Vashkar, the False Maharajah

[Eric Bailey]

Vashkar, the False Maharajah
male vampire rakshasa Monk 8/Fighter 1/Eldritch Knight 4

Description:
Jackal-headed Vashkar is a nightmarish parody of rakshasa pageantry and decadence. His thin, bone-yellow fur grows in ragged tufts and patches, showing through the vermin-eaten monastic garb of his lost youth. A grotesque stain of crimson-turned-brown discolors the flesh along his lower jaw, chin, and jugular. Vashkar is unconcerned with cleanliness or appearance, and the air around him reeks of festering decay.

Within his palace in the ashen wastes, multiple heads of two mighty maharajahs hang as trophies upon the walls, writhing in undead anguish and howling eternally in the tongues of beasts. Vashkar frequently meditates amidst their wailing, and for brief moments recalls the raw taste of paradise.

Motivations/Goals:
The seven maharajahs saw true power in Vashkar's future incarnations. They took him in as their own, named him samrata, and tamed his feral savagery in the cold forge of monastic discipline. They feasted him with banquets of Vudrani flesh, and bathed him in the scent of myrrh. Vashkar's reincarnations would be glorious.

His noble destiny crumbled in the streets of Absalom at the hands of the demon vampire Merishka. She broke his body, drank deeply of his blood, and laughed at his impotence as his eyes reopened to an immortal life with no hope of reincarnation. For years, she kept Vashkar as a frenzied pet, collared in anti-magic - a starved, beaten, and neglected dog on a chain. He finally emerged, a free-willed beast, leaving her half-devoured bones the sole memory of his passing.

Resurrection might restore life, but would be unable to cleanse Vashkar's polluted soul. The rakshasas reviled him as pagala, a low beast worthy of scorn. In reply, he visited his wrath upon rakshasas, vampires, and humankind with reckless ferocity. It was in Absalom that Vashkar heard the call of the Starstone, that instrument of divine ascension. It sang in the near-forgotten language of his youth, songs of rebirth and eternity.

Today, Vashkar nurses a seething hatred of all who seek immortality through reincarnation. He is fanatically convinced that the Starstone has presented a test - by thwarting the reincarnations of others, he can demonstrate the mastery of eternal rebirth necessary for divine control of reincarnation. Should Vashkar provoke his five remaining maharajah masters into open conflict, he can unleash his brood of vampire rakshasas into their midst, bringing the maharajahs' glorious dreams of eternal incarnations to a brutal, screaming end.

Schemes/Plots/Adventure Hooks:

• Vashkar captures a sacred phoenix to extract the secrets of rebirth, tormenting it in caverns beneath a remote village. The PCs must face charmed villagers and vampire spawn to retrieve it.
  
• A solar flare creates a spectacular aurora, drawing druids and priests of Saranrae to the arctic for the winter solstice. Vashkar dispatches rakshasa vampires to undertake a grand feast in the northern darkness.
  
• Merishka lives! Seeking Vashkar's complete oblivion, the she-demon offers the PCs everything she knows about the rakshasa. Can they ally with one demon to slay another?
  

VASHKAR, THE FALSE MAHARAJAH CR 20 [CR8 base rakshasa (Escape From Old Korvosa p35), +4.5 monk non-associated levels, +1 fighter, +4 eldritch knight, +2 vampire]
LE Medium Undead (augmented native outsider)
Init +11 [+7 Dex, +4 Imp. Init]; Senses darkvision 60ft.; perception +40 [18 ranks, +7 Wis, +4 feat (alertness), +3 rakshasa class skill, +8 vampire racial]

===== Defense =====
AC 50, touch 27, flat-footed 43; (+4 armor, +7 Dex, +10 monk [+2 base monk AC, +1 monk's robe, +7 Wis], +15 natural [+9 rakshasa, +6 vampire], +4 shield)
hp 310 (20d12+180 [Cha +9/HD]); fast healing 5
Fort +18 [+3 cloak, +2 eldritch knight, +2 fighter, +6 monk, +5 rakshasa], Ref +24 [+3 cloak, +7 Dex, +1 eldritch knight, +2 lightning reflexes, +6 monk, +5 rakshasa], Will +22 [+3 cloak, +7 Wis, +1 eldritch knight, +6 monk, +5 rakshasa]; +2 against enchantment
Defensive Abilities contingency, deflect arrows, dodge, evasion, mobility, monk AC bonus, purity of body, slow fall 40ft., snatch arrows 2/day, still mind; DR 15/good and piercing; 10/silver and magic; Immune undead traits, magic missile; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, +4 turn resistance; SR 40 [27 base rakshasa, +13 class levels]

===== Offense =====
Spd 60 ft. [40 base, +20 fast movement], climb 20ft. (spider climb)
Melee Unarmed Strike +29 [+3 amulet, +18 BAB, +7 Dex, +1 weapon focus] (3d6+11) plus energy drain [1d10 base, 2d6 w/monk's belt, 3d6 imp. natural attack; +3 amulet, +6 Str, +2 weapon specialization],
Flurry of Blows +28/+28/+23/+18/+13 [as unarmed strike, -1 for flurry] (3d6+11) plus energy drain,
Bite +23 [+3 amulet, +18 BAB, +7 Dex, -5 natural secondary attack] (1d6+6) [+3 amulet, +3 half-Str)
Special Attacks blood drain, children of the night, create spawn, detect thoughts (DC21), dominate (DC24), energy drain, flurry of blows
Spells Known (CL 10th; ranged touch +25 [+18 BAB, +7 Dex])
5th (5/day)-- teleport
4th (6/day)-- beast shape II, fire shield, solid fog
3rd (7/day)-- beast shape I, displacement, haste, nondetection
2nd (8/day)-- acid arrow, glitterdust (DC 21), rage, resist energy, shatter (DC21)
1st (9/day)-- charm person (DC 20), endure elements, mage armor, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement, shield
0 (at will)-- arcane mark, bleed (DC19), dancing lights, detect magic, ghost sound (DC19), mage hand, message, read magic, touch of fatigue (DC19)

===== Tactics =====
Before Combat Vashkar is cunning and understands his foes. He has a contingency effect pre-cast (see Morale). He casts mage armor when he wakes and shield prior to any battle. If the PCs favor an energy type, he will cast resist energy against that type prior to engaging them.
During Combat Vashkar knows his weaknesses. He will attempt to disarm foes whose weapons consistently cause him harm, and will cast displacement if surrounded. He will cast shatter on strongly-presented holy symbols or mirrors. He uses deflect arrows on smaller projectiles and the snatch arrows property of his gloves to snare larger missile weapons. He will attempt to disrupt spellcasters with acid arrow spells, utilizing multiple castings as needed. His ring of counterspells will negate the first dispel magic spell cast upon him. He will call a pack of ash jackals to track invisible foes via scent, and cast glitterdust to reveal them when found. When Vashkar feels confident of victory, he will cast haste and make liberal use of arcane strike and vital strike in melee, causing heavy damage with his unarmed strikes. Against rakshasas, his amulet allows his unarmed strikes to penetrate their otherwise formidable damage reduction.
Morale Vashkar is terrified of what might happen to his immortal soul should he fail in his quest for divine ascension. He flees via alternate form, teleport, or by any means possible once reduced to 50 hit points or less. If brought to 0 hit points, a contingency effect (cast at 15th level) teleports him to his palace crypt deep in Qadira, provided he is within 1500 miles of that location.

