Party is ~3rd level. Their patron is going to call in a favor with an NPC arcanist -- pretty sure a wizard -- to teleport them to the location of their next mission.
Original plan: the NPC gets them a couple of days' march away from their destination, says "close enough!" and blips home.
Expanded plan: same as above, but it occurs to me that the NPC could be fun if he's obnoxious, arrogant, condescending, superior... and recurring. (The NPC mix in my campaign has tipped towards nice and friendly lately, so I need to throw some less likable NPCs in.)
He's still a bit character, at least for now. But I want to flesh him out a little.
Race, probably half-elf. (IMC half-elves are either likable and fun! or alienated sonsofb&&%+es with chips on their shoulders.) Class, wizard seems the best fit.
9th level.
Spells, lots of buffs and defensive spells and things that do nonlethal damage. I want him to be incredibly patronizing and annoying even when he's being helpful. So: "You're obviously going to get in trouble without help." [casts buff on PC] "There. That might keep you alive for a little while, if you can manage to stay out of trouble otherwise." [looks at rest of party] "I could do the same for the rest of you, but on second thought it's just not worth the trouble."
PCs being the trigger-happy idiots that they are, it's possible they might lose their tempers and jump him. So I want to build him with items and spells that (1) will make him hard to hit or harm, and (2) could pretty rapidly and reliably take down five or six third level characters without hurting them. Spells that hold, ensorcel, grab, paralyze, or otherwise shut them down are ideal here.
Finally, he -- this is definitely a male character -- ought to have some quirks that fit his general obnoxiousness and/or humanize him. Like, he's got ranks in profession (chef) and is as arrogant as you'd think, but also in Handle Animal because he's secretly kind to stray dogs. This is a character who's likely to recur, and who could either become a full-blown enemy or an unlikely ally, depending.
Thoughts?
Doug M.
First Thank You.
Now on to business:
Wizard 9 (generalist)
Str 12 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 20 Wis 12 Cha 7 (seems a jerk, but not helpless or without wit -- 20 point buy used 2/5/5/10/2/-4 +2 to Int from levels)
Feats:
Skill Focus(perception)
Scribe Scroll
Eschew Materials (he practiced this simply to snub those that need components)
Improved Initiative
Combat Casting
Reach Spell
Quicken Spell
Spells preferred: 0th: Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Message, 1st: Grease, Vanish, Unseen Servant, mount, color spray, mage armor, 2nd: false life, glitterdust, web, pyrotechnics, see invisibility, mirror image, 3rd: touch of idiocy(reach), ghoul touch(reach), spiked pit, stinking cloud, 4th: black tentacles, confusion, calcific touch, 5th: teleport, overland flight
Equipment: cloak of protection +1, wand of magic missiles (level 3), headband of intelligence +2, various scrolls
If you already know that the players won't defeat him if they do try something then DM Fiat seems the fastest method of generation. Does he really need a level?
Stefan Hill wrote: If you already know that the players won't defeat him if they do try something then DM Fiat seems the fastest method of generation. Does he really need a level? I think he is one of those guys like myself that needs the numbers. It will also help to have the work done if he finds he needs the stats later.
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber
Add "Displacement" if you want him to be hard to hit. If you're mirrored imaged AND displaced ...
SlimGauge wrote: Add "Displacement" if you want him to be hard to hit. If you're mirrored imaged AND displaced ... I didn't because he's arrogant -- it's enough being impossible to hit due to flight and mirror images, plus the nausea from the stinking cloud spell, any more would seem cowardly -- and cowards can't really sneer at other people easily.
For the arrogant and prideful other people's perceptions are of paramount importance.
Abraham spalding wrote: First Thank You.
You're welcome!
Now on to business:
Abraham spalding wrote:
Wizard 9 (generalist)
Str 12 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 20 Wis 12 Cha 7 (seems a jerk, but not helpless or without wit -- 20 point buy used 2/5/5/10/2/-4 +2 to Int from levels)
Is a 20 point buy standard for NPCs, then?
Anyway, these seem fine.
Abraham spalding wrote: Feats:
Skill Focus(perception)
Scribe Scroll
Eschew Materials (he practiced this simply to snub those that need components)
Improved Initiative
Combat Casting
Reach Spell
Quicken Spell
SF Perception, Imp Init and Combat Casting all make perfect sense. Eschew Materials is consistent with the character concept. I like it!
Not so sure about the metamagics, though. What's the purpose of Reach Spell? Also, Quicken Spell isn't much good at 5th level -- the +4 modifier only lets you take a 1st level spell, and he doesn't have any that would be particularly useful when quickened.
Abraham spalding wrote: Spells preferred: 0th: Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Message, 1st: Grease, Vanish, Unseen Servant, mount, color spray, mage armor, 2nd: false life, glitterdust, web, pyrotechnics, see invisibility, mirror image, 3rd: touch of idiocy(reach), ghoul touch(reach), spiked pit, stinking cloud, 4th: black tentacles, confusion, calcific touch, 5th: teleport, overland flight Let's see. When the PCs first meet him, he'll have both 5th level slots filled with teleport. Still, overland flight for future reference.
