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A Demon in the Darkness
The Harbinger began (un)life as a Contemplative, but was feared by his family and peers, who disagreed with his quest for knowledge about the transformative powers of Undeath. For him, all of the arcane arts were intriguing, especially Transmutation, but Necromancy had always been the most fascinating, and the further he delved into black texts, the further the members of his enlightened, dispassionate race drew away from him. Interest turned to fascination, fascination to obsession, and obsession to reverence. Eventually, after the death of his mother, he was overcome with emotion, and in a fit of passion, raised her from the dead as a zombie-the first ever undead member of the Contemplative race.
For this, he was banished, and his mother’s undead corpse destroyed. He vowed revenge on his classmates and former family; on the entire race that had turned their backs on him. Several years passed, and he heard a whisper of a dark coven of vampires that stalked a Halfling village several miles up-river from where he was hiding. After months of searching, he finally found them, and begged them to give him the gift of unlife. Their leader, Lassatha (a direct descendant of the very first vampires) was intrigued by his strange ways and customs, as well as his inherent ability to speak directly to the minds of others, and agreed to turn him, if he could perform a simple task for her and her sisters. The Halfling village was protected by holy magics that kept the vampires from entering. These wards were created and maintained by a Human Deacon who had come from a distant land with several paladins and other holy warriors at his side. If The Harbinger could somehow bring down the magical protection around the village and allow Lassatha to feast on the Deacon, she would personally turn him into a vampire. He said he could do even better than that, and proposed that if he could turn the entire village over to her, she would have to turn him into a free vampire, not a spawn. She agreed. He wasted no time after the bargain was struck. His plans were already in effect, and he knew just how to achieve them.
He started small. Using his innate magical powers, he began to ‘haunt’ the village. Moving objects around with telekinesis and speaking in dark whispers to the minds of the villagers. He especially took a hold on the more popular and charismatic youth, finding their self-interest to be a potent weakness. Through them, he slowly touched the minds of the villagers, poisoning their thoughts by degrees into anarchy and madness. The Deacon and his followers prayed and fasted for respite, they held ceremonies and holidays, trying desperately to win back the hearts of the halflings they loved so much. But The Harbinger was patient, and over the course of a few generations, he had enslaved the village by means of a cult, for whom “The Great Voice” had become their new god. The paladins and clerics were long gone, fallen to the cult, driven from the city or killed openly in the streets. Only the lone Deacon, now an old and broken man, continued to hold fast to his hope for his fallen flock, constantly fighting off the voices in his mind. But The Harbinger’s poison had already taken effect, and none now listened to the “False Preacher”.
Finally, the time came to strike. Using his greatest pawn, the mayor of the village, The Harbinger had the villagers put the Deacon on trial for trying to corrupt the minds of the youth and saw to it that the wards protecting the city were brought down. The townsfolk cheered and the Deacon wept. The Deacon was found guilty and sentenced to death. The Mayor besought The Great Voice to give them direction, and The Harbinger sentenced him to death, but told them that one of his heralds would come and perform the deed. At long last, The Harbinger returned to Lassatha and sent her to the village. They welcomed her as a God, and her retribution was slow and painful. And as the life drained from the Deacon’s tired eyes, The Harbinger smiled.
With her revenge at long last fulfilled, the wards abolished, and an entire village-worth of fresh, willing sacrifices, Lassatha was all-too-pleased to give The Harbinger his reward. And as he shed the coils of mortality, he stretched his eyes toward the future, and saw once again all of his former brothers whom he had left behind so many years before. Their suffering would be incomprehensible. Their deaths would be eternal.
Reaper
He returned home a darkness and a fury, but not a bringer of death. Death was too good for those who had wronged him so long ago. It was these that he slowly tortured and drained, until he had made them into the monsters that they had so despised. These became his first spawn; his minions.
He began to use his newfound powers and followers to dominate the minds of lesser beings. He used them as pawns in an intricate game, corrupting the minds of influential people behind the scenes: Bankers, Merchants, Priests, Teachers, Advisors; all were potential victims of his schemes. And so his power grew. He began to enact dark plots that stretched across centuries.
As he fed on the blood of others, his body grew stronger and more lithe. His limbs began to realize their strength, and for the first time in his entire existence, he used his legs to walk and his tongue to speak-the first of his kind to do so in eons.
But still, his lust for power was stronger even than his lust for blood, and he once again turned his attention to the Arcane Arts. For millennia he studied, learning and plotting out what strategies would be necessary for survival and to achieve his goals. He learned to mix arcane knowledge with martial, and he took pleasure from both pursuits equally. During this time, his love of Transmutation and Necromancy returned to him, and he developed a fascination with the Occult.
In time, he joined a coven of like-minded witches and hags, and quickly had them at his beck-and-call. He discovered that he had a knack for using his power of dominating the minds of others in conjunction with his ability to summon spirits and creating spawn to achieve new levels of power that he never thought possible. As his Arcane knowledge grew, he learned of other worlds and planes of existence, and the methods to reach them. Minds fell under his influence, then families, then cities, then nations, then entire worlds.
Power. Wealth. Veneration. Blood. He had all he ever needed. But still, there was one thing that had always plagued him. His own frailties and weaknesses were glaring, and he knew that he would need to find a new way of existing. It was then that he had an epiphany. He scoured the planes, through followers and through his own means, until he located a being known as a Grim Reaper. Using a powerful scroll, he merged his soul with the body of the Reaper and sent its essence screaming into the Void. His numberless concourses of followers, worshippers and pawns watched as the lifeless husk of his former self fell to the earth at the feet of the Reaper. All was silent and still. Then, The Harbinger stretched out his hand. For the first time in millennia, he felt the warm light of day, and it did not harm him.
His gaze turned to his kingdoms, powers, minions, slaves, wealth, and worlds within his frigid grasp, and he frowned. He had everything he had ever wanted, yet still, he lusted for more. And so, his eyes turned from the Material Plane, resting on the otherworldly domains of Gods and Monsters alike. These would be his trophies, too. All would bow before him. Or all would burn.

First of all, I’m sorry. This guy is a serious monster and the only way I know of to beat him is to pull his own tricks against him. He’s immune to practically everything, nigh-untouchable physically, able to dish out arbitrary levels of pain in one round, and saves against virtually everything on a 2. So, really, I’m sorry.

Attributes Explained
20 Point-buy

Str- 42 (29 Reaper (7 point-buy), 5 Inherent (Wish), 6 Enhancement (Headband), 2 Profane (Unliving Rage))

Dex- 45 (30 Reaper (7 point-buy), 5 Wish, 6 Headband, 4 Profane (Lilitu))

Con- N/A (7 point-buy)

Int- 57 (18 point-buy, 14 Race, 3 Age, 2 Vampire, 5 Wish, 6 Belt, 5 Level, 4 Profane (Lilitu))

Wis- 38 (14 Base, 6 Race, 3 Age, 2 Vampire, 5 Wish, 6 Belt, 2 Profane (Succubus))

Cha- 51 (16 Base, 10 Race, 3 Age, 4 Vampire, 5 Wish, 6 Belt, 5 Untyped (Genius Avaricious), 2 Profane (Unliving Rage))

The Wishes he got from Lilitu Demons, or just a single one over the course of many weeks. He hit her (them) and the succubus that gave him the profane gift with Eternal Slumber and keeps them locked up very safe in a personal Demiplane that only he knows how to access.

Followers Explained With his ability to Dominate others, his Create Spawn and Summon Spirit abilities, as well as his longevity, otherworldly intelligence, and patience, he has unlimited followers. And if his charms, magic, or schemes don’t so the trick, he can always threaten them with an eternal destruction via his Final Death ability.

His favorite method of creating followers is by casting Dominate on a newborn/child and guiding it through its life, never poking too hard, but just enough to get it to become/learn/do what he wants it to do. It started with one Elf, whom he followed every day of its life, re-dominating it just before the duration of the SLA wore off. He was careful to avoid protection from X spells, as well as high-level dispels, and guided the elf to become a powerful crafting wizard. By the time the elf had reached full maturity, he was so far engrained into the elf’s personal life that he could make him do anything for him. So, he turned him into a spawn. He then began the process over again while his immortal minion made other magical items for him. He repeated this process until he had a goodly number of spawn and began cranking out serious nosh.

Not everyone becomes a spawn, however. Some are dominated to become profoundly wealthy and powerful businessmen (for money), or great political leaders (for influence and power), or other types of important figures (for X reasons). In every case, he tells them to just lead normal lives, and only occasionally does he intervene or give a new command. And extremely slowly, his undead army of followers grows.

But the bulk of his followers come from the fanatical death cult members he has inspired. He started his own religion (slightly by chance, slightly by design), and has found that it, above most things, has been a source of perfect fodder for his armies.

Also, because of his great power, he rarely, if ever, comes out to play. He really prefers to send his most powerful agents out instead of facing his enemies himself. This doesn’t mean that he won’t, however. He just understands that his most powerful defense comes from not being physically present at the fights.

Wealth Explained- With unlimited followers and cohorts, most of whom follow him blindly or are dominated/too terrified to go against him, he has unlimited wealth. As said previously, many of these are/can be merchants or other powerful figures, so there is that, but also, there is another way that he makes money.
The Plane of Earth is a universe-sized piggy bank of Gold, Silver, Diamonds, and other precious materials. Through the eons, he slowly infiltrates/takes over the infrastructure of one planet at a time, pulling small amounts of raw materials from its wealth and economy. It takes millennia to drain a single planet, and as such, he has infinite wealth.

CL Explained As can be found here, he can/does have nigh-infinite CL. For the purpose of these exercises, I had him utilize only enough followers to make his 1 rd/lvl spells last over 24 Hours. Using this formula, his 1 min/lvl spells last ~10 days, His 1 hr/lvl last ~616 Days, and
his 1 day/lvl spells last ~40 years.

Spells Explained You may have noticed that many of his buff spells are not on his spell list and/or too high of level to cast. Because he has infinite time (He’s immortal and so are many of his followers), Infinite Wealth (See below), and infinite manpower (also below), he can crank out scrolls of nigh-unlimited CL (see below as well). With Aid Another, he can make a high enough UMD check to cast these spells.

