Blackguard's Equipment and Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Blackguard's Equipment and Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Daldolin15
04-12-04, 02:44 PM Hello, recently I started fleshing out the blackguard NPC villan that my PCs are soon going to be meeting face on. I've made his stats, and leveled him up and all but I find myself unable to choose what he should be carrying or what feats a blackguard takes to be really effective. I was hoping some people might have suggestions.

He is a 10 Paladin/10 Blackguard who is the prince of a small somewhat holy nation (his people still think he is a paladin due to his turning only recently to the darkness). He will be fighting 9 (yes nine!) PCs about level 12 with a good amount of magical equipment. Depending on circumstances the number of PCs may be lower but at that point I can just scale him down a little. I need him to be able to both hit hard and take a good amount of damage as this guy was suppose to be the slaughterer of thousands of commoners during a war and will need to give the PCs the impression that he is not really human anymore (this is due to an artifact he made contact with in my plot).

So any suggestions would be helpful.
krichaiushii
04-12-04, 04:22 PM This blackgaurd slaughtered thousands or caused thousands to be slaughtered? The former implies that he did it all, while the latter implies that everyone was killed on his orders, but not necessarily by him. Legends and rumor of course will dispute the truth.

If your BBEG is alone while fighting the PCs, then he will likely die, regardless of level. This is because there will be effectively 9 attacks against him for every one he makes. If he has some lower level allies/lieutenants/henchmen/cohort(s) to go into battle with, he will be much better off.

As to your question regarding feats and gear, I recommend a powerful melee weapon (unholy, human bane) that can be wielded with a shield in the other hand - and the feats to back it up. Improved Initiative is definitely recommended, as well.

Methods of avoiding spells are good - either cloaks of resistance, a ring of spell storing, armor of SR, or a mantle of SR - whatever fits his background.
Daldolin15
04-12-04, 05:04 PM Yeah, I'm used to individual people getting owned by my 9 PCs so he'll be surrounded by a small army of men from his kingdom (no match for 12th level PCs but still gives him time to retreat and heal up). Thanks for the suggestions, does anyone else have any?
Deep Blue 9000
04-12-04, 06:02 PM I'm going to have to disagree with krichaiushii about the PCs numerical advantage. A single 20th level character plus his army could easily TPK 9 12th level PCs and I'm not exactly optimistic about their chances versus just your blackguard. His superior AC could mean he's never hit, he'll no doubt auto-hit very attack, and his saves will be huge.

That being said, I think you should take some of the divine feats to strenghten your blackguard. After all, what else is he going to use his turning attempts for? Divine Might and Divine Shield are my two favorites.

If you're mainly looking for help improving your blackguard numerically, I'd recommend checking out the character optimization boards. They're good at what they do.
Daldolin15
04-12-04, 06:22 PM Well, I'm not exactly looking to optimize him as much as make him able to survive for some period of time long enough for the PCs to discover just how cracked he has become (He talks as the battle progresses). It would really suck for me to say, "Your soilder's lines push into the enemy when suddenly you hear a loud scream and two men are cut in half. As your soilders begin to back off you see a man who stands heads above the others....blah blah...add evil description here...." only to have them kill him in one round. This guy is one of the culminating bosses of the campaign and needs to survive at the least, and hurt them bad at the best. And a group of 9 12th level PCs can kill alot of things you would think are too tought to even hit. Enervation is only ranged a touch attack, as is ray of enfeeblement, and I can't tell you how many melee things have been killed by Evards goddarn Black tenacles.
Deep Blue 9000
04-12-04, 10:14 PM Ah, so they they know their cheap tactics then. Excellent.

Here's some items I suggest he carries:

Lavender and Green Ioun Stone - Enervation and Enfeeblement
Ring of Freedom - Evard's, Solid Fog, etc.
Deathward and Heavy Fortification on his Armor - Sneak Attack/ Drain
Longsword and Defending Spellblade Luck Blade or the Life-Drinker if you're feeling really nasty
Animated Shield with a few energy resistances - I bet the mages deal sonic damage a lot.
Potion of Fly
Ring of Protection and other standard stuff.

With all this equipment , I can guarantee victory. Remove items as you feel necessary to prevent TPK.
krichaiushii
04-12-04, 11:07 PM Make sure he has an escape plan (unless his ego/background/code forbids retreat) and a solid trigger for its use.

You might even slip him an evil intelligent item, the plot point being that the item corrupted him. Primary weapons are always good for this, though a suit of armor or a crown of some sort work just as well. An intelligent belt that grants a strength bonus (among other more defensive magics) could be fun.

The problem with decking this guy out with lots of magical goodies is that the PCs may end up with them all and thereby become overpowered (or not - it really depends on your campaign).

