Villains Everywhere!

Friday, October 21, 2016

Pathfinder RPG: Villain Codex is double-dealing, backstabbing, and betraying its way into your hands next month! The book contains 20 different villainous organizations, and we're going to reveal five of those organizations each week, with themes of mystical villains, wilderness villains, civilized villains, and enigmatic villains.

Arcane Society

Our focus group this week is the Arcane Society. This group seems to be a benevolent multinational mage's guild, led by the beloved philanthropist known as the Eminent Spellqueen. Of course, things aren't always what they seem...


Illustration by Nemanja Stankovic
"Sweet Shelyn, what is going on there!?"

The Eminent Spellqueen's protective wards have prevented us from revealing more of her dark personal secrets here in this blog, but we managed to get the scoop on her equally-powerful right hand, the grand caller. The information bellows includes a slightly alternate set of prepared spells and additional facts to enhance the grand caller in your game!

Grand Caller

The Grand Caller is mentally insatiable but physically lazy, preferring the use of minions to perform his tasks. He provides extraplanar minions for the arcane society, including a marilith with whom he has a dangerous relationship.

Grand Caller CR 14

XP 38,400

Human conjurer (teleportationAPG) 15

CE Medium humanoid (human)

Init +10; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft., true seeing, Perception +16

Defense

AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (+4 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 natural, +4 shield)

hp 171 (15d6+116)

Fort +17, Ref +15, Will +18; +4 vs. mind-affecting

Defensive Abilities contingency (teleport), death ward, fickle winds, freedom of movement, getaway; Immune dimensional anchor, fear

Offense

Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)

Melee mwk dagger +11/+6 (1d4-1/19-20)

Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 15th; concentration +23)

8th—maze, mind blank, moment of prescience

7th—greater teleport, mage's magnificent mansion, project image, summon monster VII

6th—getawayAPG, greater dispel magic, greater heroism, quickened dazing aqueous orbAPG (DC 24), true seeing

5th—dazing persistent aqueous orbAPG (DC 24), fickle winds, magic jar (DC 23), overland flight, summon monster V (2)

4th—dimension door, dimensional anchor, enervation, greater false lifeUM, summon monster IV, telekinetic chargeUC

3rd—countless eyesUM, daylight, fly, haste, heroism, invisibility sphere, stinking cloud (DC 23)

2nd—bear's endurance, command undead (DC 20), darkvision, glitterdust (DC 22), invisibility, mirror image, resist energy

1st—comprehend languages, grease (DC 21), mage armor, protection from evil, protection from good, shield, unseen servant

0 (at will)—detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, prestidigitation

Opposition Schools evocation


Illustration by Nemanja Stankovic

Tactics

Before Combat On a previous day, the grand caller set a contingency to teleport to a safe house whenever someone tries to attack him. He casts mind blank, getaway, moment of prescience, greater false life, mage armor, overland flight, countless eyes, darkvision, true seeing, fickle winds, greater heroism, bear's endurance, and shield and uses his scrolls of freedom of movement, death ward, and spell immunity (choosing dimensional anchor).

During Combat The grand caller summons appropriate minions for the situation to bolster those he has already called or created. He uses shift to keep mobile, dazing aqueous orb to control the battlefield, and telekinetic charge to help his marilith ally achieve full attacks.

Morale The grand caller rarely exposes his true self to danger, preferring to use spells like magic jar to control other bodies when he must be personally present. He flees whenever in true danger but fights to the death in a disposable body.

Base Statistics Without his spells, profane gift, and familiar, the grand caller's statistics are Senses no all-around vision, darkvision, or true seeing; AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 11; hp 100 (15d6+45); Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +14; Speed no fly speed; Defensive Abilities no defensive abilities; Immune no immunities; Melee mwk dagger +7/+2 (1d4-1/19-20); Con 14, Int 24; CMB +6; Skills all 4 lower, Fly +5.

Statistics

Str 8, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 26, Wis 12, Cha 10

Base Atk +7; CMB +10; CMD 19

Feats Augment Summoning, Dazing SpellAPG, Dimensional AgilityUC, Greater Spell Focus (conjuration), Improved Initiative, Opposition ResearchUM (necromancy), Persistent SpellAPG, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (conjuration), Spell PerfectionAPG (aqueous orb), Superior SummoningUM, True NameUM (marilith)

Skills Bluff +22, Diplomacy +22, Fly +20, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana) +27, Knowledge (history) +27, Knowledge (planes) +27, Perception +20, Sense Motive +20, Spellcraft +27, Use Magic Device +22

Languages Abyssal, Aquan, Celestial, Common, Infernal, Terran

SQ arcane bond (familiar, compsognathus), shift (11/day, 35 ft.)

