Howdy All,
I could use some advice here. Going to be a 7th level Bard/7th level Necromancer against a party of five 10th level characters. The BBEG Bard can have an advantageous setup to make sure the CR is +3 or +4 (the party tend to dominate, so higher CR's are feasible).
What would you advise for setup or scenario to compliment the Bardic abilities?
What sort of actions should I be making with the BBEG Bard (Inspire Courage?)?
Thanks in advance!
-Jhaosmire
What Necromancer, the Samurai Sheepdog class?
You can use the Flame Dancer Bard archetype and an Eversmoking Bottle to provide your minions with cover.
You can use Discordant Voice to give all your minions extra sonic damage.
Casting Haste for your minions is probably pretty obvious.
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Making it not immediately obvious where the bard is seems like a start. Perhaps the crypt (great hall, whatever) has glorious echoes and acoustics so that their voice can appear to come from several spots. Knowledge (engineering) or perform might be as good as or better than perception for pinning down their actual location in the musician's gallery on the mezzanine floor.
Inspire Courage is a morale effect which won't work on undead, so that's a bit sad for a necromancer. Unless you give him some variant abilities, of course. Failing that, you need live goons.
Inspire Courage is a morale effect which won't work on undead, so that's a bit sad for a necromancer. Unless you give him some variant abilities, of course. Failing that, you need live goons.
Real problem, but wrong reason. The attack/damage part of Inspire Courage is a competence bonus, so it would work... if the whole thing wasn't a mind-affecting effect.
Nitpicking aside, there are alternatives to Inspire Courage in the archetypes, so you could look that way.Or just be a Dirge Bard, it's fitting and it solves that particular issue.
A half and half caster is not going to be hugely threatening on his own, and he's a bard in top of that, so I'd make sure he always has goons with him.
The CR15 Greater Banshee even has 10th level Bard spellcasting that stacks with any additional Bard levels you may choose to add.
8 levels of Dirge Bard makes the Greater Banshee CR17, casting as an 18th level Bard. That could be fun.
Doesn't help with the Necromancer business, though.
VoodistMonk and AVR: I was thinking the same thoughts, keeping him out of the limelight, which I'm thinking I could accomplish with an undead servant with an illusion cast on him. Possibly there will be a few decoys of the like.
Mudfoot and Nyerkh: Good to know about Inspire Courage. I realize a 7/7 Spellcaster won't be great, but for storyline reasons, he became the big bad. A former character gone bad, so his whole story limits his class options a bit.
Meirril: You think he'll be as low as a CR 9? I get that, just don't have that much experience running big battles like this. He'll definitely have a horde of some sort. I'll definitely give him great gear to pump up his CR. Can't be a vampire, again due to storyline conflict. Adding in Shadows or incorporeal undead would be fitting, as he burned out a church to make his HQ.
I don't have an archetype in mind for the Bard portion of him yet, I'll look into what was suggested here. What sort of actions do you think I should be taking? He'll be blasting from the sidelines somewhat, while trying to keep his horde holding back the party.
Are we talking about the 3rd party Necromancer class by Samurai Sheepdog?
If so, maybe gestalt the 7 levels of Bard with 7 levels of Necromancer... and give 7-10 levels of the Mystic Theurge Prestige Class.
This might help you make a slightly more versatile level 14-17/CR15-18 boss.
A court bard is an effective debuffer, if his allies are all undead who can't benefit from mind-affecting buffs.
Edit: If 'necromancer' means a wizard specialising in the necromancy school rather than the 3rd party stuff VM's asking about, then haste, fear, boneshatter and unliving rage seem like useful spells. Avoid spells with no effect on a failed save because the save DCs won't be all that. I do agree that on his own this guy will be something like CR 9.
Mind you, I think it can work. All I meant is that both Bard and Necromancer rely on having minions.
That kind of bad guy will thrive when he has a throng of underlings to fight for him, and once they're gone he's in trouble.
I'd play into that.
