I have a boss fight coming up which is meant to be similar to Final Fantasy's 1st big battle, the fight against the good knight turned evil, Garland. In other words, 4 diverse heroes will battle a lone fighter-type in a castle in order to rescue the kidnapped princess.
I need help building up the evil knight. I need something that will challenge a 5th-level party for a good 10 rounds, and look good doing it. What kinds of equipment/long term spell buffs might I give a fighter (of about 8th-level) in order to make him come off as seriously threatening?
I just don't like the idea of a simple charm person or web spell ending the encounter prematurely. I want "the (formerly) most heroic knight in the kingdom" to seem like he deserved his reputation.
Please help.
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I have a boss fight coming up which is meant to be similar to Final Fantasy's 1st big battle, the fight against the good knight turned evil, Garland. In other words, 4 diverse heroes will battle a lone fighter-type in a castle in order to rescue the kidnapped princess.
I need help building up the evil knight. I need something that will challenge a 5th-level party for a good 10 rounds, and look good doing it. What kinds of equipment/long term spell buffs might I give a fighter (of about 8th-level) in order to make him come off as seriously threatening?
I just don't like the idea of a simple charm person or web spell ending the encounter prematurely. I want "the (formerly) most heroic knight in the kingdom" to seem like he deserved his reputation.
Please help.
I don't think it's possible without a lot of tinkering. The easy way is to give him a buttload of DR with DCs that the party can't overcome.
The other way is make him far higher, but be suboptimal with either equipment or tactics so that he's not owning the party with ease.
You really have to stat him speocifically for the party, what do you have in the party? Buta good place to start is to give ridiculous saves. Exspecially if you have a lot of casters in the party. But if you tell me about your party memebers I'll help. Build him.
If you tell us who the party is, we can cover his bad spots and make him interesting.
I would first just give him an (Ex) ability called like Unfettered that allows him immunity to charm and compulsion effects.
Then I would give him 30 point buy. Or 22 20 18 16 14 12 stat allocation. And money as per a player character.
Just be prepared for the PCs to own his things.
Is he a straight 8th level fighter, or do you want to allow other classes splashed in? Is he human or any race allowable? Are templates allowed? How many PC's are there, and what are their classes?
It's going to be difficult to give him staying power since he's going to be solo, with no backup. A PC party always has backup to heal/buff/debuff/flank/etc.. A solo fighter is relying only on his items and prebuffs, then has few options beyond "attack" or "Use (magic) item". Whenever he's not attacking, that's a free round where PC's are not taking damage.
At least throwing in some fodder such as caged dogs, other pets or minions as distracting fodder can buy you some time in the fight. Otherwise I suggest possibly bumping him up to level 9 or 10, but multiclassing, to give him versatility/soloability so he can stand against them more than two or three rounds.
Otherwise, your main tactic is going to have to be evasive, ways to soak and avoid damage so he can last more than two rounds. But blinking around, going invisible, stealthing and setting up and the like will make him not so much of a "big bad intimidating tough knight" and more of a wiley spry type.
Another way to go that i think might work would be to go Cavalier. A mounted opponent in favorable, home turf, if played right, can be hard to take down.
Just be prepared for the PCs to own his things.
Naaah make them all go puff-BANG ala end of Predator :P
If he is a knight, fighter-type, you might consider let him be a paladin, a fallen one of course. So give him something like Ftr4/Pal4. That way he can both be specialized, and cast some spells. He'll have good saves and can smite 2/day.
All you need to do is "Twist" the paladin a bit so instead of smite evil it's them good guys you are smiting... A DM can do this, ya know ;-) And instead of divine grace you have infernal boon or some such... Fairly straight forward.
Boost his stats to be at least on par with the PC's, and voilá, one mean PC grinding machine..
My 2cp
Edit:
Just had to do a bit of statting out, by no means as Scipion did, but hey.. :-)
I'd give him Exotic Weapon Prof (Bastard Sword), WF(Bastard Sword), WS(Bastard Sword), Shield Focus, Power Attack, Cleave, Vital Strike, and depending on where you find him lacking, either dodge, Iron Will, Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, or Toughness.
In any case, with this you'd be at AC 24 with just a heavy shiled +1 and full plate +1. Everything else is just icing.
If you want to go there, the Half-Fiend template will definately get you where you want to go. CR +2, but he gains poison immunity, elemental resistance 10, Damage resistance 5/magic, spell resistance = CR + 11, and +1 natural AC. He also gets a +4 bonus to three stats and a +2 to the rest. I'd put the +4 in Con, Dex, and Wis to give him more HP and additional +2 to all of his saving throws.
