Help me stat out Tharizdun

Black Avatar

Black Avatar of Thardizun: Level 36 Solo Soldier
Giant in night black adamantium fluted spiked armor wearing eyeless helm.

Size Huge
HP: 1998: Bloodied: 999
AC 52; Fortitude 49, Reflex 49, Will 49
Speed 8
Resistances: 30 Fire, 30 Acid
Immune: Immune Cold, Necromantic, Disease, Poison
Vulnerability: 10 Radiance, -2 saves vs. Sleep
Saving Throws: +5
Action Points: 2
Aura of Cold (Cold): Aura 3, 20 Cold Damage

Great Sword (Standard: At Will)
Reach 2: +43 vs. AC; 4d6 + 10 damage plus 10 ongoing cold damage and target is slowed and weakened (save ends). On critical, bonus +4d6 damage, and target is encased in ice, replacing above ongoing effect with 20 ongoing cold damage and target immobilized and stunned (save ends all three).
Ebon Ray (Standard: At Will):
Range 10|20: +41 vs. Reflex; 3d8 + 10 damage plus 10 ongoing cold damage and target is slowed and weakened (save ends all three). On critical, bonus +3d8 damage, and target is encased in ice, replacing above ongoing effect with 20 ongoing cold damage and target immobilized and stunned (save ends all three).
Blast of Utter Cold (Standard, Recharge 6):
Close Burst 10: +38 vs. Fort, 6d6 damage plus 20 ongoing cold damage and push target 2 squares. On miss, 3d6 damage plus 10 ongoing cold damage.
Wall of Darkness: (Minor: At Will)
Range 6|12: +38 vs. Reflex: 10 cold damage. Creates a barrier to line of sight in 3 continuous squares. Passing through the barrier causes 10 cold damage. Wall persists for 3 rounds or until it takes 20 radiant damage.
Three Forms of Evil (Minor, Recharge 6):
Thardizun heals 333 hit points, and immediately splits into his Red, Green, and Blue avatar forms (see accompanying stats). Thardizun may remain in these forms for 3 rounds or until one is reduced to 0 hit points, at which point he reassembles in his black avatar form as an immediate action in the space of one the remaining avatars.
Howling Purple Chaos: (Immediate interrupt, when bloodied) Thardizun moves 10 squares and makes an attack on each square he passes through or which is adjacent to his path. +41 vs. AC; 4d6 damage plus 10 ongoing psychic damage and target dazed (save ends) If Thardizun is in his Black Avatar form, he immediately recharges his Three Forms of Evil power. If Thardizun is in the three forms of evil, he immediately reforms as the Black Avatar.
Black Cyst: (Immediate interrupt, when reduced to zero hit points): Thardizun implodes into a black sucking hole, which quickly forms a whirling vortex around it. This is an immediate attack.
Close Burst 6: +41 vs. Reflex: 6d6 damage plus 20 ongoing cold damage and pull target 2 squares (save ends).
The vortex remains for 6 rounds while Thardizun weaves a protective cocoon of darkness around his damaged soul. At the end of 6 rounds, any creature foolish enough to remain in the thickening weave is drawn into the cyst and is lost forever.

Permenently destroying Thardizun: While Thardizun is in the cyst form, 100 radiant damage applied in a single round will delay his progress toward completing the cocoon by one round. If this is continued for three consecutive rounds, the cocoon unravels and Thardizun continues to implode inward until he vanishes into nothing.

Wow Celebrim, truly excellent work.

This seems like a fun battle while not feeling overly cheesy.
It is designed in a way that Tharizdun will be able to perform even when hindered by boring conditions because of the Three forms.
The Wall of Darkness at will should keep combat moving around the board as well.

The Black Cyst concept is great as a final attempt to steal victory.
I would secretly hope that one of the PC's get caught in it.

Thanks for the great work, I look forward to running this.

There was a so-so scenario in Dungeon 152 named Essence of Evil featuring these themes. It was the second to last 3E issue of Dungeon and was free back in the day - not sure if you can still get it from the WotC website

This isn't so much a build suggestion (I've never DMed epic and have never thought of making a monster for it) as a story suggestion. Build ideas may come from it, however.

I don't know much about your big baddy, but as has been stated here, he's not exactly the kind of guy a bunch of mortals should be able to have any chance against at all. I mean, he sounds like he's as strong as all the other gods put together - and I think its a bit of a stretch to think that, even at level 30, your PCs would have the power to take on what's essentially the entire pantheon in one battle royale and come up ahead.

Rather, have the players off on some hunt for a McGuffin that their diety of choice sent them to get from some inaccessable location (the bottom layer of hell or somewhere suitably epic - after all, it needs to be somewhere the gods couldn't just collect it themselves). Said McGuffin is something that would give the Gods a boost against Tharizdun, and without it they have little hope of defeating him.

