Need an NPC opponent?

[J-H]

I am currently having more fun crafting characters than I am playing Battletech, Factorio, or MWO.
Unfortunately, I'm out of things to build.

If you need an NPC with class levels built for your campaign, I'll put together a monster-style statblock.

This offer will stay open until I get busy and don't have time.

Edit: 3.5, non gestalt

[Ken Murikumo]

Well, i do need a female enemy written up for the future. I was thinking maiden of pain maybe with lasher. Basically a whip gish.

Level 8-10 gestalt; pathfinder with all 1st party 3.5/3.0 material usable (no dragon magazine); power attack is a free to use combat option; in addition to basically everything in the "pathfinder feat tax" article.

Don't worry about the whip being weak, i can homebrew something to fit the build. Ignore fluff, i can reskin the enemy to be whatever the setting needs.

Thanks!

[martixy]

I need a pirate captain.

Must not be humanoid.

Same parameters as Ken, except Dragon usable too(and gestalt isn't an obligation, just an option).

[J-H]

Sorry, I am only familiar with 3.5 options. No Pathfinder experience or system knowledge.

[Ken Murikumo]

Thats fine, Maiden of pain and lasher are 3.5.

How about same request, but with 3.5/3.0 material? I can port it to PF fairly quickly.

[Goaty14]

They're probably not here, but my players: stay out! :P

Need a level 15 generic* wizard who controls a town filled with nothing but low level PCs. May or may not be the BBEG depending how much the PCs like him.

-Wealth-by-Level
-Must be a race that doesn't make your average adventurer think "I want to kill that" (AKA, generally no monstrous race, and justify yourself if he's a goblinoid)
-32 Point-Buy
-Average or Rolled HP (whichever is bigger)
-Ignore Law/Chaos requirements for stuff, if any (so the build could be have levels in monk and barbarian, should you have the need)
-Fractional BaB/Saves. +2 on saves applies once
-LA Buyoff
-1 Flaw & 1 Trait
-All 3.5 Material, except for settings. Everything else on request (i.e Web Articles, Nonupdated 3.0, etc)
-No Psionics, but other stuff in psionic books are allowed (i.e Improved Manyshot)

The fluff is that he's like the Githyanki Queen. He rules (albeit secluded in his tower) over a town full of low-level adventurers. Once they get high enough level, then he kidnaps them and sends them to another plane where they won't be his problem anymore, nor will they upheave his iron grip on the city. Thing is, he's gotten bored of watching over such a pitiful town such as this one for so long. Thus, the minimal fuss solution is to attract a large force of evils (demons, undead, etc) to the city to raze it to the ground while he escapes undetected. After that point he's not sure what he'll do, but it's not particularly important.

*Like no tricks or strategies that make it hard or impossible to kill him. He should be just as vulnerable as any other NPC, just that his higher level (and higher level alone) makes it difficult to kill him. Suffice to say, he should be about as strong as an equal-level PC and T3-ish.

[J-H]

Non-gestalt, specialized around using the whip.
8th-10th level, means first 5 levels must be full BAB classes. Bonus damage when denying dex to AC, so feinting can help (need Bluff). Feat taxes: EWP & WF Whip.
Presumed human.
Using Pathfinder feat progression (ALL my games use that). Assuming Dodge is just flat +1 dodge AC instead of declared every round vs. 1 target.

Rivana
You see a woman wearing a strange mesh mask that obscures her face, with a whip made of leather and mithril threads. She struts gracefully across the room, looking around. The mask makes it hard to tell where she's looking, or what she's going to do next.

Swashbuckler 3/Fighter 2/Lasher 4
HD: 9d10+CON = 99hp if you are using max HD
AC: 24 (Dex+4, dodge +2, +1 buckler, +6 armor, +1 luck) Touch 17, flat 17
BAB +9/+4
Grapple +11
Attack: Whip +15/+10 or +13/+13/+8 (1d3+5+3int); 1d6 sneak attack
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +5
Stats: STR 14, DEX 18, CON 12, INT 16, WIS 12 CHA 14 (34pb+2 levelups)
Skills: Tumble +16, Bluff +16, Perception +13 (I believe PF combines these); Spot the Weak Point (Skill trick: 1/encounter, make a touch attack) other skill points unassigned unless you need skills.
Feats: Luck of Heroes (PGTF, +1 luck AC/saves) L1, Improved Feint, L1H, Skill Focus: Bluff L3, EWP:Whip F1, WF: Whip F2, Combat Reflexes L5, Mage Slayer (+1 will, no defensive casting) L7, Blind Fight L9, Finesse (SB1), Improved Trip (Lsh2)

Items:
+2 chain shirt
Mwk buckler
Fencer's Mask: +5 to Bluff checks (magic item of +5 to bluff, 2500gp)
Belt of pouches containing 2 vials of holy water, 1 acid flask, 2 potions of cure moderate wounds, 1 sunrod, 2 smokesticks, 1 tanglefoot bag
+1 Stunning Surge Whip of Shadow Strike (+2 weapon +5000gp enhancement):
MIC 1/day, on command, extend the reach of the weapon 5' extra as it turns to shadow; target is denied Dex to AC. They just think they're out of range...
Stunning Surge: On a successful attack (ie, not wasted if you miss), 1+cha times per day (so 3/day), force Fort DC 10+1/2CL+cha = 16) or stun 1 rd.

Combat-relevant class abilities:
Int to damage unless target immune to crit hits
Regular damage and full ability to threaten with whip
Can use whip to pick things up (Third Hand)
Can Flurry of Blows with Whip (extra attack, -2 to all attacks)
Enemy casters can't cast when threatened
4 AOOs per round, wide threatened area; take AOOs as trip attempts!
Improved Feint; Feint as a move action to deny target Dex to AC. Bluff check vs target's BAB + sense motive score

Notes:
Frustrating to fight due to AOOs, range, and mobility. Someone's going to stand just far enough behind the melee line to be safe, and then get hit and whacked by the Shadowstrike ability. Bonus if she readies an action to use it when the caster starts casting, and interrupts!
A bit light on damage. Adding a weapon crystal or a couple of bonus feats for more damage would help (Power Attack). A couple of feat switched over to support a dex-to-damage option would also help. If that's native to Pathfinder, then she gets +4 damage automatically, and would benefit further from a +2 dex item. I keep NPCs under-geared, as is recommended to avoid inflating party wealth.
Will save is her weak point.
Can feint as a move action to deny dex to AC.
Pairs very well with rogues or other sneak-attackers, as her large threatened area allows her to flank many people at once.

