Post/Author/DateTime	Post
draustinan 01-28-07, 10:31 PM	This is a template I wrote that I believe encompasses many aspects of the classic D&D villain. Please feel free to comment I would like feedback. I originally wrote this as a joke but most people who read it chuckled at how true it could sometimes be. Favored of the DM is a template that protective DMs give to their pet enemies. This can be applied to any creature with an inelegance of at least 4 and any creature you deem cool enough. The creature being given the template is referred to as the base creature from now on. Speed: Same as base creature Armor Class: Same as base creature Special Attacks: Same as base creature Special Qualities: Same as base creature plus the following - Quicken Monologue - My baby! - Mind Screw Shield - Dastardly Cunning Precognition - Contrived Escape - Badass Back-story - Improved Lair - Badass Lackey - Judge of Strength Abilities: Same as base creature Skills: Same as base creature Challenge Rating: varies by DM discretion Alignment: usually evil Level Adjustment: if you consider letting a PC use this template you have thoroughly missed the point. Quicken Monologue (EX): once per day he/she may begin a monologue at any time regardless of the actual time it may take in game. This cannot be interrupted by combat but the players may interject with comments or rants of their own. My Baby! (SU): The dm put work into this character and no one can make short work of him/her no mater what. The favored of the dm cannot be killed in one shot by anything. It does not matter if the red dragon gets critically hit by a polar ray it still can only do up to one half the base creatures hit points in any one shot. Mind Screw Shield (SU): The favored of the dm gains +6 on saves versus any effect that changes his or her behavior. Examples include: Charm Person, Dominate, Fear and Gea’s Quest. Dastardly Cunning Precognition (SU): this only applies if the base creature is a spell caster of some sort and has either a wisdom or intelligence score of at least 16. if the base creature meets those requirements it gains the ability to have a 6th sense to warn him or her that the adventurers are close at hand. This usually means that the favored of the dm will be buffed before the battle. Contrived Escape (EX): In the event that the dm wants a reoccurring villain he/she can escape via spell casting or trapdoors that seal in a way that the players cannot follow. The spell casting or escaping through the doors cannot be prevented by the players unless the dm gets too much flack from them. The favored of the dm can only do this a number of times equal to one half his intelligence bonus (minimum once). Badass Back-Story (EX): Every villain needs to have a back story at least as cool at the villain him or herself. This often involves the explanation of how he or she gained so much power and how he or she got so many cool items. Improved Lair (EX): This is strictly optional but makes the classical villain cooler. If you chose to use this the villain gains an impractically built and stupidly large lair complete with tough guards magical security and lots of traps that in reality would be more likely to kill those that live and work there than troublesome adventurers. Badass Lackey (EX): This functions effectively as feat Leadership with the following exceptions. The lackey gains a +6 circumstance bonus to intimidate checks. If the character is male it gains a +2 bonus to strength and constitution and the diehard feat regardless of weather he qualifies for it or not. If the lackey is female she gains +2 to intelligence and charisma. She also gains an additional caster level in any spell casting class. In addition the male character must be a strong-man archetype and the female character must dress in skimpy clothing and be stupidly hot. The lackey loses these bonuses if he or she ceases to be in service of the villain unless he or she turns against the villain. Judge of Strength (EX): however cool the villain is he or she must have an awful perception of his of her enemies. He or she nearly always underestimates the strength of the adventuring party.
Melayl 01-28-07, 11:20 PM	:clap: I must applaud your incredibly accurate portrayal of nearly all of my BBEG's. Very creative and entertaining. I might have to try to turn that into an honest-to-gosh PrC. As a side note, you may wish to review your rules of grammar. It makes posts much easier to read. No offense intended -- I was just raised to be kinda OCD regarding grammar (not that mine is always correct...)
jagggar 01-29-07, 01:29 PM	Mind Screw Shield (SU): The favored of the dm gains +6 on saves versus any effect that changes his or her behavior. Examples include: Charm Person, Dominate, Fear and Gea’s Quest. Should also grant immunity to Diplomacy checks, immunity or a bonus against Intimidate, and a bonus against Bluff. Dastardly Cunning Precognition (SU): this only applies if the base creature is a spell caster of some sort and has either a wisdom or intelligence score of at least 16. if the base creature meets those requirements it gains the ability to have a 6th sense to warn him or her that the adventurers are close at hand. This usually means that the favored of the dm will be buffed before the battle. You might want to specify how long they have to buff. (I'd say 1 minute or 5 minutes.) And if you're using the Favored of the Evil DM, the buffs do not count against the caster's spells pers day. Badass Lackey (EX): This functions effectively as feat Leadership with the following exceptions. The lackey gains a +6 circumstance bonus to intimidate checks. If the character is male it gains a +2 bonus to strength and constitution and the diehard feat regardless of weather he qualifies for it or not. If the lackey is female she gains +2 to intelligence and charisma. She also gains an additional caster level in any spell casting class. In addition the male character must be a strong-man archetype and the female character must dress in skimpy clothing and be stupidly hot. The lackey loses these bonuses if he or she ceases to be in service of the villain unless he or she turns against the villain. Alternatively, the female lacky should look something akin to a corpse (or maybe even be one) but have a constant illusion to make her look stupidly hot which is only dispelled after she is defeated (True seeing and similar magic reveals her true nature. And perhaps also her reflection in mirrors or something similar.) The Favored of the DM should immediately know if their Badass Lacky has been defeated, but not if the Badass Lacky joins the heros. Perhaps allow the Dastardly Cunning Precognition to be used by the Favored if the Badass Lacky meets the requirements and they are within 60ft of eachother and have a line of effect between them.
