How about you get a "new" npc to sell out his fellow demon cultists for profit to your players and then have this new npc becoming a new recurring foe that your players helped become "more" powerful.
This should really hurt your players when in a few levels he comes back after having done something really really naughty :)
I think making use of the non-detection spell to limit when the pc's can locate the npc is a good idea. They look all day trying to find him and cant, but then he 'pops up', on the radar when he is in a defended or otherwise advantageous location.
Firstly there is no "locate person" spell that I can find in the rules (including on the d20pfsrd.com which includes a lot of extra stuff outside of core). The closest thing I've found was Locate Object, and locate object has this to say.
The spell is blocked by even a thin sheet of lead. Creatures cannot be found by this spell.
Secondly, according to the magic chapter, a thin sheet of led blocks all scrying spells. Thus a CE gnome alchemist lurking in the sewers like kappa ninjas with some lead-painted walls will pretty much foil any attempts to find him through scrying spells.
A less child and pet threatening method (lead based paints are so hazardous) would be to merely have a magic item that casts mage's private sanctum once per day. The value of the item would be about 16,200 gp if you had to activate it yourself, or you could make it a resetting trap which repeatedly casts it every 12 hours, for about 22,500 gp. Private sanctum is basically every evil mastermind's best friend.
Or you could just have the private sanctum made permanent via Permanency, but the magic item method means it cannot be accidentally dispelled somehow; but the private sanctum + permanency is a cheaper alternative (cost of hiring someone to cast private sanctum = 450 gp plus 13,150 gp for the permanency).
This also gives you an out for the players to track him down, since with enough investigation they might be able to find the 13th level magician who sold his services to the gnome for the private sanctum and permanency. Then that mage might be willing to divulge a bit of client information if the party did something for him in exchange (is that opportunity for adventure I hear ringing?).
=====================
As for Spufferbug, here are some things I'd consider heavily.
1) He's a gnome so have his lair be small. As in, medium creatures have to squeeze to fit inside (-4 to attacks and AC), since such a little place would feel quite homey to him.
2) Give him some escape routes that only tiny creatures can fit into without squeezing. Then have him pop a potion of reduce person or an extract of the same. That gives him an easy method of attack, defense, and escape. It also gives him another +5 to his Stealth checks (small is +4, tiny is +8, reduce person gives +2 Dex) which means he can preform hit and run tactics with brutal efficiency (especially while displaced) since his bombs deal the same damage regardless of size. It also gives him an additional +1 to hit and AC.
3) Protection from arrows is nice, but it's amazingly easy to bypass. A simple oil of magic weapon or a +1 bow will pierce it (because the enhancement carries over to the ammunition). He can probably afford to skip this buff entirely unless he just has ample time to prepare.
4) His lair should be filled with pressure-based traps. He's small sized, which means all his equipment weighs half as much as medium equipment, and he himself also weighs little. He can have is lair lined with traps that someone of his weight can comfortably and safely run around the room, while anyone of medium size trips booby traps left and right.
5) If he's encumbered then raising his Dex with mutagens will be limiting, since encumbrance places a maximum Dexterity modifier cap on your AC, just as wearing medium or heavy armor does. Thus it should probably only be bothered with if he has ample buff time (like the protection from arrows).
6) A few potions of protection from chaos/evil/good/law would go a long way towards preventing him from being hit with charms and compulsion spells.
7) Since he can use shield via an extract it is a good option. Normally shield is an illegal spell for potions (just tossing that out there in case anyone forgets it).
Just some stuff to get you started. Seems like you're already on the right track with a tricky evil antagonist.
I think making use of the non-detection spell to limit when the pc's can locate the npc is a good idea.Don't want to do this. The PC is showing initiative and being creative. Saying "oh for some reason this NPC is running non-detection all the time" strikes me as unfair, especially since it doesn't really fit the NPC's character. (Which is basically no-consequences crazy with a side order of violence, extra helping of blowing stuff up.)
Doug M.
I am not saying it shouldn't work at all, but the primary issue you have is wanting the players to find him when he is ready. Dont give him like an amulet of non-detection, just have him have it up just long enought to get to the cultist's lair, or his hideout with the allied thieves guild or what have you.
