The Perfect Overlord - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

The Perfect Overlord

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Feb 09, 2004 14:21:22 The Perfect Overlord

How often have you created a well-nigh invincible NPC who rules over thousands of people, only to have him defeated in under three rounds? Well, now they can survive, thanks to my help! Most of these apply to high-level NPCs with large amounts of cash. Also, many apply to good overlords as well (e.g. Avecplasir, Dwarven king of Moradina has 1000 Whip tokens).

1. Give him backup
A fighter that can’t have spells cast on him by his allies is a weak fighter. A blackguard without Inspire Courage being cast by a third-level bard behind him is a weak blackguard. And an overlord without an escape route, a fortress, and large numbers of cronies ready to delay the PCs is a dead overlord. Basically, an enemy without backup is going to die.

2. Give him cheap, all-purpose magic items (and save money too)
Let’s face it, if they’re really THAT powerful they should be able to afford spellcasters, low-level bards with Inspire Courage, magic wands, wondrous items, and that sort of thing for their fortress. Don’t up his sword from +4 flaming burst to +5 flaming burst – hire a bard with Inspire Courage and save 25,950 gold! Then spend it on a Ring of Invisibility or Ring of Evasion.

Make sure he has cheap wondrous items – be really mean and give him and his cronies 25 Quaal’s Feather Token: Whips each. Make sure they all have the same command word. Give him Sovereign Glue as a grenade-like weapon (or do what I did, and use it as part of a trap). Bags of Tricks are nice for cronies, and ALWAYS give him rings of protection, amulets of natural armor, and bracers of armor. If you only have one ring on and don’t have a deflection modifier, just spend 1000 for a RoP +1. Voilà! Cloaks of Resistance, Pipes of the Sewers, Necklaces of Fireballs – just look in the beginning of the Wondrous Items section of the SRD or DMG and you’ll be astounded. Don’t forget, many of them can be easily used (like the Bag of Tricks) by even level 1 cronies. Give them stuff too.

3. Give him immunities, and remember your foe
For example, a magic item that gives him Improved Evasion or Fire Resistance 20 (against a Fireball party) is always good, whereas one that lets him fly will be less so. Yep.

4. Protect his backup
If he has 50 1st level commoners with a Gray Bag of Tricks and Wand of Summon Monster I each, make sure they all have an Invulnerable Coat of Arnd! Just kidding, but give them armor, evasion, and so on. At high levels, they basically die the instant they get hit with a spell, so make them Drow (with SR).

5. Make SURE he can escape
Make it so he gets Teleported to his other base when at 5 hit points! And so on.

[b]6. When they assault his fortress, put archers on the walls. Take advantage of cover and all that jazz.

7. Don’t forget the healers
Put a bunch of reasonably high-level clerics behind him. If you’re epic, remember Mass Heal.

8. Download the “Evil Overlord” document!
You can find it at http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html. It really is useful.

And finally, 9. Remember, YOU'RE the DM.
It is possible, though not necessarily recommended, to do whatever YOU want.

I hope this has helped you design a good overlord. If you have suggestions, please respond.
#2
Edymnion
Feb 10, 2004 14:17:08 Well, for starters, it isn't about making an impossible to beat adversary, its about the roleplaying. Why would anyone but the Queen of the Drow have a couple dozen Drow bodyguards? Are you in the Underdark? Then why are there Drow above ground?

Protection from Fire gear when the party likes to use fire? How does he know this? Is the party so famous that when people hear their names, they immediately think of fire? Has this overlord known that they were coming and prepared his defenses exclusively for them?

Teleported when he hits 5 hp? How do you do that? Hitpoints are abstract, so how do you set up that kind of Teleport? If he isn't a wizard or a sorcerer of some level, he can't cast it himself. How are other people going to tell when he's at 5 hp? And if you have someone sitting around just to teleport him away, shouldn't they be... you know... fighting? And again, a line of healers? If you've got a line of divine spellcasters behind him, shouldn't they be casting Miasma or something on the party instead of sitting around filing their nails waiting to cast a healing spell?

