Villainous Competition, Round 2, Or, Give me something evil!

[Sam K]

We shall see if I have time to complete mine.

[Sian]

Don't have time to finish my build ... bought Europa Universalis 4 last Saturday (28th) when it was on sale, and have put 40h into it allready, neatly soaking up all my free time.

[Gwachitallemall]

I've had a lot more problems with EU4 than EU3.. I liked EU3. EU4 has been.. more of a disappointment.

[Gwachitallemall]

12 hours left, any last minute entries?

[AvatarVecna]

As has usually been the case, my standards were higher than my ability to optimize. I'll be judging once more, and I'll be sharing my basic build idea after the reveal.

[JyP]

12 hours left, any last minute entries?

crap, I have seen this thread too late - as I have created an NPC / companion for evil PCs in The World's Largest Dungeon which is spot on !

so the same for me, I'll be sharing my basic build idea after the reveal :)

[sakuuya]

Is the reveal at 18:00 CST or 18:00 CDT? Stupid daylight savings time, switching in the middle of a round, grumble mumble.

[WeaselGuy]

Is the reveal at 18:00 CST or 18:00 CDT? Stupid daylight savings time, switching in the middle of a round, grumble mumble.

Not to be a smartass, but... my advice (and what I did) would be to take the time Gwachitallemall posted "12 hours until the reveal" and add 12 hours to that.

For me, out here in Kuwait, Big G posted that at 14:21 local time. So, adding 12 hours, I deduce the reveal will be at around 02:00 local time.

[sakuuya]

Not to be a smartass, but... my advice (and what I did) would be to take the time Gwachitallemall posted "12 hours until the reveal" and add 12 hours to that.

For me, out here in Kuwait, Big G posted that at 14:21 local time. So, adding 12 hours, I deduce the reveal will be at around 02:00 local time.

Yep, and that's 18:00 CDT, which is not what the first post said, so I figured clarification would be good.

[WeaselGuy]

Yeah, I hear ya there. I almost screwed myself over on another build a few weeks ago, cause I thought the clock was set in EST, when it was set to GMT. I thought I had about 7 hours more to work on my build than I really did, and ended up rushing to get it in on time. For that very reason, I prefer going by # of hours left, instead of contest ends at XX:XX time.

Again, I wasn't trying to be a jerk, and I apologize if I came off that way, it's just been one of those days out here in the sandbox

[sakuuya]

Nah, no worries. I didn't make it clear in my original post that I'd read the Supreme Chancellor's timing announcement. Also, dang, I'm sorry that the reveal is at 02:00 for you.

[illyahr]

Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.

[Livius]

12 hours left, any last minute entries?

Did you get mine?

[Telonius]

Did you get mine?

Better check that out for me, too - received all right?

[WhamBamSam]

12 hours left, any last minute entries?

As with last round, I've been procrastinating too much. I've got fluff and most of my table stuff done, so it's not impossible I'll get an entry in, but I might just sit on this one rather than submit another rush job, especially as I have real life obligations for the last 3 hours of submission time.

[Gwachitallemall]

6 hours from right now.

I've received both of the people whose asked submissions, as well as two corrections.

[Sam K]

Internet ate my entry yesterday. I'll try to re-make it though.

[WhamBamSam]

Yeah... Procrastination's going to get the better of me this round. Ah well, some of the tables may be of some use in the future, and my idea did give me some new thoughts on optimizing a couple of things.

[Jormengand]

Internet ate my entry yesterday. I'll try to re-make it though.

Gotta go fast.

[Sam K]

Gotta go fast.

There's no time like Just-In-Time!

Entry submitted!

[Gwachitallemall]

Alright. I'm home. Starting to get everything together, but I will post another note when I'm posting everything, so feel free to post right now.

[Gwachitallemall]

Reveals incoming! Don't post until I'm done please.

[Gwachitallemall]

Hmm.. Guess we start early with some naming.

Melissa, the Huntress

Spoiler: The Simplicity of Nature

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CN(E) Female Illumian Ranger 10/Truenamer 10

Spoiler: The Natural State

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"My name is Melissa Karcannan. I was born to a noble family which taught me all about what I should do to be a proper lady. Pah! Have they never seen the lionesses hunting their prey? Have they not seen the mosquitoes who drink the blood of the living or the worker bees who spend time doing something with their lives? My natural place is with my bow in my hand, hunting for my living. Our natural place lies not in the walls of your phony cities, but in the wildfire that sweeps across nations, bringing them to the heel of nature.

But I cannot tell you what your place is - instead, I shall tell the whole world, and the world will respond in kind. Khar'le whi'ok'shi'khaal quo'ra ha'na!"

Suddenly, the Huntress leapt from the tree, spinning as she fell, and launched four arrows straight into Mycah's chest. The paladin recoiled; two of them had pierced his chain mail. Johannes made to cast a spell, but the sorcerer was suddenly beset by an aggressive wolf. Kaylee raised her bow, and - not nearly as fast to shoot as the truenamer - fired twice at her, missing both as the arrows veered off course at the last second. Despite being beset by a wolf, Johannes smiled as Donovan threw himself at Melissa, who took a moment to babble another string of what was seemingly gibberish, holding the assassin in place.

Mycah raised their sword and swung violently at the wolf, knocking the beast off their comrade. Johannes got up with a look on his eyes that spoke of murder, and Kaylee - having realised her arrows were useless - drew a slim elven longsword from its sheath before charging headlong at the Huntress. The ranger tried to dodge, but the sword struck her with full force. The Huntress smiled as the sword bounced off her tough skin.

Against Johannes, she was not as lucky - a blast of flame struck her full in the face, burning her severely, and while Johannes swore as he missed the second, the damage was done. Melissa snarled, and tripped Kaylee before screaming in truespeak at the wolf, who rose and turned tail. She then did the same, woman and beast both disappearing into the undergrowth.

Mycah smiled as they went to heal Johannes' wounds. "Victory again," they said, as laid their hands on their comrade. Donovan, however, snarled even as he was released from his bonds. "Mycah, you idiot, you call that a victory? You're half dead, and Johannes just fired off one of his second most powerful spells. What was the one the wolf fizzled?" he asked accusingly. "That spell was, or would have been, Fly" was the sorcerer's response.

Kaylee took over from Donovan, having caught on. "So Johan just used two of his best spells, you're going to use all of your spells just to close your wounds, and she also broke two of my arrows. Not, I suppose, that that matters since you're so kindly carrying four of hers, but that's not the point." Mycah looked a little sheepish as they plucked the arrows out before healing themself. "So you're saying she's wearing us down?"
"Yes," opined Donovan. "That's not normal magic. I'm going to take a good guess and say that she can do that all day if she wants to," he continued, not knowing how close he was to the truth.

Kaylee say down to think. It was a bad move; the next thing she knew, a mysteriously unburned illumian stepped out of the woods and fired four arrows into her beautiful elven neck. The last thing that she heard before falling unconscious was Mycah shouting something, followed by Melissa smugly intoning "You have no place in this world. Go back to your cities; they'll burn soon enough."

Spoiler: The Concept of Nature

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The idea of Melissa is that she would be roughly 50/50 truenamer and ranger, leaving her with her full compliment of attacks (Who thought it was a good idea to give truenamer medium base attack bonus? Ehh, not complaining) and also being able to use her swift actions on quickened utterances - which of course she can also use to make herself attack even faster.

Fluff-wise, Melissa just hates organised society, roles in society, and people screwing with her "Natural world." She feels the need to remind the world of how to be natural by telling it using truespeak.

Spoiler: The Nature of Morality

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Melissa is probably neutral-going-chaotic neutral-going-evil, which allows a slightly sympathetic big bad if necessary, or allowing the DM to brush over the issue if not. Melissa could be played as anything up to neutral good without breaking too far from her concept, but she really resides somewhere east-by-south-east of neutral.

Spoiler: Human Nature

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I guess Melissa could have been an elf, but trading CON for DEX (or for STR, in the case of a wood elf) isn't that favourable an exchange, and making her an elf would just have been enforcing the hippy elf stereotype. That said, human is often considered boring and overused, so why not make it something other than normal human? Someone obsessive and using words to fight, that sounds a lot like an Illumian (RoD) with the Uur (for truenamer) and Naen (For... well, honestly initiative checks, but reflex saves can't hurt) sigils. Krau might have been an idea to bump the caster level up to 12 for both classes, but honestly, very little of what she can do scales from caster level anyway.

Spoiler: Nature's MADness

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This is a problem, but I figure it's all right. INT has to take the 15, for truespeak purposes. WIS should be at least 12, CON shouldn't be the 9 and ought to be fairly high, DEX needs to be high, STR shouldn't be too low and should probably be odd because odd STR scores actually do something, and CHA can be safely dumped if Melissa chooses save: none utterances. This leaves me with little choice but to:

INT 15 DEX 14 WIS 13 CON 12 STR 11 CHA 9.

Well, that sucks. Did you know that truenamers have a deep-seated loathing for the elite array? Anyway, this seems to be basically locking us into ranged fighting style, or possibly finessing it up? We shall see.

Spoiler: Nature's Companion

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Unfortunately, spell-like abilities are exempt from share spells, otherwise setting a Knight's Pussance'd bear at someone and temporally twisting it to attack faster would be hilarious. As is, if you want to do that, you'll be waiting for a 17th-level class feature you'll never get. Since feats to make your companion better than that of a fifth-level druid don't actually exist, Melissa takes a wolverine as her animal companion and revels in its 28 (Plus 6 more when raging) hit points as soon as she can swap out her wolf, at the very least granting her a creature that can take a fireball to the face in its stride. Being able to buff the wolverine is a little helpful too. But honestly, it's there to soak up a round of attacks or be sent after some commoners to divert PCs attention, not to do more than a little to help in combat.

While we're on the subject of companions, the Item Familiar ban hits Melissa hard in the face, denying her 23 points of truespeak bonus. Hence pulling out all the stops to buff it up a little.

Spoiler: The Natural Order

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This is difficult. We need to spread out 10 levels each of ranger and truenamer in a way that doesn't suck. Well, here goes nothing:

Skills will be written as the base value for the skill before the illumian sigils or statistic bonuses. Similarly, saves are actually higher by 1 except reflex saves which are higher by 3 at 1st and 4 at each other level. All stat bonuses for leveling are to INT. The table does not list iterative attacks, but it should be easy to work them out. Bonus feats are written as feats, not class features. These are utterances gained at this level.

All sources are ToM or PHB. If it's not on the SRD, it's from Tome of Magic.

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Ranger 1	+1	+2	+2	+0	Concentration 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 4, Spot 4, Truespeak 4	Truename Training, Track	FE: Humans, Wild Empathy
2nd	Ranger 2	+2	+3	+3	+0	Concentration 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 5, Spot 5, Truespeak 5	Rapid Shot	Combat Style: Archery
3rd	Ranger 2/Truenamer 1	+2	+3	+3	+2	Concentration 6, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 6 (Religion) 1, Spot 5, Truespeak 6	Skill Focus: Truespeak	Known Personal Truename, Word of Nurturing
4th	Ranger 2/Truenamer 2	+3	+3	+3	+3	Concentration 7, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 7 (Religion) 3, Spot 5, Truespeak 7	Extra Evil	Knowledge Focus: Nature, Inertia Surge
5th	Ranger 3/Truenamer 2	+4	+3	+3	+4	Concentration 8, Hide 7, Move Silently 6, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 8 (Religion) 3, Spot 6, Truespeak 8	Endurance	Evil Laugh
6th	Ranger 3/Truenamer 3	+5	+4	+4	+4	Concentration 9, Hide 7, Move Silently 6, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 9 (Religion) 5, Spot 6, Truespeak 9	Extend Utterance	Archer's Eye
7th	Ranger 4/Truenamer 3	+6	+5	+5	+4	Concentration 10, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 10 (Religion) 5, Spot 7, Truespeak 10	Improved Evil Laugh	Animal companion: Wolf
8th	Ranger 5/Truenamer 3	+7	+5	+5	+4	Concentration 11, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 11 (Religion) 5, Spot 9, Truespeak 11	Extra Buttkicking	FE: Elves
9th	Ranger 5/Truenamer 4	+8	+5	+5	+5	Concentration 12, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 12 (Religion) 7, Spot 9, Truespeak 12	Quicken Utterance	Temporal Twist, Fortify Armour
10th	Ranger 5/Truenamer 5	+8	+5	+5	+5	Concentration 13, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 13 (Religion) 9, Spot 9, Truespeak 13	Evilify utterance	Silent Caster
11th	Ranger 5/Truenamer 6	+9	+6	+6	+6	Concentration 14, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 14 (Religion) 11, Spot 9, Truespeak 14	Truename Research	Speed of the Zephyr
12th	Ranger 6/Truenamer 6	+10	+7	+7	+7	Concentration 15, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 15 (Religion) 11, Spot 10, Truespeak 15	Manyshot, Utterance of the Perfected Map	Fog from the Void
13th	Ranger 7/Truenamer 6	+11	+7	+7	+7	Concentration 16, Hide 13, Move Silently 12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 16 (Religion) 11, Spot 12, Truespeak 16	Extra Noscoping	Woodland Stride
14th	Ranger 7/Truenamer 7	+12	+7	+7	+7	Concentration 17, Hide 13, Move Silently 12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 17 (Religion) 14, Spot 12, Truespeak 17	Shoot Anything	Knowledge Focus: Nature, Seek the Sky, Analyse Item
15th	Ranger 7/Truenamer 8	+13	+7	+7	+8	Concentration 18, Hide 13, Move Silently 12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 18 (Religion) 17, Spot 12, Truespeak 18	Point Blank Shot, Recitation of the Sanguine State	Energy Negation, Shield of the Landscape
16th	Ranger 8/Truenamer 8	+14	+8	+8	+8	Concentration 19, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 19 (Religion) 17, Spot 14, Truespeak 19	Greater Kill Everything	Swift tracker, Animal companion: Wolverine
17th	Ranger 8/Truenamer 9	+14	+9	+9	+8	Concentration 20, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 20 (Religion) 20, Spot 14, Truespeak 20	ManyMuchShot	See the named, Vision Sharpened
18th	Ranger 8/Truenamer 10	+15	+9	+9	+9	Concentration 21, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 21 (Religion) 21 (The Planes) 2, Spot 14, Truespeak 21	Improved Initiative	Knowledge Focus: Nature, Spell Rebirth
19th	Ranger 9/Truenamer 10	+16	+9	+9	+10	Concentration 22, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 22 (Religion) 21 (The Planes) 2, Spot 15, Truespeak 22	Improved awesomeness	Evasion
20th	Ranger 10/Truenamer 10	+17	+10	+10	+10	Concentration 23, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Knowledge (Dungeoneering; Geography; Nature) 23 (Religion) 10, Spot 17, Truespeak 23	Eschew Capstones	Favoured Enemy: Dwarves

Spoiler: Nature's Gifts

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Melissa needs to have a bow. That much is clear. Beyond that, custom items of competence to truespeak help if that flies; if (Greater) Amulets of the Silver Tongue don't fly then there's a problem - there's no reason they shouldn't be available if a truenamer is. Masterwork items of truespeak are RAW-legal but slightly odd, but whatever.

