Vote Up A Villain VI! (3.X) [Voting Closed, Villain Complete!]

[Mercenary Pen]

Lawful Neutral

[Adumbration]

Neutral Evil is the only evil for me.

[DracoDei]

Neutral Evil say I.

[Frog Dragon]

Neutral Evil Sort of a ruthless nothing can stand in my way type and yet can have very interesting motivations

[Pronounceable]

Why not chaotic natural?

[Fredthefighter]

Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil gets foiled way too often and Lawful Evil has to abide by rules.

[Edwin]

I vote for Neutral Evil.

[Zeful]

Chaotic Good.

[Llama231]

Lawful Evil

[The Neoclassic]

Neutral Evil

[Debihuman]

Since merfolk are usually neutral; a villinous ones should be neutral evil.

[vegetalss4]

Lawful evil

[afroakuma]

Wow. Easy go this time. :smallsmile:

[Juhn]

Evidently my vote for Neutral did not go through?

[afroakuma]

I didn't spot it, so I suppose not.

[Limos]

Neutral Evil

[afroakuma]

Well, the bandwagon made this one noncompetitive enough that I pulled it early.

Our aqueous adversary will be Neutral Evil!

Now, for the piece de resistance, it's time to vote for Primary Motivation!

[Keler]

Revenge perhaps?

[Thane of Fife]

In the grim darkness beneath the waves, there is only Hunger.

[thegurullamen]

We gon' have ou'se'ves a Rage Mage. Mmhmm.[/hillbilly]

[arguskos]

In the grim darkness beneath the waves, there is only Hunger.
This. I dig this. I'm seeing a NE merfolk sorc 4 flesh-eater. It seems like WIN.

Oh, that was a vote for Hunger in case you didn't catch it. :smallwink:

[Alteran]

Curiosity, here.

[Zeful]

Punch Clock villainy.

[Phazon]

I vote for Curiosity.

[MammonAzrael]

Holy crap this went by fast and I missed it! :smalleek:

Anyways, for the final vote, I'm going to go with Survival. It's one of the more logical choices, IMO, that will give average, non-aquatic PCs the chance to tangle with this merfolk. Granted, depression would be funny.

[UnChosenOne]

Greater good.

[Magnor Criol]

Malevolence is a wonderful word, really. It rolls off the tongue so delightfully.

It's also my vote.

[LordZarth]

Curiosity.

[Adumbration]

Survival is my vote.

[Shademan]

curiosity

I'm very curious on the outcome of this!
*slap'd fer crappy play on words*

[xanaphia]

The Greater Good

[Mercenary Pen]

Entertainment perhaps.

[The Neoclassic]

Curiousity

[afroakuma]

You guys are trying to stick me with a repeat already? :smalltongue:

I just realized, we've been missing an important motivation all along: Ambition.

The new motivation is added to the table hereby, forthwith and all that other stuff.

[Debihuman]

Ooooh Ambition now's there's motivation in a bottle, though I suspect that curiosity will win.

Debby

[vegetalss4]

I vote for the new one, Ambition that would be nice.

[MammonAzrael]

I hereby change my vote from Survival in post 275 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5698570&postcount=275) to Ambition! :smallsmile:

[Llama231]

Hunger
Nom, nom, nom...

[DracoDei]

Curiousity sounds good to me.

[Juhn]

Spite. As my Race vote mentioned, there's precedent for this.

I've been pushing for Spite for a while and it fits here.

[Limos]

It seems Afro has something in mind...

Ambition

[afroakuma]

I always have something in mind. :smallsmile:

[blackspeeker]

This. I dig this. I'm seeing a NE merfolk sorc 4 flesh-eater. It seems like WIN.

Oh, that was a vote for Hunger in case you didn't catch it. :smallwink:

And so is this. Hunger is all kinds of awesome

[puppyavenger]

ambition because it's ahead of hunger and I'm torn between the two.

[afroakuma]

Drawing very close. I'm looking forward to the crafting.

[Hadrian_Emrys]

Hunger so has my vote. I'm thinking magic-fu jaws.

[Magnor Criol]

You know, although malevolence is more fun to say, I think ambition makes for more intriguing motivations.

-1 MALEVOLENCE
+1 AMBITION

[paddyfool]

Hunger

Because the charming and friendly merfolk who wants to drown you and eat your flesh is just what you need to instill the proper level of "trust" in the players.

[Terror_Incognito]

Mmmmm...Hunger.

In Fantasy, Submarine World fish-stick eat you

[Overlord Nicy]

And another vote for Hunger.

[afroakuma]

I hope you're not all expecting me to go the cannibalism/humanitarian route if you choose Hunger.

[Thane of Fife]

I hope you're not all expecting me to go the cannibalism/humanitarian route if you choose Hunger.

I was actually imagining more of a 'steal all the community's fish, causing them to starve' kind-of-guy when I voted for it, but whatever.

Not every villain needs to be be horribly evil.

[blackspeeker]

I hope you're not all expecting me to go the cannibalism/humanitarian route if you choose Hunger.

You aren't thinking some sort of metaphorical hunger, like the villain is hungry for justice?

[puppyavenger]

right, well switching to the winning side

-1 Ambition +1 Hunger

[LordZarth]

I hope you're not all expecting me to go the cannibalism/humanitarian route if you choose Hunger.