With the archetypes available, there are enough workarounds to Inspire Courage's issues that it's not a big issue.
You can get a debuff version, make it affect undead just fine (Dirge Bard does that) or pick something that isn't Inspire Courage and will work on your undeads. Or look for interesting Masterpieces, I guess.
If you focus on buffing, the low spell levels are somewhat less of a problem as you already have access to pretty good stuff.
Beyond that, it kind of depends on what else your bad guy is.
What you shouldn't do, as pointed out, is be the one on the offensive. Your spell DCs are not going to be a threat (short of just absurd stats) and neither will your caster levels be high enough. No saves spells and buffs should be your best bet, I think.
Does it have to be a Bard?
What about 14 levels of Evangelist Cleric focused on Necromancy?
Have you considered changing the archetype into Dirge Bard? It has an ability that allows mind affecting spells to effect undead, doesn't require much of a hand wave to allow this to apply to Inspire Courage too.
Also, have you considered dirge bard 10/Agent of the Grave 4? I have a BBEG planned using that build and it's fantastic.
Have you considered changing the archetype into Dirge Bard? It has an ability that allows mind affecting spells to effect undead, doesn't require much of a hand wave to allow this to apply to Inspire Courage too.
Also, have you considered dirge bard 10/Agent of the Grave 4? I have a BBEG planned using that build and it's fantastic.
How does the Dirge Bard gain access to Animate Dead to qualify for Agent of the Grave?
...about the Necromancer...
He is a Wizard specialized in necromancy, sorry for not making that clear. And yes, he does have to be both Bard and Wizard with Necromancer, it's an integral part of the storyline.Same goes for making him a Cleric or Mystic Theurge or any other class: can't do it.Here's why:
He was a party member, a 7th level wizard necromancer, when he read from The Dark Grimoire. He went mad, and rather than have him constantly roll sanity, and with the Player's permission, I walked him out of the campaign and made him into the bad guy. Now he's got split personalities in his head, along with the evil artifact (which is actually the phylactery of a semi-banished lich, Act III of the campaign) telling him to do wrong, and this is the summary event where they finally confront/engage/deal with him.
...If 'necromancer' means a wizard specialising in the necromancy school ...
Great suggestions for spells, since yes, he is a wizard specializing in necromancy.
...it can work...
I'm reading up on the Dirge Bard now, which is definitely the way I'll go. I'll be keeping him out of combat, buffing and debuffing from the sidelines. Besides it being best suited for the build, I think it sounds fun.
...have you considered dirge bard 10...
Oh my that would be fun, but I think it would result in a TPK, as the CR is getting a bit large at that point. As this is an end-of-the-arc campaign fight, they won't have any HeroArmor, but I do want to give them a fighting chance. I may find a means of adjusting for this though...
Gestalt is only a +1 CR adjustment...
Make him a level 14 Wizard, AND a level 14 Bard... ~CR15? Plus minions, might be a little bit much...
Or make him a level 9 Wizard, AND a level 9 Bard, with 5 levels of Agent of the Grave... ~CR15? Plus minions, might be a little much...
Or make him a level 7 Wizard, AND a level 7 Bard, with 5 levels of Agent of the Grave... ~CR13? Plus minions, I think it's doable, and you can always adjust the number of Undead minions on the fly/in real time to keep it interesting...
Agent of the Grave will only advance one of the spellcasting classes, and you should probably choose to progress in your Wizard spellcasting.
A five person, level 10 party is going to tear through him pretty easily once they get to him, no matter what... so keep the number of Undead constantly adjusting to allow him enough time to cast a bunch of his spells, of which he should have quite a few.
Just cat and mouse with a constant deluge of Undead to maintain a buffer between the party and the BBEG.
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I'm not familiar with all the archetypes and weird classes, but I can maybe help with general encounter elements and ideas:
A burned-out shell of a church, you say?
How about a huge pipe organ in the innermost chamber? That way, your pale minstrel can fill the whole adventure site with music while forcing the party to hack their way through layers of enemies before they can reckon with him.
