Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sudo_Nym 04-19-04, 05:21 AM	Today I submit a BBEG, to see if you've got any diabolical improvements to him. Normally, I'd write him up in leveling format, to give an idea of abilities over time, but as the BBEG is going to be appearing only at 20th level, it seems unnecessary to do so. Therefore, I write him up in standard block format, excluding the ability write up, as I don't know whether I can get in trouble for that or not. This particular BBEG was a former party member, until he was killed, and his player decided to create a new character rather than have him raised. So, with the campaign closing, and myself needing a BBEG to end the campaign, I had Mephistopheles create an alternate reality version of the dead PC to torment the PC's, as well as commit general evilness (those wacky archdevils- never know what silly scheme they'll come up with next) Kivas: Male human Fighter 10/Disciple of Mephistopheles 10; CR 20; Medium humanoid; HD 10d10+50 plus 10d8+50; hp 200; Init +4; Spd 30 ft.; AC 32; touch 15; flat-footed 32; Base Attack +20; Grp +29; Atk +36 melee (2d4+1d6 fire+17+1 vile, Betrayal) or +20 ranged touch (4d6 fire, Hellfire Blast); Full Atk +36/31/26/21 melee (2d4+1d6 fire+17+1 vile, Betrayal) or +29/24/19/14 melee(1d6+1d6 fire+9, claws); SA Body of Flame, Hellfire Blast, Hellfire Grasp, Spell-Like Abilities; SQ Fire Resistance 20, Summon Hamatula; SV Fort +24, Ref +15, Will +15; AL LE; Str 28, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16. Skills and Feats: Climb +21, Craft (Weaponsmith) +13, Intimidate +28, Listen +15, Spot +15; Combat Expertise, Deformity (Clawed Hands), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Vile Martial Strike (Ranseur), Weapon Focus (Ranseur), Weapon Specialization (Ranseur), Willing Deformity. Possessions: Amulet of Natural Armor +5, Belt of Mighty Prowess, Betrayal (+4 Flaming Burst Unholy Fleshgrinding Ranseur of Masterslaying),Cloak of Resistance +5, Figurine of Wondrous Power (Obsidian Steed), Gloves of Fearsome Grip, Helm of Teleportation, Mephistopheles’ Shell (+4 Darksoul Protection Full Plate of Heavy Fortification), 3 potions of Cure Serious Wounds, potion of Haste, Ring of Shocking Blows, Ring of Protection +5. Notes: The above stats include Kivas’ equipment. Mephistopheles has used Wish spells to increase Kivas’ strength 5 points. Kivas leads the Flaming Talon, a group dedicated to furthering the evil of the archdevil Mephistopheles. In combat, he likes to unleash his Hellfire Storm ability before closing for melee. He likes to use Betrayal’s fleshgrinding ability in conjunction with it’s masterslayer ability, which can cause a lot of damage with x3 critical and flaming burst. While Betrayal is fleshgrinding, Kivas uses his claws (with Hellfire Grasp and his Ring of Shocking Blows) and Hellfire Blast ability to deal damage. Mephistopheles is intent on having Kivas deal damage, and had followers cast Wish spells to increase Kivas’ strength, as well as create Betrayal, a +4 flaming burst fleshgrinding Ransuer of masterslaying, as well as Mephistopheles’ Shell, a set of +4 Darksoul Protection Full Plate of Heavy Fortification. I have the BoVD, Fiend Folio, OA, S&F, and the SRD, which are the only relevant books I can think of that I happen to own. Thanks in advance. In case it matters, the PC's have a fighter tank, cleric of Heironeous, Wizard (does the buffing), and a rogue 1/ranger. All will be 20th level when they finally fight Kivas. Kivas will be accompanied by a Vampire Rogue, Half-Fiend Cleric (domains Diabolic and Evil), and a Vasharan Wizard/Diabolist/Archmage.