Or it could be mindlessly hungry. As in, not mindless (so it can be a villain) but its hunger totally overrides everything.

-1 Curiosity, +1 Ambition

[afroakuma]

right, well switching to the winning side

-1 Ambition +1 Hunger

...it was winning by two. One, if you hadn't done this.

:smallsigh: whatever.

[Pronounceable]

Ambition. Afro seems to have something in mind...

[Juhn]

I hope you're not all expecting me to go the cannibalism/humanitarian route if you choose Hunger.

Well, if I know my eastern mermaids correctly, there is precedent...

But I voted against Hunger for a reason.

[arguskos]

I hope you're not all expecting me to go the cannibalism/humanitarian route if you choose Hunger.
Meh, I don't care HOW you do it, I just want to see a villain motivated by a base need. I do hope that you won't go with the "hunger for power/money/xyz" since that's a cop-out IMO. :smallwink: But I doubt you'll do that.

[afroakuma]

Meh, I don't care HOW you do it, I just want to see a villain motivated by a base need. I do hope that you won't go with the "hunger for power/money/xyz" since that's a cop-out IMO. :smallwink: But I doubt you'll do that.

Oh God no. That would be cheating.

[thegurullamen]

Are we waiting another day or did Hunger win?

[Draz74]

Hunger sounds more boring than Ambition to me, for this villain.

[Lord Mancow]

Let's have some ambition.

[Atelm]

Ambition, it sounds like the right sort of motivation for an evil Merfolk spellcaster.

[afroakuma]

I'm going to extend it a few extra hours to make up for the lost time.

[Mercenary Pen]

Much as I hate changing my vote, I'm going to anyway.

-1 Entertainment
+1 Ambition

[Suleman]

I vote Hunger. Yay for eating!

[afroakuma]

This poll officially closes in 16 minutes, after which time new votes will be invalidated.

[Limos]

This VUAV has had so much time lost to server problems.

[MammonAzrael]

Whoo! Ambition for the win! Take that, you hungry, Hungry Hippos! :smallamused:

Seriously though, I look forward to this opening act crazy villain that will be perfect to throw against party's just starting out.

[afroakuma]

Oops! Forgot to tie this up.

The winning motivation is the new one, Ambition.

This concludes the voting. The resulting villain, Prince Meridius, will be posted shortly.

[Juhn]

So, we're getting Namor the Sub-Mariner then? :smalltongue:

[afroakuma]

The words absolutely not come to mind... :smallannoyed:

[Juhn]

Heh, yeah. I've always liked Namor, but I don't think inserting him into DnD would be a particularly good idea.

That and the purpose of these contests is to come up with something both original and awesome.

As for the annoyed emote, you did see the tongue emote that was intended to inform that I was not serious about that, right?

[afroakuma]

Well, Namor just annoys me. :smallannoyed: On a "What were you thinking and how is it that you have more money than me when this is your fault?" level.

[Juhn]

I've always liked Namor. There's something about his arrogant bastardry that makes him infinitely more interesting than, say, Aquaman (if we're working in undersea superheroes, at least.)

[Belobog]

And I was gonna vote for Love.

And Namor is a classic case of why I didn't want merfolk.

[Juhn]

Well, nobody here wants this villain to resemble Namor (afro himself included, most importantly).

I was just pointing out that I like Namor as a character, as I've nothing much better to do in this thread while afro works. If this villain ends up like Namor I will be disappointed, confused, and somewhat ashamed. I don't think we have to worry about that happening though.

My original comment was a joke. Hence the tongue emote.

[afroakuma]

Magnificent bastard, yes. Namor, most certainly not.

[afroakuma]

Prince Meridius
Medium Humanoid (Aquatic)
Merfolk Level 4 Sorcerer
HD 4d4+12 (22 hp)
Speed 5 ft. (1 square); swim 50 ft.
Init: +7
AC 15; touch 15; flat-footed 10 (+5 Dex, +1 deflection, -1 trait)
BAB +2; Grp +2
Attack Masterwork dagger +8 melee (1d4, 19-20/x2) or shocking grasp +7 melee (4d6 electric) or light crossbow +7 ranged (1d8, 19-20/x2)
Full Attack Masterwork dagger +8 melee (1d4, 19-20/x2) or shocking grasp +7 melee (4d6 electric) or light crossbow +7 ranged (1d8, 19-20/x2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Spells
Special Qualities Amphibious, low-light vision
Saves Fort +5 Ref +7 Will +9
Abilities Str 11, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 20
Skills Concentration +9, Diplomacy +7, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (arcana) +8
Feats Easy Metamagic (Empower Spell), Easy Metamagic (Split Ray), Empower Spell, Split Ray, Weapon Finesse
Traits Aggressive (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#aggressive)
Flaws Cold-Blooded, Solitary Villain
Challenge Rating 4 and a bit.
Alignment Neutral evil

Prince Meridius is a power-hungry, expansionist undersea noble.

When in his natural form, Meridius is a slim merman with a strong jawline, silver eyes and jet-black hair. His skin is lightly tanned and his fishlike tail has midnight blue scales. His billowing, iridescent cloak suggests a trail of diaphanous, chromatic fins.

