So my PCs are about ready to make thier move on Shatterhorn, and looking at my party makeup, I've got six fairly strong PCs. Not horribly optimized, but very strong together as a party. In addition, in my view of the DnD cosmos, demon princes/ses are all at least divine rank 1 to be able to grant spells. I also messed around with a few factors to make him fit more into my campaign. Here's the version I came up with.
Adimarchus, Demon Prince of Madness
DVR 1 Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Archon, Extraplanar)
Demonic Form
Hit Dice: 30d8+312 (552 hp)
Initiative: +11
Speed: 60 ft.
A.C.: 57 (+6 dex, +9 insight, +11 deflection, +20 natural, +1 divine) touch 37, flat-footed 51, flat-footed touch 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +25/+38
Attack: Ashen Blade +45 melee (2d6+24/17-20 plus plasma fire; doesn’t miss on 1)
Full Attack: Ashen Blade +45/+40/+35/+30 melee (2d6+24/17-20 plus plasma fire; doesn’t miss on 1) plus 4 tentacles +36 melee (1d6+6 plus 1d4 negative levels)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (15 ft. with tentacles)
Special Attacks: Enervating bite, spell-like abilities, domain powers, Aura of Menace (DC 36)
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 20/good and cold iron, DR 10/evil, DR 15/epic, darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, fast healing 15, immune to acid, immune to cold, immune to electricity, immune to petrifaction, immune to poison, +4 racial bonus on saves against poison, teleport (Su), Immune to transmutation, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting effects, immune to disease, stunning, sleep, paralysis, death effects, and disintegration, lie in state, madness, outsider traits, resistance to sonic 10, shroud alignment, spell resistance 35, telepathy 300 ft.
Saves: Fort +31, Ref +24, Will +29 (Does not fail on a 1)
Abilities: Str 35, Dex 22, Con 36, Int 16, Wis 5, Cha 32
Skills: Bluff +45, Concentration +47, Diplomacy +47, Disguise +45(47 acting), Intimidate +47, Knowledge (religion) +37, Knowledge (the planes) +37, Listen +31, Sense Motive +31, Spot +31, Survival +31 (+33 on other planes)
Feats: Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (Greatsword), Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (True Seeing), Weapon Focus (Greatsword)
Possessions: Ashen Blade
Angelic Form
Hit Dice: 30d8+312 (552 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 60 ft., Fly 200 ft. (perfect)
A.C.: 58 (+6 dex, +9 insight, +11 armor, +11 deflection, +10 natural, +1 divine) touch 37, flat-footed 52, flat-footed touch 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +25/+34
Attack: Ashen +45 melee (+6 anarchic clawed gauntlet 1d6+14)
Full Attack: +43/+38/+33/+28 melee (+6 anarchic clawed gauntlet 1d6+14) and +43/+38/+33/+28 melee (1d3+10 nonlethal plus trip) plus 2 razorwings +33 melee (2d4+4/19-20/x4)
Full Attack: Ashen Blade +45/+40/+35/+30 melee (2d6+24/17-20 plus plasma fire; doesn’t miss on 1) plus 4 tentacles +36 melee (1d6+6 plus 1d4 negative levels)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. (15 ft. with tentacles)
Special Attacks: Enervating bite, spell-like abilities, domain powers, Implosive Strike, Aura of Menace (DC 36)
Special Qualities: Damage Reduction 20/good and cold iron, DR 10/evil, DR 15/epic, darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, fast healing 15, immune to acid, immune to cold, immune to electricity, immune to petrifaction, immune to poison, +4 racial bonus on saves against poison, teleport (Su), Immune to transmutation, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting effects, immune to disease, stunning, sleep, paralysis, death effects, and disintegration, lie in state, madness, outsider traits, resistance to sonic 10, shroud alignment, spell resistance 35, telepathy 300 ft.
Saves: Fort +31, Ref +24, Will +29 (Does not fail on a 1)
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 22, Con 36, Int 16, Wis 5, Cha 32
Skills: Bluff +55, Concentration +47, Diplomacy +57, Disguise +55(+57 acting), Intimidate +57, Knowledge (religion) +37, knowledge (the planes) +37, listen +31, sense motive +31, spot +31, survival +31 (+33 on other planes)
Feats: Combat Expertise, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Whip), Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Trip, Improved Two-weapon fighting, Flyby Attack, Mobility, Spring Attack, Two-Weapon Fighting, Whirlwind Attack.
Possessions: +6 Breasplate of Command (+10 competence bonus to charisma-based checks), +6 anarchic clawed gauntlet (martial, light, gauntlet, 1d6 slashing, x2 critical), +6 brilliant energy whip
Lie in State (Dv): If both of Adimarchus’s forms die, Adimarchus (in his current form) disappears after 24 rounds. The body reappears dead but intact on Occipitus, his realm in the Abyss. Any equipment Adimarchus was wearing or carrying at the moment of his death is likewise transported to Occipitus-and is likewise reconstituted if it is destroyed. After lying in state for 1d100 days on his home plane, both of Adimarchus’s forms are restored to full life. If Adimarchus is slain on his home plane, he is dead forever.