As for the Spell DC’s of his constant spell effects, especially the ludicrously high Spell DC’s of his Permanent Symbols: Basically, he has engineered his perfect army, making them become exactly what he wanted them to be. This means that he can, with only time as his expenditure, make DC’s of stupidly high levels. He does this by having these creatures develop traits, feats, and class structure to tailor to a specific spell. That, and he can always summon the spirit of someone who has already done that. For example, A Rage Prophet adds his Con Modifier and his Charisma Modifier to save DC’s while he rages. Through various (fairly simple) methods, he can get both of these to somewhere around +17 or even +20. This, coupled with Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus, Spell Specialization, Sharesister Spell, Elemental Focus, Greater Elemental Focus, Various traits (like the ones The Harbinger himself has, along with others), Spell Perfection, Heighten Spell (To make every spell level 9), and of course, the 10 base, he can achieve 70+ Spell DC, easily. I just chose DC 70 as an average and a good base.

Essentially, whatever the highest possible DC is for any spell, ever, he uses that DC.

As for Unwilling Shield[i], once he used Eternal Slumber on the Tarrasque, he had a slave use a [i]Polymorph Any Object spell to make it the same creature, but the size of a strawberry. Duration Factor: 11, Permanent. CL: Arbitrary (see below). He keeps the peacefully-sleeping Tarrasque in a Life Bubble inside of a smaller-than-average Familiar Satchel tucked into the folds of his robes.

Other Thoughts According to this, technically one could have arbitrarily high ability scores, provided they have enough wealth, time and manpower to craft the items in question. The Harbinger has all of these things.

This would mean that his to-hit would be nigh-infinite, as would his damage, his Spell DC’s, his SLA and Special Ability DC’s, his Saves, his AC, his skill and ability checks, and his spells/day. I decided that I wasn’t going to exploit those rules, however. And I think that’s for the best. Besides, he is frighteningly beastly even without them.

Sorry again for that.

He acts in the surprise round and auto-wins initiative. He sees the Shoggoth at 120 ft., because of his Greater Darkvision. Because of the Seeking property on his bow, he negates all of the cover (He would have done that using Blindsense after 60 ft, anyway). Then, with a swift action, he spends one point from his arcane pool to use Arcane Accuracy. Then, using Spellstrike, he casts a Heightened (Level 6) Dazing Rime Frostbite and hits with a Named Bullet Frigid Touch (Spell-Storing) arrow. Because of Named Bullet, every attack is a critical threat. Because of Death Strike, every critical threat is an auto-crit. So, he does 8d6+60+40 (121)+Fatigued (Frostbite), Entangled (Rime Spell), Dazed (Dazing Spell), Staggered (Frigid Touch), Shaken (Weapon of Awe), 2 Negative levels, and 1d6+14833 nonlethal damage. The Shoggoth implodes.

See entry for Shoggoth, but without needing to re-cast Frostbite, and add in DC 44 Eternal Slumber via Conductive Weapon and holy water on the remains, just in case.

See entry for Balor.

See entry for Shoggoth.

See entry for Shoggoth, but because of the Dragon’s cold vulnerability, it takes *1.5 damage from the Frostbite Spell.

See entry for Balor, but change holy water to the Bleed spell.

See entry for Balor, but no need for Holy Water. Also see the Spells Explained section above.

[url=http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/magical-beasts/great-old-one-bokrug]Bokrug

Being immune to cold, The Harbinger uses his rod of Elemental Spell to make his Frostbite spell deal Electrical damage before the fight. Long story short, Bokrug only saves vs. Daze on a natural 20. It’s over after only a few hits. Bokrug evaporates and goes back to sleep.

Hastur
See entry for Bokrug.

Cthulhu
See entry for Hastur.

Balthazaar
There are many ways that The Harbinger could end this fight:
1. Just walk up to him. The Angel is carrying a rod of Absorption, but that doesn’t negate area affect spells or auras. Because of The Harbinger’s permanently-activated Symbols, he could just walk to within 35 ft. of Balthazaar and watch him get hit with 3d6 Strength Damage, Permanent Confusion, Sleep, Hideous Laughter, and -4 to basically everything.
2. Sunder/Steal his rod of Absorption. Or send someone else to do it. Like this guy.
3. Mage’s Disjunction. At CL 14825, Every single spell effect and magical item that Balthazaar has would be completely negated, with thousands more in the bank. Then, he could do the next thing…
4. Turn him into a pin cushion. Even without Frostbite, The Harbinger could use his surprise round to sunder the rod of absorption himself, and even with half damage, the rod is gone in one shot. Then The Harbinger would win initiative and full-round from up to 1100 ft away, hitting the Angel for 32d6+480+360 (One is an actual Critical hit, and therefore one of the 40’s would be critplied) +16 Negative levels +Death Strike (which The Angel would eventually fail but I’m too lazy to do the math for), and then stored spells on top of that: Frigid Touch 4d6 (Staggered), Mudball (Blinded), Vampiric Touch *6=60d6 negative energy damage. Altogether, we’re looking at ~1190 lethal damage.
5. Frostbite. Of course, there’s this. And it works with option #4, too. Adding 1d6+14832 nonlethal cold damage to every arrow, we get ~119,860 lethal/nonlethal damage in one round.
6. Close your eyes and point to something. There are a huge number of deadly spells not covered by The Harbinger’s Spellbane. He can use one of those. Or, he can Grapple/pin him and use energy drain until he dies. Or he could sick his legions on him. Or so many other things.
7. Gate? Though Gate is Spellbane’d, that doesn’t mean that one of his pawns can’t use it on him (at a Higher CL than both the Hallow/Dispel Magic effect and his HD). Then call him through. He would then be under the control of the pawn, who would in turn, be under the control of The Harbinger. However, I’m not sure of Balthazaar counts as a “Unique Being” or not (probably does…but that also means that The Harbinger does, as well). But just to be safe, we’ll say that this one doesn’t work on him.
Despite all of these options, there is one that is more evil; more cruel. One that Balthazaar has not prepared for.
Balthazaar is an extremely well-prepared opponent, but he has several weaknesses. One in particular that is pretty glaring. It is this weakness that becomes his downfall.
As the mightiest of Angels meditates, knowing that his challenger is coming (having at-will Commune is pretty awesome), he senses a dark presence of overwhelming evil. His alabaster eyes open and he sees, some 120 ft. up in the air, the skeletal, black, emotionless figure of The Harbinger floating there. The Harbinger is constantly invisible, but he sees right through the glamer. It is Balthazaar’s creed that he waits for his opponents to attack him, so he does not move. Suddenly, 20 or so other wizards teleport 60 or so feet away from Balthazaar’s shrine, each bringing with them a seemingly-ordinary man or woman from a variety of races. They look terrified, begging for mercy as they struggle against their captors, but then, with a single word from The Harbinger, the wizards and others cast Hold Person on each of their charges in tandem. The Men, Women and Children freeze in place. The Harbinger produces a scroll and begins reading from it.
Balthazaar suddenly realizes what is happening and springs to his feet with a battle cry and a shout of vengeance, his sword flying towards The Harbinger, his rod leaving his hands as he knocks an arrow in his bow. “NO!!!” He screams, but it’s too late.
With simultaneous quickened Teleports, The wizards are gone, and The Harbinger’s spell is complete. Wail of the Banshee. There are no survivors.
Balthazaar was outside of the radius of the spell, but still, he nocks an arrow and lets it fly. It misses its target, and The Harbinger utters another word. The Wizards each reappear with another captive. “YOU WILL NOT HARM ANOTHER!!!” The Solar screams, his holy fury manifest through his every motion. He turns his attention to the Wizards, who have just finished casting Hold Person. He begins firing at the Wizards, but even their defenses are too powerful, and none of them are touched.
This is just enough time for The Harbinger. He moves to within 35 ft of the Angel, and the fight is over. As the Angel falls from the sky, the sword follows after him. The Harbinger catches it and shatters it with one hand. He then moves down to the Solar and produces another scroll: Dominate Monster, Arbitrary CL, DC 70. When the deed is done, The Angel rises and bows before his new master. “What would you have me do?” The mighty angel asks in a voice that spans Eternity.
The Harbinger indicates the paralyzed men and women and says, “Start there.”
Yikes. That got super dark. Sorry, guys.

Finally, a worthy opponent.
Arkalion is a beast, but his main weakness is that his initiative maxes out at 78. The Harbinger has a +71. By Beastmass rules, he beats his 78 with an 81.
The Harbinger Greater Teleports to 300 ft. away. He lets Arkalion see him. Initiative. The Harbinger wins. Free action put the Estoc away. Swift action to use Arcane Accuracy. Using Spell Combat he casts his Frostbite Combo and full-round attacks. Btw, as far as I can tell, Arkalion’s build mentions that he is immune to critical hits, but the only thing I’ve been able to find is heavy Fortification armor, which only grants a 75% miss chance for the critical. It’s unimportant either way.
His first arrow has Dispel Magic it, focusing on his Ice Body spell, which unravels (He is now no longer immune to “ability score damage, blindness, critical hits, deafness, disease, drowning, electricity, poison, stunning, and all spells or attacks that affect [his] physiology or respiration”). The first arrow strikes for 2d6+30+40 Damage (~77 Damage) plus 2 Negative Levels. By the second arrow, the fight is over, as he strikes with a critical hit as well as 14839 nonlethal cold damage.

**The following is pure writefaggotry and isn't at all required reading**.

This night within the Seven Stars Tavern is a fairly peaceful one, all things considered. Only two fights, and neither of them deadly. Not a bad record. Usually, by this time in the evening, the mortician would have made one or two stops already at the bar, to pick up a pint of his favorite spiced apple rum, and to collect any deceased. It is because of the calmness of the night that The Ghostkiller chooses this time to arrive.

A monk steps into the loud tavern, a bow at his back, never far from reach. His searching eyes scan the room as all heads turn to look at him. Whispers follow him as his eyes rest on a door at the far end of the room. He moves over to it with unnatural speed and the bartender runs to meet him there.

“M’Lord?” The greasy man squeaks out.

“Open the door,” the monk says, patiently. The bartender wrings his hands on his mottled apron and says, “Begging your pardon, M'Lord, but he don’t like to be disturbed…” “That is why I’m here.” The monk sends a stern look at the bartender, who drops back and begins fumbling with a set of keys. At last, he chooses one and places it into the keyhole. With a turn of the key, the lock clicks, and the door creaks open. “Lock it behind me,” the monk commands as he steps into the dark room. The bartender doesn’t have to be told twice.