Combat
When Meridius anticipates trouble, he will immediately don mage armor and conjure a shield from his magerings. If pressed into combat, he will employ ray of enfeeblement against any potential threats and shocking grasp against definite ones. Meridius is not above taking the form of a locathah, aquatic elf or even drowned human is he believes it will suit his needs. Meridius anticipates most conflict and will usually be prepared to do battle. If he has good reason to fear his own safety, he will employ his web and glitterdust magerings to confine groups which he can then shock to death or have dragged off at his leisure.

Spells Sorcerer Spells Known (6/8/4; save DC 15 + spell level): 0th - detect magic, detect poison, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue. 1st – charm person, ray of enfeeblement, shocking grasp. 2nd - alter self. Caster level 4th, save DCs Charisma-based.

Amphibious (Ex) Meridius can breathe both air and water, although he rarely travels more than a few feet from the water’s edge in merman form.

Skills Prince Meridius has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. He can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. He can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line.

Equipment Meridius has taken to wearing a black sharkskin vest and a belt of wrapped orange silk. He bears many rings on his gloved hands, some of which are secretly magerings. A ring of protection +1 made of blue coral is nestled among the rings on his right hand. A billowing, layered cloak of resistance +1 rests over his shoulders, iridescent in blue, navy, orange and gold. His gloves are black gloves of Dexterity +2 with sapphire and pearl trim. He wears a magering of mage armor with 50 charges and a magering of glitterdust with 10 charges on his left hand and a magering of shield with 50 charges and a magering of web with 10 charges on his right.

In his quarters, Meridius retains a potion of fox's cunning and four potions of cure light wounds.

Prince Meridius has double the wealth of a character of his level, owing to his noble birth and resources.


Prince Meridius

Fourth child of the Emperor Tropicus, Meridius was given an academic schooling instead of a political one, raised with his twin sister to be a member of his father's court and nothing more.

Fascinated by the history of his grandmother's empire and conquests, the young Prince came to desire power for himself. He his in doorways or took on magical disguises to learn the art of rulership and nobility from his brothers' tutors, and spent many nights gaining a social education under his mother's tacit approval.

When his second brother died defending his holdings from a sahuagin offensive, Meridius went to his father and begged to take command of the northern principality. The Emperor, impressed by his son's courage, gave Meridius the appointment.

Meridius soon found himself at the center of the bloody conflict between the sahuagin and the aquatic elves whose kingdom bordered the northern principality. Under his leadership, the domain was rebuilt and restored despite the battles that raged nearby, and his charismatic administration brought him popular accolade.


The Villainous Turn

However, Meridius had in fact orchestrated the sahaguin attack, determined to remove one obstacle from the line of succession. His consort, the malenti Skarleena, worked for the Prince as a secret liaison between his scheming clique and the sahuagin.

Still far from contention to the throne, but now landed and having formed alliances beyond the academic world, the Prince moved swiftly, pushing himself to greater skill with the closely guarded powers of magic. Barred from its study, he was forced to rely on honing his innate talents, working from desire and need alone in place of scroll and tome. His sorcerous bloodline responded to his efforts. Those who he needed became his fast allies; those who opposed him often turned up dead.

Prince Meridius went ashore, in the guise of a lordly human, and observed the intrigues of the local nobility for an hour each day. Over a month, he grew to understand how to turn events to his advantage. Returning to court, he established himself in the palace, subtly instigating a quarrel between his elder brother and sister. When their fight became a civil war, Meridius concealed his twin, Meridiana, by bringing her up to human lands and marrying her to a duke, transforming her into a human by means of a powerful magical item. With nobody observing him at the palace, he has been usurping his father's position via a mysterious "illness" caused by the prince's own spells.

Now, Meridius stokes the flames of his siblings' conflict, weakening their factions and removing yet more impediments to the throne. He plans to buy the allegiance of the sahuagin with a massive sacrifice from the human lands, calling them to attack and crushing both the sea devils and his elder siblings with one decisive action.


Encounters

Meridius often has to do small business on land, among the realms of his ally and brother-in-law, who is unaware of the Prince's true nature. His preferred human form differs little from his own, save for having legs. In the sea, Prince Meridius will be publicly seen with a coterie of guards and concubines, as well as a few hangers-on who see him as the future ruler.

In any environment, Meridius is suave, patient and cruel, with a penchant for sadism. He is highly goal-oriented and makes multiple casual attempts to direct conversation. The prince exploits his spells in social situations, charming those whose voice he requires and using touch of fatigue to discomfort, distract or dismiss those whose presence he no longer requires.

Meridius is cautiously respectful of his mother, the Queen Meridia, and loves his twin dearly, although he will freely exploit her. His primary goal is to accumulate power and territory under his rule, and reclaim the boundaries of the ancient merfolk empire, some of which currently run over dry land. In studying this, he has learned of an artifact, the Lance of the Meridian, seized long ago by human adventurers from merfolk lands, which he eventually wishes to claim.

Arrogant and superior, Meridius deigns vice and excess largely to prove himself better than others. He has three mermaid concubines as well as his malenti consort, and enjoys a few other dalliances. His true vice, when he gets to enjoy it, is torture; he especially enjoys drowning the landborn and performing private executions using shocking grasp. This penchant for viciousness is not entirely erased when he goes about publicly, giving him an indimidating air and causing those outside of his elite circle to give him a wide berth.


