I am trying to create a BBEG for my campaign, i have seen some things saying stuff like just let the first couple sessions roll out and figure it our later, but i really want to introduce him as a powerful being appearing in the first session. I intend to have the campaign go to around 10th lvl, maybe more or less.
The way I am introducing the BBEG which is up for change, but i like a lot, is just having the party wonder into the basement of ancient ruins, after fighting goblins and bandits above,(hopefully) take a long rest. They fight a couple acolytes in a long hallways and then enter a large room with a Shadow mastiff(can change to something else if needed). Once they finish the fight they notice the ceiling filled with bodies, hanging by any an every part of the body, and a Large statue depicting the BBEG with streams of blood crawling up the statue from the ground. 1 crack unfilled, until a single drop falls from a body overhead. The statue cracks, launching stone at the party, which they have to dodge. The BBEG will say some words and vanish before the party can attack.
I can't really land on an idea for the BBEG. I have though of maybe using a necromancer, or a mind flayer. I am just looking for some sort of Evil Sorcerer, maybe relating to blood, cause thats what revived him. Any idea helps, Thanks.
First off, I fear that you are writing too much of the story - "the part goes here" and "The party doesn't notice the ceiling until after" and so on. You're making a dramatic reveal which relies heavily on events happening exactly as you are laying them out, which will likely give you cause to railroad the players becaude "The plot needs it".
Being blood-related, a vampire lord would be a logical, if perhaps cliche, option. You could also homebrew your own style of Lich which needs blood to resurrect. What do you envision the BBEG doing to become the BBEG, other than being revived by blood and then escaping? The theme of their evilness could help us to give suggestions - are they planning on sacrificing villages, infiltrating the parliamentary system, stealing everyone's left sock, kidnapping children? What makes them the BBEG of the campaign, and we can fit them into that - because a creepy resurrection/escape ritual could be anything!
I completely see what you mean by the story being very restrictive and i'll work on things to make it not so much like that, but for why the BBEG is evil, i envisioned him sacrificing people to fuel his own false god hood, basically making him a fake god by his own doing. Sacrificing villages and such is actually a nice way to maybe make a future encounter when they need to travel. The town maybe being overrun by the undead or vampires.
The idea of a lich is actually a really cool idea and i think i might use that. Thank you so much.
Perhaps if you go the Vampire Lord route, you could dump about 14 levels of Blood Hunter onto the basic Vampire stat-block. Blood Hunter has some abilities, such as Curse of the Fallen Puppet *I don't remember if that's the name for that ability, but I think it's close to that*, that could really spice up combat with this guy when it comes down to the climactic duel, or just as little parlor tricks that they can do to look menacing.
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Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
So many BBEG you can throw in with story plots. Here's a few in my campaign that's been going for 3 years thus far. A Lich - You can model this off one of the CR20 ones and make mods to suit your campaign. A Beholder is a good one, and they are intelligent enough to determine whether the party is too strong, or alternatively not worthy to justify engaging. They can be fun to play up into an NPC that just keeps popping up. Fiends that pop up occasionally. One of my PC's is a warlock, and has a pact with fiend. I've made that fiend Zariel, and while she is an Arch Fiend, her efforts are still to save the mortal realms from invasion from the Blood War, so she keeps it going eternally. She occasionally pops in and has the Warlock go fetch something for her to use in the War. I've also got a vampire from another realm that has used Vampire spawn and dopplegangers to represent it on the prime material plane. Coming up I have Fire Giants scheming, and a Phaerimm that is lurking in the back ground. Depends how much effort you want to put into your story.
If you wanted to go the aberration route an elder brain that is hidden inside of a crashed ship that is now lodged in these ruins could work as a BBEG.
If you wanted to go an undead route I agree with all of the posters above who recommended a lich or vampire. A death tyrant could also work for this.
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I am trying to create a BBEG for my campaign, i have seen some things saying stuff like just let the first couple sessions roll out and figure it our later, but i really want to introduce him as a powerful being appearing in the first session. I intend to have the campaign go to around 10th lvl, maybe more or less.
The way I am introducing the BBEG which is up for change, but i like a lot, is just having the party wonder into the basement of ancient ruins, after fighting goblins and bandits above,(hopefully) take a long rest. They fight a couple acolytes in a long hallways and then enter a large room with a Shadow mastiff(can change to something else if needed). Once they finish the fight they notice the ceiling filled with bodies, hanging by any an every part of the body, and a Large statue depicting the BBEG with streams of blood crawling up the statue from the ground. 1 crack unfilled, until a single drop falls from a body overhead. The statue cracks, launching stone at the party, which they have to dodge. The BBEG will say some words and vanish before the party can attack.
I can't really land on an idea for the BBEG. I have though of maybe using a necromancer, or a mind flayer. I am just looking for some sort of Evil Sorcerer, maybe relating to blood, cause thats what revived him. Any idea helps, Thanks.
First off, I fear that you are writing too much of the story - "the part goes here" and "The party doesn't notice the ceiling until after" and so on. You're making a dramatic reveal which relies heavily on events happening exactly as you are laying them out, which will likely give you cause to railroad the players becaude "The plot needs it".
Being blood-related, a vampire lord would be a logical, if perhaps cliche, option. You could also homebrew your own style of Lich which needs blood to resurrect. What do you envision the BBEG doing to become the BBEG, other than being revived by blood and then escaping? The theme of their evilness could help us to give suggestions - are they planning on sacrificing villages, infiltrating the parliamentary system, stealing everyone's left sock, kidnapping children? What makes them the BBEG of the campaign, and we can fit them into that - because a creepy resurrection/escape ritual could be anything!
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I completely see what you mean by the story being very restrictive and i'll work on things to make it not so much like that, but for why the BBEG is evil, i envisioned him sacrificing people to fuel his own false god hood, basically making him a fake god by his own doing. Sacrificing villages and such is actually a nice way to maybe make a future encounter when they need to travel. The town maybe being overrun by the undead or vampires.
The idea of a lich is actually a really cool idea and i think i might use that. Thank you so much.
Perhaps if you go the Vampire Lord route, you could dump about 14 levels of Blood Hunter onto the basic Vampire stat-block. Blood Hunter has some abilities, such as Curse of the Fallen Puppet *I don't remember if that's the name for that ability, but I think it's close to that*, that could really spice up combat with this guy when it comes down to the climactic duel, or just as little parlor tricks that they can do to look menacing.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
Maybe a fiend? High-level NPC of any class? Dragon?
So many BBEG you can throw in with story plots. Here's a few in my campaign that's been going for 3 years thus far. A Lich - You can model this off one of the CR20 ones and make mods to suit your campaign. A Beholder is a good one, and they are intelligent enough to determine whether the party is too strong, or alternatively not worthy to justify engaging. They can be fun to play up into an NPC that just keeps popping up. Fiends that pop up occasionally. One of my PC's is a warlock, and has a pact with fiend. I've made that fiend Zariel, and while she is an Arch Fiend, her efforts are still to save the mortal realms from invasion from the Blood War, so she keeps it going eternally. She occasionally pops in and has the Warlock go fetch something for her to use in the War. I've also got a vampire from another realm that has used Vampire spawn and dopplegangers to represent it on the prime material plane. Coming up I have Fire Giants scheming, and a Phaerimm that is lurking in the back ground. Depends how much effort you want to put into your story.
If you wanted to go the aberration route an elder brain that is hidden inside of a crashed ship that is now lodged in these ruins could work as a BBEG.
If you wanted to go an undead route I agree with all of the posters above who recommended a lich or vampire. A death tyrant could also work for this.