Greetings, fellow Pathfinders!
I'm putting together some encounters to challenge my players, one of which runs a rather tough Spheres of Might Conscript using shove, counters and things like that. I'm not looking to neutralize my players, but I would like to give them a challenge in an upcoming encounter.
I've never played SoM/SoP, but I've run several games for players using them. I'd like to build a Spheres of Might based NPC or two to give them a good fight and I need some suggestions on where to start. I use everything to design NPCs and my players have access to everything as well, so there are no real limitations.
The party is currently level four, but ideas posted here may be used later in the campaign as well.
Thanks in advance.
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Have I got a couple for you!
For her usual routine, she makes an offhand and a main-hand attack as a standard action via the Dual Wielding sphere, makes an additional main-hand attack against touch AC with Perfect Set-Up, then makes an additional off-hand attack against flatfooted AC with Three-Sword Style. For each pair of main-hand and off-hand attacks that connects, she makes a Reposition maneuver via Repositioning Routine, possibly activating Hammer by slamming her opponent into a wall. This provokes, but she can spend one of her seven AoOs on Active Defense via the Shield sphere to raise her AC to 30 whenever she's attacked, then use Forced Rebound to Bull Rush her attacker, possibly dealing Hammer damage again.
Lastly, whenever she succeeds at any of the above maneuvers, she may immediately attempt a Grapple or Trip maneuver against her opponent as an AoO thanks to the Conscript's Brute specialization.
Luminary is a very tough cookie, and will tend to lock down and melt anyone with mediocre AC and CMD, especially in a battlefield with lots of walls.
Martials don't have it much easier, since she can pseudo-parry the first 10 ranged attacks with her AoOs- not that her AC is any easier to hit. She's got just a dollop of spellcasting to give herself energy resistance, and uses Steel Braggart routinely to maintain DR 13/- on top of her ablative temporary HP from Berserking and her delayed damage pool.
For offense, everyone who comes within 70 feet of her must make a DC 26 Will save or become Shaken. She uses Burn the Chaff in conjunction with Cone of Death to make a ranged attack against everyone in a 1120-foot cone which auto-crits against anyone under a Fear effect and level 9 or lower; those characters must then make a DC32+ Fortitude save or instantly die.
She loses a considerable portion of her bite when not "punching down" against large armies of sub-level-10 characters, but is still a plenty formidable opponent for high-level parties, especially once she breaks out the Coiled Blade tension techniques!
Hiram rigs the battlefield using his Shovel, which contains Trap sphere talents. He uses Augur of Combat to use his Intelligence to hit as long as he goes last, which is fine by him- he camps out hundreds of feet away, his animal companion and his traps between him and opponents, and picks away at them with Sniper abilities. If someone does manage to slip past his dog, he's got an old combat tool with Boxing sphere talents that he can ready against their charge with Brace and 2d6 damage to make them regret it.
Those are great! Thanks for the suggestions!
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You're very welcome! I love building Spheres characters and do so pretty regularly, so if you continue to need them for your campaign, I'll keep tossing them up as they come off the presses.
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Here's one more for the road; again, Automatic Bonus Progression and half-wealth.
She takes the Strength and Lightning runes, using the former primarily to get a free-action Grapple off of an attack once per minute, and the latter primarily to zip around the battlefield without provoking. That free Grapple synergizes nicely with her ability to Clinch off of a Counter Punch. In fact, she can attack twice even while Counter Punching thanks to the Street Fighter's Flurry Strike, and each attack can separately cause a Grapple check if they hit. Hair Trigger lets her Counter Punch even at range while Deflecting Arrows, but she prefers not to, since that robs her of the chance to Grapple.
When she does Grapple someone, she deals her hefty unarmed strike damage again via Clinch Strike (and usually releases them immediately as a free action, so she can do it again).
The cherry on top is Practiced Interruption. By spending her martial focus, she can ready an attack against a spellcaster's next spell as a move action, likely disrupting their concentration. Since she can do this in the same turn as Counter Punch, it's easy for her to act as a disruptive presence to multiple PCs at once. This is really what the Sharding quality is for- it allows her to pull off this trick at range. Five-foot steps won't save them!
Lastly, her only Ki Power is Empty Body, which allows her to become ethereal for one minute. She can use this to seemingly materialize in the middle of the party, getting a guaranteed surprise round in which to mangle someone with her two Greatsword-like fists.
Have you seen the New Inventor's 2 book?
Was looking at the new drawbacks you can take and realized; Alternate Crafting - Fleshcrafting plus Mana Engineering = Necroengineer
My Drones are made from dead rats and pigeons powered by strange necromantic alchemy.
I love this system
You're very welcome! I love building Spheres characters and do so pretty regularly, so if you continue to need them for your campaign, I'll keep tossing them up as they come off the presses.
Can you explain the the order of steps you take when building your characters? I've got a Lupin Armiger I can't get on paper.
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You're very welcome! I love building Spheres characters and do so pretty regularly, so if you continue to need them for your campaign, I'll keep tossing them up as they come off the presses.Can you explain the the order of steps you take when building your characters? I've got a Lupin Armiger I can't get on paper.
For me I tend to think visually about things so I try to imagine a scene with the character.
There is a Half-Orc I am working on at the moment and his scene is facing down a gang of thugs. He just stares them down and says "Don't...do it. I sware to what ever gods you worship, if you cross that line I will put you through that Wall. So Don't...do it"
Guardian (Patrol) is a must there, Brute too I think. Maybe Gladiator but with the Humble drawback. Berserk...no, he's an Orc sure but he's calm...or maybe yes cause he holds it back. Kind of Pop the Cork and BAM - Ya done goofed and the Hulk showed up. A Patrol-Berserker...like a big solid guard dog pacing back and forth waiting for you to come in reach. I'm not coming to you cause I got a job to do, but you come here and all bets are off.
For your Lupin
What are his three favorite weapons? What did he name them how dose he fight with them? Do they have a Purpose? Is it a spear for deer hunting, bow for rabbits and twin knives for Orcs? Or is there a story to them like a Greatsword that belongs to his ancestors who's memory you must now honor.
If you were watching tv and see your Lupin, in the forest surrounded by Goblins. How dose that play out in your head? What's his first move?