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As a spinoff of the Rewards for GM Stars thread, imagine your character(s) are the BBEG fight of a PFS Scenario, how would that look?
Lord Arthur Higgenstrom III: A man with the best fashion taste you've seen in a while is flying above you on angel's wings, visible due to the black tentacles squeezing you to pieces. He flies over the tentacles and sends a line of cold ice down at one of the people trying to break out. Next round, he turns another of them into a bunny.
Markas Shortcloak: If he were to actually fight a member of the Pathfinder Society who wasn't harming the Society from the inside, it would break his cavalier code.
Theodric Alspine: Hops underwater (since this totally takes place on a ship) and starts hexing people from underwater. When you finally have enough hexes on you, starts bestowing curses and other debuffs until you've run out of morale. Then he'll figure out some way to kill you.
Komana Higgenstrom: While shaking off most spells you send at her, she runs right up to the biggest guy you have and trips him. When he tries to stand up, she disarms him. When he tries to pick up his weapon, she trips him. If he tries to attack, he either fails at -4 or has his one attack standing up blocked by a crane wing. If he tries to attack an ally, she first redirects it to her and then makes it miss.
Iacobus Higgenstrom: Uh, he probably just dies. But he'll totally rock out on his guitar first. His allies will totally be inspired though.
Prisencolinensinainciusol: The fighter is stuck there pondering questions such as "If the sky is blue, why isn't alcohol blue?" and "Well yeah? Is my face really that drunk, or are you too drunk to see drunkness?" while Prisen downs beers and punches out someone else (for d6-1!) w/ Stunning Fist, and he deflects ranged attacks coming at him. Also, perma-concealment means rogues cry. If he doesn't have allies though he's dead.
Honwa Dashiro: Actually, right now he's really close to the end boss of a published scenario.
How would an end-boss fight look if your characters were the end-boss?
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If I were to be the "end boss" of a PFS Scenario, I would have to appear in a social encounter. I have no interest in facing bloodthirsty Pathfinders in hand-to-hand combat, for I possess neither weapons nor magics to employ in defense of my fragile self.
Though, I imagine if the murderous Pathfinders were true to their nature, and the encounter were to devolve into combat because they really could not help themselves, its resolution would be very simple. I would do my best to survive the ordeal, and the Pathfinders would all be swiftly executed for their crime! I would have to see if I could have one of Galt's final blades procured for such an occasion.
-Lady Gabrielle d'Apcher, Aristocrat11
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Mash: The raging barbarian pounces and attacks 3 times with his keen nodachi (15-20 crit range) for 1d10 +31 damage per hit. He has surprisingly good will saves for a barbarian (superstitious, boosted with the human favored class bonus, along with a +5 cloak of resistance), but his AC is relatively low for his level (level 14, AC in the high 20's, IIRC), so it's all about overcoming his DR 7 to do 250+ HP damage. If you try to stay out of his melee range by flying, he'll chase you with winged boots, while bragging about the time he took out a dragon that was trying to fly away.
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For all of my characters, it'd be a pretty anti-climactic climax.
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Well, it seems I inspired this thread, so I guess I should contribute.
Sesharan Kai'del, a level 13 Arcane Archer, would be an appropriate challenge for tier 10-11. How it would go: "You see a woman floating on a broom six hundred feet into the air. She rains a storm of arrows down on you, taking advantage of the enormous(240 ft) range increment of her longbow. Also, the first arrow is imbued with Fireball."
Legionnaire Horatio, a level 11 Golden Legionnaire, would fight at the side of a barbarian, wizard, or other high-damage/low-defense character, adding +12 to their AC and taking the first successful hit every round. He'd make a better Dragon than Big Bad.
Umbera Dizak, a (currently) level 10 Serpentine Sorceress, would greet the PCs calmly, having been informed by her invisible imp (whose name is My Adviser) of their arrival. Then she would Dominate them, one by one, aided by Adviser using a wand of Ill Omen. Those that proved resistant to such (perhaps the imp identified a slotted Clear Spindle) would experience her fangs with their natural poison, combined with the Pernicious Poison and Poison spells.
Orpheus, a level 7 Sound Striker bard, would prefer to support some fighter types, but could use his Weird Words and Masterpieces to take on the PCs alone if needed.
