Desert Boss Build

[AlanBruce]

Greetings! I am currently running a 3.5 game which will take the players to epic or near epic levels of play (the current ECL is between 13 and 14) and the party is very decently optimized, consisting of a bunch of conjurers, clerics, and gishes.

Later on, the party may be assisting a group of NPCs allies in the desert continent, introducing Sandstorm into play. As such, I read up on the monsters there and came upon the Marruspawn, but more importantly, the Marruspawn Abomination.

The creature lives up to its name- it's a true monster. Impressive stats, combat ability, special attacks... no wonder the fluff about it says that one alone may have caused the fall of the Marru Progenitor race.

Presently, the creature is locked up in one of the many hidden pyramids the Marruspawn have but it may be released later, depending on what the PCs decide to do. The creature isn't too pivotal to the plot, but if the party decides to gain assistance from the Marruspawn against the main threat in the desert lands, they may be tasked with assisting in resealing/killing the Abomination.

As written, the creature is a beast in melee, but by the time the party reaches that section of the campaign, and with the spells they already have at hand, trivializing the encounter against it then is a given.

So I decided to beef him up.

I could have used the elite array on it, but chose to roll its stats and then apply racial modifiers, getting a pretty solid monster. However, even like that, it would not be challenging enough, so I chose to give it a few class levels rather than advancing its racial HD.

The final build for this creature is Warblade 1/ Bloodclaw Master 5, which I believe meshes rather well with its natural attacks and the class features provided by the PrC. However, I have some questions, which I hope you can help me to better build this guy properly.

1. Given that it has 20 outsider HD before class levels, does he actually qualify for the above build?

2. If so, what would his IL be?

3. If the above build is correct, he would get access to 9 feats. I could use the feats given in his entry, but I would like him to be more combat oriented. Any ideas on feats that would work well with a creature like that and using ToB classes?

4. How much WBL would he start with? And any suggestions on gear, if any?

5. As written, the Abomination is CR 19. Given that I rolled his stats and then added the modifiers, I suspect his CR would bump up a few points. Would the above classes be considered associated for terms of CR increase?

Thank you very much in advance.

[John Longarrow]

1) Yes, your build would qualify so long as the warblade maneuvers you choose are tiger claw.

2) IL is your class level + 1/2 all other levels. 20 racial HD = 10 IL.

3) Feats would depend on HOW you want him to fight. Since he's got telepathy, I'd swap blind fighting for mind sight. More useful for most characters from my experience. A lot depends on if you want him to just hit things or if you want him more... creative in combat.

4) He has average treasure for his CR

5) CR would be 25; 19 for his base race + 6 for his class levels. If your rolls are as good or better than the elite array, bump it up by one.

As is since he's already a MONSTER in combat, I'd probably use swordsage instead of warblade. 2 levels of swordsage let him use his 29 Wisdom to up his AC. With a CR around 25 getting +9 to AC and touch would be more useful than what Bloodclaw Master brings.

To really make him scary, I'd just have him go Ur-Priest. 6 levels means casting 6th level spells. With his monster wisdom that is a LOT of spells and high DCs on them.

[ExLibrisMortis]

If you're fighting it in a small room, lots of powerful AoOs could be worthwhile. A single level in Decisive Strike monk gets it WIS to AC and a nice full attack. You can allow it to use the full 11th-level version (two double-damage attacks at different targets, no penalty), making the attacks with claw and bite. Then add something to boost size or natural reach, and lockdown the entire prison room it's trapped in.

NPC WBLs for levels 21-26 are 240, 265, 290, 320, 350 and 390 thousand gp respectively. So you can easily get away with a few +6 ability boosters, a necklace of natural attacks and a belt of battle. You can also be mean and use all that wealth in grafts, tomes and other body enhancements, or consumable traps in its lair (permanent intensified wall of fire in every square etc.).

[AlanBruce]

3) Feats would depend on HOW you want him to fight. Since he's got telepathy, I'd swap blind fighting for mind sight. More useful for most characters from my experience. A lot depends on if you want him to just hit things or if you want him more... creative in combat.

I had overlooked Mindsight. That is a very good idea, since by the time they (possibly) face him, the party will have many ways to conceal themselves (even more than they have now). so that is a very good idea.

As for his combat method, well... it is very intelligent, having some minor deific spark in it. I was thinking of using the area he's in to his advantage. I even considered giving him caster levels, but looking at it, it seems more like a melee guy. A smart melee guy.

After all, the Marru are said to have been great grafters (read: transmuters), so they must've had magic at their disposal and this guy still brought them down.

As is since he's already a MONSTER in combat, I'd probably use swordsage instead of warblade. 2 levels of swordsage let him use his 29 Wisdom to up his AC. With a CR around 25 getting +9 to AC and touch would be more useful than what Bloodclaw Master brings.

I had envisioned Warblade and Bloodclaw because the creature attacks with claws and the PrC makes allusions to the character in question becoming feral and savage, which the Marruspawn Abomination already is.