===== Statistics =====
Str 22 [base 12, +2 belt, +2 rakshasa, +6 vampire], Dex 24 [base 13, +1 ability increase, +2 belt, +4 rakshasa, +4 vampire], Con -- [base 8], Int 14 [base 10, +2 rakshasa, +2 vampire], Wis 24 [base 15, +1 ability increase, +4 headband, +2 rakshasa, +2 vampire], Cha 28 [base 14, +2 ability increase, +4 headband, +4 rakshasa, +4 vampire]
Base Atk +18 [+4 eldritch knight, +1 fighter, +1 monk, +7 rakshasa]; CMB +27 [+4 eldritch knight, +1 fighter, +8 monk maneuver training, +7 rakshasa, +7 Dex]
Feats agile maneuvers, alertness(B), arcane strike (+3), blind fight, combat reflexes, deflect arrows, dodge(B), gorgon's fist(B) (DC27 [10 base, +10 half character level, +7 Wis]), improved disarm(B), improved grapple, improved initiative(B), improved natural attack (unarmed strike), improved unarmed strike(B), lightning reflexes(B), mobility, spring attack(B), stunning fist(B) (12/day [8 monk levels, +3 from 12 other Hit Dice, +1 monk's robe], DC27 [10 base, +10 half character level, +7 Wis]), vital strike, weapon finesse, weapon focus(B) (unarmed strike), weapon specialization (unarmed strike)
Skills acrobatics +25 [15 ranks, +7 Dex, +3 monk class skill], bluff +35 [11 ranks, +9 Cha, +3 rakshasa class skill, +4 rakshasa racial, +8 vampire racial], diplomacy +20 [8 ranks, +9 Cha, +3 rakshasa class skill], disguise +25 [9 ranks, +9 Cha, +3 rakshasa class skill, +4 rakshasa racial], [fly +10 [3 ranks, +7 Dex], intimidate +30 [18 ranks, +9 Cha, +3 rakshasa class skill], knowledge (planes) +10 [8 ranks, +2 Int], knowledge (religion) +10 [8 ranks, +2 Int], perception +40 [18 ranks, +7 Wis, +4 feat (alertness), +3 rakshasa class skill, +8 vampire racial], sense motive +35 [13 ranks, +7 Wis, +3 rakshasa class skill, +4 rakshasa racial, +8 vampire racial], spellcraft +15 [10 ranks, +2 Int, +3 rakshasa class skill], stealth +35 [17 ranks, +7 Dex, +3 rakshasa class skill, +8 vampire racial]
Languages Common, Infernal, Undercommon, Vudran
SQ alternate form, change shape, diverse training, fast movement, gaseous form, high jump, ki pool (11 points [+4 half monk levels, +7 Wis), maneuver training, spells, wholeness of body
Combat Gear +3 lawful outsider-bane amulet of mighty fists [80,000gp], +2 belt of physical might (Str, Dex) [5,000gp], +3 cloak of resistance [9,000gp], 3 dusts of dryness [2,550gp], 2 dusts of disappearance [7,000gp], gloves of arrow snaring [4,000gp], +4 headband of mental prowess (Wis, Cha) [40,000gp], metamagic rod (lesser extend) [3,000gp], monk's robe [13,000gp], ring of counterspells (dispel magic) [4,000gp]; Other Gear ivory focus for contingency [1,500gp], ring of chameleon power [12,700gp] [total gear value 181,750gp of 185,000 available to a CR20 foe]

===== Ecology =====
Environment Vashkar is most likely to be encountered in Absalom, Vudra, or his palace home in southern Qadira.
Organization Vashkar might be encountered with groups of vampire rakshasas, with his consort (a succubus blackguard 10), or as a solo encounter in his palace.
Treasure Vashkar has 3250gp worth of treasure or coins to spend on additional limited-use items if desired.

===== Special Abilities =====
AC Bonus (Ex) Vashkar adds a special bonus, plus his Wisdom modifier to his AC. This AC bonus applies even against touch attacks or when he is flat-footed. He loses the bonus when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.
Alternate Form (Su) As beast shape II, but Vashkar can assume only the shape of a bat, dire bat, ash jackal (wolf), or alpha jackal (dire wolf). While in this alternate form, Vashkar loses his unarmed strike and dominate ability, but he retains all other supernatural abilities, such as blood drain and energy drain. He can remain in that form until he assumes another or until the next sunrise.
Blood Drain (Ex) Vashkar can drink blood from a living victim by pinning it while grappling. If he successfully pins the foe, he drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round he successfully maintains the pin. On each such successful attack, Vashkar gains 5 temporary hit points.
Change Shape (Su) Vashkar can assume a humanoid form, or revert to his own form, as a standard action. In humanoid form, he loses his claw and bite attacks. He can remain in one form until he chooses to assume a new one. A change in form cannot be dispelled, but Vashkar reverts to his natural form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals his natural form.
Children of the Night (Su) Once per day Vashkar can call forth 1d6+1 rat swarms, 1d4+1 bat swarms, or a pack of 3d6 ash jackals (wolves) as a standard action. These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve him for up to 1 hour.
Create Spawn (Su) A humanoid, monstrous humanoid, or native outsider slain by Vashkar's energy drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 days after burial. If Vashkar instead drains the victim's Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. In either case, the new vampire or spawn is under Vashkar's command and remains enslaved until his destruction. At any given time Vashkar may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than 40 Hit Dice; any spawn he creates that would exceed this limit are created as free-willed vampires or vampire spawn. A vampire that is enslaved may create and enslave spawn of its own, so a master vampire can control a number of lesser vampires in this fashion. Vashkar may voluntarily free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again.
Detect Thoughts (Su) Vashkar can continuously use detect thoughts as the spell (caster level 18th; DC21 Will save negates [10 base, +2 spell level, +9 Cha] ). He can suppress or resume this ability as a free action.
Diverse Training (Ex) Vashkar adds his eldritch knight levels to any levels of fighter or arcane spellcasting class he has for the purposes of meeting the prerequisites for feats.
Dominate (Su) Vashkar can crush an opponent's will just by looking into his or her eyes. This is similar to a gaze attack, except that Vashkar must use a standard action and target a single foe within 30 feet. Those merely looking at him are not affected. Anyone he targets must succeed on a DC24 Will save [10 base, +5 spell level, +9 Cha]or fall instantly under his influence as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 12th).
Energy Drain (Su) Living creatures hit by Vashkar's unarmed strike gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, he gains 5 temporary hit points. He can use his energy drain ability once per round.
Evasion (Ex) When Vashkar makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. He does not gain the benefit of evasion if helpless, or if wearing medium or heavy armor.
Fast Healing (Ex) Vashkar heals 5 points of damage each round so long as he has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, he automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. He must reach his Qadiran crypt within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed. (He can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to him while forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in his crypt, Vashkar is helpless. He regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round.
Fast Movement (Ex) Vashkar gains a 20-foot enhancement bonus to his speed. He loses this benefit when wearing armor or carrying a medium or heavy load. This bonus overlaps (does not stack with) spells or effects that grant an enhancement bonus to speed.
Flurry of Blows (Ex) As a full-attack action, Vashkar may make one extra attack at his highest base attack bonus. Until his next turn, every attack roll he makes takes a -1 penalty. When using flurry of blows, he may attack only with unarmed strikes or with special monk weapons (kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham).
Gaseous Form (Su) As a standard action, Vashkar can assume gaseous form at will as the spell (caster level 5th). He can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
High Jump (Ex) Vashkar adds his monk level to all Acrobatics checks made to jump, both for vertical jumps and horizontal jumps. In addition, he always counts as having a running start when making jump checks using Acrobatics.
Ki Pool (Su) 11 points/day. Vashkar has a pool of ki, supernatural energy he can use to accomplish amazing feats. As long as he has at least 1 point in his ki pool, he can make a ki strike, allowing his unarmed attacks to be treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Vashkar can activate several additional powers as a swift action, by spending one or more points from this pool. His ki pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or meditation.

