Help with a Halfling Wizard...

[Inconsequenti-AL]

This sounds like fun. Have some random musings:

If I was him... and I knew the party was coming... I'd consider hiring some serious help. Planar Binding is a good 6th level option - Single 14 HD creature - Bodyguarding is an open ended task, so IIRC, you'd get 14 days service per summoning.

If you're feeling in a particularly RBDM mood, it could have been compelled into service - so no resource depletion - if it's done that way, I'd play it up as an unwilling helper, who could turn on its summoner? A crazy demon on the warpath is great for any fight!

Casting time of 10 minutes + bargaining time so he could use it unless completely suprised.


How about a golem as a cohort - fits, they're cool and they kick ass! Especially spellcaster ass!


I stay away from save = no effect stuff, but then I don't like those sort of spells as a player either.


Grasping hand is a great 7th level spell. Send it off to grapple the parties wizard. That ought to amuse him for a few rounds and keep the nasty evocations away IME, it doesn't get used nearly often enough! As a bonus - Redirecting is only a move action, which further increases its usage.


Creating an illusionary dummy of yourself can be fun - lure the party into ruining any suprises they've got prepped.

Another 7th leveler - Reverse gravity is a fantastic spell. Used with a little care, this can thorougly ruin anyones day. Works best in rooms with very high (or pointed ) ceilings... it'll give 70 square foot of pure distraction...


Limited Wish is a possible to pull an unexpected suprise out of the bag? Something from the Druid or Cleric lists possibly.


Minor/normal Globe of invulnerability could be fun. Possibly researched a permenancy effect for it (not one on the list) - have a corner of his sanctum permenantly protected? That would make for a valuable but different treasure for the party.


Symbols can be rather effective. Their duration doesn't start until their first activated, so you could reasonably keep one in your pocket for emergency usage... They are pretty expensive, but could be worth it.

 

[shilsen]

How about a golem as a cohort - fits, they're cool and they kick ass! Especially spellcaster ass!

Plus if you have the right spells (e.g. fire spells with an iron golem or lightning with a flesh golem), you can simultaneously damage enemies and heal the golem.

 

[Darklone]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but fire spells heal iron/steel golems, not stone golems, right?

 

[shilsen]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but fire spells heal iron/steel golems, not stone golems, right?

Whoops. My mistake. Thanks for the catch.

 

[uzagi_akimbo]

Another path to go - make him a wizard /alieniest (from T&B ) and walk the conjuration road - Augmented Summoning + pseudonatural template = nasty. Sick whatever beasty you get on the wizard and cleric to keep them busy - look for things with 'reach' (or maybe pick something thematic with a similar CR - a CR 5 or 6 hydra might be a really mean pick for SM-6 or SM-7) and multiple attacks, hehe - or simply pick a huge elemental, boosted by augment summoning and pseudonatural which could really ruin their day (best write a spare scroll or two, as well ) . Or some wicked undead (like shadows ) preluded by some area blanking "Darkness" or "Blacklight" to make the shadows even more deadly. Maybe combine incorporeal or range attacking summoned creatures with some "webs" or similar impediments. "Adrenaline Surge" from MotW is another handy boost spell. The extra conjuration spells from the specialisation certainly do not hurt.

Also, using conjurations (summoning) does not break Invisibility so the PCs might be hard pressed to pin-point their nemesis while he sends monster after monster at them.

As for countermeasures - use "blur" to cancel out the rogue's sneak attack (concealment negates sneak ), "mirror image" to confound the barbarian's charge, maybe employ "baleful polymorph", "blindness" or similar fortitude based magics to neutralize the wizard (and rogue) without immediate death, "grease", "feeblemind", "Rainbow pattern" or confusion for the fightertypes ("shatterfloor" from Magic of Faerun works nicely by both dealing damage AND halving the movement in the target area, too. In addition, it has a Will-based, not Reflex-based save ), "web" to cancel the cleric (and possibly barbarian).
"Stoneskin" should definitely have been cast on the BBEG ( to ward against that barbarian surprise charge ). "Nystul's Gentle Reminder" (revised in 'Unapproachable East') is a wonderful, yet cheap spell to soften up a wizard or rogue, some.

