Villainous Competition XL Negative Nancy

[WackyTommyT]

I like the theme this round. Hopefully I can participate in the next one. Been on deployment for the last 8 months and dont have access to my materials. :(

Good luck to all who submit!

[Thurbane]

About 40% done, and quite happy with my entry so far. 15 more days should be plenty.

Work is kicking my butt at the moment, yet again my duties have been changed, so any dreams of more than one entry are done for, barring a miracle.

[GrayDeath]

I liked the theme LOT, but since I ahve been too neghative psychiologally tghese past weks, I could not participate without risking worsening my condition.

Which is doubly sad since i, more or less HAVE just such a character as replacement char for a running round.


So I wish you all the non harmful negativity you need!

[Thurbane]

I had a really fun idea for a second build: I'll see if I can get both in.

[3SecondCultist]

I have a fun build that I'll be submitting hopefully just before the deadline.

[Thurbane]

So, my main idea didn't come together the way I wanted (wasn't happy with the end result, it was a little bland, and the chassis might be better suited to a different round)...I'll do my best to get my second idea submitted.

[loky1109]

Submit first. Thinking about second.

[NotInventedHere]

Both my builds have fallen apart. The one that I had a really cool idea for, is just really bad mechanically and I can't make it any better, and the one that's really simple and works mechanically is so bland I can't make the fluff anywhere near satisfactory. I'll try and post them as stubs afterwards.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

and the one that's really simple and works mechanically is so bland I can't make the fluff anywhere near satisfactory. I'll try and post them as stubs afterwards.

My Atriox build actually started like that. I had the mechanics more or less hammered out in time for the previous competition, but couldn't come up with any decent fluff. Then the Do Over competition rolled around, and I was watching some Halo Wars 2 videos, and I went "Hang on, that weird werewolf build I was working on is a perfect fit for the main villain's fighting style!", and that gave me the fluff I needed and also informed the rest of the build choices that weren't core to his CQC schtick. So that was really lucky.

So yeah, it might be worth looking to other sources of fiction for a villain who's a good fit, and then stealing adapting their fluff. But then, while I really like adapting characters from other mediums to RPGs (it's why I like HERO 6E so much), I know at least a few judges consider it unoriginal.

[loky1109]

My second idea is illegal.

[3SecondCultist]

Well my build collapsed when I tried to put it all together.

I have another idea, but we'll see how well it works.

[jdizzlean]

i have 2 entries, while we have the rest of today left to the original deadline, how about another week or 2?

[loky1109]

Hw about another week or 2?

Sounds good! I'll have time for another (third idea!) one entry. No rush, extensively.

[3SecondCultist]

A week would be greatly appreciated! I just finished putting together another build and have been scrambling to get it finished.

[liquidformat]

i have 2 entries, while we have the rest of today left to the original deadline, how about another week or 2?

that would be great for me I won't be able to finish today and am gone the rest of the weekend

[Thurbane]

More time would be appreciated, and should mean I get at least one entry in.

[InvisibleBison]

I'm not going to be able to get a build in for this contest, but if I may I'd like to try my hand at judging.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Well what do you know, I've finally stumbled onto some inspiration. Don't know if I'll be able to get it done in time, though (work beckons).

[3SecondCultist]

Should be finished my build and submitting this evening!

[loky1109]

Second submitted.

[Thurbane]

As it turns out, between my job and my wife and I house-hunting to buy our first home, I won't get time for an entry. I'll post my 2nd stub after the reveal (I'll be keeping my 1st stub up my sleeve for future entries).

I'll do my best to judge, time permitting...

[jdizzlean]

ok, builds incoming


1 Nandag, the Soul Render

Nandag, the Soul-Render

Spoiler: Synopsis

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Two-headed young adult fang dragon Soul Eater 10

An adolescent dragon in a murderously nihilistic phase, who has accumulated enough power by eating souls to threaten the kingdom—if not the world.

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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CR	Strength	Dexterity	Constitution	Intelligence	Wisdom	Charisma
Elite Array	15	13	14	8	12	10
4	17	13	18	6	14	8
5-6	17	13	18	6	14	8
7	17(21)	13	18	6	14	8
8-10	19(23)	13	20	8	16	10
11-12	20(24)	13	20(24)	8	16	10
14-15	24(28)	13	22(26)	8	16	10
17	26(30)	14	22(26)	10	18	12
18-20	26(30)	14(18)	22(26)	10	18	12

Parenthetical numbers include the bonus from Soul Strength, Soul Agility, or Soul Endurance, abilities which grant a +4 enhancement bonus to ability scores as long as Nandag has used her energy drain ability within the past 24 hours.

Spoiler: Build Tables

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Note: “two-headed fang dragon” may be appended to all age categories. But that would make the column very wide.

CR	Age category/Level	Base Attack Bonus	Base Save* Bonus	Fortitude	Reflex	Will	DC†
4	Wyrmling	+5	+4	+8	+5	+6	11
5	Very Young	+8	+6	+10	+7	+8	13
6	Soul Eater 1	+9	+8	+12	+9	+10	13
7	Soul Eater 2	+10	+9	+13	+10	+11	14
8	Young	+13	+10	+15	+11	+13	16
9	Soul Eater 3	+14	+10	+15	+11	+13	17
10	Soul Eater 4	+15	+11	+18	+14	+16	17
11	Soul Eater 5	+16	+11	+18	+14	+16	18
12	Soul Eater 6	+17	+12	+21	+15	+17	18
14	Juvenile	+20	+14	+24	+17	+19	20
15	Soul Eater 7	+21	+14	+24	+17	+19	20
17	Young Adult	+24	+15	+25	+19	+20	22
18	Soul Eater 8	+25	+16	+26	+22	+21	22
19	Soul Eater 9	+26	+16	+26	+22	+21	23
20	Soul Eater 10	+27	+17	+27	+23	+22	23

*Both dragon racial HD and the Soul Eater class have three good saves. I didn’t want to spend three columns on this.
†Frightful Presence, Sound Imitation, and (apparently) Ability Drain all have saving throw DCs equal to 10+½ HD+Charisma bonus.

Note: Starting at CR 10, saving throw bonuses include bonuses from Soul Enhancement. Starting at CR 11 and 18, they also include bonuses from Soul Endurance and Agility.

CR	AC	Natural attacks*	Bite Attack Bonus	Special Abilities	Feats	Skills
4	16 (+1 Dexterity, +3 natural, +2 size)	2 bites, 2 claws	+10	Ability Drain, dragon traits, Keen Senses, Spell-Like Abilities (detect magic & read magic @ will), Sound Imitation, Trip	Combat ReflexesB, Improved InitiativeB, Multiattack, Weapon Focus (bite)	Hide 2 ranks (+11), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+3), Listen 8 ranks (+12), Move Silently 2 ranks (+3), Search 4 ranks (+5), Spot 8 ranks (+12)
5	18 (+1 Dexterity, +6 natural, +1 size)	2 bites, 2 claws	+13	—	Alertness	Hide 2 ranks (+7), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+3), Listen 9 ranks (+13), Move Silently 3 ranks (+4), Search 4 ranks (+5), Spot 9 ranks (+13)
6	18 (+1 Dexterity, +6 natural, +1 size)	2 bites, 2 claws	+14	Energy Drain 1	Shape Soulmeld (sphinx claws)	Hide 3 ranks (+8), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+3), Listen 10 ranks (+14), Move Silently 3 ranks (+4), Search 4 ranks (+5), Spot 9 ranks (+13)
7	18 (+1 Dexterity, +6 natural, +1 size)	2 bites, 2 claws	+17	Soul Strength	—	Hide 3 ranks (+8), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+3), Listen 10 ranks (+14), Move Silently 4 ranks (+5), Search 4 ranks (+5), Spot 10 ranks (+14)
8	20 (+1 Dexterity, +9 natural)	2 bites, 2 claws, 2 wings	+20	Spell-Life Ability (shield 2/day)	Open Least Chakra (hands claws)	Hide 6 ranks (+7), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+3), Listen 12 ranks (+16), Move Silently 6 ranks (+7), Search 5 ranks (+6), Spot 12 ranks (+16)
9	20 (+1 Dexterity, +9 natural)	2 bites, 2 claws, 2 wings	+21	Soul Blast	—	Hide 8 ranks (+9), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+3), Listen 12 ranks (+16), Move Silently 7 ranks (+8), Search 5 ranks (+6), Spot 12 ranks (+16)
10	20 (+1 Dexterity, +9 natural)	2+1 bites, 2 claws, 2 wings	+21	Soul Enhancement	Rapidstrike (bite)	Hide 9 ranks (+12), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+5), Listen 12 ranks (+18), Move Silently 9 ranks (+12), Search 5 ranks (+8), Spot 12 ranks (+18)
11	20 (+1 Dexterity, +9 natural)	2+1 bites, 2 claws, 2 wings	+23	Soul Endurance	—	Hide 11 ranks (+14), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+5), Listen 12 ranks (+18), Move Silently 10 ranks (+13), Search 5 ranks (+8), Spot 12 ranks (+18)
12	20 (+1 Dexterity, +9 natural)	2+1 bites, 2 claws, 2 wings	+24	Soul Radiance	—	Hide 13 ranks (+16), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+5), Listen 12 ranks (+18), Move Silently 11 ranks (+14), Search 5 ranks (+8), Spot 12 ranks (+18)
14	22 (+1 Dexterity, +12 natural, -1 size)	2+3 bites, 2 claws, 2 wings, 1 tail slap	+28	Spell-Like Ability (dispel magic 1/day), Spell Resistance 16	Improved Multistrike (bite)	Hide 13 ranks (+12), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+5), Listen 18 ranks (+24), Move Silently 11 ranks (+14), Search 8 ranks (+11), Spot 18 ranks (+24)
15	22 (+1 Dexterity, +12 natural, -1 size)	2+4 bites, 2+1 claws, 2 wings, 1 tail slap	+29	Energy Drain 2	Rapidstrike (claw)	Hide 15 ranks (+14), Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks (+5), Listen 18 ranks (+24), Move Silently 12 ranks (+15), Search 8 ranks (+11), Spot 18 ranks (+24)
17	26 (+2 Dexterity, +15 natural, -1 size)	2+4 bites, 2+4 claws, 2 wings, 1 tail slap	+33	Damage Reduction 5/magic, Frightful Presence, Spellcasting, Spell Resistance 18	Improved Rapidstrike (claw)	Hide 15 ranks (+14), Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks (+10), Listen 23 ranks (+30), Move Silently 12 ranks (+15), Search 10 ranks (+14), Spot 23 ranks (+30)
18	28 (+4 Dexterity, +15 natural, -1 size)	2+4 bites, 2+4 claws, 2 wings, 1 tail slap	+34	Soul Agility	—	Hide 17 ranks (+16), Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks (+9), Listen 24 ranks (+30), Move Silently 13 ranks (+16), Search 8 ranks (+11), Spot 24 ranks (+30)
19	28 (+4 Dexterity, +15 natural, -1 size)	2+4 bites, 2+4 claws, 2 wings, 1 tail slap	+35	Soul Slave	—	Hide 19 ranks (+18), Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks (+9), Listen 24 ranks (+30), Move Silently 15 ranks (+18), Search 8 ranks (+11), Spot 24 ranks (+30)
20	28 (+4 Dexterity, +15 natural, -1 size)	2+4 bites, 2+4 claws, 2+1 wings, 1 tail slap	+36	Soul Power	Rapidstrike (wing)	Hide 21 ranks (+20), Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks (+9), Listen 24 ranks (+30), Move Silently 17 ranks (+20), Search 8 ranks (+11), Spot 24 ranks (+30)

*2+1 means a pair of natural weapons with one additional attack from Rapidstrike. 2+3 and 2+4 indicate additional attacks from Improved Rapidstrike. Note that these extra attacks have -5 to -20 penalty.

Note: The attack bonus for all non-bite natural attacks, before Rapidstrike penalties, is three lower than the bite attack bonus.

Spoiler: Spellcasting

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Nandag gains spellcasting as a 1st-level sorcerer at CR 17, and it never improves. Hence, no table for spellcasting is required.

When Nandag gains the ability to cast spells, she can cast up to five cantrips and four 1st-level spells per day. She knows the following spells:
0: dancing lights, [i]ghost sound[/], mage hand, prestidigitation
1: blood wind, charm person

Spoiler: Storyline

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Spoiler: Infancy (CR 4-7)

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Occasionally, two wyrmlings will grow within the same egg. Two wyrmlings in the same egg, sharing the same space and the same yolk, are less likely to hatch and still less likely to survive. Egg-twins who survive past their first year have a strong bond with one another, and are usually respected by their peers for their hardiness and spiritual power.

Nandag was a pair of egg-twins who consumed one another in the womb, becoming a dragon with two heads and five legs. Some of the fang dragons in her home mountain range recognized her as having the same significance as any egg-twin, while others considered her an ill omen. Over the first decade of her life, Nandag slowly became aware of this disagreement, and the uncertainty ate at her.

Shortly after the end of that decade, Nandag discovered unique spiritual powers; her fangs and claws could tear at the souls of those she touched. This supernatural ability to meddle with others’ souls manifested as a bluish light, manifesting primarily over her claws. After this discovery, Nandagknew her path in life: She would master her unique power and use it to become a hero to dragonkind, to save them from the ruin some feared she prophesied.

At this level, Nandag is less a villain than a unique random encounter.

Spoiler: Tragedy (CR 8-12)

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As so often happens when dragons congregate near civilization, dragon-hunters were attracted to the mountain range. Over a few years, thieves and slayers went from occasional nuisances to a constant background threat; then, in less than a month, more organized raiding parties began to slaughter dragons by the lair. Nandag only survived because of her small size and a lucky hiding place.

After this slaughter, Nandag swore vengeance on the humanoids who slew her family. Over the next decade, she grew in power and skill, honing her skills by pouncing on wildlife, devouring them body and soul. Eventually, she gained enough finesse with her powers to be able to extract those souls in effectively one piece, letting her take the forms of the creatures she slew.

With this skill, Nandag could safely investigate humanoid settlements to trace her targets, so she began hunting in earnest. One by one, her leads turned up dead—often literally. The elven ranger had died in a bar brawl, the warlock died in battle, the thief vanished into the night. And so on. Eventually, she managed to find an elderly knight who supervised the dragon-slaying; Nandag slipped into his room in the form of a spider, before returning to her true form and devouring the knight’s soul.

That was it. Most of the perpetrators of the murder of Nandag’s family had escaped her justice, whether by death or just not leaving a trace. The future which gave her life meaning had faded into meaninglessness, and Nandag was left adrift.