Plot Hooks

•A local duke has died and his wife has repeatedly tried to drown herself.

•An important noblewoman needs something stolen from her husband, but an unknown faction seems to have a similar intent.

•A merchant lord has hired a massive crew to go on a fishing expedition, only to have them all lost at sea. A priest has suspicions when the merchant tries a second time.

•Nearby lands are being stripped of livestock, and the bones of cow and pig are washing up on the shores.

•Sailors coming in to harbor report that a passage of sea is turning red.

•An elf clan from behind the waterfall has come to ask for aid against the growing strength of the sahuagin, since their longtime merfolk allies war against one another.

---

Magering

In the underwater realms, wood is not so easily come by, nor worked easily into the form of a wand. More useful are the local materials, and the shape of a ring, which is easier to bear through the currents, is preferred by the undersea races. As such, they have taken to eschew wands for magerings.

A magering is much like a wand, containing charges of a single spell of 4th level or lower. Magerings are worn on the hands, however, meaning their users may have access to several at a time. Magerings do not occupy ring slots on the body.

Unlike wands, the activation of a magering is done via a triggering gesture that provokes attacks of opportunity. The gesture is simple enough to ignore arcane spell failure from armor, but a character who is currently unable to perform somatic components (grappled etc.) cannot trigger a magering.

Magerings cost the same as wands; (750 gp per spell level) x (caster level).

---

Flaws

Disadvantages of birth, of raising or simply of character, flaws negatively impact characters in debilitating ways. The fact that a person with a flaw can hold his own with those less handicapped shows a particular exceptional quality. For each flaw a character has, he may select an additional feat. Flaws may only be taken at first level, and each character may have a maximum of two.

Cold-Blooded In his natural form, Prince Meridius fails all Fortitude saves to resist the effects of high temperatures. In his natural form, Meridius takes an additional two points of damage from any fire effect.

Solitary Villain Meridius is used to working alone, and is particularly ineffectual when fighting alongside allies. Meridius suffers a -4 penalty to attacks he makes while flanking.

[Zeta Kai]

Oh wow. He's cool. I love ambitious little monsters. Great job, Afro.

BTW, I noticed that you just couldn't resist adding in a little extra. I like the magerings.

[Pronounceable]

Nice guy. I like him. He's not as groundbreaking as the evil flower or awesome as the Misguided Death Star From Hell (him being a pretty archetypical ambitious noble, in SPAA.. uh, OCEAAAN!) but is a very solid villain. Thumbs up.

Because of having produced so much awesome, this is unfortunately subpar for Afro. From anyone else he'd be cool (he actually is cool), but I had higher expectations from Afro...

[afroakuma]

Nice guy. I like him. He's not as groundbreaking as the evil flower or awesome as the Misguided Death Star From Hell (him being a pretty archetypical ambitious noble, in SPAA.. uh, OCEAAAN!) but is a very solid villain. Thumbs up.

Wait for the next part.


Because of having produced so much awesome, this is unfortunately subpar for Afro. From anyone else he'd be cool (he actually is cool), but I had higher expectations from Afro...

Um... ouch?

I worked with the limitations I was given, namely an ambitious fishman at CR 4. I thought I'd done rather well in making him a Magnificent Bastard (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagnificentBastard) who sold his twin sister for an alliance with the landfolk, arranged the death of one brother and incited civil war between his remaining siblings - not even to guarantee himself the throne, but merely to displace the majority of obstacles so that he would be better placed to expand his empire into the territories of his allies.

What were you expecting?

[Zeta Kai]

Jeez, tough crowd. Well, I liked it. :smallconfused:

I think you have raised the bar a tad high with that last one.

[afroakuma]

Here for a sixth round, prepare for vast disappointment!

Well, I figured there would be somewhat of a letdown after the biggie from last time, but still; :smallfrown:

Well, hopefully number 7 restores the magic.

[Juhn]

I like him. He fulfills the conditions well, and he's certainly evil. He's just a little bland compared to the others, though that might just be a symptom of CR 4.

I do note that the story from this one is somewhat less personal than the others.

Also, thanks to all the Namor discussion as soon as I saw the word "magerings" I thought "Mandarin!" The fact that he has multiple ones on each hand lends more evidence to this argument. :smalltongue:

[thegurullamen]

I for one am shocked by the mediocrity of this creation. Shocked. So, when you take afroakuma's creative potential into account, this, this....BLASPHEMY!!! falls so far beneath the level of acceptability that I hope Zeta and Shadow turn on our once-beloved homebrewer and delete every addition he has made to their collective efforts. That they take a sledgehammer and shatter his kneecaps, preventing him from running from the mother of all butt-kickings while a rogue zeppelin from Hell parks on his outstretched fingers. And that before they are finished with what will be a righteous purge and crusade against slipping standards, afroakuma is left broken, lifeless and alone, preferably in a ditch somewhere.

I spit on you and hope to never hear your foul name again, akuma.
I thought it was pretty cool.