After that, i'm not sure he'd need much if any buffs or magic items. If you prefer not to have him be a half-demon, you could always give him the same bonuses, but have them conveyed by a cursed item such as a sword, helm, or amulet that pulses with demonic evil and whispers dark urges to whoever holds it. The players would want to destroy it of course. Otherwise the cursed item could very well take thier soul and transform the player into a new incarnation of the evil they just destroyed, but now with personal, intimate knowledge on the party, thier personal lives, and tactics.
Well I was going to say basically the same thing as Gworeth, but the post monster got me while I was statting up my idea.
Here is my idea for an evil paladin character using the Elite array of stats for an 8th level human paladin with the PC WBL and the Fiendish template. This makes him a CR 9. I like Fiendish better then Half-fiend since that implies it's an inherrited power rather then power that's been granted.
I've just tweaked the paladin class like as stated before.
Race: Human
Class: Fallen Paladin "Blackguard"
HP: 58
STR: 20 +5 (base 15, +2 racial, +1 level, +2 belt)
DEX: 12 +1
CON: 14 +2 (base 13, +1 level)
INT: 8 -1
WIS: 10 0
CHA: 16 +3 (base 14, +2 headbancd)
Fort: +13 (base 6, +2 Con, +3 Cha, +2 cloak)
Ref: +8 (base 2, +1 Dex, +3 Cha, +2 cloak)
Will: +11 (base 6, +0 Wil, +3 Cha, +2 cloak)
BAB: +8/+3
AC: 26, (10, +10 armor (+1 full-plate), +4 shield (+2 heavy steel shield), +1 dex, +1 deflection (ring), +1 natural armor (amulet))
Skills;
+14 Diplomacy
+12 Ride
Attacks;
"Hero's End" +1 Unholy Longsword
Standard +14 1d8+5 (+2d6 vs. good)
Standard w/ SE +17 1d8+2d6+13 (only works on good)
Full Round +12 sword / +12 shield / + 7 sword
Special;
Darkvision 60ft
DR 5/good
SR 14
Resist 10 Cold and Fire
Aura of Evil
Detect Good
Smite Good (4/day +3 attack rolls and +8 to damage vs. good)
Fel Grace (+ Charisma to your savign throws)
Lay on Hands (11/day +4d6 hit points)
Aura of Courage (immune to fear)
Fel Health (immune to all diseases)
Martyr (see Mercy, Martyrs chosen = fatigued and dazed)
Channel Negative Energy (2 uses of Lay on Hands, 4d6 damage 30ft burst. DC 21 Will for Half)
Fiendish Bond (1/day for 8 minutes add up to +2 worth of enhancements)
Aura of Courage (immune to charm)
Feats;
Human Two-Weapon Fighting
1st Improved Shield Bash
3rd Shield Slam
5th Command Undead
7th Lunge
Equipment;
33,000
8,000 +1 unholy longsword
4,200 +2 heavy steel shield
4,000 belt of str +2
4,000 headband of cha +2
4,000 cloack of resist +2
2,400 robe of bones
2,000 ring of prot +1
2,000 amulet of nat armor +1
1,650 +1 full-plate
I think that this BBEG would provide plenty of fun options to use in a fight so you and your players won't quickly become bored of "He 5ft steps and attacks." I've left the spells off as you can choose whatever you see fit there, same thing with the details of fiendish bond. Garland would have several nice options to use his bond for ie. adding straight enhancement to his sword, or even +1 and unholy to his shield as well.
I chose the feats based more on a fun fight rather then any kind of optimization since he likely won't have an issue landing attacks with being higher level and superior gear. Shield Slam for free bull rushes will lead for exciting re-arrangement of the battlefield knocking the heroes willy-nilly. With Command Undead and his Robe of Bones he can take a move action to remove a patch then a standard action to command the new creation. This would be a great mid-fight mixer uper, perhaps distracting the PC's long enough to take a step away (sheathing his sword) healing himself (swift lay on hands) and drawing his weapon again (another move action). Lunge is here to increase situations with a full round attack and be dramatic.
-creating / commanding undead with the robe and channel negative energy
-self healing
-knock back on PC's with shield
-full-round beating on single PC
-full-round striking surrounding PC's with lunge
-a burst of negative energy hurting PC's / healing creations
58 HP may not seem like much but if he plays smart, positions himself well, uses his resources ...and DR 5 of course! I think he will put up a wonderful fight. I'm gonna stick this one away for Kingmaker perhaps ;)
[Sidenote] With the Martyrs I chose I have this wonderful mental imagine of a knight sleeping on his "throne" fully-armored and every morning just using Lay on Hands to wipe away the fatigue. Never to be caught armorless.
