Pathfinder - Need Awesome Opponents

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 11:30 pm

So, the characters in my Pathfinderized Ptolus campaign are going to investigate the underbelly of gladiatorial combat.

But Ptolus is not a grimdark setting. It's high fantasy with a solid dose of Awesome Button.

So, forget grimdark gladiatorial battles. We're talking luchadores.

So, I need cool concepts for gladiators - pretty much everything is on the table except for:

1-Undead;

2-Mind control users;

3-Actively Evil stuff. (Demons and Devils and other evil thingies can participate, but you couldn't perform human sacrifices in the arena to gain power for example - also, battles between sentients have to stay nonlethal, so outright save-or-die spells/abilities would also be off-limit.)

I could really use help coming up with both cool concepts for low, mid and high level participants, and to make builds that are appropriate opponents for a group of five level four, not hugely optimized characters, and/or for duels with one PC.

So, if you've got weird stuff to throw at me, feel free to do so.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 11:38 pm

What about someone who makes use of Sacrifices before the match?

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:03 am

1. There are a lot of monsters with telekinesis at will. If they are fighting showily and deliberately nonlethally, they could try to grab the enemy's limbs and force them into nonlethal strikes on themselves.

"Why are you hitting yourself, hero?"

2. Bone devils and Ice devils can make walls of ice at will. Give them ice skates and have them create ramps and jumps for ridiculous combat acrobatics.

3. Movanic and Monadic devas have absurd suites of elemental immunities. Thus, they can have wrestling matches in waist-high lava while acid and lightning rain from the sky and have it be totally nonlethal.

RelentlessImp · Post by **RelentlessImp** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:08 am

#3 sounds like the logical extreme of WWE and TNA. I would watch the shit out of that.

Vebyast · Post by **Vebyast** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:51 am

If the setting has any high-power magic around, nonstandard gravity is always fun. For example, a cage match in a ten-foot-tall cage where gravity reverses every twenty seconds, or a subjective-gravity obstacle course.

Also, clockwork arenas like at the end of Hellboy II.

Dogbert · Post by **Dogbert** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 4:09 am

Monk/Sorcerer lich named Carlos Calaca.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:12 am

Teams of Goblins/Halflings, which will perform human towers and throw each other at the enemy, basically like Kai En Tai used to when there were four or five of them.

Monks don't wear armour, so they get to wear stupid wrestling outfits and masks, and at the same time they "excel at unarmed combat" (and the use of stupid exotic weapons that look interesting but aren't worth a feat) but they won't kill anyone because they're fucking useless.

Giant bugs are always crowd-pleasers, as are Minotaurs.

If a contestant is immune to Fire, or even has 5 points of Resistance to it, they should have fire in their entrance, walking across hot coals while someone casts Pyrotechnics, or just stomping on bottles of alchemist fire so it looks like flames are shooting up as they walk, immolating them.

Try to find various things that deal Bleed damage, so that everyone is gushing blood all over the place while taking very little actual HP damage. You want at least seven Mutas.

TiaC · Post by **TiaC** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:30 am

Ghosts can be awesome opponents. Toss ghost on some random CR 4 and take malevolence. At will Magic Jar will make for a fun fight. To offset the higher CR, you could use a base creature that won't synergise.

Midnight_v · Post by **Midnight_v** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:16 am

b] 'Snakes on a Muth@#$(& Dwarf'
Also known as The Trouserfang Dwarf
Original Build by ChrisAsmadi and DragonChild_
Additons made by ChrisAsmadi[/b]

Part 1: The Components

Poison Healer(HotA) - this feat allows you to heal your Con mod in hp each time you make a fortitude save vs poison.

Resistance to Poison's effects - to gain the full effect of this plan, you require a method to either negate the ability damage caused by the saves you DO fail, or simply not fail. The following methods work:
-Strongheart Vest(MoI): This reduces ability damage by the ammount of essentia invested +1, and thus, if five essentia is invested(via various methods), it can render one immune to the full effects of the poison.
-Steadfast Determination(PHB2): Don't fail fort saves. 'nuf said.
-Knight 20(PHB2): More not failing of fort saves.

