Themed Villains: Need Mechanical Help

[Crimson Doom]

So I have six villains in mind for a campaign. Each villain is based on a particular unpleasant trait. However, although I have their traits all picked out, I don't know how best to build them based on those traits. Especially since I am not familiar with anything that is not already on this site (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm). Any help would be appreciated.

Oh, and it's for 3.5. I'm thinking level 13 for most of them, 15 for Arrogance.

So without further ado:

Deception: The idea for this one is the subtle behind-the-scenes villain. The sort who shapeshifts to the trusted adviser of the king and proceeds to give "advice" that will get the king deposed, or turns invisible and stabs a pesky heir to the throne. For the right price, of course. But the sort who, in a fight, relies more on misdirection, backstabbing, or just escaping rather than being able to fight on her own merits.

Race-wise, I figure there are a few types of shapeshifters out there, so she'll be one of them. Can any turn invisible under their own power, or blend with the surroundings? If not, what are the shapeshifter races and what pros and cons do they have?

Class-wise, I figure a couple levels of Rogue for the sneaking, and then the rest would be Wizard levels. Specializing in the school of Illusion, naturally. That being said, though, there could be some second-party class out there that fits better, so if there is one, please let me know. Also, are there any spells not in the SRD site I linked earlier that fit the deception theme?

Rage: This one is simple. Not a villain so much as an easily pissed-off force of nature, she'll incinerate you if you get in her way or annoy her in some other way.

Barbarian is an obvious choice here, and since the villain I'm basing her off of could both fly and use flames, I'm thinking half red dragon for race. I'm pretty sure of this one and I'm mostly including this one for the sake of completeness, but if you have a better idea for a class/race that exemplifies using anger to obliterate enemies, feel free to tell me about them.

Terror: This is the sort of villain who gets drunk on the fear of others. She'll show up and slaughter half the people in a village, then capture the rest and find new and unpleasant ways to torture them, savoring their fear and pain until they finally succumb to death.

The villain I'm basing this one off of has two primary abilities: the ability to cause and feed off of fear, and the ability to control her blood. I don't know if there's a Hemomancer class out there or something like that, but if there is, I'd like to be aware of it.

If there isn't one, then I'm thinking vampire sorcerer, specializing in spells involving terrorizing foes: making them run away, or paralyzing them with fear (or with Hold Person, whatever), stuff like that. What spells are particularly good for that? Alternatively, is there a class that has better fear spells than a sorcerer?

Apathy: This is the sort of villain who kinda just tags along with the others as a result of being seriously bored with everything.

The original villain could manipulate gravity, which seems odd until you notice that much of manipulating gravity can involve simply not making it worth it to keep attacking. Why bother when your sword is floating in the stratosphere and your armor has become so immensely heavy that you can't move? So I'm hoping to get a similar vibe here. Are there any spells or races that can mess around with gravity that way? If not, what do you recommend for a villain whose battle plan is essentially "Make them think it's not worth the effort"? I'm thinking spells like Web, Hold Person... very obstructive spells.

Greed: This is the sort of person who takes things just because someone has something she doesn't. Whether or not she can use it or even cares about it at all after getting it is irrelevant: she will not rest until it is hers.

Ideally, I'd want a class/race that allows the stealing of abilities, levels, weaponry, what-have-you. However, that seems terribly overpowered, so I have my doubts that it exists. Assuming I'm right, I'll settle for her being able to take the minds and wills of others, sending them out to plunder their own towns on her behalf. Wizard or Psion, I think, but being unfamiliar with Psions, I don't know if there's something in there that works well with the idea of brainwashing people to steal their own stuff and bring it to her. As for race... I dunno. What races are frequently known to be greedy, but frail? Kobolds, maybe? Goblins? If the race happens to be ugly, all the better.

Arrogance: This villain is what you hate worst about smug wizard elves taken to 11. She'll humiliate your entire party without using a fraction of her power, gloating the whole time, and then won't even acknowledge you as being worth killing. Oh-so-annoying, but if you can manage to knock that smirk off her face just once...

What makes it even worse is that the arrogance is, in some ways, justifiable, because she really is just that good.

In short, Xykon, but an elf wizard instead because both elves and wizards are known for arrogance anyways.

Mostly what I need advice for is the spell list. What spells are most optimized? What obscure spells might she pull out to impress her already-defeated foes? For, of course, in her mind any foe she faces is already beaten. Why not show them just how out of their league they are? You there, wizard, do you even recognize this spell? Of course not. Only I have the power and ability to even know what this spell is, let alone use it. That kind of thing.

[ArcturusV]

Deception:

Well, playing into deception? I wouldn't even make him a fight at all. I wouldn't give him PC class levels. Run him as something of an Aristocrat, or an Expert NPC. The theme plays into the game of the mind, rather than swinging a sword. Ideally for a villain with that theme, I want the conflict structured around "I got him dead to rights" not "And now I fist fight with Deception, the Kung Fu Master".

Having magic items can give him the edge he needs mystically, if you desire. A hat of disguise, makes sense. A ring of Invisibility, sure. This also has the bonus of rewarding your players with some loot that will let them take the mantle of "deception" and play his game on the other remaining enemies. Not a bad thing.

Side note: I'd avoid things like making your villain the Vizier. Next to the butler it's the one everyone automatically suspects, making him far less effective as a deceiver. Having him as the High Clerist, or the Captain of the Guard, or even just the King's most favored concubine or something gives you the same access and ability to warp, while not being in an obvious villain role.

Heck, make him the court jester!

But honestly with a theme like "Deception" the last thing he should be is a combat threat.