Well I was going to say basically the same thing as Gworeth, but the post monster got me while I was statting up my idea.
Here is my idea for an evil paladin character using the Elite array of stats for an 8th level human paladin with the PC WBL and the Fiendish template. This makes him a CR 9. I like Fiendish better then Half-fiend since that implies it's an inherrited power rather then power that's been granted.
I've just tweaked the paladin class like as stated before.
** spoiler omitted **...
Just a small thing... You may just have bought a really cheap +1 full plate :-) That price is for a MW Full Plate ;) add 1000 and I think we're at the right price... Otherwise he looks fun and well rounded..
Just a small thing... You may just have bought a really cheap +1 full plate :-) That price is for a MW Full Plate ;) add 1000 and I think we're at the right price... Otherwise he looks fun and well rounded..Well I was going to say basically the same thing as Gworeth, but the post monster got me while I was statting up my idea.
Here is my idea for an evil paladin character using the Elite array of stats for an 8th level human paladin with the PC WBL and the Fiendish template. This makes him a CR 9. I like Fiendish better then Half-fiend since that implies it's an inherrited power rather then power that's been granted.
I've just tweaked the paladin class like as stated before.
** spoiler omitted **...
Ooops. Well he had +2 Full-plate but was like 600g over budget. So putting that at it's normal price still leaves him 1.5kg left.
Generally, I'd say the evil paladin idea is a solid one. It'll make your villain brutish in a fighter sort of way, but give you significant returns with respect to survivability and damage dealing. Paladin 8 with the weapon divine bond should be properly intimidating, but I'd be sure and give him exceptional stats too. A block like str 20, dex 14, con 20, int 12, wis 15, cha 19 is pretty broken on a pc, but not so bad for a BBEG with no backup.
The other thing I'd do is give him some way to move around the battlefield. Depriving players of flanks and iterative/offhand attacks is a very solid way to keep a baddie alive, and a veteran knight would know that. Give him the spring attack feat chain and a potion of haste, and be sure he has the feats to make single hits hurt - vital strike and power attack. Casting divine favor is another way to squeak in some bonus accuracy and damage.
Call evil-smite on all the combat oriented opposition. +4 to hit and +8 to damage is brutal, and you can bank on the +4 AC to keep players working to hit him despite his lack of a shield.
Use his mobility to zip up and take down characters who fold easily in melee - rogues, archers, and casters particularly. Don't let him stand toe-to-toe with opposing fighter types until others are out of the way.
Last of all, be sure he spends a swift action for lay on hands each round - a pool of 90 hit points becomes 180 when he's healing 4d6 for the first 7 rounds of combat.
Advance apologies to your party, btw.
Remember, if your campaign is a high fantasy campaign (20 point buy) with the fast experience progression, you use +1 level in the Creating NPCs gear section (so he'd be basic level 9) and double his wealth -- thus he'd have 15,600 gp worth of gear (1,600 gp of 'limited use' items). You want to push that money to the maximum level.
- Make sure to prebuff him with a bunch of abilities. Potions are very nice, particularly if their duration is more than 10 minutes. I'd consider the following potions (or potion-like wondrous items):
- Magic circle against good - if your spellcasters are good, this is a relatively cheap way to avoid worrying about charm person/hideous laughter/hold person. It lasts 50 minutes for 750 gp, so you can pre-buff with it. Yes, it can be dispelled, but wasting rounds dispelling mean that your fighter isn't getting blasted.
- Magic Vestment - avoid paying big budget bucks for a +2 full plate. Get a regular full plate and apply a 3rd level, 8th caster level magic vestment oil to it. It lasts 8 hours for 1200gp.
- Heroism - a very nice way to buff your fighter. Make sure to get the cheaper bard version (400gp) which lasts for 40 minutes.
- Protection from Energy - if you know your enemy is going to be using a specific energy attack, I'd get the appropriate potion for the energy attack. Get the cheaper ranger version (400gp) which also lasts for 40 minutes.
- Salve of Slipperiness - not technically a potion, but it's a good (cheap! 1000gp for 8 hours) way to avoid web spells. It also makes you very hard to grapple.
Yes, that's a lot of potions, but this guy is only going to fight one fight. Yes, the PCs might retreat -- if they do, that will be a hoot. If you're worried about webs and charm person (from a good caster), salve of slipperiness + potion of magic circle against good.
