Idea's for Rival party.

[Envyus]

I am running Dungeon of the Mad Mage and wanted to slot in a custom plot involving an rival party and was interested in hearing ideas from others.

I have a few things I already know I am going to use so I might as well list them.

*Rival party is evil aligned, but only two of them really give off the vibe.

*They have a cool name for the group that I have not thought of. I also only have a name for one of them.

*The membership consists of a Blackguard, Evoker, Warlock of the Fiend, Assassin, War Priest and Eldritch Knight (kinda)

* The Blackguard is one of the two that gives off the evil vibe, and unlike the rest will start fairly hostile to the Heroes party. He was defeated and forced into the group by the leader the Eldritch Knight Gallus. As he has no love for his party he tends to leave and go off on his own frequently. During one of these moments I intend for him to attack the Heroes to try and steal their stuff.

* The Warlock of the fiend is the other then gives off the evil vibe. Her patron is the party leader and she is the only one aware of his true nature.

* No ideas for the Assassin.

* No ideas for the Evoker. (Now Conjurer)

* No ideas for the War Priest.

* Gallus the Eldritch Knight. Not actually an Eldritch Knight, he is actually a powerful Pit Fiend taking on a human disguise. He acts and seems pleasant and reasonable. But he has big plans in the Dungeon and decided appearing as yet another adventurer would cause Halaster and the other powers of the Dungeon to underestimate him and allow him more freedom to move. As a result he does not want to blow his cover, and views other parties as rivals and dangers, particularly Paladins, and so wants to subtly eliminate them.

Edit: These are the NPC Monsters not the actual classes.

Anyway I wanted to check for ideas on expanding the stuff above. Also some names, names are cool.

[Man_Over_Game]

The War Cleric is a bloodthirsty drunkard. He wants to honor his deity through battle, and loves to accept a challenge. His greatest wish is to die in battle. He sees Gallus as being honorable by solving most of their problems with violence over subterfuge.

The assassin never says a word. He'll occasionally exclaim in frustration or surprise, but he's usually silent when other people can hear him, and only whispers to his party members when he has something to say, mostly related to threats. He's looking for a specific relic in the dungeon that'll save his tribe, and Gallus mentioned "knowing" where it is. The assassin would normally be a decent, kind person, but will sacrifice anything to save his people, and so joins Gallus to complete his mission.

I'd replace the Evoker. He'd have a hard time standing out against a Fiend Warlock, which is already an AoE damage specialist. Enchantment, Divination, or Conjuration would do rather well with a party like this.

[strangebloke]

* The Blackguard is one of the two that gives off the evil vibe, and unlike the rest will start fairly hostile to the Heroes party. He was defeated and forced into the group by the leader the Eldritch Knight Gallus. As he has no love for his party he tends to leave and go off on his own frequently. During one of these moments I intend for him to attack the Heroes to try and steal their stuff.

* The Warlock of the fiend is the other then gives off the evil vibe. Her patron is the party leader and she is the only one aware of his true nature.

* No ideas for the Assassin.

* No ideas for the Evoker.

* No ideas for the War Priest.

Blackguard is named Sir Darren Rochester. Darren is a classic good-guy-bad-guy name, Rochester is the last name of a famous badboy from fiction. He's a knight with a tragic backstory. Parents murdered, all that, but instead of becoming a good sort, he turned into a terrible wastrel. Gallus had to threaten him to take on any cause higher than hedonism.
Warlock is a very young woman. She's basically been raised by Gallus and genuinely just doesn't know any better. She doesn't seem aware of right and wrong, and will carelessly ask things like "Well, why don't we just murder the children?" Her name is Innocence, showcasing her most memorable trait.
Assassin is a spy who was caught up in an incredibly complicated bit of intrigue. Five layers deep in various false identities, he actually lost track of which side he was one. He's currently walking around as John Gray, accountant, and genuinely sees himself as such, until his trigger word goes off. His real personality is perpetually scared and hates being in control, but has made a deal with Gallus that he gets to be John Gray most of the time so long as the 'real' him does things for Gallus from time to time.
Evoker is Teacup Boffins, Gnomish wizard. He's excessively polite and well-mannered, wearing a fine waistcoat and always bowing very formally. He's also coocoo for cocoa puffs and will absolutely go insane with delight if/when something explodes. He has the alert feat, since he's always super ready to throw a fireball at someone.
War Priest is a deluded fool. He's preparing for the end times, which he insists are coming soon. He's also convinced that Gallus is the savior, and will do anything to help him. Only thing is, his visions are a lie. He's actually worshiping a god of tricksters, and many of his divine dreams are from the warlock, who is manipulating him through the 'dream' spell.

