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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sollir Furryfoot" data-source="post: 3968651" data-attributes="member: 748">LeadersThe Four Fathers:Fathers are elite assassins, in charge of commanding teams to take out the highest marks.  High mental scores are a must for a Father, moreso than direct power.  They're not meant to be killed in a random encounter, they are too wily to be taken out unless someone prepares for them.  Like all members of their guild, they do not fight fair and generally always know who they're up against, whether they're a target or just an adventurer in the vicinity.  Each Father carries a Father's Blade, typically an adamantine Assassin's Dagger enchanted with more special qualities.  Not all Fathers are Assassins though, and each blade is customized by the guild with this in mind.**********"Adam" was a Drow Monk in the organization.  Smart but not too particularly skilled, 'Son' was the highest level he was told he could reach.  Ambitious and bargaining for more power, he agreed to participate in an arcane experiment that would imbue his soul into a Clay Golem-though he insisted that the new body needed to be crafted to resemble his own.  Quickly adapting to his granted near-invulnerability and strength, he shot through the ranks, reaching the level of "Father" soon after.  He is the most recent Father, claiming his position a few years previous.He is often sent by the guild to assassinate strong magic-users or anyone who can easily be taken out by brute force.  All too eager for any assignment, he seeks to prove his worth to the guild by his work.  By no means stupid, he uses help from his Brothers, often using them to gage his enemies capabilities, strengths and weaknesses.Adam, CR 12LE Clay Golem Monk 2/Warshaper 4Medium Construct (Former Drow)HD: 16d10+20 (135 hp)Move: 30 ft., Init +3AC: 27 (+3 Dex, +12 Natural, +2 Dodge)Saves: Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +8, Grapple +24.Attacks: 2 Slams +20 or 3 Slams +18 (2d10+8)SA: Cursed Wound, Morphic Reach.SQ: Alter Self, DR 10/A&B, Evasion, Fast Healing 2, Haste, Immunity to Magic.Str 26, Dex 16, Con --, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 12.Skills: Bluff +22, Disguise +30, Hide +22, Move Silently +22, Sense Motive +20.Feats: Combat Reflexes, Defensive Throw*, Dodge, Elusive Target**, Improved Grapple,Improved Trip, Mobility, Sidestep Charge***.Equipment: Father’s Blade (Father’s Blade (Assassin's Blade that allows Invisibility Purge and Silence 3/dayon a command word), worn as necklace.*Defensive Throw—If your Dodge target misses, you get an immediate trip attack as an AoO.**Elusive Target (Tactical Feat)—(1) Negate Power Attack-vs. Dodge targeted opponent, opponent keeps attack penalty,(2) Diverting Defense-Declare dodge on flanker, first attack automatically hits his allied opponent, flat-footed instead,(3) Cause Overreach-Provoke AoO by moving away, if opponent misses you may make a Trip attempt, opponent may not trip you back if you fail.***Sidestep Charge—Adam gains +4 to AC vs. Charge attack, gets an AoO for failed charge attack. Clay Golem Abilities:Alter Self (Su): Adam can use Alter Self at will, gaining a +10 to Disguise checks.Cursed Wound (Ex): Wounds a clay golem deals don’t heal naturally and resist healing spells, anyone attempting to must succeed on a DC 26 CL check or the spell has no effect.Damage Reduction: 10/Adamantine and Bludgeoning.Immunity to Magic (Ex): Move Earth drives the golem back 120’ and deals 3d12 damage.Disintegrate slows the golem for 1d6 rounds and deals 1d12 damage.An earthquake cast directly at it stops it from moving on its next turn and deals 5d12 damage.Any magical acid attack heals 1 point of damage for every 3 it would otherwise heal.  It gains excess hp healed as temporary hp.Haste (Su): After it has engaged in at least 1 round of combat, a clay golem can haste itself once per day as a free action.  The effect lasts 3 rounds and is otherwise the same as the spell.Warshaper Abilities:Morphic Healing (Su): Full round, Concentration check (DC = Damage taken) to recover 10 hp.Morphic Reach (Su): Adam has 10’ reach, evident only when he uses it.Morphic Weapons (Su): Increase natural attack’s damage by 1 step.  Can form new weapons.Modus Operandi:[sblock]-If hired as a team, he lets his minions engage his targets first in a battle where he has a good view of things and is able to note the tactics, strengths and vulnerabilities of his opponents.  