The sounds from the tavern fade as the door closes behind him. The monk walks confidently into the room. Darkness has never bothered him, and being alone is something that he actually enjoys. Only…he’s not alone. Almost supernaturally, he seems to sense the presence of another in the room. However, this other presence knows he’s there as well, and just as the lock on the door clicks shut, a long, thin blade is drawn from a sheath, and a crackling blue-yellow energy envelops it. The Monk doesn’t reach for his bow, however. He had expected something like this to happen, and he isn’t here to fight. The sword casts a pale light on the face of a disheveled, heavily-tattooed, dirty-looking Elf who seems to be looking through him, not at him.

The two figures study each other for a moment. “Witchborn,” the monk suddenly says. “My Lord Ghostslayer...or do you prefer, ‘One’?” The elf replies.

This is something the monk isn’t prepared for. Not very many know him by his real name anymore, especially not this far away from the Throne. He shrugs this off, however, and says, “So you’re the one I’ve heard about. Is it true you killed Zalastia?”

“No, that wasn’t me,” the elf replies quickly. “I’m just a tavern drunk.”

“A tavern drunk with a Red Dragon’s hoard of treasure hidden in the cave beneath the river?”

It is the Elf’s turn to be surprised. He had assumed that he had been discreet; that none but him had known of his fight with the ancient evil, let alone saw where he had hid the treasure. He recovers quickly, however.

“Is that what you’re here for?” The Witchborn asks. “Because if it is, I really worry for the financial security of the Nine Kingdoms.”

“No, that’s not why I’m here,” the monk says, sitting down cross-legged on a filthy chair nearby.

The Witchborn pauses, and his blue eyes narrow. “Then, you must forgive me, oh very ‘Enlightened One’. I wasn’t expecting guests.”

One’s jaw clenches, then he says, “No, you must forgive me. I invited myself.”

The elf smiles slightly at this, cautiously taking a seat opposite the monk. “Then why are you here, your Majesty? What is a King doing among thieves...?” The monk looks around, then grabs a bottle sitting on the table and pushes it towards The Witchborn. As The Witchborn takes it and puts it to his lips, the monk says, “I’m here, because not everything is ‘happily ever after’ as the stories say. My reign is at an end. I was never meant to be made a king…No one who was left on the doorstep of a Monastery as an infant was ever born for such...pomp.” The monk shakes his head, and The Witchborn believes he sees a true sadness behind the monk’s tired eyes. “I need to be free to continue my life...my life...the way I always wanted it to be. I want to wander again. I want to be free to explore...free to help those around me...away from courts and governors and proud men who masquerade as things...that they are not. Such a life is false. And such a life is not mine...”

The monk trails off. “But you haven’t answered my question,” the elf states, his eyes once again narrowing as they peer over the edge of the bottle. “Why are you here?”

One smiles as his eyes turn back to the elf and he says, “Because you’re going to help me.” The Witchborn actually chuckles slightly at this, then says, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Why not?” the monk asks, patiently.

“Why would I?” the elf replies quickly. “I have everything I could ever want, so there’s nothing you can give me. I don’t want to be King, if that’s what you’re offering. And, I don’t need protection, in case you were wondering.”

“That’s not what I hear...” One replies. The elf snickers, once again raising the bottle to his lips, and says, “If you’re talking about the Behemoth, I took care of-”

“I was talking about your mother...” The monk says.

The elf pauses mid-gulp. How did he know about her? What else did he know? Did he know that he was raised by an evil witch? Did he know that she was hunting him? Did he know that every day he was running from the curse that she had placed on him as a boy?

“How did you-?” The Witchborn begins, but he’s cut off by One. “I would be a very poor ruler if I didn’t know of any potential threats within my kingdom.” There’s a potent silence, then The Witchborn pulls back his long, dark, disheveled hair from his face. One notices several long scars and part of a very detailed tattoo of a dragon just beneath his collar. “What do you want from me?” The elf asks, seriously. The monk replies with a question, “Do you know how I became King?”

“I know the rumors…that you slew several mighty beasts…” The monk is silent. The elf sits up, intrigued. “There’s no way that’s true, though…” The monk looks at the ground, humbly. “No…”the Witchborn begins. “No there’s no way…No one could do that…” One once again looks up at the elf and says, “You’re right. No one could do that. I was put through the test…by the Gods themselves.”

The elf laughs heartily, something that he hasn’t done in many years. “The Gods? What do they have to do with us? They don’t care about us…”

“Just because you choose not to see the influence of a God in your life doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” the monk instructs. “And just because you believe something is impossible doesn’t mean it is. I was chosen to overcome The Beastmass. The reasons why still evade me to this day, but still, I know they’re there. And believe me, with the Gods’ help, I did it. And you can, too.”

The Witchborn is silent for a long while before he finally asks, “How does this help you?”

“If the people know that there are others like me; others like them; that can stand defiant against overwhelming opposition, then perhaps they won’t have need for a ‘savior’ to constantly hold their hands and protect them. That is why I need you to complete The Beastmass.”

“No,” The Witchborn blurts out. “No, I don’t think so. Your problems are your own.” The elf rises to his feet and continues, “Thank you for the lovely evening, your Majesty, but I believe it’s time for you to leave.”

He begins to make for the door, but the monk says, “If you do this, then I can help remove your curse from you...and your sister...”

For the very first time, The Witchborn's mouth falls open in shock. No one knew about his sister...no one. They had even fooled their mother into thinking she was dead. And a sliver of fear begins to wedge itself into his heart-something that hasn't happened since he was a boy...

He turns around, an incomprehensible look on his face. He shakes his head slowly and says, "You can't remove the curse. No one but my mother can do that...” The monk rises to his feet and moves beside him. He’s surprisingly short, for a King. One places a hand on The Witchborn’s shoulder and says, “Oh my friend...if only you knew...”

Suddenly, a bright, shining orb appears in the room, and an unearthly peace and calm seems to pierce The Witchborn’s heart. The light grows brighter and brighter, until suddenly, it materializes into the form of a young woman, clad in golden mail. Her eyes shine like the mid-day sun and her long white hair flows like flames around her. Her features are reminiscent of both a human woman and a Gold Dragon, as if her being is so powerful it can be perceived in many ways. Her soft, happy eyes turn on One, and he bows slightly. She nods to him, then turns her gaze to The Witchborn. He takes a step back, truly in awe of such a magnificent being, and he knows that he is in the presence of the servant of a diety.

“Witchborn,” the woman begins, with a voice like rolling thunder, yet soft and fair as a summer breeze. “I am called Peace through Vigilence. I am the Voice of the The Inheritor, my Mistress Iomedae. It is her will that you undertake the Trial of the Beastmass, and it is your fate that you will succeed. Go, and do not fear. The Light of The Sword will be watching over you.” And then, just as quickly as she arrived, she disappears.

Before the Beastmass, The Witchborn spends weeks talking with the ancient Monk, One, asking him questions about the Trial of the Beastmass, where the various encounters took place and what the results were. Finally, the day of the Beastmass arrives, and One takes him to the bank of a large, powerful river and gives him some last-minute pieces of advice. The Witchborn prepares his spells and casts them on himself. His Cohort casts any spells mentioned in the Spellcasting Notes section above. He takes 5 minutes or so to get back his spells and replenish his Arcane Pool. He’s ready.

"Good luck," the itchy Monk says as he flies away on his broom. The Witchborn nods as he squints into the bright light of the morning sun. He's alone, standing on the bank of a strong, powerful river, and he decides to study his spellbook as he waits for the first trial to begin. He ponders why he can't seem to remember why he forgets spells every time he casts them. A feeling of peace and overwhelming tiredness washes over him, and his eyes begin to close...

He wakes up to the sting of cold salt water enveloping him. He's treading water amidst large swells on the ocean! On a normal day, he would find this place very peaceful and serene, and would likely summon the spirit of a Merfolk to talk to as he glides in and out of the water. But today is no ordinary day, so he flies down to 10 ft below the water and looks around, but sees nothing but blackness beneath him. But then, the blackness seems to shudder slightly, and The Witchborn realizes with a gasp that this must be the Shoggoth! The titanic ooze lurches forward, and he realizes that the Beastmass has begun.

They are 90 ft. apart. They both ignore the cover, through blindsight and tremorsense, respectively. The Shoggoth will get a surprise round. He starts babbling incoherently as part of his maddening cacophony as a free action and moves forward 50 ft. The Witchborn passes his Will Save against the Maddening Cacophony (on a 2), then wins initiative, and the fight begins. For his move action, he withdraws the Hexblade from his first Scabbard of Vigor, giving it a +3 for 3 rounds. He uses his Arcane Pool ability to enchant the Hexblade with the Keen and Bane (Oozes) weapon properties (a swift action), and adds in an extra +3 Enhancement, just for good measure. Then, with his standard action, he hits the ooze with a Major Curse (which easily beats its SR), and the Shoggoth fails its save and has a -6 to its Con, bringing its virtual health to 264 and its Fort save to +16. Shoggoth’s turn. It tramples, hoping to engulf the Witchborn, but he elects to make a reflex save, which he easily passes and evades the damage completely. He is now beside the Shoggoth.

Back to the Witchborn. As a swift action, he defensively casts an Intensified Empowered ((Quickened) due to Spell Perfection)) Shocking Grasp and spellstrikes (30%) with it. He hits and does 1d3 Rapier+2d6 Vicious+2d6 Bane+21+(15d6+45(-20 Energy resist) Shocking Grasp)=Average Rolls=2+6+7+21+45+45-20=106 damage, with 3 damage to himself via Vicious. Then, as a free action, he releases the stored spell within his weapon, an Intensified Empowered (Maximized) Shocking Grasp which does 115 damage after energy resist. Then, using Spell Combat, he defensively casts an Intensified Empowered (Maximized) Shocking Grasp and spellstrikes (60%) with it for 151 damage, with 4 damage to himself. Total=372 damage, and the Witchborn watches as the massive black slime sinks into the depths of the ocean. Then, pulling out a small dagger, he carves out a small insignia on his palm: a rune in Aklo meaning Madness. The Witchborn uses a charge from his wand of Infernal Healing, then refreshes his spells once again, making sure to place an Intensified Empowered Elemental (Maximized) Shocking Grasp (Level 3 slot) into his Spell Storing weapon, then passes out.

Surprisingly, this fight, more than some of the others, actually neuters The Witchborn quite a bit. He can’t use his Slumber, Ice Tomb or Eternal Slumber hexes, nor can he use the Devoted Blade arcana or any of the extra elemental damage weapon enchants.

