Help me stat out Tharizdun

babinro · Feb 24, 2010

My campaign revolves around The Chained God, Tharizdun. As the final boss, I intend to run the level 30 characters against him in a solo encounter.

I don't know about Tharizdun beyond things like wikipedia. Normally when I do things like this without a concept, I simply just take a variety of powers from the PC classes. I could do this for Tharizdun but I'd rather put it up on the boards first.

Seeing as he is to be a truly solo boss fight, I'd like his level to be about 35-36 and hopefully have the kind of staying power that Tiamat does as a single combatant.

The more unique his abilities are to the game the better.
Since the stats are strictly for combat, things like skills are not terribly important. I'm looking at this in terms of what defenses he'd excel at, and powers would he have. Please minimize the use of stun condition.

Have fun with it, and thanks in advance for anyone helping me out.

I'm sure its quite possible this has already been done multiple times in the past, if anyone should have a link for me, that would be great.

Starfox · Feb 24, 2010

I would give him several avatars along the way with powerful mental abilities. Sorry to say, lots of stun and dominate really seems to be his thing. Then ambush the players when they actually find him with a very physical opponent. He still has an aura that drives you mad, and is a regenerating tentacle monster.

But this is all off the cuff. There should be a lot of Tharizdun lore floating around.

Mesh Hong · Feb 25, 2010

Facing any god in combat is incredibly dependant on context.

Tharizdun is not a god you are just going to stumble upon. After creating and abandoning the Abyss he marshalled an army against all the other gods and the primordials. The other gods defeated him, but could not destroy him so they bound and chained him in a secret location known only to them. There he festers dreaming of escape........

This brief background implies that to even find out where Tharizdun is you are going to have to persuade a major god to tell you. I really don't think they would be inclined to help, but it could be possible. Every god has its weakness after all.

If you could some how get to the secret location of Tharizduns exile then you might have to break down the ancient magics that imprison him. This could be as simple as breaking the enchantment on some 'giant magical padlocks' or it might involve navigating a huge dungeon complex filled with lethal counter measures designed to stop a god getting out as well as stopping meddling adventurers or cultists getting in.

If you manage to do this you may have to fight him at the same time as ancient counter measures react to his escape, these would probably include sending alerts to the gods who imprisoned him. Now those gods would probably try and get over there pretty quickly to try and avert disaster.

Alternatively:

Your story might revolve around Tharizdun somehow getting free and the PCs having to put him back in his box, or even destroy him utterly.

If this is the case we would need a lot more information to create a suitable encounter.

On a side note your openning remark....

My campaign revolves around The Chained God, Tharizdun. As the final boss, I intend to run the level 30 characters against him in a solo encounter.

.....gives me the uneasy feeling that your PCs are nowhere near level 30 and you are trying to design the end of the story a long time in advance. I would strongly advise against doing this as you probably have no real idea what your PCs will be like when (or if) the time comes.
(if this is not the case for any reason then fair enough )

My own campaign which is now in early Epic features the gods pretty heavily. I have been building up to a God War for a long time and it is just starting to kick off. It is more than likely that my PCs will battle gods directly eventually, but so far they have only fought Aspects or Exarchs.

I also have a Tharizdun connection in my game, one of my PCs has acquired a greatsword with Tharizduns emblem on it that he has subsequently learned is "a Key". Other than Tharizdun being known as the chained god and that he has been imprsioned by the other gods my PCs know very little of him.

Anyway with some more information we could probably build a truely epic encounter where the PCs save the multiverse from annihilation, or die trying.

babinro · Feb 25, 2010

I suppose I was lacking quite a bit of information. The players are in early Epic at this time. So there is no rush on this, and it could change as they progress.

But the story revolves around Shothrogat and his clan having finally obtained the 333 shards required to free the chained god. Tharizdun then resumes his war against the gods which goes in his favor this time. Some gods may or may not be around when it comes time for the PC's to face Tharizdun, but I would really want to minimize their involvement in the final encounter as it takes away from the player's fun.
Essentially the PC's will be your typical 'last hope' in saving the multiverse.