Combat Gear reach metamagic rod (lesser)APG, scroll of death ward, scroll of freedom of movement, scroll of spell immunity; Other Gear mwk dagger, amulet of natural armor +1, belt of incredible dexterity +2, circlet of persuasion, cloak of resistance +4, headband of vast intelligence +4, ring of protection +1, statuette for contingency, 282 gp

The grand caller is the Spellqueen's trusted right hand, an arrogant and paranoid man who acts like a chessmaster with the world as a board, manipulating or forcing others into acting as his pieces. He has numerous countermeasures in place, from a clone spell to a contingency escape plan, and he generally has several outsider allies called by greater planar binding at any given time. The grand caller has a bizarre relationship with the marilith whose true name he holds. In contrast to the normal hatred in such a situation, she is unusually fond of him, but she resents his loyalty to the Spellqueen. The marilith has granted him a profane gift from one of her succubus minions, and she hopes this will help corrode his ties with the Spellqueen. In a serious fight, the marilith will always be at the grand caller's side, but he doesn't use her frivolously as he does his lesser minions.

Death Cult

The death cult of Urgathoa, and its leader the Reaper, believes that death is the ultimate form of equality and an end to suffering in a world full of oppression. While they do want to spread killer plagues, they're equal-opportunity employers, even if you opposed them before you died. In fact, one of the Reaper's most trusted advisors was once an adventurer who helped kill the Reaper.

Demon Knights

The demon knights are a military force of pure destruction, each modeling themselves after a particular type of demon. For instance, their general is the mighty Merciless Balor, an antipaladin who fights with a blade and a flaming whip. While their training techniques generally kill their new recruits, the fallen recruits provide not only a good example for the others but also a nourishing meal.

Brutal Slavers

The brutal slavers are double-dealing and sadistic scoundrels, led by the silver-tongued slave master, who works as a lobbyist in favor of slavery in general and his own organization in particular, and the horrifying experimenter, who uses slaves as living test subjects with the goal of mastering the secrets of fleshwarping to create a more powerful version of mongrelmen with the strengths of every humanoid race. Someone needs to be around to tend to injuries that would prevent the slaves from performing labor for the slavers or selling well on the open market, so of course the slavers brought in a sadistic cleric of Zon Kuthon because that can't go wrong.

Diabolical Church

In a town suffering upheaval and tragedy, who wouldn't be happy to see a new lawful church enter town and donate their spellcasting services for free, healing the sick, fighting off marauding monsters, and helping build infrastructure? Never mind who secretly started that upheaval, the point is that the church of Asmodeus is just misunderstood. Surely nothing can go wrong if you accept your new protectors, and it's not like those favors you've started to owe them are going to amount to anything important...


Illustrations by Jose Parodi, Damien Mammoliti, Matt Forsyth, and Kent Hamilton

Stay tuned next week for a taste of wilderness villains!

Mark Seifter
Designer

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Damien Mammoliti Jose Parodi Kent Hamilton Matt Forsyth Nemaja Stankovic Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Villain Codex

4 people marked this as a favorite.

Villains disguised as philanthropists is a trope that never gets old!

Also, the Demon Knights do not include Shining Knight or Vandal Savage, which is sad.

Designer

4 people marked this as a favorite.

Let the villainy begin!

EDIT: Well ninjaed indeed Troodos!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Troodos,

Vandal Savage doesn't need to be every comic. :p ;)


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Thomas Seitz wrote:

Troodos,

Vandal Savage doesn't need to be every comic. :p ;)

It's a joke about the short-lived comic book Demon Knights, aka one of the only good things to come out of the New 52

Grand Lodge

Ooo, shiny.


Troodos,

I know what the joke was. I just thought...nevermind...

Liberty's Edge RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16

Quote:
death cult of Urgathoa

So will there be direct campaign setting ties to most of the villains?

Silver Crusade

Ooo, the Plague Angel looks badass.

Designer

1 person marked this as a favorite.
JoelF847 wrote:
Quote:
death cult of Urgathoa
So will there be direct campaign setting ties to most of the villains?

Not any more than usual for the RPG line, so deities, mainly (like the Core Rulebook).

Designer

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Rysky wrote:
Ooo, the Plague Angel looks badass.

