NPC creation advice - a demon back from the dead...

[Ossian]

Hi Folks,

I need to convert from 2nd edition D&D the following NPC.

He is, at the moment, the Librarian of the HQ of one of the most feared institutions of the campaign world. We are talking arch-inquisition here, and the HQ is built of some sort of planar nexus that locks out of the Prime Material some unspeakable evil horde. So this guy is a bit more than booksmart.

A piece of background first. This NPC was "born" as a demon/fiend, although not necessarily as in Baatezu and Tanar´ri. More like a supernatural creature with monstrous appearance and CR around 18-20. Now, in a climactic battle which took place decades before the campaign, this guy was slain. Slain in a way that it made it plot-very difficult to raise, resurrect etc...Say that the demon was deprived of his old form and most of his memories, and needed a new vessel, a body to host his spirit.

A powerful wizard from Ylaruam who had also incidentally wronged the Demon´s boss was selected as the lucky host, deprived of his heart, and promptly filled to capacity with the essence of the Demon.

Now, the questions are:

1 What is in 3.5 terms the ritual / spell /procedure that took place here? (imagine pretty much infinite resources available)

Is he an outsider? Native? Is he an animated corpse? Is he an avatar of something?

My idea would be to throw in some 15-18 class levels, 90% Archivist because it fits beautifully with his part and his powers. A dip in cleric would not hurt I guess, but I am open to suggestions in the way of Arcane Casters dips and Prestige classes in general, so long as we stay between level 17 and 20.

2 What is the Demon now?

In D&D 2nd edition he ended up being a Wizard 27th level, with the ability to wear (with almost nil ASF) all sorts of armor (though he preferred not to) and part of the weapon proficiencies enjoyed as a demon (it was, in practice, "Expert" with all polearms and "Skilled" with all daggers and javelins/spears).
On top of that, the domination ability from the Vampires, the gift of tongues, and the ability to learn, memorize and create all spells related to Illusion, Mind Control and Hypnosis in general in half the time, with range as far as he could see and a high resistance to illusions.

Stats were
STR 14 INT 20 WIS 19 DEX 13 CON 14 CHA 20

Some items magic demonic halberd, (red blade, dark hollow steel shaft) +4 enchanted, energy drain x2, shocking burst
Banded mail, +3, DR 5 (EPIC), boosts STR and DEX +2, Resistance (FIRE) 5.


Thanks for your help everyone !

[Forever Curious]

I believe Stranger with the Burning Eyes (found here) might fit your flavor.

[Runestar]

To be honest, I don't think the rules cover this sort of possession ritual. You are likely better off just statting up a custom monster, rather than bend over backwards trying to replicate his progression using existing 3e rules.

Closest I can think of is to use one of the outcast devil dukes, and reflavour them to get the npc you want.

http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.a.../drfe/20071212

In particular, I think Adramalech is quite suitable, though it may be too strong at cr27. Agares may be possible, with clerical spellcasting.

[Boci]

To be honest, I don't think the rules cover this sort of possession ritual. You are likely better off just statting up a custom monster, rather than bend over backwards trying to replicate his progression using existing 3e rules.

Hordes of the Abyss had rules for possessions. The tranformation role seems to fit best.

[SilentNight]

Just for the armor thing, the Knight of the Thorn prestige class from the Dragonlance campaign setting is one of my favorite armored casters. They get a scaled reduction to ASF which caps at 20% and when combined with mithril allows them to wear just about anything. They also get the benefit of being considered divination specialists without having to bar any schools (doubly nice for sorcerers). On top of that they get a few more bonus spells and a nice fear effect. 3/4ths BAB as well, all without losing a caster level (if you burn feats, a level of fighter makes it much easier)

[Ossian]

Amazing! So many option to look at, I will definitely check them. Many thanks to all that answered (and of course more feedback is always welcome, after all it is also an excuse for an exercise of creativity, and to have fun here on the boards)

Ossian