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What changes have people made to NPCs? Either because the builds are very weak or perhaps didn’t seem to make sense?
I have seen Nualia as a Warpriest (but I don’t intend to use advanced class guide as it stands)
I would like to think someone has done something with the skinsaw cultists who are terrible . In another book they were made sanctified slayer inquistors but there were more levels the play with there (and ACG again)
What about Erylium - why is she a witch ? I suppose she doesn’t have to be a divine class but she is written in as Nualia’s guide in all things Lamashtu. Her tactics as written don’t call upon any uniquely witch powers...
I imagine I will continue my tradition of changing characters who have a mix of NPC and PC levels as I really don’t like that combo (I think it nearly always makes NPCs underpowered for their CR)
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Someone reworked Mammy Graul into a gravewalker witch with the Flight, Cauldron and Cook People Hexes, and I shamelessly stole that build idea.
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Nualia I rebuilt as a warpriest. Ironbriar as an infiltrator/sanctified slayer inquisitor with the greed inquisition. Mammy graul as a gravewalker, the Kreeg sorceress as a stone shaman.
Currently finalizing the Sinspawn axemen in book 5 as bloodragers (probably be encountered in a session or 2).
@Java Man: Can you post that Sinspawn Axemen build in the Community-Created Stuff thread when you're done? :)
My group's in Book 4 right now.
What I am using is some scribbled notes on the changes from the written stat block, but since you ask I will do it more formally and share it.
I'm going to change Gyukak from lower Xin-Shalast from ogre mage to earth yai, it will fit him better as he's pretending to be a stone giant. It makes him sighnificantly stronger, and closer to the PCs' level, if they ever decide to fight him.
Oh, I also switched all the lamia clerics to following Lissala and redid the Black Monk and harpies as unchained monks.
I don't know this Lissala, but it's already too ingrained as Lamashtu with this group.
The Black Monk and Harpies as Unchained Monks, that I did do (much to the Sorcerer-Dragon Disciple's dismay when she tried to solo Fireball a camp to cause a distraction by the front gate...).
Lissala is an old Thassalonian deity that wasn't really developed when this was written. Since my players are digging deep into the lore and backstory of everything they see I wanted to start throwing more hints of the musterious past.
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Yeah, I've reworked almost all significant NPCs
1) Ameiko is a Bard 5 (VMC rogue). As Lanathar mentioned, I find NPC/PC class mixes frustrating.
2) All NPC rogues are unchained rogues
3) Nualia as a warpriest. Tsuto as a Zen Archer.
3) Aldern is a dread ghast, and those he slew became dread ghouls who carried out most of the infection, which was much faster-spreading in my game.
4) The skinsaw cultists I diversified a little - human skinsaw culists were Vigilante (Cabalist) 3, while elf cultists were Cleric 4/Rogue (Master of Disguise) 1.
5) Ironbriar was an Inquisitor (Reaper of Secrets) 6 / Rogue (Spy 3). He made excellent use of teamwork feats by being able to count enemies as allies (enabling his flanking as well as Betrayal teamwork feats).
6) Shalelu was just minor changes - Fighter (Archer) 2 / Ranger (Battle Scout) 5 for books 3 and beyond.
7) Shayliss Vinder was a changeling vigilante (warlock) 2 (3 after Katrine's death and finding the Runewell, then 4 after Aldern's death).
8) The necromancer in Habe's Sanitorium was reworked as a Gravewalker Witch, a changeling named Sage (part of a subplot involving a coven operating along the Lost Coast - Peg o' Ness's coven, if anyone's familiar).
9) I replaced a lot of pre-book 5 wizards with witches or magi for diversity's sake, and because I had a magus (hexcrafter) and witch in my team. Thus, the party was more aware of their kits and better at countering them.
10) I haven't actually done these yet, but the Warriors of Wrath are being reworked as Magi with only their commander as an EK - I want her to feel like there's a weight behind her attacks that her minions simply can't approach.
11) Jabyl (formerly Sabyl) Sorn is a Monk (Perfect Scholar) 4. Helps her fill her campaign role as an NPC a bit better, given that she doesn't appear to have a background in combat.
12) I am reworking most enemies in Book 3 to have more diversity - ranged weapons on fighters, as well as anti-human rangers and 1 or 2 oni ogre mages thrown into Fort Rannick.
13) Xanesha's Faceless Stalkers got a little bit of diversity as well. The planted agents at the Foxglove Manor were Faceless Stalker Slayer 2, while those lone agents causing trouble in Sandpoint were Faceless Stalker Rogues (Charlatan) 3. Those by her side were Rogues 1 (Acrobat).
14) My party plans to try and rehabilitate Nualia. In the event that they are only partially successful and she maintains a lot of her wrath (but turns it on Xanesha, Lamashtu, etc), she is going to become a Bloodrager (Crossblooded Rager) of the Celestial/Abyssal lines. A symbolic as well as physical, struggle between good and even with her body on the line.
15) I recommend at some point having Arika Avertin try and become an adventurer. If the heroes are popular, try making her a multiclass of two popular PCs classes (in my case, the Hunter and Witch were popular, so I made her a Sylvan Trickster rogue . . . go figure).
Intriguingly Shayliss becomes a vigilante in canon (the sandpoint book)
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I always felt Nualia made more sense as an oracle. Her connection to Lamashtu, being plagued by visions, her own genetic divinity, developing new physical manifestations from their God... All of these are oracle things. Plus, her outfit has a lot of midriff to qualify as including a breastplate, so thought giving her an armor revelation made sense. So I have a version of her as a demonic cursed oracle of the outer rifts.
I'm running the game in the playtest rules now, so I'll be converting every NPC into something or another.
I play with a group of 6 pc’s 4 of the five being optimized so I upgraded them a little bit more than normal.
I made the goblin leader a cavalier
Tsuto a zen archer
naulia I used a 3.5 class tome of battle class now called the harbinger
aldren a knife master rogue.
I do love me some Harbinger.
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Intriguingly Shayliss becomes a vigilante in canon (the sandpoint book)
I was delighted to find that out! I read the book a few days ago, and both the Glassworks encounter and Shayliss's new origin story are very close to events from my current campaign - I had different haunts, but a haunted glassworks + Lonjiku was a solo quest for one of my character, and Shayliss was drawn towards Lamashtu's shrine, not Calistria's. I do plan on converting Shayliss into Shroud in the event that the Runewell is destroyedand she loses her connection to Alaznist in this game.
I always felt Nualia made more sense as an oracle. Her connection to Lamashtu, being plagued by visions, her own genetic divinity, developing new physical manifestations from their God... All of these are oracle things.
That's a good point! That makes a very different Nualia (mechanically), but an intriguing one. As for the breastplate business . . . well, I try not to take Paizo's recommendations on women's armor as serious suggestions. Else Shalelu would be stuck with a permenant boob window so Bruthazmus knows exactly where to aim.