• Vashkar can make one additional attack at his highest attack bonus when using flurry of blows. (1 point)
  
• He can increase his speed by 20 feet for 1 round. (1 point)
  
• He can give himself a +4 dodge bonus to AC for 1 round. (1 point)
  
• He can gain a +20 bonus on Acrobatics checks made to jump for 1 round. (1 point)
  
• As a standard action, he can heal 8 points of damage (2 points)
  

Maneuver Training (Ex) Vashkar uses his monk level in place of his base attack bonus when calculating his combat maneuver bonus. This has been factored into Vashkar's CMB.
Purity of Body (Ex) Vashkar is immune to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.
Slow Fall (Ex) When falling, Vashkar can use a wall or other vertical surface within arm's reach to slow his descent. He takes damage as if the fall were 40 feet shorter than it actually is.
Spells Vashkar casts spells as a 10th-level sorcerer with bonus spells granted by the Savage bloodline [see below]. As a monstrous sorcerer, Vashkar gains access to his bloodline's bonus spells, but gains no other bloodline-based abilities.
Spider Climb (Ex) Vashkar can climb sheer surfaces as though with a spider climb spell.
Still Mind (Ex) Vashkar gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against spells and effects from the school of enchantment.
Wholeness of Body (Su) Vashkar can heal his own wounds as a standard action, by spending 2 points from his ki pool (see Ki Pool special ability)

Vashkar's Weaknesses

• Vashkar cannot tolerate the scent of myrrh, will not enter an area laced with it, and will not approach a creature bearing its aroma.
  
• He recoils from a mirror or a strongly-presented holy symbol. These things don't harm him - they merely keep him at bay. He must stay at least 5 feet away from a creature holding the mirror or holy symbol and cannot touch or make melee attacks against the creature holding the item for the rest of the encounter. Holding Vashkar at bay takes a standard action.
  
• Vashkar is unable to cross running water, although he can be carried over it while resting in his coffin or aboard a ship. He is unable to enter a home or other building unless invited in by someone with the authority to do so. He may freely enter public places, since these are by definition open to all.
  

Slaying Vashkar Only certain attacks can permanently slay Vashkar.

• Exposing Vashkar to direct sunlight disorients him; he can take only a single move action or attack action and is destroyed utterly in the next round if he cannot escape.
  
• Immersing him in running water robs him of one-third of his hit points each round until he is destroyed at the end of the third round of immersion.
  
• Driving a good-aligned wooden stake through Vashkar's heart instantly slays the monster. However, he returns to life if the stake is removed, unless his body is destroyed.
  

Savage Bloodline
There is rage in your blood, passed down by ancestors whose every moment was a struggle for survival.
Class Skill Survival
Bonus Spells endure elements (3rd), rage (5th), beast shape I (7th), beast shape II (9th), beast shape III (11th), transformation (13th), waves of exhaustion (15th), animal shapes (17th), wail of the banshee (19th)
Bonus Feats Arcane Strike, Diehard, Empower Spell, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Maximize Spell, Skill Focus (Intimidate), Toughness
Bloodline Powers To you, the aroma of battle is an intoxicating, carnivore's perfume. Your powers serve to tap into that animal ferocity.
Moment of Fury (Su): At 1st level, you can touch a creature as a standard action to cause it to seethe with rage for 3 rounds. During this time, the creature touched can call upon this rage (a free action) to gain a bonus to melee damage rolls equal to your caster level for one full round. A creature can benefit from moment of fury only once per day.
Scent (Ex): At 3rd level, you gain the Scent special quality.
Alpha Form (Ex): At 9th level, you gain an additional +2 bonus on any enhanced ability score granted through use of the beast shape spells.
Terrifying Howl (Su): At 15th level, you can unleash a frenzied scream, as a greater shout spell, except that those who fail their Fortitude saves are also shaken for a number of rounds equal to half your caster level.
Primal Hunter (Ex): At 20th level, you become a true force of nature. When selecting a form to assume through any beast shape spell, you can choose to gain the ability enhancements, natural armor bonus, and special qualities of that form without actually changing shape. Transforming in this way manifests only the body parts needed to accommodate specific attack forms.

[Jason Bulmahn]

OW, my brain hurts. Three classes and a template on top of a monster...

The background here is interesting and certainly grand enough for a CR 20 villain, but I think its plot hooks are a bit thin. They seem like things he might do, but they do not necessarily lead to the villain himself.

As for the stat block, things look pretty tight. His rakshasa claw attacks seem to be missing as an option (even if they are suboptimal) and I am a bit confused as to whether or not all of the listed attacks are meant to be part of one full attack action (which would be an error). There have been a lot of discussions over the years about monk vampires and whether or not they get energy drain during flurry of blows, so I would not call this an error, but it is questionable (and losing 10 or more levels in one round is a bit crazy good, even for a CR 20 monster). The biggest mistake I can find is that the elite array of ability scores was not applied to the Rakshasa when he gained PC class levels (not that he needs the help, but it is an error nontheless).