While there is such a thing as being well prepared, there is always the danger of metagaming just to beat the PCs, and that’s not a good thing.
#3
zombiegleemax
Feb 10, 2004 15:19:49 The Perfect Overload by your definition can still be defeated in 3 rounds or less.

I choose to reply to this article because this is something I have seen a lot on the boards; most notably in the DM forums. Someone will be tired of the main opponents of the PCs being devastated in quick order, ask about it, then receive feedback to the likes of more magic items, bigger AC, more HPs and, generally just more deadly.

The problem is mostly that standing toe to toe, opponents of the PCs are meant to be a challenge but not to win; thus, they can and usually are defeated quickly. In a direct confrontation, the bad guys should lose and fast. Following tactical masters such as Sun-Tzu, it should be noted that most combats will be decided by indirect means. Thus, tactics alone are enough to beef up any opponent of the PCs. The problem that I see is every response to the problem, including this article, is saying to throw bigger guns and more money at the problem instead of addressing it from the root.

It is really hard to help with formatting tactics that involve indirect attacks, as it really needs to be worked at on a party by party basis. However, what is meant by indirect attack by the masters should be pointed out. Indirect attacks doesn't mean attacking from behind a hill (that's indirect fire), nor does it mean waiting in hiding to attack an enemy from the sides or behind (that's flanking). Indirect attack means doing the unexpected to catch someone off guard. The easiest way to do this is to attack the weakest portion of the party.

If your having problems with tanks (high ac/hp/attack bonus fighters), don't let the tank close with the BBEG. Even without hiring minions with guisarmes, the BBEG can still move around the field of combat. This goes for spell attacks too. A stationary BBEG is really a motionless target dummy for the party. Big open areas are really just an easy way of making him the target of spells and for archers. Also, the BBEG isn't a stupid individual, they weren't magically given their status as BBEG, they earned it. When caught in a situation where the party has any advantage, they'll more than likely leave to fight another day. It should take cunning on the part of the party to trap the BBEG in a situation where he cannot run. Even then, while the actually dice rolling might take only a couple of rounds time, the planning was a big portion of the battle itself.

Remember also, bolstering the BBEG and his minion with magic items is really just giving those items to the PCs. Consider first using magic items that the players would consider worthless before equipping any opponent with a magic item. If you need a bigger magic item, make sure it isn't something that will benefit the party in the long run when they get it, thus making it harder to create the next challenging BBEG.

Another thing to consider is that allowing the players to arrive at the BBEG fully rested/restored/prepared will shorten the final battle as well. Especially consider this if they've been infiltrating his lair and they are close to the 'final' room where he is located. Stopping to rest in the barracks they just cleared or the storeroom or any room isn't logical. If this is the lair of the BBEG, it stands to reason the BBEG is organized enough to have proper guards and sentries. It shouldn't take the BBEG more than a day to learn that a room of guards has been cleared out. This means that either the BBEG can organize search parties to prevent the party from resting/restoring or decide the infiltrators are too powerful and retreat. Either way, they should have to fight their way just to reach the BBEG so that they aren't full of HP/spells when they arrive to fight him.

Still, these do not account for good tactics on behalf of the party and BBEG's can and should still fall within a couple of rounds with good tactics; its just that the party should be forced into using good tactics instead of being allowed to achieve their most desirable condition for fighting the BBEG, which is direct confrontation. I too often see people saying to spend more money to make the BBEG more powerful or adding levels to make monsters tougher. Instead, consider using sound tactics against the party and, in turn, forcing them to think about tactics as well. Sure, the dice rolling might only be a few rounds, but executing a well laid plan in a few rounds of combat is more rewarding to the players as well then running into the BBEG and defeating him easily because he didn't use tactics.
#4
zombiegleemax
Feb 17, 2004 18:33:31 The perfect overlord? The one you never catch, of course.

Preferably a bard and let everyone else do the dying while he encourages from the sidelines- and then he legs it.