Rage:

Sorcerer into Dragon Disciple might fit better than "Barbarian" on theme terms since you mention Flight and Fire. Just be aware you'll have to give her a lot more levels to make her really "effective", something like Sorcerer 6/Dragon Disciple 10, compared to other themes that could be pulled off at lower levels. You might want to consider, if you can get access to it, the Disciple of (gods I'm going to butcher this name...) mesatepholopes or whatever from Book of Vile Darkness. The Hellfire theme of the class and it's skills could play very well into a pyro rage fiend.

Terror:

Depends on what you want with "Fear". Honestly a bard would be freakin' terrifying in this regard as Bards are very well in the "Control people's minds" wheelhouse. Fascinates, suggestions, enchantments, etc. If you bust out 9th level spells, using Mindrape (Again, book of vile darkness) on victims would play out really well as you can literally rewrite their mind so they know of nothing but agony and fear. Not to mention BoVD has things like the torture rules, torture devices, etc. Honestly I can't think of any "blood control" PrC out there off the top of my head. There's the Lifedrinker which you can enter as a vampire, which gives you blood powers, about as close as I can think of.

Apathy:

More or less read any wizard guide out there, as they tell you to use spells like Solid Fog, Black Tentacles, Web, Grease, etc. None of these are spells that are going to put the boot in someone, but is going to make sure they can't put the boot in you. I'm honestly thinking Lich with this. Someone who is effectively immortal and just bored. Doesn't care if you stab him a bunch because he's just going to reform by his phylactery in some pocket dimension/insanely defended stronghold he has. Have him mock the players for their pointless efforts, etc. "Oh, going to die again... for about the 253rd time... I wonder if this will slow me down any..."

Greed:

Sounds like you want a Spelltheif from Complete Adventurer. As they're rogues who can sneak attack to steal spells, spell like abilities, etc. Not considered grossly overpowered at all. Another option to consider is, again, Book of Vile Darkness's Ur-Priest who steals spells from the Gods. There are interesting spells to look into in the Book of Vile Darkness as well for it. For example there's actually an enchantment spell that makes someone just walk up to you and give you their most valued possession that they have on hand. The aforementioned Mindrape where you can rewrite someone's mind to turn them into a thrall to your whims, etc.

Arrogance:

Really this just screams out Epic Spellcasting, it really does. Everything from established spells like Nailed to the Sky (I threw you into space), to the ability to just make stuff up that literally no one else can possibly know and can accomplish practically anything. You might just need that higher threshold. Most of the big flashy "Ha, I win" stuff tends to be 9th level like Shapechange, Gate, etc. At 8th level spells, sure, you got some powerful stuff but it doesn't quite measure up. Polymorph Any Object comes to mind, as that spell is full of broken shenanigans. Ever turn a grain of sand into a person, yeah. Chair becomes a red dragon, etc? It really is about as close to a swiss army knife "I win" button as you have available. Temporal Stasis is another fun one to pull. Greater Planar Binding is probably key to things like that "I don't sweat you, I got Balors taking my orders", etc.

[Crimson Doom]

Deception:

Well, playing into deception? I wouldn't even make him a fight at all. I wouldn't give him PC class levels. Run him as something of an Aristocrat, or an Expert NPC. The theme plays into the game of the mind, rather than swinging a sword. Ideally for a villain with that theme, I want the conflict structured around "I got him dead to rights" not "And now I fist fight with Deception, the Kung Fu Master".

...

But honestly with a theme like "Deception" the last thing he should be is a combat threat.

Well, the idea wasn't so much that she'd actually fight so much as use spells like Mirror Image and whatnot to confuse opponents. But you do have a point in that she doesn't really need class levels to be effective at deception...


Having magic items can give him the edge he needs mystically, if you desire. A hat of disguise, makes sense. A ring of Invisibility, sure. This also has the bonus of rewarding your players with some loot that will let them take the mantle of "deception" and play his game on the other remaining enemies. Not a bad thing.

...because items like these serve that role just as well and eliminates the need to look up shapeshifting races.


Side note: I'd avoid things like making your villain the Vizier. Next to the butler it's the one everyone automatically suspects, making him far less effective as a deceiver. Having him as the High Clerist, or the Captain of the Guard, or even just the King's most favored concubine or something gives you the same access and ability to warp, while not being in an obvious villain role.

Heck, make him the court jester!

A fair point. The idea was that she could be anyone that can be useful to the goal at hand, though, so in the course of the campaign she could be any and all of those if there's something useful in it for her mission. I do like the Captain of the Guard idea, though, I think I'll use that at some point.


Rage:

Sorcerer into Dragon Disciple might fit better than "Barbarian" on theme terms since you mention Flight and Fire. Just be aware you'll have to give her a lot more levels to make her really "effective", something like Sorcerer 6/Dragon Disciple 10, compared to other themes that could be pulled off at lower levels. You might want to consider, if you can get access to it, the Disciple of (gods I'm going to butcher this name...) mesatepholopes or whatever from Book of Vile Darkness. The Hellfire theme of the class and it's skills could play very well into a pyro rage fiend.

Disciple of Mephistopeles does appear to fit everything except for the flight aspect. I could give her the spell Fly or an item that grants flight, but overall I think the Sorcerer into Dragon Disciple works better. The only problem being that I'd have to make her higher level than I had planned, but that's a minor issue. I don't actually have any players yet, I'm just planning the villains, so stuff like levels can be changed to my desire.


