Question for DM's: Favorite Homebrewed Villain?
- Thread starter Undead Pete
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Undead Pete
First Post
Very cool responses so far...
BUMP
BUMP
)I love making home-brewed villians. If I'm ever bored, or if I'm hit with inspiration, I fire one up. Some of my most recent include (and my gamers better not do research on them!):
"Uldroogosh" - balor fighter5/wizard12. I gave him a +5 vorpal brilliant energy falchion. I'll use him when I want to, as I'm wont to say, "Yank the choke collar" on my group. ;-) I suppose I'll introduce him when and if the PC's ever stumble upon some dark, forbidden artifact, or manage to destroy a demi-lich or something similar, awakening the balor or drawing him to their position due to some long ago contingency. This guy is unstoppable.
"Drisdukuum" - This is my drow arachne10/priestess of Lolth10/wizard5. Not only does she have a former PC acting as a Zin Carla bodyguard, but she's the head of House Drisdukuum (some drow house situated near the classic Vault), and she rides the underbelly of a huge, hairy spider familiar. Also, her flesh is covered in chitinous spiders (her armor) that move to augment any damaged areas. ALSO, she has 6 +3 daggers of venom about her, and the little spiders simply move them to her hands each round for easy use. I'm not 100% done with her, but I think she's cool.
"Azhgaerial" - Ancient male green dracolich rogue13. CR 36, people. Why the rogue levels? So he can remain invisible and deliver awful sneak attacks AND critical blow attacks. Also, I like the improved evasion and uncanny dodge abilities. He prefers to make his presense known once a nearby green dragon is slain by projecting his reptilian eyes near the scene, using eyebite and his paralyzing gaze to hamper PCs while his lich companion (detailed below) mass teleports ghasts, wights, and mummies to the scene. He'll be a monstrous final "boss" creature in my Cult of the Dragon angle, and he'll be ridden by....
"Thalazhan" - This is my male human lich cleric of Velsharoon 5/wizard 10/true necromancer 10. Brilliant boss enemy, and leader of the Dalelands cell of the Cult. While astride Azhgaerial, this duo will be well-nigh invincible. I could go on and on about him.
"Ghrolkoluum" - beholder mage 7. Has anyone really looked at the beholder mage template? It's unreal. This guy can unleash one spell of every level up to 7th in ONE ROUND! He decided to keep his disintegration and telekinesis eyes intact, so I doubt he'll ever enjoy 8th or 9th level magic. Perhaps one day, if he survives, I'll bump him up. He rolls with 4 death tyrants, each of which has no central eye, nor its disintegration or flesh to stone eyes. They are typically kept invisible, allowing for a devestating surprise round.
I make more everyday, and every week my PC's either run from them, or slay them.
My evil NPC group The Dread Six consisted of:
"Kettledryn" - male dwarf fighter 12
"Hellidor" - male human paladin 6/blackguard of Shar 3
"Alagasha" - female human sorcerer 6/shadow adept 5
"Dhalbrancha" - male moon elf fighter 6/Order of the Bow 5
"Valounge" - male human ranger 5/assassin 6
"Ravindrim" - cleric 7/divine disciple of Bane 5
The PC's sley Kettledrym (excellent one-on-one battle between him and the party dwarf Grogan), and Valounge (he was overwhelmed after a failed death attack) not long ago, and the others seek vengence. Lots will happen. I'm always psyched. Eh, if anyone has any comments, feel free to drop them.
"Uldroogosh" - balor fighter5/wizard12. I gave him a +5 vorpal brilliant energy falchion. I'll use him when I want to, as I'm wont to say, "Yank the choke collar" on my group. ;-) I suppose I'll introduce him when and if the PC's ever stumble upon some dark, forbidden artifact, or manage to destroy a demi-lich or something similar, awakening the balor or drawing him to their position due to some long ago contingency. This guy is unstoppable.
"Drisdukuum" - This is my drow arachne10/priestess of Lolth10/wizard5. Not only does she have a former PC acting as a Zin Carla bodyguard, but she's the head of House Drisdukuum (some drow house situated near the classic Vault), and she rides the underbelly of a huge, hairy spider familiar. Also, her flesh is covered in chitinous spiders (her armor) that move to augment any damaged areas. ALSO, she has 6 +3 daggers of venom about her, and the little spiders simply move them to her hands each round for easy use. I'm not 100% done with her, but I think she's cool.
