I Am The Thing You Fear In The Dark (Campaign Help)

[atemu1234]

I'm designing a new campaign that needs a BBEG. It needs to be CR 30 or slightly higher (it's supposed to go pretty far into epic levels, CR 30 being the highest CR I plan on using) and it needs to be downright terrifying. It should also be somehow aligned with the Abyss. Bonus points for originality, and more bonus points for giving other posters nightmares.

[Inevitability]

If you want it to be terrifying, don't give it a statblock.

Start out with the players going into a normal dungeon. They fight their way through 1-2 rooms of monsters, disable a trap and see some cryptic inscriptions on the wall.

Then drop it on them. Lights go out, done by an epic level darkness spell. Teleportation, scrying, and other kinds of magic (choose yourself) stop working. The whole time they hear noises and feel things (ask the PC's what their greatest fear is and incorporate it). And every once in a while, when rounding a corner, one thing is perfectly visible despite the PC's being in magical darkness. This thing appears like a bloodstained lady, but her head is a melting pile of skin, eyes and bone (Gibbering somethings) and her hands are fused together. When this lady appears, have her cast a single (possibly epic level) spell, and then 'port away. Keep the players on their toes.

Of course, you are playing epic level, so there's little that can actually be a challenge at this level. What classes are the players?

[atemu1234]

If you want it to be terrifying, don't give it a statblock.

Start out with the players going into a normal dungeon. They fight their way through 1-2 rooms of monsters, disable a trap and see some cryptic inscriptions on the wall.

Then drop it on them. Lights go out, done by an epic level darkness spell. Teleportation, scrying, and other kinds of magic (choose yourself) stop working. The whole time they hear noises and feel things (ask the PC's what their greatest fear is and incorporate it). And every once in a while, when rounding a corner, one thing is perfectly visible despite the PC's being in magical darkness. This thing appears like a bloodstained lady, but her head is a melting pile of skin, eyes and bone (Gibbering somethings) and her hands are fused together. When this lady appears, have her cast a single (possibly epic level) spell, and then 'port away. Keep the players on their toes.

Of course, you are playing epic level, so there's little that can actually be a challenge at this level. What classes are the players?

1 Paladin, 1 Holy Warrior, 2 Clerics.

[Fax Celestis]

The Divine Pseudonatural Paragon Damn Crab (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?57301-That-Pseudonatural-Paragon-Damn-Crab!/page7&p=3227211#post3227211), CR 33.

[Telok]

Some low level NPC expert.

Who has managed to set up some sort of portal to a magic draining (custom) Elder Evil. Each week the magic drain gets a little worse and spreads a little further. Start with a 100 mile radius area around the altar where magic, magic items, SU, and SP abilities don't work, up to and including inherent bonuses gained through magic. Then spread it out in rings where magic gets progressively more normal and powerful the further away you get from the altar.

The fanatic army of musket wielding minions is optional.

[Inevitability]

1 Paladin, 1 Holy Warrior, 2 Clerics.

Holy Warrior? Do you mean the Pathfinder one?

What is the cleric their optimization level?

[sideswipe]

1. a venerable kobold sitting on a throne of skulls reading a book on something scary. like epic spellcasting, epic psionics, that one where you eat all the abilities of people you beat. and hes just the janitor. a lvl 3 commoner.

2. a demi lich with more spell casting

[daremetoidareyo]

Some low level NPC expert.

Who has managed to set up some sort of portal to a magic draining (custom) Elder Evil. Each week the magic drain gets a little worse and spreads a little further. Start with a 100 mile radius area around the altar where magic, magic items, SU, and SP abilities don't work, up to and including inherent bonuses gained through magic. Then spread it out in rings where magic gets progressively more normal and powerful the further away you get from the altar.

The fanatic army of musket wielding minions is optional.

And make those muskets fire level drains. Ranged touch attack level drains.

[Dunditschia]

You might want to read the book Elder Evils for some inspiration, it has a bunch of very well fleshed out BBEG's (dead gods rising again, chaos itself, planet-killing monstrosities, etc. ) complete with signs and build-up and everything. They're around CR23 I think, but you could boost them reasonably easily, or combine a few.

[atemu1234]

Holy Warrior? Do you mean the Pathfinder one?

What is the cleric their optimization level?

The Clerics are single-class, one with the War and Strength domains the other with the Healing and Good domains.

Holy Warrior is the Green Ronin one, I think.

[Lightlawbliss]

1. a venerable kobold sitting on a throne of skulls reading a book on something scary. like epic spellcasting, epic psionics, that one where you eat all the abilities of people you beat. and hes just the janitor. a lvl 3 commoner.

I love these kinds of tricks.

"you walk around the corner and see (insert description that sounds like big scary caster)"
(after party makes epic plan and goes in to kill it, first hit made on insignificant AC)
"you hit him" *pretend to look something up* *roll some random d20s* "he is dead"

[PraxisVetli]

The Divine Pseudonatural Paragon Damn Crab (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?57301-That-Pseudonatural-Paragon-Damn-Crab!/page7&p=3227211#post3227211), CR 33.

That crab came up the other day and I thought of you.
And now here you are, and here it is.
The universe has balance now.

On the note of the OP, I have something similiar with my players, a CR36 'thing' hunting them. I personally chose a pimped out Bebilith. I switched out its eye-rays for things like Slow and Dominate Person, Maze, and Forcecage. Gave it Swordsage/Telflammar levels and the Shadow Template. And because its actually my BBEG's 'pet', its got a serious of Contingent Spells crafted on it.
And thats my 2cp.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Caelic's Boogeyman (http://dictummortuum.blogspot.com/2011/12/boogeyman.html), scaled up.

In fact, start with the Soul Eater's Handbook (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1022476). The links will require some finnicking to work.