Most Badass, Mo-fo Badguy.

[Sketchopotamus]

So. I would like to make a badass mutha ****ing evil antagonist in my campaign, who rides a giant red dragon. Im thinking about making him level 25, with 20 Evil Paladin and 5 Blackguard? Im trying to make him just absolutely devestating, and with the end fight with my PC's vs. Him, he'll give them a very tough time, but yet they still will have the ability to defeat him.

Any Ideas?

All books welcome, they are now in the middle of a war against him. He is human. Not sure what weapon he uses. But forsure he rides a dragon.

[dantiesilva]

I actually had this exact same perso, named Angelis who rid upon a Shadow dragon however.

Started of Paladin/Rogue going into Shadowbane inquisitor (they get to keep all there stuff even after falling from grace. and their levels count as paladin levels when you become a blackguard).

End result was Rogue 1/Shadowbane inquisitor 10/Blackguard 9. It was beatable if you did not play dumb. The extra 5 levels could go into epic blackguard 4 and regular blackguard 1. Hope this helps.

[Gwendol]

Make sure he uses From Smite to Song, and picks up Dragonfire Inspiration. Actually, make him a Bardadin with Devoted Performer to keep up the Inspire Courage.

[Grod_The_Giant]

So you probably don't want to use a paladin as a base for a "totes powerful and scary" bad guy-- it's fundamentally not a strong class. Something like Cleric into Ordained Champion into Bone Knight or Ruby Knight Vindicator will get you most of the paladin feel (divine power, smiting, melee prowess) while still getting a ton of casting power.

[Gwendol]

It's a DM built character, so MADness will not be an issue, also, a dragon.

[Meowmasterish]

If they are going to be even half that level, and they have a caster, then the antagonist will need caster levels or they will kill him too easily. I recommend some levels in Sorcerer. However, you may want him to be the type who would command an undead army. If this is the case, then I recommend some levels in Dread Necromancer. You could also want to make him attack with his mind. For that, I would recommend a Psion.

EDIT: By caster, I mean a primarily caster class, not just a class with spells.

[Gwendol]

Good point: sorcadin with liberal use of inspire courage through Smite to Song.

[Sketchopotamus]

Thanks for all the replies! So a small background on my players, there are only 3 of them, used to be 4, but he started to be a real douche (as a person, not as a character). So he left. I have one Barbarian, One scout/dervish, and One Swift Hunter build with some travel devotion thrown in there. i was thinking about buffing the bad guy so he's level 30, and fight against them at level 18ish.

I like the shadowbane inquisitor but he's a leader of an army so i dont want to deal with the leader of an army sneaking around.

I was thinking about throwing some cleric levels in, but i wasnt too sure. Now, i read somewhere that if you have the feat Leadership, and with a high enough leadership score you get a dragon as your paladin mount which was why i wanted him to be a paladin. Is that true? Just wondering

[dantiesilva]

Shadowbane inquisitor is the frontline version of the two. You are thinking about Shadowbane stalker that sneaks around. My build had a good amount of SA that he used Flanking undead mooks for, while also having enough smites to deal lots of damage. Their is also a feat that allows you to stun an enemy hit by your attack if you use both smite and SA I believe. You get the blackguard spell list which is not bad at all really. And anything within 20ft of him is always taking damage from his aura.

As for the dragon it is in the DMG, though paladin 5 can get a drakensteed (a horse with wings basicaly) threw an ACF though once he falls he loses it so simply use draconic court feat instead.

[Sketchopotamus]

Ah yes you are right, I was thinking of shadowbane stalker. The inquisitor could be really cool. As well as the ordained champion tho. Im not sure which one to do.

Any ideas on a weapon that would make him look pretty cool? for esthetic purposes

[Gwendol]

Dragon cohort is a feat.

[The Cat Goddess]

There are some truly powerful maneuvers for a Warblade in the White Raven school for leading troops... Crusader gets those too, but I don't like the random access mechanic. Riding a Dragon, the BBEG will easily have a round to spend to recover his maneuvers as a Warblade.

[dantiesilva]

I personally went with a floating tower shield (animated) and ate the penalty for not having a fighter level, and wielded a greatsword. Because well it just fits, but him having a lance as well would be fitting while he is riding atop his dragon. Perhaps a few cavalier levels?

[Petrocorus]

You could make a Prestige Paladin of Tyranny out of a Cloistered Cleric.
With the right combo, like the serenity feat from dragon, Holy Warrior, Persit spell of course, you can built a very powerful Pally with all the Clericzilla goodies.
My sig has a good version of it.

Cloistered Cleric 4 / Chruch Inquisitor 3 / Pr Paladin 2 / Other PrC 11.

You can also make something out of a Favoured Soul. Like Paladin of Tyranny 2 / Favoured Soul 8 / Windwalker 10.

Here my recollection of paladin build (http://imageshack.com/a/img577/9184/2pw1.jpg) gathered on the webz?

[dantiesilva]

All depends on your sources, thankfully you are the DM so Dragon mag which is normally a dead no in most games I have seen is open to you.

Myself I am playing a Cleric x/Church inquisitor 3/Prestige paladin x right now because I do not have a lot of books open using DMM to be the party tank and I am doing rather well for myself all and all. Have the most hp, damage output, saves. It all depends on what your group is. From what you said though none seem to have major casting or maneuvers. So I would not throw a full caster at them nor something from ToB for the fact they will be overpowered with to much ease. Its easy to fluff a magic item to give the benefits of a stance or strike you want from Tob if it is needed. However without a caster in their group I would be wary of throwing to much at them in the casting department.