so, there's this level 45 evil mage...

[Thatguy27]

i need some advise on this one, because it seems nearly impossible, and being a kind of custom game, our characters are slightly broken in power. not enough to take the 45 mage on without dying instantly without a good plan though.
so, here is the setting.
we are in a near-god level mages tower, trying to kill the mage. in our party, we have everyone at level 25. one is a paladin/Grey guardian with a great-sword imbued with neutral energy (think lightsaber, only a fortitude save can stop it from instant beheading. ), a fire-mage, an item crafter/gun specialist, a rouge who is otherwise normal, a crystal mage who makes crystal swords to fight, a swordmage with incredible fist fighting and shadow spells, a regular mage, and a semi-unlimited amount of raw materials at our disposal. we are one meeting away from finding/trying to kill this mage, and we don't know how to do it without dying. any advice?

 

[Dandu]

File down the blades of your swords until they are dull.

 

[kitcik]

Think outside the box. Use the element of surprise if you can.

Somehow planeshift his entire tower to hell/heaven/somewhere he'd get his butt whipped.

Instantly encase/immerse his entire tower in (non-magical) lava/acid/something he is unlikely to have a defense up for around the clock.

You have a big group of epic characters - get some wicked ally (a demigod?), convince them its in their best interest to help you off this guy, ???, profit (as Dandu would say).

Use a time traveling effect to kick his butt when he was 1st level.

Anyways, try to think of something creative. I am pretty sure he is ready for a frontal assualt from a band of adventurers. Even if you can figure out a way to get one surprise round, you have a chance to win.

 

[Greenfield]

Anti-Magic field?

Yeah, it nerfs your PCs, but swords still work in there, and anything non-epic that he throws won't.

After that, it's just a matter of staying on him. Have two characters Grapple with him. Even if they don't have the feat, he'll probably get only one AoO per round, so the second one can get through. Being grappled adds 20 to the Concentration DC for any spell casting he might try, on top of whatever damage your swordsmen manage to pile on, and if the only spells he can even try are Epic, you have all the numbers stacked in your favor that he won't be doing any spellcasting.

I think there's a term for that, isn't there? For a wizard who can't cast any spells? Oh yeah, I remember: Target

Note that bows and other ranged weapons fired from outside the AMF will still get their attack bonuses. The only thing they'll lose is magical damage mods. Mighty helps here.

Oh, and a grappled character loses their DEX mod, so the Rogue should have a field day.

Now, getting close enough to pull this off? That's a separate problem, isn't it.

 

[NaturalFn20]

I'd laugh if he has 20 levels of fighter as well but just calls himself a mage.

Or if he has some levels in Cleric and casts freedom of movement on himself so he can't be grappled.

If he's level 45. I'd say the best way to handle him is to...run?

You don't have to win every battle.

 

[Greenfield]

Would Freedom of Movement or a Ring of Free Action work in the Anti Magic Field?

And 1 20th level fighter, plus useless Mage levels, against several 25th level combatants? I'd still put my money on the team.

What would be funny would be if he was actually a Dragon all this time. Now, try to grapple him in the Anti Magic field, as he automatically reverts to his natural form when the Polymorph is suppressed.

 

[Thatguy27]

good ideas, and they will help a lot, thanks.

we've been trying to think outside the box, but one of the details we got about the tower screwed half of our plans, mainly that the tower is dimension locked.

thus, no summoning/asking higher powers to help, and no running.

 

[NaturalFn20]

I personally don't see your team living, but hey, if it all works out well, be sure to let us know how well they did.

 

[Dandu]

I'd advise you ditch the AMF strategy. It's not nearly as good as it sounds, if only due to the difficulty of getting a 45th level mage within 10 ft of you.

Suprise rounds might also be difficult to accomplish given that Foresight prevents someone from being flatfooted.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

good ideas, and they will help a lot, thanks.

we've been trying to think outside the box, but one of the details we got about the tower screwed half of our plans, mainly that the tower is dimension locked.

thus, no summoning/asking higher powers to help, and no running.

Hmmm... How about a different approach, then?

Polymorph any object--gather up as much lava as you can polymorph into forms that you can transport. Take this to the top of his tower and dispel the polymorph. Since it's dimensionally locked he can't polymorph away.

Be prepared to follow it up with plenty of wall of stone castings once you have him pinned. If he doesn't have energy immunity and some way to breathe he's dead. If he does you still have a major advantage--he can only cast stilled spells and he can't prep any new ones. (Even if he can prepare some without his books I wouldn't allow him the concentration to do it while embedded in lava.)

One problem with this is that most loot will be destroyed.