The real trick is to have him be smart enough to /know they are coming/ and act accordingly.
This guy is an alchemist so I'm assuming his Int didn't go dumpster diving in character creation. He's torching PC's houses and ambushing them.. do the PC's really think he's sittin with his feet up thinkin they aren't there? pft.
If this PC is really daft enough to go tackle the guy by himself then the PC's death should be memorable.
"Oh look, he's all by himself" should turn into "uhh where'd all those guys come from" when the BBEG turns, points, laughs, and goes to town on the guy.
You've played him smart so far- keep it up! Let him lure the guy into another ambush. He's only hunting the gnome because he doesn't yet realize the Gnome is hunting -him- and has already found his prey...
-S
Lay some false trails. The mad bomber gnome has informants that have heard that somebody is hunting them down.
A few well placed npc's with the relevant misinformation to generously give your players in game should suffice for a while.
How many bolt holes does your protagonist have? Only one lab for shame! Imagine the players surprise and excitement as they ransack one empty lair but find scribbled notes, maps and names. All of which lead them nowhere useful but to victims of a maniacal brain hell bent on revenge, destruction and general disarray!
The best defense is letting your players discover all manner of things about the villain, but what if your villain works for a greater villain? I'm sure that a stream of enemies constantly harassing your party for eradicating the minor threat of your gnome would become tiresome, especially once their resources have depleted somewhat! Then you spring the twist that your gnome bomber has risen from the past to continue his campaign of destruction, courtesy of his overlord!
Cliched? Probably, but fun? I think so!
A few recurring villians back, I had one the players went nuts over. His run was fun and I wanted him for later, so 'he faked his death'. I left a load of clues 'after' his faked death so the players began to suspect. Can't remember which comicbook I copied, but the BBEG's return was a hoot.
a thin sheet of led blocks all scrying spells. Thus a CE gnome alchemist lurking in the sewers like kappa ninjas with some lead-painted walls will pretty much foil any attempts to find him through scrying spells.Yeah, except -- once again -- that's not really his MO. He's a flamboyant character with poor impulse control. High Int, not so high Wis. Smart enough to maybe have a lead-lined hideout, but not wise enough to stay there all the time. He's a guy on the move -- poisons to brew, people to kill, stuff to blow up. He might perhaps sleep in a lead-lined sewer lair, but no way would he stay down there 24/7.
Then you should probably lower his Wisdom much further than it is, because the NPC you posted has an average wisdom. As for being on the move, that's where stuff like Reduce Person, potions of blur or invisibility, and his goofy-high Stealth modifier come in. He has little to no need of staying in there at all times of course, but he's safe where he needs to be, and can be small enough to escape into pipes and grates easily enough.
Also...
Locate Creature. At 7th level, with Extend, it has a range of 680 feet and a duration of 140 minutes. In that time, a flying character can sweep pretty much the entire city.
680 ft is a lot, but most cities span miles. You're talking about a character flying over a city, presumably making back and forth passes over the city as not to miss anything. It can also be fooled by mislead and polymorph spells, meaning that a mere alter self extract can negate the ability to track the gnome. Ergo if the party gets a blip on the radar and gives chase, they'd have to chase the tiny fast-moving gnome through the crowded streets and so forth, and the moment he pops an alter self extract, no more locate creature.
Maybe after the PCs have tried a few times he would get appropriately paranoid. However, he should be able to give them a run for their money even while using scry & die tactics on him.
Also, if the PC is going to try this, I'm fine with it working -- this time. If it works, they'll try it again. Then the next NPC can have the sanctum item or whatever. Doug M.
Please understand, I don't give these pieces of advice with the intention of preventing PCs from ultimately catching him. With enough persistence they will do so, since like a game of chess every trick has a counter and every counter a cross-counter.
Just pointing out that even with such powers it is rarely as easy as people often think it is.
|
Sadly, the obvious answer to me is that he's the head chef of a semi-popular restaurant (which he acquired). His menu includes some very interesting meal options, with a side-dish of random behavior modification.
