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I am DMING a group through a special 20th level adventure consisting of many previous villains. One of their favorite villains was a Gnome Gunslinger who kind of became a recurring villain who hunted them down with his companion hunting dog. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on making a tough 20the level character to take them on. The weapon itself he will use is a custom weapon but I'm looking for ways to make him dish out as much damage as possible in short bursts. Any help would be appreciated. His stats will be straight 18s.

I am making a gnome ranger for my Saturday game and I've decided, after 10 years, to finally take a shot at a ranger. He isn't going to be a very physical ranger and will depend more on his gnomish equipment, traps, and animal companion to help him out.

Strength 10
Dexterity 13
Constitution 16
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 18
Charisma 15

As far as a direction I was thinking ranged since he will utilize crossbows and other ranged weapons. Character wise he's much more of a vocal protector of the woods and often will try to talk down a conflict over directly fighting. When it comes down to it it is more his alliance with nature and spurring them to greater deeds that is his method of combat.

So I'm trying to build a special villain for my group's inevitable session on Halloween and I like to make each session pretty scary on Halloween. As far as atmosphere goes I can handle it but I was wondering if anyone had any villain ideas for this session. I was thinking ofor something somewhat like a Hannibal Lector style wizard or sorcerer. The group is 11th level and have some decent magical items on their side so I know the disadvantage is in my court but I think we could collectively make a scary and efficient villain. Any help or ideas would be much appreciated.

I've recently decided to take a shot at the wizard cleric type Ecclesitheurge after DMing for about a year. I have many ideas for the class but I am a bit rusty at pure spellcasters. What would be some good feats and options to take for my Halfling Ecclesitheurge?

STATS
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 15

My plan is for him to be a priest of Shelyn with a couple halfling tricks up his sleeve. He primarily is going for buffs, healing, and possibly illusions.

I'm looking to make a dual katana swinging Halfling Samurai. I was thinking of going with someone who tends to run around the battlefield and hit multiple enemies with some lighter armor to allow the Dex bonuses to come out. Any ideas on what else to choose?

These are my stats and gold

Strength: 15
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 19
145 gold

He's not the most optimized but I don't mind having some weaknesses. I just lack much knowledge of good two Weapon fighting builds.

I am planning a small adventure for my current Pathfinder group that is going to delve a bit more into horror. They are currently running on a pretty standard fantasy style but they are soon going to take a ship to get to a neighboring city but it will be hit by a storm and they will be marooned on a deserted island, but it turns out it isn't so deserted after all. I plan on it being inhabited by this maniacal but cunning man I'm not giving an in-game name but for the sake of this post I'll just refer to him as Gnasher as the Feral Gnasher archetype gave me the idea for this character and adventure.

Initially I want the group to seem pretty set but simply low on supplies. None of the characters are a ranger or druid so their survival checks are not as good as they could be. The first day will be relatively normal but when night falls they start to get a sense of being watched and possibly hear some strange noises. The Gnasher will observe them for two days before he starts setting up traps for them all over his island by water and food sources. I want him to barely be seen but when they do see him it will be terrifying. Now what I need is help on how to make him a hunter and I admit I am not well versed in hunter or ranger type characters.

For now my idea was to have the Feral Gnasher archetype as his main class but I want to add something to really give him an edge in the stealth and traps department. He doesn't wear armor as he doesn't have any for being stranded on that island for an unknown how many years or decades but he does have a weapon. His weapon is statistically a great club that was fashioned out of iron and seemingly appears to have originally been meant to be a sword or large machete but is now so blunt that it can do nothing but smash and occasionally stab. It will be a magical great club that has been stained with the blood of so many adventuring castaways that it has become a cursed magical item for anyone but Gnasher. Gnasher is also absolutely insane and absolutely feral but he is also extraordinarily cunning. He has had to survive on this island for a long time and has had more than his share of experience hunting and murdering castaways, including adventurers.

However the party has a paladin, a fighter, and a pretty hardy gnome alchemist so he won't likely be taking them on directly and that is where I need the help. The party is around level 9 and I'm making this guy about a level 12. His style of combat will be very hit and run on isolated or sleeping players but he has a colossal amount of hit points which make him very difficult to take down before he vanishes into the shadows with another corpse in hand for dinner. I have the Feral Gnasher idea pretty well set as this guy is a cannibal but I really could use advice on the other class, again preferably something stealth and trap based so he can split the party up or trap someone and force the party to look for them. The odds are kind of in the party's favor and I want a smart villain that can even the odds in devious and horrifying ways. I'm not against giving the Gnasher more magical abilities but I'd prefer it to be a tainted kind of magic that has been earned through insanity and eating magical beings like Sorcerers or Clerics.