Maybe zombies or skeletons or whatever in the main chambers. Lots of low-level skeletal champions? Maybe a lesser banshee of some sort. Maybe shadows or wraiths that hide in the organ?
The phylactery of a semi-banished lich, you say?
Maybe the spirit of the lich can cast a few spells of it's own? If only to protect the fallen PC from divination and sudden, lackluster defeat. Or some divination of its own, to help guide the minstrel's occasional shatter or sound burst.
Maybe the lich's influence isn't totally complete. Maybe the character could possibly fight off the evil power just long enough to help the PC's overthrow him. That would be a great climactic finish: he regains enough of his sanity to offer his once-comrades a chance to strike him down and free him from this private Hell. But can they do it? Is the another way?
I'd probably just treat all his spells as if he was a lvl14 caster, to simplify running him and making him more potent.
I'd also probably add a ticking clock to an encounter like this; the music slowly wears on their sanity or whatever; maybe the soft meat behind their eyes and in their sinuses begins to rupture and bleed. A constant bleed effect for 1hp per turn isn't much at all, but it would definitely put a limit on how long they can mess around before stopping his song for good.
Two challenges: getting to him and finally confronting him. If they're both effectively ACL+3 encounters, the party should be pretty much blown out at the end.
You could add in some other optional elements, like gathering up enough sacred texts around the church to temporarily break the lich's s hold on him, or maybe some living captives that are slowly being transformed into the restless dead, or maybe a crazy-scary undead that they don't want to engage in combat (devourer or bodak types) that's slowly closing in on them as they wade through the rotting hordes.
I think that Meirril is on the right track as far as prestige classes go. With the background you have his idea may not work that well because the character was already a 7th level wizard. One way to do it would be to take a prestige class that grants some bard like abilities. Something like Lore Master or Pathfinder Savant would probably work. Pathfinder Savant would allow you to add in some spells from the bard list, and give you a lot of the lore abilities of a bard. The lore abilities may work better for the background you have than performance.
Minions, minions, and more minions! Since you've pushed the BBEG's CR up so high, you'll have to settle for lower CR minions. If you want to use higher-level CR minions, I'd look for individual minions about two CR lower than your party, in this case, CR 8. Build a first encounter with the CR 8 minions and as they start to get wiped out, you have your BBEG reveal themself and the real final encounter starts using the remaining minions to bolster your BBEG.
Good advice all.
Let me explain the CR 9 bit in detail
I totally get it. I knew from the getgo that this is a terrible class combo from any manner of minmax or power perspective. Glad you folks let me know it's so low a CR though, I would have guessed higher on my own.
Just cat and mouse with a constant deluge of Undead
Done and done. I'm thinking a horde of ghouls will be constantly flowing in, until I either have the party at about 1/4 HP and resources, or until they figure out who the real BBEG is (as there will be illusions all over the place to confuse them.
How about a huge pipe organ
Absolutely! My campaign theme (as this is all the Player's first ttRPG ever) is to take a classic situation and give it a new flavor. Giant organ playing BBEG fits perfectly.
Maybe the character could possibly fight off the evil power just long enough to help the PC's overthrow him
You understand me in ways that are unnatural and intimidating. This is now my HeroArmor I'll throw out, IF they're fighting in a way that convinces me it's worthwhile (if it improves the story/fun, basically)
add a ticking clock to an encounter
Can do. There is a literal clock, gigantic, built into the floor of this room. I'll add in some detriment from the pipe organ, maybe a cumulative -1 penalty, as a mixture of the insane music and the effects of the clock.
The clock, btw, is an artifact they get from succeeding. It's a time machine, allowing the PC's to move forward and backwards in the spot they're in. It's very bulky, takes days to setup and a crew to move it, so not a standard use item. Also, until they've used it a few times, it's also random as to which direction in time they'll go and how far in that direction, which should be fun. I'm already planning a fantasy WWI-type encounter for the future, and an ultra-low-fantasy survival situation in the past.
