Pimp my lich

[Bungus]

Spells without saves are always nice, though you may want to ensure that their effects are not too debilitating. Tempting as it may be to maze the party cleric the first chance you get, it would not be fun for that player to effectively sit out the entire fight in another dimension.

While it's not fun, it is a realistic choice for a villain to cast "Maze" on maybe a front-line fighter to take it out of action for the fight. Then, maybe let the player run an NPC for the duration?

It is a high level campaign and I would find it unrealistic if at least 1 PC did not die each major combat - I don't mean permanently dead, but down to below zero where they need a "Revivify" or a "Close Wounds" type of action, followed by a "Heal" spell. The moment when the charging fighter makes his save vs "Finger of Death" can become a memorable moment in the campaign.

 

[Invincible Overlord]

I would recommend at least two levels of Archmage. The first for Spell Power (your spells are as only good as their DC), and Spell Shaping (so you don't hit your minions). Remember to also take the feats Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus. A 20th level with a 30 INT should then have a base DC of a 24 for a 1st level spell (base 10, +10 int, +2 for Greater Spell Focus, and +2 for Spell Power).

Although he may be a necromancer (and if the party knows he's a necromancer), he might want to have a good backup school just in case...

 

[Bungus]

I would recommend at least two levels of Archmage. The first for Spell Power (your spells are as only good as their DC), and Spell Shaping (so you don't hit your minions). Remember to also take the feats Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus. A 20th level with a 30 INT should then have a base DC of a 24 for a 1st level spell (base 10, +10 int, +2 for Greater Spell Focus, and +2 for Spell Power).

Although he may be a necromancer (and if the party knows he's a necromancer), he might want to have a good backup school just in case...

Thanks - I was planning on a few levels of Archmage at least. I also like the one that gives the archmage the ability to deliver a touch spell up to 30 feet away.

 

[Sharkon]

Level 20 arcane caster, with a focus on necromancy. Possibly a few levels of PrC in there as well (any suggestions? Archmage?)

Formerly human, maximized intelligence.

Some good high level spells to use on them. Should it go specialized caster or not? If it specializes on necromancy, which schools does it exclude?

Thanks

As fas as the schools you want to exclude are concerned the first you must rule out is enchanment. Now for the second, i would say either transmutation (if you do not go into high levels) or abjuration. I say those coz i think that Conjuration and Illusion spells are better combined with Necromancy (as i have seen on a Necromancer in our party) and of course you cannot exclude Evocation.But if you have better ideas and you have found good spells follow your build

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One of my favorite set of feats for Necromancers- and any undead spellcaster by extension- are the "Fell" metamagic feats from Lords of Madness:

Fell Animate LoM p26 Living foes slain by your spell may rise as zombies.

Fell Drain LoM p27 Living foes damaged by your spell also gain a negative level.

Fell Frighten LoM p27 Living foes damaged by your spell are also shaken.

The first one is s especially nasty if your players are prone to adventuring with a bunch of hirelings or less powerful allies in order to have their own little army (offsetting whatever horde you might throw at them).

 

[Elethiomel]

As fas as the schools you want to exclude are concerned the first you must rule out is enchanment. Now for the second, i would say either transmutation (if you do not go into high levels) or abjuration. I say those coz i think that Conjuration and Illusion spells are better combined with Necromancy (as i have seen on a Necromancer in our party) and of course you cannot exclude Evocation.But if you have better ideas and you have found good spells follow your build

Evocation is eminently excludable. You can find plenty of damaging spells that aren't Evocation, but there is no non-Abjuration Mordekainen's Disjunction. I must admit there are some good Evocation-unique spells: Wall of Force, Forcecage and Contingency are all very good, and that's just from PHB... just none of them are as defining as Gate, Disjunction, Shades, Wail of the Banshee, Otto's Irresistible Dance or Time Stop. Protection and dispelling, both Abjuration mainstays, are among a big bad's best tricks. They help the big bad seem tough (because of their defensive buffs) and highly threatening (because a Disjunction is a terrible thing to a buffed-up party of adventurers carrying magic items) without necessarily making the villain capable of a 1-round total party kill.

Personally I feel that a generalist at that level is more powerful because of their broad spell selection - spells per day aren't really that much of a problem at higher levels, especially if you find good mid level spells to do most of your grunt work for you. However, a villain with interesting barred schools can make for an interesting encounter because they'll have to adapt their strategy to cover for their casting weaknesses.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Should it go specialized caster or not? If it specializes on necromancy, which schools does it exclude?

According to this book:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Dungeons-Dragons-Fantasy-Roleplaying/dp/0976808501]Amazon.com: The Power Gamer's 3.5 Wizard Strategy Guide (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying): Goodman Games Staff: Books[/ame]

Specialization is almost always worth it from a mechanical standpoint.