Black tentacles would probably be his go-to defensive spell if the PCs attack. Confusion is good too, although the combination of "will negates" and "25% chance of acting normally" mean that it's unlikely to take out more than a couple of PCs. Calcific touch... I've never seen the point of this spell, actually. 1d4 of Dex damage on a touch attack? Anyway, I don't see him as a guy who does touch attacks (unless they're going to absolutely incapacitate -- he'd like that). Swap that out for another 4th level: Dimension Door, perhaps? If threatened, he DDs away and then comes back with area-effect spells.
Stinking cloud is great.
I might swap one of the second level spells for invisibility; same idea as Dimension Door. If threatened, go invisible, then get the drop on PCs with Stinking Cloud or Black Tentacles.
What does "reach" mean in ghoul touch and touch of idiocy?
Abraham spalding wrote: Equipment: cloak of protection +1, wand of magic missiles (level 3), headband of intelligence +2, various scrolls Seems a little skimpy for a 9th level character? Cloak and headband, check. (Let's see: that makes his spell DCs +6. So, DC 18 Fort for Stinking Cloud, or DC 20 Fort for Confusion. Good.) I guess the wand is for those times when he absolutely can't avoid a fight.
Scrolls... ah, he could have anything in there. Heh.
Doug M.
wraithstrike wrote: Stefan Hill wrote: If you already know that the players won't defeat him if they do try something then DM Fiat seems the fastest method of generation. Does he really need a level? I think he is one of those guys like myself that needs the numbers. It will also help to have the work done if he finds he needs the stats later. If the PCs do manage to take down a 9th level character... well, dang; I'll award them a pile of XPs; they'll deserve it. (Even though it would be, in the context of the campaign, incredibly stupid. This NPC is an ally of their patron, and attacking him will not only make him their mortal enemy but will probably lose them their patron's backing.)
But I've played the game long enough to have some idea of how this can happen, and so how to avoid it. How it can happen: low level PCs get the drop on a higher level caster, win initiative, surround and melee him, prevent him from getting any spells off, and do a lot of damage very quickly. I've been on both sides of that. How to prevent it: be wary, have a readied action at all times, have defensive items, have lots of defense, avoidance, and area-effect spells.
I don't /think/ the PCs will attack this guy. But PCs being PCs, it's possible they might. So, as DM, I don't want to sit there going "ummm..." and flipping through the Player's Guide -- sorry, the Core Rulebook. In metagame terms, that makes a player think, "Ha! He wasn't expecting THAT!" But if my response is to smile and say "really? Okay. Well, he had an action readied. So before you reach him, he waves his hand and..." then the response is more likely to be "oh, crap, maybe we shouldn't have done that..."
Doug M.
It occurs to me that if your players are apt to attack him for being so annoying (and possibly kill him), it might help him to give the PCs the impression that he knows something they do not.
"If you kill me now, you'll never get to hear about X." And then when they ask about X, he disappears.
Just a classic distraction for an annoying recurring character.
Douglas Muir 406 wrote: analysis 'Reach' means those spells have the reach metamagic feat applied to them (thus they take up a higher level slot) -- I see this guy using touch attacks as an insulting smacking them about the head thing while they can't reach him -- in order to insure he can't be reached back he flies and uses the reach spell to give him distance.
Touch of idiocy does 1d6 penalty to all three mental stats and can prevent spell use -- but goes away when the touch is over, which makes it a great GM tool -- all the benefits of ability drain with none of the problems of it afterward. Calcific touch can easily turn an opponent to stone, and will have a chance of slowing the target too -- which means it also is a nice choice for a reach spell which he can use once per day without changing the spell thanks to his 8th level generalist ability. I use vanish instead of invisibility because it doesn't have to last that long (vanish will get him 5 rounds) and uses up a lower slot -- if he was sneaking around invisibility would be better but for combat vanish is the better choice.
The wealth does seem light, but he only gets 7,800 gp as a 'normal' NPC I wouldn't feel out of place bumping it with a metamagic rod, or some more wands, -- I used a slightly higher point buy than an NPC normally gets, but I don't feel the stats are so high as to make him impossible either.
Quicken spell was put on then for quickened grease spells, or the such -- not a normal thing yet honestly since I had forgotten just how few slots he would have.
I went with overland flight figuring he'll have a scroll of teleportation or two tucked away for the trip there and back -- he seems the type to say, "Look boss I can take them but are you sure you want me using up all my personal resources doing it? For just a little bit of gold I can get it done and be back without using up the spells I normally would be using to protect you."
Abraham spalding wrote:
'Reach' means those spells have the reach metamagic feat applied to them (thus they take up a higher level slot)
Ohhh ho ho. I did not pay close attention to that feat description; I thought it was just short -> medium and such. But touch -> ranged touch? That's awesome, and moves this feat from "almost useless" to "quite interesting".
Touch of idiocy -- okay, I see your point on that one now.
Vanish, check. Good one.
Abraham spalding wrote:
I went with overland flight figuring he'll have a scroll of teleportation or two tucked away for the trip there and back -- he seems the type to say, "Look boss I can take them but are you sure you want me using up all my personal resources doing it? For just a little bit of gold I can get it done and be back without using up the spells I normally would be using to protect you."