Terror:

Depends on what you want with "Fear". Honestly a bard would be freakin' terrifying in this regard as Bards are very well in the "Control people's minds" wheelhouse. Fascinates, suggestions, enchantments, etc. If you bust out 9th level spells, using Mindrape (Again, book of vile darkness) on victims would play out really well as you can literally rewrite their mind so they know of nothing but agony and fear. Not to mention BoVD has things like the torture rules, torture devices, etc. Honestly I can't think of any "blood control" PrC out there off the top of my head. There's the Lifedrinker which you can enter as a vampire, which gives you blood powers, about as close as I can think of.

Lifedrinker sounds promising... for Greed, actually. Lifedrinkers don't do much more with blood than a normal vampire, but taking levels and using them to boost your own prowess is definitely good for Greed. Back to Terror, though. Bard sounds good mechanically, and I suppose there's no reason why a bard can't specialize in horror music. And an evil bard would certainly be unusual. Many players wouldn't see it coming... hmm. Bard definitely has promise, although if I do that, I miss out on Mindrape. I'll have to think about that one.


Apathy:

More or less read any wizard guide out there, as they tell you to use spells like Solid Fog, Black Tentacles, Web, Grease, etc. None of these are spells that are going to put the boot in someone, but is going to make sure they can't put the boot in you. I'm honestly thinking Lich with this. Someone who is effectively immortal and just bored. Doesn't care if you stab him a bunch because he's just going to reform by his phylactery in some pocket dimension/insanely defended stronghold he has. Have him mock the players for their pointless efforts, etc. "Oh, going to die again... for about the 253rd time... I wonder if this will slow me down any..."

I like that idea of it being a lich, that actually really does play out well for Apathy. He's had centuries to try everything worth doing, and now nothing excites him because he's already done it. Good to know that wizard guides recommend that kind of thing anyway, that should be easy enough to locate.


Greed:

Sounds like you want a Spelltheif from Complete Adventurer. As they're rogues who can sneak attack to steal spells, spell like abilities, etc. Not considered grossly overpowered at all. Another option to consider is, again, Book of Vile Darkness's Ur-Priest who steals spells from the Gods. There are interesting spells to look into in the Book of Vile Darkness as well for it. For example there's actually an enchantment spell that makes someone just walk up to you and give you their most valued possession that they have on hand. The aforementioned Mindrape where you can rewrite someone's mind to turn them into a thrall to your whims, etc.

I think the Spellthief works best for what I had in mind. The Ur-Priest seems to play mostly as a cleric aside from his ability to swipe spell-like abilities. The Spellthief, on the other hand, is only as good as her ability to swipe things from others, and otherwise is just a somewhat suboptimal Rogue. The idea with Greed is that she fights best when using someone else's powers; an Ur-Priest could play an entire game and, from the perspective of the PCs, would probably just resemble an evil Cleric.


Arrogance:

Really this just screams out Epic Spellcasting, it really does. Everything from established spells like Nailed to the Sky (I threw you into space), to the ability to just make stuff up that literally no one else can possibly know and can accomplish practically anything. You might just need that higher threshold. Most of the big flashy "Ha, I win" stuff tends to be 9th level like Shapechange, Gate, etc. At 8th level spells, sure, you got some powerful stuff but it doesn't quite measure up. Polymorph Any Object comes to mind, as that spell is full of broken shenanigans. Ever turn a grain of sand into a person, yeah. Chair becomes a red dragon, etc? It really is about as close to a swiss army knife "I win" button as you have available. Temporal Stasis is another fun one to pull. Greater Planar Binding is probably key to things like that "I don't sweat you, I got Balors taking my orders", etc.

Hmm, I guess that makes sense. Higher level than I anticipated, but again, not a huge issue right now. Guess I'd better go read up on the Epic rules.

Nailed to the Sky does sound like the sort of thing an arrogant wizard would use. Throw them into the sky and forget about them. Polymorph Any Object also sounds handy on that front, and Shapechange. See how nothing holds its form around me! Watch as I become a mighty dragon, and oh, your swords are also now turnips. Good luck killing me! Ha! Gate seems somewhat less useful, but conversely, works even better for Arrogance, as it says "I'm so sure you can't win that I won't even bother fighting you myself". Summon Monster, but on a higher scale.

Thanks for all your assistance! This is all very useful information.

That being said, if anyone else is reading this thread, feel free to contribute anything you feel needs mentioning that hasn't been yet. Just because these suggestions are very good doesn't mean I don't want any more contributions.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Deception:
I like how ArcturusV suggested playing this villain; primarily not as a combatant. However, I think it's perfectly reasonable to make it a powerful illusionist. This villain should always have an escape plan, including not being there in the first place.

Rage:
Why not make her a red dragon that walks around polymorphed into a human (might need a custom item for this)? Or just a dragon?

Terror:
You could go the Imperious Command (a feat from Drow of the Underdark) Samurai with this and do a fear stacking build. Admittedly weak if any of your PCs pick up immunity to fear, but this villain could easily terrify others into helping him/her.

Apathy:
I love love love ArcturusV's idea for this one. Just use it.

Greed:
I don't have much of an opinion on this one. Spellthief is certainly thematically appropriate.

Arrogance:
Read Logic Ninja's Guide to Wizards (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104002). Build that wizard. Crush any party that doesn't pack similarly powerful casters of their own.