[afroakuma]

I like him. He fulfills the conditions well, and he's certainly evil. He's just a little bland compared to the others, though that might just be a symptom of CR 4.

Also a symptom of being one of only two non-Uniques and being given a bland character class. And of coming after the Epic one.


I do note that the story from this one is somewhat less personal than the others.

Less? I indicated each of his family relationships, his raising since childbirth and his exact goals and aspirations and it's less personal? I even noted the name of his consort!


Also, thanks to all the Namor discussion as soon as I saw the word "magerings" I thought "Mandarin!" The fact that he has multiple ones on each hands lends more evidence to this argument. :smalltongue:

Well, now you have a homebrew way to make the Mandarin. Enjoy.

[Juhn]

I hardly think our reviews were scathing enough to warrant a parody of that magnitude.

[afroakuma]

And yet still surprisingly poor.

Let me put it to you, then: what am I missing? What would you have liked to have seen?

[thegurullamen]

I hardly think our reviews were scathing enough to warrant a parody of that magnitude.

Yeah, you're right. But I was struck by some inspiration and one failed Will save against impulse control later...

Personally, I think the villain is consistent with 'akuma's earlier works' quality. Considering the thing is CR 4, it's pretty epic. How many other level four PCs are tackling national political intrigue with complex royal family threads and vague Oedipal issues? Realistically (versimilitudinous [?]) anyway?

How does Shocking Grasp work underwater? There have to be some considerable effects.

[Alteran]

I liked it very much, I believe you did a great job given the components you had. Perhaps it is not as "different" or "fantastic" as some of the others you have made, but if that's anyone's fault, it's ours! After all, we voted for all of these qualities. You made an interesting villain with interesting motivations, and I approve.

Please note that I haven't actually participated in or read the other VuaVs (except for a brief look at the plant one) so I really didn't know what to expect from this. Likewise, I can't comment on the crunch due to its 3.5-ness.

[Thane of Fife]

The Good:

I can totally imagine using this guy in a game. He could very easily be inserted into the middle of a giant courtly intrigue taking place both underwater and above it.

The PCs get hired to go investigate a shipment which never came in, and trace it back to a merchant who has, apparently, been losing lots of shipments later. A bit of spying investigation later, they find that he's in the employ (or possibly charmed) by the merfolk. The other surface-dwellers won't stand for such, and send the PCs down to the merfolk kingdom to get to the bottom of things. And once there, things start to get really interesting.

The Bad:

He doesn't seem staggeringly memorable. It's not because of his low CR so much as that he doesn't have much going for him other than 'Power-hungry nobleman who likes to torture people.' He's just missing it, if you know what I mean.

The Ugly:

Shocking Grasp seems like it would be an incredibly awkward spell to use underwater. Maybe that's what you were going for.


Finally, though, I'd like to point you towards Strolen's Citadel (http://www.strolen.com/). It's a great place which is pretty much devoted to making up stuff like this (though stat-less - it's a system-generic website). There's some good stuff there.

[afroakuma]

He doesn't seem staggeringly memorable. It's not because of his low CR so much as that he doesn't have much going for him other than 'Power-hungry nobleman who likes to torture people.' He's just missing it, if you know what I mean.

Also the fact that he's a spy, a saboteur and a chessmaster using his alter self ability. The fact that he's godless, amoral and manipulative, and still charismatic. And, of course, the fact that he's intended to be a recurring villain, which is what I am currently working on.

Still, I was given rather narrow confines to work with. I am again not certain where people were expecting/hoping I'd go with this.


Shocking Grasp seems like it would be an incredibly awkward spell to use underwater. Maybe that's what you were going for.

Rules for underwater combat have no proscription on electricity, and as a merman I expect him to be quite capable with it. Moreover, his huge movement speed means it's great for guerilla tactics against weaker party members.

Now, web is the really horrifying one, because you can't burn it off. You're just going to be stuck underwater in a sticky mess while he goes out, gets a ring of dispel magic and targets each party member to lose their water breathing.

[LordZarth]

I think it's awesome. For CR 4. It's really not fair to blast Afro--it's us who gave him CR 4 to work with...

[paddyfool]

Well, I think he's pretty frigging cool. Could be very tricky for a low-level party, however, particularly if surrounded by his court apparatus - probably one for more experienced players only. Although, if they don't manage to take him down the first time and simply have to run away, he could easily become a long-running opponent as well, leveling up and building his powerbase even as the party themselves get stronger.

[Pronounceable]

Let me put it to you, then: what am I missing? What would you have liked to have seen?

We have no idea what we wanted from you. We just know that we're used to being awed, and that didn't happen. The fact that the machiavellian merman is a very good villain doesn' matter.

If it was from someone else it wouldn't get anything negative (notice that there's absolutely no complaints about the villain), your mistake here is setting the bar too high previously.

[afroakuma]

Ah. Clearly I should go yank a few cords out of my older works.

As I said, I was forced to limit myself rather severely. I apologize if it doesn't come up to par. Hopefully the next one will be better received.

[Magnor Criol]

I think you're taking the punch too hard, afro, simply because cnsvnc's comment was the first up there.

