IF “TOES BROS” MEANS ANYTHING TO YOU, READ NO FURTHER! I’M LOOKING AT YOU, DRAGONSOFTHEELEMENTS AND XCELIOUS!
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My players are level 12, and the most recent villain is mainly social based. The players are basically the “official adventurers” for the government. Recently, disasters have been popping up all over the kingdom. These disasters are all rooted in necromancy- a “root rot” disease for crops where the plants would grow out of ground dead, a necromancy—y plague. At each of these disasters, a person named Callum Portachettas has been mysteriously popping up and becoming a savior. For example, during the “root rot”, Callum provided an oasis for all of the starving farmers with food.
Although this is obviously suspicious to the players, Callum has gained quite a following, especially among the “country folks”. The characters are popular, but mostly in the city. The countryfolks have felt neglected for some time, and Callum is excellent at charming them. The players absolutely HATE Callum- they spend a lot of mental energy not attacking him, haha. They are certain he is a “bad guy”, but if they attacked him, they would probably be murdered by the loyal followers he surrounds himself with. Right now, he has “discovered” a cure to the plague, and they are furiously planning a sort of smear campaign. A while ago, they stole his journal, which was entirely written in anagrams, and only just now managed to solve it. It proves that he is part of a necromancer’s group they have been tangled with since the beginning fo the campaign.
If they release this smear, there will certainly be consequences, but I’m not exactly sure what. As they are the most powerful law-enforcers in the kingdom, it may come to them confronting him in combat. As such, I need a statblock.. The problem is, he is mainly powerful socially, so I am not sure how to build him. Should he be a powerful skill caster too, or fight with minions? Should they just easily take him down once his reputation is ruined? Any ideas are welcome, even if they arent’ about statblocks.
It seems like he should have lots of minions, you say he surrounds himself with them. They could do the bulk of the fighting. You could give him some charm powers, like an incubus/succubus. Or just plain make him an incubus who is shape shifted into a human form.
The main reason to make taking him down be an interesting fight is to make the PCs feel properly satisfied by smashing his face in. Which may well be a satisfaction they want.
Note that he might just be a puppet and the actual villain that needs smashing is the person or creature creating the plagues he's conveniently curing.
I think that it would be a refreshing change for the villain to be a mastermind rather than a boss fight. Make them incredibly difficult to get to, not difficult to kill. Make them anticipate the parties every move ahead of time, and have backups of backups for their getaways, distractions, and so on.
I'd use a Nobles stats, maybe give them spells if you think they need them. Maybe they just employ wizards to protect them, artificers to arm them, and minions to die for them.
If he is that appreciated by the people - he is likely to have a large number of devoted followers. Keep in mind that the followers won't likely believe the smear campaign (they would probably consider it "fake news" even if the PCs produced the journal - the followers would claim it was faked or since they had to deduce what it says that they deduced incorrectly and that the real secret message in the journal had nothing to do with necromancers).
In fact, the entire smear campaign could be a plot by the adventurers to remove one of their detractors from influencing the government with the ultimate goal that they plan to overthrow the government and set themselves up as kings/dictators/rulers. Conspiracy theories for the win :)
Also, you might want to make the villain more charismatic than any of the PCs (perhaps they found a tome that was handed down through the family) giving them a very high charisma (22 or 24?) as part of their stat block.
This villain doesn't do things themselves, they have loyal followers (even high level, smart and powerful ones) that provide for all they need. He may have several custom magic items to keep himself safe - a ring of spell storing or two with dimension door and/or teleportation circle for quick escapes. His close followers likely know of his vulnerability and will lay down their lives allowing him to escape. The problem your PCs will have is not fighting him - it will be pinning him down - and when they fail they will have brutal epic fights with his high level followers.
