Help me with an encounter please!

[rorek55]

Hey all, I am going to be running a boss battle soon and the boss needs to be a evoker, I was thinking arcanist here, but then I looked at the sorcerer and wizards and now I cannot decide so I turn to you lovely folks.

Must haves- level 9
- Blast spells, I have a houserule where "boss" enemies get two turns per round. (once at start, once after all the PC's have gone)
- Limited buffs, this caster is all about fire and lightening destruction. (or freezing)
- Be able to survive at least 2-3 rounds of combat
- Be able to blast my players for enough damage to scare them crapless, the intent is that this enemy would get away and be a constant nuisance to the PCs
- All boss enemies (of intelligence) have PC WBL in my games, so if defeated the PC's get a pretty decent haul,

[Secret Wizard]

All you'll achieve with those rules is killing a player, but not challenging them.

You are better off giving this guy some minions than giving him extra actions.

[rorek55]

I've been running this houserule for 2 years now, while bosses have downed, and on occasion killed PC characters, I feel they should pose quite the threat and not being "steamrolled" It also allows for more "epic" BBEG's that don't rely solely on minions. The PC's are high enough to have access to resurrection, and are always given plenty of clues as to what the next BBEG's LBBEG's (little big bad evil guys) will have. Either Via rumors/scenes/ect.

what I am asking for is some of the better blaster builds out there, as my caster knowledge is limited.

[ConfusedPeon]

To build a blaster:

-Level 1 dip in Cross-Blooded Sorcerer (Draconic/Orc Bloodline). This gives you +2 damage for each damage die for one element.

-Admixture Wizard for the rest of the levels

-Spell Focus, Spell Specialization, and Mage Tattoo to boost caster level. Intensify Spell if effective caster level is over ten, or give him a couple of rods.

-If you're using traits, Magical Lineage on one blast spell. (I'd go with Fireball)

I avoid single BBEG encounters personally. It usually ends up creating imbalanced encounters where only players who are running characters who are optimized for the situation get to do anything, while the rest of the players end up feeling useless or dying.

[Wheldrake]

To give your "boss" npc two actions per round, you could:
- give him a second head, similar to a tumor familiar, like in Total Recall.
- give him a guardian spirit that has its own actions.
- give him some familiar that can use wands & such.

As it stands, it sound like a mythic-level power. Plus, he automatically wins initiative, and know he will "go twice".

But hey, if it works for you, and for your players, go with it.

Rather than make him 100% blaster, add in some spells to slow down and split up the party, and to keep him out of melee. This will serve the dual purpose of making the encounter more epic and less immediately deadly.

[rorek55]

honestly my players are a great bunch. They are optimizers,(no doubt) but they always make a concept and work within that concept even if other options are there and would be better. Due to this, I normally don't have to pull to many punches.

that aside- I did forget to mention my players have mythic tier 1 atm, I also give my players HD-1 for hp, so the larger hp pools helps. Several of them are FF fans and work with a balanced party.

He doesn't auto win initiative entirely, if any PC rolls a 20 on initiative they get to go first.

that said, no wizard should ever be 100% blaster, this LBBEG included, the PC's have been locked in his tower for about neigh on two days, so he has had time to prepare I haven't entirely finished the encounter yet (as the not having the character fully fleshed out shows, concept is there, but mechanics have been a work in progress for about 2 weeks)

I don't want to mess with splitting the party up and stuff too much, as the next encounter for them I want to be an illusion based wizard, which IMO, is much more deadly and evil to do than the blaster.

thanks for the input, I probably won't go for the sorcerer 1 shenanigans, but that does appear effect.

[wraithstrike]

All it takes is one mounted charge build, and/or a power attacking paladin.

If your players are the type to do research they will know he is an evoker and have spells in place to resist his AoE's.

[ConfusedPeon]

I agree with Wheldrake. It might be a good idea to mix in some battlefield control spells. If you make this guy a pure blaster, he would most likely end up killing any unprepared low HP characters in your party on the first round if you're also giving him two standard actions/round.

[Inlaa]

Honestly, my advice is to give this guy a couple beefsticks and have everyone use the Ally Shield feat. Also give the mooks Bodyguard. This is essentially to prevent what Wraithstrike was talking about from happening. These beefsticks don't need to hit hard, they just need to cover their boss while he's blowing up faces.

[rorek55]

wraithstrike wrote:

All it takes is one mounted charge build, and/or a power attacking paladin.