Meridius is a great villain. He's got a lot of depth to him. I do appreciate how much of his kinsfolk you've nocked to him - it gives a lot of depth to the character, and a lot of ways to integrate him into a campaign, and a lot of ways to flesh out the whole story once he's integrated. He's got a lot going for him, and a lot of potential for expansion, should he last a long time in the campaign. You can take him and his goals in a number of directions, with many different impacts. I like it a lot.

His mechanics, no, aren't on the unique, stand-out-ness level of the Hellstar or Swain of Varrone, because they're astoundingly unique and awesome. But he's got more character depth - despite the fact that his power-hunger is a common motivation - and lots more potential for developing with a young campaign, and being involved for a long time.

tl;dr version: he's simply mechanically un-unique, unlike some of your others. His awesomeness is more in potential form, and thus more subtle. I like him.

[afroakuma]

But he's got more character depth - despite the fact that his power-hunger is a common motivation

I think that's the one thing you've all missed. His ambition isn't only for himself; in fact, there's one person in the line of succession who he's not looking to remove: his mother. His ambition is to be the heir, the noble child, and to expand his mother's empire. He's not quite so Oedipal about it, nor is he a mama's boy, but he figures that the Empire should grow, that it is his mother's to command by her birthright and that as heir he will be best placed to take back what is rightfully theirs - and a bit more, besides.

Twist on the old standby.

[thegurullamen]

He's not quite so Oedipal about it

That's for us to decide. If TVTropes has taught me anything, it's that deep-seated psychological problems are everywhere and that Oedipal issues are in the eye of the viewer.

[Thane of Fife]

I think that's the one thing you've all missed. His ambition isn't only for himself; in fact, there's one person in the line of succession who he's not looking to remove: his mother. His ambition is to be the heir, the noble child, and to expand his mother's empire. He's not quite so Oedipal about it, nor is he a mama's boy, but he figures that the Empire should grow, that it is his mother's to command by her birthright and that as heir he will be best placed to take back what is rightfully theirs - and a bit more, besides.

Twist on the old standby.

But it doesn't say (or even suggest) that anywhere in the description:


Fascinated by the history of his grandmother's empire and conquests, the young Prince came to desire power for himself.


Meridius is cautiously respectful of his mother, the Queen Meridia


His primary goal is to accumulate power and territory under his ruleEmphasis mine,


Also, please note that I don't think he's bad. I'd give him a solid 4/5 stars. He just doesn't grab me in a way that says "Wow. I have to completely remake my campaign setting to squeeze this guy in."

[afroakuma]

Evidently I didn't push that angle hard enough. My bad. I had it here in my notes.

Guess it only came through as "the only ones he didn't screw over were his mom and his baby sister."

And now that I check, she's not in there either.

It does quite clearly mention that he wants to broaden the boundaries of the realm, though.

When I finally get his advancements complete, I'll post them along with the plot updates.

[Lord_Gareth]

Remember what I said waaaaay back at the Ogre Mage, folks? For those of you who don't, I'll repeat it -

It's completely and utterly pointless to vote for a non-unique monster given the crushing, mind-blowing amounts of awesome that pour forth when Afro is given the opportunity to make something up. Stop needlessly restricting him!.

That's part of why I don't really like this guy, Afro - he's boring. I've been there, fought that, made armor from the scales. Honestly, the only things I haven't killed out of the various monster manuals are celestials, if only because I've never gotten an evil character that high level. Awesome things happen when we give you unique monsters, so it's that much more dissapointing when we don't.

[afroakuma]

Remember what I said waaaaay back at the Ogre Mage, folks? For those of you who don't, I'll repeat it -

It's completely and utterly pointless to vote for a non-unique monster given the crushing, mind-blowing amounts of awesome that pour forth when Afro is given the opportunity to make something up. Stop needlessly restricting him!.

That's part of why I don't really like this guy, Afro - he's boring. I've been there, fought that, made armor from the scales. Honestly, the only things I haven't killed out of the various monster manuals are celestials, if only because I've never gotten an evil character that high level. Awesome things happen when we give you unique monsters, so it's that much more dissapointing when we don't.

I go with what I'm given, and I'd ask that you try to judge him on those merits. When limited to a pre-statted fish-thingy with a boring base class at CR 4, the awesomeness latitude is practically nil. I can have fun with politics, and costume, and personal maliciousness, but as far as his boundaries lie I am forced to make him a complete known. Even Dandag could break away from that, thanks to his class, CR and the fact that he wasn't a specimen of marine life.

[Lord_Gareth]

Hey, I'm blaming the voters, not you. I'm against established monsters in these contests anyway - how, exactly, is that homebrewing, y'know?

[afroakuma]

Very true. On the other hand, this contest is (supposedly :smallbiggrin:) more about the fluff, and less about Bladed Blobs, so I feel justified in offering them. And I felt good about Dandag; I thought he made a great villain despite my worries.

As for Prince Meridius, I'll be giving him a higher-CR version to show the plot evolution, for those who have any desire to see him used.

[Lord_Gareth]

Very true. On the other hand, this contest is (supposedly :smallbiggrin:) more about the fluff, and less about Bladed Blobs, so I feel justified in offering them. And I felt good about Dandag; I thought he made a great villain despite my worries.

Every month that that blob goes unmade, expectations for it grow higher. I hope you realize this.