They only engage for a few rounds before retreating.  If he uses them in the future, it'll be to create a distraction away from his main target.-He uses Alter Self to get within range to the opponent (Gaining a fly speed or a smaller form or a servant's form) with the Father's Blade to Silence (the effect is centered on the necklace), combines with Hide to sneak up.-If there are bodyguards, declares dodge on the stronger looking one, leaving himself "vulnerable" to be charged and flanked (taking advantage of Sidestep Charge and Elusive Target).  When he gets a chance to Trip opponents who will always use Improved Trip to follow up (AoOs shouldn't normally allow for Trip attempts but his feats specify letting him Trip so Improved Trip should work).  He basically slams their heads into the ground, knocking them prone, instead of just tripping them.-Any wound is a good wound since they are *very* difficult to cure effectively (Wands of Curing will be almost useless here), Adam will retreat whenever he takes damage to bring him to half or less, taking a quick breath to let Fast Healing recover his hp, hoping to win his battle through attrition. (Think of him as a Terminator-type)-He only uses Haste if he thinks he can kill his target quickly or to help him run away.  He can easily bust through the wall of a building and drop down to recover if need be.[/sblock]Design Notes:[sblock]Strengths- Major: Strong Physical Defense, Near Magic Immunity, Deadly Combatant (Cursed Wounds), Minor: Tricky Combatant (by virtue of feats), Tireless (doesn't need to rest, eat, breathe, etc...), Transformer (Alter Self)Weaknesses- Adam is less intelligent than the other Fathers and thus less capable of long term planning.  He is prideful and as the newest Father he is eager to prove his worth, he will continue going after a target even after they have uncovered his nature.  Because of this, and because he has specific weaknesses to exploit (the kinks in his Magic Immunity), a well-prepared group can take him out.  A creative group can take him down, such as bull rushing him off a balcony and making him take massive falling damage.Adam was built as a sturdy, very strong "sneak"-type assassin. Clay Golem was chosen for its Cursed Wounds and also because I felt that the material was thematic enough to allow some minor shapechanging.  Begin with a Clay Golem (CR 9), change the size from Large to Medium (10 less hp, -8 str, +2 Dex, -2 natural armor), moved base speed up to 30 ft.-reduced CR by 1 since increasing from Medium -> Large is +1 CR.  The guild modified him with Alter Self so he could perform in missions better (+0 CR), Added on Elite Array with +2 Dex/Int/Cha since Adam was originally Drow (No CR increase due to class levels).  Added on 2 levels of Monk (+2 CR), and 4 levels of Warshaper (I decided on +2 CR, including them as non-associated levels since he only received half the benefits-Morphic Body only gave +4 Str (no Con to gain!) and he already had immunity to criticals from being a Construct.  Elusive Target is a Tactical feat from Complete Warrior, Defensive Strike is from Complete Warrior and Sidestep Charge is from the 3.5e Psionics Handbook (in the SRD).  If you don't have the Complete Warrior or don't like tactical feats, replace those with Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes and Combat Expertise.[/sblock]**********[DM NPC, 40 pt. buy-though you wouldn't guess since it all went to mental scores.  Meant to be a contact for the PCs, enemy you know sort of thing.]"The Architect" is the only living humanoid that is a Father.  He has no particular physical skill or combat prowess and yet he has risen to this level because he is a genius, both in assassination and in plain intellect.  Beyond that, he is known for inspiring loyalty in his minions and not taking excessive risks with them without compromising the job.  He would have been a fantastic wizard if he went into the more esoteric arcane studies, but the mechanics of the political world and of assassination captured his intellect more strongly than magic ever could have.When a high-profile job is undertaken, the Architect is called on to crunch the numbers and create the most effective plan possible.  When taking on a mission himself, his ability to make a Death Attack is without equal and he plans his hits so that he doesn't leave himself at risk.  He ascended to "Father" status at the age of 26 and has had the position for the last 8 years.  