High level questions

[Mike Miller]

First an unrelated question, is there any way to max your HP/HD other than being a deity?

Ok so, high level meaning 30+ but anything [Epic] is off limits. Let's say you are immortal by whatever means and have hundreds of years to exert your will on the local populace. Also assume evil and non-prepared spellcaster. With virtually unlimited time and resources, what do you do? Going further, let's say your actions have led a powerful group or "order" to divert their usual actions to strictly hunting you down and killing you (and this can last for decades or longer). Now what do you do?

If it comes down to specific material, don't use any setting specific books, but Dragon mag is good.

[Khedrac]

The Paragon template does this for +15 to the CR with no LA given (epic SRD). There is no listed way to gain it that I am aware of though.

[DarkSoul]

Wish or miracle could do it on a long enough timeline.

As for the rest of it, my first thought is a sealed demiplane that they astral project out of.

[AvatarVecna]

The epic template Pseudonatural Creature also gets max HP. It's unclear if it can be acquired or has to be inherited.

In regards to the more general question...honestly it's gonna depend quite a bit on what exactly I'm wanting to actually accomplish. "You can do anything that isn't super-evil" isn't exactly the biggest limitation. Even if agree that "exerting my will on the local populace" isn't subverting the agency of the masses and isn't thus pretty inherently sketchy, who cares? They only matter as much as I wish them to matter. There's no specified larger menace that's in dire need of being dealt with, only the knowledge that there are more powerful forces out there that might prove problematic for me at some nebulous point down the line, but most of the ones that I'd even need to bother preparing for given the allowances here can either be defeated trivially in-the-moment or can't be taken down at all because it requires access to Epic or Divine abilities. Most any resources I care to acquire are a single round of real-time away at most. "What would you do with the world, if you could do anything" isn't such a super-interesting question when we're talking about a world that isn't real.

[Bonzai]

I'll answer this with a BBEGB I created for a campaign. This took place in the Forgotten Realms. A Cult of the Dragon Necromancer builds a tower in the foot hills South of the Spine of World mountains. His tower was a short distance from an iron mining camp. He approached the miners and gave them an ultimatum. From time to time he would approach them and trade for supplies. They would be well paid for this. At all other times he is to be left alone.

Fast forward several years, and with the added income and trade, the camp grows into a thriving settlement. Then King Obould and the creation of the Kingdom of Many Arrows occurs. The settlement is beset by orc raiders. The Necromancer, see's this as an inconvenience and slays the orcs. The Settlers throw themselves in gratitude at the Necromancers feet, and beg for his protection. More or less viewing the settlement as his, and the raids as a threat to his home, he agreed. Raising the slain Orcs as undead minions, he set about fortifying the town, and setting out patrols.

Before long a steady stream of refugees began to stream in. The Settlement became a large town. Eventually the town became a small pocket of humanity amidst a see of orcs. Once things settled down, the Necromancer began to view the town as a reflection of his power and superiority. Undead work gangs built trade roads and other public works, and the town continued to prosper and thrive.

The Necromancer had other goals however. As a member of the Cult of the Dragon, he was obsessed with the creation and veneration of Dracolitches. During the year of Rogue Dragons, he quietly amassed a stock pile of dragon corpses which stores in a cave system in the nearby mountains. The next stage of his plan, is to try and resurrect ancient slain dragons, and attempt to get them to undergo the dracolich ritual. Thauglorimorgorus, Hephaestus, Gestaniius, and many others were potential canidates. His ultimate goal was his own personal rage of ancient dracolitches that were all beholden to him and under his control. Once that was achieved, he could bring about the fullfillment of the prophecy.

He came under the Harpers radar, and they sent agents after him. They were all slain. So they approached the players for help.

The campaign was designed to present the players with a quandry. Obviously he is evil, and having a small undead army in the region is a clear threat. Yet, the people under his care are prosperous and greatful. His laws are harsh, but fairly enforced. He has showed no outward signs of aggression and has seemed content to merely protect what is his. If he is removed, they it would likely condemn the populace to death from the surrounding Orc nation. What is the party to do?

For purposes of the poster, consider him a dread necromancer 20/wearer of purple 10 lich.

Does that help?

[Mike Miller]

story

That is a good one. I had a similar but more radically evil plot in mind. I haven't been able to flesh it out yet, but this gives me ideas. Thanks

[unseenmage]

My own super high level plotline involves using Simulacrum/Ice Assassins or similar to recreate the mage themselves and their lost love with modified memories on. custom built planets/planes and watch to see just how the come apart and reconcile with the goal of someday reconnecting with their own lost love.

The joke is that even the mage is a duplicate (mirror or temporal or whatever) and the original long since abandoned the previously automated research due to a low priority Sim succeeding in winning her heart whilst he'd been dawdling. She's happy and he could live with that.

For the version that's more story than campaign the tale is told to a Sim who thinks themselves real by a Sim who'd thought himself real until recently.

The term Sim being used loosely to represent everything from Simulacrums to alternate reality duplicates to time doubles to mirror doppelgangers etc etc.

[Bonzai]

That is a good one. I had a similar but more radically evil plot in mind. I haven't been able to flesh it out yet, but this gives me ideas. Thanks

Glad it helped! Lawful evil is an interesting thing to explore. Situations like a Paladain having to witness some one beat their slave in front of them. The abuse is an evil act, yet the slave's owner is perfectly within their rights under the law to do so. To act in the slaves defense would be a good act, but an unlawful one. To do nothing would allow evil to go unpunished, but would uphold the law. Situations that force party to compromise themselves, add a lot of spice to the game.

In the scenario I gave for example, the party opted to leave the Necromancer in power, but thwarted his plans for world domination. They stopped a greater future evil, but where in turn forced to endure a smaller going forward.