As far as tactics -- sword and board doesn't really do enough damage against a party that has a cleric -- clerics just heal too much for defensive options. A reach weapon + Whirlwind Attack option might be a better choice -- where you can possibly outdamage channeled energy + healing spells. If you can jack your hp and AC up enough to get a few Whirlwind Attacks off, you can be a true threat. You really need AoE damage to be competitive.
A reach weapon + Whirlwind Attack option might be a better choice -- where you can possibly outdamage channeled energy + healing spells.
This is always a nice option - and remember you can 5'step in the middle of a whirlwind to change who you threaten (reach weapon or not).
Remember, if your campaign is a high fantasy campaign (20 point buy) with the fast experience progression, you use +1 level in the Creating NPCs gear section (so he'd be basic level 9) and double his wealth -- thus he'd have 15,600 gp worth of gear (1,600 gp of 'limited use' items). You want to push that money to the maximum level.
Giving an NPC the Wealth By Level of a PC of it's level increases their CR by +1. Which would give him 33,000gp to play with.
Sword and board may not deal a ton of damage but sword and board + unholy will sting. Also keep in mind this is a 5th level party. If this fight is going to last ~10 rounds you don't want the bad guy to be killing off a PC every round. That's not a fun fight for anybody. Nor do you want him to be completely unhittable and have the fight last a long time because nobody can do anything. Might as well throw a McGuffin at them if you're doing that.
5th level party HPs
Fighter - 44
Rogue - 33
Cleric - 37
Wizard - 27
AC for a 5th level character is ~18 meaning the odds of hitting them are very high. Each hit doing ~16 damage. So a single full attack is going to make them squimish enough to be careful.
If you do use an ex-Paladin type, I'd go with smite evil, and an axiomatic weapon, instead of unholy. You'll cover a broad swath with those, evening out the damage on the party. (and making the people who pick "good" a little less unhappy for their choice).
Giving an NPC the Wealth By Level of a PC of it's level increases their CR by +1. Which would give him 33,000gp to play with.Upping the CR for more wealth is an idea, but I tend to stay away from it if it puts you over your CR target. He said he wanted a CR 8 fight for a CR 5 group -- which is a fine boss guy target. A level 7 fighter with + 1 CR wealth is OK, but 8th level is significantly better than 7th level (think Power Attack).
Sword and board may not deal a ton of damage but sword and board + unholy will sting.
Eh, it won't be terrible, but it won't be a true threat to a party with a reasonably rested cleric. You'd get 2 attacks (maybe 3 with a haste potion) with an unholy main-hand -- you don't have Shield Master yet, so the shield attack is going to be subpar in terms of damage. This would work better if the cleric is worn down a bit before the fight, but with no AoE damage the single-target focus isn't going to be that threatening.
Now, the berserker-type route with massive single-target damage is effective -- if it becomes a damage race vs. a single target, that's great. It's just that a level 8 fighter with just single-target output is going to be hard-pressed to overcome the damage output of a 4-person level 5 party. With magic missiles/touch attacks/all kinds of ways to reduce AC, massive AC isn't as helpful for a BBEG against a competent party.
give him a ring of vampiric regeneration, that can only be used by evil fellas. That is mostly enough.
Well, you can use Divine Bond to add +1 Unholy to your shield attack. So with a potion of speed chugged in the surprise round, you can get 4 attacks;
+13m / +13m / +13o / +7m
m= +1 unholy longsword (1d8+2d6+6 vs. good) (4.5+7+6=17.5 damage)
o= +1 unholy spiked heavy shield (1d6+2d6+3 vs. good) (3.5+7+3=13.5 damage)
If you're on a Smite Good target it'll be for;
+16m / +16m / +16o / +10m
m= +1 unholy longsword (1d8+2d6+14) (4.5+7+14=25.5 damage)
o= +1 unholy spiked heavy shield (1d6+2d6+11) (3.5+7+11=24.5 damage)
This will nearly kill any of the party members. You want to give them a run for the money, not kill one each turn.
On turns where you can only do a standard action there's always the option of healing, channeling, or casting a spell.
The incoming damage will be mitigated by DR, SR, and Resistances. In addition to the high AC and high saves. A 5th level party won't be overcoming DR 5/good they simply won't have aligned weapons at this point. Any spells that allow for saves are going to be made and unless they deal acid or force damage then it's going to deal really no damage.
In the end this BBEG is supposed to lose, but kicking and screaming the whole way with several different tricks and tactics to try.
You can also give him maximum hit points. After all, bosses in Final Fantasy games (well, in all JRPG, for what matters) are renown for their very high hp (Cloud Strife - main character: 9.999 hp, Emerald and Ruby Weapon - secret bosses: 1.000.000 hp).
