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Albonor
2008-06-01, 10:04 PM
As I am reaching the half-time of the campain I'm DMing, I realise that the level cap I had predicted for my PCs (16) will probably be reached a couple of sessions before the end. So, I'm getting ready to buff my final ennemies and mainly the main BBEG of the campain.

He is the first NPC they met, a level 2 cleric of the LN god of my homebrewed setting (refered to as the Administrator of the power in the multiverse) who hired them to go with him to visit his family on an archeological dig.

But, long story short, they found out that the cultists of the demon and devil factions were waging the Blood War on the Prime because a weird epic dimentional lock prevented any outsider to use any teleportation or planetravel method except in case of a summon on the Prime.

Since that guy (an elf by the way) is nothing if not lawful, he came to oppose strongly the demon worshipers and is now slowly being corrupted to join the devil faction (who after all promise a structured society).

Mechanics: he will go up to level 12 as a cleric of his god before he is forsaken (of course it will be his fault but he won't admit it) and will turn to the Throne of Hell (currently vacant, Asmodeus died at the end of the last campain, with different PCs of course) for power and strike a deal with them. He will then begin to gain the 5 levels of ordained champion, PrC reserved for the rulers of the faction among the "mortals".

That puts him at level 17, CL 15 and a power house in melee. If the 5 PCs are level 16, he and his "adviser" (a pleasure devil with 6 levels of fiend of blasphemy and 3 levels of sorcerer) would have been a hard challenge but a winnable one. But if they gain acces to level 9 spells (a necro/alienist and a druid) I'm pretty sure they will eat my bad guys with a glass of milk.

So, what does this guy do when he's through with ordained champion (Complete Champion btw)? He consider that the Blood War must either go on or be won by the devils for the world to be safe from the complete anarchy of the demons. More loyal than evil he made that deal with the infernal powers thinking they understood the value of order (and secretly hoping someone (the PCs) will stop him if he begins to trust the Archdevils).

That means I should forget about more cleric levels (not the worshiping kind anyway) and I need a PrC that represents his mental progression. Power is not much of an issue since he is already quite dangerous and clever and I could always had a few minor devils to act as mooks if need be (he will not put trusting allies in mortal danger if he knows they are in over their heads). But I want him to be at least a level higher than the PCs.

Keep in mind that in my setting the most powerful character of all time was around level 35 and Asmodeus when mortal was level 32. So, level 17-20 is considered a major player on a continental level and probably the golden boy of Hell at this point.

His progression so far:
Str 15
Dex 14
Con 11
Int 15 (16 at level 4)
Wis 18
Cha 15 (16 at level 8)

Cleric 1 Power attack Str and Law domain
Cleric 2
Cleric 3 Negotiator (the guy convinced the assembly to give him the autority to raise a small inquisition-like army of cultist-hunters)

Cleric 4
Cleric 5
Cleric 6 To be determided but cannot be too EEEEEEvil since at that time he was still LN and quite gentle. Suggestion?

Cleric 7
Cleric 8
Cleric 9 Ex w prof: katana (not especialy useful but it is the symbolic weapon of the ancient empire and since he wants to be an inspirational figure to the people...plus, it is considered a deity's favored weapon for the devil's cult)

Cleric 10
Cleric 11
Cleric 12 Switched to War instead of Str as a domain because of his conversion and thus gained w focus (katana). For the feat: now we can go for something BAAAAAAAAD but I have to think about prerequisites for another PrC at Character level 18 so...suggestions?

Ordained C1 gained back his Str domain
OC 2
OC 3 Same as level 12, mostly flavor and prerequisite related if possible?
OC 4
OC 5
Suggestions 1
Sugg 2
etc...



The PCs are mostly limited to Core except for PrC are are strong but far from cheesy. Any source is welcome in this case. After all, they won't see his character sheet will they?

Thanks in advance, don't hesitate if you have any questions.

Hal
2008-06-01, 10:20 PM
(currently vacant, Asmodeus died at the end of the last campain, with different PCs of course)

I can't really help you with your character build, but I do have a comment.

Some people might criticize you for such an outlandish thing. "Asmodeus would never let himself be killed!" they will cry. A PC can't kill a god!