The Witchborn wakes up in a dark, candle-lit cave, just as One said he would. He's not sure when the trial will begin, so he once again refreshes his spells. Not long thereafter, however, the hair on the back of his neck begins to rise and feelings of dark entropy and hatred begin to burrow their way into him. Then, with the agonized screams of countless damned souls, a fountain of boiling blood erupts from the ground, and the Balor appears…10 ft. behind him! The Witchborn evades the boiling blood, as well as makes his save against the Balor’s Unholy Aura, but the Demon still has a surprise round, so we’ll run that.

The Balor knows it doesn’t have much to work with. The Witchborn can’t be caught flat-footed, and his AC is high enough that The Balor’s attack would miss. (Again, no one knows about the critical threat build-up). What he would need is a vorpal strike, but he knows he can't rely on sheer chance to beat him. Still, any attack provides at least a small chance of success, or even a critical hit. A critical hit that he desperately needs, as it might allow him to use Power Word Stun. But if it doesn't work...Either way, he will consider this as a begrudging back-up plan.

The Witchborn’s CMD is too high to pull off any type of combat maneuver, even a sunder vs his gear. Quickened Telekinesis wouldn't even be able to grab anything.

And speaking of his Spell-like's...

The Balor knows he has nothing reliable that will touch The Witchborn. The frustratingly impregnable elf will easily pass anything that allows a save, and any spell targeting him (or his gear, as they are attended objects) he can send back at the Balor with his Reflection Arcana. Not even Greater Dispel Magic would work, even as an area dispel, as it wouldn’t target his objects, and The Witchborn has a higher CL than he does. Also, he can’t summon his Vrolikai until his next turn, as the summon would take a full round, and he only has a standard or move action.

He could Greater Teleport away and maybe get some backup or some other gear, but this would allow the Witchborn time to summon his Cohort (who he knows is linked telepathically to the Witchborn) to further buff him. Also, with very little time and effort, The Witchborn could summon the spirit of a Bard, or a Cleric or some other spellcaster, or up to 19(!) of them, who could cast empowering and buffing spells on him. The Balor would be caught in an arms race that he knows he wouldn’t win.

Literally the Demon only has one option. He tries to attack The Witchborn (10%), hoping for a Vorpal strike. It doesn’t happen, however, which The Demon was kind of expecting, anyway. Next round, if he makes it that far, He will probably try for a summon.

The Surprise Round ends, and The Witchborn wins initiative.

The Witchborn is already in the Balor’s reach, so there’s an issue there, but being an intelligent person (and having talked personally with some of the greatest tactical minds in the history of Golarion), he has mapped out nearly every possible outcome of this fight, and he knows that it will be over quickly. Since he is still under the effects of Overland Flight, he can still fly around, so, he clicks his heels together (free action) to trigger Haste. Then, using his move action, he withdraws the Hexblade from his second Scabbard of Vigor, giving it a +3 for 3 rounds while simultaneously moving 15 ft forward and 15 feet up to be directly above the Demon. The Balor’s AoO misses (20%). Using his swift action, The Witchborn enchants his blade with the Keen, Bane (Outsider, Demon), and Holy properties, along with an extra +1 for good measure. Then, he uses his standard action to defensively cast an Intensified Empowered Elemental (Maximized) (Level 3) Shocking Grasp, which he then spellstrikes (90%) with (overcoming his SR) for 2 (rapier)+6 (Vicious)+7 (Bane)+ 6 (Holy)+19 (dex and other back-end damage)+(135 (SG)-10 (Acid resist))=165 damage, plus 3 to himself. Then, he lets loose his stored spell, which does another 125 damage. Total 290 damage.

Balor’s turn. As much as it loathes the idea of losing, he hates even more losing without getting to cheat even once! But there’s not much he can do. It’s good that The Witchborn stayed within his Melee range, because now he can get a full-attack against him, and the possibility of a Vorpal strike. But at the same time, if he doesn’t get that, then it’s over. And worse than that, it would be fair! He could stick with his plan to summon the Vrolikai, but then he can’t take any other actions, and again, the Vrolikai wouldn’t even get a chance to act. So, The Balor does what it feels is best. It takes a 5-foot step away from The Witchborn and full-round attacks (75%). None of its attacks hit, let alone score a critical (even with The Witchborn losing his Shield Bonus for the round), so with its swift action, (and all of the rage it can muster) it uses Quickened Telekinesis to throw rocks and debris into the air to create 20% concealment, even though it knows the Witchborn has Echolocation active. The Witchborn’s turn. The Witchborn takes a 5-foot step forward and defensively casts an Intensified Empowered Elemental (Maximized) (Level 3) Shocking Grasp and Spellstrikes (100%, 20%) with it, which is a critical threat. 39+10=49 which hits the Balor’s AC, which means it is a confirmed critical. He does 4+14+12+14+38+260=342 damage, Total 632 damage, with another 4 damage to himself.

With the foulest of curses on his lips, The Balor explodes in a flash of unholy fire and viscera, but the Witchborn evades his death throes and walks away unharmed. End of Fight.

Before he passes out again, The Witchborn once again refreshes all of his spells, gets them back, then takes out his dagger again and carves a letter in Abyssal meaning Hate into his palm. Then, he uses another charge from his Infernal Healing wand and loses consciousness.

The Witchborn wakes up in a slightly different cave. He recognizes it from One’s description, and he knows that he will soon be face-to-face with the champion of the Legions of Hell. Being a smart person, and knowing everything he knows about The Pit Fiend, he knows that this fight is over the moment he gets to cast a hex. As such, he casts Invisibility on himself and readies a Slumber Hex for when the Pit Fiend appears. Sure enough, within a few minutes, the candles in the room begin to flicker madly, even though there is no wind. Then, at the crescendo of the candles’ wild dance, the flames wink out, and there is blackness. Then, with a burst of light and heat, a fiery portal opens up before The Witchborn, and the Devil steps out. The candles reignite, but this time with a wicked violet glow, and the battle commences.

The Witchborn has positioned himself directly in the center of the room, 10 feet above the ground, and as such, is only 20 feet away from the Devil as he steps through the Portal. He doesn’t even wait a moment, and the Hex goes off. The Devil immediately falls unconscious for 19 rounds. The Witchborn then moves over to him and, making a touch attack (25%), uses his Eternal Slumber Hex, to ensure that the Pit Fiend will never awaken. The Witchborn uses the Pit Fiend’s unconscious body to get all of his spells back and refill his Arcane Pool Points, then calls for his Cohort to come take away the unconscious Devil to ensure that it will never be destroyed or set free. He places an Intensified Empowered (Maximized) Shocking Grasp (Level 2) into his Hexblade, refreshes all of his spells, gets them back, then carves a small rune into his palm, forming a half-circle with the others. It is the symbol for Sin, in Infernal. He then he passes out.

I wanted to give the Pit Fiend a surprise round, just like how I want to give every one of the Beastmass critters a surprise round, but The Witchborn was just too smart for him. He knew that this was the designated battleground, and he knew that, sooner or later, The Pit Fiend would show up, and he knew just how to end him. Though he is usually loathe to use his hexes (he considers them a tainted gift from his evil witch-mother and I personally consider them a cop-out here, to some extent), he knew that he could end the fight, and the smart thing to do would be to not give the Pit Fiend any mercy or chance of action. If the Witchborn hadn’t been as smart, I probably would have had him use one of his scrolls of Spellbane to Bane Antimagic Field.

The night is dark and bitter cold, but The Witchborn is alert. He knows the Tarn Linnorm will be appearing soon, and he wants to be ready. One said it would come from the water, so he waits at the bank of the cold mountain lake, though he himself is quite comfortable there. He knows he wants nothing to do with the Linnorm, and hopes to destroy it as soon as possible, so, he re-casts all of his spells on himself and readies a move action to move up to the Dragon (while pulling out his sword) at the moment he first sees it. Then, he hears a monumental roar, then another, then another. Then, with a jolt, he realizes that the roars are coming from above him! Swooping down at an alarming rate is the massive, two-headed, midnight-black dragon, who was flying just beyond The Witchborn's sight, who is now diving at him, both mouths open, a sickly violet acid frothing and bubbling there.

The Witchborn clicks his heels together (free action) then flies to meet the Dragon in the air, while withdrawing his sword (move action), making it a +3 for 3 rounds. He is now right beside the Beast. The Linnorm swipes viciously at him, attempting to initiate a grapple! After all, this has worked on countless other puny victims before…so why not this tiny elf, who isn’t even as big as his pinky claw. But the Dragon is suddenly confused, as the tiny elf doesn’t seem to be able to be grappled at all! Initiative. The Witchborn goes first again, and knowing that he doesn't want any part of this Dragon, he springs into action. He is right beside the Linnorm, now, so he spends a swift action to give the Hexblade the Keen, Holy, Shock, and Bane (Dragons) properties (Swift action), then full-attacks the creature using Spell Combat. He defensively casts an Intensified Empowered (Maximized) Shocking Grasp (Level 2 spell), beats the Linnorm’s SR, then spellstrikes with it (55%), doing 2 (rapier)+6 (Vicious)+7 (Bane)+6 (Holy)+3 (Shock)+18 (Dex and Back-end)+ 135=177. Then, as a free action, he releases his stored spell (Intensified Empowered (Maximized) Shocking Grasp (Level 2)) for another 135 damage. Total 312. Then, he uses his first attack from Haste (85%) and does another 2+7+6+7+3+18=43. Total 355. Then, he uses his first attack from his BAB (100%, 15%), with a confirmed critical, for 84 damage. Total 439.

The Linnorm rears is heads, expelling acid and poison as its death screams leave its jaws. The Witchborn evades against the falling acid, and saves vs its Death Curse, both on 2’s. Then, with a nod of his head, The Witchborn sheathes his sword back into his first Scabbard of Vigor, then retrieves his dagger and carves a fourth symbol in his palm, Rage, written in Sylvan. His Cohort Teleports beside him, then casts Mage’s Marvelous Mansion. The Witchborn rests.

This fight was kind of an enigma. Honestly, the Dragon didn’t have much that he could do, even in a surprise round, as something with 7 Int is unlikely to understand basic concepts of language, let alone strategy. In his mind, a grapple has always worked (especially since he has a specific bonus to that specific combat maneuver), and should have worked against the elf, as even other colossal creatures likely have been successfully grappled by him before. And on that note, there was no reason in his mind that his breath weapon wouldn’t immediately melt the tiny elf, as entire armies have fallen before him. TL;DR: The Linnorm is too stupid to really do much.