Apart from that, Amulets of Natural Armour (Robes of the silver tongue are a thing) make thematic sense and help you not get your butt handed to you by a dude with a sword. Fending off spellcasters is harder, but a cloak of resistance and judicious use of energy negation can help in this matter.

Leather armour so that she can use Fortify Armour on it - plus armour bonus is always handy - is probably a good idea.

Spoiler: Nature's Magic

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You have a 1st-level spell at 7th level, another at 12th, and a 2nd-level at 20th. You don't really care about any of these spells; entangle isn't terrible, charm animal or speak with animals can be helpful, SNA gives you another chump blocker. It's telling that the wolf that you can get with SNA I is the exact same as your animal companion. By the time you have 2nd-level spells they're mainly terrible, but SNA II can, you guessed it, give you a chump blocker that's the exact same as your wolverine animal companion. Spike Growth is nice for annoying people, but not amazing - if you put your token five 20 ft squares in just the right place, you can just about deal 20d4 damage to a particularly idiotic charger who can't fly.

Snare isn't amazingly useful, but I just want to point out that it can literally make a trap out of a thong. Their wording, not mine.

Because you probably want something else in your amulet slot, periapts of wisdom to get more spells are probably out, but you can use a ring of spell storing to more-than-double your spells for one day at the cost of not being able to cast them the day before.

Spoiler: The Force of Nature

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Level 5: In the natural order, I should not have these wounds. And you, you should not be alive.

You've dropped a whopping one point of Base Attack Bonus from your truenamer levels, have NI out of combat healing, and you can duplicate a fourth-level spell with one of your utterances. Next level, the reversed version will become very useful when extended. Your ability to fire off two arrows at one guy isn't any better than any other ranger, but, well, it gets better. Your Evil Laugh ability is also pretty useful.

Level 10: Your meddling has disrupted the flow of time... allow me to restore it.

Hoo boy. You can now be dropping four attacks through a wall while critical and sneak immune - drop a quickened Temporal Twist on yourself each round and you're loving it. Oh, and save or silence is fun too.

You also have a wolf who can go up and hit things, but whatever. It's mainly fun for the free trips and annoying spellcasters to death.

Level 13: If it weren't for your cities blocking its path, this area would be full of a thick fog. Let me add it in for you.

If you drop a quickened Temporal Twist on yourself before attacking (it has to be before, which makes no sense but that's the truenamer for you) then you can make all but one of your full compliment of attacks - you get the last at 19th level. Specifically, you can get a total of 6 attacks (3 from BaB, 1 from rapid shot, 1 from Speed weapon property if you have it, and one from temporal twist if you use it before making the attack from speed). Eat your heart out, TWF. Each one is making elves cry and humans scream, and better still, you have Fog from the Void, which you just got last level. Why did you get it? Because you can duplicate a Solid Fog, and then fire through it at no penalty. Thanks, archer's eye!

Level 15: I believe that you should be on fire, by all rights. And I don't think I really ought to be poisoned; let's fix that, shall we?

I'm going to go on record and say that Reversed Energy Negation is one of the most horrifically evil utterances ever invented. Possible to access - and extend - by level 7, it does 10d6 damage basic, 20d6 when extended. The fact that it's over 5-10 rounds just makes mortalbane schenanigans even more horrific. So go ahead and slap 20d6 points of anything-but-sonic damage on someone as a swift action. You can take free actions while moving (otherwise you couldn't talk or drop anything while running), and you can take a swift action while moving. Your opponents are going to get annoyed at you running past every minute and dropping 20d6 points of damage on one of them. Law of Sequence is supposed to prevent you from duplicating it, but you can get around that if you feel like cheesing it up.

Level 20: That spell isn't meant to be there. Allow me to remove it... oh, no, that one was meant to be there. Don't worry, I'll put it back for you.

You're currently making 7 attacks that tear humans to pieces, especially at short ranges, and can also turn invisible at will. You can still heal yourself pretty effectively, by the way - not in combat, mind, but fast healing 1 will get you most of your hit points back in a few minutes even if you're knocking on the grim reaper's door. And honestly, if you're taking damage, something's wrong.

So you're invisible, in cover, in total concealment, and capable of dispelling and un-dispelling anything you like. You're also immune to sneak attacks and critical hits. And you're making 7 attacks dealing about 1d8+10 damage each, each round, as well as your opponents burning to death.

Spoiler: Natural Tactician

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Let me tell you something, Melissa. You ain't the toughest of the bunch, and you ain't the strongest, and you ain't the quickest either, though I'll grant you're quick. And you sure as sunrise won't be talking your way out of any difficult situations. But what you are? What you are is smart. Make it count.

You're almost certainly going to be outclassed physically and magically. You can't hold a candle to ninth level casting or shake a stick at full-BAB max-STR raging lion's charging orc psychic warrior barbarians on griffons dual-wielding lances with headlong rush and spirited charge, but what you do have is the ability to be the biggest jerk the world has ever seen.

You are basically the living incarnation of what it means to be Tucker's kobolds. You do not win straight-up fights; you screw with the enemy, wearing them down bit by bit and reveling in the fact that you near-enough don't run out of utterances because you can keep on hitting the slightly-increasing DCs each time, and you wear them down mentally, sending them to make attacks in locations that you aren't in, and generally wearing down their hit points and spell slots. Sending them a few miles off course, trapping them if you're in some kind of dungeon or cave, and so forth... that's what you're there for. That's what you do.

[Gwachitallemall]

Sand.. it gets everywhere, doesn't it?

Marduk-bel-Iziri
Purifier of the Sands

Spoiler: Build Stub

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LE Dry Lich Marrutact Cloistered Cleric of Azul 5/Walker in the Waste 10

Spoiler: Background

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This tall, gaunt humanoid wears sand-brown robes and a voluminous hood that fails to hide its jackal-like visage. Wielding a staff intricately carved to resemble a slender double helix, the creature commands respect with its mere presence.

Marduk-bel-Iziri was a cell leader for a small crèche of fellow Marruspawn, leading through a combination of birthright and sheer mental capacity. Smarter, wiser, and more charismatic by far than his brethren, Marduk also possesses a formidable collection of Arcane spells. He fearlessly defended his territory through tactical use of his cell members, and sacrifices captured slaves to his god Azul in ceremonial rituals designed to bring forth the Lord of Rain’s blessing.

After meeting with a particularly capable group of adventurers, Marduk seeks solace and recovery in the depths of the waste. During his time here, he ponders the nature of his religion, and whole-heartedly devotes himself to prayer, cloistering himself deep within one of the numerous abandoned pyramids that dot the landscape.

After emerging from his studies, he has come to the realization that the Waste claims all it touches, and is the purest form of Nature. The desert salt cleans all that it touches, and the unrelenting sun cures the world’s ailments. It isn’t long before he meets others that share his ideology, and Marduk is soon inducted into the Dusty Coven, joining the ranks of Walkers in the Waste.

Marduk-bel-Iziri now claims dominion over a stretch of the Waste that borders a stretch of grasslands to the east, and the nomads that live there find themselves constantly battling the encroaching sands that Marduk carries in his wake.

While accompanied by a retinue of Sand Golems and Salt Mummies, he also has his own formidable Clerical abilities to supplement his fearsome presence in combat.

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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Attribute	Base	Racial	From Level	Total	Dry Lich	Final
Strength	12	0	0	12	2	14
Dexterity	14	+2	0	16	0	16
Constitution	8	+2	0	10	-	-
Intelligence	15	+8	+2	25	0	25
Wisdom	10	+8	0	18	4	22
Charisma	16	+6	+3	22	2	24

Increases at 4 and 8 go to Intelligence, 12, 15 and 18 go to Charisma. At CR 20 (Level 10 of Walker in the Waste), the Dry Lich template is added, increasing Strength by 2, Wisdom by 4, and Charisma by 2, and removing Constitution.

Spoiler: Progression Table

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CR	HD	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
5	7d8	Marrutact	+7	+3	+6	+9	Concentration 10, Decipher Script 10, Hide 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 10, Knowledge (History) 10, Knowledge (Geography) 10, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Nature) 10, Spellcraft 10	Heat Endurance, Extend Spell, Persistent Spell	Discriminating Hearing, Resistance to Desiccation, Resistance to Fire, Low Light Vision, Howl of Healing, Spells (as CL 5 Wizard), Spell Resistance 16
6	8	Cloistered Cleric 1	+7	+5	+6	+11	Concentration 11, Decipher Script 11, Knowledge (Arcana) 11, Knowledge (History) 11, Knowledge (Geography) 11, Knowledge (Religion) 10, Knowledge (Nature) 11, Spellcraft 11	Knowledge Devotion	Lore, Knowledge Domain, Turn/Rebuke Undead
7	9	Cloistered Cleric 2	+8	+6	+6	+12	Concentration 12, Decipher Script 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 12, Knowledge (History) 12, Knowledge (Geography) 12, Knowledge (Religion) 12, Knowledge (Nature) 12, Spellcraft 12, Survival 2.5	Divine Metamagic (Persistent Spell)	-
8	10	Cloistered Cleric 3	+8	+6	+7	+12	Concentration 13, Decipher Script 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (History) 13, Knowledge (Geography) 13, Knowledge (Religion) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 13, Spellcraft 13, Survival 5	-	-
9	11	Cloistered Cleric 4	+9	+7	+7	+12	Concentration 14, Decipher Script 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 14, Knowledge (History) 14, Knowledge (Geography) 14, Knowledge (Religion) 14, Knowledge (Nature) 14, Spellcraft 14, Survival 7.5	-	-
10	12	Cloistered Cleric 5	+9	+7	+7	+13	Concentration 15, Decipher Script 15, Knowledge (Arcana) 15, Knowledge (History) 15, Knowledge (Geography) 15, Knowledge (Religion) 15, Knowledge (Nature) 15, Spellcraft 15, Survival 10	Extra Turning	-
11	13	Walker in the Waste 1	+9	+7	+7	+15	Concentration 16, Decipher Script 16, Intimidate 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 16, Knowledge (Geography) 16, Knowledge (Nature) 16, Spellcraft 16, Survival 11	-	Desiccating Touch 1d6, Improved Heat Endurance
12	14	Walker in the Waste 2	+10	+7	+7	+16	Concentration 17, Decipher Script 17, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 17, Knowledge (Geography) 17, Knowledge (Nature) 17, Spellcraft 17, Survival 12	-	The Wasting
13	15	Walker in the Waste 3	+10	+8	+8	+16	Concentration 18, Decipher Script 18, Intimidate +, Knowledge (Arcana) 18, Knowledge (Geography) 18, Knowledge (Nature) 18, Spellcraft 18, Survival 13	Intimidating Strike	Desiccating Touch 2d6, Local Drought
14	16	Walker in the Waste 4	+11	+8	+8	+17	Concentration 19, Decipher Script 19, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 19, Knowledge (Geography) 19, Knowledge (Nature) 19, Spellcraft 19, Survival 14	-	Withered Toughness
15	17	Walker in the Waste 5	+11	+8	+8	+17	Concentration 20, Decipher Script 20, Intimidate 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 20, Knowledge (Geography) 20, Knowledge (Nature) 20, Spellcraft 20, Survival 15	-	Dessicating Touch 3d6, Pillar of Salt
16	18	Walker in the Waste 6	+12	+9	+9	+18	Concentration 21, Decipher Script 21, Intimidate 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 21, Knowledge (Geography) 21, Knowledge (Nature) 21, Spellcraft 21, Survival 16	Imperious Command	Create Sand Golem
17	19	Walker in the Waste 7	+12	+9	+9	+18	Concentration 22, Decipher Script 22, Intimidate 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 22, Knowledge (Geography) 22, Knowledge (Nature) 22, Spellcraft 22, Survival 17	-	Desiccating Touch 4d6
18	20	Walker in the Waste 8	+13	+9	+9	+19	Concentration 23, Decipher Script 23, Intimidate 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 23, Knowledge (Geography) 23, Knowledge (Nature) 23, Spellcraft 23, Survival 18	-	Create Salt Mummy
19	21	Walker in the Waste 9	+13	+10	+10	+19	Concentration 24, Decipher Script 24, Intimidate 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 24, Knowledge (Geography) 24, Knowledge (Nature) 24, Spellcraft 24, Survival 19	Craft Magic Arms & Armor	Desiccating Touch 5d6, Greater Drought
20	22	Walker in the Waste 10	+14	+10	+10	+20	Concentration 25, Decipher Script 25, Hide 10, Intimidate 20, Knowledge (Arcana) 25, Knowledge (History) 15, Knowledge (Geography) 25, Knowledge (Religion) 15, Knowledge (Nature) 25, Spellcraft 25, Survival 20	-	Dry Lich

Spoiler: Spells Known

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Marduk-bel-Iziri has a collection of both Arcane and Divine Spells, as represented below.

Spoiler: Arcane Spells

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Arcane Spells per day

Level	0th	1st	2nd	3rd
1	3	3	-	-
2	4	4	-	-
3	4	4	3	-
4	4	4	4	-
5	4	4	4	3

Spoiler: Divine Spells

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Divine Spells per day
Domains: Thirst and Evil

Level	0th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
6	3	3+1	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	4	4+1	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	4	4+1	3+1	-	-	-	-	-
9	5	5+1	4+1	-	-	-	-	-
10	5	5+1	4+1	3+1	-	-	-	-
11	5	5+1	4+1	3+1	-	-	-	-
12	5	5+1	5+1	4+1	-	-	-	-
13	6	6+1	6+1	5+1	2+1	-	-	-
14	6	6+1	6+1	5+1	3+1	-	-	-
15	6	6+1	6+1	5+1	3+1	2+1	-	-
16	6	6+1	6+1	5+1	4+1	3+1	-	-
17	6	7+1	6+1	6+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	-
18	6	7+1	6+1	6+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	-
19	6	7+1	7+1	6+1	5+1	4+1	3+1	1+1
20	6	7+1	7+1	6+1	5+1	4+1	3+1	1+1

Casting increased at every level of Walker in the Waste except for 1 and 10 (CR 11 & 20, respectively).