For most of these levels, Nandag works as a one-shot villain. Perhaps she’s discovered by and fights a noble party hunting in the woods, and the survivors hire the PCs to fight the dragon in response. Nandag is eager to test her skills against dragon-slayers, but will retreat if she is in danger. If she just dies without accomplishing anything, it means she was nothing but the ill omen she feared she would be.

Spoiler: Stasis (CR 14-18)

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Thirty years passed—an entire generation, to some races. Nandag lingered on the edge of civilization, hunting wild animals and using their shapes to watch civilization, searching for any scraps of information for dragon-slayers she could fight.

As time wore on, she brooded on her existence thus far. She would have one head voice a thought on what she had done thus far in her life, and the other would voice an opposing thought. Isolated, Nandag eroded any sense of accomplishment she might have once felt. As Nandag’s power over the lives of others grew, her value in her own life shrank.

With nowhere to go and nothing do do, what hope or purpose could a dragon find? And when someone isolated like that watches races of beings who live and die in the time it takes her to grow up, without accomplishing anything she can see, how could she not project that hopelessness onto them?

At these levels, Nandag is too passive to be a good villain. Perhaps the PCs could come across her in the wilderness, or perhaps she rushes into the civilized world chasing a false hint of the dragonslayers she hunter—chasing the future she once hoped for. In any case, Nandag will fight fiercely, largely apathetic to her own safety.

Spoiler: End (CR 19-20)

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Nandag’s world was bleak. She had no hope; every future she had dreamed of crumbled in her claws, leaving her with nothing. From her isolated perch, without the context or insight to recognize anything the humanoids she watched accomplished before their inevitable deaths, she projected this hopelessness onto the world.

The power of her magic and soul eventually reached a pinnacle, letting her transform the corpses of those whose souls he consumes into shambling undead monstrosities...monsters who also have the power to rend their victims’ souls, transforming them into more undead.

Watching and studying these wights, Nandag sees the first meaningful future she has been able to imagine for decades, and throws herself into bringing it into fruition. A world cleansed of despair, by wiping all life from the planet, ending their suffering and letting them meet with their lost loved ones in the afterlife.

Slowly, she begins transforming hermits, travelers, and wildlife into undead minions, sending groups of them to attack and convert small outlying settlements into more undead. As more rural areas are swallowed by a plague of undead, despair and hunger begin to fester in the strongholds of civilization. Nandang begins gathering powerful wights to her, searching out groups of undead-hunters and crushing them with overwhelming power. Slowly, crudely, efficiently, she carves the world apart.

At these levels, Nandag is finally a campaign-shaping villain. Her powers give her enough reach to meaningfully affect the world beyond her claws, and her character arc has reached a point where her despair crystalizes into a motivation. At this point, discussing Nandag’s place in a campaign is less about giving her and the party reasons to encounter each other and fight, and more to do with finding ways ways for the players to fight back against an apocalyptic threat.
When Nandag does personally get into a fight, she is still pretty reckless, but not as much as she used to be. She will gladly put herself in danger if there’s something to gain, but she has an actual goal now, so she won’t fight to the death for no reason. That said, if there’s something to gain from risking death, she may be willing to take that risk and hope the undead horde she’s created will have enough momentum to free the world from despair.

Spoiler: Tactics

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Nandag isn’t really Nandag at all until CR 6, when she inflicts negative levels with her attacks. There’s no saving throw or anything mentioned; each attack just inflicts a negative level. At this point, she just has two bites and two claws. A low-level character could die in a few rounds if they’re unlucky.
As a fang dragon, her bites also drain Constitution on a failed Fortitude saving throw. This is handy, and seemed even more handy when I assumed the energy drain came with a Fortitude scene. Well, it still fits the contest guidelines.

Speaking of which, inflicting one (or, at CR 15+, two) negative level on every successful natural attack is really dangerous. If you don’t want to murder characters, you should try to spread out natural attacks a bit—a couple bites for the wizard, tail smack the cleric, etc. By contrast, if you want to kill (or at least debilitate) characters, focus fire like normal.

At CR 8, Nandag has her hand claw chakra opened and can bind the Sphinx Claws soulmeld to it. This gives her a +1 competence bonus to Strength-based skill and ability checks, a +1 insight bonus to Climb and Swim checks, and the ability to make full attacks on a charge. You get one guess as to which of these incredible abilities is the primary reason I had her take these feats.
Pounce lets Nandag make full attacks without needing to start within five feet of her target, which is handy when your whole build is centered around touching your enemies a lot to inflict negative levels. In addition, it lets Nandag open a fight with an overwhelming dive—swooping in from hundreds of feet away and striking a target with a full attack before they have a chance to react.

Also, by this point Nandag has some basic buff abilities—at this level, a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength whenever she’s used energy drain within the past 24 hours and the ability to cast shield twice a day. The statistics provided assume that Nandag has drained energy recently—eating souls is kind of her whole thing—but not that she cast shield.

CR 12 sees a couple of extra “if you’ve drained energy recently” buffs, a de facto free action force “ray” (which can only be used once per day), and no other combat abilities. However, it also adds the Soul Radiance ability, which lets Nandag shapechange into any creature whose soul she fully eats.
Since the shapechange spell is specifically referenced, I assume she can transform to and from these forms at will (until the 24-hour limit is passed). However, shapechange also disables all of the user’s supernatural abilities, which means that almost all of Nandag’s abilities are lost; she can still mimic sounds, trip enemies (if her form has claws or a tail attack), use spell-like abilities, and arguably the Increased Damage ability affects any natural weapons her new form has. Oh, and maybe the Superior Two-Weapon Fighting quality she gets from her multiheaded template and can’t use because she doesn’t use weapons would apply?
Yeah, Soul Radiance is a useful plot tool, but it’s pretty much useless for combat.

After that, it’s mostly boosts to the same formula. A size increase (and tail attack), better rapidstrike-ing, a +4 bonus to Dexterity for eating souls, etc. But there are some neat side abilities.
First, the standard dragon defenses that mostly serve to make it impervious to armies of mooks so the players look cooler for being able to beat it. (Well, I guess SR 16 is impressive when a classless dragon picks it up, but at CR 14 a typical player literally just needs to not roll a 1, and it gets worse.)
Spellcasting is hard to make useful for a dragon, but there’s one 1st-level sorcerer spell which seems really handy for Nandag. Blood wind targets a creature with natural attacks, which then makes a full attack at up to a 20-foot range, no action cost (aside from casting the spell). Nothing stops the caster from targeting herself. Granted, Pounce handles most cases where Nandag might want to make a full attack as a standard action, and flight makes ranged attacks less important, but blood wind is a spell that meaningfully builds on Nandag’s combat abilities. (I could replace it with another plot-power spell, but I wanted to do something with spellcasting.)
Frightful Presence is a handy little perk; it can potentially give an entire party a bunch of penalties, if they all fail a DC 22 Will saving throw at level 17. A level 17 fighter with Wisdom 8 and a cloak of resistance +2 has a 75% chance to fail their save, but anyone with moderate optimization will have better odds (up to “only on a natural 1” for a CoDzilla with moderate saving throw investment).
Soul Power sounds cool, but Nandag has so few Su/Sp abilities that it doesn’t do much. Her Constitution-draining bite is more dangerous, she can dispel more things (at CL 5, if she wants to lose a full attack), and most importantly, I don’t take a ding for elegance for grabbing a single level of some unrelated prestige class.

And then there’s Soul Slave, which turns people killed by Nandag’s energy drain into wights which she controls, with no listed cap. That’s not a useful combat ability—wights aren’t a serious threat at level 19—but it fundamentally changes encounter design. You’re not just fighting a two-headed dragon that attacks a dozen times a turn and drains levels like a frat boy chugs jello shots, you’re also fighting a horde of wights.
Nandag is kinda dumb, but she’s wise enough to use this horde in at least a basic fashion. If Nandag has a chance to arrange an ambush or similar, she would command the wights to surround the party and move into melee after her initial dive-pounce. They would give her flanking bonuses, which is about all the support basic undead minions can provide a melee villain.
If you want to make this ability more interesting (and don’t mind bending the rules), try making custom wights as minions. Maybe use the wight template from Savage Species, and maybe apply it to non-humanoids. Or if you’re sticking to RAW, maybe she has some wights who gained class levels after being turned. But this sort of thing is well outside the scope of this contest.

Spoiler: Use In a Campaign

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Nandag is a very introverted villain. She has a complicated internal life, and isn’t the type to exposit her motivations to heroes in a climactic confrontation. So how do you make use of this backstory?

The ideal solution would be to stretch the character’s story across multiple campaigns. (Or multiple segments of a single campaign set decades apart, like Fire Emblem 4.) First, the players participate in a dragon hunt where they spy a young dragon with five legs and two heads, and searching the cave with detect magic notes traces of necromancy on some corpses. Later, the players perhaps come across Nandag in her slow descent into omni-nihilism or hear about a helpful NPC from the dragon-slaying mission dying with those same necromantic traces on his body. Finally, the undead army begins to descend on the world, with those same necromantic traces; add in some hints about Nandag’s projected hopelessness somewhere (maybe they find emo poetry in one of her abandoned lairs?) and the players should be able to put the pieces together.

But stretching a playable backstory into pieces scattered across decades of in-game time is usually impractical. How else can you express the character’s backstory?

The simple method is to just compress everything. Move the big tragedies in Nandag’s life past the first age categories, or handwave her rapid growth as a side effect of eating so many souls. Removing the decades of isolation from her backstory does weaken it, but sacrifices have to be made for play.

Finally, there’s the option of inserting a character who can explain Nandag’s backstory and motivations. That’s tricky, due to the aforementioned isolation. You would need to write someone close enough to understand Nandag, but not close enough to help her out of what amounts to depression mixed with an unfulfillable vengeful anger and an inability to imagine others living a better life. Perhaps a hermit-druid or something who also mostly lives as an animal around the margins of civilization or something?
Once you’ve written such a character into Nandag’s story, killing that character can serve as a more acute catalyst to her apocalyptic self-destruction. To make it clear that this random corpse is important, Nandag makes a monument around it and sets wights to guard it. Eventually, the party follows a lead to this brand-new undead-infested mausoleum in the middle of nowhere and finds either a corpse they can speak with dead on or a mournful ghost the party can more freely chat with.

Complex villain motives are tricky to properly convey in any medium, and the strictly “first-person limited” perspective inherent to TRPGs makes that even harder. (To say nothing of players who will obliviously walk past or obnoxiously talk over major plot points without even realizing it.) At the end of the day, all you can do is find ways to put the pieces in front of the players and hope for the best...or write villains whose motivations can be expressed in a quick pre-combat monologue.

Spoiler: Author’s Notes

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Nandag is a Scottish form of “Nancy”. As in “negati—” Never mind.
I originally called her the Eater of Souls, before I wound up leaning on the parts of her threat that were less about her eating your soul specifically and more about general soul magic.

I gave myself two goals for this round: Don’t use anything undead-y, and include as many of the optional requirements as possible. Turns out that most negative energy stuff is undead-y, and the way I wound up leaning on an undead apocalypse is pretty necromancer-y, but I managed to get ability damage and negative levels in here!

Some of you might wonder why so many skill points are invested in Hide and Move Silently. I’d like to point to the notes in the Tactics section that talk about Nandag surprising her victims with long-distance aerial charges. This kind of ambush works better if the villain has at least some basic stealth capabilities, and one level of sorcerer spellcasting won’t cut it.

I considered adding a Shedu Crown or Gorgon Mask soulmeld, but you can’t open the totem chakra with a feat and it’s probably arguable whether trampling would actually apply the touch effects. I was also going to add the Deepspawn feat for two more tentacle attacks, until I realized that Aberration Blood requires the humanoid type. Oh well. More annoying is that the sickened status effect exists, which gives more save penalties, but I can’t find anything that would inflict it.

In the category “stuff I would have added if I didn’t reread and realize how little it added,” we have the Disciple of the Eye class from Races of the Dragon. I added it entirely because it was another potential source of the shaken condition, and removed it because A. it’s clunky B. it’s weird for a teenage-stereotype dragon to have a monklike mindset and C. dragons don’t get frightful presence (which is a better way to inflict fear) until young-adult age, and that’s a 2-CR addition that adds a lot more. (Also, inflicting a saving throw penalty isn’t as important as I expected because the energy drain doesn’t involve saving throws.)

On things that I’m only mostly sure I got right: You don’t get ability score increases for monster HD, since those are assumed to be incorporated into the racial ability score modifiers. You get ASI’s every fourth HD thereafter. But dragons keep getting more racial hit dice as they add age categories, which makes this simple rule complicated. I kept track of how many multiples-of-four levels the class levels added, which is less complicated than I’m making it sound and which I think is how this is supposed to work.
Also, Nandag’s Ability Drain ability arguably qualifies as a “head-based special attack”. I don’t think so—it doesn’t become more potent like a breath weapon does, it just becomes a rider on more attacks. But if it does, I over-CR’d by one.

Speaking of Ability Drain, is the DC supposed to be Charisma-based? That seems random, and some of the other true dragons have Charisma-based breath weapon DCs (which definitely isn’t right!).

Spoiler: Sources

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Book of Vile Darkness: Soul Eater
Draconomicon: Fang dragon, Improved/Rapidstrike feats
Magic of Incarnum: Bind Soulmeld, Open Chakra, Sphinx Claws soulmeld
Savage Species: Multiheaded template
Spell Compendium: Blood wind

Core rules: Four feats, five spells, and that’s about it.

[jdizzlean]

2. Creeping Ghoulification

Introduction
For the glory of our lord Bloated goat prince of undeath, master of vampires and lord of specters, Orcus, I, Cordan Thokabayaj, his humble thrall, represent my research in the field of applied necromancy, aimed at amassing of our lord’s power and filling the material plane by undead hordes to his greater glory. I named my creation — “Creeping Ghoulification”.

Methods
The spell “Field of Ghouls” was chosen as the basis of my project. I developed a method to give it a permanent physical form, some autonomy, and even a semblance of intelligence. This is a promising tool for mass ghoulification, which is a stepping stone on the path to total cleansing of the cosmos from life.

Prototype One
Prototype One was created mainly as a proof of concept, and it was crowned with success. The creature was transported to a randomly selected battlefield on the material plane. And as the luck would have it, a field hospital was in the immediate vicinity of the spawn point. Seriously injured soldiers proved to be excellent subjects for the work of the Prototype One. All 54 people present, including patients and personnel, have been ghoulificated in under 5 minutes. Regrettably, Prototype One’s fighting power was not sufficient to neutralize the arriving cavalry reinforcements. In addition, as expected, regular ghouls did not show significant fighting capabilities. In the end, they were destroyed together with Prototype One.

