Help crafting a reacuring BBEG.

[Throne12]

So I want a bad guy that's all about mage tech. So far she has convince a king to implant gems into anyone with magic so elfs and gnomes and any spellcasters or just anyone using any kind of magical powers. The gems absorb any magical energy. The BBEG she has convince the king that she is using the magical energy to power the city. The the style of the city is around the 1920's. The magical energy is used just like we use electric power irl. But she is collecting more magical energy then the city uses. What she is using this magical energy is working on Constructs and making magical Mechanisms she trying to create the first Warforge. I thought about using the Artificer class for her but I just don't like it. So does anyone else have any other ideas to help for a class to use for her. I would like some wizard with a Mechanical servant feature.

[Skyblaze]

Beyond the specific character features, you should have a motivation for him/her and in the case of playing in a campaign, distinct escalating goals that the PCs can interrupt or stop.

[krugaan]

The obvious:

A recurring BBEG has to recur. Plan the escape route ahead of time, hopefully two or three getaway routes.

If the party legally figures out a way to nullify all three, they deserve a bonus of some kind.

[lunaticfringe]

Players need classes, npcs do not. I would make her servant just a different creature, you don't need mechanics explaining why she has it.

This seems like a perfect opportunity for a Doombot type scenario. At least once.

[Unoriginal]

If the PCs encounter the BBEG and hostilities start, either the PCs or the BBEG will die, most likely.

I'd advise you to have her send minions while she talks with the PCs via viewscreens, rather than planning several fights with her.

[lordarkness]

One useful way of making a recurring villain is to establish a reason they cannot be simply killed. For example, without direct proof it would be murder and the pcs would have hell to pay for the death, or perhaps the BBEG is part of a group (cabal, noble family, gang, etc.) that the pcs cannot defeat and they must stop her schemes while separating her from that group or proving to the group that they are more valuable.

This allows them to meet and interact with the need for roleplay and possibly intrigue and without the staid fallback of resolving problems by thoughtlessly killing something.

[HandofBlades]

For this style of bad guy there are a couple of different approaches to take. The first and most obvious is working through minions. Since she has the ability to capture magical energy via gems then perhaps she can capture full spells that way too. A gem of suggestion embedded in the necklace of an official and used to manipulate and corrupt them to her way of thinking and building them up as the bad guy so the party has a mid tier or low tier boss to take down.

Following that perhaps gems placed in certain locations that nullify or bend magic. Imagine the party goes to fight and spells go forward before cutting at a 90 degree angle. A fun trick to pull and makes for an interesting fight.

Another option is the magic jar approach. She creates the war forged but need a soul to power it. As the pcs kill her weak fleshy body she leaps into the magic jar and jumps from warforged to warforged. Each with different powers and abilities. Make it a legendary action to jump.

From there they do beat her. However thanks to her connection to the magic grid her soul jumps into the magic powering the city. Give her control of lights machines or other things introduced as she works to murder the pcs. Drop the lights in a fight. The tram goes out of control. The stove explodes in fire magic. Eventually she manages to get full control of the cities magic grid and the finally battle is at the power plant. A massive magic machine lashing out with cables blasts of magic. Warforged minions as they peel away the layers of the core shell before stabbing and destroying the magical heart cause the whole place to go boom!

As for motivation. Magic is truly an evil upon this world. Too wild and chaotic. She is harnessing it and giving it set lines of control and power. She has seen machines that have no malice or greed or ambition. She wishes the whole world was like that. In fact a reoccurs thing is she kidnaps homeless people and sticks their souls into warforged. They are her eyes ears and enforcers as needed.