DM seeking evil cleric idea

[Senior Bobo]

A little while ago my party thawrted the minor plots of a 5th evil cleric but unfortunately (for them) couldn't finish him off before he got away. I'd like to reintroduce him at some point later, probably after the pc's have gained a few levels and forgotten all about him. I'm thinking he'll be somewhere between 10-12 by the time they cross paths with him again.

I've been reading all the prestige classes, feats and spells I can find in books I use in my games (pretty much all WotC sources, mostly 3.5 but I'm willing to look at anything 3.0 and later) and I can't find anything that really calls to me so I'd figure I'd ask for help from the devious minds here.

The cleric as it stands is 5th level, human, CE, with domains of trickery and evil (with a homebrew god who's pretty much all about backstabbing and sneaky evil). His feats are scribe scroll, brew potion (he was masquerading as a potion merchant, and occaisonally poisioning people with his 'potions of healing'), and malign spell focus from BoED. He really likes raising undead because it gives him fodder and servants, but he's not obsessed with them. His main MO has been either to seem to be an innocent while actually working against everyone around him, or controling other people, through magical compulsion, blackmail, or addiction to drugs he creates, who seem like innocents to do his dirty work for him.

I'd be interested in any ideas for feats, prestiege classes and anything else. I'm not really set on this domains, either as I could easily say his near death experience with the player caused him to lose or switch faith to a 'stronger' power. I'm also thinking leadership will be a must for him at some point so ideas on cohorts will be appreciated. He has a 14 charisma at present. His only other defining characterstic is his 7 strength, so he's not a combat machine by a long shot. In a direct fight he'd have to rely on either lots of minions or his spells/powers.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[mikebr99]

Always thought an evil Thaumaturgist would be kewl...

YMMV


Mike

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Just a few ideas:

Have to agree that an evil Thaumaturgist seems like a cool idea--with the way this cleric sounds, it seems like he'd "upgrade" to summoning demons to do his dirty work.

For a bit of a twist, said cleric could switch over to an Assassin or Blackguard PrC, due to their handle poison abilities. As for his low Strength, some level increases, or a magic item (like a manual of gainfule exercize (IIRC) or a belt of giant strength) could counter that. At the very least, he could at least bring up his Str to a 10-11 to eliminate any penalties to hit & damage. If said cleric has a decent Dex (at least 14+ I'd say), consider increasing his Dex score & gain Weapon Finesse, and go with the Assassin PrC--something to augment that trickery/sneakiness aspect. Plus, I'd be a nice deviaiton/twist from the idea of fighters-turned-blackguards or rogues-turned-assassins concepts.

As a bit of a mix, perhaps said cleric could gain a few levels of sorcerer, in order to diversify a bit (possibly using bracers of armor or similar magic items in order to eliminate chances of ASF, as well as any skill penalties). As a sorcerer, he could select spells he either flat out doesn't have access to, or select spells that'd really augment his tactics/clerical abilities (perhaps arcane spells that deal with undead, charm spells to make quick "recruits" for battle fodder, etc.).

Hope this helps some.

 

[Ferox4]

Look into the Book of Vile Darkness. There are loads of wicked evil spells, feats. PrC's and the lot. It's a worthwhile purchase.

Cheers

 

[Nightfall]

Yeah especially if the cleric converts over to Orcus. Course I'd upgrade Thrall of Orcus for +1 spellcasting through all levels and a bonus feat at 4th and 8th levels.

 

[Gregor]

The Strife Leader (cyricist) out of Faiths and Pantheons might fit your evil god of trickery / backstabbing.

Cheers,

 

[rkanodia]

The Concussive Spell template from Dragon #311 (I think) might not be evil per se, but your players will sure think YOU are evil for having the cleric use it! A concussive sound burst attacks Will saves and Balance checks at the same time, making it highly likely that anyone in the area will be out of comission for a round. Then the zombies go to town on them, with nice bonuses to attack!

 

[Nightfall]

Bah. You want a good sonic spell, Austilian's Violent scream is MUCH better. That, Beetle Swarm, along with Blood Water and Bloodied blade, are some good evil spells.