wilder for the Crystal Shard power.

Upon manifesting this power, you
propel a razor-sharp crystal shard at
your target. You must succeed on a
ranged touch attack with the ray to
deal damage to a target. The ray deals
1d6 points of piercing damage.
Augment: For every additional
power point you spend, this power’s
damage increases by 1d6 points.

Go Wilder, boost his AC via Wild Surged Inertial Armor and the like, carry a spiked chain in case he needs to get into Melee, otherwise just use this power augmented as much as possible and then nail people with 10 to 12d6 worth of crystalline spike.

There's also a Swarm of Crystals that might work well as a cone-shaped wave of spikes against multiple targets (d4's though).

[Deth Muncher]

I'd suggest dropping the Barbazus in favor of 2 Hamatulas and adding 1d6 Hamatulas to the list of things he can summon with 50% accuracy; it keeps the overall encounter level the same without adding more mooks that won't really pose much of a threat and its consistent with the common Hamatula job of being bodyguards. Perhaps he can also have an advanced Bezekira, a 12 HD one will be Huge and fairly modestly strong; and having a sneaky melee brute to hit the party in the rear as they deal with the Hamatulas would be a smart thing for an experienced tactition to do. Also, you should give a him few more SLAs; since Cone of Cold, Ice Storm, and Wall of Ice are kind of boring and predictable and while Unholy Aura is good, it's also passive. I recommend some of Charm Monster, Greater Dispel Magic, and Unhallow (Preferably tied to Deeper Darkness). Finally, I'd highly suggest giving him a magic spear, +1 cold iron of freezing burst would work nicely, so he has a little more bite in melee; it'll be too big for the players to use anyways so you don't have to worry about giving out too much loot.

Alternately you could use the CR 17 Gelugon and have his retinue just be skeletons and zombies he made with Animate Dead; presumably his Major and Sergeant Major would be midbosses at some point in this instance.

For the CR 10 version just have them catch him by himself, or maybe with just enough Barbazus to slow them down.
Does this CR17 version actually exist? Or are you just saying make an encounter with him having been advanced a few HD and havign all the zombies?


"-Spike. That's this guy's schtick as well as his name - he's just supposed to be spiky. Ideally a fighter type, maybe the Street Fighter (or is it Thug?) class which nets him some Sneak Attack as well as fightery goodness. Bonus points if you can figure out a way for him to shoot spikes (I think the Burnoose of a Thousand Thorns in Sandstorm might do it, as well as the Spiked Shield). He might use a spiked chain to fight with, but honestly, unless he can go all Mortal Kombat and use it to grapple people over to him so that he can give them spiky hugs, he probably wouldn't. He's probably a Half Orc/Troll/Giant."

Half-orc should work fine, but what I'd actually suggest is Psion or Wilder for the Crystal Shard power.

Upon manifesting this power, you
propel a razor-sharp crystal shard at
your target. You must succeed on a
ranged touch attack with the ray to
deal damage to a target. The ray deals
1d6 points of piercing damage.
Augment: For every additional
power point you spend, this power’s
damage increases by 1d6 points.

Go Wilder, boost his AC via Wild Surged Inertial Armor and the like, carry a spiked chain in case he needs to get into Melee, otherwise just use this power augmented as much as possible and then nail people with 10 to 12d6 worth of crystalline spike.

There's also a Swarm of Crystals that might work well as a cone-shaped wave of spikes against multiple targets (d4's though).

Ooh! Sneaky. I like that. Also, there's the Razor Armor in the BOVD which lets him shoot spikes in a similar fashion, which I thought was cool. But I like psychic needles of death.

[DeusMortuusEst]

Totemist with manticore belt might also work well for spike, ranged spikey attacks. Fluff as you like.

[Iamyourking]

The CR 17 version is in the Gates of Hell, but since it's free I don't suppose there's any harm in just posting it:

The reason for why it got boosted: The gelugon, for years considered the
second most powerful common devil, was now under the cornugon in terms of power. We still can’t figure out the rationale for this, particularly considering how third edition has made such an effort to maintain the “feel” of first edition. So, we decided to present a Dicefreaks-certified gelugon.