You could add in some other optional elements
Would love to do this, but not sure I can. I'm allowing the Player who's character became the BBEG to write/run the beginnings of the chapel adventure as his first GM experience. I'll simply be taking over again when we reach the final chamber. His level is a railroad of rooms, so mot a lot of options for sneaking in secret items of power.
Minions, minions, and more minions!
Done and done.
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The Plan, currently:
Here's what monsters I have planned for the combat right now:
Bard-cromancer 6,400 XP CR 9
Wraith 1,600 XP CR 5
Wight 800 XP CR 3
Shadow 800 XP CR 3
2 Mummy 1,600 XP CR 5
Flesh Golem 3,200 XP CR 8
Erinyes Devil 4,800 XP CR 8
Shadow Demon 3,200 XP CR 7
Unending Horde of Ghouls,400XP each, CR 1
I'm thinking the ghouls will always number about 10, likely a d6 of ghouls will join the battle every round. There will be ten starting out in a mixture of disguises/armor to make them look like the Bard-cromancer (who is a venerable Warforged prototype). They'll hang back, pretending to cast spells in unison (which will actually be buffs/debuffs from the organ playing)
The room will be coated in dark curtains, shaped like a square-ish gear, with many crenellations on the sidelines, hidden by the curtains. Behind one of the curtains is the BBEG, behind the rest are the many, many Ghouls. Presumably, if they throw back all the curtains except the BBEG, that would end the flow of Ghouls (but they're near infinite until that happens.
The Erinyes Devil is actually a shell the Bard-cromancer built to house his Frankenstein-style wife, a gnome safely tucked inside. Once defeated, she'll emerge, and plead with the PC's to let him live.
The Shadow Demon is going to be what is driving the Bard-cromancer mad, living inside the Dark Grimoire. He'll bolster troops from the sidelines, and keep the darkness flowing. If they try to destroy the book, he'll join in regular combat. If destroyed, this will give the PC's HeroArmor, in that the BBEG will be sane enough to help them out now, for a bit. There is still evil in the Grimoire, afterall.
Also, I chose a lot of these creatures based on a combination of CR, what he would have created, and what I have available in my Bestiary Box 1.
You understand me in ways that are unnatural and intimidating. This is now my HeroArmor I'll throw out, IF they're fighting in a way that convinces me it's worthwhile (if it improves the story/fun, basically)
You've set up some wonderful elements to play with, classic tropes with just the right amount of twist.
For your "HeroArmor", it wouldn't even really have to be anything overtly handwave-y; a successful Diplomacy (DC...33?) could allow the old character a round of sanity. Maybe freeing/sparing his wife give a big bonus, etc.Or they could try to disarm/steal/sunder/disenchant the phylactery.
There is a literal clock, gigantic, built into the floor of this room...a time machine
Whaaat? Yes! Maybe, as the encounter moves forward, the clock sort of builds up power, giving enemies Haste, slowing the party, "undoing" wounds (healing/resurrecting), forcing re-rolls on saves, etc. That could be the source of the infinite enemies: every time they kill some, the clock rewinds time and the dead ones are fine again.
The party will have to finish things quickly, or find themselves in a tighter and tighter spot. Maybe allow a Disable Device/Knowledge/Spellcraft check to stop the clock for a bit?
Maybe, as the encounter moves forward, the clock sort of builds up power, giving enemies Haste, slowing the party, "undoing" wounds (healing/resurrecting), forcing re-rolls on saves, etc. That could be the source of the infinite enemies: every time they kill some, the clock rewinds time and the dead ones are fine again.
Love this. I'll definitely build out a model for odd effects. My initial thoughts are: I have Elder Sign, which comes with a 4" clock. I'll have that out on the battlemap. Once the battle ensues, I'll start rolling a d12 every round, turning the time to various effects. The PC's can then spend their round forcing the hour hand around to try to recreate the effects, or to hold it in place to maintain an existing effect. Oh, maybe anyone on the face of the clock gains the effects, so it could harm/help both PC's and enemies...