If the reverse smear campaign by the villain to destroy the reputation of the PCs is somewhat successful, he could probably be a bit more open in sending supporters to plant more evidence against the PCs and/or take actions that might lead to their incarceration or possible elimination. e.g. The bad guys wake up a dragon that starts rampaging through some towns in the east - the players have to take action to try to stop the dragon - in the meantime, the BBEG foments unrest in the west and the capital while the PCs are away, planting evidence of their corrupt nature .. maybe even clues that it was some employees of the characters that woke the dragon searching for treasure for the greedy PCs and now they claim to be defending the country from a threat they manufactured on purpose :)
However, this could be quite frustrating for the players having to deal with a charismatic, intelligent opponent who is almost impossible to trap but who isn't very powerful in a traditional sense. Especially if the BBEG is successful at starting to destroy the PCs reputation and standing with the government (the BBEG can probably "purchase" support within the government from some individuals to raise doubts and questions about the PCs :) ).
P.S. Keep in mind that the BBEG would definitely have purchased a clone or had one made by a high level follower so that even if the players succeed in killing them - they really haven't.
I have borrowed Victoro Cassalanter from Dragon Heist, for a similar kind of role in my adventure.
in their last encounter he succeeded with Rod of Rulership on most the party. so they thought he was awesome, but one of the party could see that he was a crook.
If he is that appreciated by the people - he is likely to have a large number of devoted followers. Keep in mind that the followers won't likely believe the smear campaign (they would probably consider it "fake news" even if the PCs produced the journal - the followers would claim it was faked or since they had to deduce what it says that they deduced incorrectly and that the real secret message in the journal had nothing to do with necromancers).
In fact, the entire smear campaign could be a plot by the adventurers to remove one of their detractors from influencing the government with the ultimate goal that they plan to overthrow the government and set themselves up as kings/dictators/rulers. Conspiracy theories for the win :)
Also, you might want to make the villain more charismatic than any of the PCs (perhaps they found a tome that was handed down through the family) giving them a very high charisma (22 or 24?) as part of their stat block.
This villain doesn't do things themselves, they have loyal followers (even high level, smart and powerful ones) that provide for all they need. He may have several custom magic items to keep himself safe - a ring of spell storing or two with dimension door and/or teleportation circle for quick escapes. His close followers likely know of his vulnerability and will lay down their lives allowing him to escape. The problem your PCs will have is not fighting him - it will be pinning him down - and when they fail they will have brutal epic fights with his high level followers.
If the reverse smear campaign by the villain to destroy the reputation of the PCs is somewhat successful, he could probably be a bit more open in sending supporters to plant more evidence against the PCs and/or take actions that might lead to their incarceration or possible elimination. e.g. The bad guys wake up a dragon that starts rampaging through some towns in the east - the players have to take action to try to stop the dragon - in the meantime, the BBEG foments unrest in the west and the capital while the PCs are away, planting evidence of their corrupt nature .. maybe even clues that it was some employees of the characters that woke the dragon searching for treasure for the greedy PCs and now they claim to be defending the country from a threat they manufactured on purpose :)
However, this could be quite frustrating for the players having to deal with a charismatic, intelligent opponent who is almost impossible to trap but who isn't very powerful in a traditional sense. Especially if the BBEG is successful at starting to destroy the PCs reputation and standing with the government (the BBEG can probably "purchase" support within the government from some individuals to raise doubts and questions about the PCs :) ).
P.S. Keep in mind that the BBEG would definitely have purchased a clone or had one made by a high level follower so that even if the players succeed in killing them - they really haven't.
IF “TOES BROS” MEANS ANYTHING TO YOU, READ NO FURTHER! I’M LOOKING AT YOU, DRAGONSOFTHEELEMENTS AND XCELIOUS!
Skip to the bottom for the question without lengthy context!
My players are level 12, and the most recent villain is mainly social based. The players are basically the “official adventurers” for the government. Recently, disasters have been popping up all over the kingdom. These disasters are all rooted in necromancy- a “root rot” disease for crops where the plants would grow out of ground dead, a necromancy—y plague. At each of these disasters, a person named Callum Portachettas has been mysteriously popping up and becoming a savior. For example, during the “root rot”, Callum provided an oasis for all of the starving farmers with food.
Although this is obviously suspicious to the players, Callum has gained quite a following, especially among the “country folks”. The characters are popular, but mostly in the city. The countryfolks have felt neglected for some time, and Callum is excellent at charming them. The players absolutely HATE Callum- they spend a lot of mental energy not attacking him, haha. They are certain he is a “bad guy”, but if they attacked him, they would probably be murdered by the loyal followers he surrounds himself with. Right now, he has “discovered” a cure to the plague, and they are furiously planning a sort of smear campaign. A while ago, they stole his journal, which was entirely written in anagrams, and only just now managed to solve it. It proves that he is part of a necromancer’s group they have been tangled with since the beginning fo the campaign.
