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Hi, so I'm running a long running game with 6 characters (and a badass wolf companion) that has gotten into the high levels (16-17) and combat has become a slog and a chore. So I'm spicing things up by making encounters very non-traditional, to keep them interesting.

Currently, they are after a list of documents secure in a powerful devil's library. In order to get the documents they will need to unlock the shelf. Unlock consists of doing the right type of damage, depending on a symbol. So they see the symbol for bludgeoning, force and fire, and they do those damage types to the lock in the same round it to unlock it. Then somebody gets access to the document, reads it, and they move on to the next one.

What I want is for them to be underattack the whole time by a lot of minor, but still threatening enemies. Basically, I want them to have to think "Ok, we need 4 characters to hit it with damage, but we also need to clear some space, so all of us spend a round clearing the area around us to buy time for 4 of us to open the lock while only 3 of us are fending off the baddies." I don't mind them slowing down to discuss the strategy at the table, in fact I want that. There's enough role play in the group that even with them playing tactically, there will be tension and engagment.

So my question is, what should these waves of enemies be? I mean I can flavor them however I want, no problem there, but what makes an enemy threatening enough that you want to deal with it, but easy enough to take out quickly. I don't want this to turn into another slog against some tough enemy with a thousand hit points, but I also don't want it to be something they can just ignore. My gut says something like a ghoul, but with the save versus paralysis really cranked up so it's tough.

Any good ideas, suggestions?

So I'm looking for some advice on an encounter idea I have. The party is fairly high level and really well equipped. For months now (both real time and game time), they have been outsmarted by a Succubus. This Succubus has some levels and has been using her natural abilities and spells to really be a pain, but never engage. The highest point was when she played the victim, fooled the cleric, got him to give out some important information, drained a few levels (wink wink, nudge nudge), and then teleported away. In encounters since then, the Cleric and Succubus have had some really good dialogue. (By good, I mean awful 80s sword and sorcery style dialogue. She always calls him "Lover" now. The Cleric is a good sport and great player, and he's sort of adopted the attitude of "So I have this crazy ex who just can't let it go".)

Anyways, they're about to track her down to her lair and they're ready to throw everything they have at her. Now I was thinking of having the big surprise be her "new boyfriend", a charmed or whatever Planetar who fights to protect her. I think it'll be an interesting switch up for a good party that has done a lot of demon hunting.

So I'm looking for some ideas of how I should make that happen. The Angel has just fallen? If so, should I switch everything over, so it's alignment is evil now, it has DR/Good, etc? If so, that doesn't seem too different from the standard evil stuff they fight. Should I make him under some spell? What spell or effect should it be? That seems to work fine until somebody in the party goes "this doesn't seem right, dispell magic" and now my boss fight has gone from a challenge to "well, we have a pissed off Planetar on our side for free now". That'll happen about a round in, maybe 2, considering how smart this party plays.

Just looking for some suggestions or how other people would run this. I'm totally not opposed to just saying "this is a special bad guy, not straight from the bestiary" and having all sorts of weird stats on him.

I'm running a home game that we started back in 3.5, so we're still using those gods. Our Paladin of Pelor is seeking a minor artifact (really just a Lord's Banner Crusades) that she knows is buried with this ancient, powerful Paladin.

The Paladin has guarded the tomb so that evil beings cannot get in and only those powerful enough to be safe with the loot can get to the loot. Essentially, some level 4 party can't get in, and then a few days later get killed by some orcs and now orcs have really nice stuff that they shouldn't have.

Anyway, the basic format. There are 6 statues in the entryway, of the Patron Saint of Vigilance, Valor, Truth, Sacrifice, Mercy, and Perseverance. Each statue has an outstretched hand. The party will enter a "test chamber," and solve a puzzle with one of those themes. At the end, they get an orb and put it in the appropriate statue's hand. So part of the test is identifying what they are being tested on. I'm looking for ideas for tests.

Here's what I have:
Valor - An orb is on top of a tall stone pillar. Around the pillar are monsters that are way too difficult for the party with Fear auras that will only attack you if attacked or you are climbing the pillar, but will not pursue you past a certain point in the floor. The party needs to get the orb, but if they get close, they fail a will save and become panicked. I can see a creative solution (animate rope, something like that) or, the easy solution, where the party goes to one side of the room and attacks, while the Paladin, immune to fear, runs in and grabs it. Or the party can just win an epic level encounter and be fine.

Truth - A court case illusion, where a Solar and a Marilith are both accused of a crime. It's a standard logic puzzle, with witnesses and stuff, but the Solar is guilty and the Marilith is innocent, because servants of Pelor pursue the truth, not outward appearances. I'd like a combat here too.

Perseverance - Several chambers where the lever or key is inside increasingly powerful fields of Positive Energy. Whomever goes after the key has to survive without exploding. Basically, the party needs to beat up a party member and have them walk in. This test is inspired by the scene with the coolant tanks in Sunshine.

Vigilance - They are walking through a crowd and keep getting attacked by a ghost or some invisible, incorporeal thing. They need to defend themselves without endangering or harming the "innocents" (actually just illusions) in the crowd. Any one they injure becomes a wraith and attacks, because servants of Pelor protect the innocent at the cost of pursuing the guilty. They will not give evil room to grow. As they progress, they start becoming more fatigued and disadvantaged, but must maintain a watchful eye. Things like True Seeing stop working. But despite the handicaps, they must be ever watchful.

Mercy and Sacrifice - I need suggestions here. A friend of mine suggested somebody basically has to willing take an Oracle curse for Sacrifice. I'm not sure about setup or if I'm mean enough to do that to a party member.

I'd also like some non-standard combats to mix in. One example is from a few sessions ago, where the Cleric needed to channel through an amulet for 5 rounds and the concentration check stacked every round if he took damage. So the party had to keep things off of him while he did it. The cleric described it as the most stressful combat he's ever been in, so I think it worked (though I know a lot of players would be bored with that). Things like that, that force a difference tactical situation.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.