Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Dictum_Mortuum Mar 29, 2008 5:52:54	There are a few threads out there for campaign villains. The purpose of this thread is simple. Make a flavorful character that is going to be the nemesis of the players for a whole campaign. He doesn't need to be strong enough to take on all party members. He can be the "source of all evil" like a necromancer creating undead for the party to face or a summoner druid. Or he can just have followers. If you could give ECL to your BBEG it would be really helpful for DMs. I'm quoting Tleilaxu_Ghola from the old archived thread. This thread is intended as a DM's Reference: A compilation of Optimized Boss Characters useable for ANY campaign setting. Optimization isn't just for PCs! Two Rules: 1.) 3.5 Books only 2.) No campaign setting books The fun thing about BBEGs is you needn't worry about ECL. It's all about designing it for a certain CR. Since not everyone plays at 20th level it would be beneficial to create a broad range of CRs (from 3 to 30.) There are three main archetypes for BBEGs: 1.) Mastermind/Puppeteer -- Drives the Evil NPC portion of the plot 2.) Brutish Tribal Leader -- Local Political Force 3.) Freak/Abomination -- Untameable force of Nature A standardized Build format would also be beneficial. Example Build CR: 10 (bolded size 3) Race/Creature/Templates: Half-Fiend Phthisic (bolded) Class Levels: Fighter 1/Barbarian1 Feats: Psionic Fist, Weapon Focus (bite), Unnavoidable Strike, Power Attack Notable Abilities: SR 18, DR 10/magic, regen 5 (fire&acid), resist cold, acid, electricity, fire 10, immune to poison, Psi-Like abilities, Spell-like Abilities, MIND FEED (1d4 int dmg on bite, no save), Fly 30 avg, Rage 1/day, Natural Weapons treated as magical. Possible Backstory: A type 3 BBEG, this phreak of nature dwells near the frigid mountain pass of kahluud. The creature was ripped from from the twisted subconsious of an inmate in the local mental health ward by an evil Telepath. The creature was sent to haunt and protect the mountain pass that led to the Telepath's lair. Tactics: The beast uses its vast array of psi-abilities to his weaken his foes and buff himself. He uses his Unnavoidable Strike bite attack to cripple the most heavily armoured foe followed up by an ego whip the next round. His primary means of incapacitating his foes is by reducing them to a vegetable state from int/cha damage. Souce Material: XPH, MM Ok, not a very exciting BBEG. But it was mainly to demonstrate the format. I'll keep a listing of my favorite BBEGs in a post below. Let the builds begin!
#2 Dictum_Mortuum Mar 29, 2008 5:53:26	Sarkt, The Elder Brain [SUP][CR 26][Psionic][Aberration][Caster][/SUP] Horlamin Whitestar[SUP] [CR 10, 15, 20][Gestalt][Unorthodox][Caster][/SUP] Sir Guy "RedHand" Smythe [CR 6, 16, 18][Martial] Various BBEGs inspired from movies and comics
#3 caedrus Mar 29, 2008 5:58:59	Caedrus reserves this spot. I shall return, anon. Oh, and kudos for a good idea. C.
#4 caedrus Mar 29, 2008 5:59:30	Caedrus reserves this second spot.