Spoiler: Dry Lich Template

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Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.
Hit Dice: Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s.
Attack: A dry lich retains the desiccating touch of the base creature. If the base creature can use weapons, a dry lich retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those weapons. A dry lich fighting without weapons uses either its desiccating touch or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A dry lich armed with a weapon uses its touch or its weapon, as it desires.
Full Attack: A dry lich fighting without weapons uses either its desiccating touch attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a desiccating touch as a natural secondary attack, provided it has a way to make that attack (either a free hand or a natural weapon that it can use as a secondary attack).
Damage: A dry lich without natural weapons has a desiccating touch attack that deals 5d6 points of desiccation damage (or 5d8 points to plants and elementals of the water subtype) to living creatures; a Fortitude save (DC 15 + dry lich’s Wis Modifier) halves the damage. A dry lich with natural weapons can use its desiccating touch attack or its natural weapons as it prefers. If it chooses the latter, it deals an extra 5d6 points of desiccation damage on one natural weapon attack.
Special Attacks: A dry lich retains all the base creature’s special attacks and gains those described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + ½ dry lich’s HD + Cha modifier unless otherwise specified.
Aura of Despair (Su): A dry lich is surrounded by a terrible sense of age, loss, and death. Any creature within a 60-foot radius must secceed on a Will save or be shaken for 1d4 rounds. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same dry lich’s aura of despair for 24 hours.
Constitution Drain (Su): Any living creature a dry lich hits with its touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Constitution drain. With each successful drain, the dry lich gains 5 temporary hit points.
Special Qualities: A dry lich retains all the base creature’s special qualities and gains those described below;
Turn Resistance (Ex): A dry lich has +6 turn resistance.
Damage Reduction (Su): A dry lich’s salt-cured flesh is leathery and touch, giving it damage reduction 10/bludgeoning and magic.
Fast Healing (Ex): A dry lich recovers 2 points of damage each round as long as it is in an arid environment. A humid climate, water-based effecs such as a fog cloud spell, or immersion in water prevent fast healing.
Immunities (Ex): Dry liches had immunity to dehydration, heat, polymorph (though they can use polymorph effects on themselves), and mind-affecting spells and abilities.
Unholy Toughness (Ex): A dry lich gains a bonus to its hit points equal to its Charisma bonus (minimum +1) times its Hit Dice.
Water Weakness: All water deals damage to a dry lich as if it were holy water.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Wis +4, Cha +2. As an undead creature, a dry lich has no Constitution score.
Skills: Dry liches have a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Intimidate, Listen, Move Silently, Search, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Environment: Any deserts.
Organization:Solitary or patrol (1 dry lich, plus 1-2 salt mummies and 2-4 sand golems).
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +3.
Treasure: Standard coins; standard goods; double items.
Alighment: Any nongood.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +5.

Spoiler: Level Breakdown

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• CR 5 – At this point in Marduk’s life, he has just become a cell leader in charge of a pair of Marrusaults and 4 Marrulurks. If encountered by PCs, Marduk defends his cell and their territory by deploying his cell against the PCs, directing the Marrusaults to charge the enemy, and having the Marrulurks move in to a flanking position to capitalize on their innate Sneak Attack abilities. During this time, Marduk remains in the rear casting Arcane spells to hinder his foes.
• CR 6-10 – If in the event that Marduk’s cell is defeated by the PCs, Marduk uses any means necessary to escape into the Wastelands. In the intervening time between next encountering the PCs, Marduk gives himself over to worshipping his chosen deity, Azul, Lord of Rain. Dedicating himself to the study of religion in solitude, Marduk is unlikely to be encountered again until after this level range.
• CR 11-15 – Having forsaken civilization in favor of the purity found in the unforgiving Wastelands, Marduk has been accepted into the Dusty Conclave as a Walker in the Waste, and now patrols the Wastelands in an effort to keep encroaching civilization at bay. He also uses this time to investigate the ancient ruins that litter the waste, searching for hidden lore and artifacts. If encountered by PCs at this level range, he can be a formidable opponent, able to fight with both Arcane and Divine magic, and also able to buff himself into a capable melee opponent.
• Sweet Spot – CR 15 – CR 15 would be Marduk’s sweet spot, at this point he can Persist both Divine Power and Righteous Might, growing him up to large size and giving him an increased attack modifier. By using his Arcane spells to modify the terrain to his liking, he is able to delay entering combat until he can target the enemy spellcaster with his Flesh to Salt ability. After this, he wades into battle, interspersing blows from his staff with his Desiccating Touch ability. In addition to all of this, his Intimidating Strike and Imperious Command abilities should inflict a healthy amount of fear in his enemies to stack the odds further in Marduk’s favor.
• CR 20 – Now a Dry Lich, and accompanied by a retinue of Sand Golems and Salt Mummies, Marduk-bel-Iziri is indeed a force to be reckoned with. He has ascended to the highest levels of the Dusty Conclave, and actively works to push civilization back and to increase the reach of the Wastelands. He is convinced now more so than ever that the desert is the purest form of Nature and life itself. You either have the strength to survive in the harshest of lands, or the moving sands claim your life. Natural selection working at its finest.

Spoiler: Sources

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• Player's Handbook - Skills, Feats, Spells, Evil & Knowledge Domains
• Player's Handbook II - Intimidating Strike
• Drow of the Underdark - Imperious Command
• DMG - Elite Array
• Unearthed Arcana - Cloistered Cleric
• Complete Divine - Divine Metamagic, Knowledge Devotion
• Sandstorm - Walker in the Waste, Marrutact, Dry Lich, Thirst Domain, Spells, Azul

[Gwachitallemall]

Machine cult, go!

Cullet

Warforged Totemist 17/Reforged 3

Spoiler: Field Report to House Cannith

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Field Report to House Cannith
Subject: Experimental Warforged Production Report
Warforged Designation: 546987-A34B2q SLS “Slash”
Status: Online
Dear Sirs,
I am ready to label our latest project a tentative success. Our “Slash” model has come online, and is ready to begin her duties in clearing the jungle of all flora and fauna. Per your specification, she has been fitted with a reinforced jaw to aid in combat and help destroy various underbrush she may encounter. Brellik, our Totemist collaborator, assures me that her chakras are functioning normally. I must once again express my concern that exposing a Warforged to these so-called “soulmelds” may introduce undesired psychological elements – not the least of which, is the certainty that she does in fact possess a soul. I am also concerned that Brellik may not be completely on board with the project. Are you certain that he has been fully vetted? I will monitor the situation closely and report back as necessary…

Spoiler: Starting Stats

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Str 15
Dex 8
Con 14->16
Int 10
Wis 12->10
Cha 13->11

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Totemist 1	+0	+2	+2	+0	Craft (Woodcutter) (4) Know Nature (4) Sense Motive (2) Survival(4)	Jaws of Death	Wild Empathy, Illiteracy
2nd	Totemist 2	+1	+3	+3	+0	Craft (5) Know Nature (5) Sense Motive (2.5) Survival(5)	-	Totem Chakra Bind (+1 capacity)
3rd	Totemist 3	+2	+3	+3	+1	Craft (6) Know Nature (6) Sense Motive (3) Survival(6)	Cobalt Charge	Totem’s Protection
4th	Totemist 4	+3	+4	+4	+1	Craft (7) Know Nature (7) Sense Motive (3.5) Survival(7)	-	+1 Con (level-up)
5th	Totemist 5	+3	+4	+4	+1	Craft (8) Know Nature (8) Sense Motive (4) Survival(8)	-	Chakra Binds (Crown, feet, hands)
6th	Reforged 1	+3	+4	+4	+3	Bluff(1) Diplomacy(1) Gather Information(1) Sense Motive(5)	Expanded Soulmeld Capacity	Extroverted, Natural Healing
7th	Reforged 2	+4	+4	+4	+4	Bluff(2) Diplomacy(2) Gather Information(2) Sense Motive(6)	-	Reforged Insight, Magical Healing
8th	Reforged 3	+5	+5	+5	+4	Bluff(3) Diplomacy(3) Gather Information(3) Sense Motive(7)	Unarmored Body (b)	Embrace Emotion, Final Reforging. +1 Con
9th	Totemist 6	+6	+6	+6	+5	Know(Arcana)(1) Know(Nature)(9) Know(Planes)(1) Spellcraft(1)	Second Slam	Totem Chakra Bind (+1 meldshaper level)
10th	Totemist 7	+7	+6	+6	+5	Know(Arcana)(2) Know(Nature)(10) Know(Planes)(2) Spellcraft(2)	-	-
11th	Totemist 8	+8	+7	+7	+5	Know(Arcana)(3) Know(Nature)(11) Know(Planes)(3) Spellcraft(3)	-	Rebind Totem Soulmeld (1/day)
12th	Totemist 9	+8	+7	+7	+6	Know(Arcana)(4) Know(Nature)(12) Know(Planes)(4) Spellcraft(4)	Multiattack	Chakra Binds (arms, brow, shoulders). +1 Str
13th	Totemist 10	+9	+8	+8	+6	Know(Arcana)(5) Know(Nature)(13) Know(Planes)(5) Spellcraft(5)	-	-
14th	Totemist 11	+10	+8	+8	+6	Know(Arcana)(6) Know(Nature)(14) Know(Planes)(6) Spellcraft(6)	-	Totem Chakra bind (double bind)
15th	Totemist 12	+11	+9	+9	+7	Know(Arcana)(7) Know(Nature)(15) Know(Planes)(7) Spellcraft(7)	Double Chakra (Totem)	Rebind Totem soulmeld (2/day)
16th	Totemist 13	+11	+9	+9	+7	Know(Arcana)(8) Know(Nature)(16) Know(Planes)(8) Spellcraft(8)	-	+1 Con
17th	Totemist 14	+12	+10	+10	+7	Know(Arcana)(9) Know(Nature)(17) Know(Planes)(9) Spellcraft(9)	-	Chakra binds (throat, waist)
18th	Totemist 15	+13	+10	+10	+8	Know(Arcana)(10) Know(Nature)(18) Know(Planes)(10) Spellcraft(10)	Shape Soulmeld (Enigma Helm)	Totem Chakra bind (+2 capacity)
19th	Totemist 16	+14	+11	+11	+8	Know(Arcana)(11) Know(Nature)(19) Know(Planes)(11) Spellcraft(11)	-	Rebind Totem soulmeld (3/day)
20th	Totemist 17	+14	+11	+11	+8	Know(Arcana)(12) Know(Nature)(20) Know(Planes)(12) Spellcraft(12)	-	Chakra Bind (heart). +1 Con

Spoiler: Level 5

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At this point, Slash is just on the cusp of making her break with her creators. She has been trained by Brellik over the course of several years. He intends to use her to fight off the loggers and defend the jungle. She has developed somewhat unusually for a Totemist, her first-level feat being occupied with Jaws of Death, and her third being Cobalt Charge. Her soulmelds give her some flexibility, but she’s somewhat hurt by the lower base attack bonus. Still, with the Sphinx Claws soulmeld bound to your Hand chakra, you have a small load of natural attacks on a pounce, possibly enhanced by Cobalt Charge. (Rules ambiguity: it’s not completely clear if your bite attack gained by Jaws of Death counts as a “manufactured” weapon for the purposes of Sphinx Claws.)

Spoiler: Level 10

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Slash is no more. When her employers tried to oust her mentor Brellik, she turned on them; alas, too late for Brellik. His dying words were a curse on the ones who made her. This was the final straw that set her on the path to forsaking her own identity. Now, she has been reforged as the villainous Cullet. She sees her creation as the final step of destruction ordered by a morally bankrupt civilization, and is dedicated to seeing it return to nature – by force. She may appear as a leader of a small band of Warforged seeking to learn from her mastery of the Chakras. Upon becoming a Reforged, she re-selected her Warforged feat (Jaws of Death). While the levels of Reforged will make her less powerful than a full level-20 Totemist, they’re central to her development as a villainous extremist. Still, her Reforged levels will improve the Morale bonus given by her Totem Avatar soulmeld. A second slam attack, combined with extra attacks granted by her Totemist soulmelds and various essential investment, will make her a dangerous opponent in melee. As a Reforged, you no longer have penalties to healing, as normal Warforged do.

Spoiler: Level 15

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I would also consider this the “sweet spot,” when the last key features of the build come online.

Cullet has now come into her own as a villain. Her prowess in battle has gained her serious notoriety. She may well appear as part (or leader) of an organization dedicated to destroying not just the loggers, but all civilization. She now has Double Chakra, double bind (obtained at level 14), and the ability to rebind her Totem soulmeld twice a day. You have a large number of natural attacks from soulmelds, Jaws of Death, and Extra Slam. Multiattack (gained at 12) gives a big boost to all of her natural attacks. Sphinx Claws is still applicable.

Spoiler: Level 20

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Cullet is now a world-renowned threat, and head of a violent group of extremists. She is a bit more careful, since her activities have gained her powerful enemies. She keeps herself safe from basic divinations by using the Enigma Helm soulmeld (obtained by a feat). Level 20 gives her a “capstone” of binding a soulmeld to her Heart chakra. At this level, she would surround herself with spellcasters (possibly evil Druids) and others who share her worldview. She is not capable of taking on an entire party on her own, and she knows this. A combat encounter including Cullet should involve several other high-level lieutenants and minions (likely druids, rangers, or other nature-friendly characters like Totemists, Barbarians, or others).

Spoiler: Suggested Soulmelds

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Crown: Frost Helm, Enigma Helm (when available)
Feet: Landshark Boots
Hands: Sphinx Claws (bound)
Totem: Totem Avatar (bound), Girallon Arms (bound)
Shoulders: Totem Avatar (bound)
Throat: Ankheg Breastplate
Waist: Wormtail Belt
Heart: Dread Carapace

Spoiler: Sources

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Warforged (Race): Eberron Campaign Setting
Reforged (PrC), Jaws of Death (Feat), Second Slam (Feat), Unarmored Body (Feat): Races of Eberron
Totemist (Class), Cobalt Charge (Feat), Double Chakra (Feat), Expanded Soulmeld Capacity (Feat), Shape Soulmeld (Feat): Magic of Incarnum

[Gwachitallemall]

Trees trees trees. It's like we chose a concept themed around nature. Wait.. did we? Woops.

Triana, the Husk of Hate



Greenbound Hate-Lost Illumian (hoonvaul) Cloistered Cleric 17

Spoiler: The Build

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Elite array:
8+10 Str
10+2 Dex
12+8 Con
13-6 Int
15+1+1+1+1 Wis
14+4 Cha