I try to balance such things by using items that are aligned or charged, so the PCs normally opt to destroy them - this is me, though.

To keep your guy around long enough to deliver his spiel, then presumably leave the PCs for his henchmen to take care of (in trademark BBEG fashion), you'll need to keep him out of reach of melee guys - flight normally works well for this, as well as impervious to (most) spells. A Brooch of Shielding will take care of Magic Missiles, while an item that casts a Globe of Invulnerability 1/day can go a long way.

Aside from the divine feats mentioned by Deep Blue 9000, the more defensive feats MIGHT be considered - Dodge, Mobility, etc.

Also, if the PCs have been bothering this guy for awhile, he has likely had them scryed or used gather information to learn something about them - like common tactics, defenses, strengths, and weaknesses. With that information in hand, he may set up encounters to benefit himself while hindering the PCs.

In the end, it somewhat depends on your PCs - what is their race/class breakdown, with significant magic items or tactics they will be using?
ApocolypseNow
04-13-04, 12:33 AM The answer is simple.

1. a special little item in the magic of Faerun called ring of nine lives.

2. a nightmare or other special mount invisible standing by waiting for the master to need it if they dont use true sight all the time.

3. the catch all small child hidden behind his back to hold the heros at bay. that is if they are the hero type and not the mercenary or evil group.

hope the fight goes well. I love evil
Daldolin15
04-13-04, 12:42 AM Yeah, I suppose I could always give him a flying mount too (a Nightmare comes to mind) and give him the riding feats chain. I can just picture him swooping down on a PC with spirited charge causing good damage and then ending his turn 30 feet above them.

For those that wanted to know the party is made up of:
-Clr12
-Fighter11
-Ranger10 (but with LA+2)
-Drd12
-Rog3/Swashbuckler?/Asn? (this character is new and I don't remember the exact stats, it equals 12)
-Wiz5/Shadow Adept7
-Unfettered12
-Pal5/Hunter of Undead6

Many of them carry up to +3 weapons and the wizard is a long time player and knows how to play it well, easily taking strong melees out of battle with his spells. Umm, the only other tactics that come to mind is a lot of flamestrikes from the holy casters (except they now are ice strikes when they realized all the NPCs were buying energy immunity [fire]). The wizard also uses lots of crazy shadow spells that can seriously maim other casters.