Try 'drawing' offensive spells (like those "fireballs" ) through ruses - major images of oneself appearing around a corner and casting (maybe use a wand for this ), "ghost sound" sounding like the casting of a "fireball" or even some "shadow conjurations" to make things more dangerous if simply 'ignored'. As the PCs have no sorcerer but a wizard, they might quickly run out of "high yield" ammunition. Area "dispel" the group once or twice to get their long-duration (and hard to replace ) melee buffs off them.

"Ghostform" (T&B) might work very well if fighting in closed quarters (like a crowded warehouse, basement or dungeon ) by allowing the BBEG to appear out of nowhere through a wall, floor or ceiling, cast something nasty and fade away with a 5' step into the wall again.
Use "Wall of stone" or "Wall of Force" to divide the players group into more managable portions if indoors, then hit them piecemeal while they cannot assist each other.
Telekinesis is a wonderful tool to hurl a victim away from the group and possibly into something nasty (like over a cliff, into deep water, onto another house (if fighting on rooftops) or into a group of summoned monstrosities )

And as a special treat (depends upon how evil and shameless the guy is ) - take some cared-for associates/important citizens/beloved consorts hostage via "baleful polymorph" prior to the attack, then keep the poor things (in their current incarnation as mice/toads etc. ) on your person and let the PCs KNOW you have them on you - which should eliminate "nuking" rather well, for fear of killing the NPCs along with the BBEG (of course that might pose a problem if a dispel magic gets cast and said NPCs are capable combatants ).

Or even worse - kidnap them - then stow them away someplace else - and bluff the PCs that you have them on you. Maybe even kill one and let it revert to its normal shape to convince them. THAT should real make your players hate him...... And of course, they might even be reluctant to kill you in close combat, for fear of never retrieving/releasing said hidden NPC hostages....

 

[eXodus]

well my players took on Yellow Thistle last week. and i must say your advice was very helpful. i tried to use a lot of the nasty tricks that were given to me on this thread. i teamed him with two 6th level fighters and a really brutal 12th level fighter. sadly the goons did not do too well.

the battle ended with the human fighter/barbarian wandering off into the woods from an insanity spell. he never ever played a part at all in the battle. the halfling rogue/cleric's intelligence had been reduced to a one from a feeblemind spell. the elven evoker who turned out to be the hero of the encounter was blinded via a powerword blind spell. the dwarven devoted defender spent most of the fight in a acid fog unable to do a damned thing. the human rogue ended up dead via a finger of death.

the only thing that saved the party was a very lucky area dispel magic spell by the blind evoker that made our little guy lose his fly spell. our houserule is a dispelled fly does not dissolve into a featherfall effect. so he plummeted to the ground nearly dead. that is when the dwarf came out of the acid fog (at last) and finished the halfling off with repeated axe swipes.

thank you to everyone who helped me out! it made for a great encounter that my players simply loved.

next they will begin a hunt for their lost artifact. also it will be being hunted down by a hired assassin. so this assassin will be the next great villian with his cadre of thieves. i will keep you posted...

 

[Darklone]

Great. I love it when PCs win just barely.

 

[Tatsukun]

Ooh, not much makes a better assassin than a Dopelganger! Add a few levels of Rogue, a level of cleric (with the magic domain to he can use all wands without a check) and there you go, instant fun!

-Tatsu

 

[Zaruthustran]

Druids make the best assassins

next they will begin a hunt for their lost artifact. also it will be being hunted down by a hired assassin. so this assassin will be the next great villian with his cadre of thieves. i will keep you posted...

Assassin? Nice. I recommend a Rogue 3/Druid9/Assassin1/Shadowdancer2. Make sure he has Extra Wildshape and Natural Spell.