[J-H]

Goaty:
I will just hit the highlights on items, and I won't be filling out a spellbook completely. Once I figure out a theme (likely enchantment + conjuration + divination) I'll just do spells prepared for that. Divination to keep tabs on the smallfolk, enchantment to befuddle or confuse problems, and conjuration to Teleport, Plane Shift, etc., them away.

Character WBL is a lot of gear for the players if they kill him!
What is the party composition?

[Goaty14]

Goaty:
I will just hit the highlights on items, and I won't be filling out a spellbook completely. Once I figure out a theme (likely enchantment + conjuration + divination) I'll just do spells prepared for that. Divination to keep tabs on the smallfolk, enchantment to befuddle or confuse problems, and conjuration to Teleport, Plane Shift, etc., them away.

Thanks! That's more than enough tbh.


Character WBL is a lot of gear for the players if they kill him!

He *is* the endgame boss/ally. Even presuming that they do kill him (though I would consider a high level wizard ally "very good"), and don't end the campaign there, then they'll probably need it to deal with the bigger threat.


What is the party composition?

-CN Human Dread Necromancer (we planned custom prerequisites into the Dry Lich PrC)
-LG Dwarf Fighter/Barbarian (going into crusader at 5. Unsure of future plans)
-TN Human Monk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?150122-3-5-The-Monk-Remixed)
-NE Tibbit DFA (Whose IRL player is in the hospital and won't be out for a while)
-And a Halfling Cleric, but he dropped the game.
and they're all level 3, from starting at level 2. Note: They get x3 XP until level 8 (because I want to change the theme of "wannabe adventurers" to "Butt-Kicking Bad***" pretty fast).

It's PbP, so we might get another player in soon, and the most likely person is a LE Human Savage Bard (into Ur-Priest and Mystic Theurge)

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by J-H
*Rivana*

I was going to second the request, just without the gestalt, but you beat me to it. Cool and very helpful indeed. My campaign now has another mid-level boss.

:smalltongue:

[J-H]

Whew, done I think. Wizards are a lot more work.


Age: He's bored, and not interested in carnally abusing his power. Probably old, likely old via being a race with slow aging. How about a gnome? Gnomes are longer-lived, known for playing tricks (and isn't this a grand trick), and aren't as ominous-appearing.

Some thoughts on monitoring the town:
Arcane eye
Wards
Scrying (crystal ball)
Disguise (Alter self) to gather information. Assume he has 1-2 fake personas that may be 'asked' to participate in any incipient revolution. It's a fun lark.

Note: He occasionally prepares and castsSepia Snake Sigil. If the party goes places they shouldn't in his tower, they may find the sigils and get paralyzed. You were warned to stay out, right?

Stats are be 32pb + 3 levelup + racial mods -3 phys age +3 mental age.

Red Mage (DMG 10 level PRC): 10 levels grants +5 Spell Power, allowing a Wizard 5/Red Wizard 10's spells to count as cast by a 20th-level spellcaster for purposes of damage dice and spell penetration checks.
Circle Magic allows him to cast even higher-effective-level spells, or hold the charge for up to 24 hours to fuel Empower, Maximize, or Heighten on spells currently prepared by him.
If a Circle Magic Tattoo is part of the tradition of the town, then he can get the clueless lower-level mages to empower him; the amount of power they contribute (max spell level) is a good way to test their casting ability to make sure someone doesn't sneak too much power creep past.
We'll just ignore the "must be human from Thay" bit since there is no Thay.


Stats:
Galedon "Longwhiskers" Dieron
Small Humanoid
Level 15
HP: 15d4+60
Move speed 20' + haste?
AC 22 (+8 Mage Armor, +3 Deflection, +1 dexterity); touch 14; flat-footed 18; Stoneskin DR 10/adamantine; add +5 Natural Armor if he pre-buffs with Dragonskin.
BAB +7/+2
Physical attacks - should not ever be making any.
Str 9, Dex 13, Con 14(+4=18), Int 20(+6=26), Wis 11, Cha 13(+4=17)
Saves: Fort+13 Ref+10 Will+14
Skills: I'm not spending all his skill points. Assume 10+ in most knowledge skills.
Disguise (CC) +10, Concentration +22, Bluff +21, Spellcraft +24, Gather Information (CC) +10, Spot/Listen +7

Feats:
Rapid Summoning (swap for familiar) - Standard action to summon; Summoned creatures can then take a standard action in the round they are summoned (drop next to enemies, attack or short distance charge)
Flaw: -1 on melee attacks (forget what it's called)
Widen Spell Flaw
Sculpt Spell (SL+1 L1
Scribe Scroll W1
SF: Conjuration L3 *Need to mark Conj spells for +1 spell DC
Extend Spell W5
Tattoo focus L6
Elemental Summoning Reserve Feat L9 (As long as SM8 is uncast, he can summon a Large elemental that stays within 30' of him; augmented by Augment Summoning)
Augment Summoning L12 (+4 str/con for summons)
Acidic Splatter reserve feat L15

SQ:
Speak with animals
+2 racial saves vs illusions
Bonuses vs kobolds, goblins, giants, etc.

Items (200,000gp budget):
Circlet of Int +6 36k
Cloak of Charisma +4 16k
Mage Robes of Resistance +5 25k
Belt of Health +4 16k
Blessed Book + spells 20k (ballpark)
Ring of Protection +3 18k
Ring of Wizardry II (40k)
Crystal Ball 42k
Brooch of Shielding 1.5k
Periapt of Proof Against Poison 27k
Handy Haversack with assortment of potions, dust of tracelessness, invisibility, etc. 4k
Metamagic Rod of silence (lesser); Silent spell 3/day when held.
Anklet of Translocation
=251.5k gp. Over much over WBL only because the Crystal Ball is 42k, and I probably overspent on the spellbook. If you need to cut something, cut Charisma down to a +2 item. He still has several vacant item slots, and nothing granting an immunity.