The next morning, The Witchborn awakes, prepares his spells, casts them on himself, then uses both of his Scrolls of Spellbane, to bane the following spells for the next 18 hours (which will cover the fight with the Solar as well, should he make it that far): Wish, Miracle, Antimagic Field, Waves of Exhaustion, Power Word Blind, Power Word Stun. He adds on a Stoneskin Spell, as well. Then, after getting his spells and Arcane Pool points back, he leaves the Mansion. But something is wrong. The Mansion seems to have moved overnight, now to a grassy plain.

The Witchborn has just walked into an area with an alarm spell, set to alert the Dragon mentally when the Witchborn appears. The Dragon used a combination of Detect Magic and Invisibility Purge to find the entrance.

The Witchborn flies 100 ft. into the air and readies a move action to pull his sword from his sheath. He is ready for a fight, but he gets none.

The Dragon is currently casting the following spells on itself: True Seeing, Haste, Prayer, Aid, Spell Immunity (3 spells: Shocking Grasp, Frigid Touch, Bestow Curse), Shield, Shield of Faith, Stoneskin, and finally, Resistance. This brings its AC to 48, its attacks all strike at +3, Fort and Will increase by 2 (25 and 26, respectively), Reflex increases by 3 (17), All skill and ability checks +1, Damage +1, as well as DR 10/Adamantine and 14 Temporary HP, bringing his total up to 391.

After a few moments of waiting, The Witchborn wonders why The Dragon hasn’t appeared yet. And then it dawns on him. He knows that The Dragon has the alarm spell, as well as a whole host of other spells that it can use to buff itself. He abandons the idea for his readied action, moves to 60 ft above where the Mansion was and casts Detect Magic. He detects a spell, then makes a spellcraft check and determines it is, indeed, the Alarm spell. He knows that The Dragon knows he is there. He deduces that with the spells the Dragon has prepared, that the Dragon will take at least 9 rounds to buff itself, then a greater teleport to appear.

The Witchborn is a very smart person, but he’s also wiser than most average mortal beings in existence. He guesses that The Dragon would be buffing itself, and as such, would more than likely have Spell Immunity running. He knows for sure that Shocking Grasp will be banned, and more-than-likely Frigid Touch, but the most logical choice after that would likely be either Calcific Touch or Bestow Curse. So, he knows that if he wants to be able to down this Dragon with his weapon, he would need to first cast a Greater Dispel Magic. Doable, but that also gives the Dragon time to attack, or cast a spell, or try a combat maneuver. Still this is likely his best option, so, he flies up to 250 ft above the alarm spell and waits a few more rounds. The round before he is sure the Dragon will arrive (He knows The Dragon doesn’t want to give him any time to prepare beyond what he already had), he uses a move action to pull out his sword (+3 for 3 rounds), uses a swift action to enchant it with Keen, Anarchic, Bane (Dragons) and Frost, then readies an action to cast a targeted Greater Dispel Magic onto the Dragon as soon as it appears. Then, just as expected, The Dragon appears twenty feet or so from the alarm. Even though he immediately spots The Witchborn, he just cast Greater Teleport, and therefore doesn’t have a standard action left this round. The Targeted Dispel goes off, and the following spells wink out: True Seeing, Spell Immunity, Stoneskin, Haste, and Prayer.

The Dragon knows that a targeted Greater Dispel would get thrown back at it, and an area effect wouldn't beat the Witchborn's CL and wouldn't target his objects, either. The Dragon doesn't have a standard action, to boot. It has a move action still, so there’s that. It could fly really far away (I’m too lazy to do the math) and re-buff itself, but it knows that The Witchborn would have more than enough time to get his spells back and would have another Greater Dispel Magic waiting for it. Also, it knows that it has to make every moment count, because if versatility is the currency of the Beastmass, then The Witchborn is very wealthy indeed, and will never run out of funds. So, it moves to within 15 ft of the Witchborn, in an ideal position to full attack. The Witchborn can’t make an AoO, as he’s not big enough, but he doesn’t need it anyway.

Initiative.

The Witchborn wins, and knows he wants to end this fight as soon as possible. So, he clicks his heels together and casts Force Hook Charge on the Dragon (20%) and does 21 points of Force Damage, as well as getting pulled into the square adjacent to the Dragon. The Dragon gets an AoO (85%), but doesn’t hit. Then, The Witchborn Has 4 attacks (Haste, 3 BAB). The Dragon’s AC is now 47 since Haste was dispelled. The Witchborn hits with his first attack (50%) doing 46 damage. Then, with a free action, he lets out his stored spell and does another 135 damage. Total 202. His second attack (80%) hits, and he does another 46 damage. Total 248. His next attack (100%, 10%) Is a critical threat, but it doesn’t confirm, and he does another 46 damage. Total 294. His last attack (40%) misses. Then, using a swift action, he Defensively casts an Intensified Empowered (Quickened) Shocking Grasp, and spellstrikes with it (70%). He overcomes SR again, hits, and does 136 damage. Total 430.

The gold wyrm falls from the sky, glimmering like a teardrop from the sun. The Witchborn allows himself to fall beside it, casting Feather Fall on it (via the Flight Hex), and they both land safely on the ground. He uses his wand of Infernal Healing to heal himself and it, and slowly, the dragon’s eyes open, its massive pupils focusing on him. There is fear there, as if it isn’t sure if he is a threat or not. The Dragon stands up weakly, then suddenly changes its form into that of a beautiful elven maiden with golden eyes and hair. The Witchborn’s mouth opens slightly. The Dragon maiden heals herself, then commends The Witchborn for his bravery and prowess in battle, and thanks him for sparing her life. The Witchborn says that he could never take the life of one so beautiful as her. She blushes, then wishes him luck in the upcoming fight, saying that she would give him her gem of good luck, but she sees that he is already benefitting from a Luckstone. She asks if there’s anything he wants from her. She does, after all, have a wealth of treasure… Hundreds of things pass through his mind, but there’s only one thing he really wants. He asks to know her name. She blushes again, then says her name is too difficult for non-dragons to pronounce. He may call her Kyra. She asks again if there’s anything she can give him, but he shakes his head-no. She once again thanks him for sparing her life, then turns to leave, but then, in a moment of nervousness that he’s never felt before, even amidst the most hellish of battles, he asks for one more thing: a kiss. Kyra smiles wryly, then steps forward and slowly places a soft, warm kiss on his cheek. Then, with a dazzling smile, she turns back into a Dragon and flies away. It’s an entire minute before The Witchborn retrieves his dagger. He inscribes the Draconic word for Perfection, into his palm. The runes have now formed an almost complete circle in the center of his palm. He heals the damage, replenishes his spells, then lays down on the grass beneath him, waiting for sleep to take him, Kyra’s smiling face never far from the forefront of his mind.

This was a really fun fight. It was especially cool to finally see one of the Beastmass critters actually stand a chance. I knew from the get-go that I wanted The Gold to be fully buffed coming into the fight, so that was a good thing. Also, can’t use Slumber, Ice Tomb or Eternal Slumber on Dragons, so again, nuts to The Witchborn.

As far as Antimagic Field, Kyra knew that The Witchborn was aware of his biggest weakness, and knew that he would plan accordingly. Therefore, she decided that instead of going the Antimagic Field route (which he spellbane’d away) she would buff herself as much as possible, in order to avoid Feeblemind, Bestow Curse (Major), Baleful Polymorph, Enervation and the like. Because if she had not been fully buffed, and taken a combination Evil Eye/Bestow Curse, her saves would have been at a whopping -8, followed by a Baleful Polymorph or similar.

The Witchborn awakens in a field of sunflowers of unearthly beauty. Everywhere he looks, there is evidence of the work of a benevolent master, whose time and genuine effort tells a story of eternal service and perfect love for everything under his care. To live in such a place as this; in a paradise such as this…The Witchborn could almost welcome a death here.

For death is truly a possible outcome, here. The Witchborn knows that this challenge, more than any other, will be the true test of The Beastmass, and the most important and weighted fight of his entire life. It very well could be his last. He does have one advantage, however. He has an extensive knowledge of the Angel, and his own capabilities. He weighs the options in his mind.

1. Slumber. The Witchborn (and the Angel) knows that the fight is over if he can get a Slumber off before The Solar can Plane Shift away. This wouldn’t be too difficult. All he would have to do is somehow sneak to within 30’ of The Angel. He can’t use Invisibility or any type of spell that turns him Ethereal, but with a +39 to Stealth, he easily can beat The Solar’s perception, as True Seeing doesn’t reveal creatures hidden by mundane means. The Solar would fail its save, then an Eternal Slumber wouldn’t be far behind.

2. Shocking Grasp. The Angel has a Protective Aura that has extra gravy on top. In addition to its other (impressive) features, the protective aura acts like a Lesser Globe of Invulnerability, negating all spells of 3rd level or lower. However, even though The Witchborn has multiple 4th level-and-up spells that could affect The Solar, he also has a trick up his sleeve that he hasn’t used yet. He has Heighten Spell, which he can then use to spontaneously heighten his Shocking Grasps to Level 4. Then, using the same sort of sneaking tactic that he would use for Slumber, he can move to right beside The Solar and attack once with Spellstrike (which would give him a critical) during the surprise round, then win initiative and full-round attack with a Quickened Spellstrike, Regular spellstrike, an attack from Haste, and 3 BAB (which would get him one more critical on his first BAB attack). He wouldn’t be able to use his stored spell, however, but with the first Spellstrike during the Surprise Round being a critical hit, it wouldn’t matter much, anyway. Also, he would bypass The Angel’s DR as well (3 Scabbard, 2 Bane (Outsider), 1 Arcane Pool).

3. Otherworldly Kimono. The Witchborn has a no-save Maze that requires a full-round action to escape, leaving The Witchborn with an entire round to prepare himself, as well as another round after the Solar passes his Intelligence check. This would give him more than enough time to get a Slumber off, provided he can get within 60 feet reliably. He has Greater Teleport (and the monk was extremely detailed in his description of The Solar’s garden), and according to the Beastmass rules (and the law of averages), The Solar wouldn’t act in the surprise round, and The Witchborn would win Initiative.
However, The Witchborn is smart enough to realize something that not everyone will, and to his knowledge, no one has really considered yet. There is nothing keeping The Solar (or any creature caught by the Otherworldly Kimono) from buffing itself. Would The Solar be smart enough to know this? No one has considered this before…

Seriously, as far as I can tell, no one on the forums (including other Beastmass entrants) have come to this conclusion-that any critter thrown into the Otherworldly Kimono could choose not to leave, then buff themselves, knowing that they would (after 10 minutes) be thrown back into the real world, fully ready to bring the pain. And to me, knowing that we have several hundred (if not thousand) highly-intelligent people on the forums looking at specific things such as this, and no one has thought of it yet, I think it is safe to assume that The Solar wouldn’t think about this.