My most recent group has proved to have some of the most entertaining and creative minds for character concepts I've come across in a long time and it got me thinking. What are the most memorable Characters or even NPCs that you've come across your table top?

The two characters that come to mind in my current group are Reiner Reichart the Half Giant Fighter and Lock the Ranger. Reiner is a Half Giant who does not realize he is a Half Giant and was raised by dairy farmers. He lacks any formal education and rarely is able to contribute to many conversations but he just proves so lovable such as believing his sizero is attributed to his having a glass of milk every day. He has a large cow named Bessie he takes care of and has a cow skin cloak over his armor. My favorite role playing moments with him are his atrocious memory and severe tunnel vision. For the first three adventures he didn't realize the group was the same set of people and that they were working together.

My second favorite character was Lock the Elven Ranger with a poor sense of direction. His player requested that survival not be a class skill for him and we incorporated a d100 percentile for which direction he thought was what and it has led to both stupid and awesome results. Once they were tracking a band of gnome gypsies but Lock mistook a two wheeled wagon for the four wheeled wagons the gnomes used and took the fifty miles in the wrong direction. This led them straight to a secret hideaway that an evil merchant was using to raid poor farmers and funeral processions for loot.

An honorable mention will be the Gnome Oracle Keno who had the Metal mystery. His origin was that he awoke in an Orcish temple with a tattoo burned into his forehead. When they tried to kill him he killed them back and found he was capable of crafting marvelous and exotic weapons without any understanding of how he knows. He kept his face concealed behind a metal mask with only two eye slits and eventually joined the party to find out what happened to him. He eventually formed a bit of a rivalry with the dwarven cleric as to who made the better weapons and armor and soon the whole party was armed to the teeth in custom made magic swag.

What are some of the most memorable Characters you've come across?

I'm playing for the first time in a while and the Occultist class is very intriguing. I love the idea of someone using items specifically to harness their powers. My character concept is more of a gentleman then a fighter who is trying to find his sister, who has been turned into a lich, and has resorted to the occult to help him find and put her to rest. He won't be wearing armor other than maybe an armored coat and his only melee weapon is a cane sword that he really doesn't know how to use, just good to always have the option. I was looking at the implement schools and have four options. One needs to be divination since he's using it to find his sister but I have three open options. He has a 19 Intelligence but his physical stats aren't anything to write home about so up close and personal won't really work for him. What would be some good options for the other three implement schools if anyone has any suggestions. I was thinking Necromancy and Abjuration but I'll take any better ideas.

I've come into a bit of a problem with one of my players and his mesmerist. While I had breezed over the occult classes I didn't see how powerful the mesmerist could be. He has walked through most challenges simply with his Hypnotic Stare and cripples most bosses I've put them against. He's starting to get a bit arrogant and reckless as little has been able to stop him outside of a swarm of enemies. Anyone have any advice on matching the mesmerist without looking like a jerk? I don't want to just kill the mesmerist but find ways to even out or properly counter his abilities as he has been high jacking most missions from the group.

We all know the awesome wizards, the nifty rogue, and the night incorruptible Paladin but what about the fighters? Most times they have little else than their weapons and armor to try and save the day but they always seem to leave quite an impression when in the hands of an expert player. What are some of the coolest Fighters you've come across in your games? Obviously this can include favorite archetypes and the like.

As a massive fan of Lovecraft and Call of Cthulhu, I have often found myself in the middle of a Pathfinder session shifting the overall mood to something more horror based than swords and sorcery. Thankfully I have some players who love adding scares and really dark tones to the adventure.