Spells prepared:
X indicates "already cast it on a typical day"
Banned Schools: Necromancy & Evocation
Note: I have learned that a mage without the ability to do HP damage usually loses. He is a manipulator-type, and a bit of a personal coward (Gilderoy Lockhart?), so I think he's someone who's going to spam summons. The increased caster level helps him be more efficient with his few damaging spells, and the pool from a previously-cast circle magic will allow him to empower or maximize some of his magic spontaneously. That may be useful for maximizing 1d3 summons into a guaranteed 3 summons. After 3-4 rounds of battle, there should be at least two no-go areas of AOEs, plus multiple big summons making it hard for the party to even reach him. Summon Monster VIII, maximized with Circle Magic, drops 3 Huge Air Elementals onto the field.

He gets one school-specific spell per day, but he's going to be heavy enough on Conjuration that I don't feel a need to track them separately.
Level, # available, DC
0th level 5 DC 18
Who cares?

1st level 7 DC 19
Alter Self
Expeditious Retreat, Swift
Floating Disk
Charm Person
Unseen Servant
Ventriloquism
Feather Fall

2nd level 14 DC 20
Detect Thoughts
Hypnotic Pattern (2d4+10 HD of creatures)
Blur
Invisibility
Spectral Hand
Blindness/Deafness
Glitterdust
Scorching Ray (3 rays for 4d6 ranged touch each)
Scorching Ray (3 rays for 4d6 ranged touch each)
Scorching Ray (3 rays for 4d6 ranged touch each)
Command Undead (no-save for unintelligent undead)
Command Undead
Baleful Transposition
Sculpted Grease *Note: Sculpt greatly increases the amount of space Grease covers*

3rd level 7 DC 21
Haste
Mage Armor, Improved (+8 AC)
Slow
Dragonskin (+5 Natural Armor; Energy Resist 20 vs chosen element)
Unluck (Subject rolls twice, uses worse rolls for 20 rounds)
Bands of Steel (reflex/immobilize)
Suggestion

4th level 7 DC 22
Greater Invisibility
Confusion
Black Tentacles
X Stoneskin
Ruin Delver's Fortune (IMMEDIATE action, lasts 1d4 round, gain minor save benefits and immunity);
Orb of Electricity (20d6 ranged touch and entangle)
Orb of Cold (20d6 ranged touch and maybe blind)

5th level 6 DC 23
Overland Flight
Dominate Person
Mind Fog
Arc of Lightning (15d6 line between two targets; hits all on line; remember lines are 10' wide)
Xorn Movement (earthglide)
Summon Monster V

6th level 5 DC 24
Suggestion, Mass
Extract Water Elemental (Fort half; 20d6 damage, on kill, creates a water elemental of same size)..just for a change-up
Acid Storm (15d6 20' radius)
Widened Mind Fog
Summon Monster VI

7th level 4 DC 25
Ethereal Jaunt
Summon Monster VII
Summon Monster VII
Sculpted Acid Storm

8th level 3 DC 26
X Mind Blank
Prismatic Wall 'leave me alone!'
Summon Monster VIII

[Malapterus]

I could use a level 10 Drow necromancer with a focus on being self-sufficient.

i.e. he/she has been a loner for their first 10 levels and does not trust their party to fend for them so they need to be able to defend themselves as well as pump out offensive and utility spells. Aside from that, they just need to be good at creating individually impressive undead.

The way my bizz works is that instead of an ECFL, start them off with two creature levels of humanoid and then multiclass them into whatever 8 PC levels you find appropriate. If a custom magic item is needed for them to work, that is cool.

I am not good with necromancers or wizards in general, so this would really help me out! I'll trade you my special necromancy spell for it.

[J-H]

Wizard, Cleric, or Dread Necromancer?
A straight-class DN has a fixed spell list that's appropriate, is self-sufficient thanks to the ability to self-heal, and has sustain through long battles thanks to Spectral Hand + Charnel Touch + Chill Touch (which generates 1 charge per CL). You could probably just take 8 levels of DN and from the DN fixed spell list.

[Malapterus]

Wizard, Cleric, or Dread Necromancer?
A straight-class DN has a fixed spell list that's appropriate, is self-sufficient thanks to the ability to self-heal, and has sustain through long battles thanks to Spectral Hand + Charnel Touch + Chill Touch (which generates 1 charge per CL). You could probably just take 8 levels of DN and from the DN fixed spell list.

Dealer's choice, does not matter to me. If it's a cleric, it would be a priestess of Lolth, but I don't care what it is

[aviary]

Hey J-H! Your mission, should you accept it, is to build yourself as the BBEG of a 20-level campaign. Include campaign notes on what drove you to great evil :smalltongue: and what minions you're bringing with you into the final battle.

[J-H]

Basing on 34 point buy, plus two points in charisma from levelups. NPCs have worse gear than players (usually), so a little stat boost doesn't hurt. Going slightly over WBL since he is 2 caster/class levels behind. With LA Buyoff, I think he'd be level 9, which nets more spells and better saves.

Bal'Noz of no House Name, Necromancer
RHD2/DN 8
HP: 2d8+8d6+10 (74 with max hp)
AC: 22 (Dex +4, Armor +6, NA+1, Deflection +1) Touch 15, Flat 17
BAB +5
Grapple +5
Attack: Charnel Touch +9 (1d8+2 negative energy, 20/x2); +2 when delivered via Spectral Hand at range
Saves: Fort +6 Ref +12 Will +16
Stats: STR 10, DEX 18, CON 10+2 (12), INT 16, WIS 10, CHA 20+4 (24)
Skills: Ride +9, Concentration +14, K: Religion & K: Arcana 10, Spellcraft +16, Diplomacy +10, Intimidate +12, several other skills (unspecified right now).
Feats: Tomb-Tainted Soul (self heal with charnel touch) (L1) Finesse (L3) Thick-skinned (+2 DR, Sav Species) (L6) Practiced Spellcaster (L9), Force of Will (Cha to Wis)(in place of familiar via Forlorn flaw)

Items:
Circlet of Charisma +4 16k
Belt of Health +2 4k
Ring of Protection +1
Amulet of Natural Armor +1
Cloak of Resistance +3 9k
Anklet of Translocation 1k
Mithral Breastplate +1 5.2k
Cloak of Arachnida 14k (SRD; +2 saves vs spider poison, web 1/day, immune to webs, spider climb - great for getting away from melee enemies)
Sundark Goggles (10gp)

SQ:
DR 6/bludge & magic
+2 saves vs sleep, stun, paralysis, poison, disease
+2 saves vs spells & SLAs
Caster Level 10
SR 21 (counting the RHD toward this)
Darkvision 120'
Light Blindness

Spells & SLAs per day (see DN list)
SLA: Dancing Lights, Faerie Fire, Darkness 3/day (combined total)
1 8
2 8
3 7
4 4
Advanced Learning:
4th level: Shivering Touch (Frostburn, 3d6 dex damage on touch); deliver with spectral hand
2nd level: Ghoul Glyph; cast in advance to trap areas so he can rest safely, or to set up ambushes.

