Need Help building a "Transforming towards Enlightenment" Big Boss

[GrayDeath]

Just as the title says, a friend of mine (part time DM) needs the Forums (I simpply dont have the time at the moment to do it myself AND there are many here more knowledgable than me^^, also I would likely stack Templates again :P ) to build a big Boss (Lawful Evil to neutral Evil) who`s whole shtick is that he starts as a plain old boring (but powerful^^) Human, and became more and more focussed on transforming himself (via Classes, at most one Template please) to "reach Enlightenment".

No Goes: Anything requiring Good or Neutral Alignment, anything third party unless its really easy to obtain and well done, anything requiring a Full Caster Progression.
Not Undead.

Goals: SLA`s, Attribute and other boosts, Type changes, Immunities, you name it.

Overall OP Level of the group intended to face him is mediocre, he should first appear around Level 7ish, and be the main antagonist until middle teens.

The Guy is intended to be at least moderately dangerous via Social/Skill Stuff until Level 12ish as well, if thats a concern.

Go Wild!

[Sian]

Green Star Adept?

Seems (with optional minor refluff) right up the alley for someone wanting to transform themselves into enlightenment (without going the 'undeath is enlightenment')

[Demidos]

Marshal 1/Dragonfire Adept 7/Warblade 1, half fey template with the magic in the blood racial feat.


Marshal gives you a big boost to charisma skills by adding your charisma again with the minor aura.
Warblade gives you some fun utility manuvuers like white raven tactics (appropriate for a more manipulative rather than straight combat villain) and iron heart surge, plus the save-via-concentration-check manuveurs. Not super necessary.
Dragonfire Adept is dragon-y, plus it gives you a breath weapon and beguiling influence. You can easily fluff invocations like "see the unseen" as being a superior being such that you can see even invisible creatures.
Half Fey gives you some sweet at will charm abilities and some other less-direct charming abilities.



A nice build because despite technically being ECL 11, the lack of direct damage and decent defenses allows it to interact directly with PCs over a fairly wide range of levels without being overwhelming or overwhelmed in turn. You can also put in some interesting fluff about him stealing/borrowing power from both dragons and fey, or refluff it somehow.

[Sto]

You could always do a Dread Necromancer or an evil Walker in the Wastes. Though make sure the party doesn't know of the weakness of every Dry Lich: Create water.

[GrayDeath]

Both are fun...if Undeath was not out of the picture.

That Man is supposed to be very much in favoure of being alive.

[ExLibrisMortis]

If the goal is lots of life, then a worshiper of Ragnorra might be a good fit. She (it) is an Elder Evil focused on corrupted positive energy, corrupted life that grows too boundlessly beyond its ability to sustain itself, orchards full of apples all rotting on the tree, and suchlike. The Malshapers are a cult that attempts to guide Ragnorra to visit certain worlds (yes, it's a plane-faring Elder Evil in a five-hundred-year orbit through four planes). Apparently, Fleshwarpers (PrC from Lords of Madness) are common amongst the Malshapers. Fleshwarpers are experts in grafts, and eventually become full-blown abberations.

So here's a suggestion:

Start with a hexblade 4/totemist 2/fleshwarper 3. Basically the same principle as Demidos' build, it's somewhat high-HD but not crazy powerful on the offense. Fleshwarper requires no casting, but advances it, so you can enter with basically anything: artificer, sorcerer, druid, you name it--Hexblade is today's choice, for the CHA on saves vs. spells, Mettle, and the familiar. Totemist adds some utility, including at-will dimension door as a move action (30' range initially), but it's really there for his final trick. Fleshwarper makes him immune to sonic damage, a rare and funky ability.
The second time the party meets Mr. Malshaper, around level 12, he's an entomanothrope (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20040621a) (shapechanger subtype, immunity to mind-affecting, vermin command). Mr. Malshaper is still a humanoid, and looks only slightly insectile, but a lot has changed under the hood, because he's decided that termites are the ultimate species (use stats for giant soldier ant advanced to 6 HD/Large size) with only a few minor tweaks (Fleshwarpers don't know when to stop, so we'll probably get something covered in beholder parts). Again, has lots of HD (15 at this point), but isn't all that powerful offensively (vermin HD are rated at CR 1/4 each, and hexblades are really terrible casters).
The third time the party meets Mr. Malshaper, around level 15-16, he's finished Fleshwarper (he's now got 21 HD) and become an abberation. He's used his 21st-level feat to pick up the epic feat Open Heart Chakra, and binds the Brood Keeper's Heart soulmeld (Dragon #350) to this newly-opened chakra. He's now got the traits and qualities of the swarm subtype, without being a swarm. Those traits are wild: immunity to crits, cannot be flanked, tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures, deal 5d6 automatic damage when moving over creatures, nauseate (fort save or can't attack, cast, or concentrate!) any creature you move over, can't take AoOs or threaten, technically isn't even killed but "discorporated" at 0 hp... the party won't know what happened to him :smallbiggrin:. Add some termite entomanothrope minions and you're in business!

So you have an abberation (shapechanger) who, in hybrid form, looks something like a humanoid termite with grafted-on parts of other creatures, and adamantly believes that this is going to be the next step in evolution, especially once the great Ragnorra visits the planet to become the Hive Queen. Ragnorra, incidentally, should be more of a background fixture, unless you intend to run an Elder Evil campaign from the start (which is awesome, and Mr. Malshaper can easily feature in it).


P.S. Fun grafts to consider: membranous wings (fly), silthilar heart (cure 4d8+20 hp when reduced below 1 hp, 1/day--normal drawback does not apply with Brood Keeper's Heart active), fatigue spores (especially if you can find a variant that causes something other than fatigue, like confusion or paralysis).

[Lotheb]

Acolyte of the skin is worth a look. You wear a demon or devil's skin and get SLAs, resistances, and ability score bonuses. Requires caster level 5th, know (planes) 6, and a fiend that will let you wear its skin

[Sian]

So here's a suggestion:
[list=1]
Start with a hexblade 4/totemist 2/fleshwarper 3.

Don't actually work ... While Fleshwarper only explicitly asks for 4 ranks of Heal, it also asks for Graft Flesh which in turn asks for 10 ranks of heal

[ExLibrisMortis]

Don't actually work ... While Fleshwarper only explicitly asks for 4 ranks of Heal, it also asks for Graft Flesh which in turn asks for 10 ranks of heal
Okay, okay, take Favored and Primary Contact, so you have 10 ranks heal at level 6. Call it compensation for the HD-bloat and the epic feat.

Edit: Even better if you can count the Malshapers as religious guild, as those have Heal as associated skill.