Blather. I started playing D&D to do exactly such things. Kudos to you, sir, for running epic (in scope) campaigns.

Callos_DeTerran
2008-06-01, 10:31 PM
I can't really help you with your character build, but I do have a comment.

Some people might criticize you for such an outlandish thing. "Asmodeus would never let himself be killed!" they will cry. A PC can't kill a god!

Blather. I started playing D&D to do exactly such things. Kudos to you, sir, for running epic (in scope) campaigns.

I won't criticize until I learn how they managed something like that. If it's some entirely plot-based reason then I won't like it but can accept those are the sorts of things Asmodeus IS susceptible then. If they came up with their own 'plan' then you probably didn't realistically portray Asmodeus...but then again I have unrealistically high standards for him.

A PC CAN kill a god, it's simply unlikely. Just like a PC CAN kill Asmodeus...it's just even MORE unlikely then killing a god.

chiasaur11
2008-06-01, 11:49 PM
I won't criticize until I learn how they managed something like that. If it's some entirely plot-based reason then I won't like it but can accept those are the sorts of things Asmodeus IS susceptible then. If they came up with their own 'plan' then you probably didn't realistically portray Asmodeus...but then again I have unrealistically high standards for him.

A PC CAN kill a god, it's simply unlikely. Just like a PC CAN kill Asmodeus...it's just even MORE unlikely then killing a god.

And Pun-Pun killing is less likely still.

Albonor
2008-06-02, 01:19 AM
(Sorry for the crimes against spelling and grammar, It is 2:25 am and english is a second language to me)

Well, since we are talking homebrew (and btw it was a 2ed campain) and Asmodeus was simply the most powerful Pit fiend ever (CR 45 in 3.5 I'd say...) instead of an Overpower of Hell, he was an evil GENIUS but not an invincible one.

Asmodeus was actually the first ruler of the first great civilisation the world had known. He was an elf who understood the concept of order and social cohesion, as well as an accomplished wizard and priest (he prayed to the Divine Source, but when you are building and ruling a LE empire, the forces of Law and Evil are not picky...). He build his empire and brough the world the concepts of nations as well as tyrany and social classes.

He eventualy came to realise, in a moment of humility, that he would someday meet his match, be it an ennemy or simply an accident he would cause himself and decided to build himself the most powerful phylactery possible. He then was about to finish enchanting it (he actually used the pyramid in the middle of his capital) when the forces of the Revolution, lead by the woman who would become the new LG deity an hour later, rushed his position.

Then.....

(Long story short of my multiverse) The multiverse was created at the "beginning" by 17 entities that spawned the outerplanes when they were born, as well as the Prime and the Astral. Then, one became Conscience and gave all the other self-awareness. One became Arcana and gave birth to magic, one became the principles of physics, a few beacames deities and a few gae up almost all of their power to give birth to life and new races. Ence, two of them were the creators of Celestia and Baator, Ismael and Lucifer. Both the only Solars in the multiverse. They both worked togheter in bringing order in the new multiverse and battling the demonic hordes spawned by the creator of the Abyss, but they of course eventually turned on each other and Lucifer gave birth to the devils while Ismael gave birth to the archons.

But since Conscience had control over all the knowledge in the world, both of them had worked togheder before to find a way to control the emission of that knowledge, trying to limit what was dangerous to the young races and what was useful for them to flourish. In that sense, they managed to design a ritual that would rip the knowledge of teleportation and planar traveling from any non-mortal soul if they ever felt that the Outerplanes were influencing too mush of what was happening to the Prime.

But their quest for that had opened many doors that others would try to use to control the knowledge in the universe too and thus they created three seals that would need to be broken to unlock access to Conscience: one in Celestia, one in Hell and the other near the Spire, out of reach from about everything.

But Lucifer (of course) had special plans and ended up killing Ismael and breaking the seal in Celestia while most angels where battling his armies on the prime and in Hell. In doing so, Lucifer then realised how vulnerable he also was, and that if they, the makers of the worlds, could be killed, their projects for the multiverse were all in danger of disapearing with them. He then dicided that he would make a copy of himself.