Spoiler: Prototype One (CR 13)

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Huge Ooze
Hit Dice: 13d10+65 (136)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-2 size, +3 Dex, + 7 Deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+22
Attack: slam +12 (1d8+7 + Field of Ghouls effect)
Full Attack: slam +12 (1d8+7 + Field of Ghouls effect)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Engulf (Reflex save DC 23), Field of Ghouls (Will save DC 23)
Special Qualities: ooze traits, DR 10/magic, SR 23
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +14, Will +13
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 3, Wis 14, Cha 22
Skills: -
Feats: -
Alignment: Neutral Evil

This is the first time when PCs can meet the creation of Cordan Thokabayaj. It is different from the final version of the monster, and it cannot develop into it; therefore it can’t be part of the challenge. I think it can still be a good addition to the story.
If a war situation isn’t applicable, DM can put Prototype One in a different low-level environment: remote villages, city slums, areas of an epidemic outbreak, etc.

Prototype Two

Design

The next Prototype was given the task to overcome identified weaknesses of the first experiment. Namely, it should increase its fighting power, ensure support for the rising undead and effectively interact with them. For these purposes, I needed to complement the spell “Field of Ghouls” with some direct damaging spell, preferably based on the negative energy. In addition, the “Desecrate” spell looked very promising, because it can considerably enhance the rising ghouls.
After many fruitless attempts, my attention was drawn to the “Blackwater Taint” spell. It does direct negative energy damage and duplicates the “Desecrate” effect. However, there are significant drawbacks. Firstly, it works exclusively via contact with water. Secondly, the damage is dealt only once, and victims are rarely dying because of that. Nevertheless, I decided to follow through with my Prototype Two based on the spells “Field of Ghouls” and “Blackwater Taint”.

Test results

Prototype Two was sent to a randomly chosen coastal area. The results exceeded all expectations! Prototype Two successfully devastated the test site, killing or scattering any living creatures. It successfully ghoulificated one sea elf settlement in the shallows, as well as several fishermen. Also, every Prototype Two’s attack triggered the “Blackwater Taint” spell effect each time anew, thus resolving the issue with the original spell.

Unfortunately, there were some drawbacks. Contrary to our expectations, Prototype Two could not operate efficiently in the aquatic environment — most underwater creatures easily outswam it. Also, there were relatively few humanoids to transform into ghouls; this limited the prototype’s power. Most prominent, however, was its inability to formulate any cohesive tactic. It ended up swimming into a nearby river and then to a port sewerage system, where it was trapped and destroyed by the city guard and hired adventurers.

Spoiler: Prototype Two (CR 16)

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Huge Ooze
Hit Dice: 13d10+65 (136)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-2 size, +3 Dex, + 7 Deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+22
Attack: slam +12 (1d8+7 + Field of Ghouls effect + Blackwater Taint effects)
Full Attack: slam +12 (1d8+7 + Field of Ghouls effect + Blackwater Taint effects)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Engulf (Reflex save DC 23), Field of Ghouls (Will save DC 23), Blackwater Taint (Fortitude save DC 22)
Special Qualities: ooze traits, DR 10/magic, SR 23
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +14, Will +13
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 3, Wis 14, Cha 22
Skills: -
Feats: -
Alignment: Neutral Evil

This can be the second encounter with Cordan Thokabayaj’s creations. PCs may be hired by the government or the city watch to seek and destroy a monster in the sewers. Alternatively, they can hear some rumors about a new danger in the coastal waters and an unusual amount of dead fish, possibly even animated as undead. Also, PCs can face and interrogate some of the ghouls created by the Prototype — after all, ghouls are intellectual undead, and theoretically, they can try to peacefully communicate with PCs and ask for revenge or warn of danger.
I read MM glossary and I’m wondering about oozes. They can actually drown by RAW. Even living spells. Even living spells created from [water] spells. If the DM wants to create a more balanced encounter, I suggest adding to Prototype Two an amphibious template or use it for the encounter with less EL. Also, it is reasonable for the Prototype to raise lacedons instead of regular ghouls.

Prototype Three

Design

To address the problem of low adaptability in Prototype Three, I took the liberty to mix some raw Chaos matter and fragments of Tomb-Tainted souls and souls with Fiendish Heritage into the spells “Field of Ghouls” and “Blackwater Taint”. This, of course, increased its affinity to negative energy. But more importantly, it created some semblance of a mind in the prototype: primitive, but capable of analyzing its surroundings and strategically controlling the ghouls. This level of intelligence provided enough ground for the improved animation of ghouls, increasing their combat strength.
I found a way to circumnavigate around the water limitation by adding a third spell of “Create Water”: the prototype began producing two dozen gallons of water with each attack. This was enough to use the “Blackwater Taint” spell.

Test results

The metropolis surroundings filled with agricultural facilities were chosen as the test site. Prototype Three excelled as a weapon of terror for the civilian population as well as in clashes with armed guard.
At this stage, the tests are still ongoing. The prototype has been active for a month, and the population of undead in the region has increased by 666 ± 13% due to directly animated ghouls, their victims, as well as other creatures, killed by the negative energy.
I believe the lifetime of Prototype Three to be at least two months more — after all, it is autonomous, adapts to the environment, and improves its strategy on the go. Even against professional troops and mercenary adventurers, its chances are high.

Spoiler: Prototype Three (CR 18 - Sweet spot)

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Huge Ooze
Hit Dice: 13d10+65 (136)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-2 size, +3 Dex, + 7 Deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+22
Attack: slam +12 (1d8+7 + Field of Ghouls effect + Blackwater Taint effects)
Full Attack: slam +12 (1d8+7 + Field of Ghouls effect + Blackwater Taint effects)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Engulf (Reflex save DC 23), Field of Ghouls (Will save DC 23), Blackwater Taint (Fortitude save DC 22), Create Water, Smite Law
Special Qualities: ooze traits, DR 10/magic, SR 23, Fast Healing 5, Acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic resistance 5
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +14, Will +13
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 3, Wis 14, Cha 22
Skills: +6 spot, +6 listen
Feats: Tomb-Tainted Soul, Fiendish Heritage, Corpsecrafter, Destruction Retribution, Nimble Bones
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Field of Ghouls effect: Humanoid creatures in the area with -1 to -9 hit points that fail their saving throws die and immediately rise as ghouls under your control.
Blackwater Taint effects: 6d6 points of damage (unnamed!) and a negative level. Fortitude save to take half damage and avoid the negative level.
All undead in the area are healed of 6d6 points of damage.
Create Water effect: 26 gallons of water.
Smite Law: 1/day +20 damage against a lawful opponent.
Engulf (Ex): A living spell can flow around creatures that fit within its space as a standard action. It cannot make a slam attack during a round in which it engulfs. The living spell merely has to move over the opponents, affecting as many as it can cover. Opponents can make attacks of opportunity against the living spell, but if they do so they are not entitled to a saving throw. Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 23) or be engulfed; on a success, they are pushed back or aside (opponent's choice) as the spell moves forward. Engulfed creatures are subject to the full normal effect of the spell(s) each round on the living spell's turn, and are considered to be grappled.

Spoiler: Ghoul created by Prototype Three

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Medium Undead
Hit Dice: 2d12+6 (19 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (+2 Dex, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+4
Attack: Bite +4 melee (1d6+3 plus paralysis)
Full Attack: Bite +4 melee (1d6+3 plus paralysis) and 2 claws +2 melee (1d3+1 plus paralysis)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Ghoul fever, paralysis
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., undead traits, +2 turn resistance, destruction retribution (2d6)
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +5
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 15, Con —, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills: Balance +6, Climb +5, Hide +6, Jump +5, Move Silently +6, Spot +7
Feats: Multiattack
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

This can be the third encounter with the modification of “Creeping Ghoulification”. Prototype Three is a fully developed creature and can do everything it was designed for: dealing serious amounts of damage, bestowing negative levels, animating numerous undead, and healing itself with Destruction Retribution from ghouls.

Conclusion
All three prototypes of the “Creeping Ghoulification” have proved to be great weapons of undead proliferation. They provide a valuable asset for freeing the cosmos from the braying abominations that are all living things.
According to the results stated above I propose:

1. Adopt the object “Creeping Ghoulification” into the armed forces.
2. Allocate additional funds for the development of the next generation of “Creeping Ghoulification”.

Verdict

Denied.
For embezzlement of raw Chaos matter, Tomb-Tainted souls and Fiendish Heritage thrall Cordan Thokabayaj is to be tortured until triple replenishment of the expenditure with Liquid Pain.

Orcus

Spoiler: Abandoned Prototype Three (CR 20)

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Huge Ooze
Hit Dice: 21d10+105 (220)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-2 size, +3 Dex, + 7 Deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+28
Attack: slam +18 (1d8+7 + Field of Ghouls effect + Blackwater Taint effects)
Full Attack: slam +18 (1d8+7 + Field of Ghouls effect + Blackwater Taint effects)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Engulf (Reflex save DC 24), Field of Ghouls (Will save DC 24), Blackwater Taint (Fortitude save DC 23), Create Water, Smite Law
Special Qualities: ooze traits, DR 10/magic, SR 23, Fast Healing 3, Acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic resistance 5
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +17, Will +16
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 3, Wis 14, Cha 24
Skills: +8 spot, +8 listen
Feats: Tomb-Tainted Soul, Fiendish Heritage, Corpsecrafter, Destruction Retribution, Nimble Bones, Shape Soulmeld (Enigma Helm), Fiendish Presence, Fiendish Legacy
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Abandoned Prototype Three can be met by PCs after some time has passed and the creature developed. Its main special attack doesn’t improve significantly, but it acquires some new abilities. Enigma Helm can protect Creeping Ghoulification from various divinations. Teleport provides great maneuverability for Prototype Three and can save its life, whatever life means in this case. Unholy Blight and Summon Monster V are alternative sources of damage and combat backup. Detect Thoughts helps to find hiding victims.

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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Attribute	Base	Racial	Level	Total
Strength	14	+7	-	21 (+5)
Dexterity	12	+4		16 (+3)
Constitution	13	+7	-	20 (+5)
Intelligence	8	Min 3	-	3 (-4)
Wisdom	10	+4	-	14 (+2)
Charisma	15	+7	+2	24 (+7)

Spoiler: Build

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Advanced Anarchic Living Spells (Field of Ghouls, Blackwater Taint, Create Water)

CR	HD	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
18	13	+9	16=4+5+7	14=4+3+7	13=4+2+7	+4 spot, +4 listen	Tomb-Tainted Soul (1st) Fiendish Heritage (3rd) Corpsecrafter (6th) Destruction Retribution (9th) Nimble Bones (12th)	Spoiler: Ooze traits Show Blind, Blindsight, Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning. Immunity to petrification DR 10/magic SR 23 Fast Healing 5 Acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic resistance 5 Smite Law Engulf (Reflex save DC 23) Spell Effect (Field of Ghouls (Will save DC 23), Blackwater Taint (Fortitude save DC 22), Create Water)
18	14	+10	16=4+5+7	14=4+3+7	13=4+2+7	+0.5 spot		-
18	15	+11	17=5+5+7	15=5+3+7	14=5+2+7	+0.5 listen	Shape Soulmeld (Enigma Helm)	-
18	16	+12	17=5+5+7	15=5+3+7	14=5+2+7	+0.5 spot		-
19	17	+12	17=5+5+7	15=5+3+7	14=5+2+7	+0.5 listen		-
19	18	+13	18=6+5+7	16=6+3+7	15=6+2+7	+0.5 spot	Fiendish Presence	Sp (1/day): cause fear, detect thoughts, and suggestion
19	19	+14	18=6+5+7	16=6+3+7	15=6+2+7	+0.5 listen		-
19	20	+15	18=6+5+7	16=6+3+7	15=6+2+7	+0.5 spot		-
20	21	+15	19=7+5+7	17=7+3+7	16=7+2+7	+0.5 listen	Fiendish Legacy	Sp (1/day): teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), summon monster V (fiendish creatures only), and unholy blight

Spoiler: Couple of words from the author

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Core of my villain is the spell “Field of Ghouls”. It is a very interesting and flavour spell, but… for the 7th level spell it looks weak. Very, very weak. You can kill enemies near you that are already dying and raise them as CR 1 monsters… This is just ridiculous. Even using the Corpsecrafter feat-line doesn’t help. If somebody will use my creation in a real game I suggest houserule. Let this spell turn them into something other than regular ghouls: you can use Ghoulish creature template, Gravetouched ghoul template, Ghasts, Ghastly creature template, or even Abyssal Ghoul.

Spoiler: Sources

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Living spell template - Monster Manual III
Anarchic Creature template - Planar Handbook
Field of Ghouls spell - Spell Compendium
Blackwater Taint spell - Stormwrack
Create Water spell - SRD
Tomb-Tainted Soul - Libris Mortis
Corpsecrafter - Libris Mortis
Destruction Retribution - Libris Mortis
Nimble Bones - Libris Mortis
Fiendish Heritage - Complete Mage
Fiendish Presence - Complete Mage
Fiendish Legacy - Complete Mage
Shape Soulmeld (Enigma Helm) - Magic of Incarnum
Ghoul, Lacedon, Ghast - SRD

Ghoulish creature template - Dragon Compendium
Gravetouched ghoul template - Libris Mortis
Ghastly creature template - Dragon Compendium
Abyssal Ghoul - Fiend Folio

[jdizzlean]

3. Hecate, The Black Queen

Hecate, the Black Queen



CE Vampiric Loredrake Adult Shadow Dragon Abjurant Champion 5

---

"By the dread crown you will know her:
Her touch is the death of men,
her voice the fall of night
and she strives doom unto all the world."
- The Old Verse

Spoiler: Queen's Side Castle (Intro)

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It was a good night for hunting.

As had become his habit of late, Criostryx had come down from the mountains with the encroach of the colder months. His mate and offspring had flown off near a decade ago, so he'd hardly had much reason to stay up in the Pillars of the Moon year-round. This gave him more than enough free reign to reclaim and explore the lower steppes and foothills that he'd once soared through in his youth.

As he winged over a frozen river, the ten-ton lizard took a moment to gaze down and marvel at his own silhouette reflected across the open sky. His pearlescent scales glittered under the eyes of the full moon, a coat made up of chips of diamond and ivory. He suppressed a frown at the sight of a few mottled grey-blue scales around his joints. A sign of middle age, this, and hardly a flattering one. The huge white dragon inhaled sharply and let out a petulant huff, casting down a torrent of ice and snow to obliterate the reflection before moving on.