Fort Save +9 - to reliably hit the save DC of a Tiny Viper's method.

Part 2: The Plan

a) Dwarven Incarnate 3
Relevant Stats: Con 18
Relevant Soulmelds: Strongheart Vest with 2 invested essentia.
Feats: Great Fortitude, Poison Healer
Fort Save vs Poison: +3(base) +4(con) +2(feat) +2(racial) = +11

b) Buy a large amount of Tiny Vipers and stuff them down your pants. Each time one bites you, you have a 19 in 20 of gaining 4 hp, or a 1 in 20 chance of being poisoned, which should be reduced by your soulmeld. Later on, this can be reduced to a full 100% chance of being healed.

c) ???

d) Profit!

Sources:
Hordes of the Abyss
Magic of Incarnum
Player's Handbook 2

Also, suggestions of other methods to reduce the ability damage or not fail on a one would be appreciated.

Don't open it^ there's flair in there... Rick flair.

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:15 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:What about someone who makes use of Sacrifices before the match?

You know what? That might be an interesting subplot. Go for it

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 10:43 pm

Then assuming you're cool with using some 3.x in your pathfinder, crack open Book of Vile Darkness and max out Knowledge Religion.

Sacradiablo
Aasimar Witch* X(If x=7>/Demoniac [Mazmezz] Y)

For Aasimar, you want the variant feature which gives +4 to Kn.Religion checks, and you choose Mazmezz.

For Witch, toss Hexes out the window and take either the Physical Exemplar, Weapon Champion or Youxia archetype.

Phys. Exemplar increases hit points, a physical ability score, and gives bonus feats which can't boost spellcasting/mental stuff, this is good for a luchadore.
WC gives you a weapon training group as a fighter (take close or natural), and bonuses when using a weapon from that group (+1 to CMB or CMD with weapon, or +1 to confirm crits at every even level, for example, and stacking +1 shield bonus, +1 attack and damage, or +1d4/6/8 on crits- depending on crit multiplier, at 3rd and every four levels after)
Youxia makes you a nonsucky monk/ninja witch, giving you half class level on CMD with a chosen weapon (obviously unarmed), and a Ki Pool you can use to do things like add +4 to caster level when casting a spell, add d6s to his wushu weapon, use lay on hands, add +4 TO ANY SKILL CHECK as a swift action, gain half class level+2 as an armour bonus, play Dalsim and make ranged punches, or treat literally any weapon--folding chairs, anyone?--as his wushu weapon if he has at least one ki point remaining.

For Demoniac, assuming high enough level, you choose Mazmezz, as her obedience (strain against chains and bindings for 1 hour) is flavourfully important, and grants +4 to grapples and CMD. If Demoniac 3, her first boon is "animate rope 3/day, web 2/day, or snare 1/day."

Skills: Max out K.Religion.

Feats: Sacrificial Mastery (BoVD) for +5 on Sacrifices, Scholar for +2 on two chosen knowledges (+4 if the knowledge is rank 10+), Skill Focus (K.Religion) for +3.

Assuming the character is 6th level, that's +16 on Kn. Religion checks for pre-match sacrifices. If they're 8th level or higher, Demoniac makes Kn. Religion a class skill, add 3 on top of increased ranks, making it +21. If he's a Youxia witch, he can add +4 on top of that.