Mm, I see that, but in this case probably not. He's just going to "bamf" them there and back. Several hundred gp for a 5th level scroll vs. give up one spell slot for one day? If he thought he might have to fight alongside them, then maybe. But he doesn't -- it's blip in, dump the PCs, blip out.
His alignment is LN, I think. Which means that while he won't actively seek to screw them over, neither will he much care if he drops them into a bulette's lair -- he's doing a single clearly defined job, not signing on as a babysitter. Once the PCs hit the ground, his work is done.
Also, he's an ally of the patron, not an employee. Patron did him a huge favor a little while back -- I'm thinking, not so much saved his life as salvaged his honor or reputation. So, this is a down payment on that debt.
Doug M.
Drop 2 levels on him, give him disintegrate, provide an opportunity for him to use that before they leave.
3rd level PCs don't mess with people who can reduce them to piles of ash.
If you really want 9th level make him a telekinesis expert (ring or keeps it ready to cast) and have him keep about two-dozen daggers or swords around (maybe with a ready made golem toting them).
There's also the potential for him to make deals with other forces. Check out the devil-bound template on the SRD. Even the CR +1 versions provide regen. Endurance and Die hard as feats and the dude simply can't die unless the party gets lucky with the material needed to off him.
Don't forget 1-time use items. That telekinesis could be just as useful for hitting the entire party with a tanglefoot bag before the fireball goes off.
But yeah, regardless of stuff if he has a 14 con as a 9th level wizard you're looking at 9 + 24 + 8d6 hp (61 total). Add more since he's 9th level and should have mage armor and false life going all day.
If your third level party can do about 80 points of damage before the wizard acts and nukes them, they kind of deserve the win.
Finally, consider making your arcanist a witch. hexes go all day and fit with the character (he gets tired of listening to the rogue so nap-time).
Be careful about using him too much, being 6 levels above the PC and condescending as hell, can definitely venture into the DMPC danger zone really really fast.
LN or N with a major touch of Jerkass can make him an ally that the PCs love to hate. Frustrate them occasionally but let them have small victories over him as they manage to spoil his plots and plans on occasion. Eventually the level gap will shrink between the PCs and NPCs and the NPC will suffer a comeuppance of sorts.
Sometimes that through killing him but honestly I tend to feel that humiliating a rival NPC is more fun than simply slaughtering him.
Phneri wrote:
But yeah, regardless of stuff if he has a 14 con as a 9th level wizard you're looking at 9 + 24 + 8d6 hp (61 total). Add more since he's 9th level and should have mage armor and false life going all day.
Not sure how that calculation works. Wouldn't it be 9d6 + 18, for average 59-60?
False Life and Mage Armor both last one hour/level, so sure -- he could have both those up and running. False Life adds d10 + 9, so he'd have average 74.
Party of 5 3rd level PCs would have no trouble doing that much damage in 2-3 rounds. They have a barbarian; raging + power attack, he attacks at +10 for 2d6+12. Double-attack ranger, rogue with sneak attack dice... it adds up.
Again, I think it's very unlikely matters will come to this. But it's good to be prepared.
Doug M.
Douglas Muir 406 wrote: Phneri wrote:
But yeah, regardless of stuff if he has a 14 con as a 9th level wizard you're looking at 9 + 24 + 8d6 hp (61 total). Add more since he's 9th level and should have mage armor and false life going all day.
Not sure how that calculation works. Wouldn't it be 9d6 + 18, for average 59-60?
False Life and Mage Armor both last one hour/level, so sure -- he could have both those up and running. False Life adds d10 + 9, so he'd have average 74.
Party of 5 3rd level PCs would have no trouble doing that much damage in 2-3 rounds. They have a barbarian; raging + power attack, he attacks at +10 for 2d6+12. Double-attack ranger, rogue with sneak attack dice... it adds up.
Again, I think it's very unlikely matters will come to this. But it's good to be prepared.
Doug M.
max level at first = 8 + favored class level bonus = 9.
24 = +2 con mod +1 favored class bonus x8
8d6 = racial hit dice for the rest.
and that's the thing. 2-3 rounds. At optimal positions.
The first chance he gets to act it should be to fly up 40 ft (overland flight is also an all day) and stinking cloud the party. Then fly to 400ft and fireball them once or twice. Then go home and have some cognac.
If things go south and the wizard is standing next to something trying to murder him he's done something terribly, terribly wrong.
Ah, well yes if it's a favor as down payment on a debt that's a completely different situation -- two teleports it is.
You know a couple of pearls of power would probably be just right for him too if you like to go that way instead of other items, possibly simply a staff of some sort (though they are a bit expensive, they are rechargeable in pathfinder and with fewer charges than in 3.5).
HP:
6 (first level) +9(toughness) +9 (favored class) + 18 (con mod) + 32 (1/2HD+1 *8) = 74 HP + false life (1d10+9~14 hp) = 88 HP. Not great but enough to live through a surprise round and do nasty things to the PCs before going home.
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