[Envyus]

I'd replace the Evoker. He'd have a hard time standing out against a Fiend Warlock, which is already an AoE damage specialist. Enchantment, Divination, or Conjuration would do rather well with a party like this.

I actually agree. Evoker is now Conjurer.

[Envyus]

A few things I forgot to mention for the Blackguard and Gallus who I had the most details for.

The Blackguard has a portable hole that he keeps two Wights in, said Wights are warriors that swore their souls to him and promised to protect him with their lives, and their bond has kept them attached to him even after death. The Blackguard can't be hurt while the Wights are alive and close to him. (Being in the portable hole does not count as close to him.) And even if slain they rise the next night good as new as long as their master is still alive.


Gallus being a pit fiend is holding back massively to avoid giving himself away. Passing himself off as an eldritch knight to explain his magic and great strength. Because he wants to avoid giving himself away, he acts amiably towards other parties encountered in Undermountain and despite his parties strength he also cautious about directly attacking other parties, because if any of their members escaped they could warn others about them, and in turn make things harder. So he plots to kill any parties he encounters while minimizing his involvement.

[KyleG]

The ARE the PCs from a 'mirrorverse", as if they took a different path in life.

[Angelalex242]

Warning about the Pit Fiend: If the PC party contains even one Paladin, the first time he uses Divine Sense, the jig is up.

Also, because the Blackguard is presumably an Oathbreaker Paladin, he also can be assumed to be aware of the Pit Fiend's true nature...he would've caught it on accident using his own Divine Sense.

[Envyus]

Warning about the Pit Fiend: If the PC party contains even one Paladin, the first time he uses Divine Sense, the jig is up.

Also, because the Blackguard is presumably an Oathbreaker Paladin, he also can be assumed to be aware of the Pit Fiend's true nature...he would've caught it on accident using his own Divine Sense.

The party contains two Paladins. It's one of the reason Gallus is going to want to get rid of them. Luckily for him, my party is not the type to use Divine sense on every guy they meet.

The Blackguard like the other members of the evil party, are using the NPC stat blocks. Blackguards lack Divine Sense. Though he has a slightly better idea of his true nature, namely that Gallus is far stronger than him, and held back massively in the fight to recruit him.

Edit: Also does anyone have a decent sounding name for the group.

[SociopathFriend]

*They have a cool name for the group that I have not thought of. I also only have a name for one of them.

*The membership consists of a Blackguard, Evoker, Warlock of the Fiend, Assassin, War Priest and Eldritch Knight (kinda)

* The Warlock of the fiend is the other then gives off the evil vibe. Her patron is the party leader and she is the only one aware of his true nature.

* No ideas for the Assassin.

* No ideas for the War Priest.

Anyway I wanted to check for ideas on expanding the stuff above. Also some names, names are cool.

Depends how evil you want them to be. If you like comically evil then my humble suggestion for your War Priest is to watch Hellsing Abridged and take notes from Alexander Anderson.

That said I assume you want a more serious group and so let me think:

Your Assassin is actually an addict to death. It is a part of him he cannot bear to let go despite trying time and time again, he cannot resist the urge to take a life. There is nothing sweeter to him than that moment of death to his mark. In fact not having someone to hunt, to hurt and kill, causes him pain and so he covers the pain with large amounts of alcohol. It's only by dulling his mind that he can be at peace- that or on the job. Perhaps he doesn't even resemble an Assassin- instead looking quite large and jovial like you'd expect.