#5 skydragonknight Mar 29, 2008 7:59:15	Oh what the heck. I'll make one eventually
#6 snizor Mar 29, 2008 19:11:49	Reserved for a pair of rival Elder Brains from an old campaign. Edit: Well, here's one of the two. The campaign involved what was essentially a cold war scenario between two rival Elder Brains with the PCs being caught in the middle. Sarkt, The Elder Brain Elder Brain Large Aberration (Psionic) HD: 26d8+416 (533) Initiative: +6 Speed: 10ft., fly 30ft (good), swim 30ft Armor Class: 46 (10base-1size+2Dex+20Natural+15Armor) Base Attack/Grapple: +19/+23 Attack: Tendril +19 melee (1d6 plus Extract) Full Attack: 4 Tendrils Space/Reach: 10ft./10ft. Special Attacks: Extract, improved grab, mind blast, psionic powers Special Qualities: Blindsight 240ft, bud brain golem, damage reduction 15/adamantine, regeneration 10, resistance to cold 10 and fire 10, Spell Resistance 34, telepathic awareness Saves: Fort +24, Ref + 10, Will +23 Abilities: Str 10, Dex 15, Con 42, Int 33, Wis 26, Cha 26 Skills: Same as default except for changed stats and 2 new skillpoints per HD (doesn't really matter that much where these go). Feats: Practiced Manifester: Psion, Improved Initiative, Extend Power, Psionic Meditation, Quicken Power, Overchannel, Twin Power Epic Feats: Epic Psionic Focus, Epic Expanded Knowledge: Genesis Challenge Rating: 26 Powers Manifester Level: 24 (27 with Overchannel) Power Points: 427 (takes into account always active buffs) Powers Known (37, Save DC 21+Power Level) 1. Psionic Charm, Inertial Armor, Defensive Precognition, Vigor, Synchronicity 2. Ego Whip, Specified Energy Adaptation, Concussion Blast, Psionic Suggestion 3. Dispel Psionics, Body Adjustment, Cerebral Phantasm, Telekinetic Thrust, Psionic Divination 4. Schism, Psychic Reformation, Psionic Dominate, Psionic Modify Memory, Telekinetic Maneuver 5. Psionic Plane Shift, Psionic True Seeing, Anticipatory Strike, Psionic Major Creation 6. Temporal Acceleration, Psionic Contingency, Energy Barrage 7. Personal Mind Blank, Decerebrate, Psionic Moment of Prescience 8. Mind Seed, Psionic Greater Teleport, Bend Reality 9. Genesis, Microcosm, Affinity Field, Assimilate, True Mind Switch
#7 archerpwr Mar 29, 2008 19:30:06	After my campaign gets off I'll post my villians as they are killed.
#8 neraagile Mar 29, 2008 22:00:35	Reserved for a bit plain EG.
#9 darksamuari Mar 29, 2008 23:18:21	How about some of these guys? The Lord "Good. Use your aggressive feelings, boy. Let the hate flow through you." The Lord Male Human (Old-Age), 7th-Level Psion/13th-Level Subverted Psion Size/Type: Medium Humanoid (Human) Hit Dice: 20d4-1 (22 hp) Initiative: -3 Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), Armor Class: 13 (+0 armor, -3 Dex), touch 12, flat-footed 10 Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+6 Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Phantasmal Shroud (11 p.p.), Phantasmal Form (17 p.p. ; 13 rounds), Special Qualities: Telepathic Communications (100 ft.), Lust for Power, Tainted Power, Create Minions, Create Pthisic (13 rounds; 6/day), Create Caller of Darkness, Resistance: Taint Immunity, Psionic Powers (413 p.p./day; ML 20): Apopsi, Body Adjustment, Clairvoyance Sense, Conceal Thoughts, Crisis of Breath, Crisis of Life, Detect Psionics, Dispel Psionics, Empathy, Energy Ray, False Sensory Input, Insanity, Microcosm, Mind probe, Mind switch, Mind wipe, Personal Mind Blank, Psionic Charm, Psionic Crush, Psionic Disintegrate, Psionic Divination, Psionic Domination, Psionic Identify, Psionic Major Creation, Psionic Suggestion, Psionic True Seeing, Read Thoughts, Retrieve, Schism, True Mind Switch Saves: Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +16 Abilities: Str 5, Dex 5, Con 9, Int 25, Wis 16, Cha 16 Skills: Bluff +27, Concentration +23, Gather Information +27, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (Arcana) +32, Knowledge (History) +32, Knowledge (The Planes) +32, Knowledge (Psionics) +32, Sense Motive +27 Feats: Quicken Power[H], Maximize Power[1st], [P], Expanded Knowledge (Clairvoyance Sense) [3rd], Steady Concentration [6th], Enlarge Power [9th], Empower Power [12th], Expanded Knowledge (Hypercognition) [15th], Twin Power[18th], Languages: Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Orc, Challenge Rating: 20
#10 tweedledope Mar 30, 2008 0:00:18	reserved!
#11 sinfire_titan Mar 30, 2008 0:18:49	Post reserved. I know I'm going to enjoy this. Time for some Incarnum goodness! Well, Evil. But who's counting?