Intellect apparently can be responsible enough for getting one to be a "Father" but any further than that?  It seems his main problem is that he's a mortal, though the current Grandfather is pretty sure he can fix that.The Architect, CR 12NE Half-Elf Paragon 3/Human Paragon 3/Asn 6 (Hasted)Medium Humanoid (Half-Elf)HD: 6d8+6d6-12 (50 hp)Move: 60 ft., Init +6AC: 21 (+2 Dex, +5 Armor, +2 Def, +2 Dodge)Saves: Fort +6, Ref +15, Will +14 (+2 vs. Enchantments)Attacks: Dagger +14/+14/+9 (1d4+5, 19-20/x2)SA: Death Attack (DC 28), Poison Use, Sneak Attack +3d6, SpellsSQ: Evasion, Improved Uncanny Dodge.Str 10, Dex 10 (14), Con 8, Int 25 (29), Wis 16, Cha 16.Skills: Bluff + 20, Diplomacy +21, Search +26, Spot +20, otherwise 15+Ability modifierFeats: Ability Focus (Death Attack), Combat Expertise, Dodge, Greater Ability Focus (Death Attack),Improved Initiative, Iron Will (B), Mobility, Spring Attack.Combat Equipment: Father’s Blade*, +1 Chain Shirt of Heavy Fortification.Equipment: Boots of Haste, Cloak of Resistance +3, Gloves of Dexterity +4,Headband of Intellect +4, Potions (Bull’s Strength x3, Heroism x3, True Strike x3),Lesser Rod of Silence, Poison (Death Blade [1d6/2d6 Con, DC 20] x4),Ring of Protection +2.*Father's Blade—+5 Adamantine, Assassin’s Dagger of Defending.Death Attack: (Full buffs, CE 5, Defending 5): +28 Attack bonus, AC 31Spells (CL 9th, DC 19+Spell Level):(4) 4th—Dimension Door, Glibness, Modify Memory(5) 3rd—Deep Slumber, False Life, Magic Circle vs. Good, Nondetection(5) 2nd—Illusory Script, Invisibility, Pass Without Trace, Undetectable Alignment(5) 1st—Disguise Self, Feather Fall, Obscuring Mist, True StrikeModus Operandi:[sblock]The Architect only puts himself at risk for a high reward and sometimes not even then.  He chooses the battleground, the opponents and every detail possible.  To simulate his amazingly high intelligence, assume after watching someone fight he can figure out their attack bonuses, saves, and dice checks.  He knows his own "stats", including the fact that his Death Attack is DC 28.  The fact that he knows he has exactly an 80% chance to kill his target with it is something scary in a D&D world.He comes up with plans that do not put his minions at undue risk, if forced to do a job he will use a combination of Nondetection, Invisibility, Pass Without Trace to get close to his target.  During the 3 rounds of studying he would use Haste from his boots, Drink a Potion of Heroism and then a Potion of True Strike.  He would then assign his +5 defending dagger's bonus to defense and take a -5 penalty for combat expertise, attacking with a +28 bonus for the Death Attack (DC 28), boosting his own AC up to 31 for the round.  He would then Dimension Door out.[/sblock]Design Notes:[sblock]Strengths- Major: Genius, Master of the Death Attack, Inspires loyalty, Minor: Moderately strong in spells, Tactical expert, Underhanded (Poison use).Weaknesses-Frail-bodied, Poor combat skills (for his position), Mortal."The Architect" was built to be both a fallen hero type as well as a skill based though not necessarily roguish assassin.  Definitely one of the brains of this organization as well as one of the smartest people in my campaign.  In overall mental ability, Spinner (see below) has him, though.  40 pt. buy for starting stats of Str 10, Dex 10, Con 8, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 16.  Half-elf Paragon and Human Paragon classes can be found in the SRD as part of Unearthed Arcana.  He chose for his ability bonuses to go to Int for a score of 22+3 for level for 25.  Added on 6 levels of Assassin (the Paragon classes give +3 continued caster level progression so I gave it to him here, which is why his spellcasting is pretty decent).  Important NPCs get Iron Will as a bonus feat IMC, so the Architect gets it.[/sblock]**********"The Heir" is the daughter of the current Grandfather.  As her name implies, she's supposed to be the next one in line.  She's ruthless, efficient and has the most all-around capability of the Fathers (subterfuge, combat, magic, mental capability), indeed she is the example of what an assassin can be.  She will most likely not succeed her father, though, because while she is powerful, her abilities are very generic-she has no special traits to speak of, and her potential has pretty much been met.  