Charnel Touch, heal undead (or self with tomb-tainted soul) for 2hp per touch.
Negative Energy Burst 2/day, 5' radius, 8d4 damage, Will DC21 half; heals self & undead
Fear Aura 5' radius, Will DC 21 half or shaken. Duration of shaken status is unspecified. I typically rule "until leaving the aura" space. Debuffs any melee attackers who don't have reach.
Scabrous Touch 1/day (Contagion Fort DC21)
Undead Mastery (control pool 88HD of undead; raised undead get +4 str, +4 dex, +2 hit points per HD)

He should have several undead with him. He may be using his Rebuke Undead to control them, or possibly just castings of Command Undead, which is low level but lasts 10 days at a time and has no save for unintelligent undead (30hd dragon zombie? no save!). Command Undead doesn't count towards your Rebuke cap...but it can be dispelled. Decide what un-controlled undead do in your setting (attack nearest living being, do nothing, etc.).

He will pretty much always use Spectral Hand in combat to deliver his disease, shivering touch, charnel touch, or anything else.

He should come with several undead, controlled whichever way you like. For simplicity's sake, let's say 2 Ettin Skeletons, 2 Ogre Zombies, and a Zombie Wyvern (flight! mount!). +4 str/+4 dex/+2 hit points per HD over the SRD entries.
If you roll your own undead up, the zombie rhinoceros is a pretty beastly tank, and it can standard-action charge for double damage.

[J-H]

Hey J-H! Your mission, should you accept it, is to build yourself as the BBEG of a 20-level campaign. Include campaign notes on what drove you to great evil :smalltongue: and what minions you're bringing with you into the final battle.
Aristocrat 1 with normal stats
Ring of Opposite Alignment - designed to look exactly like the blood-bonded King's Ring, which grants Mind Blank, a +5 sacred bonus to all saves, immunity to poison & disease, and functions as a Ring of Protection +5. This copy adds the "Opposite alignment" curse, combined with a very high level Undetectable Alignment enchantment. Furthermore, if it is not worn, it emanates a compulsion (100' radius, Will DC 40) for the highest-ranked person nearby to put it on. Someone powerful wants the kingdom in trouble; an insufficiently cautious party could accidentally end up killing their way through half the royal family as they each turn evil...
Royal Crown, +15 to Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Bluff, Intimidate
+5 tomes for all stats
Epic Belt of Magnificence +12

Then get all the high-level wizards, clerics, warriors, etc. to do the hard work while I enjoy a life of ease directing the Kingdom to do bad things that seem like good ideas at the time. It is good to have royal wealth!

[Malapterus]

Basing on 34 point buy, plus two points in charisma from levelups. NPCs have worse gear than players (usually), so a little stat boost doesn't hurt. Going slightly over WBL since he is 2 caster/class levels behind. With LA Buyoff, I think he'd be level 9, which nets more spells and better saves.

Thanks, this is pretty much exactly what I needed!

Any suggestions on a Familiar? I don't know if I like the standard options and am probably willing to dump a feat on it.

[J-H]

I skipped the familiar in exchange for a flaw (Forlorn) to afford Force of Will, which gives CHA to Will. With undead, why bother?
There's a feat in Libris Mortis that makes your undead explode when destroyed; that might be worth swapping in for something else.

[Malapterus]

I skipped the familiar in exchange for a flaw (Forlorn) to afford Force of Will, which gives CHA to Will. With undead, why bother?
There's a feat in Libris Mortis that makes your undead explode when destroyed; that might be worth swapping in for something else.

Hrm! Well, I don't know if I am letting my players do Flaws so I probably shouldn't either.

I guess I like the familiar the way it is written up so it can do all the touch attack stuff in place of spectral hand and maybe it can get in between the necromancer and anything charging at him. I briefly thought of trying to find an invisible familiar but I think my druid already has an effectively invisible animal companion (air elemental).

I'm not sure if it's necessary, though. As a side note, if I dropped another feat, I could dump the h*ck out of the wisdom and get something that has a very high natural wisdom to be my eyes-and-ears.

Seeing-eye kobold.

[Ken Murikumo]

Rivana

Phantasmagorical! Thanks, Friend!

[J-H]

Hrm! Well, I don't know if I am letting my players do Flaws so I probably shouldn't either.
Then just give him an extra feat. He's not going to be a playable character, and he's supposed to be a solo opponent (aside from his minions), so a little extra help doesn't hurt.
[quote]
I guess I like the familiar the way it is written up so it can do all the touch attack stuff in place of spectral hand and maybe it can get in between the necromancer and anything charging at him. I briefly thought of trying to find an invisible familiar but I think my druid already has an effectively invisible animal companion (air elemental).

I'm not sure if it's necessary, though. As a side note, if I dropped another feat, I could dump the h*ck out of the wisdom and get something that has a very high natural wisdom to be my eyes-and-ears.

Seeing-eye kobold.
Spectral Hand doesn't cost the caster anything noteworthy if it gets killed. He should have multiple undead; even a couple of zombies will block charges (or AOO chargers) until they are ablated away. You said loner, and a familiar doesn't seem to go as strongly with that, as it gives him another (intelligent) companion.

If you want to up the challenge more, have him grab or make some Allips or Shadows or something else incorporeal. Tiny rat skeletons should have decent hide/move silently to scout with, and they're disposable.

[Malapterus]

[QUOTE=Malapterus;23468339]Hrm! Well, I don't know if I am letting my players do Flaws so I probably shouldn't either.
Then just give him an extra feat. He's not going to be a playable character, and he's supposed to be a solo opponent (aside from his minions), so a little extra help doesn't hurt.

Spectral Hand doesn't cost the caster anything noteworthy if it gets killed. He should have multiple undead; even a couple of zombies will block charges (or AOO chargers) until they are ablated away. You said loner, and a familiar doesn't seem to go as strongly with that, as it gives him another (intelligent) companion.