Large Outsider (Devil, Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 16d8+128 (200 hp)
Initiative: +11 (+7 Dexterity, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 40 ft.
Armor Class: 37 (+7 Dexterity, +21 natural, -1 size),
touch 16, flat-footed 30
Base Attack/Grapple: +16/+32
Attack: +3 cold iron spear of freezing burst +30 melee (2d6+21+1d6 (cold) and slow 19-20/x3 +1d10 (cold)) or claw +27 melee (1d10+12)
Full Attack: +3 cold iron spear of freezing burst +30/+25/+20/+15 melee (2d6+21+1d6 (cold) and slow 19-20/x3 +1d10 (cold)) and bite +25 melee (2d6+6 plus disease) and tail +25 melee (3d6+6 and slow) or 2 claws +27 melee (1d10+12) and bite +25 melee (2d6+6 plus disease) and tail +25 melee (3d6+6 and slow)
Space/Reach: 10 ft. /10 ft.
Special Attacks: Disease, fear aura, slow, spell-like abilities, summon devils
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 15/good and silver, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to cold, fire and poison, regeneration 5, resistance to acid 10, see in darkness, spell resistance 29, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +17, Will +17
Abilities: Str 35, Dex 25, Con 26, Int 24, Wis 24, Cha 24
Skills: Bluff +26, Climb +31, Concentration +27, Diplomacy +30, Disguise +7 (+9 acting), Intimidate +28, Jump +35, Knowledge (any three) +26, Listen +26, Move Silently +26, Search +26, Sense motive +26, Spellcraft +26, Spot +26, Survival +7 (+9 tracking)
Feats: Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Improved Critical (spear), Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack
Environment: The Nine Hells of Perdition.
Organization: Solitary, team (2-4), squad (6-10) or troupe (1-2 gelugon, 7-12 barbazu, and 1-4 osyluth)
Challenge Rating: 17
Treasure: Standard coins, double goods, standard items
Alignment: Always Lawful Evil
Advancement: 17-32 HD (Large), 33-48 HD (Huge)
Fear Aura (Su): A gelugon can radiate a 10 foot radius fear aura as a free action. A creature in the area must succeed on a DC 25 Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell (caster level 16th). A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same gelugon’s aura for 24 hours. Other devils are immune to the aura. The save is Charisma based.
Disease (Ex): A creature struck by a gelugon's bite attack must succeed on a DC 26 Fortitude save or be infected with a disease known as frigid ravaging. (incubation period 1day; initial damage 1d6 Constitution,
secondary damage 1 point Constitution drain) The save is Constitution based.
Regeneration (Ex): A gelugon takes normal damage from good-aligned silver weapons, and from spells and effects with the good descriptor.
Slow (Su): A hit from a gelugon’s tail or spear induces mind-numbing cold. The opponent must succeed in a Fort save DC 26 or be affected as though by a slow spell for 1d6 rounds. The save is Constitution based.
Spell-like Abilities: At will - animate dead, charm monster, cone of cold, desecrate, detect good, detect magic, fly, fog cloud, greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds), ice storm, magic circle against good, obscuring mist, persistent image, polymorph, suggestion, unhallow, unholy aura, wall of ice. Caster level 16th; DC 17+spell level.
Summon Devils (Sp): Once per day, the ice devil may attempt to summon 2d10 lemures or 1d6 barbazus with a 75% chance, or 2d4 osyluths, 1d6 hamatulas or another gelugon with a 50% chance. This ability is equivalent to a 6th level spell.
Possessions: A gelugon carries a +3 cold iron spear of freezing burst.

As you can see a lot of the ideas I suggested are from here; but they're still good ones.

Dicefreaks also provides numbers for how many troops he'll command: 59,049 barbazu troopers, 729 barbazu sergeants and the same number of hamatula lieutenants, 81 hamatula master sergeants and cornugon captains, 9 hamatula sergeant majors and cornugon majors, and 1 cornugon sergeant majors. Oh, and ~500,000 lemures; but they count as ammunition rather than troops. Understandably, you probably don't want that many and I highly doubt his brigadier would let him bring the whole regiment; but it's a testament to his strategic ability that he can effectively command that many troops.

[Deth Muncher]

Totemist with manticore belt might also work well for spike, ranged spikey attacks. Fluff as you like.

I've been trying to find a reason to bring MoI into the game, so that could be really cool.


The CR 17 version is in the Gates of Hell, but since it's free I don't suppose there's any harm in just posting it:

snip

As you can see a lot of the ideas I suggested are from here; but they're still good ones.

Dicefreaks also provides numbers for how many troops he'll command: 59,049 barbazu troopers, 729 barbazu sergeants and the same number of hamatula lieutenants, 81 hamatula master sergeants and cornugon captains, 9 hamatula sergeant majors and cornugon majors, and 1 cornugon sergeant majors. Oh, and ~500,000 lemures; but they count as ammunition rather than troops. Understandably, you probably don't want that many and I highly doubt his brigadier would let him bring the whole regiment; but it's a testament to his strategic ability that he can effectively command that many troops.