CR	HD	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1	1d6	Cloistered Cleric 1	+0	+2	+0	+2	Concentration 4, Craft (Alchemy) 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Profession (Herbalist) 4, Spellcraft 4	Improved Initiative	Domains (Plant, Good, Knowledge), lore, turn/rebuke undead, 1st level spells
2	2d6	Cloistered Cleric 2	+1	+3	+0	+3	Concentration 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Heal 5, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Knowledge (Nature) 5, Profession (Herbalist) 5, Spellcraft 5	-	-
3	3d6	Cloistered Cleric 3	+1	+3	+1	+3	Concentration 6, Craft (Alchemy) 6, Heal 6, Knowledge (Geography) 6, Knowledge (Nature) 6, Profession (Herbalist) 6, Spellcraft 6	Brew Potion	2nd level spells
4	4d6	Cloistered Cleric 4	+2	+4	+1	+4	Concentration 7, Craft (Alchemy) 7, Heal 7, Knowledge (Geography) 7, Knowledge (Nature) 7, Profession (Herbalist) 7, Spellcraft 7	-	+1 Wis
5	5d6	Cloistered Cleric 5	+2	+4	+1	+4	Concentration 8, Craft (Alchemy) 8, Heal 8, Knowledge (Geography) 8, Knowledge (Nature) 8, Profession (Herbalist) 8, Spellcraft 8	-	3rd level spells
8	5d8	Apply the Greenbound (+2 CR) and Lost (+1 CR) templates	+2	+4	+1	+4	-	-	Change alignment to Chaotic Evil, change Good domain to Hatred domain; +10 Str, +8 Con, +4 Cha, +2 Dex, -6 Int; natural armor +9; base land speed +10; bile of hatred; twisted mind; plant type; slam attack 1d6; spell-like abilities (at will--entangle, pass without trace, speak with plants; 1/day--wall of thorns); damage reduction 10/slashing and magic; fast healing 3; grapple bonus +4; resistance to cold and electricity 10; tremorsense 60 feet; Hide and Move Silently +16
9	5d8+1d6	Cloistered Cleric 6	+3	+5	+2	+5	Concentration 9, Knowledge (Geography) 9, Knowledge (Nature) 9, Spellcraft 9	Improved Turning	-
10	5d8+2d6	Cloistered Cleric 7	+3	+5	+2	+5	Concentration 10, Knowledge (Geography) 10, Knowledge (Nature) 10, Spellcraft 10	-	4th level spells
11	5d8+3d6	Cloistered Cleric 8	+4	+6	+2	+6	Concentration 11, Knowledge (Geography) 11, Knowledge (Nature) 11, Spellcraft 11	-	+1 Wis
12	5d8+4d6	Cloistered Cleric 9	+4	+6	+3	+6	Concentration 12, Knowledge (Geography) 12, Knowledge (Nature) 12, Spellcraft 12	Ability Focus (Entangle)	5th level spells
13	5d8+5d6	Cloistered Cleric 10	+5	+7	+3	+7	Concentration 13, Knowledge (Geography) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 13, Spellcraft 13	-	-
14	5d8+6d6	Cloistered Cleric 11	+5	+7	+3	+7	Concentration 14, Knowledge (Geography) 14, Knowledge (Nature) 14, Spellcraft 14	-	6th level spells
15	5d8+7d6	Cloistered Cleric 12	+6	+8	+4	+8	Concentration 15, Knowledge (Geography) 15, Knowledge (Nature) 15, Spellcraft 15	Quicken Spell-Like Ability (Entangle)	+1 Wis
16	5d8+8d6	Cloistered Cleric 13	+6	+8	+4	+8	Concentration 16, Knowledge (Geography) 16, Knowledge (Nature) 16, Spellcraft 16	-	7th level spells
17	5d8+9d6	Cloistered Cleric 14	+7	+9	+4	+9	Concentration 17, Knowledge (Geography) 17, Knowledge (Nature) 17, Spellcraft 17	-	-
18	5d8+10d6	Cloistered Cleric 15	+7	+9	+5	+9	Concentration 18, Knowledge (Geography) 18, Knowledge (Nature) 18, Spellcraft 18	Craft Contingent Spell	8th level spells
19	5d8+11d6	Cloistered Cleric 16	+8	+10	+5	+10	Concentration 19, Knowledge (Geography) 19, Knowledge (Nature) 19, Spellcraft 19	-	+1 Wis
20	5d8+12d6	Cloistered Cleric 17	+8	+10	+5	+10	Concentration 20, Knowledge (Geography) 20, Knowledge (Nature) 20, Spellcraft 20	-	9th level spells

Final skills: Concentration 20, Craft (Alchemy) 8, Heal 8, Knowledge (Geography) 20, Knowledge (Nature) 20, Profession (Herbalist) 8, Spellcraft 20

Spoiler: First encounter: CR 5

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When the PCs first meet Triana, she's not a villain at all. She's the town apothecary. She sells potions, alchemical items, and medicinal herbs. She's friendly and helpful, and she's well-respected in the community for her skills as a healer. She's also an inquisitive mind, and often goes out on research expeditions to find new rare herbs, leaving the shop in the care of Alice, her capable apprentice.

To make Triana more memorable in her first appearance, I recommend having her send the players on a short quest to find a rare potion ingredient in the forest. (She'd get it herself, but she has to stay and tend to one of her sick patients.)

Triana's patron deity before her change can be any Good-aligned nature god in your setting. Alternately, she can be a Cleric of an ideal, venerating nature itself as a force for good.

Spoiler: Second encounter: CR 10

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While the PCs were off on another quest, Triana went on an expedition of her own...but it's been over two months now and she still hasn't returned. Alice, who, as usual, has been running the shop in Triana's absence, is worried, and implores the PCs to go on a rescue mission. She explains that Triana went to the Lost Woods, a notoriously spooky place from which few have ever returned.

Players who use Gather Information can discover more information about the Lost Woods.

Spoiler: Gather Information DCs

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DC 10: "Hoo boy...I heard of that place. Notoriously spooky. There's a curse over the whole forest. Nobody who goes in comes out again."
DC 15: "They say nobody ever comes out of the Lost Woods, but then again, nobody ever really goes in there either. It's dangerous. I had an uncle who knew a guy who made it out. He was stark-raving loony, though. Even if you escape, the place changes you."
DC 20: "They say a man once ventured into the Lost Woods. He made it out just fine, or so it seemed. But he had some magic disease, right, and he started shouting about how he hated everyone. Went on a rampage, he did. Strangled his own wife and kids and ran off back into the forest. Horrible tragedy."
DC 25: "I heard about that guy too! After he killed his family, the guards tried to chase him down, but their weapons were useless against him. The only thing that worked was one guard's magic sword, which cut him up well enough, but instead of blood, he bled tree sap! Then the wound closed up right there and then, and he vomited up some nasty goop that melted the flesh right off the poor guard's bones, then ran off! The forest turned him into some kind of horrible plant monster fueled by hate."

Triana, it turns out, has succumbed to the curse of the Lost Woods--a Lost Site, fueled by hatred, that can transform unwary travelers into shells of their former selves.

Spoiler: Lost Sites

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Creatures entering a lost site are exposed to a disease that is functionally similar to mindfire (see page 292 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide) and must make a successful DC 12 Fortitude save to avoid contracting this illness. After a 1-day incubation period, infected creatures take 1d4 points of Intelligence damage. Once per day thereafter, infected characters must succeed on another saving throw or take the same damage. Unlike mindfire, the victim must make three successful Fortitude saves in a row (rather than just two) to recover from this illness. Leaving the lost site has no effect on the progress of the illness.

If an infected creature takes 6 or more points of Intelligence damage while within the bounds of a lost site, the creature immediately gains the lost template described on page 183.

This particular Lost Site also has the additional side effect of transforming its victims into plants, granting them the Greenbound template.

Anyway, Triana has now gained both the Lost and the Greenbound templates, and, overcome by hate, has turned evil, abandoned her previous faith, and now worships the forest itself, exchanging her Good domain for the Hatred domain. But she's more than just a victim. Her Plant domain granted ability allows her to rebuke and command plants. Furthermore, as an Illumian with the vaul sigil, she gets +2 to all Charisma checks, including turning checks, and with the hoon sigil added on, she can expend some of her spells to gain an additional bonus to turning checks and turning damage rolls. And now that she's Greenbound, she has an extra +4 to Charisma, further boosting her rebuking. Oh, and she's picked up the Improved Turning feat, too. Bottom line? She's now the commander of a small army of Hate Monsters.

If the players attempt to track Triana, they will be foiled by her new pass without trace spell-like ability. They'll have to search the forest the hard way. (And it will be hard, because she's been casting plant growth every day to thicken the foliage.) Naturally, of course, chances are, she'll find them before they find her. Triana will try to remain hidden if possible, using her new +16 racial bonus to Hide, casting debuffs and battlefield control while her plant minions attack. If she's spotted, she'll try and escape under the cover of obscuring mist and entangle, with wall of thorns as a last resort. She also has freedom of movement to help her out if needed. Her goal is to elude the intruders, and prevent them from leaving the forest if possible--the hope is that they will succumb to the forest's curse so that she can add them to her army. If the players manage to corner her, she'll try to entangle them, then fight back with her bile of hatred acid breath and spontaneous inflict spells. She has a bunch of resistances and immunities from the plant type and the Greenbound template, which should make her tough to bring down even in a fair fight.

Spoiler: Third encounter: CR 16

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If the players fail to defeat Triana, or if they choose not to attempt to rescue her, she will eventually start sending out raiding parties to attack nearby villages. (Why? Because she HATES them. She hates everyone. HATE HATE HATE GRAAAAH!) Her plant monsters will shamble into town, impervious to harm from normal weapons, and start smashing whatever they can. They may also attempt to take prisoners back to the forest to convert into new recruits. (This should get the PCs' attention.) If the villagers fight back and manage to drive the plants away, she'll send more, and with better buffs this time--for example, if the villagers try and burn the monsters with fire, she'll give the next wave fire resistance.

Triana is now capable of casting 7th level spells, making for a much more challenging encounter. She'll begin a fight by ensnaring the party in a quickened entangle, then casting animate plants and siccing some trees on them. As before, she'll stick to a support role in the actual fight, but now the minions she calls will be more powerful and more numerous, and the support spells she casts will be higher-level. If there are spellcasters in the party, she may ready dispel magic or greater dispel magic as a counterspell. She also has the option of playing the fight more aggressively with ranged direct damage spells like the mass inflict line.

Spoiler: Fourth encounter: CR 20

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If the players face Triana at an even higher level, the key word for her is preparation. She's had a long time to grow her plant empire. The Lost Woods will be guarded by a massive army of shambling mounds courtesy of shambler, cast once a day, every day, with a 7-month duration. The woods will also be filled with all sorts of nasty traps intended to capture and disable any interlopers so that the curse has time to transform them. Triana herself will have set up all manner of contingencies with Craft Contingent Spell, making her (hopefully) a nightmare to fight against. Also, she has 9th level spells, so that's a thing. Have her be buffed to the gills, slinging overpowered magic while an army of plant minions obeys her every command.

Spoiler: Adaptation

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Triana is a Cleric because the Plant domain provides a strong mechanism to allow her to lead an army of plants. Also, I find that just having domains is, generally, a nice way to reinforce the character's themes. But the concept is not tied to that particular class--the character could also work as a Druid, using the command plants spell. I opted for Cleric because I felt adding wild shape and an animal companion would pull focus away from the plant theme. If you prefer the Druid route, I recommend replacing Improved Turning with Greenbound Summoning, from Lost Empires of Faerun, and, after Triana's transformation, have her animal companion die and let her trade the class feature away to become a Druidic Avenger. (The Rage ability is more thematically appropriate for a monster fueled by hatred anyway.)

Spoiler: Rescuing Triana

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The transformation is not reversible. But you're the DM. If you want a more optimistic adventure, you could make it reversible. If that's what you want to do, I recommend placing an artifact in the center of the Lost Woods. The corrupted magic of this artifact is the source of the curse. It emanates waves of nauseating energy tainted by the hatred of its creator toward all of civilization.

Destroying the artifact will not reverse the physical effects of the curse completely, but it will undo most of the magic and restore the sanity of the afflicted. In other words, it removes both the Lost and Greenbound templates, but subjects retain the Plant type--that part of the metamorphosis is permanent.

If Triana is high enough level, she will place a forbiddance on the artifact to prevent this course of events.

Consider this option if one of the PCs succumbs to the curse and the other party members want to save them.

Spoiler: Sources

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Complete Arcane: Craft Contingent Spell (p77)
Lost Empires of Faerun: Greenbound template (p173)
Magic of Incarnum: Lost template (p181), Lost site (p204)
Races of Destiny: Illumian race (p53)
Spell Compendium: Hatred domain (p275)
Unearthed Arcana: Cloistered Cleric (SRD)

[Gwachitallemall]

Protect yourself! Nature is back, with a vengeance!

The bane of the civilized world...

Lorna, the Mother's Wrath
"Nature has provided you with everything: plants and animals that you consume for food, wood to build your shelters and to burn to stave off the cold. And you have taken without giving one whit in return. You spoil her lands, poison her waters, and clutter her skies with monuments to your own glory. She will tolerate it no more. Your confederates will be culled, your cities will fall to ruin, and all who stand in her way will be swept aside as leaves in the wind."

Chaotic Evil Greenbound Nymph Druid 12
Medium Plant (Augmented Fey), Str 14, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 21, Cha 25
1 level bump in Charisma, 3 into Wisdom

(Stats before adjustments: Str 8, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 13)

Spoiler: Appearance

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Source: http://ravenscar45.deviantart.com

Spoiler: History (The Fluff)

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When outsiders intrude upon the forest, nymphs are generally disposed towards letting them be. After ensuring they mean no harm, the fey often prefer to watch from a distance, rather than involve themselves in the mortals affairs.

Lorna was not most nymphs.

Depending upon whom you ask, Lorna’s fascination with the mortal races was either a boon or a curse. Blessed by nature with equal parts ability, cunning, and pride, Lorna felt supremely confident in her choice to take a more active approach in her protection of the forest. She proved such an elusive nuisance to the nearby kingdom, that the Duke sought the help of a mercenary band to negotiate a truce, or failing that, drive her away. Lorna greeted these new arrivals with the usual pomp and flair that she accorded all her new guests.

It proved to be a terrible mistake. The leader of the mercenary band was a cruel and vicious ranger, who took a special delight in making her existence a nightmare. When they laughed at her attempts to negotiate, she attacked them, only to be overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. She fled, but was pursued mercilessly through her forest home. The mercenaries began to treat it like a game, injuring her to the brink of death, and then creating an “opening” for her to escape. They would set traps baited with helpless injured animals, their cries of agony tearing at Lorna’s soul. She fled from her home forest glades to a neighboring kingdom, only to be set upon by yet another group of outsiders. Maddened with grief, took refuge in a series of caves at the foothills of a nearby mountain, using every bit of magic she could muster to stave off her pursuers.

It was there, huddled in the darkness, that she first heard the voice. It spoke to her in soothing tones, slowly allaying her fears. It said it was the voice of the Mother Seed. It had watched the mortals horrible mistreatment of her. It consoled her. It told her that her experience was not unique, and that the mortals were growing more violent with each passing season. Their claim over nature also grew as more and more forests were cleared to make way for farmlands to feed the ever-growing population of their cities. It told her that a culling was necessary, before the damage was irreversible.

Most terrible of all, it taught her how to hate.

Lorna soon realized that she had been chosen to be the herald of nature’s rebirth. The Mother Seed could scour the planet of the mortal infestation, but it would need her help to do so. She emerged from that cave a twisted agent of destruction, and would stop at nothing to undo the damage the lesser races had caused.

Spoiler: CR 5

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The first place the party is likely to encounter her, is immediately after she has fled from kingdom borders she once called home. Her pursuers gave up the chase when she crossed into the next territory. The party is contacted by a local druid grove to investigate strange disturbances in the forests. Lorna’s manic state of mind is having a similar effect on the fauna surrounding her, and travelers have reported wild animals attacking without provocation.

At this level, the fight will be tough. It will be very, very tough. In order to balance her against a party of level 5 characters, she should have expended at least some of her druid spells for the day in her efforts to elude the mercenaries, and she should also be down some hit points. If the party is sufficiently unprepared, also consider keeping her Blinding Beauty turned off for the encounter, on account of her physical and mental exhaustion. Her ability scores should also be adjusted as follows: Str 8, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 22, Cha 21, since she has not yet acquired the greenbound template. Aside from SNA, solid options for offense at this level include Call Lightning, Spiritjaws, with Bite of the Wereboar or Primal Form for engaging in melee.

Her fragile state of mind will not permit negotiations, and she will attack anyone who approaches her. Regardless of how combat proceeds, once the party becomes incapacitated, or it becomes clear she cannot defeat them, she should flee into the forest. If necessary, don’t hesitate to utilize her Dimension Door SLA, and any remaining battlefield control spells to assist in her escape.

