Need some help with BBEG(s)

[Biotroll]

Hiho playground. I need your expertise. I'm DMing for a group of friends and it's getting close to the point where they are bound to meet BBEG. They should not fight it yet, but I want to be prepared.

The story of what the BBEG (spoilered for length):
The basic idea is, that there was a solar who got fed up with all the killing and whatnot for his god. He fled from him and hid in another world, where his god has little to no power over him. This was Rogukan-themed world. He knew he will be sought after, so he devised a plan. He knew his soul is stronger then any mortal soul usualy is, so with a wicked ritual (and with help of one shaman) he divided himself into two beings. A woman and a man. These beings were human-like but were not really human and they know nothing of what they were before.
The shaman took them in his house, he taught them about the society and all. However the shaman was old and one day he passed away, never telling the woman and the man what they are, keeping his secret in his hidden diary. So, the woman and the man moved somewhere else, to live happy lives away from the place that gave them so much pain.
They loved each other, as when they were together, they felt whole. However, they noticed other things. They did not age as others did, other people also felt uncomfortable around them (usualy being overwhelmed by fear when they left their presence) and they started to show some signs of having talents in magic. People thought them devils or evil mages and drove them away.
The woman and the man didn't understand why they are so hated and tried to live in other villages again and again and again. After 200 years of trying, they were desperate and their hatred for humans took over them. They left the society and started honing their magic skills. Now after more then 100 years of studying and preparing, they are returning back to humans, with hidden army of demons from shadowlands and mind-eating bugs backing them up. They are generals of this force and play intrigue with emperor, as they pretended to be newcomers to this land and with their actions build a places of position, even being considered to be allowed to make their own clan while secretly plotting to wipe out humans and hand the lands to the demons.

So, what do I need? I need two characters, around lvl17. They should be humans or some race very close to human (and both characters need to be same race of course). Both of them will have (good) descriptor though.
-The woman should be focusing on arcane and skills mostly. My initial idea was bard/sublime chord/dracolexi (refluffed) as I wanted her to have the power of the voice so strong to even kill a man. So probably sonic spells and some enchantment spells, with good interaction skills (diplomacy, bluff, ...). I'm not sure on feats or spells though and if you know some better classes that would fit the theme, I am listening. :smallsmile:
-The man should be melee/divine gish. If he could be charisma based, even better. To be honest, I don't have any idea of what classes to use. My only thought was cleric/crusader/RKV, but I ain't sure how it works as I never used one. If he could get some blasty domain to throw some area destroying spells even better.

All sources are open for now except dragon magazines (as I only have few of them, dragon magazine compendium is fine). Race/alignment/fluff restrictions are lifted.

So, can you help me with my game? :smallsmile:

[Red Fel]

With regard to classes, I'd have to give it some more thought. But with regard to race, have you considered Dvati? One soul being too big for one body, so it's in two separate bodies - sounds like what you've got here. Admittedly, Dvati are born that way and are aware of their dual nature, but you can refluff that.

Consider also the Dvati racial limitation on only one of the pair casting spells at once. Assuming that, by RAW, this includes only spells, one can be casting spells each round while the other uses maneuvers/psionics/etc. The catch, of course, is that they'd have to have the same class levels, split HP, and so forth. My Dvati mechanics are a bit rusty and I don't have the book in front of me.

If you're going for a Rokugan-type setting, go with Rokugan-type classes. For the arcane, consider Wu Jen as an option. Blasting with the five elements? Yes please. For the martial, definitely something ToB. Cleric/Crusader/RKV is an option, albeit one that would require some refluff for a once-Solar.

[Biotroll]

Yes, I am aware of Dvati and it was my first thought on this BBEG. However, they will only meet them together once or twice in social interaction and then each of them should stand alone with his mob of mooks to cleave through. That's why I was looking into human, maybe aasimars.

While Wu Jen is good, I miss many of the voice/sound spells with him, which should be the focus of the woman character. Dracolexi which could give Power Word X spells is ony for spontaneous caster only too. Still, thanks for advice, I will take a better look at it once I'm home and not AFB.:smallsmile:

[Red Fel]

Yes, I am aware of Dvati and it was my first thought on this BBEG. However, they will only meet them together once or twice in social interaction and then each of them should stand alone with his mob of mooks to cleave through. That's why I was looking into human, maybe aasimars.

While Wu Jen is good, I miss many of the voice/sound spells with him, which should be the focus of the woman character. Dracolexi which could give Power Word X spells is ony for spontaneous caster only too. Still, thanks for advice, I will take a better look at it once I'm home and not AFB.:smallsmile:

Hmm. You might consider one of the slightly-off-human races, which come across as mostly human but have some slightly non-human tendencies or aura. This would help explain the discomfort they cause. (For example, Azurin are humans touched by soul-stuff, which is perfect fluff for an incarnated Solar.)

Apart from the appeal of RKV mechanics, (specifically Divine Impetus) I might actually suggest avoiding RKV altogether. Fluff-wise, I just don't know how well it fits the image you want to convey. Crusader is a good choice if you want him to be her "knight in shining armor" protector, but Warblade would give you a more "ferocious samurai" feel, if that's your aim.

Alternatively, you could base their abilities more explicitly on the Solar from which they derive their identities and power. Consider the fact that the Solar is a divine being - so, okay, divine caster. Indeed, a Solar casts spells as a 20th-level Cleric with access to Air, Destruction, Good, Law or War (choose two). Even a Solar who has rebelled against its patron would carry its patron's mark, so likely whichever of these became a divine caster would instinctively gravitate towards its deity, or its deity's domains.

The Solar is also a massive melee beast with a +5 dancing greatsword - so Warblade or Crusader fits there. It has Cleave-type feats, plus Dodge and Improved Initiative, so it's clearly an offensive monster.

I would pick two builds that synergize well. For example, Crusader on one character and Cleric (or Cloistered Cleric) on the other is extremely good, because the Crusader is built to pull focus away from squishy casters. But add synergies and improve it; take one of them and add an Incarnum dip, for example, and boost functionality with a host of special abilities. (And the flavor - an incarnated spiritual being using the incarnation of spirit-stuff as a weapon? Need I say more?)

You might also consider adding horses. In an Asian-themed campaign, the horse is a symbol of nobility; by placing them on horseback, you are both saying that they are noble, and that they are somewhat removed from the rest of humanity (in terms of physical position and in terms of psychology, this is true).

Don't just look at the builds in terms of complementary mechanics, though. Look for flavor. Remember, this is a Solar we're talking about. It is the literal Avenging Hand of [Deity]. A being whose entire existence is dedicated to utterly crushing the enemies of good. There should be a real "wrath of the heavens" flavor to anything these guys do. So any class you end up selecting, make sure it carries that concept.

And if you want to make them truly vicious, gestalt them. These may be mortal incarnations, but they were once an epic-level Outsider - perhaps even two bodies won't be enough to contain all of that raw power. Perhaps only a gestalt build can fully convey the massive amounts of pain they can inflict. (And nothing throws the PCs off quite like when the BBEG they've been fighting who is clearly a high-level Fighter suddenly starts throwing around 9th-level spells, for example.)

[Biotroll]

Incarnum, how could I miss something so obvious?:smallsigh: After some thinking gestalt should make things so much easier on these characters. Thanks for the advice, I think I got what I need to make them work.