Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sorcerer-random_dup Apr 06, 2009 21:35:09	I'm trying to make a level 20-22 cleric (pretty much the big final BBEG for my campaign before we start a new one). I was going to set him just slightly above my players to make sure he had enough of an edge to survive for a long time and to be memorable enough. I was going to make him a really old illithid (but then again, it might not fit, since he was good aligned before being sealed away), but if you have any other matching races to go with the fluff (and work better mechanically), that's fine too. A bit of background should help. It's long, and might be slightly complicated for some, so don't read it if you don't want to, but I think it will help (maybe). background He's meant to be an ancient being from deep in the earth. He met with a large amount of Arcane Elves as they were fleeing from a being they called the "destroyer". He eventually, with the help of the elves, managed to capture the "Destroyer"'s essence into a small orb, and destroyed it's empty shell of a body. The elves, in return, swore to help him with his revenge on the world, since he was betrayed long ago when he was sealed up in the earth. Of course, none of the people that betrayed him are still alive, but he doesn't care. The orb (a major evil artifact)is used to trap many of the worlds major prominent figures into it. His big plan is to use the orb to gain enough power to topple the deities. The flying city is used for him to travel about and create effective rifts in the world (unseen to any normal eyes) and the main reason it's taken so long is the preparation (how long would it take to build a flying city?)
#2 sofawall Apr 06, 2009 21:51:08	Do you need stats for a flying city? Because I have a freakin' sweet flying fortress for anyone who doesn't breathe, eat or crap. Only minor changes nessecary to make it habitable for non-warforged. Oh yeah, as for the fortress, it has interceptors, forcefields, turbolasers etc. I asked my friends "What does a giant flying fortress need?", they told me, and the only I need is a Yamato Gun from Starcraft. I don't know how to make one of those...
#3 sorcerer-random_dup Apr 06, 2009 21:56:49	I was thinking more of the cleric, since he's going to be a major part of the story, but a few tips on the city could be helpful I suppose. Thanks for replying!
#4 sofawall Apr 06, 2009 22:04:37	Yeah, I replied about the city because I've made a few various fortresses for my PCs and NPCs, and have yet to play a cleric.
#5 dr_rocktopus Apr 06, 2009 22:13:13	The cleric... I can help you with this. What, precisely, do you want him to do? Hit you in the face or sidle up sideways and greet you kindly like as the world burns? Tell me more, not just a story but his motivations. I feel like doing something strange and wonderful, so let's see if we can come up with a completely new optimized cleric build. Tall order, I know, but give me some attack guide-lines. Information on allegiances, and things like that. How hard do you want him to be to kill? Are you using LA for him?
#6 sorcerer-random_dup Apr 06, 2009 22:30:21	I pictured him kind of mixing it up between destroying them with his divine powers and bashing them in the face with some horrid sounding weapon. I also pictured him using the orb to bring about some really big effect at the beggining of the fight, and just leaving it at his throne while he fights (though I haven't decided what the effect will be yet). He planned to gain power by siphoning power from every existing being in the multiverse (not informing his followers that this included them). He was then going to destroy the deities as he saw fit and set up his own little utopia, creating his own races and everything. Before all of his though, he was actually good aligned, helping paladins take down hordes of fiends, so on so forth. Then, when he displayed how powerful he was by helping destroy some tremendously big evil (whose plan was actually somewhat, if not quite as well planned out, similar to his own), he was betrayed and sealed in the earth, eventually losing his mind. Other than that, I don't think there's much insight I can provide. I've never actually run a cleric past level 3 (it was a sort of odd game actually). Unless there's something you would like to ask (that I could have very easily missed, it's kind of common for me), feel free. Thanks for posting!
#7 dr_rocktopus Apr 06, 2009 23:37:40	Hey, Ur-Priest for fluff reasons! It's a sign from heaven. Have you a build in a bit!
#8 dr_rocktopus Apr 07, 2009 1:36:19	Goethe Iron-Hand Tagline: "Would you fight against the drift of a continent? Then why would you fight against me?" Human, Clay Half-Golem with terrifying drift traits. Taint is hilarious. Uses but does not need partial bab stacking. Your leveling pattern might differ slightly if you were concerned with non-stacking BaB. It doesn't matter, because you have full ninth level spells at 16+3 CL, or 24 while raging. I feel that's decent, neh? So you can just persist divine power each morning and pretend you have 20 BaB. Adjudicate it from your own perspective, but I'm sure he gets these feats as-or-before he needs them from taint, leveling, and flaws. Great Fortitude, Combat Casting, Divine Metamagic(Persist), Persist Power attack, cleave, intimidating rage, destructive rage 5 Dread Necromancer 3 Ur Priest 7 Geomancer 1 Rage Mage 4 levels of frenzied Berserker Epic 1 Ur Priest CR 24. Should be outright impossible to kill him for at least six rounds. For the most part, he can actually still self-buff thanks to the fact that his magic\spell immunity only stops spells as per the golem of his type. In other words, personal range buffs don't have SR, and thus he can cast things like Divine Power on himself without issue. I felt you might be amused. Uses Geomancer to qual for rage mage and frenzied. May need cosmopolitan to get a high enough knowledge Nature to get into geo. I hope you like him, but I'll understand if he doesn't suit.
