| Douglas Muir 406 |
Background: the assassin's guild got wiped out 15 years ago. But it's hard to keep a good man down...
The ghost is CE and really, really evil. He was a malevolent, sadistic son-of-a-b$+*$ who would have cheerfully killed people for fun if he weren't paid for it. Now that he's risen... he is, if anything, even worse.
The ghost is bound to an item, the knife that he carried while alive. He can't roam further than 100 feet from it. However, he has a human ally: a NE sorceress who found the knife, and promptly entered into a deeply unhealthy relationship with its inhabiting spirit. (She's homely and harmless looking, and is not likely to be a suspect right away.)
(N.B., my model here is the sadly underrated 1995 movie "The Frighteners". This was a Michael J. Fox vehicle that was actually much better than its ad campaign.)
Anyway: the ghost is a Ftr 2 / Rog 5 / Assn 7. This makes him a CR 15 threat! The only real weakness he has is the knife -- grabbing it (with Telekinesis, say) and flinging it far away could take him out.
I'm looking for suggestions on builds. Assuming he was a successful assassin while alive, what would he have looked like? I haven't built many high level characters, so suggestions on feat chains and such are welcome.
Thanks,
Doug M.
| Douglas Muir 406 |
A bit more: the ghost's preferred means of attack is to use Malevolence to possess someone, followed by a bloody murder. His Death Strike DC is 18, but he doesn't always use it -- killing people over a couple of rounds is more fun.
I think he's a Thug Archetype rogue -- can cause people to be Shaken with a successful Intimidate check, and can do Brutal Beatings (trade d6 of Sneak Attack to make the target Sickened). I think he was a creepy mob enforcer before becoming an assassin. Now he likes to debuff and terrorize foes before taking them down.
I'm thinking Bleeding Strike and Finesse Rogue (dagger) for his Rogue talents.
Tentative stats (15 point build)
Str 12
Con n/a undead
Dex 18
Int 13
Wis 12
Cha 14
Ftr 2 / Rog 5 / Assn 7, yeah? As an undead, he'll use his Cha bonus for hp, so he'll have 12d8 + 2d10 + 28 = 93 hp. Add another 5 if he took Rogue as his favored class, so 98.
His AC is pretty crap -- 10 +4 Dex +2 ghost deflection is 16. Good thing he's intangible. But he'll have BAB +10 and a pile of feats (1 human + 2 fighter + 7 for levels = 10). Also 6d6 of sneak attack dice, which stacks nicely with the racial +8 to Stealth... with max ranks, he'd have Stealth +29.
Ghost abilities: Malevolence (DC 19) and Corrupting touch for sure. Two others? Telekinesis and Frightful Moan? There's also the Grave Trappings variant, which would allow him to have two items -- armor and a weapon?
Okay, so: preferred tactic against a party is to play cat-and-mouse with enemies until they're freaked out. (Note that he doesn't want to reveal himself as a ghost, since a simple Protection from Evil will shut down his malevolence power.) Possess a rogue or fighter to attack a character with low AC; if unable to do that, or driven out, then use moan and telekinesis to break up a party so he can ambush or Death Attack (DC 18) individual members.
...hm. You know, while he's definitely a scary boss, is he really CR 15? I don't see him as being a serious, frightening challenge for a group of APL 12 characters -- he's got two glass jaws (crap AC and a low Will save) and once the shock of the initial attack has worn off, I think an experienced party should be able to see him off pretty quickly.
Thoughts?
Doug M.
| Douglas Muir 406 |
-- can you make a sneak attack with a touch attack?
Because if you can, then he could sneak attack with Corrupting Touch for 14d6 + 6d6 = 20d6 of damage. Average 70 points, meaning an immediate DC 15 Fort save vs. massive damage.
That's better. And combining it with a Death Attack (DC 18) means the target needs a +10 Fort save just to have a 50% chance of survival. Still not "OMG CR 15 RUN", but getting there.
Any thoughts on feats (besides Iron Will and Dodge)?
Doug M.