I have a boss fight coming up which is meant to be similar to Final Fantasy's 1st big battle, the fight against the good knight turned evil, Garland. In other words, 4 diverse heroes will battle a lone fighter-type in a castle in order to rescue the kidnapped princess.
I need help building up the evil knight. I need something that will challenge a 5th-level party for a good 10 rounds, and look good doing it. What kinds of equipment/long term spell buffs might I give a fighter (of about 8th-level) in order to make him come off as seriously threatening?
I just don't like the idea of a simple charm person or web spell ending the encounter prematurely. I want "the (formerly) most heroic knight in the kingdom" to seem like he deserved his reputation.
Please help.
I would definitely go with at least the half-fiend template. There should at least be some semblance of the power of his previous(Chaos?), more powerful self. But, if he wasn't previously a world-dominating mass of construed demonic evil and truly more like a fallen knight, the half-fiend template could show how corrupt he has become, and how much evil has consumed him.
I would definitely go with at least the half-fiend template. There should at least be some semblance of the power of his previous(Chaos?), more powerful self. But, if he wasn't previously a world-dominating mass of construed demonic evil and truly more like a fallen knight, the half-fiend template could show how corrupt he has become, and how much evil has consumed him.
I agree with Jandrem on this one. The Half-Fiend Template would be the direction I'd take. BUT I'd make the cause of the Template the possession of the once heroic knight by a Fiend. Thus setting up a later encounter to finally defeat the fiend that the knight couldn't.
Have the fiend flee when the Knight falls unconscious. Grant the players the chance to notice something about the knight seems different. Leave the knight at negatives (taking bleed as a result of no longer being possessed) until he finally dies unless the Players stabilize him.
They aren't core but I think Illithid style grafts would also be a decent way of giving the BBEG a significant amount of gear without necessarily having the PCs end up with a ton of extra loot when the beat him.
Instead of a boots of speed the BBEG might have graft on his adrenal glands that mimics the effect of magical boots. You could even rule that it's a (Ex) effect and thus is immune to dispel magic.
When the fighter dies the grafts die as well. Further as the fight goes on the act of pushing the grafts to their maximum might result in physical changes to the fighter.
This would resemble things like Jenova Sephiroth. In base form he's tough but human looking (especially in full plate) but as he hulks out his form mutates.
The party consists of a cleric (halfling), paladin (aasimar), rogue (elf), and wizard (human)--all 5th level characters.
I want to keep it within the rules as written (so no alternate alignment paladins). I also want the character to remain a knightly warrior concept (so he doesn't have to be all fighter, but we can't go too crazy with class selection either). I'd like to keep his CR to around 8 or 9, the edge of what the players should be able to handle (it won't be as bad as it sounds on account of him being outnumbered).
Remember, he's a noble of sorts, in a castle, with servants (servants that the heroes will have to fight through).
I love the following ideas that were proposed so far:
...give him the half-fiend template.
...max out his hit points.
...pump him full of ongoing buffs and potions (he definitely has the spellcasting servants and resources to do this).
That combined with the party not likely being at full power due to having to fight their way through a castle full of guards and a few adepts ought to make the fight quite challenging indeed.
Still concerned about the "I win" effects though. Keep the (core only) ideas coming.
When the fighter dies the grafts die as well. Further as the fight goes on the act of pushing the grafts to their maximum might result in physical changes to the fighter.
This would resemble things like Jenova Sephiroth. In base form he's tough but human looking (especially in full plate) but as he hulks out his form mutates.
This is common in most Boss fights of various videogames, as well - the more the boss is damaged, the more his 'normal' form freaks out, until it barely resembles his former self.
Eve from the Parasite Eve videogame, or the various Tyrants of the various Resident Evil games do this (William Birkin from RE2, which starts as a mutated humanoid and ends as a Shoggoth !), for example.
...not forgetting Uroboros Wesker in Resident Evil 5, which basically becomes a mutated freak near the end !
However, I personally think that such ideas are more suited for 'aberrant' BBEGs, rather than 'fallen' BBEGs. Good idea for bosses in my future campaigns , though (I love the Daelkyrs - warpers of flesh - from the Eberron Campaign).
Of course, YMMV.
When the fighter dies the grafts die as well. Further as the fight goes on the act of pushing the grafts to their maximum might result in physical changes to the fighter.
This would resemble things like Jenova Sephiroth. In base form he's tough but human looking (especially in full plate) but as he hulks out his form mutates.