Oh, and buy a sacrificial knife, but make it gloves or something, for a +3 competence bonus to Kn. Religion and +1 unarmed attacks. Or increase the skill bonus to whatever he can afford (bonus squared x 100gp)

Now, the point of all this is to use the Sacrifice rules from BoVD. Basically, you perform a ritual sacrifice, racking up as many of the untyped bonuses from sacrifice elements as possible, to get the highest bonus on a Kn. Religion check made when you perform the ritual possible.
So you make the ceremony last at least 1 hour (+1), perform it on an alter (+2), in an unhallowed area (+2), in front of more than 100 followers (+1 for more than 10 and +1 for more than 100). Then you also say that this guy has a following of loyal fans which he pulls sacrifices from. He selects only the most pure and virginal (+1) to show their skill wrestling demons in his gyms (which are actually temples and he has like 5 spread across Ptolus*. The demons cripple the fingers, toes, hands and feet of the would be sacrifices, for another +1, every fractional 5 HD of the sacrifices gives +1 to the sacrifice). If you say that he pulls these followers from a race or type of character Mazmezz hates, then there's another +1. But most important, is that these followers find it an honour to be sacrificed by the luchadore, thus are genuinely willing, and grant a +3 bonus to the roll. For the sixth level version, that's +30 before he would even roll. Because he's an NPC, just say he takes 10, it's more than enough.

The reason you do all this, besides it being kind of awesome, is because a ritual celebrant gets spell effects for successful sacrifices:


check result	effect
15	Aid, Bulls Strength, Cat's Grace, or Endurance for 24 hours
20	Divine Favour (CL 20) or Protection From Elements; or Bless upon 1 witness/victim HD for 24 hours
25	Magic Vestment (CL 20), Divine Power for 24 hours; or an Evil Outsider's services as lesser planar ally for 1 hour/victim HD
30	Greater Magic Weapon (CL 20) or Spell Resistance (CL=Celebrant level); a DC 15 effect on 1 witness/victim HD; or an Evil Outsider's services as planar ally for 1 hour/victim HD (hello Efreeti wishes)
35	A DC 25 effect on 1 witness/victim HD; An Evil Outsider's services as Greater Planar Ally for 1 hour/victim HD
40	Limited Wish or a DC 30 effect on 1 witness/victim HD
45	Control Weather (DC 20) directed by celebrant (could be cool for a special match) or Wish (only once/celebrant ever)
Varies	psuedo-XP or Gold for item crafting equal to DCx3 or DCx5, respectively.

A patron will generally only grant one effect per day per temple. This is why he has five gym-temples throughout the city, so he can walk into the ring with Divine Power, Magic Vestment, Greater Magic Weapon, and whatever else you want up.

Dogbert · Post by **Dogbert** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 7:22 am

An evoker/enchanter duo: Shock&Awe.

Slade · Post by **Slade** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 5:13 pm

Captain Andoren:
WarPriest with throwing Shields:
Throwing shields are free actions to throw.
Warpriest boosts damage with weapon he has WF in.

Now PF Designers suggest no more than 3 free actions and round, but 3 free attacks + BAB attacks is pretty nice.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 12:57 am

Make sure everyone has their own entrance theme. Honestly you could do worse than just steal from WWE/TNA, they at least tend to pick/compose some pretty good entrance themes.

Dulon · Post by **Dulon** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 2:19 am

Slade wrote:Captain Andoren:
WarPriest with throwing Shields:
Throwing shields are free actions to throw.
Warpriest boosts damage with weapon he has WF in.

Now PF Designers suggest no more than 3 free actions and round, but 3 free attacks + BAB attacks is pretty nice.

Note you'll need to grab Exotic Weapon Proficiency with the throwing shield, the Quick Draw feat and 50gp quick-draw and throwing shield properties for this to work properly. For extra cheese grab a Blinkback Belt so your shield teleports back to you as soon as the attack with it is resolved.

You effectively get Draw>Throw>Return all as free actions on the same turn and can keep attacking as long as you can argue for more free actions. Its basically a situation where the Pathfinder rules are poorly written so the GM has to make up some arbitrary limit to prevent people from getting infinite shield-throwing chains.

Realistically, it would make for a cool opener where a guy busts into a room and chucks two or three shields at people before drawing his sword and fighting legitimately which I'm pretty sure was what was intended.

TOZ · Post by **TOZ** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 6:19 pm

Pull Mythic and get things like Mirror Dodge, Meat Shield, and Absorb Blow.