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I'm planning an edventure set in Taldor and I need to come up with high-level (18-20+) BBEG who might want to, and be able to, corrupt nobles from major royal houses.
I've been involved in a lot of APs which have an evil outsider or a humanoid wizard as the BBEG so I would like to avoid that if at all possible.
Any ideas?
Without a whole lot of information to work with:
You can't go wrong with a doppelganger with class levels (as I recall they like to cause trouble with society). I recommend bard or rogue, perhaps cavalier because they need some love too. All of which should have the skills necessary to rub elbows in high society.
I'm planning an edventure set in Taldor and I need to come up with high-level (18-20+) BBEG who might want to, and be able to, corrupt nobles from major royal houses.
I've been involved in a lot of APs which have an evil outsider or a humanoid wizard as the BBEG so I would like to avoid that if at all possible.
Any ideas?
Gnome crime lord. Master of blackmail and information control. Operates out of a very high end tailors shop. You know the kind, so sign on the street, very select high-powered customers. Has spies among the servants in every noble/important merchants house. Knows everything and everybody and is slowly bleeding them.
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Okay, I am thinking make the villain a castle. The current noble family that lives in the castle is into some pretty nasty evil magic. Some of the things inadvertently awakened the castle itself. The castle hears everything that goes on inside it, can create illusions anywhere on its grounds, and whispers into the ears of anyone inside. Over the last few generations it has driven the resident noble family quite mad, but they keep up appearances because the castle wants them to. Their prominence brings other important figures to the castle for parties and other functions. The castle hear all the whisperings that go on and knows almost every secret in the kingdom. It controls all the servants, many of whom it has found positions at other homes. By creating illusions of important figures it is familiar with, it creates more intrigue.
The noble family that has lived in the castle would seem like the villians at first and the PCs could take them out around level 13-14, but then the plotting continues and they eventually learn it is the castle itself.
Final BBEG battle could go two ways.
1) The PC's cast out whatever dark force has awakened the house and battle it. This might be too close to the evil outsider thing though (although you could go Fey)
2) The PC's battle the castle itself as a colossal animated object.
A mystery cult lead by a charlatan. Set the cult leader up as the evil mastermind but when the players confront her/him turns out they are living in fear of the 'inner circle' or former worshipers who realized it was a scam and are running with the idea as a way to gain real power.
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As you're trying to avoid a wizard, there is always the summoner. Access to spells such as Magic jar, simulacrum (those two in conjunction = nightmare!), dimension door (and the teleports) can amount to one frustrating villain for a party.
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Okay, I am thinking make the villain a castle. The current noble family that lives in the castle is into some pretty nasty evil magic. Some of the things inadvertently awakened the castle itself. The castle hears everything that goes on inside it, can create illusions anywhere on its grounds, and whispers into the ears of anyone inside. Over the last few generations it has driven the resident noble family quite mad, but they keep up appearances because the castle wants them to. Their prominence brings other important figures to the castle for parties and other functions. The castle hear all the whisperings that go on and knows almost every secret in the kingdom. It controls all the servants, many of whom it has found positions at other homes. By creating illusions of important figures it is familiar with, it creates more intrigue.
The noble family that has lived in the castle would seem like the villians at first and the PCs could take them out around level 13-14, but then the plotting continues and they eventually learn it is the castle itself.
Final BBEG battle could go two ways.
1) The PC's cast out whatever dark force has awakened the house and battle it. This might be too close to the evil outsider thing though (although you could go Fey)
2) The PC's battle the castle itself as a colossal animated object.
This is very cool, I could use haunts, which my group love.
The PFSRD just throws up dragons and outsiders at that level, I was tempted by the Rakshasa Maharajah but it didn't 'feel' very Taldor.
I was tempted by dragons but don't see how a CR20 dragon is going to bother with intrigue.
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I haven't done much with haunts yet (planning to remedy that soon). They would certainly work with this though.
For the castle, I would probalby advance a stone golem or something. Maybe that would suck too much for your casters though. I am not really all that familiar with the Animated Object Bestiary entry off the top of my head, so I don't know if they can be made an appropriate challenge for 18-20th level. I remember them being pretty flexible and you could probably come up with something. Anyway, you've got some time to plan the BBEG. I am always in favor of grabbing some tough monster and just reflavoring it.
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Okay, I am thinking make the villain a castle. The current noble family that lives in the castle is into some pretty nasty evil magic. Some of the things inadvertently awakened the castle itself. The castle hears everything that goes on inside it, can create illusions anywhere on its grounds, and whispers into the ears of anyone inside. Over the last few generations it has driven the resident noble family quite mad, but they keep up appearances because the castle wants them to. Their prominence brings other important figures to the castle for parties and other functions. The castle hear all the whisperings that go on and knows almost every secret in the kingdom. It controls all the servants, many of whom it has found positions at other homes. By creating illusions of important figures it is familiar with, it creates more intrigue.
The noble family that has lived in the castle would seem like the villians at first and the PCs could take them out around level 13-14, but then the plotting continues and they eventually learn it is the castle itself.
Final BBEG battle could go two ways.