At the same time, however, The Witchborn could also use that time to buff himself, and he has the combined powers of himself, his Cohort, and up to 19 18HD Witches, Bards, Sorcerers, and others to place spells on him, including (but not limited to) 9th level spells (which, if we’re going by the straight stat block, The Angel doesn’t have access to, even through Wish and/or Miracle).

Also, through a loose reading of the Otherworldly Kimono’s description, it’s possible that The Witchborn would be able to release The Solar at his own whim, allowing him to move to right next to the exact spot The Solar was standing, then expel him from the Kimono and full-attack.

But…I don’t want The Beastmass to come down to this. Yes, The Witchborn would win, but it would only be on a technicality because of a (very) broken item. This is why I haven’t used it up until now. Besides, The Angel would probably be prepared for it anyway, and he would know that The Beastmass is underway, and be prepared to Plane Shift away, anyway.

So we know the Witchborn will win the fight if The Solar doesn’t get the chance to buff itself. But, as a thought exercise, what if it did?

The Solar would use Plane Shift (or just Wish/Miracle to duplicate Greater Teleport, if it doesn’t want to go all the way back to Heaven) and buff itself thus-ly: Holy Aura, Righteous Might, Prayer, Bear’s Endurance, Bull’s Strength, Eagle’s Splendor (optional), Entropic Shield (optional), Shield of Faith, Aid, Virtue (optional; worthless) and his particularly potent combination: Protection from Energy and Resist Energy.

After buffing, he would use Miracle and Wish to replicate Plane Shift and Greater Teleport, respectively (or just Miracle if he stayed on the Material Plane) and come back really ready to lay down the hurt. This would translate to: +3 to AC, +4 to hit with his greatsword (+1 with his bow), a +3 to damage with every hit of his sword, a whopping 465 HP, Fort: 34, Ref: 18, Will: 28, DR 10/Evil (pointless), Huge Size, SR 25 (pointless), 120 points of energy resistance (Electricity), Resist Electricity 30 and Resist Fire 30.
This would mean that The Witchborn would have to hit AC 47 (By Beastmass rules he’s still doing that with his first 4 attacks if full-round attacking) but would have to deal with The Energy Resistance and Protection, still. But let’s run those numbers, either way.

When the Solar gets back, he will not have a standard action, as he just used it to cast Wish or Miracle. He could use his move action to fly 150 ft away, but The Witchborn would anticipate him doing this and would plan a Teleport to end up right next to him. Then the next round would begin. Because of the Initiative rules, The Huge Solar has an entire round to take his best shot at a tiny elf who is right next to him.

Short answer: Even fully buffed, he has nothing except for a full-round attack with the possibility of a crit (that he would get with his second attack, but would not confirm)that can stick to the Witchborn (He’s used up his Wish and Miracle, Power Word Blind and Stun are Spellbane’d, Waves of Exhaustion is Spellbane’d, Waves of Fatigue wouldn’t beat his SR, and his CMB is at a +36 when he would need a +37 per fight rules). So, he five-foot-steps and full-attacks (25%) The Witchborn, pulling off a hit (but not a crit) for 4d6+21=3+4+3+4+21=35 damage.

We know that the Witchborn’s first attack is going to be a critical hit (100%), and we know that it will be a Heightened (Level 4) Intensified Empowered (Quickened) Shocking Grasp (Level 5), which will overcome SR and DR (but not Energy Resistance or Protection) and do 92 Damage (Physical) + 180 Electrical (Average rolls) -120 (Prot. From Energy) – 30 (Resist Energy) for a total of 142 damage. Then, Spellstrike (30%) with a Heightened Intensified Empowered (Maximized) Shocking Grasp (Level 5) for 46+(135-30)=151, Total 293. Then, his next two attacks (90%) hit for another 92 damage, Total=385. Then, his next attack (100%, 20%), at +34 (assuming that The Witchborn didn’t take the time to buff himself with his cohort and Summon Spirit), hits but doesn’t make a critical hit, doing another 46 damage. Total 431. Almost, but not quite enough to bring down The mighty Angel, who once again five-foot steps and full-attacks (65%) The Witchborn, this time at AC 47, since he lost his shield bonus to AC for that round. His first attack hits for another 35 Damage (total 70). The Angel knows that one more round would probably get The Witchborn in range of a Power Word Kill (It would. His first attack would hit, and his fourth would be an unconfirmed critical, bringing The Witchborn down to 67 HP), but he knows that he won’t make it that long and there’s nothing he can do about it. Also, The Witchborn has Vampiric Touch, anyway.

With another five-foot step and a Quickened Spellstrike (50%), the fight is over.

So we can see that The Witchborn will win this fight. So, as he is sneaking up to The Solar’s cottage, he is surprised to find the Angel standing outside of his garden, fully prepared for battle, a resplendent figure of unearthly grace and wisdom, his armor and weapons glittering in the warm light of the noonday sun. They are 30’ apart. No one is surprised, and both of them know that there's nothing stopping The Witchborn from sending the Angel back to Heaven.

The Witchborn has been anticipating and preparing for this fight for a long time, especially since One told him how difficult this fight in particular would be, but no amount of preparation could brace him for what The Solar does next. As The Witchborn draws his sword, the Angel sheathes his own and begins stripping off his armor. The mighty Angel rests his weapons against a nearby bench and shrugs off his armor effortlessly. He steps forward, then, while The Witchborn watches in silence, gracefully begins to cast a spell. The Witchborn easily identifies it as Wish, but a successful Sense Motive check tells him that it isn't the Solar's intent to harm him. Moments later, a scroll appears in the Angel's gentle, powerful hands and his silvery, pupil-less eyes turn unmistakably on The Witchborn. He steps forward and holds out the scroll, as if offering it to him. At first, The Witchborn hesitates, then takes it and examines it, careful never to let down his guard. It's a scroll of Wish. He looks back up to the mighty Angel, confused, but the Solar nods to him. Then, with a power and kindness in his voice unlike any The Witchborn has ever heard before, The Solar says, in a soft, yet somehow still commanding voice, "I know you will do the right thing." Then, the Solar falls silent, his arm still extended, as if waiting. The Witchborn looks between the scroll and the Angel, then, slowly, his hand raises and he takes the Solar's in a grip, and puts him to sleep. The powerful being slumps and falls, and is still. The Witchborn knows what to do next, but suddenly hesitates. A small voice gnaws at him to take the scroll for himself. The fight is over, after all, and The Solar gave him this scroll, which was illogical to the extreme. He now has a free wish spell in the palm of his hand. He feels an itch within him, driving him to pocket the scroll and move on. However, The Witchborn knows what he must do, and scolds himself for even thinking of any other options. The Witchborn successfully makes a Use Magic Device check and casts 'Wish'. The Solar's eyes open, he rises up to his full, towering height, then says, "Thank you." The Witchborn nods. The Solar places a warm hand on The Witchborn's shoulder, and they both know there is nothing more to be said. The Solar turns and disappears into his home. The Witchborn carves a sixth symbol, Courage, completing the circle on his palm. Then, he heals himself, replenishes his spells and lays down to let sleep take him.

I was actually really surprised that The Witchborn did so well here. I was anticipating a really difficult fight, so I looked through all of the options that The Solar had available. Intelligence had The Witchborn out-thinking him at every turn, however. Still, I had always intended for both parties to fight each other completely buffed, which was why I was so surprised to see The Witchborn do so well. Honestly, The Solar might have won that fight if he could have lasted just two more rounds.

As for the “fight”, I resolved it the way I felt was poetic and just, with both parties receiving satisfaction and maintaining their dignity. And from a role-playing standpoint, The Witchborn could never willingly kill a being of such overwhelming good. Also, I think it is fitting that the Witchborn's real challenge was an ethical one.

There is one issue I have with this fight (and the Gold Dragon’s for that matter). I think that if they didn’t have such vanilla spell lists they could become even more deadly, which is saying a great deal. It would be a fun mental exercise to take The Witchborn (or any other Beastmass challengers) against them some other time, with them being at an even higher power.

Everything has led The Witchborn to this moment, but he knows that this fight, though potentially challenging for others, is merely an epilogue to the Beastmass. The true challenges have already passed, which he reflects on as he flies 70 feet above The Colossal beast, whose massive spines whizz harmlessly by him. He ponders on everything he’s learned from this event as he flies down, avoids the AoO and makes his melee touch attack, sending the colossal beast crashing to the ground, never to wake again. As he lands gently back down on the ground, he sees his friend, One the itchy monk, and Kyra standing there. One greets him with slow applause. He approaches just as The Witchborn takes out his knife and inscribes one final rune into the center of the circle on his palm. “Technically,” the extremely lawful monk states as he draws nearer, “The challenge was to complete the Beastmass without taking a single point of damage.” The Witchborn nods as he finishes the Rune. “You, my friend, deliberately harmed yourself from the very beginning.”

“Yes. I did,” The Witchborn slowly admits as he stares at the glowing runes on his hand. “Why?” Kyra asks. The Witchborn is silent for a moment, then he looks up at them, then to the peacefully-heaving Tarrasque and replies, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” They’re silent for a while, before the maiden grabs The Witchborn’s outstretched hand. He jerks back, instinctively, but she holds it tightly, looking at the runes. “Eternity,” she reads, touching the newest rune, written in Elven. “That’s very fitting.”
After a while of silence, broken only by the Tarrasque’s gentle, heaving breaths, the monk chimes in, “I think I understand now.” The Witchborn nods.

“What will you do now?” The Dragon Maiden asks him, closing his hand slowly. “I hear there’s a wizard who likes to suck the air out of people’s lungs,” One suggests. “Calls himself The Vacuum, whatever that means.” The Witchborn is silent for a while as he looks out over the world around him. Then, for the first time in a long time, he smiles and says, “Alright, but only if I get to take him on first.”

