I made a thread about this a week or so ago, and finally finished my BBEG for the starting adventure I'm doing this summer. Wanted to know if he's too powerful/weak/I built him right. Here he is!
Cloverhorn (CE Abyssal/Fey Cross-blooded Sorcerer)
Init +2 Senses low light vision, +8 Perception
Defense
HP 22
AC 17 (Touch 17, Flatfooted 14)
Fort 3 Ref 4 Will 3
DR 5/good
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
+4 Claw (1d6+1) Two claws
+4 Shortspear (1d6+1)
Bloodline/Special Abilities
+4 Laughing Touch 6/day
Woodland Stride
Heat Metal DC 14 3/day
Spells Known
2nd (5/day)
-Hideous Laughter, Flaming Sphere
1st (7/day)
-Entangle, Summon Monster I, Grease, Ear-piercing Scream
0
-Daze, Detect Magic, Dancing Lights, Jolt, Acid Splash
Stats
Str 12 Dex 15 Con 12 Int 8 Wis 10 Cha 16
BAB +2 CMB +3 CMD 15
Feats
Skill Focus: Perception, Weapon Finesse, Antagonize, Skill Focus: Use Magic Device, Dodge, Eschew Materials
Skills: Acrobatis +6, Intimidate +7, Perception +8, Stealth +6, Use Magic Device +10
Combat Gear: shortspear, bracers of armor +1, cure moderate wounds potion, cloak of resistance
His tactics will be similar to Gogmurt the goblin druid from Rise of the Runelords: Cast spells, duck in and out of the thorny nettles, only go into melee when out of spells or enraged. I also plan on there being some other CR 1 baddies to fight with him, probably some mites or gremlins. There real purpose will be to get killed by Cloverhorn's flaming sphere and trigger his Remorse (which I had forgotten to put in there). I figure that will balance out having to deal with the mites, seeing as Cloverhorn's will save is low.
What does everyone think?
They should be about 3rd-4th level by the time they fight Cloverhorn, for reference.
He looks alright against a 3rd level party with mooks, a bit on the weak side if it's an optimized party. For 4th level I feel he'd be a pushover. He doesn't have great defenses (DR 5/good is the best thing he has going for him) and doesn't have a lot of damage output, either. For the most part, he inconveniences the PCs with his spells.
What's the emphasis on Use Magic Device for? He has Skill Focus in it but doesn't seem to have any items he needs the skill for. Another feat would probably be more useful here (even Toughness).
Off the top of my head, instead of defensive items (since he's going to be out of melee most of the time anyways), I'd give him a Wand of Magic Missiles (CL 5th) with 10-15 charges on it to help him pepper the PC's.
How many PC's do you have and how optimized are they? I'll be able to give better advice if you give that info.
@Sollir:
-For defenses he's going to rely mainly on tactics/terrain. There are going to be very thick, thorny bushes in his lair that form "walls", but because of his Woodland Stride ability he can walk through them without any difficulty. Add his stealth into the mix and he's gonna be tricky.
-For damage output he's gonna rely on flaming sphere and summoning monsters, plus the mooks.
-The Use Magic Device is for the Evil Demoniac Cauldron he has (not combat related). It turns creatures that are bathed in blood inside of it into half-fiends. I figure it would be hard to justify him using this if he didn't have a great UMD.
-3 party members, a bard, a druid, and a summoner. Not optimized, but they've made some good choices so far.
I was considering giving him a shortbow instead of the spear, would that be a better option? This is supposed to be the equivalent of the first book boss of an adventure path.
Given what you said, I think he'd be a great BBEG against a 3-person 3rd-level party, with just a bit of buffing up if the party reaches 4th level by then.
Flaming Sphere is more deadly considering your group has a lot of caster/hybrid types (I find the damage output is minimal against fighters) and having to face a sneaky villain makes for a fun encounter.
All in all, the terrain advantage should boost the encounter up by 1 APL and make for a memorable battle. Be sure to tell us how the fight goes!
Given what you said, I think he'd be a great BBEG against a 3-person 3rd-level party, with just a bit of buffing up if the party reaches 4th level by then.
Flaming Sphere is more deadly considering your group has a lot of caster/hybrid types (I find the damage output is minimal against fighters) and having to face a sneaky villain makes for a fun encounter.
All in all, the terrain advantage should boost the encounter up by 1 APL and make for a memorable battle. Be sure to tell us how the fight goes!
Will do! I've got an eidolon and a deinonychus to deal with as well, so it should be fun. We had our first session on Sunday, where they faced off against three jinkin gremlins. They can only do damage if they crit or get sneak attack off, so I figured it would be a very flavorful way to see how they handle a stealthy enemy. They floundered a bit (as all new players do), but they eventually got the hang of it.
I am also considering starting the fight while Cloverhorn is mid-ritual, trying to transform a satyr into a half-fiend under his control. If they damage/enrage Cloverhorn he will abandon the ritual and join the fight. Depending on how many rounds it takes them to get to Cloverhorn the satyr may or may not be a half-fiend, confused, or fatigued.