She's pretty badass, and as a lower-ranking member of the death cult, you could easily throw a few plague angels at the PCs who dare to fight against the inevitable!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Sweet. Death Angels in Curse of the Crimson Throne! ;)


Those Demon Knights sure sound neat...


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

And just the other day, I was thinking "what's the November hardcover? I can't remember! Is there one? Must be. I'll look it up later..." and promptly forgetting to do so.

This book is one I'm seriously looking forward to, and it looks great so far!


I'm not sure what the title was going for, but everytime I read it I have flashbacks to Mass Effect 1 endlessly repeating "enemies everywhere!" during fights.

Triggered. So, so triggered.


I can see the Demon Knights being dropped into Wrath of the Righteous; specifically as problem-solvers sent by Deskari or Baphomet to get rid of those pesky mythic heroes...

I could also see the Diabolical Church in Hell's Rebels, under the command of Barzillai Thrune. Considering that AP already has a church of Asmodeus present in Kintargo.

It looks like the "Hierarch" might be a Tyrant Antipaladin of Asmodeus.

Jon Brazer Enterprises

*cackles the evil cackle of a GM that just rolled 3 20's in a row*

Designer

Axial wrote:

I can see the Demon Knights being dropped into Wrath of the Righteous; specifically as problem-solvers sent by Deskari or Baphomet to get rid of those pesky mythic heroes...

I could also see the Diabolical Church in Hell's Rebels, under the command of Barzillai Thrune. Considering that AP already has a church of Asmodeus present in Kintargo.

It looks like the "Hierarch" might be a Tyrant Antipaladin of Asmodeus.

Whether or not it's the hierarch, there is indeed at least one tyrant in the diabolical church.

Designer

Thomas Seitz wrote:
Sweet. Death Angels in Curse of the Crimson Throne! ;)

Death Cult members would be a good fit indeed for Seven Days to the Grave.


Definitely looking forward to this one! Demon Knights FTW!

Liberty's Edge

This seems like it's taking a lot of the Campaign Setting (specifically deities) into the setting-neutral RPG line. Is that a new approach?

Designer

Samy wrote:
This seems like it's taking a lot of the Campaign Setting (specifically deities) into the setting-neutral RPG line. Is that a new approach?

The deities have been in the RPG line since the Core Rulebook, and Villain Codex isn't any different in that regard (it uses the deities but is otherwise setting-neutral). While it wouldn't be hard to add any of these organizations into Golarion, you'd want to make a few tweaks to add some of them (especially those that imply the state of a particular nation, like the Regal Court, since it's a setting neutral kingdom's court, not one that corresponds to any nation in Golarion).

Liberty's Edge

Thanks, I hadn't realized that the deities were setting-neutral too. Makes sort of sense, compared with how 3.0 used the Greyhawk deities as "examples" in the core rules too.

Designer

Samy wrote:
Thanks, I hadn't realized that the deities were setting-neutral too. Makes sort of sense, compared with how 3.0 used the Greyhawk deities as "examples" in the core rules too.

Yep, it's also useful when adding things like domains, subdomains, and inquisitions, since you wind up needing examples of deities who might possess them, as well as for ordering cleric art, since they'll wind up needing some sort of holy/unholy symbol at least.


Chances the "Cult of the Eye" will be in here?


Dansome wrote:
Chances the "Cult of the Eye" will be in here?

From Pathfinderwiki:

"Complete sections for 20 villainous organizations, including an arcane society, brutal slavers, carnival troupe, corrupt guard, cruel musketeers, death cult, demon knights, diabolical church, fang monastery, merchant caravan, merry outlaws, nature’s scourge, regal court, ruthless brigands, savage marauders, scandalous pirates, secret society, sinister cult, slayer’s guild, and a thieves’ guild. "

Maybe the "sinister cult?"

Though this is a core book, not a setting book, and while they do use the same gods the Cult of the Eye seems much more setting tied. So I doubt it.

Jon Brazer Enterprises

Samy wrote:
Thanks, I hadn't realized that the deities were setting-neutral too.

They might be "setting neutral" but just to be clear, they are not open content (able to be used by compatible publishers).

Feel free to continue squeeing over the awesome alchemist slaver image and all the others.

Designer

Samasboy1 wrote:
Dansome wrote:
Chances the "Cult of the Eye" will be in here?

From Pathfinderwiki:

"Complete sections for 20 villainous organizations, including an arcane society, brutal slavers, carnival troupe, corrupt guard, cruel musketeers, death cult, demon knights, diabolical church, fang monastery, merchant caravan, merry outlaws, nature’s scourge, regal court, ruthless brigands, savage marauders, scandalous pirates, secret society, sinister cult, slayer’s guild, and a thieves’ guild. "

Maybe the "sinister cult?"