Spoiler: CR 10 *Sweet Spot*

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Around this point the party is called upon to investigate a series of bizarre kidnappings. People are going missing from their houses in the middle of the night, and guards are slain in the street, apparently the victims of animal attacks. Lorna has been ordered to bring her victims to the cave, so that their bodies can provide nourishment for the Mother Seed. An investigation will uncover the fact that all of the victims thus far are members of the mercenary band that chased Lorna from the kingdom, and their respective families. The encounter should happen at night, as the party pursues her in the wake of her latest abduction.

This level is the turning point: the moment when the party will realize something is terribly wrong. The last time they saw her she was in nearly mad with terror. Now she is composed, calm, and positively drips with sinister purpose. Even if the party doesn’t remember Lorna, she will remember them, and offer them one chance to leave before she attacks them with the full range of her abilities.

Since the last time they met, Lorna has acquired the greenbound template, and at least her first level in druid, and thus is accompanied by an animal companion, which should be either a wolf or a riding dog. She’ll make full use of her Blinding Beauty this time around, along with 11th level druid casting, and the abilities provided by her template. The companion should have animal growth pre-cast on it along with whatever other buffs you feel are appropriate. Lorna's defenses are supplemented by plant traits, which provide immunity to critical hits precision damage, as well as immunity to mind-affecting, poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning.

In terms of attacking, Quill Blast is a particularly nasty opener at this point, and she should otherwise focus on limiting the mobility of her enemies. She should target obvious spellcasters with her Stunning Glance, and direct her animal companion and summons to run interference with melee characters that elude her battlefield control. Other useful spells include Arc of Lightning (A No SR Conjuration spell), Vortex of Teeth, and of course Flame Strike. If you feel the party can handle it, advancing her two more druid levels will get her the Natural Bond feat, and bring her companion out of the range of mook clearing spells (like Cloudkill). She has no real interest in conflict, and at the first opportunity will take her latest victim and flee. She will again use her Dimension Door ability if she is in danger of being killed, or if her animal companion is slain. leaving her victim behind. That should be enough to stave off pursuit, but if necessary she will also use Tree Stride, Entangle, or Wall of Thorns to cover her escape.

Spoiler: CR 15

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Since their previous encounter, Lorna has been spending her time building up a cult of followers, worshipping the Mother Seed as the physical embodiment of nature, which began by finding and seducing suitable elven cleric who revered nature as an ideal. The cult advocates abandoning the trappings of civilization and returning to the natural world. She then sends recruiters to ply cities and street corners, warning of a coming natural resurgence, and that only those who prove themselves worthy will be saved. It gains popularity amongst doomsayers and members of all species who seek a stronger connection to the natural world. Those who prove themselves worthwhile servants are afflicted with the Greenbound template and made into agents of the order, while the rest are sacrificed as nourishment. Should the party begin to investigate the disappearances surrounding this cult, Lorna will directly intervene by turning the might of nature against the Duke of the kingdom that hired her tormentors, hoping to draw their attention away from the Mother Seeds location. The encounter can either be a large scale battle, with an alliance of cultists, fey, and plants against the cities defenders, or as simple as a horde of animals turned loose upon the city at Lorna’s direction, with the party being tasked to locate and stop her.

If Lorna’s animal companion was slain in the last encounter, consider replacing it with a fleshraker dinosaur (no need to be overly polite to your players at this point in their careers). Her tactics remain much the same as they always have, except now she has the advantage of wild shape available to her. As usual, she will flee from the battle if she is overwhelmed, either with Dimension Door or Word of Recall, and withdraw her forces from the city. The party will probably be at least slightly inclined to pursue her at this point. Let them. She will happily lead them on a merry chase, crisscrossing back and forth across the wilds. The longer she can delay them, the more time the Mother Seed will have to prepare.

Spoiler: CR 20

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At the most dramatically appropriate moment, the Mother Seed sprouts. It explodes out from the foothills near the mountain, writhing into the shape of an enormous, horribly malformed tree, which rises hundreds of feet into the air until the mountain is nearly in it’s shadow. The trunk is slick and soft to the touch, the branches are gnarled and covered with long sinewy vines, and even the leaves look alien and discolored. Lorna returns to this location immediately, all but daring the party to come after her. They are strong and will provide good nourishment, and could possibly make worthy servants once they are suitably… altered.

The final encounter should take place in the upper boughs, near the top of the tree. Anyone without some means of flight will face constant danger of plummeting to the ground. At this point, she has all of her previous abilities, including the spellcasting of an 18th level druid. Her Blinding Beauty ability now comes with a nasty surprise for anyone who has been keeping out of range thus far, in the form of the Widen Supernatural Ability feat. With a 60 ft radius, it shouldn’t be difficult to position herself in order to catch the entire party in it for at least that round. To really ramp up the difficulty, make judicious use of the Earthbind spell, located in Monster Manual V, to keep the party within range of the tree, and thus effects from plant growth and entangle. Swift Concentration is useful for calling an Elemental Monolith and then tossing another spell in the next round. Nature's Avatar is an excellent buff for her companion. Other good spells to consider are Stormrage, Bite of the Werebear, Fire Seeds, and of course Shapechange. into a This is her last stand, and she will fight here until destroyed.

Spoiler: Possible build questions (The Crunch)

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Q: What was the basic goal?
A: I wanted to enhance a nature focused monster without sacrificing any of its mechanical effectiveness. Nymph was the first (and later, the only) creature I found that had any form of innate divine spellcasting on top a solid chassis. The bonuses to Armor Class provided by the Greenbound template and from Unearthly Grace, along with her 30 ft aura, makes her a very difficult and dangerous target to engage in melee combat, and her bonus to saving throws lets her shrug spells that allow a save. Her ability to threaten a stun as an at-will ability also helps to even the odds against a superior number of opponents. Her innate spellcasting of course stacks with that provided by the druid class, making it both an optimal and flavorful choice for advancement.

Q: So why the summoning focus?
A: The biggest problem faced with a single enemy encounter is drowning in the action economy. If the players are taking four or five actions for every one action the DM takes, the baddies will most certainly lose through sheer attrition alone. Focusing on summoning helps to alleviate that problem. If nothing else, they provide distractions that the party must deal with while she prepares an even nastier spell. Casting Speak with Animals gives her better control over her allies at all levels, allowing for flanks, focus fire, and other far more tactical instruction than, “Attack closest” or “Defend me.”

Q: What’s up with her monstrous HD skills and feats? Those don’t look normal…
A: Indeed. The Monster Manual tells us that monster racial hit dice have class skills just like classes do, and that they should be assigned as whatever you feel is appropriate for the creature.
In order to figure out a nymph’s class skills, we go to their skill list and subtract all ability score bonuses, then all racial modifiers, and finally remove any synergy bonuses they might have. This leaves the nymph with Concentration, Escape Artist, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Sense Motive, and Spot at 9 ranks each. Since Fey get 6 + Int mod (3) skills per HD, this follows that these are a nymph’s class skills, each maxed out. Now that we know what they are, we can move points out of things that will never get used, and put them as much more suitable cross-class ranks.
Rebuilding in this manner also allows us to tailor her feats to something more appropriate for her focus, as she is most certainly an exceptional specimen for her species. The Monster Manual again tells us that any feats marked with a superscript ‘B’ are racial bonus feats, and cannot be changed. Since we don’t see that, all three of her feats are a result of her fey hit dice, and can be changed to anything that she qualifies for.

Q: How does Rapid Spell affect her Summon Nature’s Ally spells?
A: The Player’s Handbook, pg 88 tells us that you may apply metamagic feats to a spell that has been spontaneously converted, and that it follows the same rules as sorcerers and bards. Normally, this would be the end of things, however Rapid Spell has an exception built into it specifically for spontaneous casting. I believe that the correct interpretation is that you spontaneously cast Summon Nature’s Ally and apply Rapid Spell to it, which reduces it to a standard action, and then the rule for applying spontaneous metamagic kicks in, which brings the casting time up to a full-round action. That should be more than sufficient, as it allows your summons to act in the round you call them.
A looser interpretation would allow you to spontaneously cast as a standard action, but if the action economy is that big of a deal, you always have the option of preparing just preparing Rapid SNA’s in the appropriate spell slots. As the DM, you have the advantage of knowing the party, and tailoring the number of prepared SNA’s to suit your needs.

Q: Why not apply templates to her animal companion too?
A: I have a general rule that I won’t do anything at my table that I’m not comfortable making available to the players. Despite the reasonable arguments in favor of it, I don’t believe the specific wording in the PHB permits a player to apply templates to their animal companion. Since I wouldn’t allow it, I won’t do it here either. She has more than enough spells to buff her companion with as it is.

Q: What sort of magic gear should she use?
A: To a low optimized party, she already presents a decent challenge. If you are going to equip her, the only magic item that I would say is required is a Ring of the Beast from Complete Champion, pg. 141. It allows you to treat any Summon Nature’s Ally spell you cast as one level higher. Thus you could prepare (or sacrifice) a 5th level slot to cast a Rapid SNA IV, which would then be increased by the ring to SNA V, essentially applying the metamagic for free. Another excellent item is the Wild Shape Amulet (Magic of Faerun) which increases her effective druid level by 4 for determining Wild Shaping forms. At level 12, this would grant her access to Elemental forms. Other good items include the Mantle of the Beast, that allows her to Wild Shape as a swift action (at which point you might as well consider an Armor of the Beast too, and pick up the set bonuses), a Monk’s Belt for additional defenses, or a Belt of Battle to decrease the gap between the party’s actions and her own. Naturally wisdom or charisma increasing items would be helpful, but you are dealing with a fairly competent party, they probably aren’t necessary.

However, some of this gear will also necessitate a Wilding Clasp, from the Magic Item Compendium in order to keep vital pieces functioning when she changes forms.

Spoiler: Build Progression

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CR	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
6th	Nymph	+3	+2	+5	+5	Bluff (9)4, Concentration 9, Handle Animal 9, Heal 1, Hide 9, Knowledge (nature) (8)4, Listen 9, Move Silently 9, Sense Motive 9, Spellcraft (8)4, Spot 9, Swim 8(R)	Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning, Rapid Spell	Blinding Beauty (Su), Stunning Glance (Su), Unearthly Grace (Su), Wild Empathy (Ex)
9th	Druid 1	+3	+4	+5	+7	Bluff 1, Concentration 1, Knowlege (nature) 1, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 4	-	Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Greenbound template
10th	Druid 2	+4	+5	+5	+8	Concentration 1, Diplomacy 4, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 2	-	Woodland Stride
11th	Druid 3	+5	+6	+6	+9	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 2, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1, Skill trick: Swift Concentration	Natural Bond	Trackless Step
12th	Druid 4	+6/+1	+7	+6	+10	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 4, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1	-	Resist Nature's Lure
13th	Druid 5	+6	+8	+6	+11	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 4, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1	-	Wild Shape (1/day)
14th	Druid 6	+7	+9	+7	+12	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 1, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 2, Hide 2	Natural Spell	Wild Shape (2/day)
15th	Druid 7	+8	+9	+7	+12	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 1, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1, Hide 2, Move Silently 1	-	Wild Shape (3/day)
16th	Druid 8	+9	+10	+7	+13	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 1, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1, Hide 2, Move Silently 1	-	Wild Shape (Large)
17th	Druid 9	+9	+10	+8	+13	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 1, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1, Hide 2, Move Silently 1	Quicken Spell	Venom Immunity
18th	Druid 10	+10	+11	+8	+14	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 1, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1, Hide 2, Move Silently 1	-	Wild Shape (4/day)
19th	Druid 11	+11/+6/+1	+11	+8	+14	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 1, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1, Hide 2, Move Silently 1	-	Wild Shape (Tiny)
20th	Druid 12	+12	+12	+9	+14	Concentration 1, Diplmocay 1, Listen 1, Spot 1, Spellcraft 1, Hide 2, Move Silently 1	Widen Supernatural Ability	Wild Shape (Plant)

Spoiler: Spells Per Day

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Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
6th	5	5	5	3	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	6	6	5	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
8th	6	6	5	4	2	-	-	-	-	-
9th	6	6	6	4	3	2	-	-	-	-
10th	6	6	6	4	4	3	-	-	-	-
11th	6	7	6	5	4	3	2	-	-	-
12th	6	7	6	6	4	4	3	-	-	-
13th	6	7	7	6	5	4	3	2	-	-
14th	6	7	7	6	5	4	4	3	-	-
15th	6	7	7	7	5	5	4	3	1	-
16th	6	7	7	7	5	5	4	4	2	-
17th	6	7	7	7	6	5	5	4	2	1
18th	6	7	7	7	6	5	5	4	3	2

Spoiler: Sources (in order of importance):

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Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual- base class, creature, some feats, and potential equipment.
Lost Empires of Faerun- Greenbound template
Complete Divine- Rapid Spell feat
Complete Adventurer- Natural Bond feat
Spell Compendium- many useful spells
Tome of Magic- Widen Supernatural Ability feat
Complete Scoundrel- skill tricks
Complete Champion- useful equipment
Magic of Faerun- Wild Shape Amulet
Monster Manual III- potential Animal Companion
Monster Manual V- Earthbind spell
Magic Item Compendium- even more equipment

Spoiler: *BONUS* Stat block at CR 20

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Lorna, the Mother’s Wrath

CR 20

HP: 18d8+126 (207); fast healing 3; DR 10/magic and slashing, DR 10/cold iron

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Chaotic Evil Medium Plant (Augmented Fey)
Initiative: +4; Senses: Low-light vision; tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +31, Spot +31
Languages: Common Sylvan, and Druidic

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AC: 42, touch 36, flat-footed 28
Immune: plant immunities (mind-affecting, poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph, critical hits, stunning)
Resist: cold 10, electricity 10
Fort: +31 Ref: +25 Will: +36 (+4 vs Fey SLA)

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Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 20 ft; woodland stride, freedom of movement
Melee: Slam +16 (1d6+2/20 x2), treat as magical and cold iron for overcoming DR
Base Attack: +12, Grapple: +8
Attack Options: Stunning Glance, Widen Supernatural Ability (Blinding Beauty)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th):
At will--entangle (DC 23), pass without trace, speak with plants
1/day--wall of thorns (DC 27), dimension door
Druid Spells (CL 18th, Save DC 20 + spell level):
9th--Summon Elemental Monolith, Nature’s Avatar, Shapechange
8th--Rapid Summon Monster VII, Stormrage, Word of Recall, Earthquake
7th--True Seeing, Quickened Greater Magic Fang, Master Earth, Heal, Creeping Doom
6th--Rapid Summon Monster V, Bite of the Werebear, Mass Bull’s Strength, Fire Seeds, Greater Dispel Magic, Superior Resistance
5th--Animal Growth (2), Protection from Energy, Death Ward, Quill Blast, Stoneskin
4th--Air Walk, Cure Serious Wounds (2), Enhance Wild Shape, Vortex of Teeth, Heart of Earth, Rusting Grasp
3rd--Alter Fortune, Blindsight, Greater Magic Fang, Plant Growth, Primal Instinct, Wind Wall, Forestfold
2nd--Earthbind (2), Nature’s Favor, Mass Snake’s Swiftness (2), Barkskin, Splinterbolt, Align Fang
1st--Faerie Fire (2), Longstrider, Speak With Animals (2), Endure Elements, Enrage Animal (2)
0-- Create Water (2), Detect Magic (2), Cure Minor Wounds, Guidance

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Abilities: Str 14, Dex 18, Con 24, Int 18, Wis 30, Cha 32
Special Qualities: Animal Companion, Blinding Beauty, Grapple Bonus, Nature Sense, Trackless Step, Unearthly Grace, Wild Shape (Tiny, Small, Medium Large, or Huge animal 5/day, Small Medium, or Large elemental 1/day), Wild Empathy
Feats: Augment Summoning, Natural Bond, Natural Spell, Quicken Spell, Rapid Spell, Spell Focus (Conjuration), Widen Supernatural Ability
Skills: Bluff +16, Concentration +32, Diplomacy +36, Handle Animal +20, Heal +11, Hide +20, Knowledge (nature) +11, Listen +31, Move Silently +16, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +25, Spot +31, Survival +12 Swim 10
Possessions: Mantle of the Beast (+6 Charisma), Ring of the Beast, Ring of Freedom of Movement, Wild Shape Amulet (+6 Wisdom), Monk’s Belt with Wilding Clasp, Tunic of Steady Spellcasting (Con +4)

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Animal Companion (Ex): Lorna has a fleshraker dinosaur (MM3) as a loyal companion which accompanies her on adventures appropriate for its kind. Its abilities are follows:

Fleshraker dinosaur animal companion; Medium Magical Beast; HD: 10d8+30 (75); Init +6, Spd 50 ft; AC 28, touch 16, flat-footed 22; BAB +7; Grp +12; Atk +12 Claw (1d6+7 and poison); Full Atk 2 claws +12 melee (1d6+5 and poison) and bite +10 melee (1d6+2) and tail +10 melee (1d6+2 and poison); SA Leaping Pounce, poison, rake 1d6+5, SQ: Bonus trick, devotion, evasion, link, low-light vision, multiattack, scent, share spells; AL: N; SV Fort +10, Ref +13, Will +5 (+4 Will vs enchantments); Str 20, Dex, 22, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills and Feats: Hide +12, Jump +32; Improved Natural Attack (claw), Track, Power Attack, Leap Attack

Blinding Beauty (Su): All humanoids within 30 feet of Lorna who look directly at her must succeed on a DC 31 Fortitude save or be blinded permanently, as the Blindness spell. She can suppress or resume this ability as a free action. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Once per day, as an immediate action, she can widen the radius of this ability to 60 feet.