#12 squashmonster Mar 30, 2008 0:32:38	My entry for a gestalt villain contest on another forum, based on some CO help I gave somebody on here half a year ago. I'll come back later with a non-gestalt version. Name: Horlamin Whitestar The Idea: A backwards BBEG: Horlamin Whitestar will attempt to kill the party through overhealing. Story: Although he started his career as a simple and dedicated healer, Horlamin Whitestar never could accept the fact that there will always be people in need of healing that he cannot reach. Knowing that no matter how great he becomes at the healing arts he would never be able to save everyone, he branched out in search of a solution. Whitestar starts to study the positive energy plane: the power of which he hoped to channel to heal the world. This effort proves fruitful, as Whitestar eventually learned how to open a rift to the positive energy plane. The players should encounter Whitestar early in the campaign. Early on he's a person of outstanding character and quite possibly somebody to look up to. However, Whitestar slowly starts slipping out of touch with his ideals, and by the end of level 5 there's obviously something different about him. Whitestar is enthusiastic about his new studies, and probably will be able to convince the party that his research will eventually help the world. While he seems a bit off, he does not seem too threatening until he starts to form a plan to open a rift to the positive energy plane. Although a little research on the player's part will reveal that this is clearly a very bad idea, Whitestar cannot be convinced. Whitestar's level 10 makes a great breakoff point: the players confront him only to find that he's just starting to open the rift to the positive energy plane. The fight occurs within the rift, which is represented using Whitestar's Planar Bubble class feature. If the DM wants a longer campaign, Whitestar's initial attempt to open a rift fails: he only can create a 20-foot radius area of rift. He'll continue his research more, and attempt to heal people using his planar bubble. Sometimes he'll be successful, which leads to him having a sizable following. Other times the bubble will cause people to explode. When confronted about these incidents Whitestar denies everything, and he shouts down detractors. Whitestar's level 15 makes a decent breakoff point: plot-wise this works the same way as the level 10 breakoff, but his tactics change to make him a much more formidable foe. If the player characters have been a thorn in his side, he may make the first move and lure them into a trap: he invites the characters to help him with his last ditch effort, promising to give up his plans if it doesn't work. For this, he asks the characters to join hands with him in a circle. Once they do this, he activates Plane Shift and brings them to the positive energy plane, then breaks free and shifts away in an attempt to strand them. If the DM wants a longer campaign, Whitestar makes a lot of progress at his 15th level, but is not yet successful. Having completed his studies in planar cosmology, Whitestar attempts to learn a way to make his planar bubble spread over a wider area. He may attempt to trick the players into thinking he's given up his goal: what he's learning at this point in his career looks very much benign: he's taken up plain healing again, and is studying ways to effect multiple people with a single spell. Whitestar's level 20 makes for an epic battle. Having completed his studies on spreading a spell across multiple targets, he looks to find a way to do this with his planar bubble. Thinking that the player's meddling has been what's stopped him so far, he attempts to get them to help him test another magical experiment. He gets as many of them as possible to agree to being in his weave before initiating the fight: he uses his healing magic to heal all of them and soften them up for the positive energy plane's powers. Race: Human Base Stats: STR: 8 DEX: 12 CON: 12 WIS: 16 INT: 16 CHA: 10 Put one point in Dex then split evenly between Int and wis Build Druid 5 / Planar Shepherd 10 / Cleric 5 // Cleric 5 / Wizard 10 / War Weaver 5 One level of Planar Shepherd advances Cleric, rest Druid. Expected HP: 20d8 + 20 = 110 HP Casts as: 14th