I've got the idea in mind that the party is about to find out who is behind the underground black markets in their home city, and they're not going to like what they find.
I've tinkered with a few different builds (mostly 11-13th level bladebound magi because those are my favorites) but just can't seem to come up with what I want for truly dangerous adversaries. Any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.
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A manipulative, cunning drow might use the puppetmaster archetype and throw high-DC mind-affecting spells (doubling up on them with charmstrike) while a patsy or two maintains illusions for him, and only attack in melee when buffed to the eyeballs.
Or a more traditional magus might use dimension door, dimensional assault etc. to make hit and run attacks. Flash forward, bladed dash or greater invisibility might also be useful spells here.
Polymorphing into a gargoyle or something is another thing a magus can do. Or, they could use Conceal Spell or Cunning Caster to try and debuff the PCs from stealth before attacking. Toxic spell is also an option with this last if you will read 'poison use class feature' as working with a racial ability instead
Excellent ideas. Thank you. I've mentioned this before, but due to some problems I've developed over the years I sometimes have trouble processing information, and what I was reading just wasn't making any sense and was therefore getting more and more difficult for me to come up with anything. I truly appreciate the advice.
Just looked up Toxic Spell. Makes me wish I could afford to spend money on the hard cover versions of all the "Toolbox" books. They seem awfully handy.. lol
I'm aiming for a couple of PC's to actually come as close to death as possible, with maybe a death or two for grins. They have the means to be resurrected (a temple of Sekhmet owes them a favor for a mission they did for them). I've had trouble making decent threats for these characters for awhile now (average level 14 with 5 mythic tiers). Any thing suggested here I can add the mythic stuff to before this weekend gets here, if I want to.
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High levels with mythic tiers is entirely different game. That said, standard encounter building rules are still a good place to start.
For a party of that level you should be looking at a CR 17-18 encounter in total. I'd aim for a level 17 magus with one big minion and a number of cannon fodder. He should have at least as many mythic tiers as the party.
Do you already know how this encounter is going to go down? Is this the typical 'PCs wander into the BBEG's throne room'?
I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking more along the lines of they run into each other and each party catches the other off guard. The Drow, wishing to protect their territory, will immediately attack (I'll have to boost their initiatives. That is what kills so many of my encounters; the PCs always get to act before the baddies and things go south really quickly for them). I've also considered having a Drow scout return to the Drow party and warn them, so they'll be covered by invisibility magic to get the jump on the PCs. They won't find the throne room for at least one more adventure, should they choose to go that route.
I've got to hit the hay. My evening meds are knocking at my cerebellum. But thanks for all the advice, and if anyone thinks of anything else feel free to suggest it and I'll see it in the morning.
A good foundation. Thanks and g'night!
Maybe some minion drow priestesses using Heightened sanctuary and spamming Reach cure critical wounds on the magus? Also spamming darkness and faerie fire. Make all the PCs blind and lit up like literally glow-in-the-dark targets.
And by priestesses, I mean just something that can use sanctuary so the PCs have trouble targeting them. Maybe witches, inquisitors, oracles, clerics, antipaladins, warpriests, whatever. Witches spamming misfortune and evil eye hexes, all the while cackling, might drive your PCs crazy! Maybe combine sanctuary with invisibility if the PCs can dispel darkness too easily, though I expect they have see invisibility and even true seeing by now.
I would try to make at least a couple minions that don't act as cannon fodder, but support the survivability of the magus. Healing, condition removal, counter-spelling, burning disarms, even regular buffing.
Things to include for maximum rocket tag:
Magus (level 17 with 5 mythic tiers)
Legendary weapon with Foebiter
Mythic Power AttackStart there and you should be fine.
Things to include for Maximum Rocket Tag, Magic Edition:
Variant Multiclass Wizard.
Level 3 Benefit: Familiar. Take Improved Familiar to get something that can use a Wand. Give it a Wand of Ill Omen.
Level 7 Benefit: Take the Void Arcane School power Reveal Weakness. Use it as the extra standard action from Amazing Initiative, then use the Coupled Arcana path ability to use Wild Arcana to cast some nasty save-or-die or metamagic'ed up blast on that target (who may have to roll the save twice and take the worse roll, thanks to the aforementioned Ill Omen). Then use the rest of your turn as normal. Whether you decide to cast more spells at the target or attack it instead (or do both, because you're a Magus), the target is taking severe penalties to both saving throws and AC. Arcane Metamastery can be taken up to four times at Tier 5 (with the Extra Path Ability feat), and used as your Swift Action in that turn (possibly after using a Swift Action to activate a Magus Arcana, again through Coupled Arcana). Over multiple successive combat turns you can be really piling on the Metamagic for free. Take Eldritch Breach as one of the low-tier Mythic path abilities if you're worried about getting through SR.
Level 11 Benefit: Lamesauce. Might as well take Touch of Fatigue.
Level 15 Benefit: Arcane Discovery (True Name). Taken at level 15, this is usable on outsiders up to 18 HD e.g. a Formorian Titan.
And you don't even need to choose between these two flavors of rocket tag because level 17 with 5 Mythic tiers has enough room for both.
Finally, if you're not married to the Magus class, an Arcanist can do the above castery shenanigans even better, having better spells to take advantage of Reveal Weakness and possibly taking School Savant to avoid having to VMC to get access to Reveal Weakness. If you have a decent Charisma to give it enough daily uses, you could use the School Understanding exploit to gain Reveal Weakness instead (since it scales purely on Caster Level, and not INT or Wizard class level), opening up the combo to the Exploiter Wizard with its faster spell progression or Brown Fur Transmuter with its improved Transmutation buffs. He's even stronger than a Magus on the physical side by combining the Shapeshifting Mastery path ability with Mythic Power Attack, and stacking up various bonuses to Caster Level. The Lepidstadt Shifter Exploit lets him continue casting while shapeshifted as per Natural Spell.
Oh wow. The Arcanist hadn't even occurred to me. If nothing else, he'll be the right hand man of the Drow leader. Thanks, everyone!
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I'd build him as a frostbite/intimidate hexblade magus. Nothing puts the fear of a fate worse than death into a pc like hitting them with all the penalties
Maximum dbaggery, witch with the slumber hex as a cohort.
I currently have an arcanist as a cohort, but the witch...hmmm.
I'd just like to add that this thread really emphasized how great the magus is as an npc villain.
If for no other reason than he can have an amazing overpowered weapon that the pc's dont get even if they win.
I'd just like to add that this thread really emphasized how great the magus is as an npc villain.
If for no other reason than he can have an amazing overpowered weapon that the pc's dont get even if they win.
That's such a brilliant way to look at it. I love it.
Cohorts can take Leadership, right?????????
Cohorts can take Leadership, right?????????
how much of a jerk move would it be to build two characters who basically set up a third cohort of a cohort to deliver a save or suck with a dc that would be normally easy but you're sickened shaken entangled prone and exhausted.
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how much of a jerk move would it be to build two characters who basically set up a third cohort of a cohort to deliver a save or suck with a dc that would be normally easy but you're sickened shaken entangled prone and exhausted.Cohorts can take Leadership, right?????????
If you can set that up, then you deserve to reap those rewards.
This is only a party of 4 (5 if one guy can make it). If I had a larger party with more muscle power it'd be sooooo worth it.