Funny Slaughter 04-19-04, 07:27 AM	you did your work as it seems, what exactly do you want now? i dont find your format very good to read but it seems that you missed quite some feats, 7 feats are less then a human fighter 6 has available. gs Funny
CompleteSatori 04-19-04, 11:50 PM	Your feats should look like this: 1- Human Feat 1- First Character Feat 1- Fighter Feat 2- Fighter Feat 3- Character Feat 4- Fighter Feat 6- Character Feat 6- Fighter Feat 8- Fighter Feat 9- Character Feat 10- Fighter Feat 12- Character Feat 15- Character Feat 18- Character Feat For a total of 14.
necrosnoop110 04-20-04, 12:18 AM	Does this help at all: . Kivas Fighter 10/ Disciple of Mephistopheles 10 Medium humanoid (Male Human) Hit Dice: 10d10+50 plus 10d8+50 (hp 200) Initiative: +4 Speed: 30 ft Armor Class: 32; touch 15; flat-footed 32 Base Attack/Grapple: +20/+29 Attack +36 melee (2d4+1d6 fire+17+1 vile, Betrayal) or +20 ranged touch (4d6 fire, Hellfire Blast) Full Attack +36/31/26/21 melee (2d4+1d6 fire+17+1 vile, Betrayal) or +29/24/19/14 melee(1d6+1d6 fire+9, claws) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Body of Flame, Hellfire Blast, Hellfire Grasp, Spell-Like Abilities Special Qualities: Fire Resistance 20, Summon Hamatula Saves: Fort +24, Ref +15, Will +15 Abilities: Str 28, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16 Skills: Climb +21, Craft (Weaponsmith) +13, Intimidate +28, Listen +15, Spot +15 Feats: Combat Expertise, Deformity (Clawed Hands), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Vile Martial Strike (Ranseur), Weapon Focus (Ranseur), Weapon Specialization (Ranseur), Willing Deformity Challenge Rating: 20 Alignment: Lawful Evil Possessions: Amulet of Natural Armor +5, Belt of Mighty Prowess, Betrayal (+4 Flaming Burst Unholy Fleshgrinding Ranseur of Masterslaying),Cloak of Resistance +5, Figurine of Wondrous Power (Obsidian Steed), Gloves of Fearsome Grip, Helm of Teleportation, Mephistopheles’ Shell (+4 Darksoul Protection Full Plate of Heavy Fortification), 3 potions of Cure Serious Wounds, potion of Haste, Ring of Shocking Blows, Ring of Protection +5.
Sudo_Nym 04-21-04, 12:29 AM	Actually, that's a great deal of help. I didn't know how to post it, so I went with block format, which didn't look as good in the post as it did in Word when I composed it. I really don't know where the extra feats went. I know I had the right amount when I started writing, so they must have gotten deleted in an edit. So I guess, I'm looking for suggestions to make this guy better, as well as suggestions for his remaining five feats. Close-Quarters Fighting, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, and Improved Overrun looked good to me, although Improved Trip, Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will, Improved Critical (claws), Weapon Focus (claws), and Weapon Specialization (claws) seem good too. Any suggestions?
Seyluun 04-21-04, 09:28 AM	Frankly, if you want him to worth his CR, he needs at least to fly, to see Invisibility and to have a mean to deal with Forcecage.
Neonsamurai 04-21-04, 10:07 AM	Add winged boots or a template that grants flying. You will need a mean of detecting invisible foes. See invisibility or true seeing would suffice. If this dude is meant to face a whole party alone, he will have a tough time. Hold monster and other high level will-based spells can easily disable this character. His grapple isn't too impressive as well. A specialized grappler can take him down on his own and an evard's black tentacles (a 4th level spell) will make a very bad day for this guy, especially if he was hit by a quickened ray of enfeeblement beforehand.