At present, the PC's have only just discovered what Shothrogat is attempting to do, and are currently in the midst of trying to stop him from getting the final shards. The plan being of course that they will eventually stop Shothrogat but it will be too late, meaning they will need to act against the gods or face inevitable annihilation.

circadianwolf · Feb 25, 2010

I love Tharizdun and look forward to seeing what this produces. (Although I keep his morality in question, with a cult viewing him as a gnostic figure and the other gods filling in for the Demiurge.)

I don't think inducing madness has to equal daze, stun, or other action-denying conditions. In fact I wonder if a straight-up fight is even appropriate; what comes to mind to me instead of beating on a giant boss is dealing with lots of illusions and encounters that end up with players accidentally fighting each other. Might even break out some sanity systems from another RPG. (I once ran an encounter with some newbie players where I told them they'd been separated and actually ran two combats in separate rooms, switching between them each round. After one group had defeated their enemies, they realized they'd been fighting each other. Probably couldn't have done it with a more experienced group, of course, but in the circumstances it went brilliantly.)

As a side note, is there anywhere in 4E that actually talks about Tharizdun wanting to erase existence? From what I've seen it's just been "the Chained God created the Abyss with a shard of pure evil" (whatever that would be).

Celebrim · Feb 25, 2010

Tharizdun
Initiative +4000 Senses: Perception +4000; super duper deeper darker than black darkvision
HP: 10000 Bloodied: Very
Speed:0
Resist: No damage from any attack
Vunerable: Sleep
AC 24; Fortitude 4000, Reflex 4000, Will 4000
Ebon Blast: (Minor; at Will)
Ranged 10560000/21120000: +4000 Vs Will: You are all screwed (Save doesn't end, are you kidding it's freakin' Tharizdun?).

Power of Plot: (Standard; Recharge 5+)
Do any freakin' thing the DM wants.

Awaken: (Standard; When the stars are right and the heroes screw up)
Thardizun's speed becomes 4000. Campaign ends.

Alignment: Nihilism
Languages: All

babinro · Feb 25, 2010

Celebrim said:
Tharizdun
Initiative +4000 Senses: Perception +4000; super duper deeper darker than black darkvision
HP: 10000 Bloodied: Very
Speed:0
Resist: No damage from any attack
Vunerable: Sleep
AC 24; Fortitude 4000, Reflex 4000, Will 4000
Ebon Blast: (Minor; at Will)
Ranged 10560000/21120000: +4000 Vs Will: You are all screwed (Save doesn't end, are you kidding it's freakin' Tharizdun?).

Power of Plot: (Standard; Recharge 5+)
Do any freakin' thing the DM wants.

Awaken: (Standard; When the stars are right and the heroes screw up)
Thardizun's speed becomes 4000. Campaign ends.

Alignment: Nihilism
Languages: All

lol, very nice.

While realistic, this wouldn't make for a satisfying final battle.
Despite being a god, the story would have the PC's face him at a point where he is vulnerable for reasons not yet determined. Could be through battles with other gods, could be through a powerful magic or ritual set to weaken him in order to once again bind him. Who knows...

babinro · Feb 26, 2010

Here are some preliminary thoughts that I'm liking. He'll probably have at least 4 more powers on top of this. Further powers, criticism, suggestions are welcome.

Tharizdun: Level 36: Size: Huge
HP: 1600: Bloodied: 800:
AC 49; Fortitude 50, Reflex 48, Will 50 Speed 8, Teleport 5
Resist 30 Fire Saving Throws +5 Action Points 2
Iron Mind: Tharizdun makes a savings throw vs all save end effects immediately with no bonus to the roll.

Aura of Madness: Aura 20: Creatures starting their turn in the aura roll a d6:
1: No Effect
2: No Effect
3: Mental Fatigue: A character succumbs to nightmarish visions and take 20 psychic damage
4: Fear: Character must start their turn by using a single move action to move as far away from Tharizdun as possible, provided they are not prevented by a condition.
5: Madness: Character attacks nearest ally with an at-will as a free action, imposing any benefits of that power to Tharizdun.
6: Character rolls twice on the above list: Further rolls of 6 are re-rolled.