“Not on your life,” One replies with a grin. The Witchborn’s smile widens as the monk gets on his broom and begins to fly away. The Witchborn takes one more moment to look over at the beautiful elven maiden standing beside him, before soaring into the air after the monk, brushing the tops of some nearby trees with his hands as he passes over them. He hears a gleeful roar, and suddenly, the colossal Gold Dragon is in the air, flying beside him, with One astride his broom, trailing not too far behind.

The Witchborn will still have many adventures, such as moving the Tarrasque to Absalom, where it will slowly solve world hunger, 40 HP at a time, or reuniting with The Solar to find and destroy an undead army led by a frenzy of Nightwaves, or finding the Vacuum, and realizing that he’s actually a pretty cool guy, or the eternal quest to tap the deepest wells of knowledge and magic with Kyra by his side, or sparring against the greatest martial champions the world has ever seen with One, or finally finding and destroying his wicked mother once and for all. But of all his adventures, The Witchborn truly holds one very close to his heart, and recognizes it as the event that changed his life forever. And to the day he dies, he always bears the scars carved into his hand, and remembers how he got them, and why they are there.

20 Point-Buy
STR 11 (7 Base, -6 Age, +6 Nacreous Gray Sphere, -2 Size, +6 Belt)

DEX 37 (16 Base, +2 Race, -6 Age, +6 NGS, +8 Size, +6 Belt, +5 Wish)

CON 20 (14 Base, -2 Race, -6 Age, +6 NGS, +6 Belt, +2 Wish)

INT 39 (18 Base, +2 Race, +3 Age, +5 Level, +6 Headband, +5 Wish)

WIS 20 (7 Base, +3 Age, +6 Headband, +4 Wish)

CHA 16 (7 base, +3 Age, +6 Headband)

Traits and Drawbacks: Magical Lineage (Shocking Grasp); Fate’s Favored; Wayang Spell Hunter (Shocking Grasp); Pride

Build:
Feats are in Bold; Arcana are Italicized
1- Hexcrafter 1: Level 1 Spells; Arcane Pool; Cantrips; Spell Combat; Racial Feat: Run; Weapon Finesse

2- H2: Spellstrike

3- Sorcerer 1: Level 1 Sorcerer Spells; Bonus Feat: Eschew Materials; Intensify Spell

4- H3: +1 INT; Familiar (Greensting Scorpion), Familiar Feat: Alertness

5- H4: Level 2 Spells; Hex Arcana: Slumber; Heighten Spell

6- H5: Bonus Feat: Preferred Spell (Shocking Grasp)

7- H6: Hex Arcana: Flight; Bonus Arcana: Hex Arcana: Evil Eye; Leadership

8- H7: Level 3 Spells; +1 INT; Knowledge Pool; Medium Armor

9- H8: Improved Spell Combat; Empower Spell

10- H9: Arcane Deed: Flamboyant Arcana

11- H10: Level 4 Spells; Fighter Training; Extra Arcana: Hex Arcana: Ice Tomb

12- H11: +1 INT; Spell Recall; Elemental Spell (Acid)

13- H12: Devoted Blade; Bonus Arcana: Arcane Deed: Evasive; Quicken Spell

14- H13: Level 5 Spells; Heavy Armor

15- H14: Greater Spell Combat; Spell Perfection (Shocking Grasp)

16- H15: +1 INT; Reflection

17- H16: Level 6 Spells; Counterstrike; Maximize Spell

18- H17: Extra Arcana: Bane Blade

19- H18: Hex Arcana: Summon Spirit; Bonus Arcana: Hex Arcana: Eternal Slumber; Improved Initiative (In other builds, can also be Dazing Spell.)

20- H19: +1 INT; Greater Spell Access

Favored Class: Hexcrafter Magus. All Bonuses go to new Magus Arcana, except for +1 HP at Level 20.

Traits & Drawbacks: Every GM I’ve ever played with has let me take a drawback for an extra trait, which is perfectly within the rules, so, I allowed it.

Leadership: Even though leadership is allowed, I didn't feel it would accurately depict what The Witchborn could do in combat if there was someone fighting alongside him. So, I made his cohort and followers be crafters (also see the Summon Spirit section below). This is why he has 1/2 price items. It was either that, or some cheesy version of this. His cohort is a Level 18 Wizard (who I could have given this to, but I chose not to, to further avoid cheese).

Knowledge Pool: As outlined here, Knowledge Pool essentially means that, with time and effort, The Witchborn has any and all Magus Spells in his Spellbook.

Reflection: As an immediate action, The Witchborn can spend Arcane pool points up to the level of any spell or spell-like ability targeting him to immediately reflect it back at the caster at full force. Keep in mind that if he uses this during his opponent's turn, he can't use his next swift action.

Greater Spell Access: The Witchborn chose the following spells for GSA.
0- Touch of Fatigue, Mending
1- Touch of Gracelessness, Touch of Blindness
2- Resist Energy, Hideous Laughter
3- Call the Void, Greater Stunning Barrier
4- Calcific Touch, Enervation
5- Echolocation, Feeblemind
6- Contingency, Cold Ice Strike

Summon Spirit: Please refer to this in regards to Summon Spirit. Due to the natural GM fiat this ability usually calls for, I decided not to exploit it, as with it, The Witchborn could (with a little time and creativity) have any and all magic items, unlimited cohorts and followers, unlimited money, crafters, services, kingdoms, and essentially, unlimited power. That, and he could have up to 19 18HD incorporeal party members (of any build!) following him around (the “one task” as outlined by Greater Planar Ally could be to help him through the Beastmass). So, the only thing he has been using this for is summoning crafting spellcasters to aid his cohort/followers. If needs be, he will summon other spellcasters when not fighting to cast spells for him (such as restoration), as needed. I don’t feel this is unreasonable, as it severely limits the cheese factor of this ability.

As far as bargaining for their services, I just haven’t been convinced (and probably never will be) that ghosts need money or anything similar to it. And I’m not alone.

From a roleplaying perspective, The Witchborn uses this ability frequently just to have interesting humanoids to talk to/learn from/train with. Also, he feels it is a personal responsibility to use it to do good (helping resurrect children who died before their time, etc.).

Hit Points: 207

AC: 53 (10 Base, 8 Armor, 6 Shield, 2 Luck (Jingasa), 2 Size, 1 Dodge (when haste is active), 5 Deflection, 5 Natural, 13 Dex, 1 Ioun)

Touch AC: 34 (10 Base, 2 Luck, 2 Size, 1 Dodge, 5 Deflection, 13 Dex, 1 Ioun)

Flat-Footed AC: Can't be caught Flat-footed

Initiative: +29 (+33 if weapon is drawn) (13 Dex, 4 Familiar, 4 Improved Initiative, 2 Fleet, 2 Luck, 4 Ioun (+4 Dueling if weapon is already drawn))

Caster Level Checks: +25 (20 Level, 4 Kimono, 1 Orange Prism Ioun stone)

Concentration: +47 (21 CL, 14 Int, 2 Circumstance (Improved Spell Combat), 4 Kimono, 2 Luck, 4 Ioun)

Vs. Spell Resistance: +33 (21 CL, 4 Kimono, 2 Race, 2 Luck, 4 Ioun)

Hex DC: 34 (10 Base, 10 (1/2 Level), 14 Int)

Spell DC: 24 (0)-30 (6) (10 Base, 14 Int, +Spell Level)

Fort Save: +27 (+29) (11 Base, 5 Ability, 5 Kimono, 2 Luck, 4 Ioun) (+2 Dragonbane Divination Sticks)

Reflex Save: +31 (+33) (6 Base, 13 Ability, 5 Kimono, 1 Dodge, 2 Luck, 4 Ioun) (+2 DDS)

Will Save: +27 (+29) (13 Base, 5 Ability, 5 Kimono, 2 Luck, 4 Ioun, -2 Crossblooded) (+2 DDS)

CMB: +18 (14 BAB, -2 Size, 2 Luck, 4 Ioun)

CMD: 47 (10 Base, 14 BAB, -2 Size, 13 Dex, 2 Luck, 4 Ioun, 5 Deflection, 1 Dodge)

Arcane Pool: 23 (9 1/2 Magus level, 14 Int)

To Hit: (Assuming his Scabbard of Vigor bonus will always be +3 for 3 rounds) +41 (+44 with Shocking Grasp if the enemy is wearing or holding metal) (14 BAB, 5 Enhancement (+3 Scabbard, +2 Bane), 2 Luck, 4 Ioun, 2 Size, 13 Dex, 1 Haste). Full Attack: 39 (42)/39 (42)/39/39/34/29= Quickened Spellstrike (If wearing or holding Metal)/Spellstrike (Same)/Haste/3 Base Attacks, all at a -2 for Spell Combat.

Damage: See the various fight sections below for stats on damage.

Speed: Base 30 ft, Fly 40, Climb 30, Swim 30 (With Haste +30)

Languages: Aboleth, Abyssal, Aklo, Aquan, Auran, Azlanti, Celestial, Common, Dark Folk, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Hallit, Ignan, Infernal, Kelish, Necril, Orc, Osiriani, Polyglot, Skald, Sylvan, Tengu, Terran, Thassilonian, Tien, Undercommon, Varisian, Vudrani, Wayang; Tongues (Cast by Cohort).

All of the following reflect the +6 from the Ioun stones and Luckstone.

Acrobatics 29

Appraise 28

Bluff 17

Climb 14

Craft 28

Diplomacy 16

Disable Device 24

Disguise 14

Escape Artist 39

Fly 42

Handle Animal 19

Heal 12

Intimidate 32

Knowledge (Arcana) 33

Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 33

Knowledge (Engineering) 30

Knowledge (Geography) 30

Knowledge (History) 30

Knowledge (Local) 30

Knowledge (Nature) 30

Knowledge (Nobility) 30

Knowledge (Planes) 33

Knowledge (Religion) 30

Linguistics 40

Perception 40

Perform 11

Profession 15

Ride 24

Sense Motive 35

Sleight of Hand 24

Spellcraft 43

Stealth 39

Survival 15

Swim 14

Use Magic Device 32

Immune to Sleep and Flanking.

Freedom of Movement, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge

Blindsight 40 ft. (via Echolocation Spell), Darkvision 60 ft., Low-light Vision, True Seeing (when he casts the spell on himself), Permanent See Invisibility, Permanent Arcane Sight

Negates 1st Critical Hit or Sneak attack rolled against him 1/day

Maze 1/day

+2 Vs. Enchantment

+2 Disarm, +2 Feint, +2 vs. disarm, +2 CMB vs. feint

Rolls twice vs. Evil mind-affecting effects

Doesn’t need to eat, drink, or breathe. Can survive underwater pressure and in a vacuum

Under constant effects of the Endure Elements spell

Constant 20% miss chance (via Blur Spell)

Resist Acid, Cold, Electricity, Fire, Sonic 30

SR 31

Courageous Weapon Bonus: The Witchborn has the Courageous property on his rapier. Since the weapon’s enhancement bonus is almost constantly +5, I have factored the extra +2 into the calculations for the Flawed Pale Green Prism Ioun Stone.