1) The PC's cast out whatever dark force has awakened the house and battle it. This might be too close to the evil outsider thing though (although you could go Fey)
2) The PC's battle the castle itself as a colossal animated object.
This is very cool, I could use haunts, which my group love.
The PFSRD just throws up dragons and outsiders at that level, I was tempted by the Rakshasa Maharajah but it didn't 'feel' very Taldor.
I was tempted by dragons but don't see how a CR20 dragon is going to bother with intrigue.
Personally, I like villains that appear to turn the rules on their head. I like having the PCs think they're getting ready to battle one thing, and it ends up being something completely different. The realization doesn't occur to them until it's too late.
For that reason, I think Rakshasas make excellent villains because they have deception and surprise built right into them with their ability to take human form. In my opinion, making them Taldoran is only a matter of backstory. Did the noble Taldoran family go on an expedition where they were killed by Rakshasas who then took their form and their property? As far as the locals, servants, etc. are concerned, they are the same people who just picked up some very sinister habits during their vacation. All you need to figure to figure out then is why a Rakshasa would want to spend their time in Taldor and not their home.
I also like giving mid-level monsters class levels to make them more powerful and more unique. It's a great way to increase the CR and create something memorable... exactly what you want in a BBEG.
Go doppelganger and master spy prestige class. Hard to find, and manipulative.
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Okay, I am thinking make the villain a castle. The current noble family that lives in the castle is into some pretty nasty evil magic. Some of the things inadvertently awakened the castle itself. The castle hears everything that goes on inside it, can create illusions anywhere on its grounds, and whispers into the ears of anyone inside. Over the last few generations it has driven the resident noble family quite mad, but they keep up appearances because the castle wants them to. Their prominence brings other important figures to the castle for parties and other functions. The castle hear all the whisperings that go on and knows almost every secret in the kingdom. It controls all the servants, many of whom it has found positions at other homes. By creating illusions of important figures it is familiar with, it creates more intrigue.
The noble family that has lived in the castle would seem like the villians at first and the PCs could take them out around level 13-14, but then the plotting continues and they eventually learn it is the castle itself.
Final BBEG battle could go two ways.
1) The PC's cast out whatever dark force has awakened the house and battle it. This might be too close to the evil outsider thing though (although you could go Fey)
2) The PC's battle the castle itself as a colossal animated object.
This is very cool, I could use haunts, which my group love.
The PFSRD just throws up dragons and outsiders at that level, I was tempted by the Rakshasa Maharajah but it didn't 'feel' very Taldor.
I was tempted by dragons but don't see how a CR20 dragon is going to bother with intrigue.
Personally, I like villains that appear to turn the rules on their head. I like having the PCs think they're getting ready to battle one thing, and it ends up being something completely different. The realization doesn't occur to them until it's too late.
For that reason, I think Rakshasas make excellent villains...
Twists can be fun, especially when you turn the tropes on their heads. If you're sick of the "evil wizard did it" trope, perhaps a nice change of pace would be to play with it a little bit. Imagine if the all-knowing manipulative BBEG was actually something of a dullard (actually an arcane bloodline sorcerer with an int 8 but high Cha) who is actually the proxy of his (possibly Improved) familiar (remember Int of a familiar goes up in level and may sometime surpass that of a dumb master). Or perhaps the familiar really isn't a familiar, but is an awakened animal or polymorphed creature with Leadership and the sorcerer is its cohort.
Another idea might make the caster's bonded item be an intelligent one that controls the caster from behind the scenes. Perhaps the crystal ball the BBEG always carries holds a demilich's skull, its presence always protected by the demilich's mind blank spells. After the sorcerer is slain, the crystal ball suddenly rises up and reveals its true nature.
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The evil mansion sounds really cool, a nice balance between classic and WTF. Hard to compete with that, though doppelgangers are pretty awesome too.
Another idea is make the BBEG a couple.
Maybe a Romeo and Juliette type situation only they’ve focused all that angst and sexual tension in the other direction. They’d have plenty of access to other nobles. Their classes/skills could complement and synergize with each other. Their massive wealth and influence would fill in any gaps.
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The BBEG could also be a straight fighter, a military general with accolades and statues in his honor.
I once had the main villain to a campaign be a group I called the "petty four," a band of four ex-adventurers who had become famously wealthy, but now, are quite frail and old, with their best days far behind them. They hae come to feel that their lives were wasted, that even though they achieved much, it still doesn't end the fact that they are still going to die, destroy their souls becoming undead, or get stuck on the same treadmill with sun orchid elixir.
So now, they show their destructive hate toward the ways of the world with the greatest tool at their disposal: philanthropy.
They will gladly act as mentors for other adventurers, young nobles (and pretty much everyone is young to them these days), anyone with ambition. They will fund far-off endeavors, help in the making of magic items that they'll just give away to the "worthy."
Then they corrupt them, make them feel the need to "give something back" in the worst way possible. Perhaps they send them off to their doom. Perhaps they mourn with those lost, stoking the fires for revenge. Perhaps one of their "worthy" turns into a warlord.
Ultimately, their careful machinations toward destruction are trifles discussed among them at tea, on their veranda.
@InVinoVeritas
That is very Dangerous Liasions of you, I like it.