If your players are the type to do research they will know he is an evoker and have spells in place to resist his AoE's.

yeah, its why I am not too worried about it bare minimum they will probably all have -10 damage to most element types, I will probably have 2-3 "shields" for him but those only do so much, its a 6 man part at level 6(oddly enough) and thankfully to my knowledge none of them use this forum XD

Cleric- support/healer (one of the FF lovers, went for a "white mage at first, now summons + heals)
Arcanist- another of the 4 FF fanatics- basically a blaster himself, his characters name is xixi..
Fighter- third of the FF fanatics plain Sword and Board, simple yet effective
Paladin- another FF addict, although to a lesser extent, 2handed self healbot
Rogue- (using glory rogue with a couple 3pp Talents, also received via houserule 10HD and Full BaB) TWFer
and lastly
Aragorn (basically)- switch hitter ranger, though more reliant on archery than melee at this point.

[Wheldrake]

If this blaster wizard has had two days to prepare, then he really, really, really ought to have multiple minions to keep the players off his back.

He should also have plenty of time to pre-buff himself and said minions.
He can also count on using one action per round just to remove himself from contact with vengeful PCs. The Conjuration specialist wizard power of teleportation comes to mind.

In most cases of a straight-up fight between PCs and a lone caster, it isn't going to matter how many standard actions per round the caster has, because he won't be able to cast more than one spell anyway. The concentration checks after taking damage are too vicious.

[rorek55]

nah, I will be making him an evoker for the theme. (its a bit long to explain exactly what is going on) the

yes- buff will be up, however the NPC in question is quite overconfident, proud, boisterous, and condescending though not an idiot. The PC's have already slain two of his friends at an earlier stage in the campaign.

TBH I make my campaigns very FF like, (it makes them happy *shrug*) so some things will be considered silly by some.

buffs most likely to be up-
Wind wall, shield, mage armor, stoneskin, mirror image, and energy resist to a couple of the PC's arcanists known spells. (he has acquired new blasts, which the NPC wouldn't know about just yet). He will most likely spend his first actions making a speech (as any villain worth their salt does, it just shows utter contempt for the would be hero's)

[Inlaa]

Hmm...

Well, one more thing comes to mind: your blaster may try hindering the party's movement by fighting in proper terrain. Three of your players are melee; one is a switch hitter. So, why not have him fight on top of a balcony overlooking the room the party enters, perhaps with a few traps (simple pit traps, even) located at the foot of the stairs leading up to his place?

I imagine the scene starting like so:

Party approaches door. Door is locked, possibly trapped. They open it by whatever means. They're immediately greeted by a fireball from our friendly neighborhood supervillain who's situated at the top of that balcony we mentioned. He has a couple personal guards flanking him on either side (equipped with ranged weapons, using Bodyguard + Ally Shield feats to protect him) and a few lower grade mooks (common orcs?) littering the floor before the stairs leading up to his vantage point.

This presents your party with three challenges:

1) Get up the stairs.
2) Subdue his personal guards so they won't bodyblock for him anymore.
3) Kill the wizard himself.

1 allows for open-ended thinking. A simple Jump or Fly spell could do the trick, as could Spider Climb or some form of teleportation. 2 would be best done with some crowd control, since simply blasting through them won't be effective (they're going to dedicate themselves to soaking damage for the wizard). 3 requires 1 and 2 be completed to be done properly.

If you want to force the players to engage in melee, don't be afraid to use some sort of Concealment-granting spell while equipping the wizard with goggles that allow him to see through the spell he's using or something. Even a simple Obscuring Mist will make it harder for arrows and ray attacks to connect thanks to miss chances, not to mention Darkness and Fog Cloud and any variation of the two. Perhaps he's a Tiefling wizard with an innate ability to see through Darkness, even...

If you'd rather not have minions on the floor before the balcony, consider having a pressure plate that, once pressed, lays out a field of Grease or Entangle or Web that hinders movement along the ground.

Finally, as for what blast spells to actually use, it all depends on how you have this fellow positioned. Narrow hallways are perfect for cone spells. Fireball would be fine given if you want him on a balcony overlooking the party. Chain Lightning never hurts if you suspect your players will spread out...

Perhaps this lovely fellow, our supervillain, has a certain spell he likes using more than others. Again, let's use Fireball as an example. If you take the dip into Orc/Dragon bloodlines for a damage boost, you can also take the Magical Adept trait and the Varisian Tattoo feat (located in the Inner Sea World Guide) to boost the caster level of Fireball and Evocation spells respectively. This increases your damage further thanks to the bloodline choices, essentially adding 2d6+4 damage to the spell just from that. Ouch.

There's lots of things you can do to make a boss fight interesting.