Best not to dwell on it. What he needed was some fresh prey! Casting his gaze about as he surged forward, Criostryx scanned the nearby hills and vales for any sign of movement.

There! Not five minutes in and he'd already caught sight of a small herd of aurochs huddled together for warmth in between some low stone walls. As he approached, Criostryx recognized the barrier as having been erected by the locals about a century ago. The dragon snorted. What was the point of piling rocks together to keep prey in like that when you could just catch them in the wild? He'd never understand these humans.

Yet while navigating upwards on the air currents and preparing for his first dive, Criostryx saw something quite unexpected: a shadow moving at the edge of the enclosure. The white hunter watched as it closed the distance to the nearest aurochs, snatching it up in a matter of seconds.

The horned livestock let out a plaintive moo as the shadow pinned it down, but the noise quickly turned into a scream as its life was unceremoniously extinguished. The rest of the herd was already scattering, all but trampling each other to distance themselves from this new predator.

And then the shadow took off, wings of darkness unfurled, and the dead aurochs clutched in its talons. Though he still couldn't get a good look, under the moonlit glare its silhouette was instantly recognizable to him.

Criostryx's eyes widened. Another dragon, here? Impossible. This was too far west to be anywhere near Gelidon's hunting grounds, and even the upstart Antharyx knew better than to taunt him so openly. After a moment, he decided that it didn’t matter.

Whoever this newcomer was, they were about to learn that this was his territory.

With massive wing beats the white dragon launched himself forward through the air at full speed. The shadow was heading due south with a small head start, but as the chase began Criostryx's lips curled back into a toothy grin. This little dragon might have been a predator elsewhere, but in the air, he was the faster.

He pushed himself down on his trajectory, the better to take advantage of any warmer air currents nearer the ground and blend in with the new-fallen snow. The shadow had evidently noticed his presence however, as it swiftly dropped the aurochs and committed itself entirely to escape.

It would do them no good, thought Criostryx. He had every advantage; speed, size, and he knew the terrain better. At close quarters, he would tear this youngster apart. All he needed to do was funnel them into a good kill zone, and it would be over.

To his bemused surprise, the dark dragon made a sharp left bank, its flight path taking it into a small gap between two rocky promontories. Trying to hide perhaps, or come up with some ambush to turn the tables? Either way, they'd just volunteered for a swift death: there was no way out of that ravine. Letting out a deep chuckle, Criostryx followed.

The walls of ice and rock were perhaps forty feet apart at their most narrow, but it was enough for him to fit with nearly half a wing to spare on either side. As he hurtled onwards, he dodged and weaved between any protruding roots or outcroppings. Directly ahead, he could see his quarry getting larger as the gap between them narrowed.

And then - without warning - they stopped.

Criostryx had to slow to avoid colliding into them unintentionally, fully extending his wings to catch the maximum air drag. His tendons and muscles burned with the sudden force of inertia, but he didn’t acknowledge the discomfort in front of the interloper.

"You want to beg for mercy, is that it?" he gravelled in his native tongue after he'd come to a full stop. "Save your breath. You should have asked before stealing from the territory of Criostryx the Frigid Death."

Up close, he could finally get a good look at his new prey. She - for her body was unmistakably female, the white dragon noticed - was sleek and sinuous, scales of indigo and jet over which played waves of writhing inky shadow. Her wings were so diaphanous as to look nearly transparent save for the way they shrouded the air as they moved. There was not a single scratch or scar on her, nor was she overly muscular - she was at most two thirds his weight, if he had to guess - yet something in Criostryx's brain recognized a power deep beneath her skin.

"Oh darling," she replied in the same language as she turned to face him. Her eyes were orbs of glowing scarlet. "Are you truly still under the impression that you are hunting us?"

Before Criostryx could move to correct her, he caught new shapes moving at the edge of his vision. He tried to duck out of the way, but they were already upon him. Phantasmal creatures: a host of birds and beasts, but also humanoid silhouettes moaning softly as their fingers slipped effortlessly past his hide.

For the first time in his entire two centuries of existence, the white dragon knew cold.

Staggering back and dipping towards the ground, he let out an audible gasp. He felt… empty, like he'd just flown hard for a week without resting. "What was - what are you -"

"Freeze."

And he did. Try as he might to struggle against the command, Criostryx found to his mounting horror that he couldn't move a single muscle. The shadow dragon's gaze locked onto his with something akin to pity.

"So disappointing. You were unfortunately quite predictable, Criostryx." All around him, he saw the spectral figures spread out slowly, cutting off all escape routes behind him. There were at least two dozen here; more than enough to overwhelm him in this state.

"We really do hope you will avail yourself better when you join our collection."

Before he had time to unpack the full implications of those words the spirits were on him again. There were simply too many; each time they touched him the dragon felt a piece of himself being stolen away. He was getting so… so tired. Restrained and unable to fight back, he felt his vision begin to darken as his body gradually gave up the fight for him.

"That's it… just rest now… here, let us help you." He was vaguely aware of the other dragon's approach, of feeling claws and a tail wrapping themselves around him with surprising gentleness and guiding him down to earth.

As they alighted together in the snow, Criostryx immediately collapsed. Though the enchantment had been lifted it was all he could do to even breathe, let alone fly away. Every movement was a labour… maybe she was right, why shouldn't he just rest for a while?

Then suddenly he felt a strange pricking sensation at his throat. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness and teeth. Then the unknown dragon tilted her head back, and Criostryx stared at the streams of black blood in the moonlight. His blood.

She was drinking his blood.

"No - nonono" he tried in vain to get out, but she silenced him with a single claw placed on his chest.

"Shhhhh," she said, licking away a stray droplet from her stained fangs as she leaned in close. "It's alright… it's over, it's already over…"

And then all he knew was emptiness.

Spoiler: Build Overview

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Spoiler: Ability Scores

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Ability Score	Array	Race	Template	20 HD	24 HD	Final
Strength	14	+8	+4			26
Dexterity	13	+0	+6		+1	20
Constitution	8	+6	-			-
Intelligence	10	+10	+2			22
Wisdom	12	+10	+2			24
Charisma	15	+10	+4	+1		30

Spoiler: Build Table

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CR	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
15	Vampiric Loredrake Adult Shadow Dragon	+19	+11	+17	+18	Bluff +28, Concentration +22, Diplomacy +31, Hide +23, Knowledge (Arcana) +20, Knowledge (Local) +25, Knowledge (Planes) +20, Knowledge (Religion) +25, Listen +37, Sense Motive +37, Spellcraft +28, Spot +37, Use Magic Device +31	Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Create Spectral Spawn, Combat Casting, Flyby Attack, Darkstalker, Improved Energy Drain, Spell Drain, Practiced Spellcaster	Shadow Blend, Breath Weapon (40 ft cone, 3 negative levels), DR 5/magic, Spell Resistance 22, Frightful Presence (180 ft), Blindsense 60 ft, Keen Senses, Undead Immunities, Blood Drain (1d4 Con), Charm, Create Spawn (Vampires), Domination, Fast Healing 5, Cold & Electricity Resistance 20, Turn Resistance +4, Vampiric Weaknesses
16	Abjurant Champion 1	+20	+11	+17	+20	Bluff +28, Concentration +23, Diplomacy +31, Hide +23, Knowledge (Arcana) +26, Knowledge (Local) +25, Knowledge (Planes) +20, Knowledge (Religion) +25, Listen +37, Sense Motive +37, Spellcraft +29, Spot +37, Use Magic Device +31		Abjurant Armor +1, Extended Abjuration
17	Abjurant Champion 2	+21	+11	+17	+21	Bluff +28, Concentration +24, Diplomacy +31, Hide +23, Knowledge (Arcana) +30, Knowledge (Local) +25, Knowledge (Planes) +20, Knowledge (Religion) +25, Listen +37, Sense Motive +37, Spellcraft +30, Spot +37, Use Magic Device +32	Life Drain	Abjurant Armor +2, Swift Abjuration (1st level)
18	Abjurant Champion 3	+22	+12	+18	+21	Bluff +29, Concentration +25, Diplomacy +32, Hide +24, Knowledge (Arcana) +30, Knowledge (Local) +25, Knowledge (Planes) +20, Knowledge (Religion) +25, Listen +37, Sense Motive +37, Spellcraft +31, Spot +37, Use Magic Device +32		Abjurant Armor +3, Swift Abjuration (2nd level)
19	Abjurant Champion 4	+23	+12	+18	+22	Bluff +29, Concentration +26, Diplomacy +32, Hide +24, Knowledge (Arcana) +31, Knowledge (Local) +25, Knowledge (Planes) +20, Knowledge (Religion) +25, Listen +38, Sense Motive +38, Spellcraft +32, Spot +38, Use Magic Device +32		Abjurant Armor +4, Arcane Boost
20	Abjurant Champion 5	+24	+12	+19	+22	Bluff +30, Concentration +27, Diplomacy +33, Hide +25, Knowledge (Arcana) +31, Knowledge (Local) +25, Knowledge (Planes) +20, Knowledge (Religion) +25, Listen +38, Sense Motive +38, Spellcraft +33, Spot +38, Use Magic Device +32	Versatile Spellcaster	Abjurant Armor +5, Swift Abjuration (3rd), Martial Arcanist

Spoiler: Spells & SLAs

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Sorcerer Spells per Day

CR	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
15th	6	9	8	6	-	-	-
16th	6	9	9	7	5	-	-
17th	6	9	9	8	6	-	-
18th	6	9	9	8	7	5	-
19th	6	9	9	8	8	6	-
20th	6	9	9	8	8	7	5

Sorcerer Spells Known:

CR	Spells Known	Max. Spell Level
15	7/5/3/2	3rd
16	8/5/3/2/1	4th
17	8/5/4/3/2	4th
18	9/5/4/3/2/1	5th
19	9/5/5/4/3/2	5th
20	9/5/5/4/3/2/1	6th

0th level – dancing lights, detect magic, caltrops, launch item, mending, message, prestidigitation, ghost sound, arcane mark
1st level - blood wind, master's touch, mage armor, nerveskitter, quickened extended shield
2nd level - create magic tattoo, quickened extended scintillating scales, wings of cover, glitterdust, invisibility
3rd level - arms of plenty, girallon's blessing, quickened extended nondetection, haste
4th level - quickened extended otiluke's suppressing field, spell enhancer, celerity
5th level - arcane fusion, permanency
6th level - extended greater dispel magic

(Spells are organized alphabetically and by order of acquisition; they also include metamagic tags from Abjurant Champion where applicable)

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 19th):
3/day - mirror image
2/day - dimension door

Spoiler: Hecate's Gamepieces

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Before getting into either of the build snapshots, it's critical to discuss Hecate's most important asset and ultimately her whole motivation: her spawn. Although she is technically a dragon, the Black Queen works much better across the span of an entire campaign as a chessmaster style villain, lurking in the darkness and using all of the pieces on her side of the board. The chess motif works best when one is considering her various on-theme drain abilities used to create servants to enact her will.

Hecate's servants can be qualified into four groups. First off, there are her pawns that she creates using her Charm and Dominate abilities. These are living creatures (and not just humanoids either, as both are explicitly Charm/Dominate Monster effects at CL 18th) that she has interacted with. Just speaking to any creature can Charm them and looking into her eyes will Dominate them. These pawns can be pretty much anything alive, and on a strategic level a DM should use these as 'soft power'. They aren't really meant to fight PCs - hell, in early levels the PCs might be pawns - but rather give Hecate influence over the affairs of provinces and nations. These pawns are a great way to hook her into the political tapestry of any setting: what if the mayor, city council, or even the generals of a country secretly answer to the Black Queen?

Then we have the knights, her undead foot soldiers that Hecate has direct control over. These would be her Vampires and Vampire Spawn; anyone she has killed with her Energy Drain claws or Blood Drain abilities will come back as one of these. These soldiers play two roles for Hecate. First, they are useful as spies and emissaries, being corporeal agents that she can send to infiltrate living communities and start to secretly convert. Stronger Vampires are also useful in direct confrontation, especially those that gain class levels and have better equipment. It's ultimately up to the DM to flesh out these lieutenants, but for a game starting in the mid levels I would have some of her Vampires as the villains. Give them cool names and personalities as the PCs are forced to fight their way up the 'spawn ladder' to the overarching campaign villain.

After the knights come the bishops: her Spectres and Spectral Creatures. Through the use of the Create Spectral Spawn feat, any creature who is killed by an energy drain ability (which should include her breath weapon as well as her Energy Drain claws, see 'Additional Notes' for more on this) can rise as as a Spectral Creature. Anything other than a humanoid rises as a Spectral Creature, while humanoids just rise as Spectres. In the average campaign setting most people have 3 or less HD, which means it's as easy as visiting a single remote town to amass a few dozen Spectres. Hecate uses these as mobile shock troops, staying underground by day and taking to the skies at night. With an 80 ft flight speed and no need to rest, they can cover a lot of ground and wage brutal Energy Drain guerrilla campaigns.

Finally, we have Hecate's most valuable pieces (besides herself), which are her draconic undead rooks. Through careful ambushes and the use of a spectral air force that drains levels (against the pathetic touch AC of most dragons, incorporeal touch attacks with Energy Drain riders are basically kryptonite), the Black Queen can easily take down weakened adult or younger dragons with her Blood Drain. These would then rise to become either Zombie Dragons or other Vampiric Dragons under her control, both of which she employs as her own personal guard that never leave her side. They are her meat shields and mobile beat-sticks in higher level combats, as she uses them to overpower major threats like PCs as they approach higher levels.

I feel like it's also worth noting that Vampiric Dragons, Vampires, Spectres, and Spectral Creatures also have their own Create Spawn effects that raise perfectly loyal armies of their own as they hit people with Energy Drain and ability drain. This turns Hecate and her spawn into an exponential threat, as her ground and air forces can multiply at alarmingly rapid rates.

But more than the utility and whole bevy of tactical options having an army of spawn offers, I would encourage any DM using her to have this tie into her raison d'etre. As a vampiric dragon, her notion of what is valuable has changed: no longer is her hoard a pile of lifeless rocks and metal. No, to her every soul drained, every new servant added to her roster is another shiny thing she has amassed. In short, her hoard is her collection of undead and living servants. She covets these playthings above all things, and wants to gain as many toys as she can while preserving her existence. This is the true mindset of an immortal undead dragon.