Advancing another level or two of assassin would do little to empower her and she's already cheated to power a little (having transformed into a ghast in her middle career for quick advancement).The Heir doesn't know this and will treat her comrades and enemies with great ruthlessness, whatever it takes to get to the top.  She takes the quickest, most efficient assassination methods, whether it be poisoning the food, a knife in the back or orchestrating others to do the dirty work.The Heir, CR 12CE Ghast Rogue 1/Assassin 8Medium Undead (Former Drow)HD: 13d12+26 (146 hp)Move: 30 ft., Init +14AC: 32 (+10 Dex, +6 Armor, +4 Natural, +2 Def)Saves: Fort +6, Ref +22, Will +13Attacks: Bite +18 (1d8+4, Paralysis) and Dagger +18/+13 (1d4+6, Energy Drain)SA: Death Attack (DC 22), Paralysis (DC 22), Sneak Attack +5d6SQ: Hide in Plain Sight, SR 24, Turn Resistance +2Str 18, Dex 26 (30), Con --, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 22.Skills: Hide +36, Move Silently +36, otherwise 16 + Ability modifier.Feats: Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron Will (B),Multiattack, Weapon Finesse.Combat Equipment: Father’s Blade*, Bracers of Armor +6.Equipment: Boots of Elvenkind, Elven Cloak of Resistance +3, Gloves of Dexterity +4,Potions (Displacement x2, Haste x2, Heroism x2), Ring of Protection +2.(In addition to these, the Heir wears an assortment of cursed items that she,by her undead nature, is immune to, as a sort of revenge if she should perishin combat, with her possessions lost.)*Father’s Blade: +2 Assassin’s Blade, drains 2 Negative Levels on a hit, up to once per round (per Life Drinker).Hide in Plain Sight (Su): Can hide in a shadow even while being observed.Paralysis (Ex): Those hit by the Heir's bite attack must make a Fort save (DC 22) or be paralyzed for 1d4+1 rounds.Assassin Spells (CL 8th, DC 13+Spell level):(1) 4th— Freedom of Movement, Glibness, Greater Invisibility(4) 3rd—Deeper Darkness, False Life, Magic Circle vs. Good, Nondetection(4) 2nd—Alter Self, Fox’s Cunning, Invisibility, Spider Climb(4) 1st—Feather Fall, Ghost Sound, Jump, True StrikeModus Operandi:[sblock]As per her description, she does it all.  Not many outside the upper circles of the guild know she's a ghast and she desparately hides this information, by using minor magic items to mask her stench and appearance and by not participating in battles where a witness gets away alive (PCs who find out her true nature and survive might be able to blackmail her into not killing someone, if they can give more to entice her to the offer-she'll kill them later when she has the time and manpower)The Heir is slightly insane but if anything she's very practical.  If direct assassination is out of the question she's willing to use hostages, make bargains, get whatever leverage she needs to get the job done.  She prefers not to get her hands dirty but does so when it's needed, taking advantage of Hide in Plain Sight and Greater Invisibility to gain and keep the combat advantage over her opponents.  If she uses her Death Attack, she's sure to cast Fox's Cunning to boost the DC by 2.[/sblock]Design Notes:[sblock]Strengths- Major: All around capability, Quickest assassin, Inspires loyalty, Minor: Moderately strong in spells, Ruthless, Most efficient.Weaknesses- Potential fulfilled (not much anywhere else for this build to go, especially since she's templated already) and Uncreative (no specialty).Straight up Ghast with Elite Array, 1 Rogue level and 8 levels of Assassin.  The Ghast HD/skill points help greatly with the prestige requirements for Assassin.  Since "Ghast" is sort of a template, I let the Paralysis DC be 10+1/2 character level (instead of ghast HD)+Cha Mod, it makes the DCs more uniform anyways <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />. As per the description, she's designed to do well at all things Asssassin-y and is a pretty generic build (at least for this organization!).[/sblock]**********An original Father, Spinner was there from the start of the organization.  All the other Father positions have been succeeded through the years several times, but Spinner has stayed there despite over a dozen assassination attempts.  She's an invaluable asset to the organization with her Psychic Reformation power, allowing individuals joining the organization to hone and further customize their abilities.  She's also the classic information gatherer and as her name implies she uses this knowledge to further her plots.  Spinner hardly takes assassination jobs personally, often coordinating them great distances away through a telepathic link.  