Help me make some wicked villains

[not_me]

(hmm, I guess that's a nice double entendre in the title for this post)

The scenario: high-level campaign
The problem: GM burnout on making some challenging and interesting villains
The villains: several groups that have come together for this 'operation'
The request: Ideas anyone has (or villains you have used and wish to share) to make this malicious band (the BBEGs) a fight the PCs won't forget.

Basically, I'm calling out for some help in making up the NPCs listed below.

The primary sources: Core, all FR books
The secondary sources: other WotC books if necessary

The evil dudes:

1 priest of undead power (lvl 13-15)
1 priest of hatred, tyrrany (domains destruction, evil, level 14-16)
1 high-powered wizard (lvl 14-16)
1 mystic theurge of undeath (necromancer/cleric, lvl 13-15)
1 blackguard (lvl 14-16)

Also, any interesting ideas/twists on making:

Evil Monk-types
Blackguard
Nasty or fighter types
One Durregar Psionic type
Assasin/Rogue types
Other nasties

Equipment desired, but no artifacts et al.

Thanking a lot in advance,

not_me

MODERATORS: Move to more appropriate forum if it should be there

 

[Thanee]

Just some very rough ideas...

1 priest of undead power (lvl 13-15)

Undead priest? Or one with powers related to undead?

1 priest of hatred, tyrrany (domains destruction, evil, level 14-16)

Initiate of Bane. Battletide is nasty!

1 high-powered wizard (lvl 14-16)

Maybe a Red Wizard/Archmage?

1 mystic theurge of undeath (necromancer/cleric, lvl 13-15)

True Necromancer comes to mind.

1 blackguard (lvl 14-16)

*shrug* Well, a blackguard. Some fighter and barbarian mixed in never hurts.

Geez, that's a lot of spellcasting...

Bye
Thanee

 

[Darklone]

The evil dudes:

1 priest of undead power (lvl 13-15)
1 priest of hatred, tyrrany (domains destruction, evil, level 14-16)
1 high-powered wizard (lvl 14-16)
1 mystic theurge of undeath (necromancer/cleric, lvl 13-15)
1 blackguard (lvl 14-16)

Ok. Hmm... At least one priest should be undead, perhaps a melee dude... ghoul or wight? Perhaps with monk levels and MANY unarmed attacks ? The high powered wizard: A lich? That's never wrong.
Mystic Theurge necro: Give him an UA skeleton familiar bodyguard.
Blackguard: Wounding doublewielded whips ?

Also, any interesting ideas/twists on making:

Evil Monk-types
Blackguard
Nasty or fighter types
One Durregar Psionic type
Assasin/Rogue types
Other nasties

Evil monk types: See undeads with level drain above ... if you wanna houserule it that way.
Nasty or fighter types: Nasty AND a fightertype: Halfdragon/halfogre barbarian frenzied berserker with spiked chain and improved trip.
No ideas about the psios...
Assassin rogue... take a tiefling, those buggers are always bad evil sneaky dudes.
Other nasties: Kobold sorcerers. Need I say more?

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I second the lich in there! - A lich cleric can be really good fun - might fit for the death priest role. They work well together - If they know they are facing a lich, then it toys with the players expectations nicely - You can also make them a vicious, armoured touch attack machine! Consider using some of the more amusing buff spells - righteous might, divine power et all. Reach spell feat could also be funny.

A lich Druid is a BEG/BBEG idea I've been toying with for a while. Just trying to work out what would drive a druid to become a lich: Possibly they felt the need to stay alive longer than their alloted span...

And another one!

A Werebear (MM says always Lawful Good) - Paladin... Guess what - he fell and became a blackguard. Hybrid form is really going to give somebody a very nasty shock.

Someone in that group ought to have diabolic allies and be able to planar ally/bind in demons. I'd consider making that the schtik of the wizard - make them a tiefling could be good.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Do you have the Monsternomicon? It has a template called the Eldritch. It's basically an elf who refused to die when their time is up-kind of like the Numenoreans, except instead of invading heaven, they turn undead. It's not FR, but it should fit nicely.

 

[not_me]

Ooops... I did mean a cleric of a diety concerned with undead -- though having some undead clerics (not the main dude) could be interesting later...

I'll have to look up the true necromancer (which book again, is it in T&B), and the skeletal bodyguard is a nice touch, ditto with the tiefling.

As for litches... all in good time ... (shhhhh)

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm also guessing the environment could also make it interesting, as well as ensuring everyone (the BBEDs) work together...

not_me

 

[Storminator]

Make the blackguard a hexblade. That's a neat little combo.


Make the rogue a Rogue/Wizard/Assassin/Arcane Trickster.

PS

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

As for assassin types, Invisible Stalker Assassin (if you rule that Invisible Stalker Assassins don't really need ranks in Disguise...)

AR

 

[Spatula]

I would stick with Mystic Theurge for the the wizard/cleric. True Necromancer is a more interesting PrC, but it only advances in one spellcasting class, although all your caster levels stack for necromancy spells. OTOH, only advancing in one class means you don't need to focus on both your Int and Wis scores.

Wiz 3/Clr 3/MT 8 (14th lvl NPC)
Can cast 6th level wizard spells (11th level caster) & 6th level cleric spells (11th level caster). Wizard & cleric class abilities are stuck at 3rd level.

Wiz 5/Clr 5/TN 4 (14th lvl NPC)
All PrC caster levels go to wizard.
Can cast 5th level wizard spells (9th level caster) & 3rd level cleric spells (5th level caster), but has a caster level of 14 for necromancy spells. Rebukes undead as a 9th level cleric, is always surrounded by a 20-ft radius desecrate effect, and has create undead (14th level caster) as a 1/day spell-like ability.

Hmmm, maybe I'd use True Necromancer after all.

 

[Spatula]

One Durregar Psionic type

The obvious route would be a duergar psychic warrior. Perhaps with a spiked chain or a guisarme, improved trip, and the stand still feat. Another possibility is a duergar monk/fist of zuoken (a psionic monk PrC in the XPH), especially if you buy the idea that a duergar's natural psionics fufill the feat requirement for the PrC.