As a DM, how much optimization is ok for a BBEG and his bodyguards?

[Rukia]

So up to this point my players have been fighting mostly MM1 creatures and have yet to come across anything non-standard, but this is about to change. In the next session or two they will be taking a trip to the Underdark(Faerun campaign) to chase down a Drow BBEG who has a couple of bodyguards and I'd like to strike some fear into them. I want to make this a tough, but fun fight and am having trouble deciding just how much optimization I should give them. I don't mean TO, more like PO for specific tasks. The Drow will have a couple days head start so would have time to setup ambushes and such expecting the group to follow.

Party is level 4 but will be level 5 by the time they undergo this mission. Group is a mixed bag right now, we have an Earth Dwarf Ranger/Lion spirit totem, whirling frenzy barb headed for Deepwarden. A grey elf generalist wizard(20 int), standard human battle Cleric and a rogue/wiz. 3 of them are fairly optimized with the rogue/wiz not much so.

So the plan is to have the BBEG be some sort of caster, either wizard or beguiler, and 2 bodyguards that are most likely some sort of scorpion chain, hit and run fighters that will stand in front of the BBEG and attempt to trip anyone getting close. I also plan to have a few Drow scouts/rogues setting up ambush points to wear down the group as they make their way down so they will be low on resources when they finally get to the BBEG. I'm having trouble with how much power to give these enemies as I don't want to do a TPK, but I also don't want the fight to be a pushover.

Should I give the BBEG the same point buy as the players and allow him to optimize to their level? Since standard Drow have LA+2 which isn't really all that strong, could I make them lesser Drow and then give them the Lolth touches template? I'm thinking 3-4 levels of fighter focusing on trips would give them a hard time but not be too overpowering.

For the scout/rogues I was thinking of building them solely for the purpose of ambushes. High hide/move silently so they wait hidden and catch them flat-footed. Something like 1 Level of hit and run fighter, a level of rogue and a level of scout. If they manage to get a surprise round(or just get init) that'd give them +dex to damage, 1d6 SA and 1d6 skirmish which would soften the party up a bit and get them to be a bit more on guard from there on out. Should I give the lesser Drow guys an Elite array? Should the scorpion chain fighters have elite array along with Lolth touched, or is that too much?

Just wondering what other DM's tend to do for their NPCs in regards to overall optimization.

[ArcturusV]

I go by the general rule of "Anything the players would do, is fair game". So I roughly match their own level of optimization. If I have wizards who do nothing but chuck fireballs and magic missiles, Melf's Acid Arrow, etc... I'm not going to go all out.

As far as your example? I don't think you need to have them THAT optimized skill/power/spell wise. You should however have them optimized tactically. You're going into Drow Territory, they know how to fight in caves, presumably a lot more than your characters. Have them fight in three dimensions using wall crawlers (I seem to recall Drow in Faerun usually using Lizard Mounts that could climb walls and walk across ceilings). Traps, yes. Poisons, yes. Use terrain, yes. Once you account for these variables they don't need to be too terribly optimized to prove to a threat to most parties in my experience.

Then again, players are generally tactically crude and unaware. So if you have superior tactical mastery (And considering the drow knows they are coming and has time to set up, this should be the case)... the optimization doesn't matter as much.

Just make sure the PCs are fighting the Drow's type of fight.

[Trinoya]

As much optimization as the players themselves utilize. For extremely metagamey players who also do huge levels of optimization this generally ends in total disaster and sometimes a TPK.

[W3bDragon]

A quick and dirty boost to your BBEG and his buddies is to give them powerful consumables that they pop at the first sign of trouble. That way, you give them magical item boosts without overloading the PCs' WBL after the fight.

For example, you can give them a few scrolls of Stoneskin, a few potions of Displacement and Heroism, and that quickly makes them a much tougher prospect for any group. Throw in a Lesser Globe of Invulnerability on the BBEG if you really want to be mean.

This allows you to make quick and simple boosts of the BBEG and his buddies without having to sit there for hours tweaking their feats, skills, and spells and spend that time on more useful preparation for the game in general.

[Rukia]

A quick and dirty boost to your BBEG and his buddies is to give them powerful consumables that they pop at the first sign of trouble. That way, you give them magical item boosts without overloading the PCs' WBL after the fight.

For example, you can give them a few scrolls of Stoneskin, a few potions of Displacement and Heroism, and that quickly makes them a much tougher prospect for any group. Throw in a Lesser Globe of Invulnerability on the BBEG if you really want to be mean.

This allows you to make quick and simple boosts of the BBEG and his buddies without having to sit there for hours tweaking their feats, skills, and spells and spend that time on more useful preparation for the game in general.

Great point.. I was worried about them getting too much treasure as they're already doing pretty well for their level. I'm running them through Crown of the Kobold King so the Barb already has a +1 dwarven axe, the cleric has a set of Mithril full plate and the rogue/wiz has slippers of spiderclimbing. They got these right before they hit level 4.

Consumables make a lot of sense as I can blow the NPC's WBL on something the party can't actually get a hold of. They'll still get a few items, but not 5k worth.

[Deaxsa]

when i have a really cool character concept that requires a ton of optimization to pull off, i'll just make him have less friends. in that scenario, he still kicks butt, but he only kicks one butt at a time (unless he's some sort of AOE monstrosity, which is unlikely) so, the more you optimize, the cooler/more intimidating you can make the enemy look, but the lower their level/quantity of friends must be in order to balance the fight out.

In other words, i make a decision on what, thematically, they should be fighting, and then i make tone up/down the enemies so that they are fighting a reasonable battle.

[Diarmuid]

It also partly depends on how you would liike to see the encounter go.

Do you expect the PC's to win, but be bloodied badly?
Do you expect the BBEG to get away?

Be careful to keep your planning to things the BBEG would know about/be able to plan for and not what you as the DM know about/can plan for.

Metagaming is bad on both sides of the screen. If you know the party's blaster loves electricity damage above all else, it's not really fair for the NPC party to plan for that if they really wouldnt have any reason to know about it beforehand.

As for ambushes/traps, be careful about traps as they can take quite a long time to craft and your "a couple days head start" might not really account for much in the way of traps.

[Runestar]

As an npc, drow are cr+1, rather than LA+2, and you should use the former when determining the cr of suitable foes.

That said, I feel that drow make poor low-cr foes, exactly because of their +1cr and -2con, which I find makes them too fragile at lower levels. Classed npcs also tend to be weaker than monsters of equivalent cr.

In addition, because you are using multiple, weaker drow npcs, I think it is okay to have a higher final EL. But because the players probably won't have too much hp either, you generally want to avoid casters or other builds which can "nova", or quickly dish out huge amounts of damage at one go, because that makes the encounter too swingy.

A few suggestions for a decent encounter:
1) Draegloth - Monsters of Faerun / Underdark, essentially a large half-fiend drow with 6 outsider HD. Cr5. You can make it cr6 with lolth-touched, and for a really challenging encounter, slap on 2 lvs of barb for a cr8 fight.

2) For bodyguards, maybe consider the tannaruk (monsters of faerun). They are tiefling orcs (5 outsider HD, cr2) and make decent damage sponges.

3) If you want a drow caster, consider a warmage, because it has slightly more hp and can wear armour. Try to give it some sources of temp hp so it is more sturdy. A duskblade makes a decent gish option.

Just some thoughts. :)

[HC Rainbow]

Also be careful not to give them items that will overpump the BBEG. Because if you make him seem like he has cool gear, and your players don't get that gear, they're gonna be a little upset.