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Igan
2007-02-10, 08:20 PM
This might belong in gaming...But I was helping TheForestAuro with some stuff for a loner villain against a party of pretty powerful characters.

Since this BBEG is several levels higher than the party average, but by himself, his best chance is to fight them one-on-one. To that end, we worked up a couple of magic items to help him shape the battlefield--like a glass model of a house that comes with a small glass key. If the house is set on the ground and a command word spoken, a 20-foot-square force cube springs up around it, trapping anything around it inside the box. However it is controlled by the person who has the glass key--a word to activate, a word to deactivate, and the catch is, the house cannot be moved while activated and cannot be destroyed. BUT, if you break the key, the house is destroyed, too. With some planning, it's good for isolating a character for a straight-up-and-even fight.

Another tactic this villain employs is invisible caltrops. I will now pause while the reader considers the implications of that.

cferejohn
2007-02-10, 08:58 PM
Seems good, but might there be a more social/role-playing/organic way to pull the party apart? Does this guy have good diplomancy/bluff? Maybe he could talk someone one of the characters trusts into somehow convincing the character he had to go and do something alone (hard to be more specific without more details). The item seems like it will work fine, but I always find it's more interesting to try to get the characters to do what you want them to do without having to resort to "here's a magic item that you've never heard of."

Invisible caltrops are a cool idea!

Igan
2007-02-10, 09:38 PM
Well, heh. Alkalus' tactics are more...physical. He arranges the battlefield to his advantage. And, in this case, his goal is not to kill the party--they just happen to oppose what he's doing. He even likes a few of them, and, I understand, helped them out a couple of times.
In this case, though, the villain 1) won't oppose the party until they oppose him and 2) considers a clean escape equal to a victory. He can accomplish his real goals without bloodshed, and would actually prefer to do so. It's a case where if the villain can make a clean escape, he wins. And so his major tactics involve attrition and delaying the party so he can get away. I just happened to really like my idea for invisible caltrops--I actually cracked up when I got the idea for them, and they're which is pretty useful, considering one party member has 60-ft-per-round movement. Invisible caltrops just seem to be one of those things that can make a party realize they are up against a *very*devious person.

Yuudai
2007-02-10, 09:47 PM
he..I lioke this idea

Eighth_Seraph
2007-02-10, 10:25 PM
Well, it depends on whether you want Alkalus to make a clean escape. If so, then have the party stumble upon him when least expected, giving them a slight chance of pulling together and realizing what's going on before he can run. If not, then have the party realize that he's nearby and let them plan in infiltration or assault, putting our friend Alkalus between a rock and a hard place, if possible.

It would also depend greatly on his emphasis and build as a character. Is this the BBEG that manipulates everything to work for his advantage, keeping his hands clean and watching everything play out, or does he take things into his own hands, sneaking into facilities and crushing those in his path? That's a big aspect of BBEG decision-making.