Evil Opposites

[sonofzeal]

I'm running a dungeoncrawl. In it, I try for tactically and flavourfully distinct segments, not just one more dank corridor with random monster XYZ at the end of it. My thought for the next zone was to have a series of rooms, and each room would have an "Evil Opposite" of one of the party members, twinked out by yours truely to be a dangerous opponent against the entire group.

The party is ECL 9 and currently consists of an Aasimar (LA bought off) Soulbow, a Human Factotum, a Human Battle Sorcerer (Fiend-Blooded PrC), and a Dwarven Fighter.

To clarify - by "Evil Opposite" I mean someone with the same basic build, but who takes it in a different direction. Opposites should be recognizably the same class/concept, but can be different race, different PrCs, use different tactics, etc. They should be challenging but not unfair for a not-particularly-optimized party, but I don't want to go higher than ECL10.

Here's what I have so far...


Grey Elf Factotum 10 - uses Arcane Dilettante to stack miss chances (Greater Mirror Image, Blink, Entropic Warding) as he swings from chandeliers in a rococo ballroom, with his rapier and daggers flashing, using Iaijutsu Focus for bonus damage before retreating up out of reach. He'll use IP mostly to keep his buffs up and heal himself in between strikes. Killing him will likely involve limiting his mobility and blowing through his Mirror Images with melee attacks.

Human Battle Sorcerer 9 - probably going with "Polymorph" as the base, and working from there. He needs to be recognizably a Sorc though, so I'll probably have Fireball or somesuch on there too, some big flashy Sorcerer magic to mix in with the Polymorph smackdown. He'll probably just get pounded into submission eventually, but hopefully can put up a fight for a bit. This definitely needs to be fleshed out though. Suggestions appreciated!

Dwarf Fighter 4 / ??? 1 / Stonelord 5 - probably going with a tripmonkey build, get into the middle of them and lock them all down with AoOs. The fight will be in a confined space, with short twisty paths between thick stone walls. Meld Into Stone is going to be crucial here. Beating him will take some creativity, but ready actions and solid teamwork will help. Again, this definitely needs to be fleshed out though. Suggestions appreciated!

Soulbow - ....I got nothing. It's such a specific PrC that I can't really think of how else to do it. Any Archery build would work here, but it's got to be something where {a} it's a threat even outnumbered and outgunned, and {b} the melee types can still contribute in some way. Any advice would be a big help here.

[Berserk Monk]

For the dwarven fighter I'd go either dwarf barbarian or gnome ranger.

[RTGoodman]

Ooh, ooh! For the Aasimar Soulbow's opposite, do a Tiefling Warlock! Is the same basic idea, but with different mechanics!


For the others though, give us some indication of the PC's builds and tactics. What kind of Fighter is your Dwarf? What kinds of spells does the Sorcerer use?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Have you considered instead going with a thematic opposite? Wizard for facing the Sorcerer, using Abrupt Jaunt for defense. Agreed on the Tiefling Warlock idea, probably using Eldrich Glaive just so you've got a ranged fighter in melee with the melee fighter who prefers range. Face the Factotum with standard Rogue. Face the Dwarven Fighter with an Orc Barb(or an Elf Warblade, just for the irony of an Elf that beats up a Dwarf).

[RTGoodman]

Have you considered instead going with a thematic opposite?

Yeah, that'd probably work better than trying to match class and stuff. Also, I just think an Aasimar Soulbow facing off against a Tiefling (Hellfire?) Warlock would be bad-ass.

Face the Dwarven Fighter with an Orc Barb(or an Elf Warblade, just for the irony of an Elf that beats up a Dwarf).

Or maybe even use a Duergar Psychic Warrior. That'd be neat, and they get expansion 1/day for free, IIRC.

[sonofzeal]

For the others though, give us some indication of the PC's builds and tactics. What kind of Fighter is your Dwarf? What kinds of spells does the Sorcerer use?

Dwarf Fighter - "chaaaaaaaarge!" Very aggressive battle style, and has actually turned out quite decent despite some serious optimization faux pas. Did the whole Weapon Focus/Spec with Dwarven Waraxe. Has a few Martial Study feats (Crusader's Strike, Burning Blade, Martial Spirit). Bought some Boots of Spider Climbing, which may need to be taken into account for some of these.

Human Sorcerer - total BC guy, specializing in clouds and gases. His primary spell is... I forget the name, but it makes a 10' cube of gas that nauseates things for 1d4+1 rounds. He's only a Battle Sorc because I'm using that variant instead of normal sorcs (in addition, all Clerics are cloistered and all Druids are shapeshifters, and Wizard spellbooks are somewhat nerfed). Oh, and he has an Imp familiar that's proved fairly useful.

Human Factotum - recent addition to the team, but seems to focus on acrobatics and milking that Brains Over Brawn for all it's worth. Uses a Halberd in melee and a Rifle or Gnomish Revolver (see "Iron Kingdoms") at range. Overall, he's a bit of a swashbuckler skillmonkey with some average combat utility.

Aasimar Soulbow - puts holes in things. Is mixing Soulbow with Warmind, and has just picked up Compression and Precog Offense. This guy rarely misses, and tends to blow things away when he gets the chance. He's not really unbalancing things because I have a number of ways of making things harder for him (opponents with cover, concealment, or prone; no room to avoid AoOs), but I do need to keep him specifically in mind when designing these things, and make sure he can't just end it in the surprise round.

[sonofzeal]

Yeah, that'd probably work better than trying to match class and stuff. Also, I just think an Aasimar Soulbow facing off against a Tiefling (Hellfire?) Warlock would be bad-ass.

Tiefling Warlock would be fun. He'll fly around on demonic wings and trade shots with the Aasimar, until the Dwarf runs up the ceiling and jumps down on him. Give him the Entropic Warding, and maybe give the Factotum "Deflect Arrows"?

Or maybe even use a Duergar Psychic Warrior. That'd be neat, and they get expansion 1/day for free, IIRC.

How would that work for the encounter though? A guy like that is just asking to be kabob'd by the Soulbow, and a single brute in melee combat isn't going to last long with the action economy heavily against him unless he has some serious tricks up his sleeve.