Irlana, a level 5 Redeemer Paladin, would never even consider fighting the PCs, and if forced to, would simply knock them out and send them on their way.
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Samhain : Finally snapped, he turns against humans and those who ally themselves with them. The PCs follow a lead on a rash of disappearances, the latest being three children of a Taldan diplomat. Throughout the adventure, arrows will occasionally rain down on the unsuspecting PCs as Samhain feels them out. The arrows go from normal to thistle to other special types. Once they finally reach him, he has the children captive, bait for the parents who are the real targets. He, however, flies to a high ledge where the climbing surface is thorned though semi-easily scaled, raining arrows from above. Once characters have made it up, they find a surprise in the form of an axebeak ready to keep them away from the crazed elf. Once he's beaten, he stumbles off the cliff edge out of sight. But when the PCs check, the body is no where to be seen. There aren't even any tracks! To be continued?
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"darlin', I would like to point out, I am unarmed."
"and unarmored..." she holds her hands over her head and does a little spin, so that you can see she is concealing very little...
"Perhaps we can discuss this as in a more ...personal fashion? Just the six of you and little ol' me?"
"Tie me up? usually that costs extra, but in your cast, I'm sure we can make an exception. Perhaps I can loan you a set of what I prefer to call 'fuzzy love cuffs'? I have a set in just my size, and the fur lining just suits my skin tones..."
By the end of the encounter, the PCs are likely going to owe her money... maybe a lot of money. Better pay up, or she'll talk to the news media... and your PC doesn't what to end up in that Pathfinder Chronicle!
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We'll make sure to send 6 paladins after Katisha. Female paladins.
Darlin', as I said, usually that costs extra!
Go ahead, make my day... ;)Going to raise some eyebrows when they walk me thru town though... six of those Amazons and lil oh me?
just imagine the talk this will cause! I will be sure to point out that I have ranks in CRAFT - courtesan... I'm sure it would be great for business!
edit: I have had to work with much worse "raw material"...
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We'll make sure to send 6 paladins after Katisha. Female paladins.Somehow I don't see her minding that they are women. And who knows by the end they might not mind that she is either.
paladins always get a discount.
;)
no need to worry about remove disease you know...
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I would love that to be the endgame for my barbarian. It would be a very fitting end to that particular character.
AH-hmmm, Katisha is level 10.1 and looking to play her last 5 games...
And she often likes to work with big strong men with anger management issues... where are you located?ah, me? Sorry, my card
Giamo Casanunda
"Matchmaker"
World’s Second-Greatest Lover
(I do try harder)
Finest Swordsman Soldier of Fortune
Outrageous Liar Art Critic
Heart Warming Physician Stepladders Repaired
As a Matchmaker, perhaps I can set something up?
Given that my only PFS character is a Neutral (would be Evil if it were allowed!) Death Cleric of Urgathoa, who routinely rips out enemies souls in front of Paladins! Turning into the BBEG at the end wouldn't be a suprise to anybody!
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Hmmm.
Kyrie would be a hit and run sniper type shooting the vulnerable casters in the head from a long way off while leaving all sorts of surprises for those rushing ahead of the rogues. In the end though she'd go down. One trck pony.
Cindrana would pick her spot well. Come in with black tentacles and obsidian flow while sealing the tunnel effected up with some wall spell before letting loose with empowered acid/fire/ice/lightning balls and empowered and/or extended touches of idiocy, clumsiness and such to soften the problem types up. Maybe adding in cloud kill before sealing up the tunnel.
Roasa del Noire. She'd speak imperiously about hurting your betters as she is torn apart by those murderous pathfinder death Hobos.
Akim the Crafty would most likely take a few good hits with feint, perhaps disarming a few before going down. Now, if he had allies.. Hit and run tactics would make for fight. Most likely frame the pathfinders in whatever city they are in and fade away into the night to do it again elsewhere. Why fight when you can frame them?
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Actually, when I played Eyes of the Ten, our group's true neutral cleric of Pharasma almost took the BBEG up on his offer to go over to the dark side, become an NPC, and help him fight the rest of the party. That character hating being a Pathfinder had been a defining characteristic of her personality since day one, so nobody was even remotely surprised.