If you want to up the challenge more, have him grab or make some Allips or Shadows or something else incorporeal. Tiny rat skeletons should have decent hide/move silently to scout with, and they're disposable.

I need to add 'skeletal rat swarm' to my other thread about making swarms.

Or, skeletal bat swarm. Great for terrorizing commoners or for cleaning the teeth of the dragon that sponsors you.

[J-H]

Here's one I actually used in an encounter a couple of years ago. The whole village had been killed or turned undead, including...

Zombie Chicken Swarm
4HD; HP 40
AC 13 (touch 11/flat 12)DR 5/slashing
Speed 15
Space 4 contiguous squares
Damage 1d6 swarm
Saves Fort +2 Ref +2 Will +5
STR 4 DEX 13 CON - INT - WIS 10 CHA 1
SQ: Distraction Fort DC 10

I think I just modified the rat swarm and made it undead.

The toughest undead in the encounter was the...
Zombie Rhinoceros
16HD; 192hp
AC 18; Touch 8, Flat 18; DR 5/slashing
Speed 30
Space 10'x10' reach 5'
Gore +14 for 2d6+12 damage; Powerful Charge (double damage on a charge)
Saves Fort +5 Ref+4 Will +10
STR 28 DEX 8 CON - INT - WIS 10 CHA 1

For large numbers of undead, I suggest making a spreadsheet to auto-calculate base saves & hp based on HD & stats.

[lucky9]

Heey, if you’re up for it I’m needing stats for my grand tomalley boss of a 1-20.

He’s and undead illithid. I’m very divided on wether to go psionic or sorcerer.. wizard?.. soo, up to you:D Type of undead is also your choice but I was leaning lich.

The only specific ability I’d like for him to have is to be able to temporarily override ‘surface thoughts’ in order to psionically transmit a message, Borg style: “resistance is futile, etc.” Ending the transmission with a mass confusion (or fear, or stun) effect.. If such a thing is doable outside my limited book knowledge..

No drag mag, ToB, campaign specific, or third party, if you please. Everything else is wide open

Thanks so much if you decide to help out! All good if not, cheers!

[Malapterus]

Any tips on turning a single creature into a swarm? No bites on my thread of the same topic.


Heey, if you’re up for it I’m needing stats for my grand tomalley boss of a 1-20.

He’s and undead illithid. I’m very divided on wether to go psionic or sorcerer.. wizard?.. soo, up to you:D Type of undead is also your choice but I was leaning lich.

Put the Half-Illithid template on a troll and keep the regen when he is undead!

[J-H]

Heey, if you’re up for it I’m needing stats for my grand tomalley boss of a 1-20.

He’s and undead illithid. I’m very divided on wether to go psionic or sorcerer.. soo, up to you:D Type of undead is also your choice but I was leaning lich.

The only specific ability I’d like for him to have is to be able to temporarily override ‘surface thoughts’ in order to psionically transmit a message, Borg style: “resistance is futile, etc.” Ending the transmission with a mass confusion effect.. If such a thing is doable outside my limited book knowledge..

No drag mag, ToB, campaign specific, or third party, if you please. Everything else is wide open

Thanks so much if you decide to help out! All good if not, cheers!

Lords of Madness page 157, Alhoon - undead illithid sorcerer with 20HD, CR 18. That's pretty weak, so I would go with a psionic Ulitharid (LoM 159) with the Alhoon (lich) template added, and extra levels in Psion until he hits 24HD and thus has ML24. That's about right to challenge a party of 20th-level characters as a solo boss. Taking him merely to level 20 would leave him only as powerful as a single party member.

However, two issues arise:
1) He has teleport, dimension door, Intelligence 30+, and Reality Revision. Why is he standing in one place long enough to fight the party singlehandedly, and why doesn't he have his phylactery in some buried cave far away with a set of backup gear? Is he defending something critical that he can't just teleport out with him? If not, he can still copy a line from some campaign novelization I read a few years ago: "I Wish you had not teleported here." Anyone who fails their save against that Wish is now out of the battle and will have to teleport back on their own.

2) Each round he'll be manifesting one Quickened power, one Standard Action (possibly just the stun blast if the players failed to put up Mind Blanks), one Schism'd power, and moving. With Decerebrate, Mind Blast, and a Will-or-18d10 Mind Thrust, there is a very real chance he can murderize most of your PCs in 2-3 rounds, if he can avoid getting killed for that long - which, thanks to Timeless Body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timelessBody.htm), he absolutely can. At ML23, he can use Schism to manifest Timeless Body, leaving him completely immune to all attacks and powers until he runs out of power points. I'm not even sure if Disjunction will take down Timeless Body.

Are you sure that's the level of OMGWTFBBQ shredder you want to run your party in to?

[J-H]

Any tips on turning a single creature into a swarm? No bites on my thread of the same topic.

Take an existing swarm of creatures of the right size (bugs = immune to weapon damage; rats & chickens = not immune) and modify the stats based on being more or less damaging or tough. I think there's a Mob template somewhere, maybe Heroes of Battle?

[lucky9]

Lords of Madness page 157, Alhoon - undead illithid sorcerer with 20HD, CR 18. That's pretty weak, so I would go with a psionic Ulitharid (LoM 159) with the Alhoon (lich) template added, and extra levels in Psion until he hits 24HD and thus has ML24. That's about right to challenge a party of 20th-level characters as a solo boss. Taking him merely to level 20 would leave him only as powerful as a single party member.

However, two issues arise:
1) He has teleport, dimension door, Intelligence 30+, and Reality Revision. Why is he standing in one place long enough to fight the party singlehandedly, and why doesn't he have his phylactery in some buried cave far away with a set of backup gear? Is he defending something critical that he can't just teleport out with him? If not, he can still copy a line from some campaign novelization I read a few years ago: "I Wish you had not teleported here." Anyone who fails their save against that Wish is now out of the battle and will have to teleport back on their own.

