Suggestions needed for a Dark Speech-based villain.

[Incarnate]

Hey everyone.

I just read up on the on the feat Dark Speech from the Book of Vile Evil and Elder Evil, discribed as the secret language of evil gods. I'm thinking it could be very interesting to create a character around the dark speech feat and its siblings, but unsure what would be a great fit for it in terms of race, class, etc. Any constructive suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

On a sidenote, i've been contemplating on Dark Speech; to me it seems that it's a language of malicious action, what the words describe happens in some vile form or some other malicious form. I'm thinking that it could be greatly expanded upon, just like shadow magic have been. A supernatural and otherworldly language that behaves a lot like a magical language but produces instantaneous effects due to the plane its aligned with, or something like that

Anyone feel like chiming in?

[DrMotives]

Is this for a PC or NPC? Because if it's an NPC, the Logokron devil from ToM is about as thematically appropriate as you could get. But a 15 HD devil with no listed LA doesn't scream "player-friendly" if you're going for a PC. As far as the truenaming abilities of the Logokron go; if you don't want to mess with those rules, just replace them with (Su) abilities with the same effect and listed DCs, and slap on once, thrice, or unlimted times per day as you feel appropriate. Make them all Dark Speech Utterances instead of Truespeak Utterances.

[Darrin]

I just read up on the on the feat Dark Speech from the Book of Vile Evil and Elder Evil, discribed as the secret language of evil gods. I'm thinking it could be very interesting to create a character around the dark speech feat and its siblings, but unsure what would be a great fit for it in terms of race, class, etc. Any constructive suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)


Dark Speech comes up occasionally in certain optimized builds mostly to abuse the hivemind rules. Make yourself immune to ability damage (via sheltered vitality or the Strongheart Vest soulmeld), cast summon swarm as a spell or invocation, and then find some way to maintain your concentration on the swarm (sonorous hum, for example) while you use Dark Harmony over and over again to build your hivemind. At about 1450 bats, the swarm has the spellcasting abilities of an 18th level Sorcerer, but a rather weak Will save, and you can suggest it cast spells for you for at least an hour or so, if not longer. If you use all 5000 bats in the swarm, it winds up with 89 levels of sorcerer casting. My Black Sparrow (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21197986&postcount=91) build used this trick to build herself a new body: chronotyryn + cryohydra. Actually, I figured out later she doesn't need the summon swarm invocation, she can split off duplicates of herself into a swarm of 1600 fine-sized sparrows (no concentration required), turn into a phiuhl to drain them all down to 1 HD, and then build the hivemind that way.

I've never tried the "Dread" option, although I suppose as a 30' area effect it might be good against groups of low-level fodder. The charm effect (evil creatures with 5-10 HD) could be pretty devastating if you time it right.

[Gruftzwerg]

I would suggest the following build for a villian (npc?)

Warlock 12 / Blood Magus 4

Warlock gets "imbue Item" @lvl12 and you take "Craft Contingent Spell". Now you can cast any Spell as contingent spell. Remember to mix and abuse all available Spells from all classes. (greater) Arcane Fusion lets you combine 2 spells into your Contingent Spell.

Blood Magus gives you 2 special versions of Scribe Scroll and Brew Potion. You use your skin instead of scrolls and your blood (within your body) for potions. This means, they can't be stolen or looted after defeat.

You could create a lil undead army and buff em up (UMD buff spells, Craft Contingent Spell) to bring havoc to the lowlife mortals.

IMHO Warlock & Blood Magus fits the theme with Dark Speech. They all seem to be tainted by evil and synergy very well into the theme.

[Extra Anchovies]

If you like the fluff of the Dark Speech, how about a Dracolexi (Races of the Dragon)? The renthisj, vor, osvith, strix, and valignat draconic words all have effects which would fit for the Dark Speech as well, and the Power Word spells the class provides could be fluffed similarly.