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My Neutral Cleric of Pharasma (Baroness Roasa Del Noire of Lower Zimdar) isn't the type to back out of commitments. She'd not turn on the society as long as there is a chance she can use it to foster influence back home in Oparra. She's definitely a politician. :D
Of course if there was a way she could stay out of the fight and back up her minions..her antagonize feat might drive some players nuts.
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theres a reason i dont burn shirt rerolls on random bbeg will saves... "dominate person"? i rolled bad.. no need to reroll...
followed up by the Gm allowing me to act in the best interest of the bad guy... after two rounds dealt more damage than all scenario badguys combined and have 3 pc's on their backs....
silly gnome sorcerer...
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My 5th level Kitsune as the BBEG would begin with an alarm spell on the hallway outside to alert him to the PC's. He'd ready an action to cast Hypnotic Pattern, and due to his one level Oracle dip, as soon as the door opened, every member of the party would likely have to make a DC 19 will save or be fascinated. (Awesome Display, 22 CHA) After casting he'd 5 foot step behind a wall of force formed by a 24 hour duration Moonlight Bridge. On his next round he'd 5' back around the edge of the bridge and hit a 15' cone with Color Spray. (DC 21 Will Save) I'd spend the next 3d4+1 rounds alternating burning hands x3 with Color Spray until even the Colonel calls and demands my reciepe for fried chicken.
Seriously though, beware Xar'z (8th or 9th level) after a dominate person. If we hadn't been forced to leave the shop due to closing time, it may have been ugly.
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Doyle has had it with the murderous hobos sitting on knowledge without doing anything with it. He's hightailed it to a foreboding section of the forest.
He assumes bat form, rides his velociraptor companion through the brush, stalking the party in tandem. The raptor charges out of the undergrowth raking acidic claws and talons through the party healer while the bat hangs from a nearby tree, raining fire and lightning down on the party until they recover, and then vanishes into the foliage to strike again.
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Kotyk (AKA "The Kraken") was always close to the edge anyways. His never-ending quest for the Shiniest-of-all-Shinies had caused him to make some enemies among his fellow Pathfinders. As he spent more and more time at his thieves' guild up in the Ivy District, the Reborn Crowsworn convinced him that maybe it was time to pay the Pathfinders back for all of those 3am wake-up calls from Drendle Dreng or the callous regard of Shiela Heidmarch. When Kotyk let Cousin Guaril know that his time among the Sczarni was at an end, Guaril simply nodded, not quite sure how the ensuing combat with the famous tengu would go.
Kotyk smells the coins jingling in your pocket. He charges from the darkness, his gleaming Elven Curve Blade slashing down like a sharpened nightmare. With a cry of "No one escapes!" Kotyk slashes again and again before racing back into the night.
After the brutal robbery of many members of the Junior Pathfinder Society, Kotyk attacked Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin by accident in a darkened alley. Valsin prepared to fight back, but Kotyk pulled out a rumpled ZonZon Doll and handed it to the the Venture-Captain before vanishing down the next street.
Valsin returned to the Grand Lodge and immediately put together a crew of seasoned Pathfinders with a single mission: re-infiltrate the Reborn Crowsworn guild and bring their fallen leader to justice.
"And for the love of Aroden, leave your gold and gems at home!"
(I imagine a Spring/Sneak Attack rampage through a maze filled with mist. Since Kotyk can SA those with concealment and has scent, he leaps in, makes significant contact before rushing back into cover. When someone actually finds him, his AC of 30-37 keeps him relatively unscathed before he can make it to safety. But in all likelihood, he would drop in the first round to a failed Will save.)
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This battle would take place on an enormous Tian-Xia kite-blimp hundreds of feet in the air. You'd face me on the opposite end of a 5-foot wide, 6-foot tall corridor with twisted steel spikes to hinder acrobatic foes and the spell Forbiddance cast on the corridor.
One Tengu. One Sword. One Duel at a time.
When a fight starts to go badly, I press a button and the entire floor reveals itself as a trap-door.
Can you grow wings at will? No? Good.