Funny Slaughter 04-21-04, 12:32 PM	its not really possible to make up a fighter-build that can challenge a whole party, better to give a spellcaster-cohort on top and include common spells into some armor spikes for example. gs Funny
Pathanus 04-21-04, 01:47 PM	What is the total CR of the encounter? (Kivas plus his 3 buddies) Where is the encounter taking place? (Desert, forest, subterrainian, etc.) Have you made the other baddie characters? What is the most powerful PC and what does each character like to do in combat? Answers to these may help with feat suggestions and other stuff. Path
Sudo_Nym 04-22-04, 02:12 AM	I really don't think he'll need flying. This encounter is set to take place in a dungeon, which won't provide enough room to fly. If he needs some capability (flying, see invisibility, etc.), then his mage flunky can probably provide it. I haven't built them yet, however (I've been toying with the idea of switching the Vampire Rogue to something else, but I'm not sure what). If grapple checks really are a problem, I can switch the Ring of Shocking Blows for a Ring of Freedom of Movement. Dispel magic will probably be a necessity, and Draconic Might may be useful, as well. He won't be alone, however. He will have a rogue (may change), cleric, and wizard with him. As for the party, the fighter is a fighter 10/dwarven defender 10 and likes to trip, disarm, and cleave, the cleric is a cleric 15/heirophant 4, who prefers to fight in melee when possible, the wizard is wizard 5/mage of the arcane order 10/archmage 5, who buffs, then Time Stops, then gets unpredictable, and the ranger is a rogue 1/ranger 11/stalker of kharash 7, who likes to snipe with his bow. For my tactics, I plan on having Kivas stick that Ranseur to fleshgrind on the mage, then using Hellfire Blast until he can retrieve the Ranseur. The vampire rogue will use his vampiric gaseous form to hide, then pop out for an energy draining sneak attack when the opportunity to flank arrives, then using Children of the Night. The wizard will buff (hopefully before combat), then focus on counterspelling. If he gets a chance, he'll use spells like Trap the Soul, Imprisonment, Maze, Hold Person/Monster, Forcecage, and so on. The cleric will be summoning as many monsters as he can manage, then hanging back to heal. As far as CR goes, it should be CR 19-20, maybe slightly higher (he is the final BBEG before Epic Levels, after all). The battle itself may take place over the entire dungeon, with the Vampire using gaseous form, and Kivas using his Helm of Teleportation to hit and run, with the cleric and mage taking part only in the final battle (unless I find it necessary to include the mage in some hit and run). I figure every spell they have to use to deal with the Vampire's energy drain is a spell they can't use later. As a note, just in case it's important, the Teleportation spells have been changed in the campaign so that they can only teleport to a place the caster has already been or seen (with his own eyes, not a scry or similar spell).
radu the wanderer 04-22-04, 04:18 AM	some tactical suggestions for Kivas: Round 1: Activate Fire Shield (warm sheild version) Round 2: Get out Potion of Haste, move as far from party as possible. Round 3: Drop a Hellfire Storm in middle of party, drink potion. Round 4: Charge attack party with Betrayal , use fleshgrinding on first person you hit. Round 5: Summon 1d4 Hamatulas to create flankers, interrupt line of effect, etc. Unleash Hellfire and Hellfire Blasts alternately until Betrayal stops. If your party likes to summon up critters, perhaps you'll get some use out of Flare after all, or maybe you could use it on the party Mage....
Pathanus 04-22-04, 12:12 PM	Depending on the save throw of the dwarven defender, you could hit him with a reached Heightened Plane Shift and send him to some random plane, or Negative Energy, Shadow, Water, etc. with some hostile environment. This will take him out of the adventure right quick if he has no way to get back and the other PC's cannot find him via scrying. Otto's Irresistable Dance is an excellent spell, use it on any PC and have the rogue sneak attack for the duration. Power word stun or kill might be good if you know the PC HP totals (or current states). I think it will be a fun encounter, but PC's hate to be outright owned by DM monsters/characters, so don't TPK them unless they bring it upon themselves :behold: . Path
Sudo_Nym 04-22-04, 04:52 PM	Thanks for the strat, radu, that's alot of help- and I can use all the help I can get. I can just imagine the look on the player's face when the mage casts a spell, and he finds himself on the Negative Energy Plane... That's going to be a Kodak Moment. As for TPK's, I don't use them unless they deserve it. If they come in unprepared, that's deserving it. But if the dice don't go their way, I may fudge a little bit- one to two deaths is okay, but all four is pushing it in my book. But that's just me. Otto's Irrestistable Dance is going to be funny, too... One party member down, and another doin' the old soft-shoe... I'm really going to enjoy this, even if my players won't...