(I mean, it's an incorporeal swarm of oozes weilding swords! HOW MUCH MORE AWESOME CAN YOU GET?)

[Zeta Kai]

Every month that that blob goes unmade, expectations for it grow higher. I hope you realize this.

(I mean, it's an incorporeal swarm of oozes weilding swords! HOW MUCH MORE AWESOME CAN YOU GET?)

You're mad, I tell you. Mad. :smallwink:

This debate inspires me to resume my VUAM threads, for the good of the land.

[Pronounceable]

Someone said Bladed Blob? I can haz Bladed Blob?

[afroakuma]

*sigh* I told you the parameters for that heinous thing's appearance.

They are neither here nor there.

[afroakuma]

Meridius
Medium Humanoid (Aquatic)
Polymorphed Merfolk Level 6 Sorcerer/Level 1 Fighter/Level 1 Spellsword
HD 6d4+1d10+1d8+24 (49 hp)
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Init: +12
AC 18; touch 18; flat-footed 12 (+6 Dex, +3 deflection, -1 trait)
BAB +5; Grp +5
Attack Masterwork dagger +12 melee (1d4, 19-20/x2) or shocking grasp +11 melee (5d6 electric + sickened) or light crossbow +11 ranged (1d8, 19-20/x2)
Full Attack Masterwork dagger +12 melee (1d4, 19-20/x2) or Empowered shocking grasp +11 melee (5d6 electric + 5d6 electric/2 + sickened) or light crossbow +11 ranged (1d8, 19-20/x2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Spells
Special Qualities Ignore arcane spell failure 10%
Saves Fort +7 Ref +10 Will +11
Abilities Str 11, Dex 22, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 24
Skills Concentration +13, Diplomacy +13, Intimidate +14, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Ride +2, Spellcraft +4, Swim +1
Feats Easy Metamagic (Empower Spell), Easy Metamagic (Split Ray), Empower Spell, Improved Initiative (B), Sickening Grasp, Split Ray, Weapon Finesse
Traits Aggressive (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#aggressive)
Flaws Cold-Blooded (inactive in coastal human form), Solitary Villain
Challenge Rating 8
Alignment Neutral evil

Meridius is a ruthless, enterprising minor noble exiled to human lands.

Combat
When Meridius anticipates trouble, he will immediately conjure a shield from his magering. If pressed into combat, he will employ ray of enfeeblement against any potential threats and vampiric touch against definite ones. Meridius rarely needs to shift forms while on land, but may use alter self for an advantage to Dexterity or natural armor if he is seriously concerned. Meridius anticipates most conflict and will usually be prepared to do battle.

Spells Sorcerer Spells Known (6/8/8/6; save DC 17 + spell level): 0th - detect magic, detect poison, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue. 1st – charm person, ray of clumsiness, ray of enfeeblement, shield, shocking grasp. 2nd - alter self, mirror image, ray of stupidity. 3rd - ray of exhaustion, vampiric touch Caster level 7th (8th for Necromancy spells), save DCs Charisma-based.

Equipment Meridius has taken to wearing a velvety blue tunic and kilt with a black leather belt, white lace spilling from the neck and wrists. He bears many rings on his gloved hands, some of which are secretly magerings. A ring of protection +3 made of blue coral is nestled among the rings on his right hand. A billowing, layered cloak of resistance +2 and charisma +4 adorns his arms and shoulders, smooth and shiny in navy, gold and black. His gloves are white gloves of Dexterity +4 with sapphire and jet trim. He wears a magering of mage armor with 25 charges, a magering of glitterdust with 10 charges and a magering of slow with 5 charges on his left hand. His right bears a magering of invisibility with 10 charges and a magering of dispel magic with 5 charges.

In his quarters, Meridius retains a potion of fox's cunning, a potion of bear's endurance, six potions of cure light wounds and two potions of cure moderate wounds.

Meridius has double the wealth of a character of his level, owing to his noble birth and resources.


Encounters

Exiled by his mother as punishment for the undersea war he incited, Meridius has been bound to the Heart of the Sirenes, the same merfolk relic that had trapped his twin sister in a human body. During his first months as a human, he found himself unable to properly perform magical gestures and shape words outside of an aquatic environment, forcing him to acquire martial skills to survive.

Meridius lives on the largesse of his former brother-in-law’s estate, and is quite popular in human lands. He traffics in pearls, fish and shipping contracts, with some under-the-table business dealing in adventurers’ goods. Though relatively adjusted to this role, Meridius still seeks to throw off his confinement and be restored to his empire.

As an information broker, Meridius has acquired maps, secrets and magical items. One of his recent finds has been an ancient enchanted city, ripe for the plundering. Sooner or later, someone will need access to one of its secrets, and Meridius plans to charge them a hefty fee for the knowledge: the Heart of the Sirenes, currently located in his mother’s palace.

Meridius is smart enough not to hold a grudge if there’s little value in it. He enjoys exploiting those who have previously opposed him, and will toy with his foes even as he brings them into his employ. However, should they find something he’s more interested in, perhaps an ancient family relic, he’ll be more than pleased to betray his hirelings to their watery doom.

---

Coastal Human
A tough, wiry people, coarse and uneducated, but with a homey wisdom, the humans of the rocky coast eke out a living across the immense stones and weak soil of their cold homelands.