I also approve of the altered weaknesses to fit his general theme and I think you could have taken this one step further to add that he can only be slain by a blessed arrow through the heart. The new rules element is pretty fun too. Adding a new sorcerer bloodline was a good choice. Although not explicitly allowed by the rules, it was not specifically disallowed either. The bloodline looks mostly balanced, but I think the 20th level power is rather weak.

Although horribly complex to design, a monster like this is relatively straight forward to run in a game. That said, I think a full, deep accounting of something this complicated is sure to be quite time consuming. I did not find too many errors in by cursory read through, but the elite array addition would be nightmarish, since it affects a number of already complicated equations.

My Grade (on a 1-10 scale) is a 7.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

[Clark Peterson]

Good! Right away you change the name to take the focus off the cool pad and onto the villain! Well-done. This is an excellent re-imagining and refocusing of your villain. This is exactly what I hoped to see here. He's not just a rakshasa. He's now a very specific rakshasa, not just a monster. Very well done. I must say that was exactly what people are supposed to do in this round, though not all did.

So lets see what's under the hood!

Monk, figther, eldritch knight, vampire! All right! Where is Booms when you need him? I think this guy would be right at home in Boomer's setting submission from last year. Good work. Way to spice up the bland rakshasa monk idea from last round.

Complex bad guy, but a real good stat block. This kind of mind-numbing number crunching is one of the things that make me look to 4E for simplicity. But 3E/Pathfinder is complex for a reason--because it really works well. So being able to put this together is something an RPG Superstar needs to be able to do.

I like the use of the bloodline as your rules bit. Nice work.

I have to say, I was down on the rakshasa. But I think you turned this around. You addressed criticism from last round. You took this chance to do more than just a slight editorial pass on your villain. You reconcepted him and added a liberal dose of tobasco sauce to spice him up.

I'm liking the False Maharajah's mojo big time. Recommended to advance.

[Sean K Reynolds]

Description:
WAY to turn this one around! Interesting backstory, interesting motivation, very appropriate for him to be a rakshasa, successful villain!

Stat Block:
Here is where I point and laugh at Jason. ;) I accept his evaluation of your stat block and spare myself the insanity of checking it again. ;)

Rule Element:
People love bloodlines! And here's one that isn't based on your ancestors having sex with something weird! Bravo! It's pretty stylin, I'm already imagining a lycanthrope sorcerer with this bloodline.

Excellent growth from R2 to R3!

Rec: advance!

[Wolfgang Baur]

At 3500 words, this is the largest villain stat block, outweighing both the Gulga otyugh and the Rustin Harp bard. Let's see what all that word count actually delivers....

Going over the concept, I see improvement in both concrete appearance and in goals and plans. You've really reinvented Varrush into Vashkar with a more active role as a rakshasa villain. Good work incorporating feedback from the prior round.

Moving on to the stats, I notice you are pegging the CR at 20. At that level, I expect to be seriously impressed with clean and exciting rules and firepower that will help a DM run this beast.

And right away, I'm disappointed by some of the choices. AC 50? That's pegged too high, and I'd want to playtest it to confirm or rebut that. And looking at it further, I see Flurry of Blows plus energy drain and similar moves; as Jason said, somewhat sketchy choices. While those are exciting all right, I suspect this creature is overpowered. As a developer, I would *definitely* want some playtesting on the balance here.

The During Combat section is a bit of a mess. Why is tracking with hounds in this section? And the sequence seems to include almost entirely counters to the PCs actions, rather than Vashkar's actions to defeat them. Does he use Flurry of Blows or does he spend all his time deflecting and dodging? I'm not sure from reading this section.

Plus there's the overkill of having 24 Special Abilities. I don't want to run this without a convincing road map to which of those 24 matter most in a combat that will certainly last no more than 10 rounds.

The new rule element struck me as well done, though I'm no expert on bloodline design. It fits the theme and hangs together mechanically.

Recommendation Recommended, with reservations. More is not always more in design; sometimes entanglements and complexity are junk. This huge wall of text makes me think you need to work on keeping a design clean, not just complete.

[roguerouge]

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

The bloodline looks mostly balanced, but I think the 20th level power is rather weak.

I don't know. I can think of a bunch of players with druids and transmuters that would kill to wild shape and retain their magic items.

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

he biggest mistake I can find is that the elite array of ability scores was not applied to the Rakshasa when he gained PC class levels (not that he needs the help, but it is an error nontheless).

Uh... I see base abilities listed as:

STR: 12
Dex: 13
Con: He's dead, Jim. But it would be an 8
Int: 10
Wis: 15
Cha: 14

That's the elite array, alright. Am I getting this wrong, Jason? Has the elite array term changed in Pathfinder? If it's right, what would that change your score to, Jason?

More generally...

Wow. This is really neat. That's an epic, high-level villain: trying to take over reincarnation itself!

Given the wide array of defensive abilities, I can really see this villain making a high level combat gripping, rather than its usual three rounds. This guy can make a fitting end to a campaign. He can teleport, scry, fight in melee, heal himself, and mess up casters with energy drain. And he's got a minion and some mooks. Best yet: he has no instant-kill option that turns high level combat into boring games of "pound the bad save".

This guy makes for a fitting campaign ender... one way or another.

[Jorrik the Fat]

Disclaimer: I know nothing about the Pathfinder game, and would not have any way of judging whether the stat block is any good or not, so I confess to not having read it.

Having said which, two of the villains I voted for last round failed to advance, leaving me with a free vote. Since I knew I wasn't going to be reading the stat blocks, I had picked out Varrush as the villain I was most likely to give my third vote to, provided the core concept didn't change too much. But... I rather feel that it has, and that I preferred Varrush over Vashkar. So I fear my third vote will now go elsewhere. Sorry! (Hopefully, everyone else agrees with the judges, and prefers the updated version...)

[Jason Bulmahn]

roguerouge wrote:

That's the elite array, alright. Am I getting this wrong, Jason? Has the elite array term changed in Pathfinder? If it's right, what would that change your score to, Jason?

Actually, you are correct, and I am not 100% sure how I got this aspect wrong. It should have a +6 racial bonus for its Charisma (for a total Charisma of 30), but otherwise the ability scores are correct.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

[roguerouge]

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

Actually, you are correct, and I am not 100% sure how I got this aspect wrong.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

Because you're proof-reading 17 huge stat blocks in three days?

[Jason Bulmahn]

roguerouge wrote:

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

Actually, you are correct, and I am not 100% sure how I got this aspect wrong.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

Because you're proof-reading 17 huge stat blocks in three days?

That might be it.. yes..

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

[inue]

Jason Bulmahn wrote:

Actually, you are correct, and I am not 100% sure how I got this aspect wrong.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

So does that change your overall 7 vote?

I actually find the plot hooks rather compelling. You can easily switch the phoenix creature if necessary to adhere to your own campaign. The other options give you the start of what could be an indepth story arc or could be used as a one-shot episodic few sessions. The hooks really get the imagination flowing for opportunities to flesh out some areas of the world and provide a backdrop/setting for some secondary PC driven plots, if so inclined.