[Kaerou]

Deception: instead of some kind of sneak/backstabber, why not make it a seriously MAX charisma 'normal' guy, go for bard for glibness.. make him immune to detect evil/lies somehow.. and have him be a manipulating seriously evil guy who everyone *loves* and won't admit he is bad. He can be controlling an entire kingdom through 'friendship/likability' but is behind the scenes carefully pulling strings and nudging people into the right place at the wrong time etc in innocent seeming ways. In a fight maybe he's absolutely terrible..! However he's used his skills and charisma / magic to put himself in a position where other good guys who *can* fight, fight *for* him. He is in a position where you *can't* attack the guy without making it have serious repercussions and making the players look like the evil murderers. This guy should kiss babies and be thought of as a hero (maybe for solving an 'issue' he created in the first place). It could be like.. an entire adventure just finding undeniable evidence.

[Crimson Doom]

Deception:
I like how ArcturusV suggested playing this villain; primarily not as a combatant. However, I think it's perfectly reasonable to make it a powerful illusionist. This villain should always have an escape plan, including not being there in the first place.

A fair point. Escape plans are a must for manipulators, and having access to illusion spells and possibly Dimension Door are extremely useful for that.


Rage:
Why not make her a red dragon that walks around polymorphed into a human (might need a custom item for this)? Or just a dragon?

Primarily because I intend to have these villains largely working together, and having a red dragon would overshadow (literally on some occasions) the rest of the team. The idea is that if you saw all of them together, it's not obvious who's the biggest threat just by looking at them. As a red dragon in normal form, she'd be assumed to be the biggest threat whether she is or not. And on another note, even if she's polymorphed most of the time (thus avoiding the previous issue for the most part), I still have to try to figure out how to balance a non-PC race with everyone else being built as PC-style characters. Overall, it's just easier to go with Sorcerer into Dragon Disciple or whatever other ideas people come up with than to use a dragon and all the complications that implies.


Terror:
You could go the Imperious Command (a feat from Drow of the Underdark) Samurai with this and do a fear stacking build. Admittedly weak if any of your PCs pick up immunity to fear, but this villain could easily terrify others into helping him/her.

Imperious Command does work thematically, but I'm not sure how the Samurai fits into it.


Arrogance:
Read Logic Ninja's Guide to Wizards (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104002). Build that wizard. Crush any party that doesn't pack similarly powerful casters of their own.

Oooh, that'll be helpful! Thanks for the link. :smallbiggrin:


Deception: instead of some kind of sneak/backstabber, why not make it a seriously MAX charisma 'normal' guy, go for bard for glibness.. make him immune to detect evil/lies somehow.. and have him be a manipulating seriously evil guy who everyone *loves* and won't admit he is bad. He can be controlling an entire kingdom through 'friendship/likability' but is behind the scenes carefully pulling strings and nudging people into the right place at the wrong time etc in innocent seeming ways. In a fight maybe he's absolutely terrible..! However he's used his skills and charisma / magic to put himself in a position where other good guys who *can* fight, fight *for* him. He is in a position where you *can't* attack the guy without making it have serious repercussions and making the players look like the evil murderers. This guy should kiss babies and be thought of as a hero (maybe for solving an 'issue' he created in the first place). It could be like.. an entire adventure just finding undeniable evidence.

That actually is a very good option. I still like the idea of the illusionist, but I might go with the high charisma manipulator in conjunction with that. The sort of person who is completely lovable on the outside... then shapeshifts to cause chaos, then pretends to solve the problem to become even more popular/influential. Like Tarquin, but an illusionist instead of a fighter.

[Manly Man]

For the Rage one, you could try making a pretty standard Hellfire Warlock build, and have her blast everything into oblivion. If you want to stick with the Dragon Disciple, I suggest gong with a gish combination of Barbarian/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple. If you think you could get away with it, go for the Pathfinder version (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/core-rulebook/dragon-disciple) of it, since it advances your spellcaster levels, instead of just giving you spells. Probably find an alternate ACF to Rage if you want to always be able to cast your magic.

[Crimson Doom]

For the Rage one, you could try making a pretty standard Hellfire Warlock build, and have her blast everything into oblivion. If you want to stick with the Dragon Disciple, I suggest gong with a gish combination of Barbarian/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple. If you think you could get away with it, go for the Pathfinder version (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/core-rulebook/dragon-disciple) of it, since it advances your spellcaster levels, instead of just giving you spells. Probably find an alternate ACF to Rage if you want to always be able to cast your magic.

On reflection, Barbarian doesn't actually have what I want, in that the villain I'm basing Rage (I need to name these people) off of is a long-range fighter. If I was just doing an embodiment of rage, I'd probably take your suggestion there. The Pathfinder Dragon Disciple could be a useful resource, though. I might use that.

That being said, the Hellfire Warlock does not sound appealing at all. Taking Con damage every time she shoots flame, when flame is her main method of attack, doesn't appeal to me, even if it does exemplify what rage does to you if left unchecked.

[Telonius]

Deception screams "Beguiler" or "Bard." Beguiler is a class from PHB2. As for race, Changeling (from Eberron) would be perfect. They're basically minor doppelgangers without the level adjustment or racial hitdice.

Going from some of the other comments, the "standard" Hellfire Warlock build involves one level of Binder (a class from Tome of Magic) that automatically heals one ability point of damage per round if you bind Naberius. Since you're actually incurring the damage (not immune to it) Hellfire still works. Some DMs consider it borderline cheesy, but Warlock's damage output really could use the help.

Rage Mage (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20031116a&page=7) from Complete Warrior might be more what you're looking for. It's not particularly optimized (given that it's half casting) but it's certainly thematic.

[Gray Mage]

I'd make Deception be a beguiler (PHB II), which is a rogue-ish spontanious caster focused on enchantments and illusions. Both schools fit the manipulator frame.

For terror, I think most fear effect are from the necromancy school, so maybe a Dread Necromancer (Heroes of Horror)?