2) Each round he'll be manifesting one Quickened power, one Standard Action (possibly just the stun blast if the players failed to put up Mind Blanks), one Schism'd power, and moving. With Decerebrate, Mind Blast, and a Will-or-18d10 Mind Thrust, there is a very real chance he can murderize most of your PCs in 2-3 rounds, if he can avoid getting killed for that long - which, thanks to Timeless Body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timelessBody.htm), he absolutely can. At ML23, he can use Schism to manifest Timeless Body, leaving him completely immune to all attacks and powers until he runs out of power points. I'm not even sure if Disjunction will take down Timeless Body.
Much obliged! Will do some reading, sounds perfect!


Are you sure that's the level of OMGWTFBBQ shredder you want to run your party in to?
To be honest: Yes. Yes it does. :smallamused:

[J-H]

H'k'n'a'tnuct'pn the Ulitharid Alhoon
Ulitharid with Althoon (Illithid Lich) template and levels in psion
Stats: Base Ulitharid stats plus template adjustments, plus 3 +int from levels

RHD 12, Psion (Telepath) 12
24d12+24 hp
Initiative +5
Speed 30
Space 10'x10', reach 5'; 2 tentacles have 10' reach
BAB +15/+10 (not including +1 Epic Prowess)
Grapple +25
AC: 43 (+15 Inertial Armor +1 Luck, +5 dex, +7 natural, -1 size;+6 shield); DR 15/bludge & magic
Attack: Long tentacle +21 melee (1d8+6)
Full Attack: 2 long tentacles +21 melee (1d8+6) and 4 short
tentacles +21 melee (1d8+6) and Lich touch attack +16 (1d8+5, Will DC31 half; Fort DC31 or Paralyze)
Ranged touch attack roll: +21
Special Attacks: Extract, improved grab, mind blast; natural weapons treated as magic
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +19, Will +28
Stats: Str 16(+6=22), Dex 14(+6=20), Con 0, Int 26(+6=32), Wis 19(+6=25), Cha 23(+6=29)
Feats Luck of Heroes1 Improved Natural Attack3 Psionic Meditation6 EK: Astral Construct 9 Craft Wondrous Item 12, Quicken PowerP1 Power Penetration15 EK: HustleP5 Improved Toughness 18 Epic Psionic Focus21, Burrowing PowerP10 Epic Prowess (+1 to hit)24


Skills: Bluff +18, Concentration +27,
Diplomacy +17, Disguise +13 (+7 acting in character), Hide +23,
Intimidate +25, Knowledge (any) +23, Knowledge (any) +23,
Listen +23, Move Silently +27, Sense Motive +27, Spot +41, and a few more skill points unassigned; Yes, that spot score is correct.

Special Qualities: Spell resistance 27 (I'm assuming this does not scale with character levels), telepathy 200 ft. Fear Aura 5HD or less, Will DC31; +4 Turn Resistance; immune to cold, electricity, polymorph, mind-affecting; standard undead immunities; freedom of movement; +10 vs bull rush, trip, etc.

Items -
Belt of Magnificence 200k
Torc of Power Preservation 36k
Vest of Resistance +5
Bracers of Armor +8
+5 Buckler
Ring of Freedom of Movement
+1 Padded Armor of Greater Anchoring (+10 vs bull rush, trip, overrun)
Anklet of Translocation
Scrying Orb
Consider also giving him some cognizance crystals for additional PP.

Power points: 343+110(INT) = 453
All powers cost 1 power point less than normal (1pp min)

Metapsionics - can use two at a time when expending focus - note that Twinned Quickened Mind Thrust is 2x12d10 damage vs Quickened Mind Thrust at 18d10 damage for the same PP cost!
Quicken +6
Twin +6
Power Penetration (expend focus, +4 on penetration checks)
Burrowing Power (+2), see SRD for details, but can bypass most thin walls including force walls or prismatic walls

Schism (ML reduces by 6 for Schism'd action)

Power list... Manifester Level 24; 26 for
SLA
Mind Blast, 60' cone, Will DC31 (1/2 cl + cha based) or stun for 3d4 rounds
Power DCs are typically 21+power level before augmentations


1 5+1
Mind Thrust
Astral Construct
Vigor
Intertial Armor
Detect Psionics
2 4+2
Hustle
Concealing Amorpha
Cloud Mind
Ego Whip (extra-good!)
Missive, Mass (The other prank calling power)
Inflict Pain (debuff, augmentable to 15' diameter)
3 4
Body Purification (heal hp)
Touchsight
Energy Missile (SRD version)
Dispel Psionics
4 4+1
Dominate, Psionic
Correspond (long distance conversation power, no save/no PR. Perfect for prank calls.)
Dimension Door, Psionic
Empathic Feedback
Wall of Ectoplasm
5 4-1
Mind Probe
Shatter Mind Blank
True Seeing, Psionic
6 3
Schism
Disintegrate, Psionic
Overland Flight, Psionic
7 3
Decerebrate
Divert Teleport
Insanity (permanent duration!)
8 3+2
Mind Blank, Psionic (still gives immunity to scrying & remote viewing)
Bend Reality
Recall Death
Teleport, Psionic Greater
True Metabolism (regenerate 10hp/rd)
9 5-3
Reality Revision
Timeless body (immune to basically everything for 1 rd. To my knowledge, the only way to bypass this is either an explicit Epic spell that dispells things that can't be dispelled; you might allow Disjunction to work. Re-casting it every round leaves the only window of opportunity as a readied action to disrupt the manifesting by attacking as it's manifested.)

Things I skipped:
Incarnating some low level buffs

All-day buffs (and their level, for pp cost calculations):
Mind Blank, Psionic 8
Overland Flight, Psionic 6

PP cost of all-day buffs 24pp

Combat buffs (if he has warning that they are coming, or through reality revision, or through him attacking them):
Divert Teleport 7
Schism 6 (KEY power)
True Seeing, Psionic, 5
Touchsight (prevents issues with darkness, etc.) 3
Concealing Amorpha 2
Vigor, fully augmented: +95 temporary hp; 23pp cost
PLUS: Astral Construct
PP cost of all combat buffs 69pp not including AC7

Pre-battle assumptions:
He will know the party's basic composition, and may know whether they are likely to be protected by Mind Blank

General combat actions:
FIRST ROUND
Quickened action: Use Reality Revision to split the party by teleporting some random number of them away (based on failed saves), or by un-teleporting the ones who teleported in and fail their saves; If he is teleporting them away, target them at arriving 300' over the mouth of a volcano.
Standard action: Timeless Body
Schism'd action: Shatter Mind Blank
Move action: Psionic meditation, regain focus

