Want to build an NPC cleric of Norgorber as part of an encounter. PCs are APL 9, so a standup fighter is not an option. I want an utterly plausible lying bastard who can gain the PCs trust, tag along with them, and then do something nasty.
To make things a bit more interesting, the cleric will be allied with a succubus. Not sure who's the dom, but either way they'll work together. Again, the goal is to get the PCs to trust them and take them along, then strike at the worst possible moment.
Thoughts?
Doug M.
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:
Want to build an NPC cleric of Norgorber as part of an encounter. PCs are APL 9, so a standup fighter is not an option. I want an utterly plausible lying bastard who can gain the PCs trust, tag along with them, and then do something nasty.
To make things a bit more interesting, the cleric will be allied with a succubus. Not sure who's the dom, but either way they'll work together. Again, the goal is to get the PCs to trust them and take them along, then strike at the worst possible moment.
Thoughts?
Doug M.
I've got a doppelganger cleric of Norgorber as one of the BBEGs in my home game. The characters HATE him. I'm having a huge amount of fun with him. Trickery and Death domains, and he gets to heal while the PCs are taking damage. Go Team Bad Guys!
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:
Want to build an NPC cleric of Norgorber as part of an encounter. PCs are APL 9, so a standup fighter is not an option. I want an utterly plausible lying bastard who can gain the PCs trust, tag along with them, and then do something nasty.
To make things a bit more interesting, the cleric will be allied with a succubus. Not sure who's the dom, but either way they'll work together. Again, the goal is to get the PCs to trust them and take them along, then strike at the worst possible moment.
Thoughts?
Doug M.
Does it have to be a cleric?
Inquisitor would work better. Much better.
TarkXT wrote:
Inquisitor would work better. Much better.
Say more, tell how. I was thinking to have an Inq10 be her boss.
Doug M.
Douglas Muir 406 wrote: TarkXT wrote:
Inquisitor would work better. Much better.
Say more, tell how. I was thinking to have an Inq10 be her boss.
Doug M. Mainly because clerics are lousy at being rogues. You need quite a few skill points spread over several different skills to be competent at the things thieves and assassins are known for. Spells help but they can only take you so far.
Inquisitor lets you have a decent combatant (i.e. an encounter) while still having that priestly feel who will have the skills necessary to provide a competent follower of Norgorber. Conversion inquisition can give you a very decent boost to social skills so he can bluff his way to glory. Finally his lack of AURA means he won't ping too readily on the evildar.
Inquisitors make awesome bad guys, especially level 10 (4th level spell access). First, init is ALWAYS more important for bad guys, and those guys get their will save on it. Also, litany spells are great; swift actions that can make life hell for PCs and makes up for the lack of action economy. Deception subdomain also helps this; if they miss you teleport, and can pop up mirror images as a move action.
Also, take the infilitrator subtype; automatically makes any alignment detection fail, and even makes truth-telling devices / spells misread.
Thalin wrote: Inquisitors make awesome bad guys, especially level 10 (4th level spell access). First, init is ALWAYS more important for bad guys, and those guys get their will save on it. Also, litany spells are great; swift actions that can make life hell for PCs and makes up for the lack of action economy. The Litanies are nice, but they don't seem game-bending. They do require some thought, though -- I definitely haven't considered the impact of swift-action spellcasting.
Here's the scenario I'm considering. Cleric/Rogue of Norgorber is separated from her party, makes contact with succubus, meets PCs. She wants to infiltrate the PC party until they meet her party. The succubus will help her with this if possible.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Norgorber party consists of an Inquisitor 9 or 10 overseeing a couple of assassins (Rog 5/Asn 2) and a couple of mooks (Ftr 4 or some such). They're in a very dangerous place -- a minor plane of the Abyss -- so really the mooks are just cannon fodder, speed bumps for any demons they encounter. The Norgorberites (?) are treasure hunters who are soon to cross the PCs' path.
Upon consideration, maybe you're right and the better path is to reverse this. Have the one with the succubus be an Inquisitor(Infiltrator) -- she can use Misdirection and her bluff/diplomacy bonuses. The PC paladin will register the succubus as evil, but not the Infiltrator gal. So she can spin a plausible story. Meanwhile the leader of the main party can be a straight Cleric 9.
Okay, so now I need the following
-- an Inquisitor (Infiltrator) 8; and,
-- a cleric 9 of Norgorber, optimized for treasure hunting and leading a party of assassins.
I can probably come up with this, but any help will be much appreciated.
cheers,
Doug M.
Douglas Muir 406 wrote: Upon consideration, maybe you're right and the better path is to reverse this. Have the one with the succubus be an Inquisitor(Infiltrator) -- she can use Misdirection and her bluff/diplomacy bonuses. The PC paladin will register the succubus as evil, but not the Infiltrator gal. Ya, if the pc party has a paladin, do not make him a cleric... The Evil-o-Meter will register far too high on a cleric. An inquisitor will still ping evil, but will be a faint signal, compared to the Strong evil signal that will come off a cleric (in the 5-10 HD range).
The Succubus will still have this problem, but if she just stays Ethereal the whole time (via her Ethereal Jaunt at will spell-like) the paladin won't even get the option to scope her out, til she pops in to help later)
Have the party come upon the Inquisitor being 'besieged' by a baubau demon, perhaps having the demon say something mysterious that might lead the party to think the Inquisitor is someone who can help them.
Said demon of course has been summoned by the Succubus (using her 1/day spell-like), and will not do the Inquisitor any real harm (though the other PC's are fair game if they stop to help).
The Succubus stays Ethereal the whole time using Detect Thoughts to learn PC weaknesses (especially which ones have the bad will saves)
Hell, with the Infiltrator archetype powers even the Paladin is likely fooled ... (Misdirection to avoid the Detect Evil... and then Forbidden Lore and give him one spell with the [Good] subtype that he can cast obviously, so all can see it... Align Weapon (good) while fighting the demon, should do it)
Then they just hang around (telling whatever tales seem plausible) til they find the NPC party, Succubus dominates one PC, Inquisitor uses 8th lv Conversion Domain power to Dominate another... and the fight is on!
Otherwise, just build the inquisitor as per normal, though don't forget the 2 Teamwork bonus feats
I strongly recommend Escape Route to let his allies maneuver without provoking AOO. (or maybe Shake It Off, if saves are an issue, or Outflank)
Wow, some good advice here. Thanks.
My only question is, will a succubus' ethereal ability work in the Abyss? It's canon that the ethereal plane "overlaps the material plane", but I don't think it extends to the outer plane.
Doug M.
Remember Inquisitor 1 (Infiltrator) + Succubus = Succubus that detects as Lawful good :). Litanies are not game breaking, but once combat commences bad guys last 3-4 rounds, so the swift actions improve action economy.
So go Inquisitor 7 + Succubus / Inquisitor 1, and have them backstabbing the party once they and the mooks go in. Round 1 have the Inquisitor buff and move into a position where it looks like they hold the line, but actually set up flank for an assassin. Have the Succubus move up and try to charm the PC she deems most likely to fall for it. Then let a hell break loose :).
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