Far better than one stupid enough to be caught.
#5
zombiegleemax
Mar 06, 2004 17:52:57 Something to consider:

If you have a high level ruler that the PCs can kill in but a mater of minutes, you must wonder why this hasn't happened before. Some possible reasons might include:

1. The leader was/is benevolent and his people were totally loyal, never allowing his death.

2. The leader was/is exceptionally powerful and hasn't met his match in his whole lifetime.

3. The leader had/has survival options, like escape routes, doubles to take his place, or perhaps a faithful mage prepared to resurrect him should he need it.

Without a reason for why he is alive, he must be dead. Therefore such a reason must be included, however, with the reason comes a new implication. For example:

1. If he has thousands of fanatic followers under his heel, how will the PCs ever reach him? What kind of resistance might they expect? Why would they be fighting such a person in the first place?

2. If he's that powerful, then he should probably be able to beat a CR at least 2 levels above his own, at the very least killing one of the PCs. Also a man this powerful would probably have a lot of magical items, superior weapons, and a lot of practice against such foes.

3. If he can escape, he won't bother to stay and die, he'll flee and return another day, more powerful than ever before. If he can resurrect he won't fear death and will probably go kamikaze, perhaps collapsing the building, or setting off poison gas everywhere and killing everyone, he and the PCs included.

So think about your BBEG, wonder why and how he hasn't died yet, and what that means for the PCs when they face him.
#6
zombiegleemax
Mar 29, 2004 22:25:15 Norseman, those are some of the best thoughts I've ever heard on these boards.

To the topic, the way to perfect your overlord is not to beef him up, it is to make him more of an overlord. The PCs should have a heck of a time finding him. He should be able to cover his tracks very well. He should hire people to hire people to hire sub-contractors to do his dirty work for him. If he is an overlord he should have contingencies, the spell and mundane, ready at all times.