Oh, that's cool! (No pun intended...this time.) I like it.

[Fable Wright]

For Bartleby... I remember an old E6 build (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10948096&postcount=34) that might help for the build. A few of the highlights:
Willing Deformity (Mad) and Insane Defiance: Immune to Mind-Affecting, at all levels of the builds, and can take Wisdom damage to redirect Mind-Affecting spells to other people, forcing them -4 penalties on their saves.
Goad + Mage Slayer line: If you're in melee range, you're having a bad day. If you add Willing Deformity (Tall) and a reach weapon (and a gauntlet) in, you're having a very, very bad day.
Deception Mantle + Psychic Meditation: 50% miss chance in combat.

If you put this on an Unbodied with a Ghost Touch weapon... be prepared for players' hate. Not only can they not cast defensively in a large area (and they probably will still be disrupted if they try, just not by AoOs...), they're immune to 75% of attack straight up, you have to attack them, you have Brainlock, and what they're fighting is still just an illusion (via Assume Likeness, not with spells), as dspeyer suggested. It would be interesting to try out, at least.

[Kazyan]

I've been trying to find a reason to bring MoI into the game, so that could be really cool.

Make the base race a Skarn, also from MoI. They have spikes on their arms. And a prestige class (Spinemeld Warrior) just for their spikes.

EDIT: And take the Blood-Spiked Charger feat.

[Agent 451]

Now the puns are just getting grizzly.

I'll just leave this here...

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbqc18cGiL1r279fro1_500.jpg

[Flame of Anor]

I'm loving the Melville reference.

[Deth Muncher]

Crushing despair is a penalty to saves, 'mfraid. What's wrong with suggestion/charm person?

Derr, I forgot to respond to this.

Basically, they feel a little too...direct. I mean, I guess I can just reflavor them, but the character is all about making the PCs just completely lose the will to fight, which is why I imagine status effects like Fatigue or Exhaustion, or Dexterity drain so that they literally just cannot move anymore.

But on the other hand, with a Suggestion/Charm combo, he could just say "Stand there." or the whole "Charm makes him your bestest fwiend" thing could just be "you look at him and suddenly lose all desire to punch him."

As Flames of Anor (and probably some of the others of you) got, Bartleby is a reference to a short Herman Melville story, "Bartleby, the Scrivener."

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Okay, I know how much this forum just LOVES to make bear-themed things, but honestly, I just can't bear to bring one of those into my campaign.

As well, long long ago, you guys helped me come up with some really neat characters for my campaign, that I never had a chance to implement. But I will now. Oh yes, I will now. And I need you guys' help to come up with how best to stat them up! After six years of playing this game, I feel pretty confident with myself in certain aspects, but y'know, the collective Playground hivemind never ceases to amaze me with what you can pull up.

So, without further ado, let's give some parameters.

-These are bad guys. Bad, bad dudes, who are not out to save any presidents from ninjas.
-They should, ideally, be able to function apart, but also deal well together as a party.
-I'm looking for these guys to be...eh, let's say Tier 2.5. I want them to be difficult, but not broken.
-If possible, I'm looking at building a level 10 build and a level 15 build for each character, since I don't know when each character is going to be encountered by the party.
(I'm not ACTUALLY asking you to build these characters, unless you really want to, I'm just trying to look at good options for each of the concepts at the given op-level.)Here's some of my suggestions:


So, we have:
-The brothers, codenamed Frio and Fuego. Originally, I had thought of them as mages, one specializing in cold and the other in fire-based magic, but the more I thought about it, the more I might be willing to accept that they could be Warlocks as well, going the Hellfire/Hellrime Warlock route, or something on the Psionic route using the Cryo/Pyrokineticist PrC. The idea with them, though, is that they should be specializing in the elemental damage that goes with their name (if you don't speak Spanish, frio (with an accent on the I) is cold and fuego is fire), and if they were to be able to cast any goodly number of spells, they should be casting ones thematic to their element (i.e. Freezing Fog, Wall of Fire, etc). Racially, I'm thinking either humans or some sort of elf.Okay, here's some ideas..

For the Warlock route, Fuego could easily be a Hellfire Warlock. Deals a whole boatload of damage with Hellfire Blast. Also, Wall of Perilous Flame, but mostly HFB.