[rorek55]

I had envisioned him on a raised pedestal (very large, roughly 20x20 feet, but rounded)very high, about 60ft With a spiral stair leading up as they are in a tower, I had considered traps on the floor, but it doesn't fit this guy, I will be added the mage tattoo and spell specialization.

but your obscuring mist Idea has given me an idea as well involving a later encounter and acid fog...

This is how I envisioned him and it should give you an insight to his personality

I do intend for him to get away but who knows. Thank you very much for your input all!

[Dafydd]

If you want him to make it out alive, you could give him a mythic tier or 2, and make sure you have FLY and his escape route should have some protection from arrows/ranged blasts.

[Akerlof]

Have him start from invisible to get a surprise round in. Possibly Greater Invisibility.

Put difficult terrain between him and the PCs, leaving open lines of sight so he can cast his spells but force the PCs to spend a few rounds working their way to him.

Stoneskin to help keep him alive for a bit. Blur, Mirror Image, shield, Resist energy and Gust of Wind should be pre buffs, especially if he knows that the PCs killed his buddies/minions and has an idea how. I'm a fan of a Spell Storing Haramaki for my Wizards, put something fun like Ghoul Touch, Hold Person or Suggestion in it. Greater Invisibility plus Persistent Image of him pretending to cast spells from somewhere else is a pretty fun combo. Or simply Magic Jar some schmuck, keep your body in another room, fight until the PCs kill the poor schmuck, then walk away with your hands in your pockets whistling like you don't know what's going on.

Open up with Stinking Cloud on the surprise round, more to keep the ranged people from unloading on him right away, nauseating people is icing on the cake. Then have him start dropping Fireballs into the cloud.

Use the evoker's ability to create walls to separate PCs and keep them from getting to him easily. Have Dimension Door prepped so he can run away if you want him to be a recurring villain.

Spells to look into:
-Attack spells:
--Intensified, Widened Burning Hands for that 10d4+20 damage 30 foot cone of surprise. (Assuming you do the Crossblooded Draconic/Orc sorcerer thing for a level.) Cast from a level 2 slot if you have a rod for, say, the Intensified part.
--Fireball, widened fireball, dazing fireball is a sixth level evocation spell, but you can get it down to fifth if you take extra traits and use Magical Lineage on Fireball.
--Detonate as a reward for them getting close to you, right before you leave.

-Control spells:
--Stinking Cloud: Mostly for the cover, but someone's bound to fail their save, probably.
--Wall of anything but fire: 5' step, cast a wall, then you have all the time in the world to escape.
--Create Pit/Spiked Pit/Acid Pit/Hungry Pit, because it's the pits to be stuck on your own without anything to do but take damage.
--Ice Storm to further slow them down
--Black Tentacles is a perennial favorite, especially overlapping with Stinking Cloud or on the far side of a Wall of Force.

-Defensive Spells:
--Stoneskin for DR
--Gust of Wind for archers
--Mirror Image, Blur, Shield and Resist Energy should be standard buffs for any caster high enough level to cast them. Remember that Shield absorbs Magic Missiles, so it negates the "Ready to magic missile him when he tries to cast a spell" tactic.
--Invisibility to get that all important first action off
--Resilient Sphere so he can taunt them for a couple rounds before he makes his escape.
--Lesser Globe of Invulnerability is just fun.

-Terrain:
--This is absolutely crucial. Put him in terrain where it will take the PCs at least a couple rounds to get to him.
--Difficult terrain with some canyons that the PCs may or may not be able to jump over, and rickety wooden bridges that they can spend time crossing works very well.
--Fireball the bridges <evil laugh>

Tactics would be to separate out the PCs: Drop the healer into a pit or put him behind a wall, force the fighter and paladin to spend time working their way to him without being able to accomplish much, and pour damage on the arcanist and archer. When the melee gets close, drop a wall in front of them, maybe behind them too and continue blasting. When they finally get a clear shot at him, Dimension door away. Those tactics will make your PCs really hate him, so they'll really get into the fight when they face him again. (Preferably when he's using a Magic Jar'd innocent under the effects of Disguise Self to look like the BBEG.)

A wizard like this will make your players miserable and frustrated. Especially since he'll almost certainly be able to escape. Frustration and disappointment is good in moderation, it builds dramatic tension and gets them much, much more excited when they actually face him down and a real sense of accomplishment when they finally get a chance to beat him. But, don't do it too often because then it just gets frustrating and boring: It's heroic to finally beat the guy who escaped from you two or three times, it's worse than a desk job when everyone you run into controls the encounter so that the only thing you actually get to do is take damage and make saves, then they run away.

If they get some good rolls early on they can take him out without much problem, in which case they don't know what they missed and you can use it later. =D