Overlords are by definition smarter than most. If not, then they would not be overlords. Just pushy people. Play them smart and they will last as long as they want to.
#7
al2902
Mar 31, 2004 13:08:00 The problem with the ability to teleport out is this- it enables PC to teleport *in*. Dimensional Lock all major important rooms to prevent those nasty buff-teleport-destroy combinations that can make headaches for evil Overlords. Having thousands of archers surrounding your fortress's triple wall is no good if your enemies can simply teleport back them all!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Feb 09, 2004 14:21:22	The Perfect Overlord How often have you created a well-nigh invincible NPC who rules over thousands of people, only to have him defeated in under three rounds? Well, now they can survive, thanks to my help! Most of these apply to high-level NPCs with large amounts of cash. Also, many apply to good overlords as well (e.g. Avecplasir, Dwarven king of Moradina has 1000 Whip tokens). 1. Give him backup A fighter that can’t have spells cast on him by his allies is a weak fighter. A blackguard without Inspire Courage being cast by a third-level bard behind him is a weak blackguard. And an overlord without an escape route, a fortress, and large numbers of cronies ready to delay the PCs is a dead overlord. Basically, an enemy without backup is going to die. 2. Give him cheap, all-purpose magic items (and save money too) Let’s face it, if they’re really THAT powerful they should be able to afford spellcasters, low-level bards with Inspire Courage, magic wands, wondrous items, and that sort of thing for their fortress. Don’t up his sword from +4 flaming burst to +5 flaming burst – hire a bard with Inspire Courage and save 25,950 gold! Then spend it on a Ring of Invisibility or Ring of Evasion. Make sure he has cheap wondrous items – be really mean and give him and his cronies 25 Quaal’s Feather Token: Whips each. Make sure they all have the same command word. Give him Sovereign Glue as a grenade-like weapon (or do what I did, and use it as part of a trap). Bags of Tricks are nice for cronies, and ALWAYS give him rings of protection, amulets of natural armor, and bracers of armor. If you only have one ring on and don’t have a deflection modifier, just spend 1000 for a RoP +1. Voilà! Cloaks of Resistance, Pipes of the Sewers, Necklaces of Fireballs – just look in the beginning of the Wondrous Items section of the SRD or DMG and you’ll be astounded. Don’t forget, many of them can be easily used (like the Bag of Tricks) by even level 1 cronies. Give them stuff too. 3. Give him immunities, and remember your foe For example, a magic item that gives him Improved Evasion or Fire Resistance 20 (against a Fireball party) is always good, whereas one that lets him fly will be less so. Yep. 4. Protect his backup If he has 50 1st level commoners with a Gray Bag of Tricks and Wand of Summon Monster I each, make sure they all have an Invulnerable Coat of Arnd! Just kidding, but give them armor, evasion, and so on. At high levels, they basically die the instant they get hit with a spell, so make them Drow (with SR). 5. Make SURE he can escape Make it so he gets Teleported to his other base when at 5 hit points! And so on. [b]6. When they assault his fortress, put archers on the walls. Take advantage of cover and all that jazz. 7. Don’t forget the healers Put a bunch of reasonably high-level clerics behind him. If you’re epic, remember Mass Heal. 8. Download the “Evil Overlord” document! You can find it at http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html. It really is useful. And finally, 9. Remember, YOU'RE the DM. It is possible, though not necessarily recommended, to do whatever YOU want. I hope this has helped you design a good overlord. If you have suggestions, please respond.
#2 Edymnion Feb 10, 2004 14:17:08	Well, for starters, it isn't about making an impossible to beat adversary, its about the roleplaying. Why would anyone but the Queen of the Drow have a couple dozen Drow bodyguards? Are you in the Underdark? Then why are there Drow above ground? Protection from Fire gear when the party likes to use fire? How does he know this? Is the party so famous that when people hear their names, they immediately think of fire? Has this overlord known that they were coming and prepared his defenses exclusively for them? Teleported when he hits 5 hp? How do you do that? Hitpoints are abstract, so how do you set up that kind of Teleport? If he isn't a wizard or a sorcerer of some level, he can't cast it himself. How are other people going to tell when he's at 5 hp? And if you have someone sitting around just to teleport him away, shouldn't they be... you know... fighting? And again, a line of healers? If you've got a line of divine spellcasters behind him, shouldn't they be casting Miasma or something on the party instead of sitting around filing their nails waiting to cast a healing spell? While there is such a thing as being well prepared, there is always the danger of metagaming just to beat the PCs, and that’s not a good thing.
#3 zombiegleemax Feb 10, 2004 15:19:49	The Perfect Overload by your definition can still be defeated in 3 rounds or less. I choose to reply to this article because this is something I have seen a lot on the boards; most notably in the DM forums. Someone will be tired of the main opponents of the PCs being devastated in quick order, ask about it, then receive feedback to the likes of more magic items, bigger AC, more HPs and, generally just more deadly. The problem is mostly that standing toe to toe, opponents of the PCs are meant to be a challenge but not to win; thus, they can and usually are defeated quickly. In a direct confrontation, the bad guys should lose and fast. Following tactical masters such as Sun-Tzu, it should be noted that most combats will be decided by indirect means. Thus, tactics alone are enough to beef up any opponent of the PCs. The problem that I see is every response to the problem, including this article, is saying to throw bigger guns and more money at the problem instead of addressing it from the root. It is really hard to help with formatting tactics that involve indirect attacks, as it really needs to be worked at on a party by party basis. However, what