Tentacle Strike: (minor action usable once per round, at-will) Melee: Reach 3: +38 vs AC: 2d8+5 damage

Fury of the gods: For each 300 damage dealt to Tharizdun, add an additional attack to Tentacle Strike

Burst of Steam: (standard, recharge 5,6): Close Burst 5: +36 vs Reflex: 6d6+10 fire damage.
[FONT=&quot]Effect: The Burst creates a zone of concealment against Tharizun that lasts until the end of his next turn.[/FONT]

Celebrim · Feb 26, 2010

babinro said:
Here are some preliminary thoughts that I'm liking. He'll probably have at least 4 more powers on top of this. Further powers, criticism, suggestions are welcome.

Ok, if you really insist on doing this, do it right. Thardizun is the single most mythic villain in the game. He's supposed to be nearly a match for all the good gods combined, and he's supposed to be all the forms of evil combined into a single being.

First off, Thardizun is a triplicate god - hense the use of triangles, the sacred numbers 3 and 333, the organization of his worshipers into triads and the other repeating aspects of 3 in his worship and sphere of power. He appears in three forms united as one. Thardizun should have the power to split his main Black Avatar form into three avatars: red, blue, and green representing Thardizun in his roles as universal destroyer and representing the three aspects of evil united into one (Chaotic Evil, Lawful Evil, and Nuetral Evil). In this form he would then act three times in a turn (hense evening up the action economy).

Green Avatar: Level 30 elite artillery/controller. Mage. 666 hit points. Weak to reflex attacks, otherwise strong. Should have a confusion/madness attacks that cause them to attack adjacent allies or go beserk (penalty to defenses).
Red Avatar: Level 30 elite skirmsher. Deftly wields a Bardiche. Should have a recharge burst attacks (swings axe in circle), and ability to move after a successful hit. 666 hit points. Weak to will attacks, otherwise strong. Should also have fear enducing range/burst attacks that immobile foes or slide them away.
Blue Avatar: Level 30 elite lurker. Wields a tentacle scepter. 666 hit points. Weak to fort attacks, otherwise strong. Should a stunning (mental daze) attack.

My suggestion is that this is recharge power (say recharge on a 6). When Thardizun uses it he immediately heals 300 hitpoints then, each Avatar gets 1/3rd of his remaining hit points. He can stay in separated form for 3 rounds or until one of this avatars is destroyed, in which case he must reform as his principle black avatar. When reformed, he has the remaining hitpoints of the three avatars combined.

Black Avatar: Level 36 Solo Soldier. Wields two-handed sword as standard attack that does ongoing cold damage. Should have a ranged weakness enducing attack (ebon ray) and a cold aura that damages everything in 3 squares. Creates walls of darkness as a minor action that block line of sight and do cold damage if passed through. Critical hits by weapon ray or sword should encase foe in ice (paralyzed, save ends). 1998 hit points. Strong against all attacks, but strongest against AC. Standard solo monster benefits vs. saves. When blooded, Black Avatar assumes form of a Purple Mist Gibbering Mouther, and slides as an amorphous object 10 squares in a straight line making attacks on every square he passes through. Attacks in this form should cause a confusion effect.

Celebrim · Feb 26, 2010

And another thing, you shouldn't just beat Thardizun. If Thardizun is reduced to zero hitpoints, he doesn't die, he forms an ebon coccoon around himself. This makes a reflex attack against everything in six squares as tentacles of absolute blackness and utter cold swirl around Thardizun spinning into a black caccoon that protects Thardizun from further attacks. The attacks should cause ongoing cold/necromatic damage, and characters caught in them should be grabbed and drawn toward the cocoon. This cocooning phase should last a certain number of rounds, and those characters that don't escape from it should end up entombed with the slumbering Thardizun 'for all eternity'.