level Druid 11th level Cleric (Healing and Travel domains) 14th level Wizard (Focused specialist Conjurer drops abjuration, evocation, enchantment) Feats: 1st: Imbued Healing 1st: Spell focus: Conjuration 3rd: Greensinger Initiate 6th: Natural spell 9th: Augment Summoning 10th wizard: Reach spell 12th: Metamagic School Focus: Conjuration 15th: Chain spell 15th wizard: Enlarge spell 18th: Greater spell focus: Conjuration Strengths: Planar Bubble: Whitestar's chosen plane heals 5 damage per round until a target's HP are double their max: then they have to succeed fort saves or explode. Healing: Whitestar is a strong healer, with enough levels in Cleric and Druid to cast Heal and Greater Vigor and 5 levels in War Weaver. Once the party figures out to keep their HP down he'll do his best to push it back up. Spell casting: Whitestar uses spells as a 14th level wizard (focused conjurer), 14th level Druid, and 11th level Cleric. As such, he has some extremely powerful spells, and can do a lot to stop his opponents from moving. Summons: as a druid, Whitestar is a competent summoner. At later levels, his War Weaver abilities allow him to easily buff summons. These will typically be grappling monsters who hold targets down to let the planar bubble do its thing Weaknesses: Whitestar's strategy is scary and unconventional, and the best way to counter him follows suite. The best counter is keep the party's HP down. The party's wizard should cast a spell like Wall of Fire on the party, to keep them hurt so they can't explode from energy. Somebody with the ability to cast restoration will also be needed, as Whitestar also heavily favors con damage. The fight: Level 10: Whitestar activates Planar Bubble and starts casting spells. A few choice spells: - Cure Wounds - the entire Cure Whatever Wounds line can be used to heal players so they'll burst sooner - Vigor - same as the Cure line - Summon Nature's Ally - summon big grappling monsters to hold the party down - Stinking Cloud - attempt to stop the party from resisting Level 15: As level 10, but Whitestar's spell list has gotten a lot scarier. A few major additions to the spell list: - White Tentacles (custom version of Black Tentacles that does not do damage) - holds the party down for a beating - Solid Fog - once again, holds the party down for a beating - Cloudkill - the con damage on this makes the burst happen a lot faster - it lowers the HP needed and their fort save - Blood Star - fort save vs con damage every time the party takes damage. This is a major counter to his weakness, and should only be used if the party really has their act together. - Reverse Gravity - from his Druid list, another way of holding the party at bay There's also a substantial chance that Whitestar will drop the party off in he positive energy plane instead of fighting. If nobody has Planeshift prepared, they'll have to find one of the low-intensity islands in the plane and camp there until they find a way out. Level 20: As level 15, but Whitestar might now be forcing some spells on the players through War weaver: give the party wizard opposed concentration checks against him to undo the weave, to make up for the fact that the weave doesn't really work that way. He has also gained Heal, which makes his ability to undo any damage the party has done to themselves a lot more substantial. Playability (ECL): Although Whitestar should be a part of a campaign for the campaign's entire course, he is meant to be a friend of the party until level 5, and is only an effective enemy starting at level 10. Thus, Whitestar is not viable for a campaign that will end before level 7 or 8 (E6 characters could probably handle him, but level 6 characters would be toast). Optimization Whitestar is meant to be a threat for parties a bit below his level, so he isn't fully optimized. Optimizing him for higher levels is simple: don't progress Druid casting with any of the Planar Shepherd levels, and take the Animal domain instead of the travel one. 9th level Cleric spells and Shapechange, done.
#13 Dictum_Mortuum Mar 30, 2008 9:03:16	nice, i hope that those of you that reserved posts, will contribute. Please, because i have a lot on my mind at the moment, post here if you have finished a BBEG to inform me.
