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I've been toying around with the idea for a while for a nemesis party fo sorts for my PC's, a group of evil characters serving as mercenaries who are often set at odds with the PC's during their adventures. Sometimes they might be racing to discover the same treasure, other times they might be hired to directly counter or even to take out the PC themselves. They might ally with the PC's enemies or even in a rare instance even be allied with the PC's which should make for some good RP once a proper amount of enmity has been built up.
My PC's are fairly decent optimizers though they tend to value role-play over all, so I wanted the opposing party to be similar in power strength so that they would not be easily disposed of and it occurred to me to get a back-up or two to replenish the group's numbers in the eventuality that one or more are killed.
I'd be interested to know whether anyone has ever done something similar, whether it was as compelling and effective as I hope and if there are any potential pitfalls I might not forsee. I like the idea of PC's having to deal with some of the potent combos they have had at their disposal in the past, and possibly some new tricks they hadn't considered.
The current 'nemesis party' I'm looking at to go against my five PC's are:
Human Urban Barbarian
I'll be using a build I put together a while back where the character starts off with 1 level of Unbreakable Fighter and then goes Invulnerable Rager & Urban Barbarian the rest of the way resulting in - among other things - very high saves and very high DR. He'll be the leader of the group and will be portrayed as someone of iron will with unshakeable control.
Half-Elven Summoner
This female will be the consort of the leader, a half-elven/half-orc outcast with a rocking body she keeps artfully displayed and a hideous face she keeps deliberately veiled. She will be eidolon focused with a massive wolf-like creature that obeys her every whim and her spells will primarily be of the useful variety (like Alarm or Teleport), Eidolon enhancers and battlefield control like the Pit spells. I figure having a Summoner in the group gives them a powerful melee threat that can be killed without shaking up the group's membership.
Dwarven Evangelist
Serving as a buffer, debuffer and healer, he will be one of two insane dwarven brothers, the older of the two who's madness has infected his younger sibling. He is a 'follower' of Azathoth focusing on the Madness domain and I expect his Vision of Madness ability to cause a lot of trouble for the PC's.
Dwarven Wild Rager
A damage-focused Barbarian who's incredibly unpredictable in fights and would have died a long time ago if not for his brother constantly watching out for him. He'll likely be the most expendable of the group and his eventual death will make for a powerful motivation of vengeance by his brother. He'll fight with a dorn-dergar.
Kitsune Sorcerer (Fey Bloodline)
Alternately mischevious and viscious, this female seductress will be the least evil of the group, motivated above all by a vested self-interest but perhaps may become infatuated with a member of the PC's group. I have a lot of ideas for her and want to have her mistrusted by both parties, no one ever certain of where her true loyalties lie - which of course, lie with herself. Using the Realistic Likeness feat will allow her to serve as the perfect spy and infiltrator.
Any thoughts, ideas or comments would be most welcome.
Usually when I see this, I think the DM probably needs to get out from behind the screen for a while.
Usually when I see this, I think the DM probably needs to get out from behind the screen for a while.
LOL - why do you say that?
This is one of those things that goes either really well (about 20% of the time) or really, really south (about 65% of the time).
For verisimilitude purposes, it’s great. Making PCs see themselves as part of a larger world, with stuff going on that doesn’t always involve them can be very rewarding for bringing your game world alive. Having someone to match themselves against and become emotionally invested to defeat or as rivals is an excellent goal. It can also be a great way to introduce alternate PCs if a PC dies by having a respected rival join the group. Interesting NPCs make for an interesting game world.
The problem arises when the NPCs start to outshine the players or if there is an either real or perceived “Mary Sue” syndrome going on with the NPCs as the “DM’s PCs” and the players or the DM starts to see the PCs as secondary to the NPCs. The other issue that may arise is that if the NPCs are actually geared out as the PCs are, they are way over the recommended wealth scales and the players may be out of their depth when confronting them or decide that they are the best prey for loot purposes. Be prepared for either viewpoint and eventuality and make sure that it’s not going to skew your game too far from where you want it going.
Just remember to always make sure your story stays focused on the PCs, not the NPCs, no matter how interesting you write them.
-TimD
Usually when I see this, I think the DM probably needs to get out from behind the screen for a while.LOL - why do you say that?
Because DMs usually do.
And because you're getting into building characters as if they were PCs, to have a party and go on adventures, like PCs. Really, to be PCs in all ways except they're not. While there's nothing actually wrong with having a party of NPC foils for your PCs, it sounds more like you want to have the fun of playing PCs. You say hardly anything about your PCs in your post, except they have some potent combos that you'd like to try.
Making compelling NPC adversary/foils for your PCs is a great idea, but I prefer the classic BBEG+mooks. Players will have an easier time remembering one guy who made them cry than 5.
If you are dead set on making an NPC party, I would do it this way:
Design the NPC party specifically to make your PCs cry. Use all your GM metagame knowledge to hit them where it hurts. Do this because it's easier to embrace it than to fight it. But build them a couple of levels lower than the party. That way, the PCs get a winnable fight that'll make them sweat.
This is one of those things that goes either really well (about 20% of the time) or really, really south (about 65% of the time).
For verisimilitude purposes, it’s great. Making PCs see themselves as part of a larger world, with stuff going on that doesn’t always involve them can be very rewarding for bringing your game world alive. Having someone to match themselves against and become emotionally invested to defeat or as rivals is an excellent goal. It can also be a great way to introduce alternate PCs if a PC dies by having a respected rival join the group. Interesting NPCs make for an interesting game world.
The problem arises when the NPCs start to outshine the players or if there is an either real or perceived “Mary Sue” syndrome going on with the NPCs as the “DM’s PCs” and the players or the DM starts to see the PCs as secondary to the NPCs. The other issue that may arise is that if the NPCs are actually geared out as the PCs are, they are way over the recommended wealth scales and the players may be out of their depth when confronting them or decide that they are the best prey for loot purposes. Be prepared for either viewpoint and eventuality and make sure that it’s not going to skew your game too far from where you want it going.
Just remember to always make sure your story stays focused on the PCs, not the NPCs, no matter how interesting you write them.
-TimD
I think that is some excellent advice.
My intent isn't to make them the crux of any adventure, but rather to have them pop up now and then, perhaps heavily involved in one part of the campaign and then not seen for long periods of time in another. I don't want it to be all about the NPC's ever, but I think the idea of adding an organic element to otherwise static adventures could go a long way in adding realism as you said and could serve as an excellent opportunity to inject a sense of urgency in the PC's from time to time. I feel like its important for the world to evolve apart from the PC's direct interaction with it, and for the world to force the PC's top evolve by learning their traits and tricks... an on-again, off-again nemesis party seems like an excellent way to do that. My very own Linear Guild, as it were.
HOW IN GOD'S NAME IS THIS HOUSE RULES/HOMEBREW???