This is a very loose concept at this point. This is a bbeg for a 20th level epic party.
This far I think witch is most themantic and evil fey/twisted plants are a major theme. Maybe she should have a couple of epic levels and/ or a plant based template.
Thoughts? Ideas? Builds? Strategies?
Crossblooded Sorcerer Verdant/Accursed or Verdant/Fey?Or maybe Dualcursed Nature/Wood Oracle?
Don't know how good a Witch can pull the Twisted Plant theme but the Blighted Fey template might help.
Also if you want to challenge a 20th level party you might want to give her some Mythic Tiers. Guardian gives some awesome survivability.
Mythic Rules can be downloaded here for free.
I'm most definitely going to add some mythic tiers. She'll need it. She'll probably need minions too.
How about a Green Hag Beastbonded Witch with a Primal Bandersnatch as "Familiar" complete with Familiar Abilities. Both with Blighted Fey Template and Mythic Tier 5.
That would give your Party a lot to chew on.
Ohhh! Shiny!
Thank you.
So the main thing to keep an eye on for challenging high level parties is not just (or even especially) the BBEG, but the environment in which they engage them and what the BBEG can make sure they don’t end up “in the barrel”.
You already seem to realize that action economy is the one area that the PCs normally crush the BBEG, especially in higher level conflicts where it is rare that a group of PCs doesn’t approach combats with buffs – this is the most painful lesson for encounter planning.
So if this is for a group of 20th L PCs, you have a lot of potential for some serious curb stomping in three (or more) dimensions from your PCs.
Kid gloves should most definitely be off.
Few queries:
1 – how tough is the encounter itself supposed to be (rather than just the BBEG). Tough minions are probably at least as important as a tough BBEG for almost any memorable encounter in PF.
2 – what do the PCs already know about the BBEG that you can’t change or tweak at this point?
3 – are the PCs going to be going into the fight already tapped or fresh? This makes a huge difference … especially if you plan on having the PCs get ambushed by the BBEG while fighting some other enemy / enemies
4 – how much does the BBEG know about the PCs and conversely, have the PCs been properly worried about scrying / spies and using a misinformation campaign (because you always want to reward PCs for playing smart).
5 – is the BBEG the “end boss” or just a more powerful threat – ie should they have “get away” plans like most supervillains or have they been set up or otherwise compromised or so enraged they intend to fight to the death?
-TimD
P.S. good recommendations from Sleet Storm!
... could also make them part of a coven for some additional witchy goodness & hex double-tapping.
The party just walked into a massive pyramid covered in trees and plants.
Everything else is up for grabs.
I'm thinking a coven of witch/Druids all with natural spell. The party will have a hard time finding the bbeg, much less directly engaging.
I assume you are trying to make this an Epic encounter, meaning CR of EPL+4 or higher. A level 20 Witch with 5 Mythic tiers would be a CR of about 21. A CR 25 encounter is about 6 CR 20 opponents, which gives you a lot to work with. Also another option with PC classes could be to increase their wealth. A lvl 20 NPC has a wealth of 159k where a 20 PC has a wealth of 880k, that's a big difference. You don't have to give the NPCs PC wealth, but you should think about doubling or even tripling the NPC wealth. This will help to significantly even the odds between players and NPCs.
I wouldn't put to much consideration on CR ratings though.Just doesn't hold up that well ,especially at that level.
Even adding a bunch of low level witches spamming Ill Omen(still devastating even at lvl 20) and buff/heal the Bandersnatch will tip the scales for this combat a lot.
I hope they are well optimized.:)