[Crimson Doom]

Deception screams "Beguiler" or "Bard." Beguiler is a class from PHB2.


I'd make Deception be a beguiler (PHB II), which is a rogue-ish spontanious caster focused on enchantments and illusions. Both schools fit the manipulator frame.

That does sound perfect... only I can't seem to find the Beguiler spell list. If you have a link to their spell list, I'd greatly appreciate it.


As for race, Changeling (from Eberron) would be perfect. They're basically minor doppelgangers without the level adjustment or racial hitdice.

I agree, it sounds perfect.


Going from some of the other comments, the "standard" Hellfire Warlock build involves one level of Binder (a class from Tome of Magic) that automatically heals one ability point of damage per round if you bind Naberius. Since you're actually incurring the damage (not immune to it) Hellfire still works. Some DMs consider it borderline cheesy, but Warlock's damage output really could use the help.

That does offset the disadvantages of Hellfire Warlock, but it also branches out into skills that really don't suit Rage very well at all. Under what circumstances would the embodiment of rage require Disguise Self?


Rage Mage (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20031116a&page=7) from Complete Warrior might be more what you're looking for. It's not particularly optimized (given that it's half casting) but it's certainly thematic.

Thematically, it does seem to work very well. If I understand correctly, you can go Sorcerer 3, make sure you have the spell Rage, and then I can take levels in Rage Mage. Do I understand correctly? Just need to make sure I understand how it works before using it.


For terror, I think most fear effect are from the necromancy school, so maybe a Dread Necromancer (Heroes of Horror)?

This seems very promising. Several good fear spells, and really, necromancers are terrifying anyways. Seriously, once you've seen a reanimated baby attacking the mother, you don't doubt the ability of the undead to spread terror. I think I might go with this one.

[Gray Mage]

That does sound perfect... only I can't seem to find the Beguiler spell list. If you have a link to their spell list, I'd greatly appreciate it.

The spell list is next to the class description, on page 11. Beguilers have a mostly fixed and limited spell list, but they know every spell in it.

[Telonius]

Thematically, it does seem to work very well. If I understand correctly, you can go Sorcerer 3, make sure you have the spell Rage, and then I can take levels in Rage Mage. Do I understand correctly? Just need to make sure I understand how it works before using it.



The Rage spell unfortunately doesn't do it; you need Rage or Frenzy as a class ability. A one-level dip in Barbarian will get it.

[Crimson Doom]

The Rage spell unfortunately doesn't do it; you need Rage or Frenzy as a class ability. A one-level dip in Barbarian will get it.

Ah, got it.

[ArcturusV]

Was thinking while working today, for Terror:

Shugenja -> Maho-Tsukai -> Void Disciple.

I believe the numbers you'd want level wise are... Shugenja 5, Maho-Tsukai 1 (Trade in Shugenja levels for Maho-Tsukai levels for an effective 6) into Void Disciple for 7 levels (Adding 4 more levels of Maho-Tsukai casting for 10 total).

Key ideas for it: Maho casting works off Taint which feeds into Insanity, and Blood, which is naturally creepy. Guy cuts himself to fuel his power. Instant creep factor. Maho Spells tend to deal with fear, death, and various things that either corrupt people, draining away their strength and sanity by inflicting taint (Such as the Cloud of Taint spell) or are useful for torture such as fear effect, polymorphing, spiked tentacles of forced intrusion, etc.

The void disciple is... kind of a scary class to be honest. Key features that come to mind. One, it can project a version of itself to witness practically anything on the same plane a number of times per day. Guy can be sitting in his tower, across the world, and watching you in a way that typical non-detection/divination spoiling won't effect at all. Being able to know anything, spy on anyone? Very important for someone who preys on fear.

... but perhaps scariest of all? Your Terror aspect would have the ability to grant a character skill ranks or feats temporarily twice per day. Which doesn't sound scary at first. It's obviously meant as a buff/boon. The example listed in the entry mentions something like giving an ally ranks in Ride. But think of all the sick, twisted things you could do.

.... I could do something like say... give a character Willing Deformity and next turn give them something like Deformity: Eyes... you just used an ability that they cannot save against, cannot stop, to drill a hole in their skull where a "third eye" would be, and supernaturally scarred up their eyes for life. Same sort of thing with Deformity: Face (Ugly SOB that makes women and children cry), Claws (You just twisted and warped their hands into beastial weapons), Obese, Gaunt... and really the way it works out, they'd lose the feat benefits after 7 rounds... but they'd still have the lasting scars. Hell, just being able to make someone a tub of lard one day, and skeletal the next... is kind of sick and twisted mental and physical torture if you think about it.

Really that ability to give Feats could really mess someone up. Imagine the madness (Almost literally in the case of some feats) that you could inflict on people. You will break them down into stark raving lunatics locked in a cage of fear and despair.

[Tim Proctor]

First off I love the concept here.



Deception: The idea for this one is the subtle behind-the-scenes villain. The sort who shapeshifts to the trusted adviser of the king and proceeds to give "advice" that will get the king deposed, or turns invisible and stabs a pesky heir to the throne. For the right price, of course. But the sort who, in a fight, relies more on misdirection, backstabbing, or just escaping rather than being able to fight on her own merits.

Race-wise, I figure there are a few types of shapeshifters out there, so she'll be one of them. Can any turn invisible under their own power, or blend with the surroundings? If not, what are the shapeshifter races and what pros and cons do they have?

