BBEG of a Different Color

[Chaos_Kitten]

Forgive me in advance if I have plopped this down in the wrong place. It's just that my question is so vague it might belong here.

I want the baddie in my campaign to be a cat. I know this sounds silly and a prank, but it's most certainly true. My idea is the feline is in fact a cursed wizard or sorcerer. He or she poses as the familiar of a puppet spellcaster. One that the party will initially think is their main threat.

The problem is I don't know where to go with this build. I was thinking of the cat caster to have complete control over the "puppet's" mind and be pulling the strings. Though that may be too difficult to feasibly pull off.

What are your ideas or suggestions? I would be very happy to hear them all.

 

[evildm]

I'd have the puppet caster also believe that he/she is truly in control. All the familiar does is quietly plant suggestions and pull strings. The party eventually will defeat the puppet caster and think that the threat is dealt with forever, but things won't let up. I also wouldn't drop any hints that the familiar is the threat. Only mentioning that they see a cat leaving the scene when they defeat the "villain", and sometimes thereafter.

Of course, cat's are egotistical, so the real villain will make itself known eventually.

 

[devoblue]

Just pondering a BBEG rubbing up against the characters legs looking for a scratch.

 

[Aaron L]

That's a really cool idea, the big evil wizard is actually just a pawn of his ultra mega powerful familiar!

I'd say if you want to do it have him permanently polymorphed, maybe by a magic item. A magic item that lets you assume the form of a cat should be easily doable. The Natural Spell feat sets a precedant for spellcasters casting in animal form. Either make up a similiar feat for him, or have it be a property of a magic item that lets him do it. As for the mind control, I'd use True Domination. I know it's a psionic power, I'm not sure if it's an arcane spell or not, but there's no reason you couldn't make an arcane version for the wizard to have.

Sounds really cool, let us know how it turns out.

 

[FireLance]

Sounds like you've been reading too much PVP .

If you haven't, you should:

In the Beginning (Story arc)
The Problem of Being a Cat (one day only)
The Assassination Plot (Story arc)

 

[Lord Pendragon]

You may want to consider having the true BBEG be a psion. If memory serves, there's a PrC in the 3.0 Psionic Handbook called the Mindbender that eventually gains a permanent thrall. The faux-BBEG could be the true BBEG's thrall. Not sure if the new 3.5 XPH has updated the Mindbender or not, though, not having that book.

Also, you might consider the BBEG having become a cat due to a more powerful wizard's (or even a god's/demigod's) curse. Legends are full of evil beings cursed by the gods, and this would add to the legendary air surrounding your BBEG, if it took a divine being to curtail his power. It might even play into the BBEG's motivations, in that he is searching for [insert artifact name] to break his curse and regain his true form and full power.

 

[Snoweel]

I want the baddie in my campaign to be a cat. I know this sounds silly and a prank

No dude, it actually sounds awesome; just my style (though in this case yours ).

Consider it yoinked.

 

[CyberSpyder]

You may want to consider having the true BBEG be a psion. If memory serves, there's a PrC in the 3.0 Psionic Handbook called the Mindbender that eventually gains a permanent thrall. The faux-BBEG could be the true BBEG's thrall. Not sure if the new 3.5 XPH has updated the Mindbender or not, though, not having that book.

Heh. I'm not sure if that's the case or not...but I do know that there's a PrC in Tome and Blood called the Mindbender that gets a permanent thrall by level 10. As a bonus, it's an arcane caster.

Unfortunately, I think it's only 6 caster levels, all told.

 

[Gez]

The PrCs in the PH are Pyro, Soulknife, Slayer, and Metamind.

The Mindbender was indeed in T&B.

I don't know the content of the EPH.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Heh. I'm not sure if that's the case or not...but I do know that there's a PrC in Tome and Blood called the Mindbender that gets a permanent thrall by level 10. As a bonus, it's an arcane caster.

Unfortunately, I think it's only 6 caster levels, all told.

That's the one I was thinking of.