But once blood's on the table he's all business, cut-throat and acting without any hesitation for the lives of others. Nothing's above him, not poison, not feigning death and jumping back up to gut someone at the last second, or even pretending to betray his allies (or even actually doing it!) in order to get that sweet kill he wants and the rush it gives him.


In hindsight boy is my username combined with this going to raise flags. Lemme try to lessen the alarm by giving a take on the War Priest.


Everything is about conflict. From the moment you're born to the moment you die (and even beyond sometimes) you struggle against the world. Hunger, thirst, these things and more are all conflict between yourself and reality to get what you want. Life is pain- anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something.

So obviously the War Priest desires nothing more or less than to become one with nature- to become violence and change. He'll fight and grow until he cannot fight and grow anymore- such is life and war. A never-ending conquest to battle until he drops dead of old age- that's his goal. The world exists only at the expense of someone else's pain- the War Priest knows this and so has no issue with a fight with anyone or anything because that's all reality is. Not wanting to fight and change is horrifying- it's refusing your place in the world. He'll tolerate such blasphemy never if he can help it. You fight or you die. That is the way.


Names have admittedly never been my strong point either.

[Nidgit]

The Conjurer is completely insane and has lost their grip on object permanence. They're never entirely sure that things that aren't in their sight were ever real, and frankly they aren't sure that the stuff they do see is real either. As a result, the Conjurer has a blatant disregard for objects they deem unnecessary and only a slightly higher regard for living beings, since they often have information or can perform unique tasks. No one is completely indisposable, ever.

The War Priest always leaves scars when he heals. Scars are a gift from the gods, a reminder of the glory and ecstasy that comes from bloodletting. He generally prefers not to kill and feels kinship with anyone he's fought with or against. The War Priest generally only trusts major decisions that are made in the heat of battle, when the heightened state of emotions allows one to see more "clearly." He defers to whoever was wounded most recently; if forced to make a notable decision himself between battles, he will cut himself to gain guidance.

The Assassin is glib, competitive, and confident in her skills. She'll challenge others to dangerous a ascompetitions, even in the heat of battle. These challenges might be to see who can kill a creature first, or they might be a test of nerves and trust in her skills with a dagger. If someone messes up and gets hurt or killed, she's more annoyed at the failure than the injury. She'll bully and cajole her subject into participating; if they're reticent, she'll become colder and charismatically intimidating until she gets what she wants. The Blackguard and War Priest are her favorite rivals, while she dislikes the Warlock as too boring.

The Warlock you probably have a decent idea of already, but I'd imagine her as cold and pointedly distant in most cases. She traded part of her soul years ago and has never fully experienced emotion since then. Worse, she's keenly aware of what she's lost. She of course bows to her patron and respects his power, but quietly resents him for taking advantage of her. With no way reasonable way of getting her soul back, though, she looks to vicariously experience emotion through other people, though she inevitably tortures and kills them when she grows jealous. She imagines she feels pain and she wants to inflict it on others so they know it too.

[Wizard_Lizard]

The assassin should be comic relief.
How?
Well, because he is so inept at killing things!
He'll accidentally replace poison with healing potions, and always forgets his knife!

[Envyus]

The assassin should be comic relief.
How?
Well, because he is so inept at killing things!
He'll accidentally replace poison with healing potions, and always forgets his knife!

While that sounds amusing the rest of the party is too competent to allow someone like that into the group.





The assassin never says a word. He'll occasionally exclaim in frustration or surprise, but he's usually silent when other people can hear him, and only whispers to his party members when he has something to say, mostly related to threats.


Decided to go sorta like this for the assassin. With my own changes, namely that the Assassin is masked and everything about him is unknown, He does not talk, and the only sounds he generally makes are cruel sounding laughs when he attacks and goes for the kill. Granting him the nickname of Cackler.