#14 keldar Mar 31, 2008 0:50:31	First draft Books: PHB, DMG, Complete Adventurer, Races of Stone, Magic Item Compendium, Complete Warrior Sir Guy "RedHand" Smythe Sir Guy Smythe is a classic fallen hero. Initially appearing as a mentor and contact to heroes (or as a foe for villains), Sir Smythe heads down the path of hubris and ultimately hate, becoming an implacable foe. Hometown Hero CR 6 Guy Smythe was orphaned at a young age, forced to survive on his own he turned to thievery as many do. Guy wasn't particularly good and was caught many times, earning him his moniker. When caught attempting to pilfer the offering plate at a local temple, Guy was shown mercy and a way to escape the streets. This first kindness generated a furor in the young rogue, and he took to his new religion swiftly. Sir Smythe quickly gained a name for himself as a champion of the downtrodden and the weak. A local boy done good. If players encounter Sir Smythe at this level he can act as an example of heroics and provide minor divine support between adventures. Show LG Human Male Rogue 1/Paladin 5 Hit Die (1d6+ 5d10+ 12) HP: 49 Str: 15 Dex: 12 Con: 14 Int: 11 Wis: 13 Cha: 16 Fort: +9 Ref: +7 Will: +5 AC: (Flat-footed: /Touch: ) Base Attack +5 (Grapple ) Attacks: Longsword Longbow Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Devoted Inquisitor, Ancestral Relic Skills: Balance +5, Concentration +5, Diplomacy +5, Gather Information +7, Hide +5, Knowledge (Local) +4, Knowledge (Religion) +2, Move Silently +5, Open Lock +3, Search +4, Sense Motive +9, Slight of hand +3, Spot +5, Tumble +5 Special Abilities: Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Divine Grace, Lay on Hands (15), Aura of courage, Divine Health, Smite Evil (2/d), Special Mount, Trapfinding, Sneak Attack +1d6 Spellcasting: Caster level 2nd Spells per day: 1 1st- Cure Light Wounds Equipment: Masterwork Longsword, Masterwork Mighty (+2) Composite Longbow, 50 arrows, Mithril Full Plate, Masterwork Heavy Shield, Potion of Enlarge Person, generic adventuring equipment.
#15 skydragonknight Mar 31, 2008 9:18:45	Evil Never Dies CR eleventy billion Placeholder Show Death Knight What were you expecting?
#16 maeglin_dubh Mar 31, 2008 13:05:26	Reserved to make a 'Darkseid'-esque BBEG. The Bane and Doomsday inspired me. Tricky bit will be the Omega Beam. I may need help figuring out how to represent his abilities through spells.
#17 darksamuari Mar 31, 2008 15:12:17	The Bane and Doomsday inspired me. Yay! Tricky bit will be the Omega Beam. I may need help figuring out how to represent his abilities through spells. Possibly DoomLord?
#18 darksamuari Mar 31, 2008 15:54:26	Alright here is a villain who would appear to be weak but he relies on the DM a lot to be powerful (which he can be if properly utilized). The Aristocrat Male Old Age Human, 1st-Level Aristocrat Size/Type: Medium Humanoid (Human) Hit Dice: 1d8-2 (6 hp) Initiative: +0 Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), Armor Class: 8 (+ armor, -2 Dex), touch 8, flat-footed 8 Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-2 Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Saves: Fort -2, Ref -2, Will +4 Abilities: Str 7, Dex 7, Con 7, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 16 Skills: Bluff +12, Diplomacy +7, Forgery +9, Gather Information +7, Knowledge (Local) +9, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +9, Intimidate +9, Perform (Oratory) +7, Sense Motive +6 Feats: Persuasive [H], Skill Focus (Bluff) [1st], Alignment: Lawfully Evil Languages: Common, Dwarven, Elven, Goblinoid, Orc Challenge Rating: 1
#19 tyco3110 Mar 31, 2008 17:59:12	Have a Idea for a BBEG - It be CR30 one thou More Stuff upcoming
#20 stickboy2323 Mar 31, 2008 18:15:13	Reserved to make a 'Darkseid'-esque BBEG. The Bane and Doomsday inspired me. Tricky bit will be the Omega Beam. I may need help figuring out how to represent his abilities through spells. Wouldn't the omega beam just be an ocular spell disintegrate?
#21 Dictum_Mortuum Apr 01, 2009 4:35:24
#22 hijaxx Apr 01, 2009 6:41:49	The Carnivore human sorcerer 5/fleshwarper 5/master transmogrifist 10 feats:graft flesh, practised spellcaster, minor shapechange, legendary artistan, extraordinary artistan. cast spells as 15th level sorcerer. Favored shapesTODO) The carnivore is an venerable sorcerer, who enjoys creating new and powerful creatures by grafting useful things on them. His most powerful trick is to invent a new form and adopt it himself (yes this IS a reference to you carnivore. i tried to make an in-game character builder, and you deserve to give it name) i will maybe optimize it more later.