This guy can Hide in Plain Sight, has a Death attack (DC 11+Int mod), has 3d6 Sneak Attack, can wildshape into a Large creature 4/day (for 8 hours at a time/effectively an entire day, plus one extra use), has Darkvision, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, and 1 level of Assassin spells and up to 5th level Druid spells.

So here's the nefarious plan:

1. Set up an ambush to kill two of the party's mounts. Don't make it look like that's the intent, but make sure it happens.
2. At the next little town, have your assassin Wildshaped as a horse. Have a townsperson sell this horse, as well as another horse (the druid's Animal Companion) to the party. Arrange it so that the townsperson is a true dupe, unaware of the horses' nature.
3. Make sure that the druid/horse is wearing a bit & bridle that is an Amulet of Undetectable Alignment, covered by a Nystul's aura so as to appear nonmagical.
4. Have your assassin serve as a loyal steed for a week or so, learning about the party, their items, their nighttime routines, their tactics (arrange a few skirmishes).
5. Have the druid assassin keep busy while travelling, during rest times, at night: he'll use Wild Empathy, Speak with Animals, and Charm Animal spells to make friends with the other steeds. When the time is right, he'll ask these friends to buck and attack their former masters.

The sneaky disease attack:
1. At night, wildshape into a rat. Sneak up to the cleric. Hit him with a Still Contagion (cackle fever) and watch him save or take 1d6 Wis damage. That'll ruin his spellcasting the next day!
2. As above, but hit the wizard with Mindfire.
3. As above, but hit the fighter or rogue with Shakes or Red Ache. Remember that if you fall below a pre-req for a feat, you lose access to the feat: Str or Dex damage may eliminate use of Power Attack, Dodge, bow feats, other feats.
4. If you're discovered, quickly summon a BUNCH of dire rats and sneak away (hiding in plain sight). Once you rejoin the horses wildshape back into a horse. Remember that you don't leave tracks unless you want to.

The sneaky death attack:
1. Start by using a Still, Silent spell to hit the druid's rider with Poison, followed by Contagion. Do it during a river crossing, or while the party is fighting (summoned) animals that may reasonably be expected to carry poison or disease. This will seriously weaken the rider and get the cleric thinking about preparing curative spells the next day (taking the space of damaging spell slots). It's unlikely that the party has Neutralize poison prepared.
2. That night, wildshape into a stealthy animal. Sneak up to the sick guy. He's been poisoned and diseased, so his Con score--and Fort save--will be weak. Study this guy for three rounds and then bite him (attack with a melee natural weapon). He has to make a Fort save or die.
3. If you kill him, great! Pick him up, drag him away, and dispose of the body. If you don't kill him, too bad. Flee, wildshape back into a horse, and resume your ruse.

The sneaky stealing attack:
1. This one is simple: just rob the spellcasters of their spell component pouches, spellbooks, and holy symbols. You can do this as a dire weasel (Dex 19), while Hiding in Plain Sight. This gives you a pretty big bonus to your Sleight of Hand checks, especially if your targets are asleep. Do this while the rogue is asleep--he's the only guy who might have a spot to rival your Hide. The guy on watch won't see anything because you're Hiding in Plain Sight with a +17 or so Hide check (not counting distance or darkness modifiers), and you leave no tracks. So steal items one at a time, take them somewhere, destroy what you can (spellbooks, nonmagical holy symbols, and components), then go back and get other items. Once you have everything wildshape into a human, put the stuff into a bag, then wildshape into a horse--the bag will become part of your body.
2. The party will awaken without a means to cast spells, or prepare new wizard spells. Doh.