[Jason Bulmahn]

inue wrote:

So does that change your overall 7 vote?

Not at this time, but I will think it over.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

[Golarion Midwife]

Marvelous re-imagining of a character I was already fond of. He's very... well, sexy :) You really brought out the monk in him, I think. *applauds*

Also - I'm on my third one. Are all the villains going to run away at the end of a fight? ;)

[Elora]

Ooohhh...I like him. A lot!!!

This is a great reincarnation of your round 2 submission (har har). I would just love to run Vashkar as a DM. And I despise running high level games, so that is really saying something.

[Reckless]

Ok, vote stolen. Your redevelopment of this villain shows true Superstar quality, and I look forward to what you do next.

[roguerouge]

Wolfgang and Jason: I have a question. I don't follow the monk vampire controversy, or even know that such a controversy existed. So, is the controversy whether monks get energy drain on EVERY ATTACK or on whether they get any energy drains AT ALL when they strike more than once per round?

I can see it going either way, really, but the entry here for energy drain says that Vashkar gets it once per round, not for every individual hit. So it seems like he's taking a third position, which is that you can get ONE energy drain in while getting multiple attacks in a round.

[William Senn]

roguerouge wrote:

Wolfgang and Jason: I have a question. I don't follow the monk vampire controversy, or even know that such a controversy existed. So, is the controversy whether monks get energy drain on EVERY ATTACK or on whether they get any energy drains AT ALL when they strike more than once per round?

I can see it going either way, really, but the entry here for energy drain says that Vashkar gets it once per round, not for every individual hit. So it seems like he's taking a third position, which is that you can get ONE energy drain in while getting multiple attacks in a round.

For reference: This is the way it was handled in PF#6 The Spires of Xin-Shalast.

Spoiler:

There's a vampiric decapus there with 10 tentacle attacks per round, but he only gets to drain energy once per round.

[roguerouge]

William Senn wrote:

For reference: This is the way it was handled in PF#6 The Spires of Xin-Shalast. ** spoiler omitted **

So this superstar entry DID handle it in the correct way then: multiple unarmed strikes, but only one of them drains energy (presumably the top BAB one.)

[William Senn]

roguerouge wrote:

So this superstar entry DID handle it in the correct way then: multiple unarmed strikes, but only one of them drains energy (presumably the top BAB one.)

Appears so, yes. At the very least, it's consistent with what Paizo has published, and I can't count that against an entry.

[Jason Bulmahn]

roguerouge wrote:

William Senn wrote:

For reference: This is the way it was handled in PF#6 The Spires of Xin-Shalast. ** spoiler omitted **

So this superstar entry DID handle it in the correct way then: multiple unarmed strikes, but only one of them drains energy (presumably the top BAB one.)

The flurry of blows line ends with "plus energy drain", which is what led to the confusion, despite it being clarified under Special Abilities.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

[Joel Flank]

Wow, quite a bit to digest here. I was instantly grabbed by "The False Maharajah" title. I didn't know exactly how he was false, but I wanted to find out. I was a fan of your last round, but not enough to vote for it in the end. I'm pretty sure that won't be the case this round. This entry is tight. The stat block is dead on (except a few things we'll get to later), and the concept of stealing reincarnation sounds like an epic villain worthy goal.

I liked the eldritch knight build off of the sorcerer abilities of the rakshasa. I actually had to look it up to see that it does work, since they cast as a sorcerer, not just spell like abilities. The rakshasa/vampire combo is very powerful, with overlaping DR that's hard to beat, and a sick SR and AC. Unfortunately, this is the one big hole in your stat block - technically, a vampire template can only be added to a humanoid or monstrous humanoid. This is one of those rules you do sometimes see ignored/broken in published material, so it's not a deal breaker. As I was reading through, I kept thinking, oh, Erik is going to make a demonic vampire template as his new rule bit, or something along those lines to dodge the issue. (But since this was disallowed by the round 3 rules, I was thinking that you might try to sneak a modification to the template in as yours, but probably a good call that you didn't.)

The sorcerer bloodline was a good choice, and uses something new to the PRPG rules, which helps it not be "just another feat, spell, etc." I was wondering why he had the beast shape spells as I read the stat block, since as a vampire he can do that already, and the bloodline explains that.

Some of his tactics are a bit weak. If he wants to shut down a spellcaster, an energy draining flurry of blows should work a lot better than multiple rounds of acid arrows against a 15+ level character. Similarly, the ring of counterspells is weak at CR20. You either need the greater version with greater dispel magic in it, or find something else to counter (maybe searing light, since he's a vampire.) Also, with a perception of +40, he really doesn't need more specific anti-invisibility tactics. Sure he can do that, but he can also just go and hit the invisible dude (or have chosen see invisibility instead of glitterdust.) Vashkar should go in, flurry a juicy target, then move elsewhere, keeping the PCs on their toes and scrambling to pin him down.

Despite some of these minor quibbles, you did a great job with a super crazy stat block.

[Jason Nelson]

Energy drain is technically only delivered through the slam attack, and so wouldn't be usable with unarmed strike - it's hair splitting to the extreme, and I think the way you've done it is really the rational way to do it: You can take all the unarmed attacks you want, but you only get energy drain on one of them - probably with the first ATTACK, not the first one where you HIT (so if you miss your first attack, you miss your ED).

Anyway, I liked Varrush almost well enough to vote for him the first time around, and I think I like him even more this time. The stat block is mind-numbingly insane, and everything I said in the Gulga thread applies here as well. That said, he's CR 20, so he's pretty much supposed to be the Boss of Bosses for the campaign, a big baller and a shot-caller - he's the poo and everyone can take a big whiff!

So he should have a mega stat block.

Yeah, it's probably overkill, but overkill works better at CR 20 than it does at CR 10 or 15.

Anyway, he's a fully realized villain with a legit diabolical plot, thematic weaknesses and strengths, and a very fun new rules bit in the sorcerer bloodline. Excellent work, and you're on my short list this round.

[Joel Flank]

Jason Nelson wrote:

Energy drain is technically only delivered through the slam attack, and so wouldn't be usable with unarmed strike - it's hair splitting to the extreme, and I think the way you've done it is really the rational way to do it: You can take all the unarmed attacks you want, but you only get energy drain on one of them - probably with the first ATTACK, not the first one where you HIT (so if you miss your first attack, you miss your ED).

Actually, the SRD states "Energy Drain (Su) Living creatures hit by a vampire’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire might possess) gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points. A vampire can use its energy drain ability once per round."

I'd say that a monk's unarmed strike is certainly a natural weapon, so that bit is legit.

[William Senn]

Yep. That's also the same route as was used, again, in Spires of Xin-Shalast.