If they release this smear, there will certainly be consequences, but I’m not exactly sure what. As they are the most powerful law-enforcers in the kingdom, it may come to them confronting him in combat. As such, I need a statblock.. The problem is, he is mainly powerful socially, so I am not sure how to build him. Should he be a powerful skill caster too, or fight with minions? Should they just easily take him down once his reputation is ruined? Any ideas are welcome, even if they arent’ about statblocks.
It seems like he should have lots of minions, you say he surrounds himself with them. They could do the bulk of the fighting. You could give him some charm powers, like an incubus/succubus. Or just plain make him an incubus who is shape shifted into a human form.
The main reason to make taking him down be an interesting fight is to make the PCs feel properly satisfied by smashing his face in. Which may well be a satisfaction they want.
Note that he might just be a puppet and the actual villain that needs smashing is the person or creature creating the plagues he's conveniently curing.
Give him a noble statblock. If you need a big climatic battle, then have some minion be that combat.
I think that it would be a refreshing change for the villain to be a mastermind rather than a boss fight. Make them incredibly difficult to get to, not difficult to kill. Make them anticipate the parties every move ahead of time, and have backups of backups for their getaways, distractions, and so on.
I'd use a Nobles stats, maybe give them spells if you think they need them. Maybe they just employ wizards to protect them, artificers to arm them, and minions to die for them.
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If he is that appreciated by the people - he is likely to have a large number of devoted followers. Keep in mind that the followers won't likely believe the smear campaign (they would probably consider it "fake news" even if the PCs produced the journal - the followers would claim it was faked or since they had to deduce what it says that they deduced incorrectly and that the real secret message in the journal had nothing to do with necromancers).
In fact, the entire smear campaign could be a plot by the adventurers to remove one of their detractors from influencing the government with the ultimate goal that they plan to overthrow the government and set themselves up as kings/dictators/rulers. Conspiracy theories for the win :)
Also, you might want to make the villain more charismatic than any of the PCs (perhaps they found a tome that was handed down through the family) giving them a very high charisma (22 or 24?) as part of their stat block.
This villain doesn't do things themselves, they have loyal followers (even high level, smart and powerful ones) that provide for all they need. He may have several custom magic items to keep himself safe - a ring of spell storing or two with dimension door and/or teleportation circle for quick escapes. His close followers likely know of his vulnerability and will lay down their lives allowing him to escape. The problem your PCs will have is not fighting him - it will be pinning him down - and when they fail they will have brutal epic fights with his high level followers.
If the reverse smear campaign by the villain to destroy the reputation of the PCs is somewhat successful, he could probably be a bit more open in sending supporters to plant more evidence against the PCs and/or take actions that might lead to their incarceration or possible elimination. e.g. The bad guys wake up a dragon that starts rampaging through some towns in the east - the players have to take action to try to stop the dragon - in the meantime, the BBEG foments unrest in the west and the capital while the PCs are away, planting evidence of their corrupt nature .. maybe even clues that it was some employees of the characters that woke the dragon searching for treasure for the greedy PCs and now they claim to be defending the country from a threat they manufactured on purpose :)
However, this could be quite frustrating for the players having to deal with a charismatic, intelligent opponent who is almost impossible to trap but who isn't very powerful in a traditional sense. Especially if the BBEG is successful at starting to destroy the PCs reputation and standing with the government (the BBEG can probably "purchase" support within the government from some individuals to raise doubts and questions about the PCs :) ).
P.S. Keep in mind that the BBEG would definitely have purchased a clone or had one made by a high level follower so that even if the players succeed in killing them - they really haven't.
I have borrowed Victoro Cassalanter from Dragon Heist, for a similar kind of role in my adventure.
in their last encounter he succeeded with Rod of Rulership on most the party. so they thought he was awesome, but one of the party could see that he was a crook.
THis was so helpful, thank you!
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