Though this is a core book, not a setting book, and while they do use the same gods the Cult of the Eye seems much more setting tied. So I doubt it.

Yep, it won't have any Golarion-specific organizations. However, as you mention, we do have the Sinister Cult, and it wouldn't be too hard to use the Sinister Cult as an even-more-sinister offshoot of the Cult of the Eye (interested in the devastation of the deluge more so than protecting themselves from harm by sacrificing others).


Any hints on the new rules elements from the book? Specifically for the Demon Knights? Please?

Designer

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Samasboy1 wrote:
Any hints on the new rules elements from the book? Specifically for the Demon Knights? Please?

The hint for Demon Knights is that they have demon-themed rules to help them emulate demons. So with balor as an example because we know the leader is Merciless Balor, there might be something in there to help him with the ol' sword and whip combo, and there could be something for a succubus-themed demon knight that helps with seduction, and so on!

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mark Seifter wrote:
and there could be something for a succubus-themed demon knight that helps with seduction, and so on!

!!!


Well, had to try. Thanks Mark!

Dark Archive

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I very interested in the Death Cult and the Brutal Slavers. I like necromancy and Undead stuff, and recently became quite fond of fleshwarping (distilling the mechanics for it from several sources, with Horror Aventures adding more to it). So let's get some inspiration for the Evil campaign I'm playing in.

I do have a nitpick. The presented stats of the Grand Caller has 2 errors as far as I can see, both have to do with the Spell Perfection feat. First, the DC of his Aqueous Orb falls 1 short. Spell Perfection doubles numerical bonusses of other feats, in this case Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus. That would be 10(Base) +3(Spell level) +8 (Modifier) +2(Spell Focus+Perfection) +2(Greater Spell Focus+Perfection) = DC25 for his Aqueous Orb spells, while the stats say DC24

The other thing is that he has an illegal spell, namely Quickened Dazing Aqueous Orb. I do not see any ability in his stat block that allows him to lower the metamagic level on his spells. As of now, the spell counts as a lvl 10 spell (3(base) +3(Dazing) +4(Quickened)), which is not allowed to exist according to his own feat.

Spell Perfection wrote:
Benefit: Pick one spell which you have the ability to cast. Whenever you cast that spell you may apply any one metamagic feat you have to that spell without affecting its level or casting time, as long as the total modified level of the spell does not use a spell slot above 9th level.

Bolding mine. So even though he ignores the spell level increase of the Quickened Spell Metamagic feat, it still is counted for final spell level.

Now this is easily fixed if he is given a trait like Magical Lineage. That allows him to cast his Quickened Dazing Aqueous Orb as a lvl 9 spell in a lvl 6 slot, but also his Dazing Persistent Aqueous Orb as a lvl 4 spell.

Or give him a Unique ability which states: "The Grand Caller can lower the final spell level of the spell chosen with the Spell Perfection feat by 1. In doing so, the DC of the save required by the spell is also lowerd by 1." Or something like that.


What is this "Cult of the Eye" people keep mentioning?


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mark Seifter wrote:
Samasboy1 wrote:
Dansome wrote:
Chances the "Cult of the Eye" will be in here?

From Pathfinderwiki:

"Complete sections for 20 villainous organizations, including an arcane society, brutal slavers, carnival troupe, corrupt guard, cruel musketeers, death cult, demon knights, diabolical church, fang monastery, merchant caravan, merry outlaws, nature’s scourge, regal court, ruthless brigands, savage marauders, scandalous pirates, secret society, sinister cult, slayer’s guild, and a thieves’ guild. "

Maybe the "sinister cult?"

Though this is a core book, not a setting book, and while they do use the same gods the Cult of the Eye seems much more setting tied. So I doubt it.

Yep, it won't have any Golarion-specific organizations. However, as you mention, we do have the Sinister Cult, and it wouldn't be too hard to use the Sinister Cult as an even-more-sinister offshoot of the Cult of the Eye (interested in the devastation of the deluge more so than protecting themselves from harm by sacrificing others).

Thanks to you both, I am very excited to see what I have to work with!

Eric Hinkle wrote:
What is this "Cult of the Eye" people keep mentioning?

A cult mentioned within "Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isles of the Shackles".

They believe the Eye of Abendego is the birth pangs of a new god (which they call the "Deluged God"). They offer sacrifices to be saved from the mass floods that will undoubtedly come once their deity arises.