"Azhgaerial" - Ancient male green dracolich rogue13. CR 36, people. Why the rogue levels? So he can remain invisible and deliver awful sneak attacks AND critical blow attacks. Also, I like the improved evasion and uncanny dodge abilities. He prefers to make his presense known once a nearby green dragon is slain by projecting his reptilian eyes near the scene, using eyebite and his paralyzing gaze to hamper PCs while his lich companion (detailed below) mass teleports ghasts, wights, and mummies to the scene. He'll be a monstrous final "boss" creature in my Cult of the Dragon angle, and he'll be ridden by....
"Thalazhan" - This is my male human lich cleric of Velsharoon 5/wizard 10/true necromancer 10. Brilliant boss enemy, and leader of the Dalelands cell of the Cult. While astride Azhgaerial, this duo will be well-nigh invincible. I could go on and on about him.
"Ghrolkoluum" - beholder mage 7. Has anyone really looked at the beholder mage template? It's unreal. This guy can unleash one spell of every level up to 7th in ONE ROUND! He decided to keep his disintegration and telekinesis eyes intact, so I doubt he'll ever enjoy 8th or 9th level magic. Perhaps one day, if he survives, I'll bump him up. He rolls with 4 death tyrants, each of which has no central eye, nor its disintegration or flesh to stone eyes. They are typically kept invisible, allowing for a devestating surprise round.
I make more everyday, and every week my PC's either run from them, or slay them.
My evil NPC group The Dread Six consisted of:
"Kettledryn" - male dwarf fighter 12
"Hellidor" - male human paladin 6/blackguard of Shar 3
"Alagasha" - female human sorcerer 6/shadow adept 5
"Dhalbrancha" - male moon elf fighter 6/Order of the Bow 5
"Valounge" - male human ranger 5/assassin 6
"Ravindrim" - cleric 7/divine disciple of Bane 5
The PC's sley Kettledrym (excellent one-on-one battle between him and the party dwarf Grogan), and Valounge (he was overwhelmed after a failed death attack) not long ago, and the others seek vengence. Lots will happen. I'm always psyched. Eh, if anyone has any comments, feel free to drop them.
Storminator
First Post
One of my current favorites only lasted one battle. So far...
My PCs are storming the castle. they've secured the main keep, and destroyed the temple, leaving only the priest in the tower. All the freed servents are terrified of the priest, because he can look into your soul, and destroy you at a whim.
The evil god is usually just called the Beast, and this particular priest is simply called His Favorite. Both the good god and the evil god have Seers, a type of priest that receives powerful visions and has a permanent Detect Thoughts going. The good religion creates secluded places for their Seers to live peacefully, but the evil Seers go quickly insane from proximity to the temple's resident fiend.
So the heroes are sneaking up on the tower, when the Favorite starts singing nursery rhymes to them. Only the words reveal all the destruction going on in their homelands while the heroes are here in the castle. Then the battle starts. My PCs are 2nd level, and the Favorite is 8th. NO weapons, no armor, just spell after spell. Darkness, Summon Dire Bats, Bane, Unholy Blight, Curse, Curse, Inflict, Inflict.
He's a frail and insane man with no weapons and no armor, yet 58 hps. So I describe him as dodging before you start your attack, not there when your sword hits, etc. Eventually they knock him low. On one of the attacks the paladin crits him on an AoO, and I rule she hacks his hand off.
He leaps on one of the Direbats and rides out of the tower to disappear forever. I'm going to have him return, with his severed hand as a "familiar."
He's really creepy, and I love his name. The Favorite.
PS
My PCs are storming the castle. they've secured the main keep, and destroyed the temple, leaving only the priest in the tower. All the freed servents are terrified of the priest, because he can look into your soul, and destroy you at a whim.
The evil god is usually just called the Beast, and this particular priest is simply called His Favorite. Both the good god and the evil god have Seers, a type of priest that receives powerful visions and has a permanent Detect Thoughts going. The good religion creates secluded places for their Seers to live peacefully, but the evil Seers go quickly insane from proximity to the temple's resident fiend.
