Arkhadtoa's page

I haven't had the chance to check this forum again until now, but holy smokes did we get some great entries!

Nemesis, that Nimble Guardian is brutal and amazing. I think it will be the perfect foil for the Synthesist Summoner hero we have in the group--he thinks he's hot stuff with his 4 attacks per round, but I can't wait to see his face when I come at him with all the attacks from that Nimble Guardian!

I think that the Fiendish Lion build might be a great fit for an escaped lab experiment or something. Thanks, VoodistMonk!

I'm also glad to see the Nightwing, Psylock, and Emma Frost-inspired builds! Having the stats on hand is useful, and their low levels make them perfect for a gang of new supers in the city who are new to their powers.

Andostre, I think I'm definitely going to use that idea of the Mesmerist/Mysterious Stranger! I'd been toying with a circus-style encounter, and that fits really well.

These are all amazing! Thanks for all your help!

Excellent suggestion, Nemesis! Thanks!

These are all amazing ideas! It doesn't surprise me in the least that there are archetypes that I've never heard of before. I definitely came to the right place for inspiration!

Arkhadtoa wrote:

AA, holy smokes those are both incredible ideas! I will definitely be including Doctor Troxxelerro in my game. Thank you!

Fancy races (and monster races) that you normally would never allow a PC to play are ideal for this, like the aforementioned Trox and Quickling, or various flying races or those with other unusual abilities, such as a Doppleganger's mind-reading and shapechanging, an Aranea's web-throwing and wall climbing, etc. Even strapping some 'monster abilities' on an otherwise normal(ish) NPC, such as a vampire's ability to summon wolves and bat swarms, wall climbing and light sensitivity (but no other vampire powers) could make for a 'super' feeling character.

Another way to reach the same goal is to reflavor monsters as desired. A humanoid with the appearance of a red or black skinned 'tiefling,' but the mechanical stats of a (Nessian) hell hound (but able to wear armor and use weapons) could be one such example. A humanoid with the mechanical stats of a medium to large sized dragon would be scary...

Other monsters could work as listed, handwaving they can turn back to a human form. A greater shadow, specter or wraith makes a good 'life-stealing villain who can walk through walls.'

Set, these are some good points. I particularly like the reflavored Nessian Hell Hound and Quickling ideas--a great way to approach the obligatory fire-themed and super-speed villains. Thanks!

I got a concept for a villain that's basically a fusion of Catwoman and Daredevil

Weaponmaster fighter;
whip mastery; advance weapon training feats (warrior spirit, focused weapon, trained grace), exotic heritage, improved eldritch heritage (deep earth), blind fight (or the trait that gives it to you) , blinded blade style, dodge, mobility, whirlwind attack

Make sure to get gloves of dueling

Use warrior spirit to add brilliant energy to the whip.

BRILLIANT ENERGY WHIP, WHIRLWIND ATTACK THREW WALLS, TREMORSENSE to find people

If they drink a potion of enlarge they could lock themselves in a room and attack everyone in the building (1 attack vs everyone within 30 ft in every direction ignore nonliving matter like walls and armor)

They could either reside inside someone's vault as protection against thieves, or just be renown for their ability to attack threw walls

That is an amazing concept! What a way to turn a whip into a deadly weapon! Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely get some mileage out of this build.

Heather 540: That's a great build! I'd been thinking of what I wanted to do for the obligatory ice villain, and this fits nicely.

avr: I'm thinking of starting the players at 8th level, so that they're truly above the capabilities of normal people, and capping their level-ups at 12 or 13, so that they don't have to fight Galactus later in their careers just to pose a challenge. As for genre, I'm thinking mostly it will focus on unraveling criminal gangs and conspiracies, with the occasional silly "Saturday Morning Cartoon" villain thrown in to lighten the mood. And your suggestion of the druid is a great one; I was toying with the idea of an angry druid circle attacking the city, and I may use your quote verbatim for one of the more... enthusiastic members.

Scott Wilhelm: Cocoa Cola! Genius! Maybe they're rivals with Pep-in-your-stepsi, and have shadowy commerce wars over their respective secret formulas, complete with uniformed agents who go to outrageous (and maybe even deadly) lengths to win. And I loved the Tick cartoons! I should give them a watch again, I'm sure they'd be a goldmine of inspiration.

AA, holy smokes those are both incredible ideas! I will definitely be including Doctor Troxxelerro in my game. Thank you!

I appreciate the feedback, Dave. However, generalized advice isn't really what I asked for in my original post. If you have any specific ideas for villains, and therefore suggestions for builds (including race/class/feats/spells/templates/gimmicks), I'd love to hear them.

That is an excellent point, Dave; maybe, then, it is the spellcasters and such that are the "supers" of the world.

Do you have any builds (spellcasters or otherwise) that could be a good fit for a supervillain in a world full of commoners, and who could challenge a team of other "supers?"

To preface, I know that there are superhero-specific RPG systems out there, like Mutants and Masterminds, but neither my players nor I want to learn a new system, and Pathfinder offers such a wealth of player options that we can make great heroes and villains, themed around a fantasy world.

I'm making a homebrew fantasy city/world, but it uses the same races, monsters, and gods from Golarion, for ease of transition. It has somewhat advanced steam/clockwork/magi-tech technology, as well as magic. My players are making superheroes (some with the Vigilante class, and others with interesting blends of races and classes, like Oracle/Brawler, or a guy who's making basically Venom with Synthesist Summoner). As I, the GM, am in charge of populating the city they'll be defending with helpless civilians, tough thugs, and nefarious supervillains, I find that my greatest challenge is making these supervillains stand out as exceptional in a fantasy world where spellcasters are commonplace.

I already have a few ideas of my own (such as an orcish werecrocodile barbarian focused on grappling and "death-rolling", a gadget villain who uses a plethora of Wondrous items and rods and staves to steal and fight, and a mastermind Oracle with the Intruigue mystery), and I'm confident that I can make a pretty decent rogues gallery, but I wanted to reach out to other experienced players on the internet for other ideas that I wouldn't have thought of. (I made a similar post on Reddit not long ago, but where better to ask than on the Paizo boards?) The players want to be street-level heroes (like Daredevil or Spider-Man), rather than, like the Justice League, so I'm thinking of limiting my CR to around 14-16 maximum.

I would love to see your ideas, regardless of how cheesy or gritty they are (there's room for both at my table)! I don't mind builds that are obvious references (after all, I'm planning a special May the 4th session where they fight a black-armored Magus with a flaming red sword who uses Telekinetic Maneuver), but the more creative you are, the better. Any Paizo content is open: monsters, races, classes, templates, magic items, spells, feats, etc. If you can come up with a bit of backstory and a cheesy/awesome/appropriate villain name for them, all the better.