Help with d20 villain group

[Runesong42]

Hey all,
I am planning to use Barret's Crew from the d20 Menace Manual (pp 128-129) as a group of uber-thieves, but I want to put more of a sinister twist on them. I would like to change them from Human to some other humanoid races, races that would be bizarre and unusual to a group of freshly minted players. What I have so far is a Feline Moreau as the leader (who gets whacked), an Ogre Mage, and possibly a Skinhusker. I'm lacking in inspiration, and was hoping that my fellow gamers might come up with some ideas.

The Plot:
The leader (represented by Barret's stat block and will be a Feline Moreau but a lion instead of leopard) has retired from the group, appointing another as his replacement. During his retirement, he meets up with one of the PC's and offers to train her in his trade (this runs strikingly parallel to the movie 'Entrapment' with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones) in exchange for, um, priveleges and company. What the PC doesn't know is that a) he is a Feline Moreau (but will soon), b) he has stashed a considerable fortune; he lives in a large estate and has lots of gadgets and weapons (similar to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) which he purchased with Gold Pieces and FX items taken from the realm of Shadow, c) he kept this secret from his former band, who has recently learned of it and will kill him once they discover the horde's location, and d) upon the Moreau's death, his known wealth and estate will be forfeited to the city, then it will be purchased and used as a home base for some kind of organized crime (to be determined later) led by one of the 'old gang'. This will inspire revenge from the PC, and she will go on a quest to hunt down her mentor's killers.

Based on the plot, do any of you have any interesting ideas for unusual races that might fit in with this kind of plot? I'm just kind of brainstorming, and I don't want to use the 'traditional' villain races (ie Illithid, Yuan-ti, Drow etc.)

 

[tjoneslo]

What kind of crimes does this crime gang commit? Simple thuggery, extortion, bank robbery, drug smuggling, Rule the world?. Gangs usually have a specailty, and once you pick one, it may become easier to select members. For crimes like simply thuggery, an Ogre or Iron Golem is ideal. ("Pay us and George here makes sure nothing bad happens to you"). Good bank robbers need survellance, where a shape shifter comes in really handy, and some traditional thief type skills. Drug (or other illicit substance, say magic love potions?) smuggling require people who like to drive really really fast. Or can fly, or both. (Teleport is cheating).

 

[Runesong42]

I had an epiphany this morning. The PC is playing an orphan come wild child who was raised in a Catholic school, and as a result distrusts authority and especially religion. Won't it just tickle her to have her mentor be an Aasimar, complete with wings?

These thieves specialize in art objects, relics, antiques, etc. as well as Shadow items. As of yet, they do not have a reliable fence, so they've been hoarding all the goodies. Here's what I've decided upon; feel free to offer any advice or better suggestions.

Mentor: Aasimar Smart 4/Dedicated 3/Charismatic 4
Faceman: Ogre Mage (ported from AD&D 3.0 MM) Charismatic 3/Negotiator 7
Cleaner: Half-Dragon (blue) Fast 3/Gunslinger 7
Geek: female Drow Smart 4/Techie 6 (though I may change to Tech Mage)
Ninja: Skinhusker (yup, the fiend) Fast 3/Infiltrator 7

I don't feel quite right about the Half-Dragon. Maybe a Yuan-Ti Psionic Agent/Gunslinger... Basically, someone good with guns who takes care of any "heavy" opposition. I'm still up in the air.

 

[tjoneslo]

I'd suggest using the Ogre Mage as a Cleaner. Give him a variety of magic wands and rods to agument his internal firepower. Split the classes between fast and anything magical. I don't like him as a Faceman, but perhaps that's their problem.

The other thought for a cleaner is something small with wings (sprite or pixie) with a magic gun. The idea being more of a highly mobile sniper. Give them a DragonStar Trauma Symbote (an implated living being which acts as a damage sink).

 

[Runesong42]

*G* I chose the Ogre Mage as a Faceman for two simple reasons. One, he has the mentality to be the Starscream to the Aasimar's Megatron without all the whining. He will eventually betray and convince the others to betray the Aasimar and have him murdered. Second, I believe that Orge Magi have an innate change self ability that would disguise himself as human even if the PC's and others can detect Shadow. I would prefer him not to be the Cleaner for the simple reason that, to me, an Ogre Mage is a much more stylistic villian than a simple killer (though, to be fair, one can be a stylistic killer - just watch Equlibrium with Christian Bale to see).

Heh, now that I've said that, I have a whole new spin on the half-dragon, so I guess I'll stick with that. 'Course, 1/2-dragons are pretty slick leaders, too. *G*

Dang it.

 

[tjoneslo]

I had a thought last night. YOu need a second story man (or two). It fits somewhere between the Ninja and Geek. Geeks don't like to get in the thick of things, and a Ninja spends most of their non-sneaking abilities on killing things. At least from my way of categorising things. So the Geek disables the security from outside (as much as possible), the Second Story guy and Ninja sneak in, SSG makes sure the goods get got and the Ninja makes sure they both get out.

Re: Ogre Mage vs half-Dragon vs. Aasimar. What you have here is a three way competiton for leader position. The Aasimar can keep the other two in line by playing them off each other, but if they gang up they will kill the Aasimar. This gives the PCs a way to disrupt them without having to fight them. Assuming the PCs know about this division.

 

[Runesong42]

Hey, a 2nd story man is a great idea. I could make this NPC be sympathetic to the PC's (you know, they guy who doesn't agree with killing his leader, but goes along because he's not cool/tough enough to argue). Like you said, the Ogre Mage and Half-Dragon will kill the Aasimar, which is fine, because it's in the plot. After which, the group could splinter, or one could go rogue and start his own group. The 1/2-dragon would be the more likely candidate to split on his own - he's got more pride than the Ogre Mage, plus the 'team' would prefer to be rid of the 'wild card'. Then you have a three-way race to the fortune: the PC's, the Ogre Magi's team, and the Half-Dragon's new team. Fun.

 

[tjoneslo]

If you do add another (named) member of the group, the obvious thing to do is to have one of each of the minor villans go with each group (Geek, ninja, 2nd story guy). Don't do this, but make it more complex. Like you envisioned, the second story guy goes with one of the two, but is symathetic to the PCs. Have another one (say the geek) leave altogether, but has some vital clue so everyone has to hunt her down.