radu the wanderer 04-23-04, 04:22 AM	a slight revision on earlier tactics: when you charge with Betrayal , make your first attack against the primary melee character an Improved Disarm attack... you'll probably hit, and probably disarm them... after all, they'd have to beat a DC 50 attack roll (+20 BAB, +9 Str, +1 Weapon Focus, +4 Improved Disarm, +2 weapon property, +4 enhancement bonus for a whopping total of +40... shweet merciful God in Heaven, I may have to "borrow" Kivas myself). Since you have now more than likely Disarmed your opponent, use a follow up attack to set ol' Betrayal a'fleshgrindin' and move in to close... let your minions deal with casters.... magic against magic, steel against steel.... besides, as a former party member, wouldn't Kivas feel so much better prooving "once and for all" that HE's the biggest cheese in town? He'll knows he'll overpower any caster out there, but to best a warrior in combat--- well, it says one thing if you attack an enemy's weak point, another if you decimate them with their strong point. So: Round 1: Warm Fire Shield, pull out potion of Haste Round 2: Drop Hellfire Blast on party, drink potion Round 3: Summon 1d4 Hamatulas for party to "play" with and move in. Round 4: CHARGE!!! (and disarm ;-) ) Round 5: 5' step into melee range, full attack with claws, using Hellfire Grasp and Ring of Shocking Blows (plus 1 more attack @ highest BAB due to Haste) Yon fightery type should not last long. Betrayal will be dishing out a mean 28.5 damage a turn (average --- 2d4 base =5, 1d6 flaming burst = 3.5, +13 Str, +4 enhancement, +2 Weapon Specialization.... and 1 vile), you'll be popping out an average of 19.5 damage PER HIT with yon claws... even if you only hit once that's still 48 damage a turn, on average. Yon fighter will be lucky to survive a few rounds... especially when he's cut off from party support (they're busy fighting Hamatulas, a Vampire Rogue, etc....) Keep in mind Kivas can always use his helm to teleport away if he's doing badly, in which case chug a potion, drop your last Hellfire Storm on any likely targets if you get a chance (no sense in not using it, after all) and give 'em hell. You may want to consider this little nasty combo--- have your arcane caster whip out a Mind Fog spell, which should drop Will saves incredibly. All of a sudden, your Vampire's abilities increase in threat dramatically and (BONUS!) Kivas' "flare" ability can actually affect somebody. Probably not the mage or cleric, but who the hell cares--- a fighter that can't attack you back is a fighter who is not long for this world.
Sudo_Nym 04-23-04, 04:58 PM	Radu, did anyone ever tell you- you're a beautiful person? Evil, too. Just looking at that strategy, I know that fighter doesn't really have a chance- he has hit points to next week, but his A.C. sucks- Betrayal plus claws is just mean. They'll love it... especially since I'm making them earn Epic Levels... And they aren't quite aware yet that Kivas is evil- nobody bothered to cast Detect Evil when Kivas reappeared, which should guarantee Kivas a surprise round, if I want to take it that far. I think it's rather neat- they're heading into Kivas's dungeon, but they aren't aware yet that it is Kivas' dungeon. Two of the players know, but their characters don't, anyway. Considering all the work you've done to help me, I would be more than happy to share Kivas with you, radu. Unless you were joking. In which case, you can't borrow him. So there.