Grapple Bonus (Ex): The greenbound template provides her with a +4 bonus on all grapple checks.

Stunning Glance (Su): As a standard action, Lorna can target a creature within 30 feet with a look. That creature must succeed on a DC 31 Fortitude save or be stunned for 2d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Unearthly Grace (Su): Lorna adds her Charisma modifier as a bonus to all saving throws, and as a deflection bonus to her armor class. These bonuses have already been added to her above statistics.

Wild Empathy (Ex): Lorna can attempt to improve the attitudes of animals as though with Diplomacy. She rolls a 1d20 plus her druid level and Charisma modifier, with a +6 racial bonus (+30 total). She may also attempt to influence magical beasts by taking a -4 penalty to the check.

Skills: As a nymph, Lorna receives a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks, and she can always choose to Take 10 even if threatened or distracted, and may use the run action when swimming if she moves in a straight line.

[Gwachitallemall]

I solemnly vow I am up to some good.

Brandeis "the Beneficent"

"Paving the road to hell with good acts."

NG Nymph Druid 13

Wait, she's NG? How does that work for a BBEG?

Spoiler: Why Brandeis is an antagonist

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Militant Vow of Poverty: No money or magic items are allowed in her forest, since they are inherently evil and cause conflict. She also has an interesting view of property rights (summarized as "Property doesn't exist.").

Haven for Chaotic and Evil creatures: As long as they leave valuables outside, and don't start fights inside, she doesn't really care what the residents do outside of her forest. Theft, murder, arson, it doesn't matter; she's very forgiving. This also has the effect of giving her some Evil minions. They'll fight for her and obey her requests to repay and ensure her continuing protection.

Privatising World Peace: Her forest is almost Utopic, to her eyes. There's very little theft or theft-related crimes (because no one has anything worth stealing). To bring about world peace, she's spreading her forest over everything (see again the views on property).

Spoiler: Level Writeups

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Spoiler: Backstory: before CR 7

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"How and when the creature known as Brandeis came into existance is unknown. What is known is that in 35 YM, a young farmhand, Eric, encountered her near Johansdale and was entralled. Interviews from the farm suggest that his whole manner was suddenly infused with newfound vitality and enthusiasm. But then came the disappearances: a few days, a month, half a year. Each time, on his return, he always claimed that he'd just left earlier that day. Eventually, he was forced from the town to make his fortune to pay off his debts; he wasn't welcome as a farmhand anymore with his constant absenteeism. On his departure, he stopped one final time by the lake he first met her by to say farewells; she gave him a parting gift to remember her by, and to draw him back to her lake. There isn't a consensus among historians on the exact form this gift took; the leading theories are a carved wooden charm on a woven cord or a set of haunting reed pipes.
The young farmhand would never return to her lake. In 37 YM, ... "
- excerpt from A History of Faerie Activity in the Kingdom of Baumdahl: Vol 3 (Michael I-John III)

"We responded to an incident at a Wilhelmheim inn last week. Witnesses said an entire ECL 6 adventuring party was brutally murdered by several wild bears, eagles, and a larger faerie, possibly a nymph. Further investigation suggests that the victims were brigands who had robbed a caravan several months prior. We were able to recover several items stolen then from the lodgings, but an enchanted necklace taken from one of the dead in that attack, Eric of Johansdale, remains missing."
- sheriff's report on the Wilhelmsheim Massacre of 37 YM, Royal Archives

"By decree of Brandeis, Mistress of Nature: 1. No valuable items or material wealth are permitted within the boundaries of the forest. 2. No fighting is allowed within the forest except in self-defense. 3. All beings are welcome within Sanctuary Forest if they follow these simple Rules. 4. All rulings on these Rules are made by Brandeis and are final."
-Rules Governing Presence in Sanctuary Forest

Spoiler: CR 7: the Nymph

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She's mostly just a Nymph here, except for the VoP boosts.
- 7 levels of Druid casting
- Blinding Beauty & Stunning Glare (DC 19 = 13 + 6 Cha)
- DR 10/cold iron
- Armor bonus +6 (VoP), Deflection +6 Cha (racial)
- Intuitive Attack (Wis for attack rolls (+6 vs +1) ), Power Attack (with an unarmed strike or quarterstaff)
- Nymph's Kiss (she is a good fey herself)
- Sustenance (food, drink not an issue)

Spoiler: CR 15: Sweetspot

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She's really scary here.
- 15 levels of Druid casting (8th level spells, lots of bonus spells)
- can cast while wild-shaped into a Dragon
- 2 key stats: Wis 28, Cha 24
- DR 10/cold iron, DR 5/evil
- Energy Resistance 5
- All saves have + 7 Cha (racial) + 2 resistance (VoP)
- 3/day Wild Shape into a Medium/Small Dragon (ex. Young Rust Dragon or Juvenile Shadow Dragon) or a Large (Celestial) Animal (ex. Dire Bear)
- Attack with natural weapons = 9 BAB + 9 Wis (intuitive strike) + 3 enhancement (exalted strike)
- +25 Wild Empathy check
- Blinding Beauty DC = 20 Fort, (but always active, even in wild-shape forms)
- In Shadow Dragon Form: AC 42 = 10 + 16 Natural + 1 Natural (VoP) + 8 Armor (VoP) + 7 Cha (deflection), Shadow Blend, SR 17
- Permanent Freedom of Movement
- Greater Sustenance (doesn't need to breath)

Spoiler: CR 20

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This is similar to CR 15, but much nastier (she could really use one more HD for 1 more feat, +1 Cha -> +2 to Frightful Presence, finish VoP). The changes are:
- 20 levels of Druid casting (5 9ths/day)
- key stats: Wis 32, Cha 29
- 6/day Wild Shape, now with enough HD for Young Adult Shadow Dragon (Frightful Presence DC 28 = 10 + 1/2 * 19 HD + 9 Cha)
- In Shadow Dragon Form: AC 50 = 10 + 19 Natural + 2 Natural (VoP) + 10 Armor (VoP)+ 9 Cha (deflection), Shadow Blend, SR 20
- Permanent True Seeing
- DR 10/evil

Spoiler: Stats

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Reason	Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
Elite Array	13	8	10	12	15	14
Racial Adjustment	13	14	12	18	21	22
HD 4	13	14	12	18	22	22
HD 8	13	14	12	18	23	22
HD 12	13	14	12	18	24	22
HD 16	13	14	12	18	24	23

Spoiler: Build

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CR	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills: Added (Total)	Special Abilities	Feats (BonusB, ExaltedE)
1	Nymph HD 1	0	0	2	2	Concentration 4 (4), Diplomacy 4 (4), Escape Artist 4 (4), Handle Animal 4 (4), Heal 4 (4), Hide 4 (4), Listen 4 (4), Move Silently 4 (4), Sense Motive 4 (4), Spot 4 (4)	-	Sacred VowE
2	Nymph HD 2	1	0	3	3	Concentration 1 (5), Diplomacy 1 (5), Escape Artist 1 (5), Handle Animal 1 (5), Heal 1 (5), Hide 1 (5), Listen 1 (5), Move Silently 1 (5), Sense Motive 1 (5), Spot 1 (5)	-	-
3	Nymph HD 3	1	1	3	3	Concentration 1 (6), Diplomacy 1 (6), Escape Artist 1 (6), Handle Animal 1 (6), Heal 1 (6), Hide 1 (6), Listen 1 (6), Move Silently 1 (6), Sense Motive 1 (6), Spot 1 (6)	AC Bonus +5, Endure Elements	Vow of PovertyE
4	Nymph HD 4	2	1	4	4	Concentration 1 (7), Diplomacy 1 (7), Escape Artist 1 (7), Handle Animal 1 (7), Heal 1 (7), Hide 1 (7), Listen 1 (7), Move Silently 1 (7), Sense Motive 1 (7), Spot 1 (7), Swim 1 (1)	Exalted Strike +1 (magic)	Nymph's KissB,E
5	Nymph HD 5	2	1	4	4	Concentration 1 (8), Diplomacy 1 (8), Escape Artist 1 (8), Handle Animal 1 (8), Heal 1 (8), Hide 1 (8), Listen 1 (8), Move Silently 1 (8), Sense Motive 1 (8), Spot 1 (8), Swim 1 (2)	Sustenance	-
6	Nymph HD 6	3	2	5	5	Concentration 1 (9), Diplomacy 1 (9), Escape Artist 1 (9), Handle Animal 1 (9), Heal 1 (9), Hide 1 (9), Listen 1 (9), Move Silently 1 (9), Sense Motive 1 (9), Spot 1 (9), Swim 1 (3)	AC Bonus +6, Deflection +1	Power Attack, Intuitive AttackB,E
Min CR 7	Nymph CR 7	3	2	5	5	-	Blinding Beauty, Stunning Glare, Unearthly Grace, Wild Empathy (+6), Dimension Door (1/day), low-light vision, DR 10/cold iron	-
8	Druid 1	3	4	5	7	Concentration 1 (10), Diplomacy 1 (10), Handle Animal 1 (10), Sense Motive 1 (10), Spot 1 (10), Knowledge (nature) 3 (3), Spellcraft 1 (1)	Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Wild Empathy, Resistance +1, Wis +2	-
9	Druid 2	4	5	5	8	Concentration 1 (11), Diplomacy 1 (11), Handle Animal 1 (11), Sense Motive 1 (11), Spot 1 (11), Knowledge (nature) 2 (5), Spellcraft 2 (3)	Woodland Stride, Natural Armor +1, Mind Shielding	Animal FriendB,E
10	Druid 3	5	5	6	8	Concentration 1 (12), Diplomacy 1 (12), Handle Animal 1 (12), Sense Motive 1 (12), Spot 1 (12), Knowledge (nature) 2 (7), Spellcraft 2 (5)	Trackless Step, AC Bonus +7	Extend Spell
11	Druid 4	6	6	6	9	Concentration 1 (13), Diplomacy 1 (13), Handle Animal 1 (13), Sense Motive 1 (13), Spot 1 (13), Knowledge (nature) 2 (9), Spellcraft 2 (7)	Resist Nature's Lure, Exalted Strike +2 (good), DR 5/magic	Sanctify Natural AttackB,E
12	Druid 5	6	6	6	9	Concentration 1 (14), Diplomacy 1 (14), Handle Animal 1 (14), Sense Motive 1 (14), Spot 1 (14), Knowledge (nature) 2 (11), Spellcraft 2 (9)	Wild Shape (1/day), Wis +4/Cha +2	-
13	Druid 6	7	7	7	10	Concentration 1 (15), Diplomacy 1 (15), Handle Animal 1 (15), Sense Motive 1 (15), Spot 1 (15), Knowledge (nature) 4 (15)	Wild Shape (2/day), AC Bonus +8, Deflection +2, Greater Sustenance	Dragon Wild Shape, Nimbus of LightB,E
14	Druid 7	8	7	7	10	Concentration 1 (16), Diplomacy 1 (16), Handle Animal 1 (16), Sense Motive 1 (16), Spot 1 (16), Spellcraft 3 (12), Survival 1 (1)	Wild Shape (3/day), Resistance +2, Energy Resistance 5	-
15	Druid 8	9	8	7	11	Concentration 1 (17), Diplomacy 1 (17), Handle Animal 1 (17), Sense Motive 1 (17), Spot 1 (17), Survival 4 (5)	Wild Shape (Large), Exalted Strike +3, Freedom of Movement	Exalted Wild ShapeB,E
16	Druid 9	9	8	8	11	Concentration 1 (18), Diplomacy 1 (18), Handle Animal 1 (18), Sense Motive 1 (18), Spot 1 (18), Spellcraft 3 (15), Listen 1 (10)	Venom Immunity, AC Bonus +9, Wis +6/Cha +4/Con +2, DR 5/evil	Extra Wild Shape
17	Druid 10	10	9	8	12	Concentration 1 (19), Diplomacy 1 (19), Handle Animal 1 (19), Sense Motive 1 (19), Spot 1 (19), Spellcraft 3 (18), Listen 1 (11)	Wild Shape (4/day), Natural Armor +2	Holy RadianceB,E
18	Druid 11	11	9	8	12	Concentration 1 (20), Diplomacy 1 (20), Handle Animal 1 (20), Sense Motive 1 (20), Spot 1 (20), Spellcraft 1 (19), Listen 3 (13)	Wild Shape (Tiny), Exalted Strike +4, Resistance +3, Regeneration	-
19	Druid 12	12	10	9	13	Concentration 1 (21), Diplomacy 1 (21), Handle Animal 1 (21), Sense Motive 1 (21), Spot 1 (21), Spellcraft 2 (21), Listen 2 (16)	Wild Shape (plant), AC Bonus +10, deflection +3, True Seeing	Persist Spell, Words of CreationB,E
20	Druid 13	12	10	9	13	Concentration 1 (22), Diplomacy 1 (22), Handle Animal 1 (22), Sense Motive 1 (22), Spot 1 (22), Spellcraft 1 (22), Listen 3 (19)	A Thousand Faces, Wis +8/Cha +6/Con +4/Int +2, DR 10/evil	-

Spoiler: Spells

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Druid Spells + Bonus Spells per day

CR	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
7	6	4+2	3+2	2+1	1+1	-	-	-	-	-
8	6	4+2	3+2	3+2	2+1	-	-	-	-	-
9	6	4+2	4+2	3+2	2+1	1+1	-	-	-	-
10	6	4+2	4+2	3+2	3+1	2+1	-	-	-	-
11	6	5+2	4+2	4+2	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-	-
12	6	5+2	4+2	4+2	3+2	3+1	2+1	-	-	-
13	6	5+3	5+2	4+2	4+2	3+2	2+1	1+1	-	-
14	6	5+3	5+2	4+2	4+2	3+2	3+1	2+1	-	-
15	6	5+3	5+2	5+2	4+2	4+2	3+1	2+1	1+1	-
16	6	5+3	5+2	5+2	4+2	4+2	3+1	3+1	2+1	-
17	6	5+3	5+3	5+2	5+2	4+2	4+2	3+1	2+1	1+1
18	6	5+3	5+3	5+2	5+2	4+2	4+2	3+1	3+1	2+1
19	6	5+3	5+3	5+2	5+2	5+2	4+2	4+1	3+1	3+1
20	6	5+3	5+3	5+3	5+2	5+2	4+2	4+2	4+1	4+1

Spoiler: Recommended Items

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One quarterstaff, simple clothes. Items and money are the cause of all evil.