That is when he appeared, still bloodied from his fight against his "brother" and took out Asmodeus as he was finishing his ritual. But this phylactery was more powerful than any since: it stored all the knowledge and concept of his existence and would call BACK the soul to it, should it ever forget who he was.

And so, the greatest ruler of the world found himself in Hell were he was tortured for a few decades before becoming a lowly lemure. The lemure grew rapidly to a major devil status, for, if Asmodeus had forgoten who and what he was, his soul was still as strong as ever. He then finaly gained the power to go to the prime, where a distance but powerful force was calling him.

That is how he found the pyramid under the rubbles of his fallen empire and regained all of his lost power and knowledge.

At the same time, Lucifer was grooming him as he rose in power and status, so much that the young devil's mind became almost indentical to that of his master. The two had the same toughs, the same methods, and more importantly: the same ambition of ruling Hell.

When he came to believe he could play the part, Asmodeus waited for Lucifer to retreat in a primatic sphere after a harsh battle with a Demon Lord, used his yearly wish to create a weapon (a sword to be specific) that would harm him and used his magical powers to dismiss the protective barrier in a few instants and stabbed Lucifer before he could react, wounding him almost mortaly.

But the Prince of Hell was healing as fast as the wound was killing him and managed to summon a curse on his protégé: every 666 years (sometimes I go for the easy stuff, sue me) he would have to bring him a new puppil whose mission would be to destroy Asmodeus. Lucifer would give him eternal youth as well as considerable powers to do so. But if the champion was to fail, he would become Asmodeus's slave while another worthy candidate would be presented. That candidate was refered to as the Sourge.

Four candidates had failed so far but the latest one was the most powerful mortal of all time, a warlock and wizard named Bilbodo, capable of the greatest of feats. Asmodeus had chosen him because of the useful ally he would become after 666 years. Lucifer had given him a gift he had not dared give before: his blood. Namely, he taught him how to summon a portion of the endless storm of hellfire that was coming out of his wound.

But, 663 years later, Bilbodo was still not ready to take on the new Prince of Hell. You see, in the nealy 34 centuries that had passed since his treason, Asmodeus had used his yearly wishing power, as well as the Throne of Hell (an Overartifact of minor godly power) to erase all memory and reference to Lucifer in the muliverse. Only the deities and remaining of the Old Ones (refered to as the 17) were still aware of his existence and the Throne's power prevented them from telling anyone. Asmodeus was effectively one of the 17 from almost anyone's view point.

At this point Asmodeus was sending the Archdukes themselves to check on him (because the curse prevented him to try anything against the Scourge, even indirectly, as long as the Scourge didn't attack first) but Bilbodo had no clear plan. Up until three young heroes (guess who) managed to help him defeat Baalzephon, one of the Dark Eights/Archdukes (I merged the two concepts, even longer story). He then took one of them, Wilbur of Gonzaz the half-elf bard, as his apprentice and taught him to use the hellfire. Meanwhile, the warrior woman of the group was forging a sword to help her battle the diverses forces of the lower planes. She had encountered an elf with a very powerful saber a few time and wanted to match him if they fought again.

But Bilbodo was powerless to act, knowing that his every move were not only watched, but analysed and prepared for. That is when he decided to open the gates of Hell to the hordes of the Abyss and planeshifted in Asmodeus's Inner Sanctum in Nessus with most of the Western World's greatest heroes.

Was it a possibility the Prince had foreseen? Yes.

As well a the most powerful red dragon in the prime joining in the effort against his citadel? He had prepared for that foe.

The few hundred angels taking advantage of the chaos to try and strike as far as possible down in the belly of the beast? They were being digested as they spoke.

The "epic" fallen paladin finaly attonning for his long list of misdeeds and contributing in slaying Bhall? Gods dammit and damn his god but do you really think I would have let that idiot get into harm's way if I didn't hope something like that would happen?

The millions of demons have now reached the 8th circle of Hell? You know that ritual that Lucifer and Ismael have designed to prevent planeshifting of Outsiders if need be? Started two minutes ago, those demons are not getting any reinforments while every soul that ends in Hell is reinforment for us. They won't last long!