My level 8 Shoanti Human Invulnerable Rager Barbarian would put the PCs through hell before they knock him out. Ahote would greater sunder thier weapons, armor and shields before dropping at least one or two of them. Thinking he'd make an excellent BBEG for a 5-9 subtier 5 and 6 scenario. It would have to be one of those "One of our own has had his mind enslaved by an evil wizard, do try to bring him back alive..." type missions.
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So, if I had prebuff time, more so than normal, the first round of combat agaisnt Sin would have his blinking, shadow projected, hasted false life'd familiar on a barb or someone else with a high strength, followed up by a Fort DC28 Den of Vipers (creeping doom that does 4d6 damage + 1d4 con damage + dc28 distraction)
After that I just sit back and watch people die horrible deaths.
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So, if I had prebuff time, more so than normal, the first round of combat agaisnt Sin would have his blinking, shadow projected, hasted false life'd familiar on a barb or someone else with a high strength, followed up by a Fort DC28 Den of Vipers (creeping doom that does 4d6 con damage)
After that I just sit back and watch people die horrible deaths.
The swarm's 1d4 poison does Con damage rather than Dex, not the 4d6 regular damage.
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If Lady Magdh ordained the demise of the Pathfinders, I would bring myself (level 8) and maybe Iakhovas (level 6). Together we're a CR 9 encounter, since we have PC level stats and wealth, so we would be the end fight for a subtier 5-6.
I normally specialize in taking out single targets, so I would have to resort to backup for a group. I would start by using commune to determine who, if anyone, has access to unbreakable heart or suppress charms and compulsions. If there is more than one such PC, I will have to gamble on using anticipate peril and embrace destiny (for initiative) before ambushing, but even that might not guarantee going first, especially with sohei, diviners, and the like.
I'll toss confusion (DC 28) on the team, and have Iakhovas attack (fighting defensively) against anyone who has UB or SC&C (so they don't have a chance to roll act normally, they have to fight him). Single target persistent spells follow against anyone who made their save or who has dangerous effects if they roll act normally.
If I've truly gone off the deep end for whatever reason and become evil, replace Iakhovas with a seugathi.
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Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
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Let's see.
Elsi could turn to leading a rebelion against the Ten. Inquisitor of Milani and all that. With prep, she'd drop a party member on the first round, (locate weakness + named bullet). Depending on how many of those she prepped, she'd do a lot of damage. But she doesn't have a good defense, and she'd go down pretty quick.
Zavorokhina would run around and do a lot of damage to everybody, but not focus enough on one to drop them. Why? Hmm... To stop her plan of destroying the Aldori Swordlords?
Natalya will someday finish going insane. Groetus will claim her entirely, she start killing everything, and some pathfinders will need to put her down. But they'll have to track her back to the ruined ship in Numeria where everything started, and have to deal with all the hazards there while being shot at by the crazed pistolero barber. Oh, maybe the ruined ship has some nifty megaweapon that she's going to use on the Technic League with bad consequences if they don't stop her.
Rhialla (assuming she leveled up a bunch) would flip out if she had to deal with fire much. Flashbacks, trauma, bad news. She'd try and start a new ice age if she could. And still think she was doing the right thing. She'd do decent spell damage while immobilizing people, then leave. When they break out of their ice prisons and face her again, she'd throw more spells at them, but as she's essentially a blaster with control riders, she'd eventually fall. Or the party throws fire at her and she freaks out.
Vastra (working name) is still in rebuild for level 2. She's a detective though. She'd uncover some Horrible Truth about the society, the Ten would send the party to cover it up. The party would kill her easily, but she'd somehow manage to present the issue to the party in the process, and leave them with the knowledge of the Horrible Truth and let them decide what to do with it. Realisticly, most parties wouldn't care and would just move on.
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I knew, of course, that the Decemvirate would eventually need to silence my allies and I for what we saw at the heart of the Grand Lodge during the Shadow Lodge fiasco. I have prepared for such eventualities; when they send their assassins for me, I will have raised my many defenses to confound and defeat them.
