So my players have come to the conclusion they will be fighting Valthazar this session coming up, and getting ready for it. Which is what I want them to, of course. Thing is, he knows they are coming now.
THE SETUP:
This all started thanks to the NE Necromancer of the group, who IC is a untrusting, egotistical, megalomaniac (the player is not, and everyone at the table is cool with the character) used Invisibility to sneak off to find Valthazar to broker a deal, since he was part of the Whispering Way before the Radiant Fire went off. He ended up getting caught by the Nekomatas, which informed Valthazar, and had him interrogate the Necromancer while revealing that he was nothing more then the delivery device for the super weapon, and him coming back just fascinates him.
I was going to use this as a tool to get them to fight Valthazar early, using the Nekomatas as the delivery tool in the guise of their missing comrade but they found their original party member near death in the library (basically a Elven pin cushion at this point on the pile of books), and fought off the Nekomatas.
They pretty much made themselves known, found out about the Fettering Maw and Juju Zombies, got the small odds and ends in the kitchen, workshop, and armory, and went back to the secret passage to rest up for the final fight.
THE VARIANT ENCOUNTER
With Valthazar patiently waiting for his prey, hearing them in the halls fight, and then not coming to him, I was going to have him encounter them directly, in the main room on the first floor of the Bastion of Light.
TO this end, it would be him, the five Juju zombies representing the players (minus one, as he came in after they returned to Golarion), and maybe Kalmuk, though I am on the fence with that last one.
He is going to send the twins away to deliver his findings to Gildaius or Tar-Baphon directly, so they won;t be there, stamping them with the fetoring maw so they can get away safely.
Basically, they are going to come up form the cellar, see him, and juju zombie necromancer on the main platform, talk them up, give them a chance to ready themselves for the fight, since he is a smug prick (at least how I interpret it), and then throw down with them, after he has the other Juju zombies come out of side doors to surround them.
THE JUJU ZOMBIES
I plan on adjusting them to be their negetives, so it would be as follows
Proud Cleric of Iomedae = Sadistic Cleric of Urgathoa
Smug and Aloof Rogue = Serious and Determined Killer
Airheaded and Kind Celestial Sorcerer = Intelligent and Hateful Undead Sorcerer
Pessimistic and Arrogant Necromancer = Still pessimistic and Arrogant Necromancer (though with more spells attributed to buffing undead instead of controlling)
Edgy Gunslinger = Smartass Gunslinger
Plan on making them lvl 4, maybe level 5 to give them a bit of a challenge.
This is everything that I can think of off the top of my head, and I think it could work. I am posting this to try and find some ideas that might make it a little more chalenging and different.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to the help :D
I would be really cautious about rebuilding the juju zombies too much, particularly when it comes to a larger party. While my players had an easy time with the encounter based on their composition and the room, setting Valthazar in a larger space is a significant advantage.
I'd recommend using the modification recommendations on page 50 and adding a spell-like ability or relevant piece of equipment. I would very likely not give the gunslinger zombie a gun. Perhaps something along the lines of this:
Cleric zombie: 3/day Channel Negative Energy 2d6 (save DC 14)
Rogue zombie: 2d6 sneak attack
Sorceror zombie: Not sure what the player does spell-wise, but something similar to the necromancer below and uses per day themed better for sorc.
Necromancer zombie: Ghoul Touch 1/day (save DC 14), Chill Touch 1/day (save DC 13), Ray of Enfeeblement 1/day (save DC 13)
Gunslinger zombie: Literally anything that doesn't involve giving the gunslinger a back-up firearm. Maybe even just skip this one.
If your PCs are particularly capable, consider taking a more aggressive set of tactics for Valthazar. Suffocation is prepared already, but his tactics dance around it like it's not supposed to be used. If he's being aggressively targeted, throw it out right away. If half the zombies go down, throw it out. I wouldn't expect his 3 rounds of hexing wind-up to actually happen. His spells need to come out sooner.
If the PCs are struggling generally, then I would reduce the zombie count. If you think the PCs are going to immediately Control Undead and grab them all (lol +2 or +3 Will save bonus), put the pukwudgie in with Valthazar instead or have a Command Undead cast on each of the zombies first so there's opposed Charisma checks.