Spoiler: Queen's Gambit (CR 16)

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The doors into the inner sanctum - all reinforced noqual well over thirty feet tall - swung open without a sound, and Baron Ebzad was escorted through.

What awaited him beyond the gates was an honour guard beyond the ability of mortals to assemble. The recesses of the hall were filled to the brim with silent dead, bearing arms and armour spanning centuries. Bronze helms in the ancient Terregon style, iron breastplates as were long borne by the Justinians and more than a few longswords of the distinctive Valley make down from the Pillars. Banners from half the continent were stirred by a warm and vaguely noxious breeze, though none stood as tall as that of the Black Queen: ten silver stars on a black background, set in a perfect circle around a bloody crown. Those carrying the latter wore midnight plate, ember eyes visible only through slits in their visors.

By the dread crown you will know her, the old verse went. Her touch is the death of men, her voice the fall of night and she strives doom unto all the world. Villains drew epithets, but none quite as many as the Black Queen. He advanced, all alone surrounded by silence and blasphemy. The very instant he passed the threshold, thousands of dead kneeled in unison.

There had been a single mind at work behind it.

Forcing himself forward, Ebzad could barely stop to gape at the rest of his surroundings. Someone could fit the entire wing of a castle in here. The ceiling stretched at least ninety feet above him, great carved pillars of stone descending like roots to keep the whole place from collapsing. Though most of the walls and ceilings were smooth and unadorned, Ebzad couldn't help but notice the reliefs around the edges of the door and at the bases of the walls. In the glow of the pale mage lights, he could make out scenes of carnage, a great harvesting. He spotted several motifs of a dragon eating the sun, and everywhere he looked there were blank faces carved out of the rock.

No, he realized. Not faces. Death masks, the kind someone might be put in before being buried. And behind each mask, patient eyes followed his footsteps. He tried to count them as he walked forward, but lost count somewhere north of fifty.

A faint stench was wafting from the furthest recesses of the chamber, where steps descended into a pool of suspiciously dark liquid. The surface rippled as something large moved beneath, and he forced himself not to look closer. Though the silent sentinels guarded the chamber, it was bereft of any visible company, yet he knew better than to consider himself alone as he completed his approach. He knew well enough just how outnumbered he was, yet what choice did he have?

There, at the end of the hall, a single platform of jagged stone stood above the pool, upon which rested a dais and a throne of silver and ebony. Every step towards it felt heavier, and at last the Baron fell to his knees in supplication. Pride was of no use here; he had nothing left but concessions.

"Welcome, Honoured Baron of Adrubal," came the sinuous voice from the being that sat upon it, the scales of waiting dusk made flesh gleaming as they moved. "How pleased we are that you have come to your senses. Now, shall we discuss your next declaration of war?"

---

Though Hecate is playable right from CR 15, I think CR 16 is where her build really takes off in an interesting way. I'll explain why exactly that is below, but I'll start with the setup first.

As mentioned, the Black Queen is a schemer. She'll never fight the PCs on their chosen ground and will always have backup with her. At minimum, she keeps a few other Vampiric Dragons, some Vampires and a squadron of Spectral Creatures along with some living servitors handy for when pesky PCs and other high level threats decide to step to her. Technically this number is arbitrary - she could have as many spawn or servants as needed - but I'd add just enough to make the action economy in her favor rather than the party's. If they bring allies, DMs should adjust her numbers to match.

In a tactical sense, her followers have two main purposes. The first is for them to tangle with the PCs early on, get them committed to a close quarters battle and start draining their resources. Even if the PCs are packing anti-undead measures - which they should be if they're smart - Hecate keeps living pawns around with enough contingency planning that DMs should still be able to keep the players challenged and occupied at least for a round or two. Hecate will remain hidden for the beginning of most fights using Darkstalker and not moving. This ties into her second purpose: observing the field and preparing buffs (see below). Her senses are ridiculously acute, so she watches the PCs to pick her targets. Since she has Permanency, I would suggest for a DM to have had her pick up scrolls of spells like Arcane Sight and/or See Invisibility to include in her stats but it's not strictly necessary.

Once Hecate enters the combat, she's pretty much an Energy Drain nightmare on wings. Vampiric Dragons get around the once per round limitation by placing the penalty as a rider on Hecate's claw attacks. Claws being much easier to get more of than slams, I had her pick up Girallon's Blessing and Arms of Plenty. That's at least 6 primary claw attacks per round (depending on your reading of Girallon's Blessing you might get 8 attacks), each dealing a negative level on top of some already impressive damage and Rend as a nice bonus. With Blood Wind up, she can do a full attack from 20 ft in the air. Because she's also really mean, she has Spell Drain; any prepared casters won't just lose their highest level spell slots, but she'll gain access to them. That means she will prioritize wizards, clerics, archivists, and druids in fights (which honestly is a smart tactic anyway, but the party's casters will learn to fear her when she turns their high level spells against them). What's more, Spell Drain works by RAW on her breath weapon, so if the PCs are tough she will open with a few strafing Flyby Attack runs to hit the whole group with 3 negative levels.

If a DM wants to be really mean, they'd give Hecate a few Draughts of Enervating Breath from Draconomicon to add to her breath weapon. 2d4+3 negative levels in a 40 ft cone would heal Hecate's forces by an average of 25 hp apiece while providing -8 to every meaningful roll and ripping the 8 highest level spells from each PC spellcaster (of which Hecate would gain a total of 10 to use against the party), just generally ruining their players' day.

Now Hecate can do all of the above at 15th level just as effectively. What sets her apart at 16th is access to Otiluke's Suppressing Field, which is of course extended and she will have pre-cast before the battle (it lasts 4.5 hours per casting). Hecate isn't an idiot: she knows that PCs will likely be packing Death Ward effects so she keys the Suppressing Field to the Ectomancy spell subtype (from the Ghostwalk book). Every spell with this descriptor - including Hide from Undead and Astral Projection, another anti-undead buff and high level party tactic, as well as most resurrection magic - is suppressed in a 20 ft emanation around her. This applies equally to armor and items. Soulfire armor? Scarab of Protection? Nuh uh. Mathematically speaking, the Suppressing Field will only have a 40% chance of suppressing Ectomancy spells against what is effectively CL 16, but Hecate can use Flyby Attack to exit and re-enter their areas until enough wards fail. She always stays 20 ft above the ground: this is the perfect range both for the Suppressing Field and for Blood Wind, and gives her room for her cone to still hit multiple PCs.

Once the PCs are stripped of any protection from Energy Drain - or gods help them, if they walk into the fight without negative level protection - they'll get obliterated by the various draining undead mobbing them, followed up by Hecate's breath and then 6 negative levels per round in close combat. They won't be able to run away fast enough!

Spoiler: Sudden Death (CR 20)

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Fifteen thousand had stood against the legions dark and darkly led. They taught the Black Queen what kind of people got to grow old in these lands. The first wall they lost on the first day, and retreated after setting the houses aflame. They held the second wall for a week, until the dead sent a flock of winged dragons aflight. Wall by wall they have ground, but never without making the Enemy pay for it.

The longer they held the longer the rest of the northerners had to gather their armies, the longer the civilians of Narhold could flee without pursuit. They fought for a month and seven nights, dying in the snow as a sea of dead lapped at the walls. Hundreds of thousands, centuries of corpses marching to bring death to all the world. In the end it came down to the Old Fortress, the solitary mountain that had been turned into a castle jutting out from the plains. The dead never paused in the assault, never tired: day and night they came in silent assault, the banner of the Black Queen flying tall behind them.

And so the defenders died.

Ground away into nothing by numbers and sorcery their few mages could not match. Dead things that had once been heroes climbed the walls, the sky grew dark with falling of arrows and behind them dragons stolen from the grave spewed out clouds of fire and poison that burned lungs and skin. Less than a thousand of them left now, and most of them wounded. They'd retreated to the Coronet, the very highest point of the fortress that could only be accessed by a few narrow paths filled with murderholes. The dead had been met with streams of burning coals and thrown oil, dwarven engines roaring destruction down passages where there could be had no cover. The vampiric knights pushed through, after the horde withdrew, but they found the passages collapsing beneath them and spiked grids of steel awaiting them when they leapt. Now sorcerers that were little more than fanged skulls pounded away at the defences with foul magics, forcing the defenders to stay behind cover until the next wave of dead was ready for assault. Harald passed through the throng of wounded, clasping shoulders and trading grim boasts with what soldiers her had left.

Old men, old women. The last gasps of their generation, dying sword in hand. His eyes grew cloudy with pride. Death came to all, but tonight they would meet it as Alterians should. Holding the wall in the face of the Enemy, for the sake of all the world. Harald's beard was already flecked with blood, and he dipped out of sight when he felt the cough came. It would not do for his soldiers to know he was dying. The wound he'd taken fighting off two of the spectres to make it through the gap, at a guess. Some manner of life-draining energy, he suspected, though it made no difference. None of them would live to see dawn, replenished or not. He wiped his lips clean of blood and returned to the battlements after the cough had passed. The pounding had stopped, he immediately noticed. The assault was coming. Captain Heiserech sought him out, her worn face quivering.

"Commander," she saluted. "At first I thought that the dead had sent an emissary... but it's her."

"Is it now?" Harald grinned despite himself. "Well, let us see what the Black Queen has to say."

Maybe he'd ask for surrender. His people could certainly use the laugh.

Prince Harald strode to the very edge of the battlements, where the passages had been broken, and found a horror awaiting on the other side of the drop. The Black Queen was coiled malice, all sharp edges and razor wings. She stood at least twice as tall as a horse, and nearly double that in length. Quite small, for one of her kin, but the world had paid for underestimating her size. She flicked her tail back and forth as she recognized him.

"A princeling," the Black Queen mildly said. "We should have known. Your entire line is like a nail that refuses to be hammered."

Harald could not deny the stab of pride he felt at that. He was dying, but he would stand straight in the face of the Enemy. Even if his lungs throbbed with pain.

"In the name of Alterian Empire and the Justinian Crown, I bid you to crawl back into the hole that spawned you," Harald said. "And to take your horde of damned with you, old thing."

"You know we rather like this city," the Black Queen said. "You made it very difficult to take. We may yet build a summer palace here."

"And when we chase you back into the dark, claiming it back, we'll raise an eighth wall," the prince replied with bared teeth. "On it will be written: here lie those who broke the back of the Enemy and stand those who will again."

"You fought well," the dead dragon said. "And so were owed the courtesy of this conversation. Should your soldiers wish to take their own lives instead of having them taken, we will allow them the right."

"So that we may rise whole in your service?" he laughed. "I think not. We'll burn, and you with us."

"Once wolves," the Black Queen said, almost fondly, "always wolves. What soldiers you would have made, under our banner. Die proud, then, Justinian. You were an irritation until the end."

The aging soldier smiled.

"My cousins be waiting for you at the passes, Black Queen," he promised. "With a proper royal welcome."

"We would expect no less," she replied.

He turned his back on the Enemy and returned to stand with the last of his soldiers.

When the light of day found Narhold, not a single living soul remained.

---

At 20th level, Hecate should have clashed with the PCs personally once or twice. She knows some of their tricks, and they know some of hers. Most of what she did at CR 16 she is still doing: bringing varieties of level appropriate spawn to the fight, preparing with her buffs, using the Suppressing Field and Flyby Attack before committing on a weakened opponent with a slew of Blood Wind claw attacks to drain them to death. Of course, she is quite capable of adjusting some of her tactics to match and counter whatever the party brings to the table. Feel free to tailor her spells known to match the exact party composition, but I chose spells that would allow her to pre-empt most enemy action.

The spells in question are, of course, Greater Dispel Magic, Arcane Fusion, and Celerity. These spells all work together to make the most of Hecate's Immediate Action economy. Where before she was holding that in reserve for Swift Action buffing, now she might need to go more on the defensive against 9th level spells. As she doesn't have any herself, she will likely be forced to burn Celerity into Greater Dispel to counterspell any Wishes or Miracles used against her side of the field and then relying on her spawn to screen her while she takes a 6 second nap. While I could have made her immune to Daze, honestly, I don't want to break Celerity that badly; the idea that the boss shuts down the first 9th level spell, but it costs her a whole round of combat would make for a really cool story that your players are guaranteed to talk about later. It shows off her awesome power while still giving the players a small victory to capitalize on. Hecate will also liberally use Greater Dispel to get rid of any negative protections that aren't Death Ward such as Sheltered Vitality. Versatile Spellcaster will help keep her going in fights to keep those 6th level slots coming.

Hecate's other major benefit at CR 20 is Martial Arcanist. Where before she lagged behind the PCs' CL a little bit, now she's jumped ahead to a base CL of 24. With Create Magic Tattoo and Spell Enhancer, the effective caster level DC for the PCs to beat her Suppressing Field is a 38. The PCs have gone from a 60% chance to beat the field to a measly 10% chance. Safe to say that the odds aren't looking too good for them now.

Finally, Hecate has picked up the Life Drain feat and the Haste spell. Haste gives her an extra attack (so 7 negative levels on a full attack routine, which is still enough to absolutely cripple a single PC), and Life Drain means that Hecate deals an extra 10 damage per negative level inflicted. Just like with Spell Drain, this feat isn't tied specifically to her claws so she can use it on her breath as well. Hecate also gains an extra 10 hp per negative level bestowed in the form of temp hp. While they won't stack, it will effectively refill every turn as long as she's draining something so it stacks quite nicely with her Fast Healing and other defences (it only works per instance of negative levels so the best she could do would be 30 temp hp with her breath, or 80 if she got an Enervating Draught).

Spoiler: Additional Notes

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Spoiler: Legality Clarifications

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There are two things to address here about the build as it stands before any judges decide to hit it with an Elegance penalty for illegality: the use of the Master's Touch spell to qualify for Abjurant Champion's martial weapon proficiency pre-req and the application of Create Spectral Spawn to Hecate's breath weapon.

I'll start with the spell. In the DMG (pg 176), all that it says about taking a PrC is that "Unlike the basic classes, characters must meet requirements before they can take their first level of a prestige class. The rules for level advancement apply to this system, meaning the first step of advancement is always choosing a class." So as long as Hecate is casting Master's Touch to pick up proficiency in, say, a longsword, then she can take that first level in Abjurant Champion. This thread does a much more eloquent job of arguing on behalf of Master's Touch being a valid way to enter the class right away. Once in the class, Hecate will unfortunately need to keep casting Master's Touch to advance or benefit from its features as per the 3.5 FAQ, but it's a Swift Action cast and lasts for a while so she should have no trouble casting it between fights.