Occasionally she is required to go on a mission by the Grandfather, when her expertise will be valuable.  She'll covertly move into a town or city where her target will be within a week and by morn she will control a great many of them (101 members with her Thrallherd) and begin to weave a complex trap-she especially likes to assassinate Good-aligned paladins and clerics, placing them in moral dillemas with so many innocents at risk.  She's never without a personal thrall (Telepath of CR 11) and at least one of the Brothers under her care.Spinner, CR 12NE Venerable Aranea Telepath 2/Thrallherd 9Medium Magical Beast (Shapechanger)HD: 3d10+11d4-14 (43 hp), 108 hp with VigorMove: 50 ft., Climb 25 ft., Init +0AC: 25 (+1 Natural, +10 Armor, +4 Def)Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +19Attacks: Bite +5 (1d6-3, plus Poison) or Web +9 RangedSA: Poison (DC 10), Psionics, Superior Dominate, Web.SQ: Change Shape, ThrallherdStr 4, Dex 10, Con 8, Int 22 (26), Wis 17 (21), Cha 23 (27).Skills: 17 + Ability modifier.Feats: Extend Power, Inquisitor, Iron Will (B), Overchannel, Psionic Meditation,Twin Power, Unconditional Power.Combat Equipment: Father’s Dagger*Equipment: Headband of the Perfect Mind (+4 to Int/Wis/Cha), Ring of Protection +4.Thrallherd Abilities:Overchannel: Increase ML by 2 for 3d8 damage.Superior Dominate (Ex): Doesn’t have to pay an additional cost for dominating other creature types, 1/day a Dominate has its cost reduced by 9 pp.Thrallherd (Su): Leadership Score 22, Believers: 75 1st level, 7 2nd level, 4 3rd level 2 4th level, 2 5th level, 1 6th levelPowers (ML 13th, 199 pp, DC 18 + Power level):7th—Personal Mindblank6th—Aura Alteration, Mass Cloud Mind, Temporal Acceleration5th—Metaconcert, Power Resistance, Psychic Crush, True Seeing4th—Correspond, Divination, Dominate, Psychic Reformtion, Schism3rd—Body Adjustment, Dispel Psionics, Psionic Blast, Timehop2nd—Aversion, Brain Lock, Cloud Mind, Suggestion1st—Charm, Conceal Thoughts, Inertial Armor*, Mindlink, Sense Link, VigorModus Operandi:[sblock]Combat Tactics?  Don't get involved.  Ever.  Spinner uses Personal Mindblank and a lot of hefty non-psionic skills to go undetected, hiding in a public place under guise of her Alternate Form.  She's sure to always reside somewhere that has a lot of innocent hostages, such as a hospital, orphanage, or a homeless shelter.  She uses Dominate on her stronger minions, augmenting the duration to at least 26 days (Augment to 1/day per level, then add on Extend Power).  She gives them entirely free will so few resent her for it, and primarily uses the power to both maintain constant mental contact as well as to contest others who would mentally dominate her minions.  The power Aura Alteration is also useful for getting a minion close even to those with magical detection abilities (It's really fun, look it up if you don't know what it does!).If someone should find her and engage her in combat, she is fond of using her Thrallherd discount on Domination to give her the ability to use Twin Domination.  Even if someone should stun her, she has Unconditional Power to either use Twin Domination or Time Hop (healing and buffing herself before the duration is over). As above, if forced to do a mission she'll take over much of the populace, perhaps moving to a local hero's hometown and enslaving the minds of all of his friends and family, taking them as hostages and using them to fight the hero.  If she absolutely has to show herself, she will bring along her Telepath Thrall as well as a 3-5 more lesser psychics she has dominated and form a Metaconcert with them.  Right now she has a lot of useful, non-combative powers, should someone ever truly provoke her ire, she has the ability to use Psychic Reformation to fully re-outfit and tailor all of her Powers to destroy them.  Such an action is costly though and is rightly reserved for special cases.[/sblock]Design Notes"[sblock]Thrallherd was used to give her a unique schtick.  Designed to be a Mastermind-type assassin.  Took an Aranea, switched out 3rd level Sorcerer abilities for 3rd level Psion.  Gave her the elite array, then advanced her to venerable (-6 Str/Dex/Con, +3 Int/Wis/Cha, -3 to CR, see above).  Stacked on 2 Psion (Telepath) levels and 9 Thrallherd levels.  By far the most mentally strong of all the Fathers, her intelligence is only beat by one other in the guild.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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