Madness (Ex): Adimarchus uses his Cha modifier on will saves instead of his wisdom modifier, and is immune to confusion and insanity effects.
Shroud Alignment (Dv): Spells and spell-like abilities with the good descriptor treat Adimarchus as if his alignment were good. Magic items are similarly fooled.
Implosive Strike: DC 38 fort save or be destroyed, angelic form only, declare before attack roll.
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Always active-mind blank; At will: detect good, detect magic, detect poison, mirror image, greater teleport, true seeing; 3/day-blindness/deafness (DC 23), entropic shield, greater command (DC 26), plane shift (DC 26), unholy blight (DC 25); 1/day blasphemy (DC 28), flame strike (DC 26), song of discord (DC26), word of chaos (DC 28). Caster Level 30th. The save DCs are charisma-based.
Domain Powers: Subtracts 1 from all wisdom-based checks and will saves.
Spell Like-Abilities (CL 11th, save DC 21+spell level, at will)
Lesser Confusion, Touch of Madness, Rage, Confusion, Bolts of Bedevilment, Phantasmal Killer, Insanity, Maddening Scream, Weird, Protection from Good, Desecrate, Magic Circle against Good, Unholy Blight, Dispel Good, Create Undead, Blasphemy, Unholy Aura, Summon Monster IX, Protection from Law, Shatter, Magic Circle against Law, Chaos Hammer, Dispel Law, Animate Objects, Word of Chaos, Cloak of Chaos, Summon Monster IX.
Divine Aura: 10 ft. radius, DC 22
Effects: Daze
Shaken, flee at attack or gesture (-2 morale penalty on attack rolls, saves and checks)
Resolve (+4 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and checks)
Salient Divine Abilities:
Form of Madness (Unique): Dual forms, yadda yadda yadda. Roll initiative separately for each, on its turn he changes into the appropriate form. Once one is dead, that form is temporarily out of commission. Treat them as two separate creatures in all regards.
Know Secrets (DC 22)
If you want to be really horrible, treat the anglelic and demonic forms as two different creatures.
So in 1 round, the demonic form takes a full-round action, free action to change to angelic form, angelic form takes a full-round action.
That's how I played him anyway, although I had horribly broken PCs.
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Yeah, my PCs were tough and were expecting a hard fight so I gave them one.
I actually read him as being played like the above poster, each was independent and so with a free action he could shift between forms and keep going.
However, to give a bit of flavor to it rather then having it be a free action I simply rolled a separate initiative for each as they each had a different bonus. One would go, then when the other's initiative came up he would shift forms and act that turn. It made it much more like they were fighting two powerful creatures at once.
Keep an eye on his tentacles. If your PC's aren't ready for it(deathward) those will bring them down like nobodies business. My players were lucky and had nidrama with them since she could use deathward at will and just kept it on them at all times.
It was a great scene when I ran this. One of my players had the dream haunted trait and I had used his dreams to show him visions of the angel and the demon battling, representing his inner struggle for redemption.
When the PC's broke the cage it fell as it crumbled then suddenly this angelic figure burst free and floated up between them. Nidrama whispered that it was him before he fell from grace. He gave a murmured 'Look out' and pointed as two mariliths(which he can auto-summon once a day) burst into the room from beneath.
There was a flurry of mutterings around my table as my players suddenly thought that they might be joining with Adimarchus to defend against Grazzt or the like. The PC's each turned and began battling the Mariliths giving adimarchus the chance to land and open up on them a round when they were unprepared.
Nidrama dropped immediately as I determined he recognized her as well and the one with the smoking eye was out of reach, and he took one of the parties fighters down to half in the first set of attacks. The party was suddenly with their main close combat force battling with the mariliths, who if left unchecked could do a great deal of damage, while all the casters were near adimarchus.
The teams cleric prepared to make the suicidal run over to tend to the fighter when suddenly adimarchus shifted forms, catching them all off guard, and he opened up, bringing the fighter down and lashing out at several of the others near him. Due to deathward his tentacles were mostly ineffective, but his ashen blade still did great amounts of damage.
The fight continued this way for several rounds. The mariliths were quickly dropped and then all attention was put to adimarchus and he held his own against them all. In truth he very likely could have brought down the team, but one of the party members had a thing for celeste and thus after they saved her they made it a point to use the resources it took to keep her as a planar ally whenever possible. She interposed herself between adimarchus and the team and thanks to some luck on their part(as well as scary AC on her part) and abysmally low dierolls on mine, she stayed up never taking more then one hit in a round(she had like 70hp, two would have almost certainly dropped her and let him cleave into the wizard behind her).
All in all it was a good long battle and the players shared a moment of pride after it.
In my game, the samurai PC with the smoking eye template was decapitated by Dark Myrkul, and lost the template just before getting to Adimarchus. So the party recruited the marilith with the smoking eye (I forget her name) to open his cage for them. In return, she would be returned to Occipitus, where she would rule.
Once Adimarchus was slain, the samurai turned on the marilith, and we ended there. I always imagined that final act of betrayal as sealing the samurai's chaotic evil alignment change, and him inheriting Occipitus as a result.
Thats more or less what I did; i didn't write out explicitly what the custom SDA I gave him did, but basically he is two seperate creatures on two seperate intiative counts. When ones intiative count comes up, the other one shifts out and the new form takes its place.
Maybe I read the spell descriptions wrong, but Word of Chaos and Blasphemy are powerful enough to take out most characters. Since his caster level is 30, unless the characters are 21st level, instant death to all good (blasphemy) or lawful (word of chaos) characters.
The only problem I had with Adimarchus was no defense to Forcecage (I hate that spell), and since his Plane Shift is useless (see traits of Skullrot) I swapped it out for Disintegrate.
Maybe I read the spell descriptions wrong, but Word of Chaos and Blasphemy are powerful enough to take out most characters. Since his caster level is 30, unless the characters are 21st level, instant death to all good (blasphemy) or lawful (word of chaos) characters.
I believe this was errata'd to caster level 20. Can anyone in the know confirm this?
In the OP the lessor AC for one of the forms is:
A.C.: 57 (+6 dex, +9 insight, +11 deflection, +20 natural, +1 divine) touch 37, flat-footed 51, flat-footed touch 21
How the heck is that supposed to be hit? Take my Dwarf Tank at level 20.
20 (bab) + 6 (22 str) + 5 (gmw) + 2 (focus+greater focus) + 1 (haste) + 1 (hero's feast) = 35
He has to roll a 22! to hit.
-- david
In the OP the lessor AC for one of the forms is:
A.C.: 57 (+6 dex, +9 insight, +11 deflection, +20 natural, +1 divine) touch 37, flat-footed 51, flat-footed touch 21
How the heck is that supposed to be hit? Take my Dwarf Tank at level 20.
20 (bab) + 6 (22 str) + 5 (gmw) + 2 (focus+greater focus) + 1 (haste) + 1 (hero's feast) = 35
He has to roll a 22! to hit.
-- david
22 Str is pretty low for a level 20 fighter. I would think they could have a 20 natural strength, a +6 item and an inherent bonus from a tome -- that's leaving aside the possibility that the party mage might have polymophed him into a stronger form as well.
There are other powerful buffs that can be layered on top of this, too (like bard song, prayer, etc.).
I don't think that it will be a problem for my party. There are three characters that work off of ac, one of whom is a frenzied berserker who drank the amaranth elixer. I've also got an arcane archer who can hit that AC no prob already (the party is currently lvl 17) and the other tank is a pal 4/divine soul 13 who uses wraithstrike (IMC i allowed you to grab spells of of other classes' lists with this feat, perhaps a mistake but its been true for too long and the FB still outmelees him) so i don't think that this will actually be *that* difficult to hit his AC, and in any case if he can't he can always spellcast to contribute to the fight.
BTW any word on that caster level erratta?
That's unfortunate... they really should be CL 23-25 so that they remain useful. While Word of Chaos will annihilate my party, at least the blasphemy would leave the smoking eye people alive.
In the OP the lessor AC for one of the forms is:
A.C.: 57 (+6 dex, +9 insight, +11 deflection, +20 natural, +1 divine) touch 37, flat-footed 51, flat-footed touch 21
How the heck is that supposed to be hit? Take my Dwarf Tank at level 20.
20 (bab) + 6 (22 str) + 5 (gmw) + 2 (focus+greater focus) + 1 (haste) + 1 (hero's feast) = 35
He has to roll a 22! to hit.
-- david
22 Str is pretty low for a level 20 fighter. I would think they could have a 20 natural strength, a +6 item and an inherent bonus from a tome -- that's leaving aside the possibility that the party mage might have polymophed him into a stronger form as well.
There are other powerful buffs that can be layered on top of this, too (like bard song, prayer, etc.).
He started with a 16 strength, and a 19 con, and has continued to bump his con. 10 levels fighter / 10 levels berserker (net class). No bard. Prayer +1, still needs a 21. I just do not see where anything else is coming from.
-- david
Well, obviously your DM wouldn't throw you against this. This encounter IS heavily modified for my party.
He started with a 16 strength, and a 19 con, and has continued to bump his con. 10 levels fighter / 10 levels berserker (net class). No bard. Prayer +1, still needs a 21. I just do not see where anything else is coming from.
-- david
You should consider investing in a "Girdle of Giant Strength" and some "Manual of xx" (Str inherent bonus).
It might not necesssarily help in this extreme example, but a "girdle" or "Gloves of Oger Strength" are somehow basic equipment for any figher type.
Bocklin
Did your party manage to keep the Amaranth dispenser thing intact? That would be a smart call.