Coastal humans have the same racial features as normal humans, except as follows:

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -4 Intelligence. Though slow-witted and uncreative, coastal humans tough it out in a harsh environment and navigate the slippery, wind-blasted cliffsides with great agility.

[LordZarth]

snip

:smalleek: :dropsjaw"

[afroakuma]

Well, he'd hardly be fun if he didn't come back. :smallwink:

[Pronounceable]

Nice. Really nice. He was very solid (albeit bland) before, now he's cool. I always like this sort of shady businessman villains. Much more flavory than standard power hungry noble in any case.

Also reminds me of the Penguin, which is also a plus.

[afroakuma]

The idea was always that he'd be a recurring pain. Early on, he's a history student who wants to capitalize on Granny's heritage by getting everyone else to backstab each other. After the PCs shake him out, he gets banished from the sea and still doesn't quit - the party will probably end up working for him.

Now wait for what he does next! :smallwink:

[Thane of Fife]

I like him a lot more with this addition, but it opens a new question:

How has the change affected his personality?

It's a pretty big lifestyle change, so I can't imagine that he'd be unaffected. Before, for example, I think you said he had vices merely because he could - I can imagine those haunting him now. It's probably hard to get merfolk drugs on the surface.

Does being stuck in human form affect his alter self?

And finally, I think -4 Int for living on the coast seems a bit excessive.

Unless that's a subtle poke at certain Wizards....

[afroakuma]

I like him a lot more with this addition, but it opens a new question:

How has the change affected his personality?

He's more conniving, but in public more outgoing. He's also a lot more smug, since he doesn't need to pretend to anyone anymore.


It's a pretty big lifestyle change, so I can't imagine that he'd be unaffected. Before, for example, I think you said he had vices merely because he could - I can imagine those haunting him now. It's probably hard to get merfolk drugs on the surface.

No, he had no vices as a merman - to show that he didn't need them. He's probably picked up one by now, though - likely pipe-smoking, because that'll bite him if he ever gets back under the waves.


Does being stuck in human form affect his alter self?

Nope. He can still go for a proper swim for seventy minutes a cast... but there's nowhere for him to do that, since his mother's guards watch the coast and he'd be spotted in a river or lake.


And finally, I think -4 Int for living on the coast seems a bit excessive.

Unless that's a subtle poke at certain Wizards....

Newfie joke, actually. I needed to pay off the Dex and Con score maintenance. Int seemed like a nice alternative, especially given that those coastal humans I've met are both friendly and sagacious. Int was the odd man out.

[Mercenary Pen]

Pretty nice work AA. Leaves plenty of scope for Meridius to be used as the DM sees fit (not least because of the alternate stat-blocks)... And the banishment angle allows for him to turn up with 'Trusted Lieutenants' who might also have been banished (including ye nerfed coastal human wizard who now has only 12-14 INT).

[afroakuma]

Polymorph doesn't drop your Int score. Unless you're polymorphed into, like, a rock.

He's going to get two more tiers to properly round out the adventure, but he certainly is shaping up to be a magnificent bastard.

[Mercenary Pen]

Polymorph doesn't drop your Int score. Unless you're polymorphed into, like, a rock.

He's going to get two more tiers to properly round out the adventure, but he certainly is shaping up to be a magnificent bastard.

My bad, comes of not really knowing anything other than 4e...

Main work required in using Meridius thus far would be in developing your own ancient enchanted city- but of course anyone daft enough to ask if AA would produce an Ancient Enchanted City had best place their own head on the block for AA to chop off- it's better than the alternative.

[afroakuma]

I could also quashhammer you. I do do that, you know.

There's a funny twist on the ancient city, which is basically more villainous fun on Meridius' part.

[Juhn]

Well, he did write an entire dungeon for the one before this...

[puppyavenger]

two more stat-blocks you say? sounds excellent!

[Debihuman]

I've looked over this villain and it just seems like he has too many feats. Even in his first incarnation as a 4th level sorcerer, he should only have 2 feats or am I missing something? I'm not familiar with the Easy Metamagic feats so perhaps that's what it is.

Debby

[afroakuma]

He took two flaws, which permit him two additional feats. He exchanged his familiar for a third feat.

[Debihuman]

Aha. I knew there was something that I was missing. I'm [obviously] not familiar with the supplemental rules, like Flaws and Traits. Thanks.

Debby

[afroakuma]

I thought I posted a brief explanation of flaws under Prince Meridius?

I know I had one written up.

*sigh* my bad.

On the bright side, now you know how I can abuse the rules to make my fishy fiend stronger! :smallsmile:

[Debihuman]

I think you mentioned that they did get bonus feats from getting flaws, but in the stat block neither of the feats is listed as a bonus feat and the extra feat exchanged for a familiar isn't noted either. Also, where are the Easy Metamagic feats found?

And just so you know, I think this is a great villain. :biggrin:

Debby

[afroakuma]

I confess: Easy Metamagic is a Dragon feat. It's -1 level increase for the selected metamagic feat.

I'll do the bonus notations shortly.

[Heliomance]

Where are the additional statblocks?

[afroakuma]

The second one was already posted; the third and fourth will show up when I have time. Definitely before VUAVXI.