Class-wise, I figure a couple levels of Rogue for the sneaking, and then the rest would be Wizard levels. Specializing in the school of Illusion, naturally. That being said, though, there could be some second-party class out there that fits better, so if there is one, please let me know. Also, are there any spells not in the SRD site I linked earlier that fit the deception theme?
I would go Gnome Illusionist 7 w/ Illusionist Variant (UA p. 63), and then go Shadowcraft Mage 5 (RoS 120), and then Master Specialist (CM p. 70) for 1 to 2 levels. I would just max out the Illusion and Shadow feats and it should be fairly straight forward, I would just be careful because it can make the Save or Die spells like Phantasmal Killer be really crazy good.


Rage: This one is simple. Not a villain so much as an easily pissed-off force of nature, she'll incinerate you if you get in her way or annoy her in some other way.

Barbarian is an obvious choice here, and since the villain I'm basing her off of could both fly and use flames, I'm thinking half red dragon for race. I'm pretty sure of this one and I'm mostly including this one for the sake of completeness, but if you have a better idea for a class/race that exemplifies using anger to obliterate enemies, feel free to tell me about them.
I would go Druidic Avenger w/ Shapeshifter variant from PHBII for 1 level (UA pg 51), Barbarian w/ Lion Totem from CC for Pounce for 6 or 7 levels, Warshaper for 3 levels (CW 89), Fighter 2 (just for the bonus feats). This is just a pounce 100 attacks build with rage. A classic red dragon works too.


Terror: This is the sort of villain who gets drunk on the fear of others. She'll show up and slaughter half the people in a village, then capture the rest and find new and unpleasant ways to torture them, savoring their fear and pain until they finally succumb to death.

The villain I'm basing this one off of has two primary abilities: the ability to cause and feed off of fear, and the ability to control her blood. I don't know if there's a Hemomancer class out there or something like that, but if there is, I'd like to be aware of it.

If there isn't one, then I'm thinking vampire sorcerer, specializing in spells involving terrorizing foes: making them run away, or paralyzing them with fear (or with Hold Person, whatever), stuff like that. What spells are particularly good for that? Alternatively, is there a class that has better fear spells than a sorcerer?
I'd look at Dread Necromancer (HoH 84) for 6 levels, and Nightmare Spinner for 6 levels, Blood Magus (CA 26) for 1 or 2 levels. Fear and blood don't quite go together a sangromancer build would be a bit different than a fear/blood build.


Apathy: This is the sort of villain who kinda just tags along with the others as a result of being seriously bored with everything.

The original villain could manipulate gravity, which seems odd until you notice that much of manipulating gravity can involve simply not making it worth it to keep attacking. Why bother when your sword is floating in the stratosphere and your armor has become so immensely heavy that you can't move? So I'm hoping to get a similar vibe here. Are there any spells or races that can mess around with gravity that way? If not, what do you recommend for a villain whose battle plan is essentially "Make them think it's not worth the effort"? I'm thinking spells like Web, Hold Person... very obstructive spells.
This one is a little hard for me, I'd look at something like a Troll/Crimson Scourge 8 which will make it immune to all damage except acid and fire. Wont be the best for dealing damage but damage immunity is cool. You can use some feats to gain resistance to both Acid and Fire and make it even better.


Greed: This is the sort of person who takes things just because someone has something she doesn't. Whether or not she can use it or even cares about it at all after getting it is irrelevant: she will not rest until it is hers.

Ideally, I'd want a class/race that allows the stealing of abilities, levels, weaponry, what-have-you. However, that seems terribly overpowered, so I have my doubts that it exists. Assuming I'm right, I'll settle for her being able to take the minds and wills of others, sending them out to plunder their own towns on her behalf. Wizard or Psion, I think, but being unfamiliar with Psions, I don't know if there's something in there that works well with the idea of brainwashing people to steal their own stuff and bring it to her. As for race... I dunno. What races are frequently known to be greedy, but frail? Kobolds, maybe? Goblins? If the race happens to be ugly, all the better.
I would go with a mind control build here, Enchanter Variant Wizard 9/ Mindbender (CA 54) 4, and have him not just want what people have, but want the people. Just dominate people and have them give the stuff away. Or Ghostwalk has some cool rules on possession and stuff.


Arrogance: This villain is what you hate worst about smug wizard elves taken to 11. She'll humiliate your entire party without using a fraction of her power, gloating the whole time, and then won't even acknowledge you as being worth killing. Oh-so-annoying, but if you can manage to knock that smirk off her face just once...

What makes it even worse is that the arrogance is, in some ways, justifiable, because she really is just that good.

In short, Xykon, but an elf wizard instead because both elves and wizards are known for arrogance anyways.

Mostly what I need advice for is the spell list. What spells are most optimized? What obscure spells might she pull out to impress her already-defeated foes? For, of course, in her mind any foe she faces is already beaten. Why not show them just how out of their league they are? You there, wizard, do you even recognize this spell? Of course not. Only I have the power and ability to even know what this spell is, let alone use it. That kind of thing.
If its arrogance and people not being worth their time I'd look at Conjuration variant and such so that they summon minions to deal with the stuff.

[Manly Man]

On reflection, Barbarian doesn't actually have what I want, in that the villain I'm basing Rage (I need to name these people) off of is a long-range fighter. If I was just doing an embodiment of rage, I'd probably take your suggestion there. The Pathfinder Dragon Disciple could be a useful resource, though. I might use that.

That being said, the Hellfire Warlock does not sound appealing at all. Taking Con damage every time she shoots flame, when flame is her main method of attack, doesn't appeal to me, even if it does exemplify what rage does to you if left unchecked.