Of course, long before they reach me my contact in Absalom will alert me to their coming. I shall scry upon them and contact the outer planes, using this information to tailor my preparations and defenses based on their projected time of arrival and specific abilities. Their arrival on my private island will be hindered by my wards - I have placed both a Hallow and Unhallow spell with Dimensional Anchor tied to it to prevent any Good or Evil spellcasters from invading with teleportation, forcing them to enter by the doors and trigger my Alarm spell. Once the alarm is raised, they will have to contend with my bound minions; I am partial to earth and air elementals, as they cause the least property damage. As they contest the ground floor against my guards, they shall also be tested by the magical summoning and conjuration traps I have placed on the portals to the higher floors of my stronghold, dividing their forces while my conjured fogs and summoned minions drain their precious resources. All the while, I shall observe their movements with my Scrying and Arcane Eye divinations to tailor my final stand to their strengths and weaknesses.
Eventually, they will reach me. Adventurers always rise to the occasion, after all. I shall greet them with my longest serving ally - a bound movanic deva, whose service I call upon frequently in times of need. While she acts as my shield, I shall support her with my spells and by attacking their healer and mage, using teleportation magic to carry us behind the front line of their warriors and out to safety again once our surgical strike is complete. However, I recognize that inevitably we shall be overcome. My final Contingency shall save us both from death - I shall be whisked away to my clansmen in the Mordant Spire to nurse my wounds and plot my revenge, while my faithful companion shall be released from her contractual service upon my departure.
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I would begin the fight invisible
Using the power of my caster's tattoo to make discerning my localtion impossible while I summon 3-6 Hell hounds as a gift from Asmodeous' Teachings. I would continue to send waves of hellhounds at my foes until they were nothing but crispy puppy chow. If there were dangerous spellcasters I would quickly grapple them all in powerful black tentacles or sicken them in a fog of nauseating vapors.
Should I get cornered, I would be certain to have a secure location (Secure Shelter or web shelter if nothing else avails itself). To teleport into, giving myself a chance to recover or conjure more creatures.
My foes would be nothing more than a mere trifle.
as a CR 7 Creature I would "technically" be an appropriate encounter for a party of 5th level characters, however the amount of powerful magical equipment WE ALL HAVE does make us more powerful than most of the bosses in the same level range :)
Oh yeah, and the alternate summon monster list that gives hell hound as a summon monster 2, not the most fair thing ever heh.
Though an army of small earth elementals is no joke either!
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The Siege of Absalom
-The story begins with the Pathfinder Society hard at work researching a way to create more back doors into the Hao Jin Tapestry. If it has not happened already, a Chelish Pathfinder passes this information to Zarta Dralneen.
-The nation of Cheliax realizes how powerful such an artifact would be for them, and decides to take the Tapestry for themselves. Cheliax's navy blockades Absalom. Their troops begin massing on the Isle of Kortos.
-There is debate amongst the Society as to what to do. Do they take refuge in a foreign land, or do they stay and wait out the siege?
-At the behest of Ollysta Zadrian, and the enormous influence of the Silver Crusade within the Society, the Society decides to stay and help Absalom. The Society provides food and supplies for an extended siege, by using the Hao Jin Tapestry to purchase them abroad and deliver them to the city, working with Trade Prince Aaquir al'Hakam and his extensive network of trade contracts to most efficiently set up a supply chain.
-Over time, morale degrades in Absalom as they muster their own forces. The people whisper of tall, dark men who stalk the streets of the poorer districts by night. Infants are snatched from their cribs. More and more people are found brutally murdered, apparently clawed to death by horrible creatures.
-The PCs are sent to investigate the killings by Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin. The last thing Absalom needs is opportunists exploited the beseiged populace for their own personal gain.
-The PCs discover that the murders and snatchings have been committed by devils, in service to an erinyes. In the Puddles District, they encounter a mixed-force of devils and dark-cloaked humans, using the district as a staging area. The invasion of Absalom is about to occur, and their immediate target is the Grand Lodge.
-The PCs report back to the Grand Lodge with this vital information. As they present their findings, the meeting is interrupted by Lady Gloriana Morilla, who informs them that a plan to break the siege and save Absalom has been hatched, thanks to her efforts.
-Lady Morilla informs the PCs that one of the Society's more persuasive Pathfinders, Lady Gabrielle d'Apcher, has been using the Tapestry to visit Major Colson Maldris in Almas, and that Major Maldris has been building support in his home country to save Absalom with a counterattack.