is meant by indirect attack by the masters should be pointed out. Indirect attacks doesn't mean attacking from behind a hill (that's indirect fire), nor does it mean waiting in hiding to attack an enemy from the sides or behind (that's flanking). Indirect attack means doing the unexpected to catch someone off guard. The easiest way to do this is to attack the weakest portion of the party. If your having problems with tanks (high ac/hp/attack bonus fighters), don't let the tank close with the BBEG. Even without hiring minions with guisarmes, the BBEG can still move around the field of combat. This goes for spell attacks too. A stationary BBEG is really a motionless target dummy for the party. Big open areas are really just an easy way of making him the target of spells and for archers. Also, the BBEG isn't a stupid individual, they weren't magically given their status as BBEG, they earned it. When caught in a situation where the party has any advantage, they'll more than likely leave to fight another day. It should take cunning on the part of the party to trap the BBEG in a situation where he cannot run. Even then, while the actually dice rolling might take only a couple of rounds time, the planning was a big portion of the battle itself. Remember also, bolstering the BBEG and his minion with magic items is really just giving those items to the PCs. Consider first using magic items that the players would consider worthless before equipping any opponent with a magic item. If you need a bigger magic item, make sure it isn't something that will benefit the party in the long run when they get it, thus making it harder to create the next challenging BBEG. Another thing to consider is that allowing the players to arrive at the BBEG fully rested/restored/prepared will shorten the final battle as well. Especially consider this if they've been infiltrating his lair and they are close to the 'final' room where he is located. Stopping to rest in the barracks they just cleared or the storeroom or any room isn't logical. If this is the lair of the BBEG, it stands to reason the BBEG is organized enough to have proper guards and sentries. It shouldn't take the BBEG more than a day to learn that a room of guards has been cleared out. This means that either the BBEG can organize search parties to prevent the party from resting/restoring or decide the infiltrators are too powerful and retreat. Either way, they should have to fight their way just to reach the BBEG so that they aren't full of HP/spells when they arrive to fight him. Still, these do not account for good tactics on behalf of the party and BBEG's can and should still fall within a couple of rounds with good tactics; its just that the party should be forced into using good tactics instead of being allowed to achieve their most desirable condition for fighting the BBEG, which is direct confrontation. I too often see people saying to spend more money to make the BBEG more powerful or adding levels to make monsters tougher. Instead, consider using sound tactics against the party and, in turn, forcing them to think about tactics as well. Sure, the dice rolling might only be a few rounds, but executing a well laid plan in a few rounds of combat is more rewarding to the players as well then running into the BBEG and defeating him easily because he didn't use tactics.
#4 zombiegleemax Feb 17, 2004 18:33:31	The perfect overlord? The one you never catch, of course. Preferably a bard and let everyone else do the dying while he encourages from the sidelines- and then he legs it. Far better than one stupid enough to be caught.
#5 zombiegleemax Mar 06, 2004 17:52:57	Something to consider: If you have a high level ruler that the PCs can kill in but a mater of minutes, you must wonder why this hasn't happened before. Some possible reasons might include: 1. The leader was/is benevolent and his people were totally loyal, never allowing his death. 2. The leader was/is exceptionally powerful and hasn't met his match in his whole lifetime. 3. The leader had/has survival options, like escape routes, doubles to take his place, or perhaps a faithful mage prepared to resurrect him should he need it. Without a reason for why he is alive, he must be dead. Therefore such a reason must be included, however, with the reason comes a new implication. For example: 1. If he has thousands of fanatic followers under his heel, how will the PCs ever reach him? What kind of resistance might they expect? Why would they be fighting such a person in the first place? 2. If he's that powerful, then he should probably be able to beat a CR at least 2 levels above his own, at the very least killing one of the PCs. Also a man this powerful would probably have a lot of magical items, superior weapons, and a lot of practice against such foes. 3. If he can escape, he won't bother to stay and die, he'll flee and return another day, more powerful than ever before. If he can resurrect he won't fear death and will probably go kamikaze, perhaps collapsing the building, or setting off poison gas everywhere and killing everyone, he and the PCs included. So think about your BBEG, wonder why and how he hasn't died yet, and what that means for the PCs when they face him.
#6 zombiegleemax Mar 29, 2004 22:25:15	Norseman, those are some of the best thoughts I've ever heard on these boards. To the topic, the way to perfect your overlord is not to beef him up, it is to make him more of an overlord. The PCs should have a heck of a time finding him. He should be able to cover his tracks very well. He should hire people to hire people to hire sub-contractors to do his dirty work for him. If he is an overlord he should have contingencies, the spell and mundane, ready at all times. Overlords are by definition smarter than most. If not, then they would not be overlords. Just pushy people. Play them smart and they will last as long as they want to.
#7 al2902 Mar 31, 2004 13:08:00	The problem with the ability to teleport out is this- it enables PC to teleport in. Dimensional Lock all major important rooms to prevent those nasty buff-teleport-destroy combinations that can make headaches for evil Overlords. Having thousands of archers surrounding your fortress's triple wall is no good if your enemies can simply teleport back them all!