1 - Haste
2 - Slow
3 - Summon Ghouls
4 - Increase your age category by 1 (young adult to middle aged, old to venerable)
5 - Decrease your age category by 1 (young adult to child!)
6 - Disappear until 7:00
7 - Reappear from 6:00
8 - Rewind (Heal 1/2 HP total, reroll any saves from previous round, regain your last-cast spell)
9 - Phase to the ethereal plane (gain incorporeal until 9:00 strikes again)
10 - Jump ahead 1 round (move to any point on the board, gain 1 immediate attack)
11 - Pause in time (everyone is stunned for 1 round)
12 - Life burst (all bodies are brought back to life)
Twelve may be too extreme... Also, I think I'll draw out the clock, so it's harder for the PC's to be off of it, and just keep the Elder Sign clock to the side where they can all see it.
The bigger the hack, the more potential there is to break the game.
A lot of awesome ideas in there, but I think 12 effects is just too many to guess how the mechanic will affect the game. Plus, if it's random, you lose a sense of growing tension. I'd do something like, spawns 1d12+4 ghouls per round (reskinned as "rewinding time"), every three rounds it casts Haste on up to 10 enemies, every 5 rounds it casts Slow on the PC's (DC...18?), every 10 rounds it chimes, dealing 5d10 sonic and stunning everyone for 1 round (DC22, undead not immune).
Knowledge (whatever, DC26?) gives them the list of effects and when they happen, Disable Device (DC25?) pauses it for 1 round, +1 round/5 you beat the DC, full-round action that provokes.
Chiming damage at midnight is great, a good replacement for the huge mass-resurrection. Okay, I like the idea of it running from one to two to three, and so on. I'll adjust the effects accordingly.
I think I'll make it a Spellcraft check to determine the effect rather than knowledge, as this is an unheard of artifact so past studies shouldn't reveal much. Reading dweamers of magic make more sense for figuring out what may soon happen, imo.
1 - Summon Ghouls
2 - Slow
3 - Disappear, Everyone of clock tiles disappears until 6:00pm
4 - Summon Ghouls
5 - Pause in time (everyone is stunned for 1 round)
6 - Reappear, from 3:00pm
7 - Summon Ghouls
8 - Jump ahead 1 round (move to any point on the board, gain 1 immediate attack)
9 - Rewind (Heal 1/2 HP total, reroll any saves from previous round, regain your last-cast spell)
10 - Summon Ghouls
11 - Haste
12 - Sonic Burst, 5d10 sonic damage
How does the new order look? Tried to spread out the effects to keep it random and building.
I think that's a pretty cool mechanic. So the face of the clock is set into the floor, and certain squares are affected at each "hour"?
Yep. Likely the entirety of the clockface floor will be affected each "hour" which will be running either once a round or once every other round. Combat usually doesn't last 24 rounds though...
Make him a lich. Make the phylactery a magically hardened adamantine vuvuzela.
How about gear? What manner of equipment would you find essential to this guy? as a level 14 character, he's got quite a lot of wealth to spend.
How about gear? What manner of equipment would you find essential to this guy? as a level 14 character, he's got quite a lot of wealth to spend.
Necromancer's Athame
Mnemonic VestmentsDust of Sneezing and Choking
I'm super late to the party, but I love this thread.
Some of the options here can be overcome with simple GM-fiat:
If your character has to be a bard/wizard because he has multiple personalities, make him a level 14 bard/14 wizard. He can only use one set of abilities (bard or wizard) in any given round, and he changes randomly. I'd do something like a will save every round to remain in his current personality. When he changes he gets 1d4+x rounds without saves before he has to start making saves again. The two personalities (classes will act very differently, with the wizard summoning and maybe blasting, while the bard buffs and debuffs. Remember that all the will saves etc can be pre-rolled so you don't have to waste time at the table.