Perhaps the player spots him, or maybe the party just stopped in for lunch.
Since it's his shop, he's got a big saucepan in the corner that takes him down to his lair during emergencies.
As a mad alchemist connected to a demonic cult, he has a few narcotic cocktails that they have used to shame into silence a few key officials and members of the watch (not to mention helping the cult quietly procure perishables for their rituals) PCs have had two run-ins with him..Now that the villain has a reason to law low, those who he has gotten addicted are cut off.
So the PCs come across a sergeant of the watch.. frantic, "searching" a featureless wall in an alley. Hissing "I know its here somewhere". The PCs can get enough information from to figure out that McGuffin HQ has several layers of obfuscation and scrying protection...add a couple good leads.. Maybe the watchman junkie has a near empty vial that someone in the party can identify a major ingredient which is only available in one shop in the city..
Eventually they can tail someone back to the lair's hidden entrance.. yada yada
But yea if you need to use non-detection to control the unfolding of your plot, work it into the plot and it won't seem as cheap/lame.
what large cities allow possibly armed and dangerous magic users to fly unhindered above them?
Ones that respect freedom?
what large cities allow possibly armed and dangerous magic users to fly unhindered above them?Ones that respect freedom?oh really, I suspect that such free cities suffer from large amounts of uncontrolled and dangerous magic use then. The same dude who can fly over a city is definitely capable of fireballing it and is possibly capable of leveling it. I am just saying that, I would not be surprised if city security did not like you flying around above the city without checking it out with them first(at the very least).
Oh no, here comes the magic police, where's your magic license.
(this could be used to stop their city flying.)or the city is a no fly zone, except for city guards and medics.
|
|
Well, lets look for a parallel...
Hrmm, oh yeah, cities today! *checks* Yep, there're laws against flying without proper licensing, and the military especially will take an interest in an unregistered plane flying over populated areas.
In a world where magic is relatively common enough that undead walk the earth, and mere mortals can fly over the ground from sheer force of will, it makes sense that a major city would take exception to someone making what could amount to a bombing run within its airspace.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How "evil" is this guy and how much more evil are you willing to be?
How about this?
First, sent the PC's an invitation to a birthday party, Spufferbug's birthday [coated with contact poison]. The party is in one hour make sure the location isn't to close by.
Two, Spufferburg "invites" a group of halflings disguised as children to his party as "guest." These halflings are rogues hired to assassinate the party. Add a few innocent halflings to squash the AoE bombing.
Third Poison the air, give antitoxin to the guest.
Finally party favors. Poisoned knives for everyone.
Happy Birthday to Spufferburg!
The only one that needs to live is the Birthday Boy.
If the party refuses to attend sent them a piece of cake anyway.
Anitoxin brings Spufferburg Fort +18 vs poison so poison everything. Have him throw balls covered in contact poison. Force those poison saves.
If the Players didn't want you to screw with them they would have showed up.
One more thing...RUN to your car and have the key in your hand.
lead lining or gorgons blood in the mortar. IIRC those were the traditional ways to stop scrying spells. He sounds like a bolt-hole kind of villain, I say he would try something like that.
|
Steal liberally from the Joker's playbook. Sure, your PC finds him, about the time he's finished poisoning the heck out of the city reservoir with something that it'll take the PCs to fix. Or have the PC find him, only to get attacked by ANOTHER group, looking for a new member in said Demoniac.
Lastly, let the PC go on his search... finding the villains layer, only for him to not be home, with a nasty guardian waiting. The villain's busy at the PCs place, waiting for them to come home, tired, resources expended... and then let the wild rumpus start!
Misdirection is good, and substituting another gnome is a dirty trick that can get a trigger happy player in the dock for murder.
|
|
Yep, depends on how big the city is and how much money is invested in the town guard. I mean, you can have guards with no magical equipment, just standing at their posts or walking around town. Basic dark ages stuff. Or you can have guard towers with true seeing, wizard guards who use their spells to detect trouble or intruders, ect. It's very much setting dependent.
And since we already know the player will be able to fly around over the city, lets not belabor the point unnecessarily :)