Spoiler: Sources

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SRD (Druid, Nymph)
Draconomion (Dragon Wild Shape, Shadow Dragon, Rust Dragon)
Book of Exalted Deeds (Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty, Exalted feats)
Sleeping Beauty (1959) (Image)

[Gwachitallemall]

Fish really are terrifying sometimes, right?

Sanna Blackfish
CE Merfolk Bard 5/Stormsinger 10/Sea Witch 5


Image by FracturedReality

The Hook

Spoiler

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Sanna is, despite everything, a pretty typical mermaid in that her downfall began when she fell in love with a handsome sailor. He was as true to her as a landsman is capable of being, but he was a crewman on the first whaling ship to sail the waters where Sanna lived with a pod of orcas. The whalers decimated her pod, not even for food--which she might have understood--but as nuisances, leaving their bodies to stain the ocean red. Before, she was curious and even friendly with the few landsman ships that braved her waters, but now she's determined to stop their incursions, which means sinking their ships.

The Beat

Spoiler

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Pre-Racial-Adjustment: Str 8, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 15
Post-Racial-Adjustment: Str 10, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 15
Increase: Int at levels 4 and 8, Cha at levels 12, 16, and 20.

Languages: Common, Aquan, Darfellan

The Singer

Spoiler

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CR	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Bard	+0	+0	+2	+2	Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Perform (Sing) 4, Spellcraft 4	Magical Aptitude	Bardic music (countersong, fascinate, inspire courage), bardic knack
2nd	Bard	+1	+0	+3	+3	Bluff 5, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Knowledge (Nature) 5, Perform (Sing) 5, Spellcraft 5
3rd	Bard	+2	+1	+3	+3	Bluff 6, Concentration 6, Diplomacy 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Knowledge (Nature) 6, Perform (Sing) 6, Sense Motive 2	Storm Magic	Bardic music (Inspire competence)
4th	Bard	+3	+1	+4	+4	Bluff 7, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 7, Knowledge (Nature) 7, Perform (Sing) 7, Sense Motive 4
5th	Bard	+3	+1	+4	+4	Bluff 8, Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Knowledge (Nature) 8, Perform (Sing) 8, Sense Motive 6
6th	Stormsinger	+3	+1	+6	+6	Bluff 9, Concentration 9, Diplomacy 9, Knowledge (Nature) 9, Perform (Sing) 9, Sense Motive 6.5	Wild Cohort	Bardic music, stormsong (gust of wind)
7th	Stormsinger	+4	+1	+7	+7	Bluff 10, Concentration 10, Diplomacy 10, Knowledge (Nature) 10, Perform (Sing) 10, Sense Motive 7		Stormpower
8th	Stormsinger	+4	+2	+7	+7	Bluff 11, Concentration 11, Diplomacy 11, Knowledge (Nature) 11, Perform (Sing) 11, Sense Motive 8		Stormsong (Thunderstrike)
9th	Stormsinger	+5	+2	+8	+8	Bluff 12, Concentration 12, Diplomacy 12, Knowledge (Nature) 12, Perform (Sing) 12, Sense Motive 9	Master Manipulator	Resistance to electricity 5
10th	Stormsinger	+5	+2	+8	+8	Bluff 13, Concentration 13, Diplomacy 13, Knowledge (Nature) 13, Perform (Sing) 13, Sense Motive 10		Stormsong (control winds)
11th	Stormsinger	+6/+1	+3	+9	+9	Bluff 14, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 14, Knowledge (Nature) 14, Perform (Sing) 14, Sense Motive 14		Resistance to electricity 10
12th	Stormsinger	+6/+1	+3	+9	+9	Bluff 15, Concentration 15, Diplomacy 15, Knowledge (Nature) 15, Perform (Sing) 15, Sense Motive 15	Arcane Disciple (Water)	Stormsong (winter's ballad)
13th	Sea Witch	+6/+1	+5	+9	+11	Bluff 16, Perform (Sing) 16, Spellcraft 6		Curse of the sea witch 1/day
14th	Sea Witch	+7/+2	+6	+9	+11	Bluff 17, Perform (Sing) 17, Spellcraft 7		Call maelstrom
15th	Sea Witch	+7/+2	+6	+10	+12	Bluff 18, Perform (Sing) 18, Spellcraft 8	Extra Music	Curse of the sea witch 2/day
16th	Sea Witch	+8/+3	+7	+10	+12	Bluff 19, Perform (Sing) 19, Spellcraft 6		Briny deep summoning 1/day
17th	Sea Witch	+8/+3	+7	+10	+13	Bluff 20, Perform (Sing) 20, Spellcraft 7		Curse of the albatross 1/day
18th	Stormsinger	+9/+4	+7	+11	+14	Bluff 21, Concentration 21, Diplomacy 21, Knowledge (Nature) 21, Perform (Sing) 21, Sense Motive 16	Lyric Spell	Resistance to electricity 15
19th	Stormsinger	+9/+4	+8	+11	+14	Bluff 22, Concentration 22, Diplomacy 22, Knowledge (Nature) 22, Perform (Sing) 22, Sense Motive 17		Stormsong (great thunderstrike)
20th	Stormsinger	+10/+5	+8	+12	+15	Bluff 22, Concentration 22, Diplomacy 22, Knowledge (Nature) 22, Perform (Sing) 22, Sense Motive 17		Stormsong (storm of vengeance)

​The Instruments

Spoiler

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Spells per Day/Spells Known

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1st	2/4	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	3/5	1/3	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	3/6	2/3	-	-	-	-	-
4th	3/6	3/4	0/2	-	-	-	-
5th	3/6	3/4	1/3	-	-	-	-
6th	3/6	3/4	2/3	-	-	-	-
7th	3/6	3/4	2/4	0/2	-	-	-
8th	3/6	3/4	3/4	1/3	-	-	-
9th	3/6	3/4	3/4	2/3	-	-	-
10th	3/6	3/4	3/4	2/4	0/2	-	-
11th	3/6	3/4	3/4	3/4	1/3	-	-
12th	3/6	3/4	3/4	3/4	2/3	-	-
13th	3/6	3/4	3/4	3/4	2/4	0/2	-
14th	4/6	3/4	3/4	3/4	3/4	1/3	-
15th	4/6	4/4	3/4	3/4	3/4	2/3	-
16th	4/6	4/4	3/4	3/4	3/4	2/3	-
17th	4/6	4/5	4/4	4/4	3/4	2/4	0/2
18th	4/6	4/5	4/5	4/5	4/4	3/4	1/3
19th	4/6	4/5	4/5	4/5	4/5	3/4	2/3
20th	4/6	4/5	4/5	4/5	4/5	4/4	3/4

Spells known
0 - Light, lullaby, prestidigitation, detect magic, ghostharp, songbird
1 - Charm person, swift invisibility, silent Image, sorrow, obscuring mist*, grease
2 - Alter self, suggestion, entice gift, hold person, fog cloud*, blindness/deafness
3 - Siren's call, summon monster III, dispel magic, glibness, water breathing*, speak with animals
4 - Dominate person, flowsight, celerity, control water*, shadow conjuration, dimension door
5 - Ice storm*, greater dispel magic, false vision, summon monster V, greater blink
6 - Cone of cold*, rapture of the deep, summon monster VI, geas/quest, mass charm monster

*Spells gained through Arcane Disciple

The Accompaniment

Spoiler

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Sanna's animal companion's name is a short phrase of orca squeaks, but I'll just call him Squeaky. From level 6 to 12, he's a porpoise fluffed as a young orca, and from level 13 onward, he's a regular orca. He has pretty sophisticated feats for an animal companion (and he switches Weapon Finesse out for Improved Grapple when he grows up), to the point where I'm not sure I'd let a player set their animal companion up this way, but NPCs have a little more freedom. Squeaky's job is to make Sanna better (through stuff like constant guardian and his white raven maneuvers) without necessarily needing to attack anybody himself.

Level 10

Spoiler

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Effective Druid Level: 7

Size/Type: Medium animal
Hit Dice: 6d8+ 6(27 hp)
Initiative: Doesn’t matter
Speed: Swim 80’
Armor Class: 20 (+4 Dex, +6 Natural), touch 14, flat-footed 16
BAB/Grapple: +4/+5
Attack: Slam +5 melee (2d4+1)
Full Attack: Slam +5 melee (2d4+1)
Space/Reach: 5’/5’
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Blindsight 120 ft., hold breath, low-light vision, link, share spells, evasion, devotion
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +3
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 19, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills (including racial bonuses): Listen 10, Spot 9, Swim 9
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Constant Guardian, Martial Study (White Raven, Bolstering Voice)

Level 15

Spoiler

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Effective Druid Level: 3

Size/Type: Huge animal
Hit Dice: 11d8 + 55 (94 hp)
Initiative: Doesn’t matter
Speed: Swim 50’
Armor Class: 19 (-2 size, +3 Dex, +8 Natural), touch 13, flat-footed 18
BAB/Grapple: +8/+29
Attack: Bite +15 melee (2d6+13)
Full Attack: Bite +15 melee (2d6+13)
Space/Reach: 15’/10’
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Blindsight 120 ft., hold breath, low-light vision, link, share spells, evasion
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +5
Abilities: Str 28, Dex 16, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills (including racial bonuses): Listen 11, Spot 11, Swim 17
Feats: Improved Grapple, Constant Guardian, Martial Study (White Raven, Bolstering Voice), Martial Study (White Raven Tactics)

Level 20

Spoiler

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Effective Druid Level: 8

Size/Type: Huge Animal
Hit Dice: 1d8 + 55 (94 hp)
Initiative: Doesn’t matter
Speed: Swim 50’
Armor Class: 21 (-2 size, +3 Dex, +8 Natural), touch 13, flat-footed 18
BAB/Grapple: +9/+30
Attack: Bite +16 melee (2d6+13)
Full Attack: Bite +16 melee (2d6+13)
Space/Reach: 15’/10’
Special Attacks: None
Special Qualities: Blindsight 120 ft., hold breath, low-light vision, link, share spells, evasion, devotion
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +11, Will +6
Abilities: Str 29, Dex 17, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills (including racial bonuses): Listen 13, Spot 13, Swim 17
Feats: Improved Grapple, Constant Guardian, Martial Study (White Raven, Bolstering Voice), Martial Study (White Raven Tactics), Large and In Charge

The Verses

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Sanna is meant as the villain of a nautical (not aquatic) campaign, and she's basically built to do two things: Sink ships and seem friendly while doing it. Try to keep her involvement in all the shipwrecks quiet for as long as possible--she wants people to think that the terrible weather is some mysterious supernatural force rather than something that can be solved by killing one mermaid. If she successfully stops all ship routes through her territory, then hey, great, she won. She has no desire to take the fight on land or anything like that.

Making her initial enemies whalers is intended to help her cover as a friendly NPC because, well, nobody likes whalers. Especially when they kill orcas just so the orcas won't be competition for whales, which is, unfortunately, a real thing.

At level 5, Sanna isn't really anything special, as mermaids go. She's a bard, not because it's a particularly nature-themed class, but because it gets her into her two prestige classes (oddly, the more nature-y Savage Bard variant would prevent her from qualifying for Sea Witch because it loses the Summon Monster line). Please note that because she breathes water as well as air, she can use perform (sing) underwater. Her power is mostly in her social skills—she can convince sailors to make bad choices, but she can't really wreck stuff herself yet. At this level, she should at least appear friendly to the party, and you could go so far as to introduce her before she goes bad, especially if the PCs happen to be traveling on a whaling ship. One notable thing that makes her much more flexible is that she can cast Alter Self starting at level 4 into a non-aquatic humanoid for some quick land-based recon; a particularly good use is to turn into a sailor and mess with docked ships.

By level 10, though, she's really starting to show her villainous potential. Her ability to mess with winds through stormsong makes her dangerous to any ship that crosses her path (since her CL for stormsong is based on her perform ranks, she can ratchet nondestructive winds all the way up to hurricane force), and can do so from pretty far below the ships. This is also where she finally has room for an animal companion, Squeaky, who's detailed in the "The Accompaniment" section above. Squeaky is mostly for flavor--he's not that powerful (and I assume that since Sanna is a BBEG, she can have more orcas around her if she wants to) but having a "special" whale hanging around makes sense.

If the party hasn't already figured her out, she should reveal her intentions by level 15. A particularly nasty way to do this is to offer to lead 'em to the cause of all the sinkings, cast water breathing (which she gets from the water domain at level 12) on 'em, bring them down to the bottom of the ocean, and then dispel water breathing. Maybe drop a maelstrom on 'em, too. Squeaky is now fulll-grown, and thanks to his Martial Study feats, can use White Raven Tactics on Sanna once per encounter. I chose to stick Sanna's Sea Witch levels as soon as she qualifies it (by virtue of control water from the water domain, though she also gets control weather as a Su stormsong ability at the same level) because it's the best anti-ship prestige class. She can trap small ships by creating whirlpools, and strategic cursing (on the captain or other lynchpin figure) can really ruin a ship's day. She can also, as I mentioned before, control water and the weather. Oh, and Umberlee works perfectly as a deity for Arcane Disciple, but that's the sort of fluff prereq I usually ignore for BBEGs.

Finally, at level 20, Sanna casts as a 19th-level bard plus the Water domain spells, but she also gets a couple abilities that mimic higher-level spells. Briny deep summoning, which she gets at level 16, mimics an aquatic summon nature's ally VIII, and her "capstone" ability lets her use storm of vengeance as a stormsong effect. She has 19 uses of bardic music/stormsong a day, which helps with the music-use-hungry effects like storm of vengeance and lyric spell.