I love the church organ idea! (That's all, just wanted to show some love)
I also love the clock idea, but I'd have midnight very terrible for the PCs, while midday (or dawn) are actually beneficial for them. If they can find a way to reverse the clock, or make it skip midnight and go straight to dawn then the sunlight streams in (maybe cover the entire building in a Consecrate spell or something). Just a thought.
Also, if you haven't yet you should look up The Crypt of the Necrodancer.
I still think that this is a perfect opportunity to gestalt your 7th level Wizard with 7 levels of Chronicle of Worlds Bard. It's a Bard archetype that changes the key ability to Intelligence instead of Charisma... which will help, a lot.
With all five levels of the Agent of the Grave prestige class, your BBEG is still only level 12. He casts as a 11th level Wizard, and as a 7th level Bard. Agent of the Grave makes him a pretty legit Necromancer at this point. It also helps his Fortitude save.
If you gave him the Magical Knack trait for Bard, he can have a CL9 for his Bard spells, and a CL11 for his Wizard spells.
A Headband of Twisted Intellect with two orange prism Ioune stones socketed in can raise your Caster Levels by +1 each, and raise your single most important mental stat at the same time.
With Mnemonic Vestments, the Necromancer's Athame, and a variety of scrolls, he should have a pretty much endless supply of spells.
If he survives to fight another day, continue to gestalt both classes for another 8 levels. End up with:
Bard-15/Wizard-15/Agent of the Grave-5
CL18-Bard/CL20-Wizard with the aforementioned Trait and Ioune stones.
The next time the party faces him, he has completed the dark transformation into a Lich.
Necromancer's Athame
Mnemonic Vestments
Dust of Sneezing and Choking
Good, done, and dear Lord! 3d6 Constitution!? That can wipe an entire party in a single roll. Like a leftover tiem from OD&D...
I'm super late to the party, but I love this thread.
Welcome to my soiree. I considered making him a level 14 Bard, through and through, but decided against it for storyline reasons. With the hordes of undead being thrown at the party, the clock working against them, and this bard-cromancer in the background blighting them, I'm alright if he comes off as weak once they finally get to fighting him.
I'm altering a Doomharp into a pipe organ, so that's what he'll be playing now, pumped through speakers (to throw off his location) attached to each of the false bard-cromancer ghouls.
Crypt of the Necrodancer is one of the themes playing out in the dungeon before they come across he BBEG. The soundtrack will be heavily featured.
I still think that this is a perfect opportunity to gestalt your 7th level Wizard with 7 levels of Chronicle of Worlds Bard. It's a Bard archetype that changes the key ability to Intelligence instead of Charisma... which will help, a lot.
I don't see his stats being an issue, as he had a very high INT and CHA from the get-go. Good call on the items though, they are in, especially the Twisted Headband.
So, I gave one PC a sword that has an ability to, on a killing blow, split a good or evil person into two separate beings. I'm hopeful that it gets used against this guy. If that happens (and I may give the BBEG some bonus XP to give that player a chance), then they will definitely meet this guy again, as his wife will beg for his life, and the only murderhobo player is out of this campaign. I'm hoping to use all this great bardic traits for future fights, but that's always up to the PC's (and when do they do what is expected?).
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Hey everybody! I finally ran this level!
Thanks a bunch Covid-19 for helping delay this by four months (sarcasm).
Here's how it went down: I pre-rolled all the monster initiatives to save time. Went from high (21) to low (1), with the most powerful bunch going first. Players were scattered in the middle of the track.
All the players decided to stay defensive round 1 as the monsters lurched forward. This gave the mindless creatures a chance to corner the party in the room entry (which I think was a mistake of mine to do). Stuck in a small bundle, I tried to "lure" them away by hitting them with Unholy Blight a couple of times. Stubbornly, they stayed where they were at.
As for the clock-mechanic, they were WAY too suspicious of it to get anywhere close (again, my mistake of cornering them). Other than summoning Ghouls, the clock played very little a part in the battle, other than being a cool decoration.