Well, there's as Telonius said, and there's also a somewhat more cheesy option that only costs you a feat instead of an entire level, and that's Shape Soulmeld: Strongheart Vest, which reduces all ability damage done to you by one point. It does not explicitly make you immune to Constitution damage, which is what would disqualify you from the hellfire blast, but many folks will cry foul on it because you're not taking any damage at all from the blast. Personally, I say it's okay, but that's because if you're going to be working with devils, you've gotta be just as crafty as they are, and bend the rule to the point that you still get what you want without having to worry about baggage.

[Crimson Doom]

Was thinking while working today, for Terror:

Shugenja -> Maho-Tsukai -> Void Disciple.

I believe the numbers you'd want level wise are... Shugenja 5, Maho-Tsukai 1 (Trade in Shugenja levels for Maho-Tsukai levels for an effective 6) into Void Disciple for 7 levels (Adding 4 more levels of Maho-Tsukai casting for 10 total).

Having done some research, I officially have no clue what the Shugenja has to do with terrorizing people, Maho-Tsukai appears to have been folded into Tainted Scholar (and Taint seems somewhat more complicated than I care to understand), and Void Disciple is somewhat less up-close-and-personal than I had hoped. I do like the idea of giving them Willing Deformity, but unless there's something I missed that says that Flaws are Feats, that would be pretty much the only reason to use it. The spying is more of an abstract terror, and while Detect Thoughts could be useful, I think Dread Necromancer as a whole works better for what I had in mind.


First off I love the concept here.

Thanks!



I would go Gnome Illusionist 7 w/ Illusionist Variant (UA p. 63), and then go Shadowcraft Mage 5 (RoS 120), and then Master Specialist (CM p. 70) for 1 to 2 levels. I would just max out the Illusion and Shadow feats and it should be fairly straight forward, I would just be careful because it can make the Save or Die spells like Phantasmal Killer be really crazy good.


fairly straight forward

Oh the irony. :smallwink:

The problem with this build is that while it takes illusions up to 11, it makes her miss out on the ability to shapeshift at will as a Changeling. Master Specialist does sound promising, however. If Beguiler wasn't a thing, I'd probably go with that.


I would go Druidic Avenger w/ Shapeshifter variant from PHBII for 1 level (UA pg 51), Barbarian w/ Lion Totem from CC for Pounce for 6 or 7 levels, Warshaper for 3 levels (CW 89), Fighter 2 (just for the bonus feats). This is just a pounce 100 attacks build with rage. A classic red dragon works too.

That would work if this incarnation of rage was the sort to tear apart foes with her bare hands, but unfortunately, she's more of a "burn them up, then incinerate the ashes" kind of rager.



I'd look at Dread Necromancer (HoH 84) for 6 levels, and Nightmare Spinner for 6 levels, Blood Magus (CA 26) for 1 or 2 levels. Fear and blood don't quite go together a sangromancer build would be a bit different than a fear/blood build.

Nightmare Spinner is definitely a contender here. The ability to make people literally drop dead from their own nightmares? Perfect. Blood Magus is definitely also handy, though I'm not sure how that works with the Dread Necromancer becoming steadily more dead. How dead is a Dread Necromancer at level 6 or so? Would she still be alive enough to have blood?


This one is a little hard for me, I'd look at something like a Troll/Crimson Scourge 8 which will make it immune to all damage except acid and fire. Wont be the best for dealing damage but damage immunity is cool. You can use some feats to gain resistance to both Acid and Fire and make it even better.

Troll would be good mechanically, but roleplay-wise I was hoping for someone a bit smarter. Crimson Scourge seems mostly useful for resisting stuff that probably won't come up: fear effects, pain effects, and nonlethal damage.


I would go with a mind control build here, Enchanter Variant Wizard 9/ Mindbender (CA 54) 4, and have him not just want what people have, but want the people. Just dominate people and have them give the stuff away. Or Ghostwalk has some cool rules on possession and stuff.

Mindbender does sound pretty promising for Greed. Spellthief is closer to what I had in mind, but unless the party has decent casters, that doesn't work as well. Mind control works on everyone, but Spellthief has the desired flavor. I'll have to think about that one.


If its arrogance and people not being worth their time I'd look at Conjuration variant and such so that they summon minions to deal with the stuff.

Not quite what I intended there. It's more along the lines of "I can beat you easily, so watch me utterly decimate your party with both hands tied behind my back" kind of thing. Although summoning minions is workable, if they're really powerful minions.


Well, there's as Telonius said, and there's also a somewhat more cheesy option that only costs you a feat instead of an entire level, and that's Shape Soulmeld: Strongheart Vest, which reduces all ability damage done to you by one point. It does not explicitly make you immune to Constitution damage, which is what would disqualify you from the hellfire blast, but many folks will cry foul on it because you're not taking any damage at all from the blast. Personally, I say it's okay, but that's because if you're going to be working with devils, you've gotta be just as crafty as they are, and bend the rule to the point that you still get what you want without having to worry about baggage.

That does sound more useful than taking a whole 'nother class, but now I'm running into the issue that I can't seem to actually find an online resource that clearly states the important details of a Hellfire Warlock: prereqs, Hit Dice, when they get certain spell-like abilities, etc. (Similarly, I can't seem to find Strongheart Vest.)

[ArcturusV]

Shugenja 1 getting you Sense Elements, which is an oddly useful (If you're a void disciple and thus can get around range limitations) sort of sense ability. Plus thematically it's supposed to be the logical tie in to Maho and Void, as both of those PrCs were meant as evolutions of a Shugenja's learning.

Taint, at least as it originally appeared (And thus applies to Maho-Tsukai) is pretty simple and straight forward. An effect says "You gain X taint" so you do. If you weren't a Maho-Tsukai (Who like the Maho Bujin gets Taint Suppression as a class feature) you apply that taint as a penalty to your Con and Wisdom, as it mutates your body and warps your mind.

