One of the pc's in my group is a bladebound magus, and a worshiper of Gorum. He is currently approaching the point at which he levels to level 3 and gains his black blade. The thing is that his character has been searching for his black blade for some time, its a bit of a personal quest. What I'd like to do is have an emissary of Gorum appear to challenge him to a one on one fight, and if he wins he will be granted the black blade (coincidentally the xp gained from the battle will also be enough to make him level 3)
The question I have is what creature do you guys think would be appropriate for this battle. The player will fight him one on one and will be level 2 at the time. I'd like the emissary to be supernatural in nature, not just some guy; I've considered a fighter 2-ghost but would prefer some outsider if possible. Additionally the monster would preferably be melee focuses as opposed to magic focus to go with the connection to Gorum.
Any suggestions are welcome
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I don't immediately have an idea about a cool enemy to fight, but I do have a related idea: to use the Dueling rules.
The normal combat rules are streamlined, but for a dramatic one on one fight, they can quickly start looking like this:
PC: I whack him. *hit* *do damage*
GM: He hits back. *hit* *do damage*
PC: I Whack him. *miss*
GM: He hits back. *hit* *do damage*
PC: I Whack him. *miss*
GM: He hits back. *miss*
PC: I whack him. *hit* *do damage*
GM: He hits back. *hit* *do damage*
The duel rules from UC can spice it up a bit, with various parry and dodge options that both combatants get access to.
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Have an opponent that is the sword. He is either a warrior that has fallen in battle but whose lust for battle proved too much for his spirit to rest. Or, it is a blade imbued with the spirit of battle by Gorum. On his journey, the magus discovers a stone illuminated by the sun rise with a haggard sword embedded within (like Gorum's holy symbol), surrounded by the decayed remains of what was once a great battle. When he reaches for the sword, the spirit of the sword greets him and challenges him to a duel for the glory of Gorum. Upon his defeat, the spirit agrees to join the magus on his quest and spread Gorum's will together.
The spirit would either be a swashbuckler, a warpriest, a fighter, or barbarian of 3rd level with NPC gear.
Would this warrior be a ghost or corporeal? And would a level three character be too much for a one on one duel?
THUNDERDOME
TWO MEN ENTER
ONE MAN LEAVES
Would this warrior be a ghost or corporeal? And would a level three character be too much for a one on one duel?
Word of advice only roll dice when there's a chance of failure.
Level 2 sucks, you have very low HP and not a lot of options. Also incorporeal can't be hurt by nonmagical weapons and take 50% from magic weapons so an actual ghost will rock him. My advice is to narrate the fight, no character wants to die trying to get what the line in the book says you just get for the level.
The spirit should be corporeal, a physical avatar. A level 2 might work I guess. The magus should be encouraged (or tested) to use whatever means possible to win. Gorum is a god of war, not honor.
Ok, that's a thought. I'll brainstorm on it.
Any other suggestions to keep things going.
Avoid two-handed fighting if you want your pc to survive more than 1 hit. I would recommend a tanky sword and board opponent for the duel, with low damage and good defenses to make the duel last. If you build a more offensive opponent, try a two-handed guy with improved sunder, so if he hit, he will first destroy your PCs armor, not his torso. This can be very cinematic.
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Have the black blade calling out to two worthy wielders (the PC and his opponent), and have them battle it out for possession. Thus, the sword is the ultimate winner, with the victor being the more powerful and worthy wielder. Hopefully it'll be the PC not the NPC that wins. Create an opponent Magus that becomes the PC's rival throughout the campaign. That's always fun, especially if the NPC loses, and he/she uses her vengeance to fuel encounters that draw the entire party into dangerous situations. Also, if the NPC loses, have him take a different archetype or none at all, thus further fueling his anger towards the NPC.
Perhaps the NPC should be tiefling magus or something like that.
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I like Elghinn's idea. For a further twist, the rival doesn't need to be become a full-on enemy; it could be someone more ambiguous, that's sometimes on the PCs' side, sometimes working against them. A mercenary maybe, who's smart enough to sue for terms if the PCs are about to defeat them, but who's also willing to accept their surrender if it comes to that.
I recently read the Gorum article in Inner Sea Gods, there's quite a lot of wiggling room in sparing warriors. The idea behind that is that a warrior who survives can fight more later on, and Gorum also likes that. Surrender and even tactical retreat are acceptable, but desertion and cowardice aren't.