[Charles Evans 25]

I'm unclear to what extent (or if) Vashkar having 'taken the heads' of two maharajahs 'breaks campaign setting toys'.
That might be like saying 'oh, and my villain quaffs his breakfast ale from a flagon made from the skull of the dragon Mengkare'.

I think I need to go over Pathfinder #10 again and see how much latitude you might have in the canon.

[Matt Banach]

Eric - this guy is a freakin' Ferrari. Looks beautiful (very good use of descriptive language both for visuals and mood, along with a healthy dose of Vudra-appropriate culture), assuredly has wicked performance... and I'm terrified of ever driving it because I'd be scared to death I'd leave the parking brake on and rip out something important. But provided I could bribe one of my friends to GM and drive it around, I would happily sit shotgun and yell Wheeeee!

By this, I mean to say kudos. I really like this guy.

[Ernest Mueller]

Reworked from "generic rakshasa" to "demented vampire rakshasa who kills vampires and rakshasas!" Much, much more interesting. He starts to fall into the trap of not being in enough conflict with the PCs however. The stat block is just huge. I'm not so sure about legitimacy of the Eldritch Knight levels boosting his spellcasting (which is purely racial). Triple class nonhuman with a template may be pushing it complexity-wise. And even for CR20 this is a little buff. AC50, SR40, multiple DRs. 24 special abilities goes over my line for what I'd like to deal with. I think being a vampire rakshasa monk would be more than enough, especially with the new bloodline. But you have to respect biting off such a huge task. 7/10 and one of my 4 votes!

[Eric Bailey]

Thanks everyone for your support! (and maybe your votes???) I can't wait to talk about this guy. Jason, I owe you an Excedrin, or something. Sorry 'bout that. ;)

-eric

[Fern Herold]

Ooh. Looks pretty sharp. Quite complicated, of course, but definitely not a standard run-of-the-mill rakshasa anymore! I like!

[Jason Nelson]

JoelF847 wrote:

Jason Nelson wrote:

Energy drain is technically only delivered through the slam attack, and so wouldn't be usable with unarmed strike - it's hair splitting to the extreme, and I think the way you've done it is really the rational way to do it: You can take all the unarmed attacks you want, but you only get energy drain on one of them - probably with the first ATTACK, not the first one where you HIT (so if you miss your first attack, you miss your ED).

Actually, the SRD states "Energy Drain (Su) Living creatures hit by a vampire’s slam attack (or any other natural weapon the vampire might possess) gain two negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points. A vampire can use its energy drain ability once per round."

I'd say that a monk's unarmed strike is certainly a natural weapon, so that bit is legit.

Indeed. That's what I get from looking at my 1st printing MM3.5 and not the current SRD. Thanks for the correction.

[roguerouge]

Ernest Mueller wrote:

Reworked from "generic rakshasa" to "demented vampire rakshasa who kills vampires and rakshasas!" Much, much more interesting. He starts to fall into the trap of not being in enough conflict with the PCs however. The stat block is just huge. I'm not so sure about legitimacy of the Eldritch Knight levels boosting his spellcasting (which is purely racial). Triple class nonhuman with a template may be pushing it complexity-wise. And even for CR20 this is a little buff. AC50, SR40, multiple DRs. 24 special abilities goes over my line for what I'd like to deal with. I think being a vampire rakshasa monk would be more than enough, especially with the new bloodline. But you have to respect biting off such a huge task. 7/10 and one of my 4 votes!

Looking at the monster entry, if a Rakshasa gains a sorcerer level, it stacks with the racial casting, so I can see Eldritch Knight as an extrapolation on that.

As far as the buffness of this guy, I note that people tend to focus exclusively on the defensive side of things. Rakshasas are double-plus good at defense and trickery, but they require a bit of work to make them an offensive threat. And remember that he'd be facing 17th level PCs with access to Meteor Swarm, Shapechange, Wish, Time Stop, Implosion, Mass Heal... and Energy Drain.

[Winterwalker]

Vampires and Were-Creatures are like Kryptonite to my brain, I always give in.

Well done, you got a vote from me.

[Montalve]

MMMM Vashkar....

this is what I would call a villain... No he is not demented... he is mad... and he intends on taking his downfall from goly to EVERYONE else...
Vampires, Rakshasas, humans... this thing wouldhave specially a vias versus elves (long lives and reincarnate when they die until they found their purpose and achieve it).

this guy is so bad that he could kick theas of your former hedonist villain and mock him for his perfumed self

and plus the Savage Bloodline was something that people was asking for

you have outdone yourself... this guy is at leastat the level of Gulga, or even over the top... you have my vote

I hope to seean explendid Home in Quadira or his other bases of operation...

see you next round

[The_Minstrel_Wyrm]

Eric... I liked your rakshasa from round 2, and he's even more impressive this round. The title of "False Maharajah" piqued my interest too. So... considered yourself (and Vashkar) voted for! Well Done. (I can't wait to see his lair... perhaps the aforementioned home in Qadira?)
Regards,
Dean; the Minstrel_Wyrm

[Montalve]

hate the forum monster who it my messages

now just to edit a bit of one of the editors.

Clark wrote:

a liberal dose of tobasco sauce to spice him up

its Tabasco! I suppose you had many stats blockt to check so I won't complain... that much :P

but its just like saying Sittleinstead of Seattle

[David Fryer]

One thing I am confused about, and hope someone can explain is what +4.5 nonassociated monk levels means. I'd like to vote for this character but can't bring myself to until that is cleared up for me.

[Neil Spicer]

David Fryer wrote:

One thing I am confused about, and hope someone can explain is what +4.5 nonassociated monk levels means. I'd like to vote for this character but can't bring myself to until that is cleared up for me.

Sure, David. Non-associated class levels are defined as any levels in classes that don't really go hand-in-hand with what a monster is already good at. So, if you give a strong melee combat monster levels in wizard, for instance, that's considered "non-associated." If you gave it levels in fighter, though, those would be "associated" class levels instead.

Mechanically, the difference between "associated" vs. "non-associated" is that "associated" class levels increase a creature's CR on a 1-to-1 ratio. While, "non-associated" class levels only increase the CR by 1/2 per level. Thus, you've got 4.5 "non-associated" class levels coming into play for Vashkar because he's got an uneven number of levels vs. monster Hit Dice.

Hope that helps,
--Neil

[Steven Helt]

Congratulations on Superstar '09 Top 16!

Growth
Ok....the rakshasa got my round 2 vote..so now I'm worried you changed his stat block up to make him more monstrous, and not a more unique villain. Add to that that vampires are a mortal phenomenon. The template can be applied to a humanoid or monstrous humanoid. I don't want vampiric balors or vampiric cloud giants. Reminds me of those awful vampire illithids in that miserable Ravenloft adventure. Not that your concept is that unappealing, just not within the specified rules.