The second potential issue to address is the Create Spectral Spawn feat. This feat is found in the Web Enhancement article for Dragons of Faerun, and it reads thusly:

You have the ability to create undead spawn with ties to the Plane of Shadow with your energy drain ability.
Prerequisite: Energy Drain special ability.
Benefits: Creatures slain with your energy drain ability arise as spawn under your control with the spectral creature template. They remain under your control until your death.

There is no question that Hecate qualifies for the feat by RAW through the Energy Drain claw ability she gets as a Vampiric Dragon. It stands to reason that she can choose to raise anyone she kills with her claws as either a Vampire Spawn or a Spectral Creature. However, I would also argue for the sake of my build that this feat should apply to her Breath Weapon. While it does not technically have the name Energy Drain, there are several pieces of key evidence to support the legality of this. The first is that in the Spectral Creature template (found in Dragons of Faerun), there is a line that states "Spectral creatures are commonly encountered in Chaulssin, City of Wyrmshadows. Shadow dragons and their progeny have transformed many former denizens of that subterranean city into spectral creatures". This to me clearly implies that any Shadow Dragon can take the feat. If that isn't convincing enough, in the same Web Enhancement where the Create Spectral Spawn feat is from there is a stat block of a Dragon type creature that actually includes the feat (pg 18) without any other forms of Energy Drain.

Now onto some adaptations and musings on alternative builds!

Spoiler: Adaptations

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When I first came up with the idea for Hecate, she was much more of an ambusher and struck more from the shadows. Though I had to drop some of that to make room for Abjurant Champion and all of the energy drain rider effects, at its bones the build can be retrofit to work as a sneaky AoE monster. Certain items such as a Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis for HiPS would go a long way to making this character a brutal and highly mobile sneaky debuffer. Honestly if items were more liberally allowed in this competition, I might have changed up the build to go that way; I would have taken Strafing Breath and/or Enlarge Breath to drop huge fields of negative levels to entire towns (while swooping down to 20 ft from clerics to hit them with the Suppressing Field). One last addition - assuming that the table permits the odd spell from DragMag - would be the Fly Like An Arrow spell from Dragon 308 to get Hecate up to a 1500 flight speed. Imagine a B2 stealth bomber, but instead of a regular payload the ordinance is negative levels!

As she is, Hecate could definitely make use of some more sophisticated magic items. In her write up I assumed that certain basic spell scrolls or wands would be available in the world with attached core spells like Arcane Sight, See Invisibility, or Greater Magic Fang, but beyond that she could use some treasure from her hoard to make PCs' lives even more of a nightmare. Even if she got half of a PC's effective WBL, she would 100% boost her DCs with Charisma enhancement items and get things like a Ring of Spell-Battle to help her out against enemy casters. She would also prioritize general high level must-haves like a Belt of Battle to help with initiative and optimizing her action economy.

Finally (and I wouldn't be a self-respecting builder if I didn't go here) there are a few more Feats I would've picked up through the use of a few Flaws. Namely, I would have gone for a Widen Spell + Arcane Thesis on Otiluke's Suppressing Field. Another +2 CL and an extra 20 ft radius on the spell would go a long way to making it more effective for both Hecate and her minions to whittle away all the pesky PCs' levels down to nothing. Another way to go would be to drop Darkstalker in favor of Iron Will and use the flaw to pick up Reserves of Strength to boost her Otiluke's Suppressing Field and Nondetection spells even further. Travel Devotion would also work to give her a pseudo-pounce to start a fight, but as she lacks turning attempts it would be a once per day type thing.

Spoiler: Sources List

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Core / Epic - Vampires, Core Feats & Spells
Complete Mage - Abjurant Champion, Otiluke's Suppressing Field
Draconomicon - Shadow Dragon, Vampiric Dragon, Blood Wind
Dragons of Eberron - Loredrake Sovereign Archetype
Dragons of Faerun (& Web Enhancement) – Create Spectral Spawn, Spectral Creature
Ghostwalk - Ectomancy spell descriptor
Libris Mortis - Improved Energy Drain, Spell Drain, Life Drain
Lords of Madness - Arms of Plenty, Darkstalker
Races of the Dragon - Versatile Spellcaster, Wings of Cover
Spell Compendium - Girallon's Blessing, Master's Touch, Nerveskitter, Scintillating Scales

[jdizzlean]

4. Xisairroilth the Kraken's Barber

- Dammit! - Brazhal Kos swore out loud, - We spent three hours capturing this turtle, and we got a freak! Just take a look at these two heads! Well, can we at least make soup out of it?
- Where you see a freak, I see an opportunity, - Ramas Uuthakr objected quietly, - If you really don’t need this turtle, I would like to have it.
- Take it! - Red Wizard just waved off, - But tell me first, what did you find in this dragon turtle?
- Daeron, I am sure you have heard about this newfangled sort of gladiator games - battles between aquatic monsters. I'd like to try my hand at this entertainment.
- Oh! You are very ambitious for your age, aren’t you? - the enchanter was surprised, - How long have you been wearing this red robe? Three years? Five? You're in over your head. But I like you, yes. Still, no dragon turtle can deal with Zulkir Lauzoril’s kraken, especially a freak like this.
- Ten, actually. Anyway, I intend to try. This deformity hides potential. Of course, it would take about three or five years to tame it.
- Well, I’ll sell you this creature for half the price.
- Half the price of five tons of turtle steaks?..


- How was your practice, Xisairroilth? - asked the young Red Wizard, squatting by the pool.
- Excellent! - two huge beaked heads answered to Ramas in one voice.
- All part of the plan! - the left one added. It was more inclined to rational thinking.
- Need a new trainer! - said the right one, - It should be as tasty as the last one!.. And more pork! - It clacked its beak right in front of the wizard’s face. This head was more impulsive and emotional.
- Well, well, - laughed Red without any fear. He was used to his fighter’s temper. Besides, he was not in the habit of neglecting protection spells. A pact is a pact, but a dragon turtle is a wayward beast. You never know what goes on inside its head. Inside any of the heads. Even being able to negotiate with the monster, caught from lake Thaylambar three years ago, was a big deal. It turned out to be that he was pariah because of his deformity, even by the standards of terribly aggressive and solitary dragon turtles. No females were willing to mate with him. If he tried to claim territory, even the worst one, neighbor dragon turtles always expelled him. Sometimes they even fought for a chance to punish the freak. And so, the opportunity to serve the Red Wizard excited him.
- All according to plan, eh? Well, I trust you, and I will honour the pact. New trainers, new enemies, all that you need. And lots of delicious meat for you, of course. Just remember, fights will be at the very end of the year. You must be prepared for what’s coming. I’ll be watching from the lodge, but you’ll be one who fights to the death, so, first of all, training is in your best interest, - said Ramas Uuthakr. It’s not that it was not true, but certainly sly. Of course, he risked a lot, too. He placed all his minor political capital on these games. If Xisairroilth wins, Ramas Uuthakr will elevate his status. In some decades, he’ll be able to seek a seat of tharchion.
- I have to go away for a month, and I’m counting on your conscience. If you need anything just ask the chamberlain, he’ll take care of anything. You can’t eat him, he’s the right man.
- Yes, yes! - heads roared together.
- I know him. Useful, - agreed the left one.


- Dammit! Dammit a thousand times! Abyss and all its demons!!! - Ramas Uuthakr threw an in pointless rage, - How did this happen?!!
- Several slaves have been dominated, - chamberlain keeped his answers short and to the point, - They planted an immobilized mummy in Xisairroilth’s meal. Daeron, you know, it is very indiscriminate in its eating habits. So, the mummy was devoured. Of course, it started rotting. It took us a while to figure it out - this big body showed symptoms slowly. Of course, Xisairroilth stubbornly fought back the disease, but… Without the help from powerful clerics there is only one end. Even with their help, there are no guarantees.
- I can't call for such service right now. Dammit! Alright, it’s time for plan B. Do anything, use all the money, but it must hold out five days more. And don't bother me! Nobody! For any reasons! - Ramas ordered, turned around, and went away mumbling to himself, - I'm almost done with enchantments. It’s like I knew it was gonna be needed… Well, maybe the teacher was right when drilling in my head Brew potions and Craft wondrous items. Now, it comes in handy.


- Oh! Daeron Ramas! I’m surprised to see you here. Didn’t you withdraw your two-headed freak? How’s its health, by the way? - Zulkir Lauzoril smiled graciously, - Do you really expect to win? To tell you the truth, your fighter fared well against sahuagin pack and wereorca last year, but your current bid is not his level. Maybe it’ll swim to the final fight, but my kraken is way out of its league. Surrender before it’s too late, don’t ruin such a wonderful exhibit.
- Well, as sure as you are of your fighter, I am sure of mine. There’s a big surprise for everyone today.

- What is it?! What the hell? You decided to surprise us with the skeleton of your dead fighter? - Zulkir contemptuously exclaimed, - How desperate are you?
- Of course not, Zulkir Lauzoril, it’s not a skeleton at all, - disagreed Ramas Uuthakr, - I mean, it obviously is a skeleton, but not a mundane mindless undead. Keep in mind it isn’t just a turtle, it’s a DRAGON turtle.
- Did you turn it into dracolich? - where’s no way a fool could become Zulkir, and even though necro wasn't his field, but the implication was clear, - This should be completely against the rules.
- Not at all, I specifically checked the rule book and gave the Gamemaster timely notice of the acquisition of my fighter’s necrostatus. Let us enjoy the beautiful fights, - Ramas smirked.

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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Attribute	Base	Racial	Multiheaded	Dracolich	Level	Total
Strength	13	+16	-	-	-	29 (+9)
Dexterity	14	+0	-	-	-	14 (+2)
Constitution	8	+10	+2	None	-	-
Intelligence	10	+2	-	-	-	12 (+1)
Wisdom	12	+2	-	-	-	14 (+2)
Charisma	15	+2	-	+2	+1	20 (+5)

Two-Headed Dragon Turtle Dracolich, Scaled horror-1/Thayan Gladiator-4

Spoiler

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CR	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills (ranks only)	Feats	Class Features
9	12 Dragon HD	+12	+8	+8	+8	Diplomacy +10 Hide +15 Intimidate +10 Listen +15 Move Silently +5 (10) Search +10 Sense Motive +5 Spot +15 Survival +10 Swim +5	Power Attack, Toughness, Weapon Focus (Bite), Improved Sunder, Close-Quarters Fighting	Breath weapon, Capsize, Darkvision 60 ft., Immunity to fire, sleep, and paralysis, Low-light vision, Scent
12	Multiheaded (+2 HD)	+14	+9	+9	+9	Survival +4 Swim +10	Improved Multiattackb, Improved Initiativeb, Combat Reflexesb	Darkvision 90 ft., 1 additional head
13	Scaled horror-1	+14	+11	+9	+9	Move Silently +5	Rapidstrike (Bite)	Improved grab, Keen scent, Spells
14	Thayan Gladiator-1	+15	+13	+9	+9	Intimidate +3	Improved Natural Attack (Bite)	Study opponent
17	Dracolich	+15	+13	+9	+9	Skills	-	+2 natural AC, Control Undead, Frightful Presence, Paralyzing Gaze, Paralyzing Touch, DR 5/bludgeoning, Immunity to polymorph, cold, and electricity, Invulnerability, SR 16, Undead Traits
18	Thayan Gladiator-2	+16	+14	+9	+9	Intimidate +3	Improved critical	+1 natural AC
19	Thayan Gladiator-3	+17	+14	+10	+10	Intimidate +3	Breath of Unlife	Stunning critical, Silver strike
20	Thayan Gladiator-4	+18	+15	+10	+10	Sense Motive +3	-	Natural weapon focus

Spoiler: CR 12

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At this moment Xisairroilth is an almost "regular" two-headed dragon turtle. Most of the differences lie in feats. He needs to protect himself from other dragon turtles, therefore he has Close-Quarter Fighting. Moreover, he survives for a while in the coastal swamps and preys on hydras living there, therefore he has Sunder.

Spoiler: CR 13 to 14

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At these levels Xisairroilth trains to be a good gladiator. His master wants to get a fighter specifically aimed against the current champion — kraken, so Xisairroilth’s first step is to improve his bites, their power and numbers. With already existing Combat Reflexes, Close-Quarter Fighting and Sunder Xisairroilth can quickly and totally disarm his main opponent. Additionally, Urchin's spines spell seems like not a bad counter to kraken's multiple attacks. With some luck it can even poison the enemy. Of course he can to confront not only krakens. Smaller and numbered opponents (like PC-party) meet a serious adversary through him, too.

Spoiler: CR 17+

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The sabotage changes plans of Xisairroilth progress. Now he is coming to lichdom. Every attack becomes paralyzing, so he can try to paralyze an enemy up to five times per round, and that's not counting the three Attacks of Opportunity.
On 19th CR Xisairroilth takes Breath of Unlife. Before, his breath weapon dealt only fire damage and could be countered by kraken's Resist Energy SLA, and now half of its damage becomes negative energy and is able to overcome this protection.
20th CR is a sweet spot. Xisairroilth gets two more bite attacks up to the total of seven attacks per round. With previously taken breath weapon, paralyzation, couple of immunities, great damage and grapple checks he is a severe threat for any opponent, and his Invulnerability ability makes him an awesome returning enemy.

Spoiler: +0 CR trick

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It isn't clear how Dracolich's advancement interacts with regular rules that prohibit HD-advancement after taking class levels. If it is legal, Xisairroilth can take one more feat without increasing his CR. Good choices are Improved Rapidstrike, Entangling Exhalation, or any metabreath feat. Anyway, I think this trick isn't fair play, so I didn't use it.

Spoiler: How introduce Xisairroilth in your game

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The easiest way to add Xisairroilth in your game is to send PCs to gladiatorial competitions in Thay. Alternatively, Xisairroilth may serve Red in another capacity: guard, privateer, terrorist, or any combination of these variations. He even can be free dracolich now. Somehow he stole his filacteria and now hunts on other dragon turtles in order to feed his revenge and secure a reanimation place with backup vessels. PCs can be contracted by Xisairroilth ex-master to return valuable runaway slave. Or by some of his surviving or potential victims: aquatic humanoids, sailors, even by dragon turtle to eliminate the beast.

