OK, here's my take: Draug, the magic-blooded bugbear, along with the crunch for using him at a number of levels, mainly because I like building characters and I like the idea of this Build-A-Baddie Workshop. He's not entirely complete (a few missing feats, mainly), but I think it's got enough to use it. He's gestalt (because I like using gestalt for BBEGs to offset NPC wealth by level vs PC wealth by level) and uses the elite array. It incorporates several things from this thread: he's diplomatic, has a soft spot for kids, and has what could be considered a deformity, though it's more of a difference than a true deformity. Feel free to disregard or suggest changes, but I made it, so I thought I'd post it.
Back storySpoiler
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I found myself thinking of this guy as a mix of
Hitman with a Heart of Gold and
Satisfied Street Rat, though that may just be me. Still a little vague on the overall backstory, but he probably grew up in and out of an orphanage, spending his time out of the orphanage learning to defend himself and get by on his wits; also learning that, for better or worse, the only ones making any money were the ones breaking the law. He started out as a lookout and occasional enforcer and eventually moved into dealing. The people running the orphanage disapproved of his activities, but would still take him in, occasionally hiding him from trouble, in exchange for his promise that he would not recruit any of their other kids. He agreed and, as he saw the other children move on to somewhat successful, and also legal, careers, he expanded this protection to the other children in what became his turf. He'll sell to anyone over the age of majority, but any child he finds using drugs, whether his or another dealer's, gets a stern talking to the first time and a bad scare the second; any dealer selling to children in his turf gets the scare and a beating for a first infraction and gets deposited at the edge of town with a few broken limbs for a second. That said, he does take care of a few organizations, including the orphanage, perhaps to ease his conscience or because he feels like he owes them, and a large number of others because they pay him protection. That said, he will also deal harshly with anyone who threatens his business, whether they be local law enforcement, rivals, or wandering "heroes." Some of the first group, either genuinely or for fear of reprisal, consider that he is perhaps the lesser of possible evils if a drug trade is inevitable.
DescriptionSpoiler
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Slightly paler than the average bugbear, with dark red hair, with that on top of his head usually pulled back into a ponytail, that on his face regularly shaved off, and that on the rest of his body tending to remain short. His eyes are the inverse of the standard bugbear eyes; red with white pupils instead of the other way around. Wears relatively light armor which is easily hidden or embedded in his clothing and walks with an ornate cane, though purely as decoration/weaponry.
CrunchSpoiler
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Primarily a Hexblade*//Bard, the former for striking fear into and debuffing enemies and the latter for buffing his allies, and has levels of crusader and swordsage mixed in for greater combat prowess. His main weapons are his fists and his cane, which either forms its tip into a point or hides a sword within and is represented by a few different weapons at different levels. At the lowest levels, he interchanges a sap and a rapier; at higher levels, he uses a Merciful rapier. A few things are Rule of Cool'ed**, but nothing too powerful, I don't think. He's got a few spells, though not enough for that to be his main means of offense or defense, so his main contributions will be the Inspire line of bardic musics to aid his allies, the Hexblade's Curse and Dark Companion as well as the Doomspeak feat to cripple his enemies, and a wide array of low to mid level martial manuevers.
*Using a few of the recommended changes from the original creator of the class listed
here
** Uses the Ascetic Mage feat to stack Unarmed Swordsage and Bard for unarmed strike damage and add Cha to AC in light armor instead of Wis. Merciful rapier does bludgeoning damage when dealing nonlethal, piercing when lethal, to better portray it as a cane. He's going to be a lawful bard, though just barely.