Spell Resistance: His Spell Resistance comes from the spell Ward Shield.

The Witchborn pays ½ price for items. See Leadership and Summon Spirit sections under Build Notes.

The Hexblade: 33500

Masterwork Backpack: 50

Bracers of Armor +8 32000: +8 Armor bonus to AC

Jingasa of The Fortunate Soldier 2500: +1 Luck bonus to AC; 1/day immediate action to negate crit or sneak attack

Wayfinder: 250

Clear Spindle Ioun Stone (Implanted) 2000: Sustains creature without food or water

Orange Prism Ioun Stone (Implanted) 15000: +1 Caster Level

Flawed Pale Green Prism Ioun stone (Implanted) 14000: +1 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, skill checks, and ability checks

Pale Green Prism Ioun stone (Implanted) 15000: +1 competence bonus on attack rolls, saves, skill checks, and ability checks

Iridescent Spindle (In Wayfinder) 9000: Sustains creature without air; In Wayfinder: Endure Elements, as the spell, protection vs. vacuum and underwater pressure

Cracked Dusty Rose Prism (Implanted) 500: +1 competence bonus to initiative

Dusty Rose Prism (Implanted) 2500: +1 Insight Bonus to AC

Western Star Ioun Stone (Implanted) 2000: Standard Action Disguise Self

Ring of Deflection +5 25000: +5 Deflection bonus to AC

Ring of Freedom of Movement 20000: Grants Freedom of Movement

Amulet of Natural Armor +5 25000: +5 Natural Armor Bonus

Headband of Mental Superiority +6 77000: +6 Enhancement bonus to all Mental Stats

Belt of Physical Perfection +6 77000: +6 Enhancement Bonus to all Physical stats

Otherworldly Kimono 38000: (+5 Resistance Bonus on Saves) +4 on CL checks, 1/day Maze (no save) (Increases Saves and CL check +2)

Luckstone 10000: +1 luck bonus on saving throws, ability checks, and skill checks

Dragonbane Divination Sticks 6400: +3 luck bonus on one type of saving throw (Fortitude, Reflex, or Will), determined randomly each day.

Boots of Speed 6000: 10 rounds of Haste/day (free action)

Nacreous Gray Sphere 5000: Negates Aging penalties

Wyroot club (3 life points): 2000

Scabbard of Vigor*6 5400

Scroll of Aroden's Spellbane *2 5825

Spell-Storing Buckler +5 18005

Wand of Infernal Healing 188

*Set aside for True Seeing Spell* 2000

*Set aside for Stoneskin Spell* 3000

*Set aside for Contingency Spell* 6000

Permanent See Invisibility 5000

Permanent Telepathic Bond (With Cohort) 12500

+5 Wish (Dex) 125000

+5 Wish (Int) 125000

+4 Wish (Wis) 100000

+2 Wish (Con) 50000

Total: 867,618gp

The Hexblade: The Witchborn has a +1 Dueling Impervious Agile Vicious Spell-Storing Courageous Rapier. He stores it in one of his six Scabbards of Vigor, which he always uses to give the weapon a +3 bonus (overlaps the +1). He also uses his Arcane Pool to enchant it with Keen, along with the Devoted and Bane Blade Arcanas, as needed.

Wyroot Weapon: He has a non-magical Wyroot club that can hold 3 life points. He uses this weapon to regain Arcane Pool Points after a battle. For any who say that the coup-de-grace would only negate the extra damage from a critical, and not the whole attack, I refer once again to this, and would ask them to ponder what the word ‘unharmed’ means. Because of the Eternal Slumber hex, he has the unconscious body of a rat in his backpack at all times.

Dragonbane Divination Sticks: The parentheses notated after the Saves in the Basic Information section above show what the individual saves would be if the bonus were to fall on them. Only one save will benefit from the Dragonbane Divination Sticks any given day. I will roll a d3 for each three-encounter period of The Beastmass. Also, because of the Fate's Favored trait, instead of +3, it will grant him a +4. This +4 overlaps (does not stack with) the +2 from his luckstone.

Spell-Storing Weapon: Please refer to this in regards to spell-storing and Spell Perfection. Also, I'm treating spell-storing weapons as not needing to roll an attack, but also never being able to score a critical hit. Spell stored changes based on encounter.

Spell-Storing Buckler: Spell stored changes based on encounter. Also, when The Witchborn casts a spell, he loses his shield bonus to AC for one round.

Otherworldly Kimono: Using the Item creation rules, I bumped up the resistance bonus to saves from +4 to +5.

Wishes: The Witchborn used his Summon Spirit ability (see Build Notes section, above) to get his wishes.

0 (5 Slots, DC 24)-Brand (Hexcrafter Archetype), Read Magic, Prestidigitation, Touch of Fatigue (Greater Spell Access), Spark

1 (9 Slots, DC 25)-True Strike*2, Touch of Gracelessness (GSA), Protection from Evil, Frostbite*2, Snowball, Chill Touch*2

2 (9 Slots, DC 26)-Frigid Touch*3, Bladed Dash, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Resist Energy*2 (GSA), Blur

3 (8 Slots, DC 27)-Ray of Exhaustion, Force Hook Charge, Vampiric Touch, Displacement, Call The Void (GSA), Dispel Magic, Bestow Curse (Hexcrafter Archetype), Greater Stunning Barrier (GSA)

4 (8 Slots, DC 28)-Dimension Door*2, Shield Ward, Enervation (GSA), Calcific Touch*2 (GSA), Stoneskin, Greater Invisibility

5 (8 Slots, DC 29)-Overland Flight, Teleport, Wall of Stone, Echolocation (GSA), Dimensional Blade (Swift Action Touch attacks), Feeblemind*2(GSA), Baleful Polymorph

6 (7 Slots, DC 30)-Beast Shape IV, Dispel Magic (Greater), Disintegrate, Contingency (GSA), Major Curse (Hexcrafter Archetype)*3

As a rule, The Witchborn spends at least 5 minutes between encounters refreshing his spells and Arcane Pool using Spell Recall and his Wyroot weapon.

Because of Knowledge Pool, he has all Magus spells available to him.

Because of Preferred Spell, his Shocking Grasps are all Spontaneous.

He is constantly using Beast Shape IV (assuming the form of a Coral Capuchin).

He is also constantly under the effects of: Tongues (Cast by Cohort), Mirror Image (8 images: 2 average, 6 level), Blur, Disguise Self (ironically, to look like himself again; through Western Star Ioun Stone), Permanent See Invisibility, Permanent Telepathic Bond (With Cohort), Read Magic, Resist Energy (30, All), Endure Elements (through Iridescent Spindle Ioun stone resonant power), Invisibility, Protection from Evil, Echolocation, and Overland Flight. He does this by casting these spells on himself before or directly after they fade away, then using Spell Recall to get them back and using his Wyroot club to regain Arcane Pool points. All of these spells have a duration of at least 1 min/level.

Before Combat, if he gets a chance to buff himself, and as-needed, he will cast Greater Invisibility, Displacement, Greater Stunning Barrier, True Sight, and Stoneskin on himself.

Originally, I created The Witchborn to take on the Bestiary CR 1/8-->CR 30. Then, I decided to put him through this Beastmass first, then I decided to put him through Shasf’s Updated Beastmass Challenge, solo. As such, many of his tactics and abilities, including most of his spellcasting and many of his items might seem unnecessary.

I will be using a variant of the original Beastmass dice-rolling rules. The d20 rules will be the same, except for the following changes. Instead of a cumulative 60% for a critical, it will become 100%. Also, there will no longer be automatic critical hits upon reaching 100%, but will instead be a critical threat. In order to actually score a critical hit, all combatants would have to be able to hit the AC of their opponent with the roll and the modifiers that allowed the critical hit.

For example, The Witchborn full-attacks at 39/39/39/39/34/29, and with his keen rapier, he threatens roughly a 30% critical hit chance. Following the 10-11-9; 10-9-11 roll scheme, his fourth attack (the first of his straight BAB attacks) would threaten a critical hit with a roll of 10+39=49. If 49 doesn’t hit the AC of his opponent, then he has not confirmed a critical hit.

I think this more accurately depicts how combat really works, as any time a critical threat is rolled, at least the attack hits, regardless of AC and the critical confirmation roll. This will allow the Beasties to be a little more dangerous as well, as I'm not sure that Porpentine knew what he was actually doing when he said this:

Fight Rules : no one flees for good - the pride of monkdom and the Bestiary are at stake. Single d20s always result in 10, multiple d20s (like full attacks) go 10-11-9, 10-9-11, and repeat. Threats kick in when the percentages from hits (not misses) build up to 60% within or over rounds (eg. 12 basic /20x2 hits would offer one threat and confirmation). Strictly mathematically speaking, multiple 20x2 threats don’t produce exact 5% threat chances, apparently, but for a game guide I reckon a flat 5% per pip will do. If there’s a decisive close call I’ll flag it. Rough but simple...

Emphasis mine.

What this did was disallowed the Beastmass Monsters to hit any AC over a certain number, even with critical hits. So, for anyone to be safe from critical hits during The Beastmass, all they would have to do is have a high enough AC, which One had. But I digress.

Also, critical threat chances are cumulative over the course of the encounters. If, for example, The Gold Dragon gets the critical percentage up to 40%, this number carries over to the fight with the Solar, and the Solar begins the fight with a 40% critical threat build-up. The same goes for the Witchborn.

These percentages will not be known by either competing party, nor will they be factored into the analyses made by each of the intelligent beings in either party of their opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

As for other dice rolls, they will take average rolls, then move slowly outwards. For example, if a d8 is required, the rolls will go like this: 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 1, 8. d% will be treated as a d10.

Damage rolls will be average.

*A note about Surprise Rounds. I will do my best to give The Beasties surprise rounds. By the rules, they shouldn’t have any, as The Witchborn’s perception is really high (that, and he’s almost twice as intelligent as the brainiest of them) but I don’t want this to come down to initiative, so I’ll do my best.