So the heroes are sneaking up on the tower, when the Favorite starts singing nursery rhymes to them. Only the words reveal all the destruction going on in their homelands while the heroes are here in the castle. Then the battle starts. My PCs are 2nd level, and the Favorite is 8th. NO weapons, no armor, just spell after spell. Darkness, Summon Dire Bats, Bane, Unholy Blight, Curse, Curse, Inflict, Inflict.
He's a frail and insane man with no weapons and no armor, yet 58 hps. So I describe him as dodging before you start your attack, not there when your sword hits, etc. Eventually they knock him low. On one of the attacks the paladin crits him on an AoO, and I rule she hacks his hand off.
He leaps on one of the Direbats and rides out of the tower to disappear forever. I'm going to have him return, with his severed hand as a "familiar."
He's really creepy, and I love his name. The Favorite.
PS
Andrew D. Gable
First Post
My greatest villains to date (well, the biggest villains in the campaign world) are the blackguard Ivean Kaisser "Gidalean" and his consort, the drow Marina DeVir. Ivean and Marina are joint rulers of the Dark Hegemony, an alliance of three evil kingdoms. Both have interesting backstories, that tie them together.
Ivean/Gidalean was a paladin when met by the PCs early in the campaign, held prisoner (or so it seemed) in the first dungeon by a group of bugbears. On a quest to rid the world of all that he deemed evil, he was unbeknownst to the PCs contacted by the devil Glasya (who the PCs knew as Constance). The devil told Gidalean of a way to destroy evil once and for all, and so thus the paladin was corrupted by the fiend. As a blackguard, he tormented the PCs for a bit, eventually offering himself as the host for the exiled spirit of Mammon, Lord of the Third, who had been defeated in an infernal war precipitated, at least in part, by the PCs.
For reasons unknown, Glasya was also exiled from Hell. Her spirit likewise possessed a native of the Prime Material, this time a drow priestess called Marina DeVir. Marina was also at least partly behind the plot of my Oriental Adventures campaign, in which an orphaned and abused shugenja named Yogo Sayuri attempted to banish the sun-god into oblivion and send the world into an ice age; Marina hoped to take advantage of the weakened defenses of the humans to send an invading army of drow to the surface. Marina and Gidalean slew the king of the illithid kingdom of X'thuul, swiftly allied with the nations of Langstrand and Phrygia, and formed the Dark Hegemony.
Which is, in more ways then one, literally hell on earth.
Ivean/Gidalean was a paladin when met by the PCs early in the campaign, held prisoner (or so it seemed) in the first dungeon by a group of bugbears. On a quest to rid the world of all that he deemed evil, he was unbeknownst to the PCs contacted by the devil Glasya (who the PCs knew as Constance). The devil told Gidalean of a way to destroy evil once and for all, and so thus the paladin was corrupted by the fiend. As a blackguard, he tormented the PCs for a bit, eventually offering himself as the host for the exiled spirit of Mammon, Lord of the Third, who had been defeated in an infernal war precipitated, at least in part, by the PCs.
For reasons unknown, Glasya was also exiled from Hell. Her spirit likewise possessed a native of the Prime Material, this time a drow priestess called Marina DeVir. Marina was also at least partly behind the plot of my Oriental Adventures campaign, in which an orphaned and abused shugenja named Yogo Sayuri attempted to banish the sun-god into oblivion and send the world into an ice age; Marina hoped to take advantage of the weakened defenses of the humans to send an invading army of drow to the surface. Marina and Gidalean slew the king of the illithid kingdom of X'thuul, swiftly allied with the nations of Langstrand and Phrygia, and formed the Dark Hegemony.
Which is, in more ways then one, literally hell on earth.
My turn!
He's not my favorite, but:
Ebrek, Dwarven Vampire 7th level fighter. The party accidently unstaked Ebrek; they found his corpse under a collapsed tunnel, with the broken haft of an axe sticking out of his back. They yanked it off, took his axe, and went on their adventure. And, he stalked them, wanting the axe and gem (it was in the haft's base) back. The party was Convinced that there was something powerful in the gem, but Ebrek's just deadset in getting his stuff. He's still alive, and may return.
The Wind of the Plague, Tiefling Monk 10. The party was dealing with a cell of Talona (Talona is the goddess of Poison, Pain, Suffering and Disease in this world) claiming a city along the Sword Coast to make it a fortress/cathedral for Talona, by summoning a handmaiden to destroy the city's inhabitants. The Wind was his right hand man, the enforcer for the High Priest who stayed in the shadows of the whole opperation.
The Old White One. The party has never encountered him, only his worshipers, but he will be encountered sometime, by someone. I based him off the Wyrms of the North: Arauthator. I love white dragons, and this one is an intelligent exception. What he did was go to an arctic region, and bred with the Lizardfolk, Gnoll, and Barbarian tribes there. He gave them strength, magic, strong leaders, and unity, by bringing half-dragons into their folds. In exchange, they worship him. The parties *did* get into the middle of a regional war between the gnolls (Who had turned their backs on the dragon), Lizardfolk and Barbarians, and had happened to steal Arauthator's eggs from an abandoned lair.
And, my favorite:
Lord Thadeous Grim, Necromancer 11. Grim is just an... Interesting man. He worked at Bleak Academy (Placed in the Meer of Dead Men), aspiring to be a teacher. Well, the Church of Talona wanted a necromancer to animate some dead animals, so that they would circulate around the market, and spread disease. Grim didn't want the job, but since the Church had connections and favors were owed from the Academy, Grim was sent.
Grim did not like his job, but instead of being the crusty, evil old necromancer, he was Very Cheerful. Chipper, conversational, and almost bubbly. Treated his servants like people. The party had to stop his undead operations, and they came to fight him. He tried to convince them Not to fight, that he's just doing his job that he can't stop, so just go away, and we're all okay. But, they couldn't, he couldn't stop, so finally it came down to 'Look, if we're going to fight, could we hurry up? I have defensive spells, and they Do have durations. Oh, and, No area effects in the house. It's not mine, and I want the safety deposit back.'
Unfortunately, Lord Grim was smacked with a Phantasmal Killer in the third round of combat, right before he was going to open up hell on the party (Their tank was scared away from a spirit wall, Grim had cast Summon Undead to get some ghouls and shadows, and was about to unload some nice ol' Maxed Vampiric Touches and Rays of Enfeeb). Sadly, he failed his save, and died prematurely.
Fortunately, the PCs felt sorry about killing him, and are looking his daughter that they subsequently orphaned. Since they still have Grim's journel, they plan on finding her, and giving her a present her daddy had made for her. So, I can still use Grim as an NPC, even if it's just through the diary.
He's not my favorite, but:
Ebrek, Dwarven Vampire 7th level fighter. The party accidently unstaked Ebrek; they found his corpse under a collapsed tunnel, with the broken haft of an axe sticking out of his back. They yanked it off, took his axe, and went on their adventure. And, he stalked them, wanting the axe and gem (it was in the haft's base) back. The party was Convinced that there was something powerful in the gem, but Ebrek's just deadset in getting his stuff. He's still alive, and may return.
The Wind of the Plague, Tiefling Monk 10. The party was dealing with a cell of Talona (Talona is the goddess of Poison, Pain, Suffering and Disease in this world) claiming a city along the Sword Coast to make it a fortress/cathedral for Talona, by summoning a handmaiden to destroy the city's inhabitants. The Wind was his right hand man, the enforcer for the High Priest who stayed in the shadows of the whole opperation.
The Old White One. The party has never encountered him, only his worshipers, but he will be encountered sometime, by someone. I based him off the Wyrms of the North: Arauthator. I love white dragons, and this one is an intelligent exception. What he did was go to an arctic region, and bred with the Lizardfolk, Gnoll, and Barbarian tribes there. He gave them strength, magic, strong leaders, and unity, by bringing half-dragons into their folds. In exchange, they worship him. The parties *did* get into the middle of a regional war between the gnolls (Who had turned their backs on the dragon), Lizardfolk and Barbarians, and had happened to steal Arauthator's eggs from an abandoned lair.
And, my favorite:
Lord Thadeous Grim, Necromancer 11. Grim is just an... Interesting man. He worked at Bleak Academy (Placed in the Meer of Dead Men), aspiring to be a teacher. Well, the Church of Talona wanted a necromancer to animate some dead animals, so that they would circulate around the market, and spread disease. Grim didn't want the job, but since the Church had connections and favors were owed from the Academy, Grim was sent.
Grim did not like his job, but instead of being the crusty, evil old necromancer, he was Very Cheerful. Chipper, conversational, and almost bubbly. Treated his servants like people. The party had to stop his undead operations, and they came to fight him. He tried to convince them Not to fight, that he's just doing his job that he can't stop, so just go away, and we're all okay. But, they couldn't, he couldn't stop, so finally it came down to 'Look, if we're going to fight, could we hurry up? I have defensive spells, and they Do have durations. Oh, and, No area effects in the house. It's not mine, and I want the safety deposit back.'
Unfortunately, Lord Grim was smacked with a Phantasmal Killer in the third round of combat, right before he was going to open up hell on the party (Their tank was scared away from a spirit wall, Grim had cast Summon Undead to get some ghouls and shadows, and was about to unload some nice ol' Maxed Vampiric Touches and Rays of Enfeeb). Sadly, he failed his save, and died prematurely.
Fortunately, the PCs felt sorry about killing him, and are looking his daughter that they subsequently orphaned. Since they still have Grim's journel, they plan on finding her, and giving her a present her daddy had made for her. So, I can still use Grim as an NPC, even if it's just through the diary.
Jolly Giant
First Post
My two favorite villains has (of course!) been the two no party has yet managed to slay! Nothing gets up a players nose more than an enemy that keeps getting away from them.
One was a half-fiend troll with a handfull of fighter levels and a gem with a permanent anti-magic field on it sown into his chest cavity (no-one's figured it out yet!). Because of the half-fiend template the troll had great physical stats, INT 10 and acid, cold, fire and eletric resistance 20.
It's unbelievably hard to kill a troll with a high fire and acid resistance within an anti-magic field!
The other one - my absolute #1 favorite - isn't a typical evil villain really. He's just incredibly annoying! His name's Albright Eberhart Jr. He's geeky, bookish, spoiled, grudge-bearing, bragging, cowardly and a daddy's boy. He collects books, bugs and books about bugs. A nuisance, nothing more... If only it wasn't for all those wizard-levels! 
When the PCs first stepped on his toes -yes, THEY started it!- he sailed as a shipmage on one of his daddy's ships, supposedly protecting it from magic-using pirates. When the pirates actually did strike, he kept busy protecting his own behind for a few rounds, before teleporting to the safety of daddy's mansion!
The PCs hated him from the minute they saw him. Something about him seems to send out a message to the world, saying "I'm utterly useless, a waste of space and air, but if you're not nice to me I'll tell daddy!"
'Daddy' was himself an adventurer in his youth, one of the worlds most famous spell-inventors, before he retired and invested his accumulated loot in a sizeable mansion and a small fleet of cargoships and fishing boats. He's still an honorary board-member of the local arcane order, though.
In his cabin (the door was marked "Albright Eberhart Jr. - MAGE ") the PCs found his extencive collection of dead bugs -one of which was a stuffed giant bee, a large trunk full of clothes -all of premium quality, very neatly folded and with little tags saying 'Albright' in lovely needlework inside, another trunk holding all his books ('The Big Book of Bugs', 'Giant Ants or Formians - What is the Difference?' etc.) - all of wich had printed on the first page "Albright Eberhart Jr. - MAGE", except for one: 'The Beginner's Guide to the Planes' had the inscription "Albright Eberhart Jr. - PLANESWALKER". The bed was made up without a single crease. A small water elemental was trapped in a barrel in the corner. On the wall was a framed Scroll of Limited Wish; 'To Albright, from mom and dad' was printed underneath it. There was also a framed drawing of a girl (medium pretty), with a lock of brown hair tied up all neat and pretty with a red ribbon. There was a toad in a spotlessly clean goldfish-bowl; immediately recognized as his familiar and stamped on repeatedly by the players - they hated the guy that much already! Last of all they found a well-hidden, beautifully giftwrapped book, labeled "To my little butterfly, with love from Albright'. (It was one of those magic tomes that up your charisma, can't remember what they're called right now.)
The players never really hit it off with poor Albright...
Since that first run-in an intens, mutual hatred has built up between them. They've tried to kill him, he's hired others to try and kill them. But young Albright has proved hard to get rid of. He's rich and he's got access to all sorts of magic goodies through his beloved daddy and his order. He prefers spells and items that protect himself and always has a few Dispel Magic ready to counter the spells of others wizards. All these defensive spells means he hasn't got many slots for the offensive ones, so once he's blasted of those, he teleports away - usually with plenty of hit-points still left and leaving my players increasingly more frustrated!
If only my players could get at his spellbook... Then they'd realize that he's actually four levels below them. Now, that would really bug them! And of course, sooner or later Albright Eberhart Sr. will be after them... That should put the fear of mages in them!
One was a half-fiend troll with a handfull of fighter levels and a gem with a permanent anti-magic field on it sown into his chest cavity (no-one's figured it out yet!). Because of the half-fiend template the troll had great physical stats, INT 10 and acid, cold, fire and eletric resistance 20.
It's unbelievably hard to kill a troll with a high fire and acid resistance within an anti-magic field!
The other one - my absolute #1 favorite - isn't a typical evil villain really. He's just incredibly annoying!
His name's Albright Eberhart Jr. He's geeky, bookish, spoiled, grudge-bearing, bragging, cowardly and a daddy's boy. He collects books, bugs and books about bugs. A nuisance, nothing more... If only it wasn't for all those wizard-levels! When the PCs first stepped on his toes -yes, THEY started it!- he sailed as a shipmage on one of his daddy's ships, supposedly protecting it from magic-using pirates. When the pirates actually did strike, he kept busy protecting his own behind for a few rounds, before teleporting to the safety of daddy's mansion!
The PCs hated him from the minute they saw him. Something about him seems to send out a message to the world, saying "I'm utterly useless, a waste of space and air, but if you're not nice to me I'll tell daddy!"
'Daddy' was himself an adventurer in his youth, one of the worlds most famous spell-inventors, before he retired and invested his accumulated loot in a sizeable mansion and a small fleet of cargoships and fishing boats. He's still an honorary board-member of the local arcane order, though.
In his cabin (the door was marked "Albright Eberhart Jr. - MAGE ") the PCs found his extencive collection of dead bugs -one of which was a stuffed giant bee, a large trunk full of clothes -all of premium quality, very neatly folded and with little tags saying 'Albright' in lovely needlework inside, another trunk holding all his books ('The Big Book of Bugs', 'Giant Ants or Formians - What is the Difference?' etc.) - all of wich had printed on the first page "Albright Eberhart Jr. - MAGE", except for one: 'The Beginner's Guide to the Planes' had the inscription "Albright Eberhart Jr. - PLANESWALKER". The bed was made up without a single crease. A small water elemental was trapped in a barrel in the corner. On the wall was a framed Scroll of Limited Wish; 'To Albright, from mom and dad' was printed underneath it. There was also a framed drawing of a girl (medium pretty), with a lock of brown hair tied up all neat and pretty with a red ribbon. There was a toad in a spotlessly clean goldfish-bowl; immediately recognized as his familiar and stamped on repeatedly by the players - they hated the guy that much already! Last of all they found a well-hidden, beautifully giftwrapped book, labeled "To my little butterfly, with love from Albright'. (It was one of those magic tomes that up your charisma, can't remember what they're called right now.)
The players never really hit it off with poor Albright...
Since that first run-in an intens, mutual hatred has built up between them. They've tried to kill him, he's hired others to try and kill them. But young Albright has proved hard to get rid of. He's rich and he's got access to all sorts of magic goodies through his beloved daddy and his order. He prefers spells and items that protect himself and always has a few Dispel Magic ready to counter the spells of others wizards. All these defensive spells means he hasn't got many slots for the offensive ones, so once he's blasted of those, he teleports away - usually with plenty of hit-points still left and leaving my players increasingly more frustrated!If only my players could get at his spellbook... Then they'd realize that he's actually four levels below them. Now, that would really bug them! And of course, sooner or later Albright Eberhart Sr. will be after them... That should put the fear of mages in them!
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