Draug at ECL 4Spoiler
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Magic-Blooded Bugbear; Medium Humanoid (Goblinoid)
{table]Hit Dice| d6+3d8+12 (32 hp)
Initiative| +3
Speed| 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class| 18 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +2 leather armor), touch 13, flat-footed 15
Attack| Sap +6 melee (1d6+3) or rapier +6 (1d6+3)
Special Qualities| Low light vistion 60 ft., scent
Saves| Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +3
Abilities| Str 16, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 16
Skills| Balance +10, Diplomacy +9, Gather Information +5, Jump +10, Move Silently +9, Perform(oratory) +9, Sense Motive +5, Tumble +10
Feats| Doomspeak, TBD
Class Levels| LA/HD 3//Bard 4
Class Features| Bardic Knack (2 ranks), Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +1, Inspire Competence
Spells|Lvl 0 (3/day) - Light, Lullaby, Message, Resistance
Spells|Lvl 1 (3/day) - Charm Person, Cause Fear, Expeditious Retreat
Spells|Lvl 2 (1/day) - Eagle's Spleandor, Tongues
[/table]
Draug at ECL 8Spoiler
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Magic-Blooded Bugbear; Medium Humanoid (Goblinoid)
{table]Hit Dice| d6+3d8+4d10+24 (66 hp)
Initiative| +3
Speed| 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class| 21 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +4 mithril chain shirt +1 deflect), touch 14, flat-footed 18
Attack| Masterwork Sap +12/+7 melee (1d6+4) or rapier +12/+7 (1d6+4)
Special Qualities|Low light vistion 60 ft., scent, mettle
Saves| Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +8; +3 against spells and spell-like abilities
Abilities| Str 16+2, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 16
Skills| Balance +10, Bluff +8, Concentration +9, Diplomacy +9, Gather Information +5, Intimidate +10, Jump +11, Move Silently +9, Perform(oratory) +9, Sense Motive +5, Tumble +10
Feats| Doomspeak, TBD, Song of the White Raven
Class Levels| LA/HD 3/Hexblade 4//Bard 6/Crusader 2
Class Features| Bardic Knack (3 ranks), Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +2, Inspire Competence, Suggestion, Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5, Indomitable Soul, Hexblade's Curse 4/day, Dark Companion
Spells|Lvl 0 (3/day) - Light, Lullaby, Message, Resistance
Spells|Lvl 1 (4/day) - Charm Person, Cause Fear, Cure Light Wounds, Expeditious Retreat
Spells|Lvl 1 (1/day) Disguise Self, Undetectable Alignment
Spells|Lvl 2 (3/day) - Eagle's Splendor, Heroism, Tongues
Maneuvers| Charging Minotaur, Crusader's Strike, Foehammer, Stone Vise, Tactical Strike
Stances| Bolstering Voice, Tactics of the Wolf
[/table]
Draug at ECL 11Spoiler
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Magic-Blooded Bugbear; Medium Humanoid (Goblinoid)
{table]Hit Dice| d6+3d8+7d10+33 (91 hp)
Initiative| +3
Speed| 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class| 26 (+3 Dex, +4 Cha, +3 natural, +5 +1 mithril chain shirt, +1 deflect), touch 18, flat-footed 19
Attack| +1 Merciful Rapier +16/+11 melee (2d6+4) or unarmed strike +15/+10 (1d10+4)
Special Qualities|Low light vistion 60 ft., scent, mettle
Saves| Fort +9, Ref +10, Will +10; +4 against spells and spell-like abilities
Abilities| Str 16+2, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 16+2
Skills| Balance +10, Bluff +12, Concentration +15, Diplomacy +12, Gather Information +6, Intimidate +12, Jump +10, Move Silently +9, Perform(oratory) +10, Sense Motive +8, Tumble +10