Kinghappo 01-30-07, 04:09 AM	:eek: ......... :D Very well done. but there should be a extra stipulation for the bad arse female type my bbeg has a drow monk as his cohort so i'm guessing she falls under the guy's effects more than the female's lol (bad arse looks...check... kick arseness..... level's in reaping mauler covers that... yup i think i can work with this template lol)
angryman 01-30-07, 10:12 AM	I remember in a level 5 game, a pet NPC cast Hold Person 3 times OUT of initiative order when my character declared a charge at her during a long-winded speech.
aotrscommander 01-30-07, 10:55 AM	draustinan, I award you an Awesome point for sheer brilliance.
Crashy75 01-30-07, 05:44 PM	Very good!!!! I'm ashamed to admit I gave this template to many a villain in my first year of DMing... (and d20 didn't even exist then!!!!!!) A comment or 2... ... My Baby! (SU): The dm put work into this character and no one can make short work of him/her no mater what. The favored of the dm cannot be killed in one shot by anything. It does not matter if the red dragon gets critically hit by a polar ray it still can only do up to one half the base creatures hit points in any one shot. This one is an Ex ability. No silly anti-magic is going to suppress this one!!! Contrived Escape (EX): In the event that the dm wants a reoccurring villain he/she can escape via spell casting or trapdoors that seal in a way that the players cannot follow. The spell casting or escaping through the doors cannot be prevented by the players unless the dm gets too much flack from them. The favored of the dm can only do this a number of times equal to one half his intelligence bonus (minimum once). I don't believe this should have anything to do with intelligence. :D .... Badass Lackey (EX): This functions effectively as feat Leadership with the following exceptions. The lackey gains a +6 circumstance bonus to intimidate checks. If the character is male it gains a +2 bonus to strength and constitution and the diehard feat regardless of weather he qualifies for it or not. If the lackey is female she gains +2 to intelligence and charisma. She also gains an additional caster level in any spell casting class. In addition the male character must be a strong-man archetype and the female character must dress in skimpy clothing and be stupidly hot. The lackey loses these bonuses if he or she ceases to be in service of the villain unless he or she turns against the villain. Geeze, sometimes this WAS my FotDM!!!! Judge of Strength (EX): however cool the villain is he or she must have an awful perception of his of her enemies. He or she nearly always underestimates the strength of the adventuring party. I'm not sure about this one. Mine always used overkill. *thinks back to when the FotDM used a rocket launcher to finish off that last remaining mutant dog pc* (TMND not DnD) They either got away or single-handedly TPK'd.
xandros2000 01-30-07, 06:17 PM	You missed one special ability. The favored of the DM if a spellcaster may replace any memorized spell with any other spell at any time.
Rivelstraz 01-30-07, 06:50 PM	You missed one special ability. The favored of the DM if a spellcaster may replace any memorized spell with any other spell at any time. I think it was Andy Collins who justified this in Unearthed Arcane. If the BBEG is so clever, he would not prepare the wrong spells, so switching spells on the fly is probably ok. I mean, he is the super cool villain.
Melpomene 01-30-07, 09:12 PM	Mind Screw Sheild also needs to grant turn resistance.
TyWebb 01-31-07, 01:56 AM	Originally Posted by draustinan ... My Baby! (SU): The dm put work into this character and no one can make short work of him/her no mater what. The favored of the dm cannot be killed in one shot by anything. It does not matter if the red dragon gets critically hit by a polar ray it still can only do up to one half the base creatures hit points in any one shot Nice! As a corollary, I'd add that a Favored of the DM has the ability to summon healing potions and scrolls, at will, as needed, from a special extradimensional space, much like the way a paladin summons their warhorse. Of course, if they took the "Fluid Hit Point Total" feat, they might not need to heal as often...
xandros2000 02-01-07, 07:36 PM	I think it was Andy Collins who justified this in Unearthed Arcane. If the BBEG is so clever, he would not prepare the wrong spells, so switching spells on the fly is probably ok. I mean, he is the super cool villain. Although I posted that as a joke. I have actually done that as a DM a couple of times.
angryman 02-02-07, 07:04 PM	The DM favoured BBEG will also have an optimal (ie, as many as possible) amount of immunities, usually ending up as a Half-Fiendish vampire or something. This vampire will be immune to anything that usually harms undead and will have a huge fort save. He will always escape, and his gaseous form will be invulnerable to everything. I had a BBEG like that once, but they finally killed him. :(
Rivelstraz 02-03-07, 10:50 AM	Although I posted that as a joke. I have actually done that as a DM a couple of times. Oh, I was not attacking it, just adding that personal note that well, that's something most DMs do, so it's quite fitting in the DM template :)
JasonOrlandoHawk 02-03-07, 11:20 AM	Don't forget this one: Dramatic Entrance (Ex): The Favored of the DM BBEG has the extraordinary ability to make impressive entrances, at all times, for any reason. The BBEG can not be spotted at any distance greater than 60ft, and as long as they are not attempting to use the Sneak Attack ability, the BBEG gains a +10 bonus on Hide checks "to appear at the right moment." A BBEG that successfully remains unseen until "the right moment" is entitled to a free intimidate check versus all creatures within eyesight. Opponents who fail to resist suffer a penalty to initiative, attack, and damage rolls equal the BBEG's Charisma modifier or "Coolness Rating," whichever is greater, for 10 rounds (1 minute). Allies who fail to resist must grovel, beg, or in some other manner make themselves look like a fool in front of their master. The BBEG may immediately kill any one groveling ally in a dramatic fashion (appropriate to the character). No save is allowed. BBEG's frequently use this power to catch their allies plotting against them, or to appear in the middle of the PC's camp, despite the incredible layer of protective wards established. This power may be used 1/day.