This is common in most Boss fights of various videogames, as well - the more the boss is damaged, the more his 'normal' form freaks out, until it barely resembles his former self.
Eve from the Parasite Eve videogame, or the various Tyrants of the various Resident Evil games do this (William Birkin from RE2, which starts as a mutated humanoid and ends as a Shoggoth !), for example.
...not forgetting Uroboros Wesker in Resident Evil 5, which basically becomes a mutated freak near the end !
However, I personally think that such ideas are more suited for 'aberrant' BBEGs, rather than 'fallen' BBEGs. Good idea for bosses in my future campaigns , though (I love the Daelkyrs - warpers of flesh - from the Eberron Campaign).
Of course, YMMV.
Never forget the wonders of Shield Other and a servitor cleric behind a curtain. Even gives a deflection and resistance bonus if he's lacking them.
I had a similar fight for my group once, against a 5th level 3.5 Paladin (and really a Paladin - they thought he was a bad guy). He was a Katane though (half-vampire from a Dragon magazine), which gave him a lot of useful defenses and abilities. He used Improved Unarmed strike to knock them out.
You might adapt that to a two-handed weapon user, using unarmed strike (with or without the feat depending on who he'd provoke from) for two-weapon fighting. Swipe/Swipe with sword, then kick/slam with unarmed strike, or even armor spikes. It's a bit cheesy, but works for a once-off.
Garland 9th Level Figther
LE Human
Init +6 Senses ; Perception -
================================================================Defense
================================================================
AC 27 (+10 +11 Armor, +3 Shield, +1 Deflection + 2 Dex), touch 13, flat-footed 25
HP 135
Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +6
================================================================
Offense
================================================================
Speed: 30ft.
Melee: +1 Unholy Longsword +20/+15 (1d8 +2d6 unholy + 11)
or +16/+11 (1d8 +2d6 unholy + 7) and +1 Bashing Heavy Spiked Steel Shield +13 (2d6 + 4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5ft.
Special Qualities : +2 Bravery, Weapon Training2, Armor Training2
================================================================
Statistics
================================================================
Str 22 , Dex 15, Con 20, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 14
Base Atk: 9 ; CMB:+15 ; CMD: 27
Feats: Weapn Focus (longsword), Power Attack, Improved Initative, Iron Will, Two Weapon Fighting, Improved Shield Bash, Shield Slam, Improved Bull Rush, Leadership, Greater Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Specialization (longsword)
Skills: -
Languages: Common
================================================================
Treasure
================================================================
+2 Full Plate, +1 Unholy Longsword, +1 Bashing Heavy Spiked Steel Shield, +1 Ring of Protection, +2 Belt of Strength, +2 Amulet of Consitiution, Potion of Cure Serious Wounds x2
6355g
Leadership gives him acess to a 7th level corhort based on his renown of 15, along with a bunch of followers, you could make his cohort a wizard of cleric to buff him more, and his AC and hit points will keep the part busy long enough, he has potions in case a couple of crits get scored against him, and bull rushing everyone is always fun, especially if its over castle walls. just my thoughts
I just don't like the idea of a simple charm person or web spell ending the encounter prematurely. I want "the (formerly) most heroic knight in the kingdom" to seem like he deserved his reputation.
With the fighter feats to cover his combat abilities, you can always spare a couple of standard feats for Iron Will and Lightning Reflexes to beef up his saves. It will be good for him to have boosts that can't be dealt with via dispel magic.
For equipment, you can always step outside the box on standard equipment and give him a periapt of wisdom to boost his Will saves, or even just a potion of owl's wisdom for the sake of economy.
Heck, if you don't mind dropping a chunk of change on a single item, give him a cloak of arachnida. If the PCs drop a web spell on him, he can turn around and return the favor, then move through the webbing to start the beatdown. If he has a reach weapon, all the better. Plus, the spider climb ability gives him an alternative form of movement to work with.
1) fight starts out with party facing a fallen hero.
2) once he dies his spirit erupts from the body and now the party fights a ghostly version of him
3) once the spirit is defeated a portal opens up with a demon claiming his soul. The PC's now have the option of fighting the demon to save Garlands soul.
If they one round any one of these it won't be so bad and you can always save the stats for later encounters.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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Probably the best thing you can do is to have the encounter occur in the area of an unhallow spell. That will give him the benefits of magic circle against good (+2 deflection AC, +2 saves, can't be controlled as long as he's in there). Tying freedom of movement to that unhallow also means he can't be slowed, held, or hindered by web or entangle. These benefits can't be dispelled, either, nor can they be looted to give the PCs an overwhelming gear advantage later. That alone fixes the 2 particular problems you mentioned, charm and web.
