Creating an anti-anti-hero party

[Phoenix042]

So I DM a game where the PC's are all evil and do evil stuff. They recently attacked and destroyed a temple of Heironeous, killing dozens of innocent people in broad daylight. Then they left for the deep wilderness on another quest.

I'd like to send a group specialized to counter their strengths to try to capture them and bring them to justice.

The party each has a bonus feat, and they play:
1) A THF Berserker 6 / Battlemaster 3 / Monk 2 (variant human)
Super mobile and really hard-hitting, with precision attack, GWM and Mobile
2) A Lore Bard 5 / Sorcerer 4 / Warlock 2 (tiefling)
Likes to blast, Hex, and buff allies while making enemies miss.
3) UA Deepstalker Ranger 6 / Assassin Rogue 3 / War Cleric 2 (variant human, fluffed as a robot)
Likes to bless everyone and hits really hard at a distance or close range, with Divine Strike, sharpshooter, and crossbow expert


So that's the party. Any suggestions for counter-builds?

I'm so far thinking Paladin with PAM and sentinel fits in there for countering the THF PC, but I'm not sure what else. And I'm not sure if that actually is ideal or not.
A counter-spelling abjurer for the Sorlockard (Barcerlock? Warderer? Sorcardock?)
A life cleric?

I'm not sure.

[jaappleton]

You're thinking of putting characters to to toe with eachother. Instead, exploit the hell out of their weaknesses.

[Beastrolami]

Why limit yourself to 3 good guys.

Drop all the good guys to 1 level below the party, but add a 4th character... maybe a sharpshooter fighter on a horse (horse archer) Have the party of three good guys challenge the 3 PCs, on an open field they left their three horses behind. Then during fight all these arrows start flying in from the back and there's some fighter jumping around from horse to horse.

idk, probably a lame idea, but you can rework this into something cool to fit your campaign.

[solidork]

Do you know what class each of them started out as? If their highest class was their first, then they are very soft to Wisdom saves. Some divine type characters that make clever and tactical use of Sanctuary could make for an interesting fight. High ACs limit the effectiveness of GWM and Sharpshooter. Clerics and Paladins might have a hard time applying pressure to your two ranged characters though.

[Kane0]

Well lets see, something interesting to hunt down an evil 3 man band...

1: Goody two shoes (Aasimar paladin): Up front and in charge, party face and tank. Could not get a stick further up his arse and is prone to dramatic poses and speeches before and after wallopping evildoers.
2: Comedy Relief (Halfling bard): Has a most annoying habit of interrupting everyone, all the time. Especially good at counterspells.
3: Straight Man (Dwarf Wizard): Defensive and stubborn in nature, no nonsense blaster mage. Doesn't really care if the pally gets hit with collateral damage but tries to keep the halfling and ranger safe
4: Token Female (Half Elf Ranger): Quiet and elusive, hangs back with a longbow most of the time. When pressed will rush in with daggers and some spare spells slots to save fallen allies with heals.

Make them slightly lower than the party in level, have them dog the trio for a while before a definite confrontation takes place. It may pay off to characterise them, they may become recurring NPCs.

[DragonBaneDM]

Looks like a cool, diverse, and fun party!

Are you sure you wanna build characters for this? If I were you, I'd make some cool, tweaked out monsters, sure, but not characters, monsters.

So like, that way you can go into this thinking about theme and fluff a good bit more, and actually design something the game intended for your players to take on.

Maybe a lower-tiered angel of Heironeous, a Fey/Devil/Aberration who was created by a rival of your Bardlock's patron, and even another robot who fights for the ideals of cooperation and technology that want a piece of your party for various reasons. They could put up a fake quest or leak out information about a dungeon filled with treasure somewhere as a trap to your party. You could use Paragon Monsters from the Angry DM's blog to make each into a complex and dynamic threat.

You don't get to be super evil without making a few enemies, y'know?

[Sirdar]

The party each has a bonus feat, and they play:
1) A THF Berserker 6 / Battlemaster 3 / Monk 2 (variant human)
Super mobile and really hard-hitting, with precision attack, GWM and Mobile
2) A Lore Bard 5 / Sorcerer 4 / Warlock 2 (tiefling)
Likes to blast, Hex, and buff allies while making enemies miss.
3) UA Deepstalker Ranger 6 / Assassin Rogue 3 / War Cleric 2 (variant human, fluffed as a robot)
Likes to bless everyone and hits really hard at a distance or close range, with Divine Strike, sharpshooter, and crossbow expert


Yay multiclassing! 3 players with levels in 9 different classes. Love it! :-)

[Corran]

Well lets see, something interesting to hunt down an evil 3 man band...

1: Goody two shoes (Aasimar paladin): Up front and in charge, party face and tank. Could not get a stick further up his arse and is prone to dramatic poses and speeches before and after wallopping evildoers.
2: Comedy Relief (Halfling bard): Has a most annoying habit of interrupting everyone, all the time. Especially good at counterspells.
3: Straight Man (Dwarf Wizard): Defensive and stubborn in nature, no nonsense blaster mage. Doesn't really care if the pally gets hit with collateral damage but tries to keep the halfling and ranger safe
4: Token Female (Half Elf Ranger): Quiet and elusive, hangs back with a longbow most of the time. When pressed will rush in with daggers and some spare spells slots to save fallen allies with heals.

Make them slightly lower than the party in level, have them dog the trio for a while before a definite confrontation takes place. It may pay off to characterise them, they may become recurring NPCs.
I like this suggestion.
Normally I would say to the OP to take extra care for his party not to be TPK'd, but now I care for these guys more. So, OP, if you use these guys, take care not to have them killed by your pc's (especially the halfling!). :smallsmile: