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Here's a side treck/random encounter, suitable for use in korvosa, with two different stat blocks, depending on party level.
Avras Nathemis was a brilliant but cruel acadamae student, a prodigy of evocation who invented several force spells, and also dabbled in the arts of necromancy. He was very nearly a sorceror, so great was his connection to magic; a natural. He loved to fighten lesser humans with his power, and often snuck out after dark to carouse and intimidate. So, when he fell for a plain but spunky and intelligent varisian girl with sorcerous powers, things went bad. Arsheli's family was renting a small flat in Waydon Street She wasnt interested in a nasty, egotistical, if handsom chelish mage, and he treated her as more of an abstract ideal to be obtained than an actual person. Eventualy, he tired of what he say as her "playing hard to get" and attempted to abduct her. It didnt go well. Arsheli's brothers beat Avras to death and dumped him in a sewer. An otyugh came along, excited by the smell of fresh meat, and was rather shocked when the corpse sat up, screamed, and shot bolts of magic at him. Avras jittered and jerked to his feet, as his skin dried and turned brittle from the massive arcane energies pulsing through his body.
It took a week to get out of the sewer, using his magic to drive off the denizens of korvosa's waste disposal system. Avras clawed his way back into the now-wretched sun, his rotten eyes blinded by it. the world looked different. All the beauty had drained from it, every touch of feeling and emotion was gone. He could see every grand monument, every pretty girl, every bustling square was the same, but there was no joy to be had from them. He set off to find something to hurt.
That was many years ago, and Avras is now a minor terror. On occasion, people in Old Korvosa hear a knocking on their door in the dead of night, and a dry, cracked voice asks to be let in, to "sit and yarn for a while, and maybe have a bite of your soul." The voice hangs about for a while, often for hours, always chatting eloquently in it's dry, cracked way from outside. Those who rush outside to confront the voice are never seen again. On occasion, those traveling the nightime streets see a figure lurching toward them down an alley, a thin arm raised and arcane power crackling along it. Most make it home to bolt the door behind them. Some dont.
Avras loves the terror he inspires, and seldom bothers to kill anyone right away. He picks a mark, and stalks them for days at a time, moving in for a slow kill, hounding them wherever they sleep. His driving force in undeath is to find and kill Arsheli, but since her family long ago packed up and left, the trail is completely cold. Now, he spends his time terrifying the poor and continuing his studies. His creativity and genius have left him without Avras even noticing, and he wastes a massive ammount of magical supplies pointlessly aping arcane research. In his self-absorbed madness, he doesnt perceive that his mind is dead and dry. To keep himself in newt eyes, he does occasional work for crime lords, as a strong-arm intimidator. He maintains a lab in the basement of a abandoned building on Waydon Steet, filling it with necromantic traps and hoarded arcane bric-a-brack.
Down a dark street, a rag-clad figure lurches and staggers toward you, a dry hissing on it's cracked lips. A wide hat sadly does not obscure it's face, and as it steps into the light, you can see the grey-brown, tight, mottled flesh, covering a jittering skeleton awash with motes of crackling blue light.
The Waydon Street Lurcher CR 3
Advanced Deathlock
NE Medium undead
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Lifesight; Listen +8, Spot +8 Defense
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 25 (4d12)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +5
Defensive Abilities +2 turn resistance, undead traits Offense
Spd 30 ft.
Melee Bite +2 (1d4)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)
At will—detect magic, inflict minor wounds (DC 13), read magic
3/day—cause fear (DC 14), magic missile, summon monster 1
2/day—ghoul glyph (DC 15), blast of force (+5, 2d6, DC 15 or fall prone)
Tactics
During Combat The Lurcher is cruel, sadistic, and cowardly. It tries to keep foes at a distance with summoned monsters, while it uses ranged magic, starting with Cause Fear on a heavily-armored foe such as a fighter or barbarian. If faced with a serious melee foe, it attempts to kill it with a blast of force.
Morale If reduced to 10 hp or less, or faced with a serious melee threat, the Lurcher flees back to it's lair, leading any persuers over a previously-cast ghoul glyph. It heals itself at every opportunity.
The Lurcher always attempts to flee rather than stand and fight.
Statistics
Str 11, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +2; Grp +2
Feats Improved Initiative, Lifesight
Skills Concentration +10, Hide +10, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Listen +8,
Spellcraft +9, Spot +8, Use Magic Device +8
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal
Gear Eternal Wand of inflict light wounds, black onyx gem worth 50 gp,
37 sp, 5 gp, 21 cp, scroll of blast of force, scroll of identify.
SQ Turn Resistance +2
The Waydon Street Lurcher CR 6
Advanced Evolved Deathlock
NE Medium undead
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Lifesight; Listen +5, Spot +6
Defense AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +2 armor)
hp 43 (6d12+6), fast healing 3
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +6
Defensive Abilities +2 turn resistance, undead traits
Offense Spd 30 ft.
Melee Bite +4 (1d4+1)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th)
At will—detect magic, inflict light wounds (DC 15), read magic,
3/day—scare (DC 16), magic missile, summon monster III
2/day—ghoul glyph (DC 16, paralysis for 1d6+2 rounds), manyjaws
(DC 17, 6 jaws, 1d6 each)
1/day—Contagion (DC 17)
Tactics
During Combat The Lurcher is cruel, sadistic, and cowardly. It tries to keep foes at a distance with summoned monsters, while it uses ranged magic, starting with Scare on a heavily-armored foe such as a fighter or barbarian. If faced with a serious melee foe, it inflicts a disease upon him.
Morale If reduced to 20 hp or less, or faced with a serious melee threat, the Lurcher flees back to it's lair, leading any persuers over a previously-cast ghoul glyph. It heals itself at every opportunity.
The Lurcher always attempts to flee rather than stand and fight.
Statistics Str 13, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 18
Base Atk +3; Grp +3
Feats Improved Initiative, Lifesight, improved toughness
Skills Concentration +13, Hide +12, Knowledge (arcana) +11, Listen +5,
Spellcraft +11, Spot +6, Use Magic Device +13
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal
Gear Eternal Wand of bull's strength, empowered spellshard (magic missile), black onyx gem worth 50 gp, 37 sp, 5 gp, 21 cp, scroll of manyjaws, scroll of identify, bracers of armor +2
SQ Turn Resistance +2
Great Encounter! I've bookmarked this thread for when I eventually run CotCT.
Very nice work. Thank you! :)