Feats| Doomspeak, TBD, Improved Unarmed Strike, Weapon Focus(Diamond Mind weapons), Ascetic Mage, TBD
Class Levels| LA/HD 3/Hexblade 4/Swordsage 3//Bard 8/Crusader 3
Class Features| Bardic Knack (4 ranks), Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +2, Inspire Competence, Suggestion, Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5, Indomitable Soul, Hexblade's Curse 4/day, Dark Companion, AC Bonus, Zealous Surge
Spells|Lvl 0 (3/day) - Light, Lullaby, Message, Resistance
Spells|Lvl 1 (4/day) - Charm Person, Cause Fear, Cure Light Wounds, Expeditious Retreat
Spells|Lvl 1 (1/day) Disguise Self, Undetectable Alignment
Spells|Lvl 2 (4/day) - Detect Thoughts, Eagle's Splendor, Heroism, Tongues
Spells|Lvl 3 (2/day) - Fear, Glibness, Haste
Maneuvers| Charging Minotaur, Crusader's Strike, Foehammer, Stone Vise, Tactical Strike, Revitalizing Strike
Maneuvers| Bounding Assault, Burning Brand, Claw at the Moon, Clever Positioning, Cloak of Deception, Death Mark, Moment of Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap
Stances| Bolstering Voice, Tactics of the Wolf
Stances| Island of Blades, Dance of the Spider
[/table]
Draug at ECL 14Spoiler
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Magic-Blooded Bugbear; Medium Humanoid (Goblinoid)
{table]Hit Dice| d6+3d8+10d10+56 (131 hp)
Initiative| +3
Speed| 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class| 29 (+4 Dex, +5 Cha, +3 natural, +6 +2 mithril chain shirt, +1 deflect), touch 20, flat-footed 20
Attack| +1 Merciful Rapier +19/+14/+9 melee (2d6+4) or unarmed strike +18/+13/+8 (2d6+4)
Special Qualities|Low light vistion 60 ft., scent, mettle
Saves| Fort +12, Ref +13, Will +13; +5 against spells and spell-like abilities
Abilities| Str 16+2, Dex 16+2, Con 16+2, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 16+4
Skills| Balance +11, Bluff +16, Concentration +16, Diplomacy +16, Gather Information +7, Intimidate +16, Jump +10, Move Silently +10, Perform(oratory) +13, Sense Motive +12, Tumble +11
Feats| Doomspeak, TBD, Improved Unarmed Strike, Weapon Focus(Diamond Mind weapons), Ascetic Mage, TBD, Song of the White Raven, Combat Casting
Class Levels| LA/HD 3/Hexblade 6/Swordsage 4//Bard 10/Crusader 4
Class Features| Bardic Knack (5 ranks), Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +3, Inspire Competence, Suggestion, Inspire Greatness, Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 10, Indomitable Soul, Hexblade's Curse 5/day, Dark Companion, AC Bonus, Zealous Surge
Spells|Lvl 0 (3/day) - Light, Lullaby, Message, Resistance
Spells|Lvl 1 (5/day) - Charm Person, Cause Fear, Cure Light Wounds, Expeditious Retreat
Spells|Lvl 1 (3/day) Alarm, Disguise Self, Prestidigitation, Undetectable Alignment
Spells|Lvl 2 (4/day) - Detect Thoughts, Eagle's Splendor, Heroism, Tongues
Spells|Lvl 3 (3/day) - Cure Serious Wounds, Fear, Glibness, Haste
Spells|Lvl 4 (1/day) - Dominate Person, Zone of Silence
Maneuvers| Charging Minotaur, Crusader's Strike, Flanking Maneuver, Foehammer, Stone Vise, Tactical Strike, Revitalizing Strike
Maneuvers| Bounding Assault, Burning Brand, Clever Positioning, Cloak of Deception, Dancing Mongoose, Death Mark, Moment of Perfect Mind, Shadow Stride, Sudden Leap
Stances| Bolstering Voice, Tactics of the Wolf
Stances| Island of Blades, Dance of the Spider
[/table]
Required Sources
SRD
This Link - Doomspeak
Tome of Battle - Swordsage, Crusader, Song of the White Raven, maneuvers, stances
Complete Warrior - Hexblade
Complete Adventurer - Ascetic Mage (though I tweaked it to be bard/swordsage instead of monk/sorcerer)