Designer

Mr. Bonkers wrote:
I very interested in the Death Cult and the Brutal Slavers. I like necromancy and Undead stuff, and recently became quite fond of fleshwarping (distilling the mechanics for it from several sources, with Horror Aventures adding more to it). So let's get some inspiration for the Evil campaign I'm playing in.

Eeexcellent! The experimenter isn't quite there yet on mastering the secrets of fleshwarping, but it's only a matter of time. As to the Death Cult, they certainly have some undead in the mix, as you suspect...after all, I said someone killed the Reaper, and yet she's the group's leader.


Man, what a great character. It's good to see a high level wizard with Spell Perfection (which should really almost be a discovery), even if the DC for his focus spell is incorrect (the bonuses from spell focus and greater spell focus should be doubled.)


Grand Munchkin


Dansome: Thanks for that explanation. I was wondering if it was somehow Cyclops-related.

The Exchange

It is really nice to see a well-built NPC making use of some of the newer options. And I love me some Spell Perfection!

Aqueous Orb and Spell Perfection:
Yeah, Mr. Bonkers, there's a lot off with that combo. Including the fact that Spell Perfection is applied as you cast, not when preparing spells. I suspect it was presented in this form to make it easier for GMs using him as a villain, though.

You can't have everything in an NPC stat block. I was very excited to see that the contingency focus was actually included in his gear, then disappointed to realize he didn't have an eye ointment for true seeing. Sometimes you just have to make a sacrifice to the deities of word count, formatting, and (especially) deadlines and trust that GMs (and players) won't get too nitpicky in actual play.

Dark Archive

Belafon wrote:
** spoiler omitted **

It's but a nitpick, for sure. I doubt that players would whine about a DC that is lower than it could be. And there are ways to explain away the Quickened Dazing Aqueous Orb spell level as a GM. I just noticed it and decided to point it out (actually, I saw it and felt the need to point it out, it is a bad character trait...)

But for the rest the NPC's stats look fine, and I especially like the way the contingency is set. He teleports the moment he gets attacked, that could seriously surprise your PCs. One should never let a conjurer out of their sight, who knows how much back-up it brings forth. And Magic Jar options... I hate it when you think you took someone out, and it was just a scapegoat...

Designer

Mr. Bonkers wrote:
Belafon wrote:
** spoiler omitted **

It's but a nitpick, for sure. I doubt that players would whine about a DC that is lower than it could be. And there are ways to explain away the Quickened Dazing Aqueous Orb spell level as a GM. I just noticed it and decided to point it out (actually, I saw it and felt the need to point it out, it is a bad character trait...)

But for the rest the NPC's stats look fine, and I especially like the way the contingency is set. He teleports the moment he gets attacked, that could seriously surprise your PCs. One should never let a conjurer out of their sight, who knows how much back-up it brings forth. And Magic Jar options... I hate it when you think you took someone out, and it was just a scapegoat...

I'm not surprised a few errors slipped into a high level statblock; this guy was really complex to work with because of all of his options, but he should be an interesting challenge both in combat and as a recurring character in the campaign. Also, a shout-out: this group in general stood out to share because of the fine work of Amanda Hamon-Kunz.


Blog Entry wrote:
The death cult of Urgathoa, and its leader the Reaper, believes that death is the ultimate form of equality and an end to suffering in a world full of oppression. While they do want to spread killer plagues, they're equal-opportunity employers, even if you opposed them before you died. In fact, one of the Reaper's most trusted advisors was once an adventurer who helped kill the Reaper.

Ah yes, the Reaper! An undead villain ALLEGEDLY leading a cult of Uragathoa. Eh, we have dismissed that claim.


14 con and that body? That's pretty dang fit for a "physically lazy" guy.


Freehold cannot wait for this.

Designer

3 people marked this as a favorite.
deuxhero wrote:
14 con and that body? That's pretty dang fit for a "physically lazy" guy.

Turns out that when you make dark dealings with otherworldly powers, you can come out looking great! You should see the Eminent Spellqueen; she looks fabulous, all things considered, and it's all thanks to the power of good old fashioned hard work*

*And maybe whatever that horrible ritual thing was in the first picture.


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Why does the Grand Caller have only one opposition school?


Zaister wrote:
Why does the Grand Caller have only one opposition school?

Looks like he took opposition research for his other opposed school - necromancy.


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Ah right, it's listed in the feats, thanks.

Designer

Head over where the wild things are for more villainy goodness!

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