For Frio, he's more of a battlefield control specialist, with Chilling Tentacles being one of his favorites, but also Hellrime Blast for some damage.


-Spike. That's this guy's schtick as well as his name - he's just supposed to be spiky. Ideally a fighter type, maybe the Street Fighter (or is it Thug?) class which nets him some Sneak Attack as well as fightery goodness. Bonus points if you can figure out a way for him to shoot spikes (I think the Burnoose of a Thousand Thorns in Sandstorm might do it, as well as the Spiked Shield). He might use a spiked chain to fight with, but honestly, unless he can go all Mortal Kombat and use it to grapple people over to him so that he can give them spiky hugs, he probably wouldn't. He's probably a Half Orc/Troll/Giant.Have you ever heard of Totemists? If not, you really should give them a look.

Specifically, Manticore Belt bound to Totem Chakra gives you spines you can launch, based on the amount of essentia you put into them. If you count them as natural weapons (and really, they should be), there are other soulmelds which boost the power of natural weapons. Or just keep it a two-level dip for the manticore belt.


-The Colonel. Here's an interesting one - The Colonel is actually a Gelugon, or Ice Devil. He's well known for sporting a pith helmet, and making his mandibles resemble a big mustache. Ice Devils are 14HD, though, so this actually isn't quite so much about what he could have level-wise, but actually, about what he would summon. I'm well aware of what the MM entry says he can or would summon (or what would be in a troupe with him) but I'm wondering, now that 3.5 is long since done with, if some of the devils he could summon might be better replaced with others. For the purposes of this exercise, consider he normally can have several up to 12 Bearded Devils and up to 4 Bone Devils at his command.Hmm... not much to add here. Maybe either Bard for IC or Marshall for aura. But in either case, he doesn't really have enough levels to be worth it.

I'm not aware of any sources that lets him summon any other types of demons, sorry.


-Bartleby. This is actually the most difficult concept, and I have no idea how it would work other than just a few basic ideas. But basically, the concept of Bartleby is to just make the PCs unable to fight back anymore. This isn't on the "let's kill them quickly" kind of thought, but rather, the kind of sapping of willpower and various powers that stun to make the PCs eventually unable to muster the ability to fight, let alone move. But he wouldn't be direct, if he didn't have to be - like, Hold/Command Person/Monster sounds like an obvious choice, but that's too straightforward. Bartleby would rather try to convince the PC that they didn't want to move anymore, rather than just outright deny them. As a secondary character goal, he'd probably have some sort of attack denial strategy, be it counterspells, or being really hard to hit, or what have you, just so I can have the glee of, when one of the PCs gets angry and yells "WHY WON'T YOU DIE" I can respond "I would prefer not to." Oohhh... this is an interesting concept. Let's see where we can go with this.

Mmm... I'd have to go with either Wizard or Sorcerer. Whatever you do, for the Level 15 version, give him a level of Archmage with Mastery of Counterspelling. Auto-spell turning when counterspelled? Heck yes please!

I'd also suggest the feats Improved Counterspell and Heighten so that no matter what the party casts, he CAN counterspell it.

Also, Dispel and Greater Dispel. "No, you can't have nice buffs".

As far as disabling and shutting down, spells like Grease, Web, Glitterdust, Stinking Cloud... it is your choice if you want to go into it or not, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Also, Illusions. In fact, if it wasn't for needing at least one spell from every college to make sure you can counter anything they can throw, I'd make him a Beguiler. Illusions are a great way of screwing with people's heads. And if they start using True Seeing... congratulations, you just made them blow WBL. Continue with next trick.

Here's an obnoxious one... Illusionary Terrain + Symbol of Insanity. Those without True Seeing are perfectly safe. It's the ones with True Seeing (or if someone Disbelieves or walks through it) who are in danger. Again, it can be more dangerous to succeed than lose.

Also, Illusionary Terrain + Prismatic Wall. VERY lulz-worthy.

"Okay, a stone wall appears before him."

"Oh, come on, we've seen him cast illusions before, gotta be fake! CHARGE!"

"Okay, you charge through and hit the wall."

"Oh, what kind? Stone?"

"No. Prismatic. Start rolling saves..."

[Moonwolf727]

I have a few idea's for them.

For Fuego (assuming he is a wizard or sorcerer, unlikely yes) if Frio dies first then have him use continual flame on the body and then a quickened animate flame, BAM instant medium or large fire elemental and a touching moment in the memory of his brother.