Spoiler: Sources

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Monster Manual - Dragon turtle, Improved Natural Attack,
Draconomicon - Rapidstrike, Improved Multiattack, Dracolich,
Dragons of Faerûn - Breath of Unlife
Savage Species - Scaled Horror, Multiheaded,
Stormwrack - Urchin's Spines
Champions of Ruin - Thayan Gladiator
PHB - Power Attack, Toughness, Weapon Focus, Improved Sunder, Improved Initiative, Combat Reflexes, Improved critical
Complete Warrior - Close-Quarters Fighting

[jdizzlean]

5. Sibuna

Spoiler: Build

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Lawful Evil Marrutect Anima Mage 10/Binder 3/Wizard 1/Tainted Sorcerer 1

Spoiler: Attributes

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Elite Array: Str 8, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 15, Taint 0

Strength:

• CR 5-20: 8

Dexterity:

• CR 5-9: 15
• CR 10-20: 16

Constitution:

• CR 5: 14
• CR 6: 14(3)
• CR 7-20: 14

Intelligence:

• CR 5-20: 20

Charisma:

• CR 5: 21
• CR 6-13: 22
• CR 14-17: 23
• CR 18-20: 24

Wisdom, Taint:

CR	Wisdom	Taint
5	20	0
6	20(9)	11
7	20(9)	22
8	20(8)	24
9	20(7)	25
10	20(7)	26
11	20(6)	27
12	20(6)	28
13	20(5)	29
14	20(5)	30
15	20(4)	31
16	20(4)	32
17	20(3)	33
18	20(3)	34
19	20(2)	35
20	20(2)	36

Spoiler: Build Table

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CR	Advancement	Abilities	New Feat(s)	Base Attack	Base Fortitude	Base Reflex	Base Will
5	Marrutect	Howl of Healing, Innate Spellcasting, Marruspawn Traits, Spell Resistance 16	Keen Intellect, Empower Spell, Knowledge Devotion	+5	+1	+4	+4
6	Binder 1	Soul Binding	—	+5	+3	+4	+5
7	Tainted Sorcerer 1	Blood Component, Tainted Metamagic, Tainted Spellcasting, Taint Suppression	Improved Binding	+6/+1	+4	+5	+5
8	Anima Mage 1	—	Improved Binding	+7/+2	+4	+5	+5
9	Anima Mage 2	Exploit Vestige	—	+7/+2	+4	+5	+5
10	Anima Mage 3	Vestigial Awareness	Quicken Spell	+8/+3	+5	+6	+6
11	Anima Mage 4	—	—	+8/+3	+5	+6	+7
12	Anima Mage 5	Vestige Metamagic 1/day	—	+9/+4	+5	+6	+7
13	Anima Mage 6	—	Extend Supernatural Ability (Awe of Dantalion)	+9	+6	+6	+8
14	Anima Mage 7	Vestige Metamagic 2/day	+10/+5	+6	+7	+8
15	Anima Mage 8	—	—	+10/+5	+6	+7	+9
16	Anima Mage 9	Vestige Metamagic 3/day	Malign Spell Focus	+11/+6/+1	+6	+7	+9
17	Anima Mage 10	Vestige Casting	—	+11/+6/+1	+7	+8	+10
18	Wizard 1	Summon Familiar	Scribe Scroll	+12/+7/+2	+7	+8	+10
19	Binder 2	Pact Augmentation, Suppress Sign	Spell Focus (Necromancy)	+12/+7/+2	+8	+8	+11
20	Binder 3	—	—	+13/+8/+3	+8	+9	+11

Spoiler: Skill Ranks

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CR	Bluff	Concentration	Diplomacy	Intimidate	Listen	Knowledge (arcana)	Knowledge (local)	Knowledge (plans)	Knowledge (religion)	Spot
5	8	8	5	2	4	8	8	8	3	2
6	9	9	5	3	5	9	9	8	4	2
7	10	10	5	4	5	9	10	9	6	2
8	11	11	5	4	6	9	11	10	8	2
9	12	12	5	4	8	10	12	10	9	2
10	13	13	5	4	9	10	13	12	10	2
11	14	14	5	4	10	11	14	13	11	2
12	15	15	6	4	11	11	15	14	12	2
13	16	16	6	4	12	12	16	15	13	2
14	17	17	6	5	13	12	17	16	14	2
15	18	18	6	5	14	13	18	17	15	2
16	19	19	6	6	15	13	19	18	16	2
17	20	20	6	6	16	14	20	19	17	2
18	21	21	6	7	17	14	21	20	18	2
19	22	22	6	7	18	15	22	21	19	2
20	23	23	6	8	19	15	23	22	20	2

Spoiler: Spell Slots

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CR	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
5	4	5	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	4	5	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
7	4	5	5	3	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	4	6	5	4	2	—	—	—	—	—
9	4	6	5	5	3	—	—	—	—	—
10	4	6	6	5	4	2	—	—	—	—
11	4	6	6	5	5	3	—	—	—	—
12	4	7	6	6	5	4	2	—	—	—
13	4	7	6	6	5	5	3	—	—	—
14	4	7	7	6	6	5	4	2	—	—
15	4	7	7	6	6	5	5	3	—	—
16	4	7	7	7	6	6	5	4	2	—
17	4	7	7	7	6	6	5	5	3	—
18	4	7	7	7	7	6	6	5	4	2
19	4	7	7	7	7	6	6	5	4	2
20	4	8	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	3

Spoiler: Overview

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Sibuna was a marrutect like any other, leading his enclave of marruspawn deep in the desert. Adventurers came by and destroyed the enclave, so he ran off to search for new servants. He encountered a band of traveling scholars, and joined them in hopes of swaying them to its service. They turned out to be devoted servants of Bane, but allowed Sibuna to study at their monastery in exchange for Sibuna sharing the secrets of the Marru.

During his research, Sibuna learned how to conjure and channel several spirits, most importantly the many-headed canine Naberius. Sibuna tries to subdue some of these spirits, becoming tainted as some of them create hallows within his body and soul. Despite the taint (or perhaps through it), Sibuna harnessed a wide variety of potent magicks, including a sort of pseudo-lichdom ritual.

He eventually comes up with a plan to take over the Church of Cyric, a target which Bane’s followers encouraged him to pursue. Using the deceptive powers granted by Naberius, Sibuna pretended to be a talented Bane cultist named Sardoric. Sardoric began attracting a horde of followers through impressive displays of power, strategic murder of rival priests, and sheer chutzpah. It’s possible that Cyric allowed Sibuna’s rise because he felt honored by someone undergoing such elaborate deception to become high priest of the Prince of Lies.

Over time, though, Sibuna’s identity withered. On one hand, his near-constant pretense at being a priest of Cyric prevented him from expressing his true self; on the other, the deals he made with Naberius and similar spirits wore away at his private life and self-conception. After years sandwiched between Sardoric and Naberius, Sibuna has withered away to almost nothing—a mask behind a mask, a vessel through which Naberius enacts its enigmatic plots.

Sardoric appears to be a human, tall and thin, with long hair, a short beard, and just a touch of elven blood in his delicate features. If his disguise is penetrated or neutralized (e.g. through an antimagic field or true seeing effect), he appears as a person concealing his true features behind a hyena-like mask and body-concealing clothes (including gloves). If those are removed, he appears as a marruspawn skeleton (distinct from the skeleton of a gnoll or other canine humanoid, to the trained eye, by the silvery tinge to his bones and odd anatomical details).
And if he enters an area tainted by the sorts of sinister, primal forces which Naberius subsists on, the last vestiges of Sibuna are submerged in the truth of his (un)life. In these conditions, he looks like a collection of bones from several different skeletons assembled into a roughly humanoid shape, topped by three skulls—humanoid, canine, and serpentine.

Spoiler: Sardoric/Sibuna/Naberius In A Campaign

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Sardoric, Sibuna, Naberius, or whatever you want to call this stack of disguises is a fairly simple character to integrate into a campaign. He’s the leader of an evil cult; the cult does things; destroy the cult. Integrating him effectively is another matter entirely! If he’s just a creepy masked cult leader who turns into a pile of bones when defeated, he’s just a weird but stereotypical boss.

Three things need to be introduced for S/S/N to make proper sense: The cult of Cyric, the church of Bane, and the existence of beings like Naberius. That last point is the simplest; mention the Tome of Magic is available as a sourcebook in hopes that someone wants to play a binder, and add some low-level binders to the foes your players face. Perhaps their first big quest involves a binder who tried to bind too strong of a vestige and wound up under its control. Add in the odd arcane manuscript about vestiges (especially the mysterious Naberius) and some binder minions to bigger bads, and the players should have vestiges in the back of their heads when they think about the game. (Hopefully not literally.)

The cult of Cyric and the church of Bane are similar in some ways, being religions devoted to evil gods. The big difference is that Bane’s church practices a dictatorial, hierarchical form of evil, while Cyric prefers a more decentralized, self-directed form. (Mussolini vs. Ayn Rand, I guess.) More concretely:

Cyric is just a god of lies, basically Loki without any redeeming qualities. Descriptions of his worshipers are vague and confusing; sometimes they’re willing to give their lives for the cause, sometimes their loyalty is tenuous in the face of personal danger. The one consistent theme is that the worshipers were all evil people before they found a church that let them justify that cruelty.
Cyric’s individual cult cells are lead by the most powerful priest in the area, and don’t coordinate much. Their motivations include spreading evil, destroying rivals (including both do-gooders and other churches to Cyric), and possibly taking over the world; however, the lack of coordination between different cells (c.f. “they destroy rival Cyric cultists”) makes this last goal unlikely. Each local priest probably has some plots they’re trying to achieve, as do their acolytes.
That said, those individual cells are pretty good at recruitment. Doubtless part of the appeal is the cult’s hands-off nature; Cyric accepts every thief, murderer, and politician who isn’t serving another evil god and lets them do more or less as they please. The cult of Cyric is an institution with its own goals, but at the lower levels it’s a networking opportunity for the world’s dark riff-raff.

The cult of Cyric could theoretically muster a great deal of strength, but in practice is terrible at mustering. An individual cell works well as an evil organization that the party dismantles over the course of a few adventures, but the church as a whole isn’t unified enough (by default) to work that way.
If Sibuna is your campaign’s Big Bad, add a cult cell to your party’s hometown, with some members of the town’s noble and mercantile elite in the cult. Have them be the antagonists of a few adventures, with other adventures in between. This lets the players get used to the cult and observe as Sardoric’s influence changes it over time.

Bane is a tyrannical god of ambition and control. His worshipers include dictators, conquerors, and the cruel sheep who gleefully follow such shepherds. His church is a singular, unified organization, almost more like an army or a small nation than a typical religion. It even has its own knightly order, and a fair number of wizards as well.
The church of Bane seems to increase its numbers by indoctrinating the children of existing members and forging alliances with other organizations rather than recruiting outsiders. It’s an insular organization, with the will and direction to accomplish its goals. Those goals are, of course, to rule the world and drive out the other gods.

The church of Bane doesn’t work as a small-scale antagonist, because it isn’t a small-scale threat. Defeating one warpriest trying to forcibly convert a village is as meaningful as cutting off one of a hydra’s heads. That said, there’s nothing wrong with a relatively inconsequential adventure scattered in. Perhaps the church of Bane is sending agents to manipulate the PCs’ hometown one way or another.
You might also consider introducing the church of Bane through an indirectly-connected route. Perhaps the PCs protect refugees from an area which the church has been trying to subjugate, or encounter a rogue warlord who was cast out of the church of Bane for being insufficiently loyal.

This just leaves the plans of the villain himself. But what those plans are depends on who’s driving. Is Sardoric/Sibuna/Naberius just a pawn in Bane’s plans, has he completely lost himself to Naberius, or is Sibuna still in control?
Sibuna’s plans are simple; he wants control. He will focus on consolidating the cult of Cyric under his personal command, focusing on the long-term stability of his organization. His operations will be mostly focused internally, but he will also direct some external operations, particularly those which gather resources he can use (from gold to recruits to magic).
Bane wants to neutralize the threat posed by the cult of Cyric, and ideally control whatever’s left. Likely, he will send infiltrators into the cult to support Sardoric from within. They will likely end up as his most trusted lieutenants. Bane may intentionally spark conflict between Sardoric and other leaders within the cult to weaken it (and make Sibuna less of a threat later on).
Naberius doesn’t care about the cult one way or the other. Instead, he’s interested in gaining a more permanent presence in the material world. Sardoric/Sibuna works for now, but Naberius’s grasp on him is too fragile for his tastes. He instead intends to use the resources of Cyric’s cult and Sibuna’s own magic to create an appropriate vessel for him to inhabit. He starts by just encouraging Sibuna to hoard such resources and keep his true identity hidden from the world, making it easier for him to wear away at Sibuna’s self.
All three have some influence over the situation, and the early stages of all three plots are aligned. Differences only start to crop up at the end of their plots; Bane would plunge the cult into a bloody civil war, Sibuna would quietly execute his remaining political opponents within the cult, and Naberius would sabotage preparations for a lichdom ritual (resulting in Naberius being permanently bound to the “phylactery” and Sibuna being little more than a zombie).

The players would be drawn into this tangle of plots by investigating more mundane activities of the cult of Cyric. Perhaps they discover some infiltrators from the church of Bane while in there. Perhaps they find notes about this new high priest and his boldly naked ambitions. Perhaps they even encounter a priest of Cyric who wants to ally with the PCs against Sardoric!

Once the players are aware of this Sardoric guy and consider him a threat worth fighting, start dropping hints about his true nature. Congregants mention how reclusive he is. Priests correspond about the mysterious people he collaborates with. If you have a player who’s familiar enough with the cleric spell list and a character who knows enough about magic, perhaps run a quick skirmish with Sardoric where he conspicuously doesn’t use a single cleric spell. (The villain should just want to leave, to avoid giving the impression that he’s a pushover while also not seriously endangering any PCs.)

Finally, have the players uncover information clarifying the plots that Sibuna sits in the middle of. Sardoric consolidates power, one of Bane’s agents confesses their plans to sow discord among the cult of Cyric, a lost/stolen private journal makes it clear that Sibuna is not fully in control of his own mind behind his mask. The players realize the threat posed by having so much dark power concentrated at the fingertips of one individual and seek to face it.

This could be as simple as a big brawl; figure out where the Big Bad is, slaughter his minions, and fight him. But if the players deem Sardoric/Sibuna/Naberius and his minions to be too powerful a threat to fight directly, they could turn the various actors against each other. If Sibuna found out about Bane trying to undermine the cult he planned to control, he and the church of Bane would start a violent conflict that weakened both. If presented with proof that Nabeius was exerting more and more influence over his body, he would need to cut himself off from a critical source of power.

Spoiler: Sardoric/Sibuna/Naberius In Combat

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I should probably stop calling this miserable little pile of secrets by all three names… But enough talk! Have at you!

At any level, remember Knowledge Devotion. It doesn’t require an action or anything—it happens automatically at the start of combat. Most PCs, being humanoids, will use Knowledge (local).