Hopefully, your BBEG knight will have a little prep time before the fight. Drop on the following buffs via potions/consumables:
protection from energy (fire): stops a lot of the early blast spell staples, 10 min/lvl, potion
bear's endurance: more hp and Fort saves, min/lvl, potion
aid: more hp, +1 attacks and saves vs. fear, min/lvl, potion
shield: more AC, frees up offhand for 2 handed weapon use, magic missile immunity, min/lvl, potion
stoneskin: DR that the players will probably not be able to overcome, 10 min/lvl. Basically will equal 10 extra hp/caster level. Not available as a potion, but wondrous item stone salve is a consumable. This one's probably the most brutal.
haste: extra attack, more movement, +1 attacks, AC, Ref saves. Short duration, potion.
All of those buffs are subject to be dispelled; a timely dispel magic can basically be the "master key" to beating the buffed BBEG. For 4000 gp, however, a ring of counterspells with dispel magic stored in it gives him a good defense against that. Instead of using potions, you could also have an allied spellcaster supply the buffs, but I think the point of the fight is not for it to be a spellcaster fight.
Aside from these buffs, I'd do everything I could RAW so send his AC and hp through the roof: magical full plate, amulet of natural armor, decent Dex. The buffs I mentioned above will give him +6 AC (2 deflection, 4 shield) and a substantial hp boost. Go with a greataxe or greatsword and Power Attack... make the PCs fear the damage output. If you're hasted make a beeline charge for the lower armored types in the party and punish them ruthlessly.
Still concerned about the "I win" effects though. Keep the (core only) ideas coming.
Just curious, but why Core only? Paizo themselves come up with new monsters and bad guys all the time if the need calls for it.
I might be biased towards my offering, but I don't like the idea of piling on a ton of buffs to make him survive. That seems less realistic to me and against the rules then just tweaking an existing class. Unless you're gonna have a servant run in and warn him exactly 5 rounds before combat starts and he raids his potion cabinet chugging everything he can reach.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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@SdF: Sadly, buffs are an arms race. You can bet your butt the PCs will buff like madmen if they have the chance. The only really effective way to counter magic is with magic; permanent magic items would work, but then the PCs would have them. That's why I recommended the potion route.
EDIT: If you didn't want to go full half-fiend, you could always add the fiendish template. It's much more subtle than half-fiend. "Garland... you've changed. The powers you now serve have warped your very soul." At the level 8-9 range it would increase CR by 1, grant fire and cold resist 10, SR 9-10, smite good, and most importantly DR 5/good which will probably affect everyone except the paladin. That gives the paladin a chance to shine fighting his evil counterpart. Besides, as we all know, you should never go full half-fiend. ;)
Unless you're gonna have a servant run in and warn him exactly 5 rounds before combat starts and he raids his potion cabinet chugging everything he can reach.
That's why all the buffs I listed last for 40 minutes or more. I wouldn't recommend buffing him with min/level buffs unless there's absolutely no doubt he knows he'll be fighting the PCs within 3 minutes. And I certainly wouldn't let round/level buffs start outside of combat.
I need help building up the evil knight. I need something that will challenge a 5th-level party for a good 10 rounds, and look good doing it. What kinds of equipment/long term spell buffs might I give a fighter (of about 8th-level) in order to make him come off as seriously threatening?
None. All you need to do are these three things:
1. Give BBEG X number of hit points per PC in the party. For example, let's assume a BBEG that's an 8th-level fighter with a 16 CON facing a party of four PCs. This gives him a base 68 hit points per PC, or 272 hit points total. If a PC drops, reduce BBEG's hit points by one base amount unless doing so would render the BBEG unconscious or dead.
2. Rule that the BBEG automatically makes all saving throws against save-or-die and save-or-suck effects for X number of rounds. No one-shotting BBEG with hold person, for example, but he can still fail a saving throw versus fireball.
3. Add this extraordinary ability to his stat block:
Extra Action (Ex) Once per round at initiative count minus 10, BBEG gets a single extra standard action. If the adjustment reduces the initiative court fo the extra action to zero or less, BBEG forfeits his extra action that round. For example, if BBEG's initiative roll totals 15 he gets to act normally at 15 and then gets an extra standard action at 5.
Finally, do not adjust BBEG's CR.
Personally, The cloak of resistance I think is one of the most important magic items. An unholy weapon would be good, possibly even intelligent. Likewise, other evil aligned magic gear can have the same effect, like a helmet that wispers your innermost fears into your ear, convincing you everyone is out to get you. It becomes loot that the party must destroy and is worthless to them, and if they don't, you can hit the Paladin with breaking his oath.
