| Douglas Muir 406 |
This guy was a tribesman of a marginal tribe of cannibals in the frozen north until he found an evil artifact. Now he's basically Lord Humungus in furs. He calls himself the Fanglord, and he's the Chaotic Evil leader of a cannibal horde that's out to slaughter and eat anything in their path.
His horde has just stormed and is about to violently sack a city. The PCs have teleported in and must try to rescue a key NPC. Complications may ensue when the NPC, who is lawful good, insists that the PCs rescue as many refugees as possible... anyway. They'll be fighting off constant attacks from his cannibal minions, some ice monsters that were controlled by the city's leaders until recently, and a dragon (long story). They may or may not end up facing the Fanglord, but I definitely want him ready in case they do.
APL is 8, with 6 PCs, so I'm looking for something around CR 12. I'm thinking Bard 5/Barbarian 8. Bard archetype is Savage Skald, basically for the occasional Inspiring Blow. Level 5 means he gets Inspire Courage +2, which seems pretty handy for the leader of a cannibal horde. He also gets some modest spells (4/2); I'd expect him to go with either fear stuff or self-buffs.
Barbarian... geez, which archetype? I'm thinking either Invulnerable Rager or Scarred Rager. Invulnerable Rager gives him an Endure Elements effect; since this is in an arctic environment, that'll let him walk around wearing no protective gear, which is nice. Other hand, Scarred Rager makes him invulnerable to eight different effects, which is good too. I'm open to other suggestions.
I'm thinking of someone who sends in a wave or two of minions, then steps forward once the PCs have been weakened. If they do encounter him, it should be near the end of the scenario, when they're low on resources and trying to escape (and possibly herd a bunch of civilians to safety). By this time, they'll have been hearing about him for a while, so I want to make him plausibly scary -- a real "should we even try to fight this guy" rather than just another boss. So, anything that adds alarming chrome is good.
Thoughts?
Doug M.
| Douglas Muir 406 |
First sketch. I still need feats, barbarian powers, and maybe some more minor combat gear (the Lost Fang of Kazavon is a relic and doesn't count towards his NPC gear).
The build here is a CE barbarian general of a cannibal horde. He's already pretty powerful, so when it comes to powers and feats I'm looking for flavor over minimaxing (though I'm happy to have both).
Thoughts?
Doug M.
* * * * *
The Fanglord
Male human Bard 5 / Barbarian 8 (Invulnerable Rager)
CE medium humanoid
Init +1 Perception +4
DEFENSE
AC 16
hp 117 (DR 4, Regenerate 10) +26 hp if raging
Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +10
Endure elements, DR Cold 2 [from Invulnerable Rager]
OFFENSE
Spd 40 ft.
Melee +17/+12/+7 Greataxe d12+2d6+8 [+1 Vicious Human Bane Greataxe] and bite +12 d4+2
or raging Power Attack +17/+12/+7 for d12+2d6+17 and bite +12 d4+6
STATISTICS
Str 16 (20), Dex 12, Con 14 (16), Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 16 (18)
Base Atk +11; CMB +16, CMD +17
Feats (8): Weapon Focus (Greataxe), Power Attack. What else?
Bard spells:
1at level (4/day) Cause Fear, Dazzling Blade, Ear-Piercing Scream, Horn of Pursuit
2nd level (2/day) Heroism [his go-to buff before combat], Enter Image [useful for a general -- his troops carry images of him, and he can enter and animate them]
Barbarian powers (4): Animal Fury (grants bite attack d4+2). What else?
Notable skills:
Languages: common, abyssal
SQ Madness: The Fanglord is insane, suffering from megalomania and several delusions and obsessions. In the long run, his madness is likely to bring him to grief. In the short run, it means he uses his Cha modifier instead of Wisdom for his Will save.
Combat Gear: Manslayer, +1 Vicious Human Bane Greataxe; Belt of Strength +4; the Lost Fang of Kazavon (+2 to Con and Cha, Regeneration 10, Greater Uncanny Dodge).
Notes: The Fanglord is the leader of a cannibal horde that's currently assaulting a city. If fighting PCs or other obviously formidable opponents, his preferred tactic will be to send in a wave or two of minions with Inspire Courage (+2 to hit and damage) while casting Heroism and Dazzling Blade on himself. He likes to open combat with an Ear-Piercing Scream (cast in advance, discharged as a free action, DC 15 or 2d6 damage and Dazed).
His DR 4/ and Regeneration 10 make him contemptuous of most melee opponents, but he's intelligent enough to be careful -- he can't be killed while he bears the Fang, but if he's reduced to negative hp, the Fang could be taken away. He's provided against this by grafting the Fang onto the skin of his chest, allowing his regeneration to grow around it; removing it is a full round action requiring an edged weapon and a successful DC 10 Heal check.