The Credits

Spoiler

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Complete Adventurer: Extra music, lyric spell
Complete Divine: Arcane Disciple
Drow of the Underdark: Constant guardian
Frostburn: Stormsinger, storm magic
Monster manual: orca^S
Player;s Handbook: Bard, magical aptitude, weapon finesse^S, improved grapple^S
Player's Handbook II: Bardic knack, master manipulator
Spell Compendium: Several spells
Stormwrack: Sea Witch, storm magic, several spells
Tome of Battle: Martial study^S
Web Content: Wild Cohort

^SComponents for Squeaky

[Gwachitallemall]

You know.. there's something that feels.. off about this. Is it the undead, or the plant?

Deadwood

Gravetouched ghoul Dryad Dread necromancer
Medium Undead (augumented undead)

"How appropriate that those who would defile nature in life will defend it in death!"


[/CENTER]

Str 12
Con -
Dex 23
Int 16
Wis 19
Cha 20

(All stat increases go into charisma)

Spoiler: The fluff!

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Spoiler: So what was I thinking entering a undead minionmancer into the Natures Avenger contest?

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I wanted to go back to basics: in much western folklore from the pre-industry days, nature and the wilds was scary. It was what lay beyond the safety of the towns and villages, the community and the law. Being driven into the wild was a scary fate, and many ghost stories are told about people who died in the wild (lost in the woods, drowned in the fens) and thus couldn't be buried in hallowed ground.

Most of us have been ruined by Diseny, to believe that nature is this happy, cute place where everything gets along. And to your average adventurer, nature may only be a source of druids, rangers and low level exp from animals. To your average person, however, the vast, dark wilds would be a place you tell ghost stories about. And Deadwood? She's that ghost story come to life!

Also, she fights for nature using recycled humans! You don't get much more eco than that! Much less wasteful than the druid practice of animating trees and calling animals to fight for you! While most people feel that "nature" and "undead" doesn't really match, nature-themed classes actually do not have many anti-undead abilities. It's mostly the organized (civilized) churches that teach their priests how to keep undead in check.

Spoiler: Apperance

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Deadwood looks like a dryad having a really bad hair day! Her head and body is covered by gnarly branches, and her wooden skin seems dead and dry. She speaks in a creaking voice. She walks hunched over, often moving on all four. Despite her apperance, she can move with lightning speed, and her shivered limbs still hold some strength.

Spoiler: Background

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The monster that is now called Deadwood was once known as ”the green lady”. A gentle forest spirit of a vast, ancient wood, she used her magics to gently turn away those who would disrupt her home. She knew of the coming of civilization, having witnessed it from afar, but believed that allowing the humanoids some access to the wilds, they may learn to appreciate it, and use it gently.

She was wrong.

As human loggers and hunters exploited the wilds, farmers started burning the trees to create more arable land. Realizing that her tree would soon be in their path, and that the humans were far too many for her to drive away with her fey powers, she prayed to the goods of the wilds for deliverance. None were forthcoming. In desperation, she turned her prayers to darker powers. In the deepest part of her forest, there laid a place where the hunger ruled. Where scavengers that had turned to feed on their own race laid buried. And from that place, something answered her calls, and told her of a way to escape her fate.

Where she had previously used her magic to ward off trespassers, she began luring them to her instead. Drawing them into cunning traps, she would bring the young, weak and helpless to the place of the hunger, and there she would partake the sacrament of her new patron.

When the day came, the loggers arrived, and her tree fell to the “progress” of the nearby civilization, the green lady died with it. What arose, it's belly full of the flesh of humans, was Deadwood.

Spoiler: Modus Operandi

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Deadwood is essentially an ecoterrorist. She's not so much interested in protecting nature as she is punishing those who she feels has wronged it. By killing off the transgressors (and their families, and everyone who ever knew them) she believes she can stop them from doing further harm and set an example to others. Because of this, she will sometimes leave some survivors to tell the tale and warn others against defiling nature. She intensely hates human civilization, and seeks to undermine it, taking perverse pleasure in turning humans into undead monstrosities that she can use in her war. Her crusade starts random, targeting small villages bordering on the wilds, but as she grows in power she begins trying to instrument local wightocalypses in larger cities. Ironically, while she hates humans, she depends on their flesh for her own survival.

She prefers to create small groups of self-sufficient undead and then set them lose on nearby humans, and her ghoul nature gives her an excellent tool to do just this. Whatever humans she can capture that doesn't go to feed her or her current pack will be restrained and infected with ghoul fever – she's especially interested in higher level prisoners which can be turned into ghasts. She will use her magic and rebukes to keep them in line in the short run, but once she has built up a decent sized pack, she will leave them to their own devices and move on to establish a new pack. Her familiari, when she gets it, can also help create more undead for the cause. She doesn't seek to control these Vargouille, but simply lets them lose on whatever is nearby. When able to, she will create more powerful undead. If she needs a special kind of minion to achieve an objective she will create it, but otherwise she may just let it go it's own way, trusting in the destructive nature of most undead to make itself useful to her cause.

As she advances she will eventually be capable of teleporting across continents, making it possible to encounter her (or her handiwork) over a large area.

Spoiler: How to introduce her

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One important question for a BBEG is how you can introduce the character in a good way. Can you build up expectations? Can you make the players hate and fear the BBEG, wanting in their hearts to put an end to this mortal foe?

Deadwood offers several easy ways to introduce her. You can have the party start small, fighting minions she created before moving off. Perhaps they start noticing odd pattern in where these undead they are called on to exterminate keep popping up? Perhaps an area they cleared out is suddenly infected again? Or maybe a family member or ally is turned into a ghoul by deadwood, and once the party “rescues” the lost friend, they find out the story about a crazy “Wooden Ghoul” who infects humans and sets them on their own kind.

Other angles are obviously that a church hires the players to investigate an increase in the number of undead, or perhaps druids are concerned about some new extreme sect targeting anyone who cuts down a tree or fishes in a lake. Because she eventually gets access to travel spells, she can easily appear even in an area that has previously been free of her influence.

Spoiler: The crunch!

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Spoiler: Table

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CR	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
3rd	Dryad (4HD fey)	+2	+3	+8	+6	Escape artist +11, Handle animal +11, Hide +11, Knowledge (nature) +11, Listen +9, Move silently +11, Ride +6, Spot +9, Survival +9, Use rope +4 (+6 with bindings)	Great fortitude, weapon finesse	Spell like abilities, tree dependent
4th	Gravetouched ghoul	+2	+3	+10	+8	Accounts for stat increases from template Escape artist +13, Handle animal +12, Hide +13, Knowledge (nature) +13, Listen +11, Move silently +13, Ride +8, Spot +11, Survival +11, Use rope +6 (+8 with bindings)	Multiattack	Paralyzing touch, ghoul fever, natural weapons
5th	Dread necromancer 1	+2	+3	+10	+10	Concentration 2, Intimidate 2, Spellcraft 1	n/a	Charnel touch, rebuke undead
6th	Dread necromancer 2	+3	+3	+10	+11	Concentration 2, Intimidate 2, Spellcraft 1	Quicken spell	Lich body DR 2
7th	Dread necromancer 3	+3	+4	+11	+11	Concentration 2, Intimidate 2, Spellcraft 1	n/a	Negative energy burst 1/day
8th	Dread necromancer 4	+4	+4	+11	+12	Concentration 2, Intimidate 2, Spellcraft 1	Charisma +1	Advanced learning: rigor mortis, mental bastion +2
9th	Dread necromancer 5	+4	+4	+11	+12	Skill trick: Never outnumbered, Intimidate 2, Spellcraft 1	Divine metamagic: Quicken spell	Fear aura
10th	Dread necromancer 6	+5	+5	+12	+13	Knowledge (religion) 2, Intimidate 2, Spellcraft 1	n/a	Scabrous touch 1/day
11th	Dread necromancer 7	+5	+5	+12	+13	Knowledge (religion) 2, Intimidate 2, Spellcraft 1	n/a	Lich body DR 4, Summon familiar: Vargouille
12th	Dread necromancer 8	+6	+5	+12	+14	Concentration 3, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 1	Arcane disciple: travel domain, Charisma +1	Advanced learning: evil glare, negative energy burst 2/day, undead mastery
13th	Dread necromancer 9	+6	+6	+13	+14	Concentration 1, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 3	n/a	Negative energy restistance
14th	Dread necromancer 10	+7	+6	+13	+15	Concentration 1, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 3	n/a	Light fortification 25%
15th	Dread necromancer 11	+7	+6	+13	+15	Concentration 1, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 3	Travel devotion	Lich body DR 6, scabrous touch 2/day
16th	Dread necromancer 12	+8	+7	+14	+16	Concentration 1, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 2, Knowledge: Religion 1	Charisma +1	Advanced learning: aura of terror, enervating touch
17th	Dread necromancer 13	+8	+7	+14	+16	Concentration 1, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 1, Knowledge: Religion 2	n/a	Negative energy burst 3/day
18th	Dread necromancer 14	+9	+7	+14	+17	Concentration 1, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 1, Knowledge: Religion 2	Extra turning	Mental bastion +4
19th	Dread necromancer 15	+9	+8	+15	+17	Concentration 3, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 1,	n/a	Lich body DR 8
20th	Dread necromancer 16	+10	+8	+15	+18	Concentration 3, Intimidate 1, Spellcraft 1,	n/a	Advanced learning: bestow curse (greater), Scabrous touch 3/day

Spoiler: Tactics

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As a minionmancer, it's obvious that Deadwood will rely heavily on her undead minions for her ability to fight. She herself prefers using debuffs and battlefield control spells to hamper the heroes, using SoS or SoL spells whenever available. While her fear effects aren't that heavily optimized, they can be an unplesant surprise for a character who tries to close with her.

If it looks like a fight will be hard, Deadwood is quite likely to withdraw, leaving her minions to fend for herself. Once she has divine metamagic online, she can keep up the debuffs while withdrawing. Because she has DMM (and eventually travel devotion) she can use some of the players favorite tricks to stay mobile and still keep the spells coming. While she herself is unlikely to cause a TPK, the combination of minions and 2 SoL spells per round can quickly turn the action economy against the players. Arcane disciple (travel) gives her good mobility, and is quite powerful on a caster. It also works as a plot element at higher levels, allowing her to turn up where least expected.

Spoiler: Breakdown by CR

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Spoiler: CR 5

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“You must come with me! You are in great danger!” the voice from behindthe tree whispered. Jon hesitated. He was only 9, but his father didn't let fools go into the forest alone to gather firewood. He knew the stories about this place being enchanted, and there had been stories in the village that children had vanished when going in there alone.
As if reading the boys thoughts, the voice continued: “Haven't you heard about the children going missing? There's magic in this wood, and it's not safe for little boys to run around alone.”


“WhoARE you?” Jon inquired. “There are those who use to call me thegreen lady.” the voice replied. “Haven't you heard the storiesthe old folks tell? I watch over this forest, and keep people safe.IF they listen!”


“The green lady!” Jon was suddenly intrigued. This wasn't scary, this was EXCITING! His friends would never believe that he had met th eguardian of the woods. He wondered what she looked like – the stories said she was a beautiful woman, made out of wood and leaves. Some said she was naked! “My grandfather use to tell stories about you! But you haven't been seen for years!”


“Well,I'm here now. I'm here to take you away from this place. I suggest you come with me...” A gnarled hand covered in bark reached outfrom behind the tree.


Perhaps it was the stories his grandfather use to tell him. Perhaps he was just curious about how the beautiful woman made of wood would look.Or perhaps there was something in the way she spoke. Jon took her hand, and let the creature that some use to call the green lady lead him deeper into the forest.

***
At this CR, Deadwood doesn't have the most powerful magic abilities. Her dryad SLAs are still useful though, especially with the increased DC from her high charisma. She will use this to try and lure any PC that strays away from the group into an ambush, using whatever minions and traps she has available. Because she is unable to summon much in the way of minions on her own, creating ghouls out of prisoners is a major goal for her at this level, and her intelligence allows her to direct her minions in more useful ways. Her SLAs and paralyzing touch gives her some crowd control that can prove a nasty surprise to PCs expecting the traditional brainless undead.

Spoiler: CR 12 (Sweet spot)

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The family covered in the corner, the man in front of his terrified wife and children. The woman held the crying baby, trying in vain to calm it down, while the three older children clustered around her legs. The 3 ghouls paced back and forth slowly, anxious to leap, but apparently held in check by the tree-thing. Looking over them, it spoke with a voice like the wind through dry leaves: “You came into the forest. You cut down the trees. They bled and cried, and then you took them here, to build this abomination you call a cabin! You will pay! You will ALL pay!”

“Please, mistress, we meant no harm!” the man sobbed. “There were so many trees, and I took only what I needed. My family... look, we've been blessed with another child, and the cabin was falling apart. The wood was rotten! I needed to repair it or they may freeze to death come winter. We took so little and I thought it wouldn't be missed and... and... if you must punish someone, then punish me! Kill me if you must, but let my family go! They had nothing to do with it.”

The tree-thing looked at the weeping man for almost a minute before it spoke again. “Very well. Kill only the man. And the baby!” As two of the ghouls tore into the man and the third one tore the baby from the terrified woman's arms, Deadwood laughed. The last thing the man heard was “You have so many children, and I take only what I need. Surely it wont be missed?”

***

At this point, Deadwood has access to her fear aura and undead mastery, as well as travel spells. Her charisma gives a fair amount of turn undead attempts (and you can get more with a nightstick, or several if you swing that way) With rigor mortis, evil glare and the crowdcontrol from the DN spell list, she can disrupt a parties mobility pretty severely. While most of her minions will be pure brutes, she can have a fair amount of them, and when combined with her crowd control they can pose a serious threat to many parties. If things go bad, she can use her travel domain spells to escape.

Spoiler: CR 20

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“Didyou hear of Eagleclaw keep?” the dwarf asked. Thurgun the Just,paladin of St Cuthbert shrugged. “That castle we defended what, 10years ago? What about it?” “Word is it is a ghost town now.People went missing, started a couple of months ago. First just oneor two, then whole patrols. Couple of weeks ago, all contact ceased.The abbot sent a few men to investigate, and only one got out alive.Said they got jumped by ghouls while riding through the forest. Nastybunch too, determined and going for blood!”


Thurgunmade the sign of the Cudgel. “May they be granted fair judgement.But the church should be able to handle this, why send for me?”“BECAUSE” the dwarf said “this is the 7^th report ofsomething like this happening just this year. Strong outposts, peoplego missing, then suddenly they're infested with undead. They all surrounded the city too, and I'm hearing rumors of beggars disapearing off the streets now. I'm tellingyou Thurgun, something is happening. Something big!”

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While Deadwood may not be the most powerful CR 20 caster out there (she doesn't even get lvl 9 spells!) she still has the ability to influence a high level campaign. She can raise new armies quickly, and while a company of ghouls may not cause a lvl 20 paladin to break a sweat, they can tear down what he has built up over his career. Deadwood can create powerful minions and send them where they can cause the most damage, and with spells, rebukes and sheer personal power and intimidation she can keep a great many of them in line. When the part comes for her, she will conduct hit-and-run attacks against them, using her spells to weaken them and letting her minions do as much damage as possible. As a BBEG, her job is to keep the heroes chasing her and trying to twart her plans.

She will probably need an item of permanent mindblank, but that's standard for CR20 villains in mid or high OP games.

Spoiler: Sources

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Main sources (build essentials)
PHB, HoH, LM, MM1.

Secondary sorces (feats, spells or other abilities)
SpC, CS, CD, CC