Is there a stat-block for the Machine Mage, Karamoss?
Or a more detailed history of him than just what is on pathfinderwiki?
I am intrigued, and want all the information I can get.
If Karamoss lacks an official stat-block, how would you build him?
I was thinking of using the Clocksmith Wizard archetype, personally. Loading him up with all the Cybertech implants until he barely has any human parts left.
I might even have my Android Lich God claim to be Karamoss reincarnate, if it suits him to do so... even though my Android Lich God is a Sorcerer.
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Dungeons of Golarion has roughly a page on him (basically the wiki entry with more details), but no stat-block. The book leaves it to the GM whether Karamoss is still alive - respective still existant, since he is partially machine now. His labyrinth (final area) is supposed to be CR 13, so that's the supposed power level for him, I guess.
The other three books cited by the wiki don't mention anything new about the mage. You can search the web for "red redoubt of karamoss" to find an image of his dungeon, if that's relevant.
Building him, hrm... My design goals would be:
1) distinct from the average mage
2) visibly connected to the robot theme
3) a fitting challenge for his CR (it's easy for full casters to vastly underperform or overperform, IMO)
Beyond that, his personality should be noticable, even if just in verbal outbursts. Fleshlings daring to challenge him, the future of life, in his own lair? Oh, he will tell them that he will rip out their faulty biological parts and replace them, and that they will be thankful!
CR 13 is actually pretty helpful to know. I figured Karamoss would be less powerful than, say, Razmir... but I did not know to what extent. Karamoss has a creation, called the Red Terror, that has 7 levels of Ranger, so being around twice that level, himself, makes sense.
I just really like how Karamoss spends all this time alone in the Silver Mount, makes this gigantic mess attacking said Silver Mount, then disappears. He has such special knowledge that nobody else has. He started a war on Absalom, and got away with it. His mysterious disappearance is ripe with opportunity.
There actually aren't a lot of Cybertech implants that help a Wizard... so I will probably just give Karamoss all of them, without taking their costs into his WBL...
Looking at them further, I would imagine the first such implants a Wizard would need is the Thoracic nanite chamber. Given that the number of Cybertech implants one can have is limited by both Constitution and Intelligence, the Thoracic nanite chamber's Constitution bonus would allow for even more implants after its installation. Wizards aren't known for their stellar Constitution scores. Lol.
Most of the Cybertech implants offer bonuses that can be found on belts, and even a +6 Con/Dex/Str isn't going to necessarily influence a level ~13 Wizard's Challenge Rating that much one way or another... so giving Karamoss all such implants isn't THAT big of a deal. He will enjoy a +8 AC from that aforementioned Dex bonus combined with Dermal Plating (Mark V)'s +5 AC bonus. But otherwise, robot arms/ears/eyes/legs means very little to our Wizard [other than it's cool AF].
Do note that CR 13 being overall dungeon level means as boss of level he could still be higher than 13 as long its in range of PC party facing CR 13 dungeon
(I do think 13/14 does make sense enough for him though)
Do you think Wizard 6/Technomancer 10 would be too much?
Technomancer is not an especially powerful prestige class, but the flavor is certainly there.
Sweet, I think I will go ahead and stat him up as Wizard 6/Technomancer 10... not that I even like the Technomancer predtige class all that much, it just seems too fitting to pass up.
The standard assortment of Cybertech implants comes in at much too high of a implantation cost to reasonably collect them all... if I am understanding these implants correctly, their total implant cost cannot exceed either your Con score or your Int score... and to install all of them, you're looking at a grand total of 44 implantation points. Even for a Wizard, that is a very high Int score... and to expect an equal Con score is absurd.
I'm going to give Karamoss all of them, regardless, because I can... but it is noted that collecting all such implants [to their highest degree available] is well beyond the reach of your average mortal man.
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You could also use Klarkosh from the Emerald Spire for ideas. Granted, the metal-clad template isn't an exact match for cybertech implants...
I was thinking of applying the Promethean Creature simple [corruption] template. It's a Paizo template, which is appealing, and the flavor is spot on. Just like all the Cybertech implants, this template does very little to actually benefit our Wizard, Karamoss.
Even at Wizard 6/Technomancer 10, with the CR+1 template, and having all the highest grade Cybertech implants... Karamoss will probably be about CR16.
The template provides +4 natural armor, and the Mark V Dermal Plating gives him a +5 enhancement bonus to his natural armor. The Mark III Wirejack Tendons gives Karamoss an additional +6 to his Dexterity, so his AC actually shouldn't be TOO bad [for a Wizard].
I might need help with the offensive side of things, though. With so many feats sank into acquiring Craft Robot, and so few actual Wizard levels... I don't know exactly what to do with him to provide a halfway decent challenge [if he was ever confronted by the party, or whatever].
So our curious Wizard, Karamoss, enters the Silver Mount... and it is said that he wasn't completely human upon leaving. Let's say that in his thirst for knowledge, he tried to implant some Cybertech into himself, by himself... or activated a chair with a robotic surgery arm thingy. Anyways, he acquires this curse, the Promethean Corruption, in the process. And his interest in Technomancy is a byproduct of self-preservation... trying to keep himself alive.
I am probably going to start with the level 7 "Iconic Wizard", and just go from there. I could spend a bunch of time trying to optimize him, but I am not willing to do that right meow [with no plans of actually using Karamoss any time soon].
Karamoss will mostly likely [at the very least] have his Red Terror robot guardian, which is a CR9 Warden Robot with an additional 7 Ranger levels.
I am giving Karamoss a trusty "awakened" Clockwork Servant, named Cosworth [from Fallout 4], that would have accompanied him into the Silver Mount, along with his Familiar, H.E.L.P.eR. [from Venture Bros]. Cosworth is something Karamoss could have crafted within his WBL before entering the Technomancer prestige class... which I am using to represent his thirty years spent within the Silver Mount... and Clockwork Servants have the ability to repair clockwork creations [and themselves]. This would help keep H.E.L.P.eR. alive, and I extend Cosworth's Repair Clockwork ability to also aid Karamoss with his Promethean Corruption (purely for story reasons, since I am using the Promethean Creature simple template rather than following the Promethean Corruption alternate rules).
Even though Karamoss is most interested in robotic technology, and furthering his imaginary superior robotic race... he has vested interest in learning to repair the obsolete technology keeping himself alive, and in the process keeping both Cosworth and H.E.L.P.eR. alive, as well. His time spent in the Silver Mount was time spent MacGyver'ing himself and his companions back together. Karamoss picks up Craft Cybernetics at level 9 [the earliest one can take it], three levels into Technomancer, so he still has 7 levels inside Silver Mount to add said Cybernetics to himself (with the aid of Cosworth and H.E.L.P.eR.).
I chose Craft Cybernetics over Craft Robot, specifically to get the earliest start possible for our homeboy, Karamoss, to implant his fun Cybertech. After all, Karamoss becoming more machine than man is a big part of his story. Craft Robot could still easily be taken, and probably will fill the level 11 feat slot. I might squeeze Craft Wondrous Item in at 3, just in case Karamoss wants to become a Lich... I mean, so he can craft Arms of the Marilith (for Cosworth, since Clockwork Servants already have 4 arms, why not add 4 more). Lol.