-Not only would it be prudent to move the Tapestry out of the city, but Major Maldris's forces could make good use of it to teleport the Andoren forces into a perfect offensive position. Unfortunately, the Chelish have too many spies for the Tapestry to be kept safely in Almas for very long.
-Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, offers to shield the Tapestry from magical divination, so that the Chelish will be unable to magically locate it.
-Lady Gabrielle presents an option which would do nicely. Her family estate lies on the border between Taldor and Andoran, on the banks of the Sellen River which divides the two countries, near the Verduran Forest. Maldris's forces can easily amass at the lumber town of Bellis, then move through the Verduran Forest and be housed at her estate in preparation for a counterattack. Lady Morilla believes she can quietly suppress a reaction by the Taldan border keeps if Amenopheus is willing to prepare a few teleport spells and move her about the country.
-The nature of the Tapestry prevents it from being placed in extradimensional spaces or being subject to teleportation.
-The PCs are thus tasked with smuggling Lady Gabrielle, along with the Tapestry, out of the city, by way of a skiff arranged by Guaril Karela. They are to slip through the naval siege and make their way to the Taldan port of Cassomir.
-As they sneak though the city to the skiff, the PCs encounter a small
force of dark-cloaked humans and devils. The invasion of Absalom has begun.
-The PCs deftly steer the skiff through the Chelish navy, now distracted by a full-fledged invasion of the City at the Center of the World.
-From Cassomir, they sail up the Sellen River, toward the Verduran
Forest. There, at the borders of the wood, Lady Gabrielle's family
estate greets them.
-Over the next several days, a substantial force of Andoren liberators
arrive at the estate, by way of the lumber village of Bellis, the
closest Andoren settlement to Gabrielle's family lands.
-When all is ready, Major Maldris and the Eagle Knights enter the tapestry, though instead of transporting themselves to Absalom, they
strike into the cities of Cheliax directly. The Andoran forces would much rather fight a winning battle than merely prolong a losing one.
-The fighting is brutal and bloody, as the Chelish forces stop at nothing to conquer the City at the Center of the World. The PCs must choose between helping Maldris strike at the enemy in Cheliax, helping Absalom defend itself, or helping Lady Gabrielle quietly navigate the Taldan bureaucracy in order to arrange for units of the Taldan Phalanx to arrive and be transported to Absalom.
-With the combined might of the Society and the Taldan Phalanx defending Absalom, and the Eagle Knights relentless in their surgical strikes against Cheliax itself, the tide of the battle begins to turn. The PCs have saved Absalom!
-That's a lot of background. But what about the "end boss" encounter featuring Lady Gabrielle?
-With the Siege broken, it is now time to return the Tapestry to the Society, so they may resume their treasure-seeking adventures in the far reaches of Golarion. The PCs return to the estate only to find Lady Gabrielle in the cellar with the tapestry laid out on the earth floor. She is in the process of destroying it.
-"Don't you see?" She pleads with the PCs. "The Inner Sea will know war without end while this weapon exists! Did the Society really think that they could cultivate such a power without anyone taking notice? The Siege of Absalom is only the start, as all of the surrounding nations know of the Tapestry now! To preserve it is to condemn thousands of innocent souls to death, either by the sword or by some foul power!"
-The PCs must choose between convincing Lady Gabrielle to turn over
the Tapestry to the Society, plunging the Inner Sea into endless conflict, or helping her destroy it. Either way, combat is not an
option, as a small army of Taldan Phalanx occupies the estate.
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My candidate for this would be Adhemar of Senara, a Chelaxian Hellknight hopeful and fighter/monk, who fell to a vampire and was left behind by his fleeing companions back in Season 0. Logically, he'd come back with a template applied and an even worse attitude than before. He was always a bit of a thug. His tactics would include grappling, spiked armour and biting people.
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Rashe el-Suri, 13th level Ranger/Rogue.
Any fight with him will start about 4 rounds before you realize he already knows you're there so expect him to be fully buffed. (MASSIVE perception bonus + Scent)
A switch-hitting, Feral beast, Rashe thrives on melee combat and has dedicated himself to the ideals of fear and negative status based combat. With every blow applying Shaken, Frightened and Sickened effects (with no saves allowed) with Dazed on top of that (HIGH DC fort save) any target who gets into melee with him is usually rendered useless.