Oh, btw, can I present to you the last two Scourges? The first is Vecna the lich (told you I take liberties) and the other is Kazull the centaur hunter.

And finally, Bilbodo my friend, enjoy you last 3 minutes of freedom.


Needless to say, a fight there was after that. Many sources of many great songs were killed as Asmodeus waited for Bilbodo to turn on his allies and for one of them (he after all had tricked the greatests heroes of the time to be where he needed them) to approach the inferno of blue flammes at the center of the room to meet Lucifer.

But then, a few "something" happened. First, the sword Morrigan (the warrior woman) had forged turned on her and ordered to be given to the warrior wielding the other weapon: Antarès. Antarès was the sword Asmodeus had used to stab Lucifer and who had gained a conscience at the time. It yearned for a chance to become mortal and hoped that becoming the new Scourge would allow "her" to gain that. "She" had controled her wielder, Vemeryl for millenia in hopes of ever reaching this place, manipulating him by stealing his memories. But he wrestled free from her influence at his point, throwing her away at Morigan's feet. That caused the two (hateful when it came to each other) fighters to exchange weapons.

Then, on his own, Wilbur entered the Inferno while the numbers started going way down on the good guys side. Asmodeus was using his considerable arcane and divine spells as well as his Pit Fiend's form powers and his link to the Throne of Hell. The Sourges were also doing short work of the weaker heroes the company had brought.

Wilbur was instructed by Lucifer on his task to try and destroy Asmodeus and was about to be named the new Scourge when Morigan and Vemeryl managed to fell the centaur as Bilbodo was turning on them.

What happened next had also been forseen (as well as many other possibilities) by Asmodeus, but neither he nor anyone else could have understood it. Wilbur decided that becoming the instrument of vengeance of an Old One would be a bad idea and...summoned the hellfire the way Bilbodo had taught him...5ft from the source!

He completely drained Lucifer as the flammes were passing through his own body on the way out and incinerated both of their bodies when they came back as a apocalyptic blast.

But having had so much power passing through him, he still stood: a commanding elemental-like creature of blue flammes, Wielding not the power of a God, that Asmodeus understood, or of a mortal or an Outsider, that he once had been and was, but of a CREATOR, even if diminished. That was what only one person in the multiverse understood at the moment, and that person was Wilbur of Gonzaz, former minstrel, bugbear slayer, warlock, master of flammes and now God-like figure.

Asmodeus rushed. He when straight for the Throne of Hell, knowing that he was facing a form of power that he had never met, Lucifer himself having chosen to use he last of his creator power to form his Solar body and to link it with the very fabric of hell.

But Wilbur was free to use that unbind energy as he pleased to shape the multiverse to his liking, even if he felt his control over that power was fading. He the nrestored is body, blue flammes coming out of his eyes, and used in succession his powers to, rip Asmodeus of his powers for a few seconds, rip him for his active spells, of his defenses and to dispel the spells he had cast on the battlefield.

He then binded him with the very fabric of the universe and teleported him back to his side. As the Prince of Hell was calling upon his wishing ability to restore his powers and defenses, Wilbur named Antarès the new Sourge. And Morigan plunged it into the Devil's heart. The saber lost it's identity at the moment but slayed her maker having killed her first wielder with powers confered by her first victim.

Wilbur then, with his powers fading fast, brought back to life all the victims (the lich had fled at the moment of her master's death) of the battle and teleported them on the Prime. He soon followed after having ensured that the Forteress would crumble.

But Asmodeus ensured that his soul would always find a way to his phylactery....



Did they beat him fair and square? Hardly. But they came very close of a grim end and I applaud these players for their creativity and their suggestions.

Most of it wasn't about rolling high or being proud of a build but about an epic story.

By the way, what makes God "special" in my setting is that they can only act through the spells they give to priests and through dreams and visions. Other than that, they are more alike a concept than a person. Compare Gravity or Hope to Zeus for example.

and the Throne of Hell allows the Ruler of Hell to make a wish as a swift action every rounf when seated or a minor wish also as a swift action when in hell, the frequency being determined by the distance to the Throne (Asmodeus had one every 1d4 rounds during the fight).