Edit: ApocolypseNow beat me to the idea of a nightmare it seems...hehe

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Daldolin15 04-12-04, 02:44 PM	Hello, recently I started fleshing out the blackguard NPC villan that my PCs are soon going to be meeting face on. I've made his stats, and leveled him up and all but I find myself unable to choose what he should be carrying or what feats a blackguard takes to be really effective. I was hoping some people might have suggestions. He is a 10 Paladin/10 Blackguard who is the prince of a small somewhat holy nation (his people still think he is a paladin due to his turning only recently to the darkness). He will be fighting 9 (yes nine!) PCs about level 12 with a good amount of magical equipment. Depending on circumstances the number of PCs may be lower but at that point I can just scale him down a little. I need him to be able to both hit hard and take a good amount of damage as this guy was suppose to be the slaughterer of thousands of commoners during a war and will need to give the PCs the impression that he is not really human anymore (this is due to an artifact he made contact with in my plot). So any suggestions would be helpful.
krichaiushii 04-12-04, 04:22 PM	This blackgaurd slaughtered thousands or caused thousands to be slaughtered? The former implies that he did it all, while the latter implies that everyone was killed on his orders, but not necessarily by him. Legends and rumor of course will dispute the truth. If your BBEG is alone while fighting the PCs, then he will likely die, regardless of level. This is because there will be effectively 9 attacks against him for every one he makes. If he has some lower level allies/lieutenants/henchmen/cohort(s) to go into battle with, he will be much better off. As to your question regarding feats and gear, I recommend a powerful melee weapon (unholy, human bane) that can be wielded with a shield in the other hand - and the feats to back it up. Improved Initiative is definitely recommended, as well. Methods of avoiding spells are good - either cloaks of resistance, a ring of spell storing, armor of SR, or a mantle of SR - whatever fits his background.
Daldolin15 04-12-04, 05:04 PM	Yeah, I'm used to individual people getting owned by my 9 PCs so he'll be surrounded by a small army of men from his kingdom (no match for 12th level PCs but still gives him time to retreat and heal up). Thanks for the suggestions, does anyone else have any?
Deep Blue 9000 04-12-04, 06:02 PM	I'm going to have to disagree with krichaiushii about the PCs numerical advantage. A single 20th level character plus his army could easily TPK 9 12th level PCs and I'm not exactly optimistic about their chances versus just your blackguard. His superior AC could mean he's never hit, he'll no doubt auto-hit very attack, and his saves will be huge. That being said, I think you should take some of the divine feats to strenghten your blackguard. After all, what else is he going to use his turning attempts for? Divine Might and Divine Shield are my two favorites. If you're mainly looking for help improving your blackguard numerically, I'd recommend checking out the character optimization boards. They're good at what they do.
Daldolin15 04-12-04, 06:22 PM	Well, I'm not exactly looking to optimize him as much as make him able to survive for some period of time long enough for the PCs to discover just how cracked he has become (He talks as the battle progresses). It would really suck for me to say, "Your soilder's lines push into the enemy when suddenly you hear a loud scream and two men are cut in half. As your soilders begin to back off you see a man who stands heads above the others....blah blah...add evil description here...." only to have them kill him in one round. This guy is one of the culminating bosses of the campaign and needs to survive at the least, and hurt them bad at the best. And a group of 9 12th level PCs can kill alot of things you would think are too tought to even hit. Enervation is only ranged a touch attack, as is ray of enfeeblement, and I can't tell you how many melee things have been killed by Evards goddarn Black tenacles.
Deep Blue 9000 04-12-04, 10:14 PM	Ah, so they they know their cheap tactics then. Excellent. Here's some items I suggest he carries: Lavender and Green Ioun Stone - Enervation and Enfeeblement Ring of Freedom - Evard's, Solid Fog, etc. Deathward and Heavy Fortification on his Armor - Sneak Attack/ Drain Longsword and Defending Spellblade Luck Blade or the Life-Drinker if you're feeling really nasty Animated Shield with a few energy resistances - I bet the mages deal sonic damage a lot. Potion of Fly Ring of Protection and other standard stuff. With all this equipment , I can guarantee victory. Remove items as you feel necessary to prevent TPK.
krichaiushii 04-12-04, 11:07 PM	Make sure he has an escape plan (unless his ego/background/code forbids retreat) and a solid trigger for its use. You might even slip him an evil intelligent item, the plot point being that the item corrupted him. Primary weapons are always good for this, though a suit of armor or a crown of some sort work just as well. An intelligent belt that grants a strength bonus (among other more defensive magics) could be fun. The problem with decking this guy out with lots of magical goodies is that the PCs may end up with them all and thereby become overpowered (or not - it really depends on your campaign). I try to balance such things by using items that are aligned or charged, so the PCs normally opt to destroy them - this is me, though. To keep your guy around long enough to deliver his spiel, then presumably leave the PCs for his henchmen to take care of (in trademark BBEG fashion), you'll need to keep him out of reach of melee guys - flight normally works well for this, as well as impervious to (most) spells. A Brooch of Shielding will take care of Magic Missiles, while an item that casts a Globe of Invulnerability 1/day can go a long way. Aside from the divine feats mentioned by Deep Blue 9000, the more defensive feats MIGHT be considered - Dodge, Mobility, etc. Also, if the PCs have been bothering this guy for awhile, he has likely had them scryed or used gather information to learn something about them - like common tactics, defenses, strengths, and weaknesses. With that information in hand, he may set up encounters to benefit himself while hindering the PCs. In the end, it somewhat depends on your PCs - what is their race/class breakdown, with significant magic items or tactics they will be using?
ApocolypseNow 04-13-04, 12:33 AM	The answer is simple. 1. a special little item in the magic of Faerun called ring of nine lives. 2. a nightmare or other special mount invisible standing by waiting for the master to need it if they dont use true sight all the time. 3. the catch all small child hidden behind his back to hold the heros at bay. that is if they are the hero type and not the mercenary or evil group. hope the fight goes well. I love evil
Daldolin15 04-13-04, 12:42 AM	Yeah, I suppose I could always give him a flying mount too (a Nightmare comes to mind) and give him the riding feats chain. I can just picture him swooping down on a PC with spirited charge causing good damage and then ending his turn 30 feet above them. For those that wanted to know the party is made up of: -Clr12 -Fighter11 -Ranger10 (but with LA+2) -Drd12 -Rog3/Swashbuckler?/Asn? (this character is new and I don't remember the exact stats, it equals 12) -Wiz5/Shadow Adept7 -Unfettered12 -Pal5/Hunter of Undead6 Many of them carry up to +3 weapons and the wizard is a long time player and knows how to play it well, easily taking strong melees out of battle with his spells. Umm, the only other tactics that come to mind is a lot of flamestrikes from the holy casters (except they now are ice strikes when they realized all the NPCs were buying energy immunity [fire]). The wizard also uses lots of crazy shadow spells that can seriously maim other casters. Edit: ApocolypseNow beat me to the idea of a nightmare it seems...hehe