Useful templates for NPC bosses

[WarKitty]

I'm looking for useful templates for NPC bosses, particularly for melee monsters. Good base monster suggestions are also taken. I need something that can challenge a group of 8 level 11 pseudo-gestalt characters. (Pseudo-gestalt = melee gets full gestalt, casters get a few healbot abilities on the side.) Templates are especially preferred, although suggestions for humanoid-ish or at least intelligent monsters are taken.

Edit: NO PRIMARY CASTERS. The occasional SLA/spell is fine, but I'm working to build melee monsters that can challenge the party, not yet another caster.

[Kobold-Bard]

Mineral Warrior is nice for a single LA.
If you're adding them as bonuses rather than as part of the enemy build then 1/2-Celestal is also nice.

[Toptomcat]

With its several wide menus of powerful abilities from which you only choose one or two each, Monster of Legend makes for a fun little boss-in-a-can when applied to any mook that qualifies, and can be used repeatedly for that purpose without seeming samey because of its flexibility.
Humanoids don't qualify, but monstrous humanoids do.

[herrhauptmann]

Feral template?

[Worlok]

I'd recommend a Half-Green-Dragon Ogre Mage, five or so levels in sorcerer, weasel familiar (for the Reflex bonus and because a weasel can get somewhat nasty in melee, thanks to its Attach ability), spell list at your discretion. It may be a little awkward with the flight speeds, but the two cone attacks (or one, if you go for some combined mixed-damage cone of corrosive cold homebrew or whatnot), the shapechanging, the invisibility and darkness SLAs, and the gaseous-form-retreat can make for a challenging (and recurring) encounter. It would additionally come with spell resistance and regeneration, which are nice extras, I guess. Then, there's natural armor, natural attacks, and, of course, acid immunity, limiting the players' options for regeneration-blocking to fire damage and making melee a little more dangerous. Also, there are plenty of metamagic and creature feats easily applicable. Calculated CR would be about 15, but all things considered, it does seem beatable to me.

[WarKitty]

I'd recommend a Half-Green-Dragon Ogre Mage, five or so levels in sorcerer, weasel familiar (for the Reflex bonus and because a weasel can get somewhat nasty in melee, thanks to its Attach ability), spell list at your discretion. It may be a little awkward with the flight speeds, but the two cone attacks (or one, if you go for some combined mixed-damage cone of corrosive cold homebrew or whatnot), the shapechanging, the invisibility and darkness SLAs, and the gaseous-form-retreat can make for a challenging (and recurring) encounter. It would additionally come with spell resistance and regeneration, which are nice extras, I guess. Then, there's natural armor, natural attacks, and, of course, acid immunity, limiting the players' options for regeneration-blocking to fire damage and making melee a little more dangerous. Also, there are plenty of metamagic and creature feats easily applicable. Calculated CR would be about 15, but all things considered, it does seem beatable to me.

I really need things that *aren't* casters. Casters are easy to build; both I and my players get sick of using them all the time.

[Worlok]

Oh. Sorry, I didn't quite get that. Well, my next idea would be a fiendish eleven-headed hydra, but you asked for intelligent monsters. Well... How about an undead (skeleton, zombie, vampire, your choice, really, although being a vampire nerfs the whole swimming thing a little) Green Hag or Annis with reasonably high levels in barbarian and some in ranger (Favored Enemy to target whatever the party consists of, primarily)? Still technically a caster, but you could give it the Quicken SLA feat to make that less obvious, especially since the Green Hag's SLAs are geared primarily towards keeping it alive. And its skills and abilities imply physical rather than magical combat, anyway. Especially near or in a major body of water and in the dark such a beastie could give them something to chew on.

Come to think of it, the ogre mage could simply get barbarian and ranger levels and Quicken SLA, as well, as half-dragons of all races get high melee-relevant ability boni (to top it off, though, the thing could be mounted on a fiendish eleven-headed hydra - or the ogre mage made half-fiend and the hydra half-dragon for harassment-dogfight-goodness).

[AslanCross]

Spellwarped. Getting buffs from would-be offensive spells is awesome.

[Toptomcat]

Voidmind can be fun, particularly because it has a very rarely-seen immunity (all ability damage and drain of whatever type) and because its illithid masters' ability to Dominate it and use their psionic powers through it allow you to pull some very surprising shinola out of thin air if you want things to go an unexpected direction.

[FelixG]

Awakened house cat + monster of legend (MM3 if i remember)

Then toss in levels of rogue and assassin to taste...Should throw your players through a loop!

Edit:

Also considered an awakened Psion gerbil that floats around and hides :P