Thus something like a Cloud of Taint spell has an extra dimension as not only does it hurt your HP (And sickens you), but also inflicts Taint damage on a person reducing their stats by 1d3, or just 1 if they're already tainted. Between Wis and Con someone is likely to have one low score and heroes losing out on Will Save bonuses, HP, Fort Save bonuses (Fort being what usually saves against Taint as well, making them more susceptible) can cripple them, not quickly. But it's a Boss fight, you want it to go more than one round. And as Taint can't ever be totally banished (Just using the most powerful healing magics to reduce to 1 at best), it leaves the heroes with a long lasting scar that makes the villain more memorable.

Either way, not a hugely optimized thing. But it does play into the Blood aspect (As blood fuels your spell components and metamagic, either your own or taken from someone else). Just wanted to let ya know some of my reasoning. Plus the Maho-Tsukai just always got sort of sadistic spells that made me think they got off on suffering and terror. I mean... Acid Fog. Just imagine not the numbers, but the in game effect of that. That's pretty sick and wrong. That's a horrible, horrible thing to do to people. Feeding off their pain, anguish, and fear as they slowly are dissolved away. Even just simple spells like Creeping Darkness, totally sealing off someone from everything short of... Life sense and Tremor Sense as far as I can figure is a pretty scary thing. Preying on simple fears like the dark, isolation, confusion, etc.

[Manly Man]

That does sound more useful than taking a whole 'nother class, but now I'm running into the issue that I can't seem to actually find an online resource that clearly states the important details of a Hellfire Warlock: prereqs, Hit Dice, when they get certain spell-like abilities, etc. (Similarly, I can't seem to find Strongheart Vest.)

Well, I've got both books, so I can just type up what's written, as well as toss you a couple links.

Hellfire Warlock (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20061207a&page=3)

And the feat. (http://dndtools.eu/feats/magic-of-incarnum--74/shape-soulmeld--3192/)

The soulmeld's description:

"The strongheart vest protects you from attacks that would
reduce your ability scores. Any time you would take ability
damage, such as Constitution damage or Strength damage,
the amount of the damage is reduced by 1 point, to a minimum
of 0.

For example, if you fail a saving throw against the poison
of a monstrous centipede and would normally take 2 points
of Dexterity damage from its poison, you take 1 point instead.
Ten rounds later, if you fail a second saving throw against the
poison and would normally take 1 point of Dexterity damage,
you take no Dexterity damage instead.

Essentia: Every point of essentia you invest in your strongheart
vest further reduces ability damage by an additional
point. For example, if you have 3 points of essentia invested
in this soulmeld, you will subtract 4 points from any ability
damage dealt to you."

The extra essentia thing is pretty much just included for simplicity's sake, and if you have, say, an Azurin for the Hellfire Warlock's race, you can make the Strongheart Vest take two points off, but I doubt that you'll need it for this. Good for future reference, though.

[Tim Proctor]

Troll would be good mechanically, but roleplay-wise I was hoping for someone a bit smarter. Crimson Scourge seems mostly useful for resisting stuff that probably won't come up: fear effects, pain effects, and nonlethal damage.
Yeah the trick is that with regeneration it all becomes non-lethal damage, and with demon hide he's immune to all non-lethal damage, apathetic towards all that stuff that doesn't matter. Anything with regeneration works well with it, you can get a Shifter find a way to give it regen and drop in Shifter Stamina (RoE 115) and get the same immunities. That seems to be the easiest way to make embodiment of apathy IMO.

[Red Fel]

I don't have a lot to add - most of the other posters seem to have the concepts nailed down pretty well. The ideas sound awesome, for the record.

I would like you to consider another side to Terror, though. Much like Deception, Terror doesn't have to be a combat encounter. In fact, if you really want to set the mood, the arc revolving around the Terror encounter should be more non-combat - illusions, ambiance, and horror, not simply fighting. (Of course the fight can come later.)

Consider a set mood, like a creepy abandoned castle, crypt or fort. Add weather for the right level of chills. Add perfectly mundane events which aren't fully explained and which, in the aggregate, provide suitable levels of fear. (For instance, creaking floorboards, shutters rapping in the wind, flickering candles.) Basically, scare the players. Scare the crap out of them. Without relying on monsters or spells.

By the time they actually face the villain (assuming he hasn't been secretly traveling along with them the whole time) your players should be convinced that there is some nigh-godlike being inflicting this on them. They should be - suitably enough - terrified of him.

After all, what's the essence of a fear-villain? The true essence? Someone who scares his enemies into thinking he's bigger and scarier than he really is. Set that stage for the final encounter.

As for the villain, I'd echo the suggestions about a Bard. Consider a Bard 8/ Dread Witch 1/ Nightmare Spinner 1/ Sublime Chord 2/ Dread Witch +4/ Nightmare Spinner +4, with DW and NS advancing SC casting. Sublime Chord gets you higher-level casting, and the ability to boost it musically. Dread Witch gives you lots of potent tools, including an aura of fear and the ability to inflict fear on those normally immune. Nightmare Spinner gives you literally deadly fear effects. They all synergize beautifully.

You can also use the Bard ACF Inspire Awe in place of Inspire Courage.

Oh, and there's this delicious spelltouched feat, Live My Nightmare, if your PCs happen to be divination-happy. Particularly useful if they have a Paladin in the party. (Detect Evil? Detect this.) With this baddie's necessarily high Charisma, even though it has two saves, it can be pretty devastating.