Oh..brood of vampire rakshasa. Now we're straying into bad judgement. Imagine what those jerks could accomplish.

I am not moved by the latter two derivative adventure hooks, but the first one fascinates me.

Mechanics
-The above templating errors are done with..let's see if you're illegal math is applied skillfully and correctly, and if this badass if going to be enough fun to overlook the transgression. Right away, I wonder why the level of fighter. Outsiders are proficient in all martial weapons, so you're only getting a feat over another level of EK, which would have given you 6th level spells. Find me a feat that's better than 4 6th level spells per day and I forgive you.
-I can't concede that monk is not an associated class for outsiders. The strong saves, extra feats and immediate improvement in primary claw damage seems a compelling choice for rakshasa. I wonder if there are better classes for them than sorcerer and monk? Note also, that when you're building an encounter, its CR should be taken together. Don't give it an 'unassociated class' and then super-improve all its ability scores and damages with the vampire template. With those ability score increases, there's really no unassociated class in my opinion. You've got a guy with 300 hp, SR of 40 so casters his CR must roll a 16-20 to spellify him, AC 50 with a DR of either 10 or 15 for everything, 6 attacks (with haste) for 3d6+11+2 negative levels. Combining those, I simply can't buy monk as nonassociated, and a CR of 24 doesn't seem that far off with a few different choices.
-CL is a minimum of 11 (7 sorcerer+4 eldritch knight)
-Flurry of blows affects each attack made in a round, dropping the bite to +22
-After cherry-picking a template for 6 feats and ability scores, eldritch knight for a feat, and a fighter feat for a total of 21, the associated class levels thing is not in doubt. This is one of those stat blocks that gives too many options and too much information, and with its defensive abilities, is likely to lose its climactic battle only after eroding your players; sense of fun. More on that in a minute.
-Stunning Fist should also be mentioned as an attack option above the feats.
-I'm not even reading through skills. Past the point of "where did the Intelligence points and skill points meet up", now I'm actually just bored.Ok...I'm AC 50. I hit the fighter three times for a minimum of 9d6+33+6 negative levels. Now that he's out of the fight, I'll kill the cleric just in case he can get off more than one mass heal. Round three, I demand surrender. I'm a high level lover, man, and this guy isn't that much fun for me.

New Hotness
I imagine there will be a lot of new domains, bloodlines, and such. One of the extra rules I prepared for one of my villains was going to be a new domain. I think your design here is fair, though Primal Hunter is clearly a supernatural ability, since it modifies shapechanging into partial shapechanging. I do think the rakshasa would not obtain a bloodline though. By combining racial abilities with spell-casting, he essenitally has the 'rakshasa' bloodline, and access to sorcerer spells. He doesn't get bonus feats or class skills. I wouldn't think he got extra spells or abilities based on sorcerer level, either. I would just rule he casts spells as a Sorcerer 11 and that's it. I realize this might be different frompowerful monsters that are listed as having domains, but to me that is cleaner thant trying to decide how to judge the rakshasa's sorcerer levels from eldritch knight vs rakshasa hit dice.

Overall
Well...I thin the flaws of the first rakshasa villain were that he was too vanilla a rakshasa. I am enamored with the race, and they are villains everywhere they go, so I bit on the entry's potential compared to other entries. Now, I think you went too far overboard to prove you could mix it up. You broke some fundamental rules and really pushed the issue of taste in high-level design to its limits. Ballsy, but I am not sure I can support it. True, there are more errors in judgement than errors in mechanics, so I'll wait to see the rest before I decide. Quite the opposite of last round, you could have done a lot more with a lot less.

EDIT: I don't think he's much more balanced with only one instance of energy drain per round, but having not playes Spires, I'd always been having vampires do it dirty every attack. My future Pathfinder players will be grateful!

[Eric Bailey]

Steven, thank you for your fine analysis. I greatly respect your feedback and hope you'll come back to debate these points when I am free to discuss them.

-eric

[Charles Evans 25]

Research results:
Nothing but generic information in Pathfinder #9 (not #10, as I thought last night) on the subject of maharajahs, therefore the OP's mention of 'seven maharajahs' seems to be of his own invention, and not a violation of current canon.
There could be any number of maharajahs currently in existence in theory (although they seem to be indicated to be very rare) at any time.

I am unable to locate a demon-vampire named 'Merishka' in Pathfinder canon, although 'Zura' is one of the demon lords, a former Azlanti queen, and a vampire. (Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, page 175.) I suppose it's possible that she could have a handmaiden/minion called Merishka, or that a Merishka could be detailed in a product outside of my researches.

I am still forming initial impressions of the entries; I will come back to this entry later.

[roguerouge]

Since this seems to be an issue, I'll post the SRD rules here.

SRD wrote:

Associated Class Levels

Class levels that increase a monster’s existing strengths are known as associated class levels. Each associated class level a monster has increases its CR by 1.

Barbarian, fighter, paladin, and ranger are associated classes for a creature that relies on its fighting ability.

Rogue and ranger are associated classes for a creature that relies on stealth to surprise its foes, or on skill use to give itself an advantage.

A spellcasting class is an associated class for a creature that already has the ability to cast spells as a character of the class in question, since the monster’s levels in the spellcasting class stack with its innate spellcasting ability.

You'll note that the one class not cited for associated classes is the Monk. EVERY other class is either directly cited as a fighting class, a stealth class, or a spell casting class. The superstars were instructed to use the SRD AS WRITTEN in combination with the Pathfinder edition, but the Pathfinder does not have rules for monsters or associated classes.

My personal take on it is that he's within the rules of associated class levels. You may or may not wish for the rules to be different, but Monk is NOT listed as an associated class for ANY type of monster.

[roguerouge]

I won't deal with the defense issue. Rakshasas are double plus good at them and you need a villain good on defense to survive 4 17th level PCs for more than three rounds. The defense is a feature, not a bug for me.

Regarding offense:

Steven T. Helt wrote:

6 attacks (with haste) for 3d6+11+2 negative levels.

6 attacks at 3d6+11, plus one that delivers two negative levels as well. Only 3 or 4 of those are going to hit each round.... at best. We're talking less than 65 points of damage per round on three hits, 85 if four hit.

Even still, that is not out of line. Consider that the Pathfinder 17th level fighter got his damage output jacked up, the CoDzilla lives, and that the PCs have access to 9th level spells. Vashkar better be jacked on defense and have some modicum of offense if he's going to survive that kind of competition.

And, really, death ward trumps energy drain. As a fourth level spell.

Steven, to me, Vashkar presents a long, satisfying drawn out fight to end a campaign.

[Samuel Kisko]

I am voting for this one for a couple reasons.

First the concept and description are probably the best in this round. The execution is also well done. It carries a lot of power behind the words without being overly cluttered.