Definetely like the unhallow spell. Its a great protection and hurts heroes for attacking the villian in his own home. You can tie Bane to it so through the entire building the heroes suffer from it, or aid or bless so that the villians all get buffed. It will also prevent any Celestial summoning.
Haste is also a major buff for the guy to get. Damage output on a single person wont be that much higher than the party without it, and he has to be a threat. 3 Attacks a round does just that, perhapse the unholy sword could also be speed.
Don't bump his AC up too high, but make sure its enough. You want the melee to be scoring hits at about 25% of the time reasonably buffed, otherwise the combat drags. The lvl 5 Paladin I'm guessing will have arround a +17 to hit once he smites, so a 30 AC wouldn't be too bad a target. You want the rogue doing something though.
Feel free to load this guy up higher than wealth by level, but be careful that the party doesn't get overpowered by what they get out of it. Consumables and Evil items work great for this (+2 Unholy longsword of speed)
I need help building up the evil knight. I need something that will challenge a 5th-level party for a good 10 rounds, and look good doing it. What kinds of equipment/long term spell buffs might I give a fighter (of about 8th-level) in order to make him come off as seriously threatening?None. All you need to do are these three things:
1. Give BBEG X number of hit points per PC in the party. For example, let's assume a BBEG that's an 8th-level fighter with a 16 CON facing a party of four PCs. This gives him a base 68 hit points per PC, or 272 hit points total. If a PC drops, reduce BBEG's hit points by one base amount unless doing so would render the BBEG unconscious or dead.
2. Rule that the BBEG automatically makes all saving throws against save-or-die and save-or-suck effects for X number of rounds. No one-shotting BBEG with hold person, for example, but he can still fail a saving throw versus fireball.
3. Add this extraordinary ability to his stat block:
Extra Action (Ex) Once per round at initiative count minus 10, BBEG gets a single extra standard action. If the adjustment reduces the initiative court fo the extra action to zero or less, BBEG forfeits his extra action that round. For example, if BBEG's initiative roll totals 15 he gets to act normally at 15 and then gets an extra standard action at 5.
Finally, do not adjust BBEG's CR.
You see, this is the type of stuff I absolutely hate a GM pulling, and is a major reason I don't like 4e. If the rest of the world uses different rules from me, it breaks my suspension of disbelief. If it was some otherworldly monster, fine, but its not. Its annother human, so any power he has the players should also be able to get.
That being said, An unholy Paladin I would have no problem with, as it is something that can easily be explained in the game world, even though it is unique. As long as it follows the normal class progression of a Paladin
You see, this is the type of stuff I absolutely hate a GM pulling, and is a major reason I don't like 4e. If the rest of the world uses different rules from me, it breaks my suspension of disbelief. If it was some otherworldly monster, fine, but its not. Its annother human, so any power he has the players should also be able to get.
There's no GM pulling. Tell the players upfront: This is a solo encounter; consequently, the BBEG has been built using special rules.
There is nothing in the rules -- explicit or implicit -- that confirms the necessary accuracy of your assessment about power available to NPCs is also power availabe to PCs. My solution may not be to everyone's taste, but it's certainly a whole lot easier (and more universally applicable) than scrounging around on message boards and through books to come up with a "legal" way to cheat the system.
I've used these rules to good effect more than once. They make solo monsters viable without trying to stack buffs, ridiculous levels of equippage (invariably chosen to be unusable by PCs), expensive background spells such as unhallow, et cetera, all combined in ways to make a mockery of the rules and sensibility.
YMMV.
That Extra Action thing seems to imply you're re-rolling initiative each round...
That Extra Action thing seems to imply you're re-rolling initiative each round...
[gives a cigar and starts threadjack]
Indeed, I do. I also "chunk" initiatives. All the PCs who rolled higher than the bad guys get to go first in whatever order they want. Then the bad guys go in whatever order I want. Then, whoever hasn't gone gets to go in whatever order. Adjustments for delaying and readied actions are made on-the-fly.
[ends threadjack]
:)
Seems a bit hectic, but if you guys have streamlined it to not slow down game play more power to you.
Seems a bit hectic, but if you guys have streamlined it to not slow down game play more power to you.
[continuing threadjack]
It makes combat less predictable (which combat often is), but it doesn't slow down play much more than the normal system of fixed initiatives (excepting delaying, readying, and refocusing) and then doing the Initiative Countdown. :)
[ending threadjack again]