It was written with just the Core3 in mind, but I think the analysis generally holds up. And, IMHO, if you're going to specialize, you might as well go Focused Specialist (PHB2). For a BBEG- here, a lich- anything you give up will have a price, of course, but its balanced out by the fact that such a foe will probably be well prepared and in its lair.

In this case, I'd say that you could probably do without Transmutation. Its my favorite school, but I think it reaches its peak utility when used in a party of equals or near equals. If you want to do direct damage, you need to keep Evocation or Conjuration, but you don't need both. Illusion and Enchantment are both similar in that they "judo" your foes- again, you could probably do without one or the other. Personally, I'd keep Illusion, for reasons partially delineated in this thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-3r...g-dragon-vs-high-level-party.html#post4826842

While Necro seems an obvious one to keep, its not essential. Some of what the school grants overlaps with the inherent abilities of the Lich. There's nothing wrong with improving one's strengths, but dropping Necro in favor of keeping both Evocation and Conjuration for instance would mess with the players'- and PC's- minds, as the BBEG keeps tossing off damage spells and summons while the necro spell they're geared to fend off never comes...

I'd also look into Reserve Feats that match its spell selection, the UA spellcaster variants (esp. those that sub for Familiars), and maybe even something quasi-exotic, like racial substitution levels (if any apply). (Missed that thing about him being human...)

For example, while they're considered "sub-optimal," the Heritage feats from CompArc give a nice wrinkle to any arcanist. Sure, you'd need at least one level of Sorc to qualify, but once gained, it works with all (level 1+) arcane spells a PC knows...and as a spell-like ability can be used while grappled, etc. For a specialist who eschews the Evocation school, they can provide a touch of direct damage dealing- with an area effect. If you pick Infernal Sorcerer Howl, for example, your BW would be a sonic weapon...something that few parties will be prepared to resist meaningfully. The output isn't high, but you probably won't need it to be.

 

[Bungus]

One of my favorite set of feats for Necromancers- and any undead spellcaster by extension- are the "Fell" metamagic feats from Lords of Madness:



The first one is s especially nasty if your players are prone to adventuring with a bunch of hirelings or less powerful allies in order to have their own little army (offsetting whatever horde you might throw at them).

Are you sure on the book Lords of Madness? I opened it up to pages 25, 26 and 27 and it speaks of aboleth society? In looking through the ToC, I did not see any sections on undead & fell feats? Do I have the wrong version?

thx

 

[Bungus]

While Necro seems an obvious one to keep, its not essential. Some of what the school grants overlaps with the inherent abilities of the Lich. There's nothing wrong with improving one's strengths, but dropping Necro in favor of keeping both Evocation and Conjuration for instance would mess with the players'- and PC's- minds, as the BBEG keeps tossing off damage spells and summons while the necro spell they're geared to fend off never comes...

Actually, not a bad idea, as I'm sure they'll buff up with things like 'death ward' & 'sheltered vitality' if they expect necromantic spells from a lich.

I would just need to keep the lich free to cast his spells, which is why I had mentioned using a 'forcecage' as a defensive measure in another thread. If more than 1 fighter gets into melee with the lich, the lich will be dropped in a few rounds - the level 16 or so warrior types are going to be hitting 2-3 times each for 25 minimum with each hit. So, 75-80 points from one and then 75-80 from another and the lich is in serious trouble.

 

[Elethiomel]

I would just need to keep the lich free to cast his spells, which is why I had mentioned using a 'forcecage' as a defensive measure in another thread. If more than 1 fighter gets into melee with the lich, the lich will be dropped in a few rounds - the level 16 or so warrior types are going to be hitting 2-3 times each for 25 minimum with each hit. So, 75-80 points from one and then 75-80 from another and the lich is in serious trouble.

There are many solutions for that. Mirror Image is one. There's an improved version in the Spell Compendium IIRC that lets you cast it as an immediate action. Other ways to introduce a miss chance or other forms of evasion could be ghost form, Illusory Walls, Solid Fog, etc. Don't forget Stoneskin and other DR granting buffs. Defense is stronger than offense for big bad guys, especially if you want combats to feel like they're a struggle. Two glass cannons going up against each other is a crapshoot, but doesn't feel like it. It feels like an easy win if you win, or just bad luck if you lose. Going up against someone with good defense can feel like a proper struggle, with each hit that lands and does damage a little victory in itself, if you sell it right.

Also, with all that intelligence the lich is likely to understand that having its buffs dispelled will be disastrous, so give it at least one Ring of Counterspelling with Greater Dispel Magic cast into it, and cast new ones in as needed.

As for picking Necromancy as a barred school, this is an interesting choice. I wouldn't do it personally because it feels like you should have to be able to cast Necromancy spells in order to become a lich. There's nothing in the rules about having to be able to cast Necromancy spells to create a phylactery though, so it's a rules-legal option.