#9 hijaxx Apr 07, 2009 6:28:55	sofawall, what can this yamato gun do?
#10 sofawall Apr 07, 2009 9:29:35	Charge up big, go big boom. I've yet to find a reasonable equivalent in D&D other than epic spells with a long casting time.
#11 grifter730_dup Apr 07, 2009 10:50:52	You can edit the LeShay (Epic Level Handbook) creature and make them fit your needs.
#12 dr_rocktopus Apr 07, 2009 13:09:06	Specifically, in the canon ( cannon? ;) ), the yamato gun was a nuclear blast focused by magnetic containment into a bolt of terror. My presumption is that they mean it was plasma vented from some sort of fusion reactor and guided by containment, but whatever, it was awesome. Rule of cool
#13 hijaxx Apr 07, 2009 13:52:15	plasma...containment....... gotta sit down and work for this one! i am convinced that an epic spell might help us do this, like: conjure seed -> conjure plasma inside cannon repeat for more plasma X method -> launch plasma maybe?
#14 dr_rocktopus Apr 07, 2009 14:03:58	Give me some time to finish my Dropping The Moon essay, and I'll work out a plasma cannon for our flying fortress. I've meant to explore forcing nuclear reactions in DnD for a while. In the meantime, what do you think of the RageLord presented above?
#15 hijaxx Apr 07, 2009 14:17:06	lets see... unfortunately im not a physician, but if i understand it right, if we have dense enough matter, it will start fissioning like hell, right? so, make a cannon of force(unbreakable), conjure seed->create very dense matter, just un-dense enough that it wont pull itself together and create a singularity. Fissions like hell, energy cant be contained inside cannon + energy cant break cannon 'cuz its made of force = energy gets launched out of cannon. would this work?
#16 phaedrusxy Apr 07, 2009 14:19:45	How about a Stone Giant? They have 14 HD, but their CR is only 8. Due to how non-associated class levels work, a stone giant cleric 20 is technically only CR 21. A heavily buffed level 20 cleric stone giant should be very tough. You could also go with the Ur-Priest route, but unless he "rebuilt" his class levels, it is hard to imagine how he was ever good. With a normal cleric, he could just change to worshipping a different deity.
#17 dr_rocktopus Apr 07, 2009 14:30:35	My presumption was that he rebuilt his class levels, since I basically sat down and laid out how I would live as a terrifying entity chained in the earth. I spend time thinking about this now and then ;)
#18 sorcerer-random_dup Apr 07, 2009 19:12:16	Looks nice. A few questions though, why human (It's nothing wrong, just wondering)? Why have the 21st level be another level of Ur-priest? Also, what does dread necromancer offer? My presumption was that he rebuilt his class levels, since I basically sat down and laid out how I would live as a terrifying entity chained in the earth. I spend time thinking about this now and then Makes since to me. I mean, it doesn't seem like he would be doing much else. How about a Stone Giant? I could so see that! Toss on that half-golem template Dr_Rocktopus used, and it could be awesome! Anyways, I hope to see the answers soon. bye!
#19 dr_rocktopus Apr 07, 2009 20:12:35	I picked dread necro for the class skill layout, actually, but you can just take the Educated feat from eberron instead to get all the knowledge skills as class skills. The other reason I picked dread necro is a little bit more interesting, and basically boils down to allowing us to pick up DMM persist earlier, and giving us another source of turn attempts. That said, it's definitely optional. Half-golem stone giant at cleric twenty will probably guarantee a party wipe. The half golem template is............. very powerful on a pure cleric.
#20 sorcerer-random_dup Jul 22, 2009 0:27:15	Thanks again for all the help, sorry it took so long for me to get back to you on this (it has been a long time lol). I posted how the whole thing went here. Thanks again!
#21 dr_rocktopus Jul 22, 2009 1:29:00	Which character build did you end up using?
#22 sorcerer-random_dup Jul 22, 2009 14:03:21	Hello again Dr_Rocktopus I used the classes and template you suggested, I used the stone giant since I figured that he wasn't a full cleric that it would work well, and it somehow did. I can't seem to find the sheet since it's been a while (darned inability to access the internet), so I'm sorry that I can't post the exact specifics and numbers. Mainly I was just amazed at how long I managed to get him to survive :D. Considering that I didn't have him stop to heal himself terribly often (occasionally though) and that I focused on him being offensive since that seemed to be more fitting for him.