The regular attack (do while in Difficult terrain, such as a swampy area or an area with brambles:

0. Hit the area with a Silent, Still Heat Metal. You'll be fine, the party won't be.
1. One of the casters will likely do an Area Dispel Magic. That's fine. Let them buff up as well, or waste divination spells or items trying to find their attacker. (See Invisible, etc.)
2. After the buffs expire and the party has settled down cast a Still, Silent Call Lightning. It lasts 1 min/level.
3. Buff up with a Still Bear's Endurance and a Still Resist Energy. Whinny for the verbal components. Have your animal companion join the act. "What's up, boy?"
4. Summon a swarm of bats to attack one of the spellcasters. Rear up and whinny for the casting part ("What's up, boy? Smell something?") then have the bats swarm out of the trees and attack--by having summoned critters attack in this way it'll keep spellcasters from thinking they're summoned/keep them from casting Dispel Magic.
5. Summon some animals and have them swarm out of the swamp. Crocs do a lot of damage, and you can get a bunch of them with a single 3rd level spell. Don't worry so much about the Still and Silent thing--with all the yelling going on from the crocs and bats, it's not out of the ordinary for a horse to join in making some noise.
6. Hit your rider with a Poison when he's hit by a croc (Ready an action).
7. Start directing the lightning bolts. Don't be afraid to target yourself--you have Evasion, and besides, you can buff yourself with Protection from Energy (fire and lightning).
8. Add Flamestrikes to the mix after you've used all of your lightning bolts.
9. Summon more animals to harry the nearest enemies.
10. Have your animal companion bolt away from the group, carrying its rider far away. Have the other horses likewise scatter. If you want, Dominate the horse of one of the casters and have that horse attack.
11. You also bolt, carrying your rider away and out of sight. With Woodland Stride you'll be able to cover a lot of ground and put Difficult terrain and distance between yourself and any pursuers.
12. Study your rider for three rounds. Allow yourself to be slowed, "reigned in", and turned around, so that the rider doesn't just abandon you to head back to the fight.
13. Bite the rider with a Death Attack. His Fort save will be low thanks to the Poison (primary and secondary damage of 1d10 Con).
14. Wildshape into a dire bear and kill your rider, hide the body, then return to horse form and rejoin the group. The fire and lightning will have likely killed one of the mundane mounts, or the party may have killed your animal companion. In either case, someone else will ride you.
15. If the going gets tough, wildshape into a wolf and walk away, hiding in plain sight, leaving no tracks thanks to Trackless Step and moving through brambles with Woodland Stride. If the rogue is still alive (the only one likely to be able to Spot you) then cover your retreat with Fog Cloud.

If that doesn't work:
Track the party with animal companion, or do it yourself as a wolf or with a spell. Once found, harry them during the day with summoned creatures. Then, have your animal companion attack them at night, preventing rest, while you sleep peacefully in a tree somewhere (as an Owl) and recover spells. Soon they'll be depleted of spells and at your assassin's mercy, at which point you can negotiate some kind of interesting deal.

Build of Druid assassin:
Human
Rogue 3/Druid9/Assassin1/Shadowdancer2
Low Str and Dex (8 or so), mediocre Con (12 or so), high (16 or more), Cha, Wis and Int.
Note: as a horse he'll have 18 Str, 13 Dex, 17 Con.
Skills: Max concentration, hide, move silent, sleight of hand, disguise. High bluff, sense motive, know: nature, handle animal, spellcraft.
Items: Undetectable Alignment bit & bridle. Horse blanket of Intellect +4 (hidden by Nystul's aura). Horseshoes of Wisdom +4 (hidden by Nystul's aura). Other items.
Feats by level:
1. Still spell, Silent Spell
3. Spell Focus: Necromancy
6. Combat Casting (I hate this feat, but he'll be casting a lot of still, silent spells on the defensive while wildshaped).
9. Extra Wild Shape
12. Natural Spell

Heavy Warhorse animal companion
As MM, plus:
Link, share spells, Evasion, Devotion, Multiattack
+6 HD (and +2 feats), +6 Natural Armor, +3 Str, 4 bonus tricks.

-z

PS: For extra fun, instead of a human druid use an Awakened horse druid. Such an assassin can serve as a steed and won't be revealed even under True Seeing. If you go this route he'll lose a feat, so remove Combat Casting (the horse's high Con will make up for this).

 

[James McMurray]

You are an evil, evil man.

Congratulations!