Kingmaker: Extra Stag Lord Minions

[Werebat]

(WARNING -- spoilers, first module only)

I'm running a variant (EXTREME variant) of the Kingmaker campaign. In fact, one of the few mostly unmodified bits from the first module will be the Stag Lord's fort.

The party has seven members, all of whom are level 3. One is a cavalier with a warhorse, another is a ranger with a wolf companion (I let him take the Bonded feat at level 1 so he's had it for a while now). Combined with the overall intelligence and generally decent tactics of the group, I'm calling it equivalent to an eight-man party.

I want the Stag Lord encounter to be challenging, so I'm thinking I need to add a few extra lieutenants to his ensemble. I don't want to bump anyone's level as it's not that the party is too high level for the encounter to be challenging -- there are just too many of them.

So I'm trying to think of a few good lieutenants for the Stag Lord. The campaign is set in an ice age where civilization has been all but destroyed, so this may factor in to what types of characters may join his band of bandits.

There's already the SL himself (Ranger/Rogue), a rogue, a fighter, and a barbarian. I've got the idea of a sorcerer (white draconic bloodline) who uses cold spells as well as chill touch and claws. I'd like some sort of shamanic healer but am unsure of what PF offers in the realm of shamanic classes. Other than that I'm all ears.

Any suggestions?

 

[Werebat]

One quick and dirty idea that just occurred to me would be to have "Beaky" be partially trained by the SL... To the point where it won't attack the SL himself and he can try to direct it with commands, but it might frenzy and just attack random people if it gets seriously hurt. ???

 

[Crothian]

I'd start by just adding more undead if they end up trying to go over the wall. Then I'd add more bandits. Make them low level so not much of a challenge but in numbers that can be a problem if the alarm gets sounded. Maybe add a few guard dogs to bark as an alarm as well.

 

[SteelDraco]

If you want a healer shaman-type, you might consider an oracle. Life oracles can be powerful healers, and some of the other mysteries can feel shaman-ish.

 

[Donal Graeme]

I think the Sorcerer idea is good, and you should have him/her be 4th level in order to cast 2nd level spells. Any higher would imbalance the encounter/s too much.

As for a healer, you can go either witch or oracle. Since you already have a sorcerer/sorceress, an oracle is a good bet. A waves or battle mystery would be appropriate, perhaps with the haunted curse. Also 4th level.

Another idea is to have an evil bard serve as the Stag Lord's emissary/frontman. Rather than have him actively fight the PCs, have him help direct the battle and buff the bandits using his magic and bardic music. This gives the party a choice: ignore him, because he is not actively fighting them, or take him out to weaken the other bandits. You could take this a step further by having him run from anyone attacking him, but he resumes his role once he is clear.

 

[Drathir]

also don't let the stag lord be drunk. He's what lvl 5/6 right? but when hes drunk/passed out he takes a major dive on the whole combat thing so yeah, try that out it might be all you need if the party isn't sneaky enough to get in without being attacked.

 

[Werebat]

Thanks for the ideas! I'm definitely going with the sorcerer, who I agree should be level 4. I also like the bard idea -- if he plays drums, he could be a decent animal trainer as well, so maybe he spends his time trying to control Beaky and/or a pair of guard dogs.

I'd already thought of sobering the Stag Lord up... I'm not sure. It's a quick and easy change, so it has that going for it, but I sort of like the flavor of him being a drunkard.

Another obvious thought was to have Akiros stay with the bandits all the way through the fight, which is also a quick and easy change, but I don't think I want to do that. I'm changing Akiros to fit the campaign, and I have plans for him.

 

[Donal Graeme]

I would be wary about sobering the Stag Lord up. He is extremely deadly even while sickened, and can 1 shot a weaker PC, especially one with d6s and no con modifier. The best way to counter the large number of PCs is to throw more enemies out them, and get them to spread out attacks, so they can't gang up on individual NPCs.

Using a couple of wolves, perhaps in conjunction with the Bards, as pets under control of the Stag Lord or the Bard is another good idea.

I personally like Akiros as an NPC, as he has a little more depth than some of the others in Kingmaker, so changing him to stay loyal is iffy. Also, he is a great mechanic to pull the party's bacon out of the fire if they overstep themselves against the Stag Lord, which is easy to do at level 3.

 

[Werebat]

Update -- if anyone had been keeping track...

I went with two new lieutenants: a sorcerer and a bard. I changed the sorcerer's bloodline to Borean, instead of Draconic (I wanted a blaster and draconic bloodline lent itself better to a melee type building towards dragon disciple -- I may use that later on so he'll be a higher level NPC someday).

Our Borean sorcerer is set up with a handful of damage dealing cold spells, including lesser orb of frost and snowball swarm. Spell Focus: Evocation and Spell Specialization: Snowball Swarm help him capitalize on his bloodline power that bumps the DC of his cold spells. With his high charisma, he replaces Akiros as "second in command" (and is in reality already the power behind the throne, as it were).

The bard is a "controller" type with a whip and the dazzling display feat. On his hip is a masterwork drum that he uses for percussion performing, which aids in his intimidate checks for dazzling display as well as handle animal checks for purposes of keeping Beaky under control (thanks to versatile performance). A few choice first level spells like grease and sleep give him plenty to do in the fight. His high charisma makes him a rival of the sorcerer's, and they don't like each other much.

 

[Werebat]

I personally like Akiros as an NPC, as he has a little more depth than some of the others in Kingmaker, so changing him to stay loyal is iffy. Also, he is a great mechanic to pull the party's bacon out of the fire if they overstep themselves against the Stag Lord, which is easy to do at level 3.

Also, Akiros will function more or less the same mechanically as he did in the original -- in fact, I'm not changing his build at all -- but his backstory is considerably different.