SECOND ROUND
Quickened Action: Quickened Twinned Augmented Ego Whip on any non-mind-blanked character; note that cha 0 knocks someone out.
Standard Action: Stun cone
Schism'd action: Timeless Body
Move action: Psionic meditation, regain focus

THIRD ROUND:
Standard Action: Twinned Decerebrate at a caster
Schism'd action: Timeless Body
Move action: Psionic meditation, regain focus

FOURTH ROUND:
If anyone is stunned...
Quickened Action: Twinned Quickened Mind Thrust
Standard Action: Wall of Ectoplasm to isolate him with the stunned party member. Attempt brain extraction next round while schism continues casting.
Schism'd action: Timeless Body
Move action: Psionic meditation, regain focus

I think you get the idea. He can only go all-out for about 5 rounds before starting to run out of PP, so he needs to be landing at least one disable, preferably a kill, per round.
The Astral Construct should be attempting to grapple or knock out enemy casters.
If damaged, he has a big pool of temporary HP; if substantially damaged, he can also activate True Metabolism for regeneration 10.
Feel free to add in nasty powers like Insanity, more Decerebrate, Recall Death, and more Ego Whips and Mind Thrusts. He should also be using more Shatter Mind Blank.

[J-H]

VERY OP IMPROVEMENT: Swap out 10 levels of Psion for 10 levels of Metamind. He will lose 4 manifester levels, but can gain them back with Practiced Manifester. No PP loss, no loss in powers known. Just give up a few feats.

Then activate the Metamind capstone for infinite power points for the first 10 rounds of the battle and go nuts. This will give him a total of about a 15-round Nova cycle.

[Malapterus]

So, what class do you think would be good for the leader of a party of chaotic evil/chaotic neutral entities who do not desire to work with each other? He himself must also be chaotic.

Honestly I think, mechanically, 'bard' might be good, but thematically that is terrible.

[J-H]

Did you ever read Worm? What you suggest immediately brings to mind Jack Slash.

Very high charisma, big investments in social-fu so that he always knows what people want and what to say, and can sway them to his point of view. I would consider either Wilder or Psion with investments in Telepathy; I think psionics does mental influence more effectively than arcane magic does, although I could be wrong. Combat power is strictly secondary when you're in charge of a horde of monsters to do the fighting for you.

[lucky9]

H'k'n'a'tnuct'pn the Ulitharid Alhoon
Ulitharid with Althoon (Illithid Lich) template and levels in psion
Stats: Base Ulitharid stats plus template adjustments, plus 3 +int from levels

RHD 12, Psion (Telepath) 12
24d12+24 hp
Initiative +5
Speed 30
Space 10'x10', reach 5'; 2 tentacles have 10' reach
BAB +15/+10 (not including +1 Epic Prowess)
Grapple +25
AC: 43 (+15 Inertial Armor +1 Luck, +5 dex, +7 natural, -1 size;+6 shield); DR 15/bludge & magic
Attack: Long tentacle +21 melee (1d8+6)
Full Attack: 2 long tentacles +21 melee (1d8+6) and 4 short
tentacles +21 melee (1d8+6) and Lich touch attack +16 (1d8+5, Will DC31 half; Fort DC31 or Paralyze)
Ranged touch attack roll: +21
Special Attacks: Extract, improved grab, mind blast; natural weapons treated as magic
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +19, Will +28
Stats: Str 16(+6=22), Dex 14(+6=20), Con 0, Int 26(+6=32), Wis 19(+6=25), Cha 23(+6=29)
Feats Luck of Heroes1 Improved Natural Attack3 Psionic Meditation6 EK: Astral Construct 9 Craft Wondrous Item 12, Quicken PowerP1 Power Penetration15 EK: HustleP5 Improved Toughness 18 Epic Psionic Focus21, Burrowing PowerP10 Epic Prowess (+1 to hit)24


Skills: Bluff +18, Concentration +27,
Diplomacy +17, Disguise +13 (+7 acting in character), Hide +23,
Intimidate +25, Knowledge (any) +23, Knowledge (any) +23,
Listen +23, Move Silently +27, Sense Motive +27, Spot +41, and a few more skill points unassigned; Yes, that spot score is correct.

Special Qualities: Spell resistance 27 (I'm assuming this does not scale with character levels), telepathy 200 ft. Fear Aura 5HD or less, Will DC31; +4 Turn Resistance; immune to cold, electricity, polymorph, mind-affecting; standard undead immunities; freedom of movement; +10 vs bull rush, trip, etc.

Items -
Belt of Magnificence 200k
Torc of Power Preservation 36k
Vest of Resistance +5
Bracers of Armor +8
+5 Buckler
Ring of Freedom of Movement
+1 Padded Armor of Greater Anchoring (+10 vs bull rush, trip, overrun)
Anklet of Translocation
Scrying Orb
Consider also giving him some cognizance crystals for additional PP.

Power points: 343+110(INT) = 453
All powers cost 1 power point less than normal (1pp min)

Metapsionics - can use two at a time when expending focus - note that Twinned Quickened Mind Thrust is 2x12d10 damage vs Quickened Mind Thrust at 18d10 damage for the same PP cost!
Quicken +6
Twin +6
Power Penetration (expend focus, +4 on penetration checks)
Burrowing Power (+2), see SRD for details, but can bypass most thin walls including force walls or prismatic walls

Schism (ML reduces by 6 for Schism'd action)

Power list... Manifester Level 24; 26 for
SLA
Mind Blast, 60' cone, Will DC31 (1/2 cl + cha based) or stun for 3d4 rounds
Power DCs are typically 21+power level before augmentations


1 5+1
Mind Thrust
Astral Construct
Vigor
Intertial Armor
Detect Psionics
2 4+2
Hustle
Concealing Amorpha
Cloud Mind
Ego Whip (extra-good!)
Missive, Mass (The other prank calling power)
Inflict Pain (debuff, augmentable to 15' diameter)
3 4
Body Purification (heal hp)
Touchsight
Energy Missile (SRD version)
Dispel Psionics
4 4+1
Dominate, Psionic
Correspond (long distance conversation power, no save/no PR. Perfect for prank calls.)
Dimension Door, Psionic
Empathic Feedback
Wall of Ectoplasm
5 4-1
Mind Probe
Shatter Mind Blank
True Seeing, Psionic
6 3
Schism
Disintegrate, Psionic
Overland Flight, Psionic
7 3
Decerebrate
Divert Teleport
Insanity (permanent duration!)
8 3+2
Mind Blank, Psionic (still gives immunity to scrying & remote viewing)
Bend Reality
Recall Death
Teleport, Psionic Greater
True Metabolism (regenerate 10hp/rd)
9 5-3
Reality Revision
Timeless body (immune to basically everything for 1 rd. To my knowledge, the only way to bypass this is either an explicit Epic spell that dispells things that can't be dispelled; you might allow Disjunction to work. Re-casting it every round leaves the only window of opportunity as a readied action to disrupt the manifesting by attacking as it's manifested.)