With my party still sticking to the entryway, the Bar-cromancer started hitting them with his punishments. Confusion got a couple of them, but the big heavy-hitter was Stinking Cloud. Every single one of them failed their save, and they were cornered two creatures deep in a nook. That alone was leaning this fight towards a TPK.
Players were Shaken from the Dirge of Doom Doomharp being played, Confused, Nauseated, often Sickened, Paralyzed from mass Ghoul attacks, and one even became Slowed. On top of all this, they didn't focus their attacks in any way, spreading damage all over the place, keeping more of the monsters in play through most of the fight.
As things got worse and worse, one big factor kept them on top: one player had used an Elemental Gem of Fire round one, and it was hurting Mummies and butchering Ghouls from start to finish. The player controlling it realized there were ghouls behind curtains and started burning them way, and then the Ghouls would be cornered by the elemental until their demise.Additionally, the Fire Elemental (the MVP of the fight) found the Bard-cromancer, who was armed primarily with loads of fire spells. Thof his 192 HP (he was boosted from many things story-wise), the Elemental did about 140 damage!
The Players finally got out the their corner, take loads of AoO's in the process, and hide and stayed defensive until the Nauseated condition left. Finally they started picking off monsters. The paladin summoned his Gorthek mount, which is always a big player in battle, and a key moment almost went awry: the paladin, with his healing spent and 20 HP remaining, surrounded by 5 monsters (including the Flesh Golem and the Erinyes Devil), debated between mounting the Gorthek or using his Great Cleave feat tree. EVERYBODY tried to talk him out of mounting, due to the AoO's he'd provoke. He was tempted. He weighed it heavily. In the end, he went with a big attack against the Erinyes Devil. He hit. He killed it! he cleaved through into a Spectral hand of the Bard-cromancer, dissolved it, cleaved into the Wraith, dissolved it, and continued into some Ghouls. This, timed with the reveal of the BBEG, changed to mood from despairing to hopeful.
At this point, several characters were down. I was running the party wizard (as the player has been MIA for over a year). He, literally, did NOTHING the entire fight. The Paralysis + Stinking Cloud + Confusion held him from round one, until the was pummelled and dying. at -9, the character stabilized. The gunslinger, being run by a substitute player as the actual player cannot come until after the pandemic fully ends, did some harm, but unfortunately fell in battle. He, sadly, never stabilized, the paladin was out of heals, potions were all consumed, and the rogue with the Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds was slowed and far away. This was the first casualty.
With the minions defeated, the BBEG cornered with a Fire Elemental burning him away, and twelve rounds gone, the paladin mounted his beast and lined up for a charge. The other players cleared rubble from his path, and even ordered the Fire Elemental away. This, however, left a straight shot from the BBEG to a grouped together party of four, and he had yet to use either of his Fireballs. Dice were rolled, saves were mixed, and the paladin, mounted but not yet charging, burned to unconsciousness. Our Fighter too, realizing the mistake of grouping again, was killed from the Fireball. The group now was down to two.
I had the mount, dismayed and burned, wander off and dismiss itself, disappearing. The wizard shot a few Magic Missiles but was rebuked by a Brooch of Shielding. The Rogue, finally at full speed again, went invisible and rushed into the bosses room. He sneak attacked, injured the BBEG who now only had 20 HP remaining. The Elemental came back in, did another 9 damage. The paladin, flung to the ground, stabilized! Finally, surrounded, flanked, almost dead, the BBEG pleaded for mercy (after launched a Scorching Ray). No luck. The rogue attacked. with Sneak. Crit! with 11 HP left, the BBEG took 60 damage!
The group won, at the cost of two PC's, dozens of condition cards, all their potions, every trick they had up their sleeves, and 15 rounds of combat! Additionally, with a tragic twist ending of storyline madness, they all agreed it was the best game of Pathfinder they had ever played, and the most challenging fight any of them had ever encountered!
Thanks everyone for your help building it all, we all had a blast!
-Jhaosmire
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That is one heck of a final battle story