(For those targets who think staying at range will help will be amazed at the number of attacks he can slap out of the air or simply catch and throw back.)
His greatest advantage is his ability to throw out AoE frighten effects (with no Save) as a swift action before beating targets down with 12D6 vital strikes (or 20D6+100 full attacks).
Any battle with him will be brutal, short and mobile (everyone running in fear).
The heroes will win of course, when Rashes biggest weakness comes in to play, pretty women.
They tend to activate his misogynistic rage and he starts picking them off first no matter who dangerous they are. Characters like Katisha above who actively flirt or try to manipulate him with their beauty/wiles would be attacked single-mindedly till there was nothing left of them and only then would he acknowledge the rest of the party.
Rashe has certain... issues, he's trying to work through, but it's not going well.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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Since he's just come out of Eyes of the Ten unscathed (physically, at least), I imagine that Venture-Captain Cassius Hale would make a decent challenge for a higher level party.
Before Combat
Being a druid, any fight with him would likely take place outside in a natural environment, where he'd have more control. Days before the fight, Hale casts liveoak to animate a Treant companion, and transforms his quarterstaff via spellstaff. At the beginning of the day, Hale casts ant haul, barkskin, and freedom of movement on himself, and then uses his wild shape to take the form of a hawk, nesting on his treant. He then keeps an eye out for threats with his +36 perception, using his class ability to detect undead; fey; outsiders; and astral, ethereal, or incorporeal creatures intermittently. If he suspects combat to be eminent, he casts a communal protection from energy and communal resist energy fire on himself and his treant, as well as air walk on the treant and stoneskin on himself before taking to the sky.
Combat Statistics (after listed buffs)
Size: Tiny; AC 35; HP 148; +8 initiative; Fort +17, Ref +10, Will +24 (+1 vs. disease, +4 vs. fey, immune to poison); Fly speed 80 ft. Resist fire 30 (120 points of protection), DR 10/adamantine (110 points of protection)
During Combat
During combat, Hale sits at around 80 feet above the battlefield, staying out of range of any threats. If a majority of his foes are on the ground, he opens with plant growth followed by entangle. After that, he casts control winds to create a protective windstorm around him, negating ranged attacks and concealing him from enemies. His treant attempts to animate any nearby trees if possible, and they all sunder enemies weapons as appropriate. If Hale notices a potent spellcaster, he attempts to remove them from combat with baleful polymorph. If he is allowed to cast freely, he will take the time to drop one or two summon nature's ally VII around enemy spellcasters. He elects to summon cyclopses with the spell, summoning 1d4+2 with the aid of his Superior Summons feat. They all use Flash of Insight on their initial attacks, threaten criticals, and attempt to confirm them with flanking and power attack for maximum damage on their target. Hale casts greater dispel magic liberally over his enemies, trying to retain his aerial superiority and allow his summons to do most of the dirty work.
Hale refrains from casting fire storm unless combat begins to go south, as he doesn't want to harm the surrounding forest. If dropped below half health, Hale uses his Quick Wild Shape to transform into a large sized earth elemental and head below ground, casting heal and stoneskin on the following rounds before returning to combat at full health with another buffer layer of defenses. He then swift transforms back into a hawk and takes to the sky, avoiding ground combat at all costs. If the PCs prove to be too much for him to handle, Hale concentrates and turns his control winds into a tornado, dropping the funnel directly on melee combatants to remove them from the fight.
Morale
If he drops below a quarter life after his prepared heal has already been spent, Hale retreats to the nearest tree and uses his Transport Via Plants ability to return to his orchard outside Absalom. If he is unable to find a tree (or all have been destroyed by his tornado), Hale creates one by throwing a tree feather token onto the ground and entering it on the subsequent turn.
If he thinks he can finish them off, he casts heal a second time from his spellstaff to return to full health before summoning up more cyclopses and returning with them to the battlefield a few rounds later.
Notes
Hale has a Orange Prism Ioun Stone slotted into his wayfinder, and every spell he casts is at a caster level (1d4-1) higher. He taps into his Place Magic frequently when casting fire storm or greater dispel magic, looking to maximize the potential of his offensive abilities by increasing his caster level further.