Secondly, this entry illustrates pretty much everything that is wrong with the 3.x stat-block. I think the entirety of Tomb of Horrors was in less words than this block of highly precise mathematics.

So I suppose there is an interesting dichotomy here. A nice cleaned up description that uses every words carefully - and then mammoth of a stat-block that looked like it got creamed by a malfunctioning atom bomb.

If this was a product I would look at the description and be pretty hyped, and then look inside and whimper at the 4 page stat blocks and wonder how in the hell anyone would be able to actually use them.

[Ninjaiguana]

roguerouge wrote:

I won't deal with the defense issue. Rakshasas are double plus good at them and you need a villain good on defense to survive 4 17th level PCs for more than three rounds. The defense is a feature, not a bug for me.

Regarding offense:

6 attacks at 3d6+11, plus one that delivers two negative levels as well. Only 3 or 4 of those are going to hit each round.... at best. We're talking less than 65 points of damage per round on three hits, 85 if four hit.

Even still, that is not out of line. Consider that the Pathfinder 17th level fighter got his damage output jacked up, the CoDzilla lives, and that the PCs have access to 9th level spells. Vashkar better be jacked on defense and have some modicum of offense if he's going to survive that kind of competition.

And, really, death ward trumps energy drain. As a fourth level spell.

Steven, to me, Vashkar presents a long, satisfying drawn out fight to end a campaign.

See, I agree with you on 'long, drawn out fight to end a campaign'. My quibble is with 'satisfying'.

As it stands, Vashkar will have well-built fighters missing him 75% of the time on their first attack, while mages whimper as he brushes off any spell that allows SR, and makes his saves against everything they throw at him. With evasion, to boot!

Meanwhile, Vashkar will be dishing out frankly pathethic damage for his CR, which the group's healing should be able to stay on top of.

If he's very, very lucky, being a villain with no ability to thwart divinations or similar magical information-gathering about him (CL 10th nondetection does not count at this level), he may surprise them with his vampire status and get off a single round of energy drain before the death ward shows up.

The fight'll certainly be long. But I'm pretty sure it'd end with players groaning in frustration as the False Maharajah just refuses to lie down and die.

[roguerouge]

Don't forget his ability to use vital strike, which bumps him up to 6d6+11 damage. (I did.) He's not THAT bad in melee.

And as far as his AC, don't forget that +8 comes from shield and mage armor, easily dispelled after you get past the ring. So we're really dealing with AC 42 here.

And casters will need to beat caster level check DC 25 to get through his nondetection: at level 17, they'll have about a 60% success rate.

[roguerouge]

Steven T. Helt wrote:

... vampires are a mortal phenomenon. The template can be applied to a humanoid or monstrous humanoid. I don't want vampiric balors or vampiric cloud giants. Reminds me of those awful vampire illithids in that miserable Ravenloft adventure. Not that your concept is that unappealing, just not within the specified rules.

I can understand that objection. I will point out that official DnD products have included a Vampiric Gibbering Mouther in Heart of the Nightfang Spire (WotC), a Vampiric drider in City of the Spider Queen (3.0 WotC), a vampire mind flayer in Lords of Madness (3.5) and I believe there was a vampiric dragon in Libris Mortis, but don't quote me on that last one.

source: wikipedia entry on vampires and DnD

[Jason Rice]

Eventually I'll learn. The "post monster" ate my post. From now on, I'm saving the post to a word doc before submitting. That teaches me for doing this while watching "Lost". Here we go again, and apologies if the math is off this time around...

...First, let me say that I like this version better than your round 2 version. Thank you for explaining the source of the Monk levels, and thank you again for getting rid of the "pleasure palace". This is a better submission in my opinion for both of those changes, and a more interesting one with the new background.

I do have a few problems.

Problem 1) AC 50 is insaine. You gave him Dodge, so He'll be AC 51 against the party's best melee combatant. As everyone seems to agree that it's a 17th level party fighting Vashkar, lets see what a MAXED OUT 17th level Fighter has to offer. Lets assume he rolled an 18 for strength at 1st level and bumped it at every opportunity to a 22 strength. With attacks of +17/+12/+7/+2, a +6 Strength Bonus, a +5 Magic Weapon, Greater Weapon Focus, and +4 from Weapon Training (Pathfinder's Fighter version), his attacks will be +34/+29/+24/+19. A maxed out fighter will have to roll 17/20/20/20 to hit Vashkar's 51 AC. He'll be lucky to hit once per round, and Vashkar's got 310 HP.

Heaven Help the party that has a front line combatant thats not a fighter. A MAXED OUT, Raging barbarian will have to roll 20/20/20/20 (no Weapon Training, no Greater Weapon Focus, +4 Strength). He can spend 4 rage points for "Suprise Accuracy", but that strategy will only last so long, and Vashkar's got those 310 HP. A MAXED OUT Paladin will need to roll 20/20/20/20, and even if he rolled a second "18" for abilities, and put it in Charisma, he still needs an "18" with "Smite Evil"

Problem 2) Even if the stat block is legal (I believe a vampire template on an outsider is not), it's TOO MUCH. In the words of an old SNL skit, "Simmerdownnow." You may be able to run your "Big Bad" (Buffy the VAMPIRE Slayer reference) with your eyes closed, never opening a book, and a D20 tied behind your back. We, the people that will buy your adventure, can not. You've tried to do too much. Kudos to your design ability if all the math is correct, but most of us don't even want to see if it is. It's too much work. It all becomes white noise with a stat block like that, and it's going to be almost as much work to run Vashkar in an encounter, much less a campaign.

Problem 3) With all due respect to roguerouge (see above post), there is no way I'm going to buy that a Monk is not an "associated class." As I said in your round 2 submission, I'm a 3rd edition guy, not 3.5, so this "associated class" stuff is new to me. However, it seems to me that Monk works nicely with Vampire AND Rakshasa. It may or may not be legal (again, the Vampire template issue), but I'm going to have to agree with Steven T Helt (see above post), that Vashkar's CR should probably be higher than 20.

Despite these problems, I think this submission was an improvement over round 2. I DO think you have tallent. I just think you need to work on your execution, and try not to do so much with a single character. I'll have to read the rest of the submissions before I decide who to vote for.

[Sue Flaherty]

Last round I loved the writing, but objected to the fact that Varrush was playing to type, he was just a rakshasa.

I can categorically state that there is nothing "just" about this excellent retake. OMG...my players would absolutely hate me for bringing this bad boy to the table, which of course means I would sooo love to run him!

I had to check out the Maharajah in my CotCT to figure out the several heads from two bit, but then I had to pick up my jaw, realizing what Vashkar did.

The bloodline is a nice touch, and if a rakshasa can add to his sorcerer levels, I have no problem with him getting all the sorcerous goodness and then being able to take the prestige class on top of all.

I agree with Jason, ow ... reading all that was harsh on the brain, but you pulled it off.

Wow and just wow, awesome job!