The sweet spot for this villain starts around CR 14 (or 15), when he can bind a second vestige (instead of just Naberius). I recommend Dantalion—reading thoughts helps with any deceptions that the villain tries to pull off, the +8 untyped bonus to Knowledge checks helps boost Knowledge Devotion, and Awe of Dantalion gives the villain a round of breathing room to heal, buff, monologue, escape, or whatever.
(At CR 15, the feat Extend Supernatural Ability gives two rounds of impunity.)

Alternatively, he can use Vestige Metamagic to temporarily kick Dantalion out of his body and get a free Quicken for his troubles, though this isn’t the only way he can quicken spells. He can also use Tainted Spellcasting to quicken spells for Constitution damage, albeit only ones that are at least four levels lower than the highest-level spell he can cast (3rd-level at CR 15). And, of course, he can just prepare quickened spells in higher-level slots like a loser.

But what spells to use? A high-level wizard can be anything from a divine terror with foreknowledge of their enemies’ actions and enough generalized spells to cover surprises, to a flash-in-the-pan glass cannon. Well, assuming you pick the right/wrong spells, and I’m not enough of a power-gamer to pick the right ones. But I can make some recommendations.

If the villain has minions, spending a turn on buffs can be effective. Throw down some Awe of Dantalion (a move action) round one alongside quickened haste and greater blink. On the other hand, if you want to be cheesy, use something like quickened slow and mass dessicate before using Awe, letting you directly harm the players before preventing them from doing the same for a round.
(Extending the awe lets him either screw with the PCs like that on the first round and then buff the second, or spend two rounds buffing and preparing the battlefield. Good spells for this include greater shadow conjuration, wall of salt, and spiritwall.)

After that opening, keep casting spells. Ideally, the villain wants to cast two spells per turn, through a combination of tainted metamagic, vestige metamagic, pre-quickened spells, and spells with a swift action casting time (e.g. channeled lifetheft).
Tainted metamagic is an extremely handy option, but it obviously has drawbacks to the tune of a few dozen maximum hit points each time it’s used to quicken something. Moreover, four consecutive rounds of tainted quickening (accounting for Naberius’s Faster Ability Healing) will all but kill the villain without input from the heroes! Use in moderation, mixing in other options as needed.

In a pinch, the villain can fire off one last high-level spell and then expel Naberius to quicken a dimension door. (Unlike Tainted Metamagic, Vestige Metamagic is not restricted by your highest-level spell slot.) For greater deception, you can have that last spell be a wall of salt that the players smash through or cleverly dissolve with a large quantity of water...only to discover that the villain teleported away already.
Alternatively, if you don’t want the players to hunt down an escaping villain, just have him Tainted Metamagic himself into an extremely melodramatic grave, leaving only a pile of odd bones behind, topped by three mismatched skulls.

Spoiler: Sample Prepared Spells, CR 15

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• 0—arcane mark, mage hand, preserve organ, prestidigitation
• 1—backbiter x2, 5
• 2—dessicate x2, false life, invisibility, eay of weakness, stolen breath x2
• 3—fly, haste, ray of exhaustion x2, 2
• 4—burning blood, empowered dessicate, dimension door, enervation, wall of salt
• 5—greater blink, channeled lifetheft x2, quickened backbiter, spiritwall
• 6—empowered enervation, fleshshiver greater shadow conjuration, mass dessicate, mummify
• 7—avasculate, quickened slow, waves of exhaustion

For spell sources, please see Spellbook, below. If you lack access to the source(s) for some spells used, replace them with other spells from the spellbook or extra preparations of other spells of the same level (or metamagic-empowered spells from lower levels).

Spoiler: Higher Levels

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Switch Dantalion for Zceryll at CR 16. There’s plenty of alter self shenanigans you can get up to, summon alien gets you a solid minion (and you can technically, probably, use Vestige Metamagic with him while it’s recharging), and such an openly Lovecraftian vestige works really well with the villain’s increasingly unsettling nature as you dig down to his core.

Starting at CR 17, Vestige Casting becomes an option. It lets the villain cast a spell as an immediate action, as well as Still and Silent, for free—no Constitution damage, no loss of vestige powers, nothing. Aside from being another method for quickening spells on the cheap, this lets him effectively cast arbitrary spells as “reactions” on PC turns. One handy trick is to throw a wall of salt in front of a powerful PC attack...ideally something like a fireball, causing it to blow up the party instead of the villains.
You only get one use of this ability; make it count.

And, of course, getting access to 8th- and 9th-level spells is a big game-changer.

Spoiler: Lower Levels

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At CR 7, the villain is a slightly behind-par wizard with a couple of gimmicks. He can empower 1st-level spells for a couple points of Constitution damage, but is an empowered sunstroke really a better use of his action than a ray of exhaustion?

CR 10 brings the Quicken Spell feat and the 5th-level slots required to make use of it (given the limitations of tainted metamagic). You no longer need to choose; the villain can use, say, shadow evocation and follow it up with a quickened sunstroke. By this point, his anima mage levels also give him an extra spell slot and a small boost to initiative, which...alright

Anima mage pays its way into this build by boosting both caster level and effective binder level, but CR 12 brings us the vestige metamagic, perfect for quickening a spell too high-level for tainted metamagic (or for when his Constitution is too low). And that basically brings us to the ideal point.

Spoiler: How to Make A Nastier Foe

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There are a few options which I wanted to squeeze into the build, since they play into the theme of self-inflicted ability damage, but which there isn’t a good mechanism for adding. Which stinks, because I planned to use several of them when plotting out this build.

Let’s start with the reason I wrote Sibuna infiltrating the church of Cyric: The Ritual of the Dark Flames. For the low cost of 100 gold, 1,200 XP, and two Wisdom damage per use, you can deal 1d6 points of damage per Hit Die to another creature as a (short-)ranged touch attack. That’s pretty cool...or, well, hot. Probably not as effective as a high-level spell, but it’s supernatural and straightforward.

Symbiotes are a rather obvious choice. The soul tick in particular has great synergy with Tainted Sorcerer, since all a TS’s spells are [evil]. The various psionic symbiotes are also worth bringing up, since they damage an ability score that the villain otherwise has no real use for (since his spellcasting is Taint-based now). Well, not the psionic sinew, but he doesn’t have any Dex-draining abilities either. But it mostly offers martial abilities, so it’s safe to leave out.

I always hated the speeches when I was in school, the preaching in auditoriums, the one-note message. Stuff like saying drugs are bad. It’s wrong. Drugs are fantastic...People wouldn’t do them if they weren’t. They make you feel good, make your day brighter, give you energy...until they don’t.

With Naberius, drugs never stop making you feel good. [Author’s note: Naberius does not exist. Do drugs responsibly, kids.] There’s a wide variety available from the Book of Vile Darkness and Lords of Darkness; they offer a wide variety of benefits (mostly stat boosts), and most of the downsides won’t last a minute. Obviously, avoid exceptions (e.g. dreammist) unless you’re fine paying an actual price for your drug-fueled buffs.

I don’t have a panaeolo problem. I can stop any time I want.

The spell Absorb Strength is actually listed in the villain’s spellbook, but actually using it requires assumptions beyond the scope of this contest to be made. (The Corruption cost might known the villain out, but he’ll get back up soon enough.)

And if all of that is too much...give him a familiar. It seems weird to give a familiar to something that late in the game (right as he gets 9th-level spells), so I didn’t. It’s worth a couple feats...not good feats, but hey, it’ll make this foe (slightly) nastier.

Spoiler: Recommended Spellbook (at CR 20)

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A wizard can learn functionally any and as many spells as they like, if they spend the gold. While I tried not to go too overboard on giving Sibuna(/Sardoric/Naberius) too many spells, I also wanted his spell list to have plenty more low-level spells than high-level ones, because I think all NPC wizard spell books should be like that. By my count, this spellbook is over 200 pages long. Oops.

Obviously, lower-CR versions of the villain will not know all of these spells. But I’m not terribly enthusiastic about making a new arbitrary spellbook for each CR. My apologies.

• 0—Arcane Mark (core), Detect Magic (core), Ghost Sound (core), Mage Hand (core), Mending (core), Message (core), No Light (BoVD), Preserve Organ (BoVD), Prestidigitation (core), Read Magic (core), Resistance (core), Touch of Fatigue (core)
• 1—Backbiter (SpCm), Bestow Wound (BoVD), Cause Fear (core), Charm Person (core), Comprehend Languages (core), Detect Vestige (Tome), Drug Resistance (BoVD), Identify (core), Net of Shadows (SpCm), Parching Touch (Sand), Ray of Enfeeblement (core), Seething Eyebane (BoVD), Silent Image (core), Sunstroke (Sand), Unseen Servant (core)
• 2—Blindness/Deafness (core), Curse of Impending Blades (SpCm), Darkness (core), Delusions of Grandeur (SpCm), Dessicate (Sand), False Life (core), Ghoul Touch (core), Invisibility (core), Mirror Image (core), Phantom Foe (SpCm), Ray of Weakness (SpCm), Stolen Breath (SpCm), Whispering Wind (core)
• 3—Fly (core), Gentle Repose (core), Haste (core), Love’s Pain (BoVD), Mask of the Ideal (CoMa), Mass Curse of Impending Blades (SpCm), Phantasmal Strangler (CoMa), Ray of Exhaustion (core), Skull Watch (SpCm), Slow (core), Suggestion (core), Vampiric Touch (core)
• 4—Absorb Strength (BoVD), Animate Dead (core), Bestow Curse (core), Burning Blood (SpCm), Dimension Door (core), Enervation (core), Fear (core), Minor Creation (core), Phantasmal Killer (core), Shadow Conjuration (core), Wall of Salt (sand), Wither (Sand)
• 5—Channeled Lifetheft (CoMa), Choking Sands (Sand), Greater Blink (SpCm), Magic Jar (core), Permanency (core), Persistent Image (core), Sending (core), Shadow Evocation (core), Spiritwall (SpCm)
• 6—Consume Likeness (BoVD), Fleshshiver (SpCm), Greater Shadow Conjuration (core), Mass Dessicate (Sand), Mummify (Sand), Permanent Image (core), Veil (core)
• 7—Avasculate (SpC), Limited Wish (core), Project Image (core), Spell Turning (core), Vitrify (Sand), Waves of Exhaustion (core)
• 8—Blackfire (SpC), Clone (core), Desert Binding (Sand), Greater Shadow Evocation (core)
• 9—Energy Drain (core), Mindrape (BoVD), Soul Bind (core)

BoVD: Book of Vile Darkness
CoMa: Complete Mage
core: Player’s Handbook (duh)
Sand: Sandstorm
SpCm: Spell Compendium
Tome: Tome of Magic

Spoiler: Author’s Notes

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I’d originally planned to pick up the Bind Vestige feat for Naberius. Then I double-checked the feat, and realized that it granted a specified ability—ie, I couldn’t bind Naberius for Faster Ability Healing instead of Silver Tongue. That restriction lead to this much more binding-focused build. (Though looking back, centering around Naberius kneecaps the binder’s flexibility...maybe I should have gone with one binder level and more conventional wizard prestige classes?)

The bone-looking thing comes from a version where I made this Sardoric/Sibuna/Naberius undead so he could use negative energy on himself. Then I realized that the whole reason I picked up Tainted Sorcerer wouldn’t work if he was undead, but I liked the description I gave—the way each layer of deception falls away until something chillingly inhuman remained—too much to cut it.

Figuring out the last three levels was tricky. I kept looking for prestige classes that would advance casting, but kept coming up short; they didn’t offer anything worthwhile, or they clashed with the villain’s fluff, or they cut off at inconvenient points. Eventually I decided to stop looking for a dip and just stick a few more levels in Binder. In for a penny in for a dime, I guess.

Spoiler: Issues?

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I went with the fractional saves variant mostly so Sardoric/Sibuna/Naberius didn’t have a ridiculous base Will save due to getting +2’s from three different classes and Monstrous Humanoid HD. I rounded down the bad saves to 0.3/level to fit it into my spreadsheet quicker, so I might have lost a point of base save here or there. I went with fractional BAB as well, mostly to stay consistent.

Taint can be gained and lost in a variety of ways; I just gave my villain what seemed like a sensible progression. It can be changed without affecting too much; it just changes spell DCs, bonus spells, and the Wisdom penalty.

Speaking of that Wisdom penalty, you might think it renders the villain vulnerable to Will-based save-or-dies. Not to worry! Two feats are here to save the day in their own special ways.
First, we have Keen Intellect (specifically the Unapproachable East version, since there are a couple of feats with that name). It lets you use Intelligence in place of Wisdom for a handful of skills and, more importantly, Will saves.
Second, and more interestingly, is Insane Defiance from Elder Evils. That feat lets you take a point of Wisdom damage to redirect any mind-affecting effect to another target. On one hand, if you don’t want to make “sling low-ball mind-affecting effects until he runs out of Wisdom” an effective strategy, this obviously has a limited number of uses; on the other hand, if the players don’t try that, Naberius’s healing ability will probably keep the villain fine.

Spoiler: Sources

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Book of Vile Darkness: Bone Creature template
Elder Evils: Insane Defiance and other vile feats
Sandstorm: Marrutect
Spell Compendium, Complete Mage: Some spells
Tome of Magic: Binder, Anima Mage, vestige rules in general
Unapproachable East: Keen Intellect feat
Unearthed Arcana: Tainted Sorcerer (and Taint rules in general)

Book of Vile Darkness: drugs
Fiend Folio: Symbiotes
Lords of Darkness: The Ritual of Dark Flames, more drugs, lore inspiration

[jdizzlean]

That's the crop this go around.

I have 3 finals in the next 2 weeks, so i may be a bit scarce should judgements land during that time, but i'll try to at least find some time to post them without to much delay.

[Thurbane]

Congrats to the competitors! As I said, will do my best to judge in the next week or two.

My stub was an Advanced (40 HD) Kraken Monstrous Vampire: I thought it would be funny to have a Colossal creature in the XL round.

[3SecondCultist]

Oooh, these are all some fun builds! Interesting that 3/5 of them ended up being corrupted or undead Dragons.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Not surprising that we have two undead and four undead-creators in this contest. Surprised that we have three dragons, though. I guess the second D is there for a reason...

I like that all of the entries made a serious attempt at narrative—we don't always get that. Some of them are better than others; in particular, Sibuna strikes me as being overstuffed and underbaked, and Xisairroilth's...unconventional use of dialogue punctuation made it hard to read.

I submitted something this round, so obviously I won't be judging. Should be interesting to see others' judgements, though.