A great example has been when the group I was DMing entered a village called Ambertown and found that all of the inhabitants were almost sickeningly nice. Uncomfortable with such niceties, the group went out to cause a little trouble. However it seemed like it was impossible for them to get into trouble or be attacked by anyone with all of their attempts thwarted easily. The barbarian tried to throw a bottle of scotch at the bartender but he simply caught it on an attack roll of 23 and placed it back on the shelf before returning the barbarian's silver that he had paid it for. Eventually the group was plotting to burn down the village tavern as their paranoia increased after one of the bar boys who was nothing but smiles whispered to them to leave as quickly as they can. Almost immediately after this, the bar boy was led away by guards and they were too freaked out to even try to fight the guards. The adventure eventually developed into a scare riddled campaign as they tried to find a way out of Ambertown as leaving the village only led them back to it an hour later no matter what direction they left in. They really worked their detective skills and found themselves infiltrating the mayor's house and trekking through the home of the local undertaker. They eventually managed to escape through a powerful Gate spell that the wizard had to make harnessing powerful artifacts found around the village after the only combat of the entire adventure against a few of the local priests and villagers had killed three of the players. Since then, the village of Ambertown always makes the group skeevy and they have actively avoided any hints of the village returning or quickly leave when they see some of the smiles that echo the smiles of the citizens of Ambertown.

Have any of you ever found yourself shifting your DnD game to something more horror based midway through?

Bards have always come across as a perfect class for villains. The natural direction for a bard is someone who can convince a great deal of people to their side or obey their commands through both innate charisma and magical influence. A bad guy with dozens of faithful minions to throw at you seems harmless enough until he takes a simple farmer and buffs him with spells and song to create a sort of horrible champion of his cause.

A good example of this was I was playing with some friends and we came across a massive tavern that had its own walls. This place was almost its own complex which could survive without aid for years. It stood alone in the middle of nowhere and was a great resting spot for weary travelers and the like. We were tired and yearning for some food and a bed when we came across some bards who were a little too enticing with their music for our taste. The wizard detected some extremely powerful enchantments in their music, more than it should be, and the barbarian decided to call them out on it. Little good it did for us. The people who had been charmed and controlled by these bards for so long became diehard loyalists and were all too willing to comply with the bards' orders to kill us. We ran and eventually lost them but were trapped in the giant tavern castle with a population out to see us dead. We had to utilize every trick in the book from our rogue making disguises for us to our own bard battling one of the bad bards with the only use of Countersong I've ever seen in DnD. It was tense and exciting with surprisingly little combat. We escaped the tavern after a six session escape mission including four separate escape plans. We alerted the authorites of the neighboring city and when the constables arrived at the tavern castle, it was abandoned. We still are trying to find these three bards. It was both adventurous but also slightly "Amnesia" or "Call of Cthulhu" like with us sneaking in the shadows to avoid these obsessed followers.

Does anyone else have examples of Bards playing a villain in their campaign? Always good to share ideas.

For as long as I have played RPG's, I have always come across people who are almost insulted by the mere thought of a Halfling taking a melee combat role. It's almost as bad as the paladin hate I have seen from so many people. You put a longsword in a Halfling's hands and next thing you know everyone is laughing at him, giving him stupid nicknames, and even kicking him as if to prove to him he can't keep up. Then they get shocked and offended when said Halfling sticks a knife in their knee.

We all know Halflings are astounding rogues, bards, and even spellcasters but those can become so boring. Sure we all know the witty and charismatic Halfling with a heart of gold almost as full as his coin purse. If we look at the Halfling race as a whole, we are missing out on some crucial character opportunities. Halflings are innately lucky and as such they tend to be braver to the point of being considered suicidal at times. Why wouldn't a Halfling take up a longsword, throw on some chainmail, and try to become a knight or sellsword.

One of my favorite characters to DM was my friend Ian made a Goblin Paladin of Iomadae The character, Sir Boogoo Raven-Blade, was such a hilarious clash of race and class that melded into a beautiful character who retired at level 19. Seeing a little ugly Goblin Paladin scavenging in junk piles for scraps of metal and cloth to repair his homemade armor and sword after taking down a few Orc Bloodragers made him truly memorable. His mighty dogslicer, named Scrap, cut down wizards and barbarians, Giants and Kobolds. He never used bows or fire as he thought they were cowardly weapons that made his people weak and as he got higher in level he actually started a small knight school for Goblins who wanted to become more than what their race was expected. He actually became a very respected and reputable warrior/teacher. This is just one example of taking something that shouldn't work and let it go. Was he dealing as much damage as a Human or if he would have chosen a ranged build? No, but this was far better in my mind.

Do any of you have small race warriors who took on the stereotype that they cannot be given a sword or axe without hurting themselves? Who were your favorite PC's or NPC's?