Post/Author/DateTime	Post
hovnarr 09-08-07, 09:15 AM	I'm doing a level 1-21 campaign for my players, and I thought now would be a good time to flesh out the ultimate BBEG and final boss that they will face in the last chapter when they have just hit epic! I'd like help with fleshing out this BBEG both game mechanically and story-wise. Here's what I've got to work with: For reasons I won't go into to, an Avatar of Fharlanghn turned too extreme to continue to be encompassed within this deity's power, and grew into a deific entity in its own right. This quasi-power is obsessed with neutrality and takes an extreme approach to annihilating the extreme! The "master plan" of this quasi-power is to erase all boundaries between worlds and planes so that all beings may travel freely, at will, using special gates that the quasi-deity is creating. Angels will visit the demons and vice versa, kobolds will visit the gnomes, elfs the orcs and so on and so forth. Those who can't learn to get along will kill each other and in this manner, extreme ideals will be no more. This is the quasi-power's idea of Utopia, but it is oblivious to the carnage and suffering that this plan would bring about. OK, that's the gist of it. So in making this quasi-power, this should be considered: *Appropriate challenge for party of 4-6 epic characters of level 21 *The old ties to Fharlanghn should be represented somehow *Must be able to use the Gate spell *Alignment is probably Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Evil (haven't decided) Right now I'm thinking something like *20 HD outsider casting spells as a 20th level cleric with Travel and probably Chaos domains *Divine rank 0 and the DR 10/epic, SR 32, immunities, full hp etc. that this brings about. Maybe this isn't sufficiently challenging for 21 level characters? Possibilities include going to divine rank 1 or increasing the base creature to epic levels. Gimme your thoughts!
deathbane 09-08-07, 09:44 AM	Giving divine ranks is to much. I would wait until the players are a session are two away before actually creating him so he can be customized for the fight, and his level should depend on the party capabilities at that time.
hovnarr 09-08-07, 05:01 PM	Well, I know for a fact that the party will be exactly level 21 when they face him, due to the level-up system I use. So far, the party seems pretty balanced in functions etc. It's also highly likely that they manage to convert yet another semi-BBEG in the chapter before and have him help them with the fight. He is a level 21 psion and a balancing force to be reckoned with against the quasi-power. The only real benefit divine rank 0 grants is SR 32 and DR 10 - hardly unbalancing considering what else is available at epic levels. What makes it a tough fight is slapping such general defenses on a cleric 20 base creature, since clerics have pretty good defenses themselves.
Ornum 09-08-07, 06:20 PM	First of all, I'm not much for statting gods. Avatars yes, but not gods. That being said, I wouldn't wait until you see what the characters have to offer when they get close to the level where they are going to take on the god. I mean, doing that just stinks of trying to kill the party. I never tailor enemies to take advantage of PC's weaknesses, but I will have the pre-created villain take advantage of weaknesses he sees while fighting said PC's. Besides, I highly doubt the god in question based his entire existance on defeating a party he had no idea would be coming for him.
hovnarr 09-08-07, 06:42 PM	Well, as a "fallen avatar" of Fharlanghn, this quasi-power is really less than an avatar. I agree with the rest of your reasoning. I still haven't decided on DvR 0 or 1. The immunities that come with DvR 1 are nice for a final boss, but if that also entails divine array and slapping 20 outsider HD on a level 30 shell - of course that's completely out of proportion. Maybe I'll stick with DvR 0 and try to make him a bit more resilient using various items and feats instead.
Orchomenos 09-10-07, 01:20 PM	Do you have access to Monster Manual IV? There is a monster called the Concordant Killer, a TN monster specialized in defeating foes of any alignments. Just look at the picture, they look like a demon with celestial wings... http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mm4_gallery/98674.jpg Off the top of my head, I think they're CR 18 or the like. If you add spellcasting as a cleric and a few other goodies, it might easily reach CR 21+. About alignment, I would stick with TN. Travel domain is a given; another domain might be Balance, Celerity, Liberation, or perhaps Portal (?). Trickery is cool, but adding class-skills is useless for an outsider, and all the additional spells could be spell-like abilities. That sounds like a really cool campaign. I guess to fight this BBNG (Big Bad Neutral Guy), the PCs will have to gather the help from solar archons, balors and pit fiend together? Or less drastically: orcs, elves, dwarves and kobolds...
Ornum 09-10-07, 01:45 PM	Also of note, I believe that the Concordant Killers actually "know" when one of their kind has been killed, and they actively seek out the person responsible (if I'm remembering it correctly). That could get nasty, unless you just choose to ignore that part.
Lobsopdoy 09-10-07, 05:59 PM	Also of note, I believe that the Concordant Killers actually "know" when one of their kind has been killed, and they actively seek out the person responsible (if I'm remembering it correctly). That could get nasty, unless you just choose to ignore that part. I'd go with that, but just adapt it so that it looks different. Basically make your own entity with the Concordant Killers' stats.
hovnarr 09-10-07, 06:51 PM	Ooooh! Nice! Shiny! I want one of those. Thanks Orcho! I had trouble deciding what the BBNG would look like, so I guess one picture says more than 1000 words. I don't have MM-IV, but that's definetely the appearance and style I will go for. As Lopsopdoy hints at, it's a unique creature anyway, so I can pretty much do what I want.