In the meantime, however, the big T has escaped and has started on his war against the gods. The PCs show up at the final battle to find that Tharizdun has killed many of the Gods, and incapacitated the rest - and is about to kill the PC's God of choice! Fortunately for the PCs, the struggle of killing most of the Pantheon has weakened Tharizdun to a level where the PCs actually have a chance of defeating him - so, to a "mere" level 30+ solo.

Not only does this remove the "problem" of working out why the Gods don't come in and save the heroes, but it ups the stakes nicely while focussing on what a bad ass the big T actually is. Plus, I figure their are few things sweeter than being the calvary and saving the Gods asses rather than the other way around.

You could even combine it with a skill challenge, where the players can run around doing things to save the Gods from the enchantments that are killing them - successes make the Gods generate beneficial zones, failures can kill them (can be fluffed as backlash/feedback from enchantment trying to resist being broken), which makes Tharizdun even more powerful.

Plus, you could fluff all of the big T's attacks abilities as being very, very powerful, but dehabilitated somehow by his wounds. So, for example, you could give him a beam type weapon that can blow apart mountains, but his vision is screwed up (perhaps a God ripped out one of his eyes) and therefore has a hard time hitting the characters - even a "hit" is discribed as a near miss, and you can still tell the players how it blows the top off a mountain 50km behind them. Or that he has an incredibly regenerative ability, and its been reduced to "only" 20 points a round or such because he has one of the major God's sword (perhaps a God that has been a pain in the ass to the players in the past) sticking through him.

Sorry for the lack of crunch, but I hope these fluff suggestions help.

Incidentally, I think the 3 actions a round and working things that work in 3s into his profile is a really neat and thematic idea.

Tharizdun controls entropy itself.

I'd give him one power. Save or die

This has given me some great ideas for my own epic campaign. One of my players wants to become a god, and I suggested the Big T as appropriate as he's a Chaotic Evil fire mage.

Mind if I use those stats, Celebrim?

Katana_Geldar said:

This has given me some great ideas for my own epic campaign. One of my players wants to become a god, and I suggested the Big T as appropriate as he's a Chaotic Evil fire mage.

Mind if I use those stats, Celebrim?

Click to expand...

Not at all, though I never did stat out the 3 other avatars. They should be fairly easy to stat out by looking at my suggestions and liberally stealing from published level 30 lurker, artillery, and skirmisher (depending on the avatar). Also don't blame me if 'Big T' makes mincemeat out of 4 level 30 characters if they don't have cold immunity.

Green Avatar of Thardizun
Level 30 Elite Artillery
Wizard in peeked hat and green robes. Faceless, hands and feet like squid.

Size Large
HP: 666: Bloodied: 333
AC 43; Fortitude 42, Reflex 39, Will 42
Speed 8
Resistances: 20 Fire, 20 Acid
Immune: Immune Cold, Necromantic, Disease, Poison
Vulnerability: 20 Radiance, -2 saves vs. Sleep
Saving Throws: +2
Action Points: 1
Ray of Green Acid (Standard: At Will)
Reach 12/24: +35 vs. Reflex 3d8 damage plus 20 ongoing acid damage (save ends), effects all targets in line
Hand of Force (Minor: At Will)
Close: +37 vs. Reflex 1d10+15 damage, save or pushed 1d6 squares back
Thrown Nightmare (Standard; recharge 5,6)
Reach 6/12: +35 vs. Will 3d10 psychic damage, save or must go beserk (-3 to defences) and attacks nearest ally as if dominated (save ends both).
Clawing Slime (Minor; recharge 5,6)
Reach 12: Creates a 3x3 area of sentient clawing slime, which reaches up to grab anything above it. Anyone in or moving through area suffers an attack +39 vs. AC, 20 ongoing acid damage and is immobilized (save ends both). Slime lasts for 6 rounds, though each square can be destroyed by 20 points of radiance damage.

Red Avatar of Thardizun
Level 30 Elite Skirmiser
Masked Rogue wearing solid red suit similar to that of a jester or clown. Wields bardiche

Size Large
HP: 666: Bloodied: 333
AC 43; Fortitude 42, Reflex 42, Will 39
Speed 10
Resistances: 20 Fire, 20 Acid
Immune: Immune Cold, Necromantic, Disease, Poison
Vulnerability: 20 Radiance, -2 saves vs. Sleep
Saving Throws: +2
Action Points: 1
Graceful Bardiche Cut
Melee +36 vs. AC (standard; at will): 3d12+15 damage, does bonus 3d12 damage if Red Avatar has combat advantage. Also does additional bonus 3d12 damage on critical. If attack is successful, may shift 2 after hit.
Spinning Axe
Close Burst 2 +35 vs. AC (standard, recharge 5,6): 5d12+15 damage, if all attacks miss, may shift 2 and immediately recharge power.
Terrorizing Aura
Close Burst 6: +33 vs. Will (minor, recharge 5,6): 10 pychic ongoing pyschic damage, target is stunned, and target is pushed 2 squares back (save ends all three)
Red Avatar's Rage (immediate, when bloodied): Red Avatar of Thardizun immediately recharges all powers.