As for bartleby, well just make sure he has a ring of blinking and/or counterspelling just to make him even more infuriating for your players to fight.
(Having him occasionally show up to cast things like sleet storm and slow on your party and then leave with gaseous form would be a perfect way to rile them.)

EDIT: If you are using complete arcane take a look at the PrC Initiate of the sevenfold veil. you don't lose a single caster level and its perfect for bringing up almost impassable walls (wards) that you can taunt people from behind, perfect for Bartleby (in my opinion).

[Deth Muncher]

Here's some of my suggestions:

Okay, here's some ideas..

For the Warlock route, Fuego could easily be a Hellfire Warlock. Deals a whole boatload of damage with Hellfire Blast. Also, Wall of Perilous Flame, but mostly HFB.

For Frio, he's more of a battlefield control specialist, with Chilling Tentacles being one of his favorites, but also Hellrime Blast for some damage.


That makes sense. Actually, this makes sense even if I don't go for Warlocks - with stuff like Freezing Fog, etc, I could very easily just have them be casters and do the exact same thing. I'll have to test out which ideas I like more. Warlocks at least have all-day use, as opposed to traditional casters who'll burn out.



Have you ever heard of Totemists? If not, you really should give them a look.
Specifically, Manticore Belt bound to Totem Chakra gives you spines you can launch, based on the amount of essentia you put into them. If you count them as natural weapons (and really, they should be), there are other soulmelds which boost the power of natural weapons. Or just keep it a two-level dip for the manticore belt.

I have heard of totemists, but no one around me ever uses the Magic of Incarnum, so I've never seen it in action. If I were to combine this with an earlier response of using make Spike a Skarn, then it'd be all sorts of super cool.



Hmm... not much to add here. Maybe either Bard for IC or Marshall for aura. But in either case, he doesn't really have enough levels to be worth it.

I'm not aware of any sources that lets him summon any other types of demons, sorry.


I was actually meaning to handwave legitimate sources and just rewrite the entry - there were only a handful of demons out when the MM1 was out, and now there's such a plethora of them that there may be better options than what he has in his entry.



Oohhh... this is an interesting concept. Let's see where we can go with this.

Mmm... I'd have to go with either Wizard or Sorcerer. Whatever you do, for the Level 15 version, give him a level of Archmage with Mastery of Counterspelling. Auto-spell turning when counterspelled? Heck yes please!

I'd also suggest the feats Improved Counterspell and Heighten so that no matter what the party casts, he CAN counterspell it.

Also, Dispel and Greater Dispel. "No, you can't have nice buffs".

As far as disabling and shutting down, spells like Grease, Web, Glitterdust, Stinking Cloud... it is your choice if you want to go into it or not, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Also, Illusions. In fact, if it wasn't for needing at least one spell from every college to make sure you can counter anything they can throw, I'd make him a Beguiler. Illusions are a great way of screwing with people's heads. And if they start using True Seeing... congratulations, you just made them blow WBL. Continue with next trick.

Here's an obnoxious one... Illusionary Terrain + Symbol of Insanity. Those without True Seeing are perfectly safe. It's the ones with True Seeing (or if someone Disbelieves or walks through it) who are in danger. Again, it can be more dangerous to succeed than lose.

Also, Illusionary Terrain + Prismatic Wall. VERY lulz-worthy.

"Okay, a stone wall appears before him."

"Oh, come on, we've seen him cast illusions before, gotta be fake! CHARGE!"

"Okay, you charge through and hit the wall."

"Oh, what kind? Stone?"

"No. Prismatic. Start rolling saves..."

That, sir, is trolltastic. I love it.


I have a few idea's for them.

For Fuego (assuming he is a wizard or sorcerer, unlikely yes) if Frio dies first then have him use continual flame on the body and then a quickened animate flame, BAM instant medium or large fire elemental and a touching moment in the memory of his brother.

That's actually a really neat thought!



As for Bartleby, well just make sure he has a ring of blinking and/or counterspelling just to make him even more infuriating for your players to fight.
(Having him occasionally show up to cast things like sleet storm and slow on your party and then leave with gaseous form would be a perfect way to rile them.)

EDIT: If you are using complete arcane take a look at the PrC Initiate of the sevenfold veil. you don't lose a single caster level and its perfect for bringing up almost impassable walls (wards) that you can taunt people from behind, perfect for Bartleby (in my opinion).

IotSFV might be a touch too high-op for this group, but it'd be lulzworthy nonetheless. I actually ended up detailing a plan in a thread a while back about how to keep casters being damn-near impossible to hit, so I may end up doing that with him if he doesn't go for the Initiate route.