Things I skipped:
Incarnating some low level buffs

All-day buffs (and their level, for pp cost calculations):
Mind Blank, Psionic 8
Overland Flight, Psionic 6

PP cost of all-day buffs 24pp

Combat buffs (if he has warning that they are coming, or through reality revision, or through him attacking them):
Divert Teleport 7
Schism 6 (KEY power)
True Seeing, Psionic, 5
Touchsight (prevents issues with darkness, etc.) 3
Concealing Amorpha 2
Vigor, fully augmented: +95 temporary hp; 23pp cost
PLUS: Astral Construct
PP cost of all combat buffs 69pp not including AC7

Pre-battle assumptions:
He will know the party's basic composition, and may know whether they are likely to be protected by Mind Blank

General combat actions:
FIRST ROUND
Quickened action: Use Reality Revision to split the party by teleporting some random number of them away (based on failed saves), or by un-teleporting the ones who teleported in and fail their saves; If he is teleporting them away, target them at arriving 300' over the mouth of a volcano.
Standard action: Timeless Body
Schism'd action: Shatter Mind Blank
Move action: Psionic meditation, regain focus

SECOND ROUND
Quickened Action: Quickened Twinned Augmented Ego Whip on any non-mind-blanked character; note that cha 0 knocks someone out.
Standard Action: Stun cone
Schism'd action: Timeless Body
Move action: Psionic meditation, regain focus

THIRD ROUND:
Standard Action: Twinned Decerebrate at a caster
Schism'd action: Timeless Body
Move action: Psionic meditation, regain focus

FOURTH ROUND:
If anyone is stunned...
Quickened Action: Twinned Quickened Mind Thrust
Standard Action: Wall of Ectoplasm to isolate him with the stunned party member. Attempt brain extraction next round while schism continues casting.
Schism'd action: Timeless Body
Move action: Psionic meditation, regain focus

I think you get the idea. He can only go all-out for about 5 rounds before starting to run out of PP, so he needs to be landing at least one disable, preferably a kill, per round.
The Astral Construct should be attempting to grapple or knock out enemy casters.
If damaged, he has a big pool of temporary HP; if substantially damaged, he can also activate True Metabolism for regeneration 10.
Feel free to add in nasty powers like Insanity, more Decerebrate, Recall Death, and more Ego Whips and Mind Thrusts. He should also be using more Shatter Mind Blank.

Thank you so much! This is all kinds of perfect!


VERY OP IMPROVEMENT: Swap out 10 levels of Psion for 10 levels of Metamind. He will lose 4 manifester levels, but can gain them back with Practiced Manifester. No PP loss, no loss in powers known. Just give up a few feats.

Then activate the Metamind capstone for infinite power points for the first 10 rounds of the battle and go nuts. This will give him a total of about a 15-round Nova cycle.

Heh, actually I think this where I would draw the line for what I think they should be able to handle. Still good to know the options!

Thanks again for the great work!

[J-H]

It's a cold and rainy weekend. Bumping this in case someone needs something built. I made a Parachute Ooze (does what it's named for) earlier this week, but that's actively fighting one of my groups so I can't post it.

[Palanan]

You posted just when I needed you. I'm trying to build some feral halflings for my game tomorrow and I could really use some help.

Right now I could use a halfling that's specialized for fighting with a sling, but with only 2 class levels. I'm guessing fighter would work for the bonus feats, but I'm preoccupied building a spellcaster. If you'd like to knock out a second-level halfling slinger that would be fantastic.

[J-H]

Halfling: Sling specialist. 2 class levels, no RHD, so only level 2.
That means no iteratives, so we don't have to worry about attacking and moving. To me, that says Scout. A bonus feat or two is going to be hard-pressed to match +1d6 damage.
34 point buy.

You see a short halfling with an ugly sneer on his face. He's wearing a chain shirt and whirling something in his hand. Ouch! A rock just hit you in the face.

Torin Overstone
Scout 2
Small Humanoid
Initiative +6
HD: 2d8+ 2/level CON- 1/level trait = 18hp with maxed HD (recommended)
AC: 19 (+5 dex, +4 armor) touch 15 flat 14
BAB +1/Grapple -2
Attack: Sling +9 (1d3+1); Skirmish 1d6 damage if moving 10' or more (attack: BAB +1, DEX +5, Mwk +1, Halfling +1, WF +1); OR dagger (melee) +1 (1d3+1)
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +1
Stats: STR 12, DEX 20, CON 14, INT 12, WIS 10 CHA 8
SQ: Battle Fortitude (+1 Fort/Init; Trapfinding; Uncanny Dodge); +2 saves vs fear; +1 racial bonus on saves (included); +1 to hit with thrown weapons & slings); +2 on climb/listen/move silently/jump
Skills: Hide/Tumble +10, MS+12, Listen +6, Bluff +3, Climb +7, 3 other skills that can be maxed out (4 points invested).
Feats: Weapon Focus (Sling)
Trait: Quick (+10' move, -1hp/level)

Items:
Mwk sling
30 bullets
Chain Shirt
Potion of Alchemist's Fire (also throwable, +1 to attack with thrown weapon)
2 sunrods
1 flask of holy water
Dagger
Climber's kit.

With an absurd +9 to hit at level 2, he'll be landing hits for 1d3+1+1d6 (average 6.5 damage) almost every round, while also moving 30'. It's going to take charging or double-moving to hit him. Also, he can climb.

If that's too much, knock him down to 28pb by taking off 2 points of Dex, which will reduce his reflex save, AC, and to-hit by 1 each.

[Palanan]

That is just excellent, thanks. Thorough and flavorful, very much appreciated.

[J-H]

How did he do?