Blue Avatar of Thardizun
Level 30 Elite Lurker
Blue hooded robed figure with over long arms, bearing a scepter topped with a lashing tentacle.

Size Large
HP: 666: Bloodied: 333
AC 43; Fortitude 39, Reflex 42, Will 42
Speed 8
Resistances: 20 Fire, 20 Acid
Immune: Immune Cold, Necromantic, Disease, Poison
Vulnerability: 20 Radiance, -2 saves vs. Sleep
Saving Throws: +2
Action Points: 1
Tentacled Touch
Melee +36 vs. AC (standard; at will): 3d8+10 damage and target is grabbed (save ends). While target grabbed, this attack is a minor action and automatically hits. If Blue Avatar has combat advantage, does an additional 3d8 damage.
Mind Destroying Chaos
10/20 Ranged + 33 vs. Will (standard; at will): 20 ongoing psychic damage and target is stunned (save ends both)
Cloud of Blue Chaos (minor; recharge 5,6)
Blue Avatar shifts 4 and gains combat advantage against all opponents

Awesome. Your PCs are going to fight the most legendary evil in D&D. If they win I say you buy everyone t-shirts that say "I won D&D" or custom print your own that have something about "Unchained" but make them look like metal shirts.

I'm not going to tackle any stat block stuff right now but instead some story and encounter-framing ideas...

The 4 Princes of Elemental Evil should be faced along the way of course: Imix, Ogremoch, and...Uh...those other two.

The reason gods can't take Tharizdun head-on is because he has a corrupting aura which causes immortals to warp and become slaves to his will, possibly even sending them into a demiplane prison outright. This could lead to situations where the PCs have to deal with Pelor in order to get to Tharizdun, and that would definitely be less of a standard combat and more of a puzzle/skill challenge/RP opportunity.

Also Tharizdun seems to have power over dream/nightmares so you can play up that angle with saving an NPC or PC from a dreamscape. Could make for a fun one-shot, even could let the imprisoned PC's player DM that one. But mucking with extended rests could really be the most effective, requiring the PCs find a way to protect their dreams from Tharizdun.

There's a scenario I've always wanted to run called "Through a Mirror Darkly" which would really fit Tharizdun's nodus operandi. When the PCs use a teleport/portal they end up in different rooms (or so it seems). Each room has several dangerous monsters equal to the number of other PCs. Likewise there are an equal number of frosty mirrors. Each PC is given a monster analogue (without the players knowing), though the monsters should have a subtle personality/characteristic hint. My examples aren't epic but...

E.g. The fighter faces 4 monsters - a Displacer beast (the Rogue), an evil Treant (Druid), a fire elemental (Mage specializing in pyromancy), and a marut (the stoic Cleric). In the other PCs rooms the fighter appears as a lumbering troll.

There's more specifics and countermeasures I've written up, but that's the gist of the scenario. It's the sort of thing Tharizdun can pull when he retreats across the planes or through a teleportation circle, with the PCs in hot pursuit.

Oh, one more thing, at those levels you've probably already started doing this, but damaging terrain really helps to speed things up and introduce more threat. In your case I'd give Tharizdun power over the elements which can either happen as a background hazard or can activate when he becomes temporarily invulnerable and sends minions at the PCs. These elemental hazards should be insanely high damage, like bloody in one hit damage (and should be two damage types); also have them changing during the course of battle, both in damage type and mode of attack. You could have a whirpool of darkflame which then becomes pillars of searing acid which spreads among adjacent creatures. It probably would be a pain to map all this changing terrain, but it would give the fight a really unique character.

I'll post more once I've had time to digest [MENTION=4937]Celebrim[/MENTION] 's great comments. Good luck!

I'm using Tharizdun as the big nasty at the end of my campaign too, so I looked at Celebrim's work with great interest. I think I'm using it very close to as-is, but I've added a few traits to make him more challenging without reducing fun.
So I removed some of the stunning effects, or offered players choices to get around them, and varied some of the powers to add more of the entropy back in rather than just cold attacks.

This stat block was created using the great Power2ool, I guess I could make it in the monster builder now, but its export is still more work than Power2ool's.