#23 hijaxx Apr 02, 2009 6:11:06
#24 lormador Apr 02, 2009 8:10:55	Vildenvoolp Mind Flayer Psion / Thrallherd Important Feats: Expanded Knowledge [Remote Viewing], Expanded Knowledge [Metaconcert] Important Powers: Psychic Reformation, Charm, Dominate, Remote Viewing, Bestow Power Vildenvoolp's Tactics: 1. Psychic Reform the believers with as many Wild Talent or Psionic Talent feats as they can hold. Humans are the most desirable. Even a 1st level human can have 4 power points. Then, manifest Metaconcert with nine believers, put their minimum of 36 points into the pool, and Bestow Vildenvoolp's manifester level of power points on himself. 2. His thrall might be a wizard with a familiar, who could share a Mental Pinnacle and join a Metaconcert, devoting more points to Vildenvoolp. 3. The point of all this is that as Vildenvoolp goes up in Thrallherd level, he can use the discount on Psionic Charm and Dominate to manifest them through his Remote Viewing sensor. 4. So finally, hidden away in his lair, Vildenvoolp has the means to project his scrying sensor virtually anywhere; can charm or even dominate what he finds; and has the sheer Power Points to do it freely, limited only by the Thrallherd ability that reduces the cost in most cases. And not only this, but his psychic resonance attracts enough hapless creatures to feed a huge Illithid community. He can pull off Remote Viewing Charms at the day/level duration as soon as he gets the Psionic Charm ability from Thrallherd. By level 19, he can pull off day/level Dominations.... with unlimited range (even across planes!) and no line of effect.
#25 hijaxx Apr 02, 2009 8:46:08	awesome work lormador! Gorwick the Gloomy illumian necromancer specialist wizard 3/cleric 1/dweomerkeeper 10/master specialist 10 24th level dread necro casting 1st level cleric casting aeshkrau make both based on strength Strategy *prior to combat*: smack up an army of them undead! 1)have undead attack. support with spells. 2)cast ocular spell repeating quickened touch of fatigue, and un-quckened version. these are targeted at one of our undead slaves --metamagic calculation-- starting level: 0 total addition from metamagic: 9(2 ocular, 3 repeat, 4 quicken) dweomerkeeper reduces all by one, for 6(1 ocular 2 repeat 3 quicken) metamagic school focu reduces all by one, for 3(0 ocular 1 repeat 2 quicken) practical metamagic(repeat spell) reduces repeat by one, for 2(0 ocular/repeat, 2 quicken) this means we cast a 2nd level spell and a 0th level spell. this gains our undead fast healing 10x2, or 20(im not sure if this stack. if not, the strategy kinda dont work :D ) next round this doubles up, for fast healing 40. but of course we also cast this whole combination AGAIN, meaning FH 60. this will drop over time, but we recast it faster than it drop. i havent even considered multispell!
#26 dr_rocktopus Apr 02, 2009 9:00:29	This spot reserved for King Derelict. Remind me.
#27 hijaxx Apr 03, 2009 8:27:59	damn, i keep having to this thread. GET WORKING ON THE ******* BBEG ROCTOPUS!
#28 jameswilliamogle Apr 03, 2009 8:55:49	Reserved for Team Dragon, a Fire-immune group of 3 who live in the core of a volcano and actually sleep in and fight from lava.
#29 telehax Apr 03, 2009 10:34:46	Circe, CR 20 Human Wizard 5/War Weaver 5/Spellguard of Silverymoon 5/Legacy Champion 5 Feats of Note: Other than pre-reqs: Magic of the Land Tactics: Can cast level 9 spells through the weave by using legacy champion. Using spellguard of silverymoon, she can cast personal spells which heal, or improve AC or saves on other targets. Using Magic of the Land she can make any spell heal its target as long as she is in the wild. Result: Shapechange, Tenser's Transformation, Nightstalker's Transformation... etc through the weave. Cast greater celerity through the weave if the players are finding the battle too easy.
#30 PlzBreakMyCampaign Apr 03, 2009 10:42:54	He doesn't need to be strong enough to take on all party members. Aw, but doing that is fun! (you can be nice and include a few unplugged weaknesses if you want) Anyways, I'll be back with a 'way-above CR' summoner BBEG.
#31 hijaxx Apr 03, 2009 10:48:52	damnit, that was my idea for gorwick the gloomy! ill just have to come up with something else... hmmm. what could i possibly use area versions of personal abjuration spells for? EDIT: NINJA ATTACK!