However, given its current Wisdom, it would benefit a lot more as a Swordsage, maybe going into Master of Nine.

To really make him scary, I'd just have him go Ur-Priest. 6 levels means casting 6th level spells. With his monster wisdom that is a LOT of spells and high DCs on them.

Extremely tempting idea. The fluff about it somewhat supports such a class. Now if only I could get both swordsage and Ur- priest in without stacking too many extra HD.

You can also be mean and use all that wealth in grafts, tomes and other body enhancements, or consumable traps in its lair (permanent intensified wall of fire in every square etc.).

I believe the fluff on the Marru is that they were grafters of a sort. They even had something called The Flesh Wars- pitting each other's creations against their fellow Marru. That's when a group decided to use god blood and well...

I will look into grafts that would be appropriate for this creature.

Oddly enough, for all its power, as described in Sandstorm, the Abomination can't fly. All you need is a party with flight and ranged weaponry and this guy goes down relatively fast.

NPC WBLs for levels 21-26 are 240, 265, 290, 320, 350 and 390 thousand gp respectively.

Thank you very much. There should be some money left after ability boosters to get an item of constant flight.

[John Longarrow]

To avoid flight issues, since they are fighting it inside a pyramid just keep the ceiling relatively low. If they don't beat it in the pyramid, they give it a chance to get out moving pretty fast. With non-detection it should be able to evade/escape until it gets a power base set up, then it can do some REAL damage.

[AlanBruce]

To avoid flight issues, since they are fighting it inside a pyramid just keep the ceiling relatively low. If they don't beat it in the pyramid, they give it a chance to get out moving pretty fast. With non-detection it should be able to evade/escape until it gets a power base set up, then it can do some REAL damage.

The idea is for the party to fight him inside his pyramid, where he would have field advantage- low ceiling, places for him to ambush them, traps (magical and otherwise), and maybe some constructs left behind to make sure he doesn't get away but that became corrupted after thousands of years and now malfunction, attacking anyone that comes inside the pyramid.

Of course, with a conjurer in the party and judicious use of celerity + tactical teleportation, getting the party mobile and away from his FA should make the fight last a little bit longer than usual and make it interesting enough.

Plus, Marruspawn Abominations get Jump as a class skill- even if they manage to gain some altitude inside the pyramid, the look on the players when the thing leaps up to claw at them would be priceless.

[frost890]

As written, the creature is a beast in melee, but by the time the party reaches that section of the campaign, and with the spells they already have at hand, trivializing the encounter against it then is a given.

If your party trivializes the encounters you can also give him friends. spiders have been known to keep frogs. they eat bugs that devour the spider eggs. A beholder or two could have made a home base there and feeds the monster from time to time. They would help fight the PC's. this would change the fight and make it harder to trivialize the monster.

[AlanBruce]

If your party trivializes the encounters you can also give him friends. spiders have been known to keep frogs. they eat bugs that devour the spider eggs. A beholder or two could have made a home base there and feeds the monster from time to time. They would help fight the PC's. this would change the fight and make it harder to trivialize the monster.

As an outsider, I believe the Abomination does not require food to survive or sleep, for that matter. That isn't to say that they cannot eat just for the sheer sensation of sentient flesh ripped apart by its claws and fangs.

I really like the idea of "friends" for the monster. From what I have read, this creature seems much like a loner- the Marruspawn don't want it running around the desert butchering them and it would take someone very powerful to keep it in check. However, that isn't to say that a beholder (or a few) could have taken residence in his pyramid while the creature is sealed and made it their own, posing a threat to the PCs if they decide to go hunt it under the premise that he's alone.

[Inevitability]

I had overlooked Mindsight. That is a very good idea, since by the time they (possibly) face him, the party will have many ways to conceal themselves (even more than they have now). so that is a very good idea.

As for his combat method, well... it is very intelligent, having some minor deific spark in it. I was thinking of using the area he's in to his advantage. I even considered giving him caster levels, but looking at it, it seems more like a melee guy. A smart melee guy.

After all, the Marru are said to have been great grafters (read: transmuters), so they must've had magic at their disposal and this guy still brought them down.



I had envisioned Warblade and Bloodclaw because the creature attacks with claws and the PrC makes allusions to the character in question becoming feral and savage, which the Marruspawn Abomination already is.

However, given its current Wisdom, it would benefit a lot more as a Swordsage, maybe going into Master of Nine.



Extremely tempting idea. The fluff about it somewhat supports such a class. Now if only I could get both swordsage and Ur- priest in without stacking too many extra HD.

Ur Priest 2/Crusader 1/Ruby Knight Vindicator X, perhaps? It does require you to refluff RKV and abandon swordsage, though.

Also possible is replacing the crusader level with a level in swordsage, then using Martial Study and Martial Stance to meet RKV's entry requirements.

[frost890]

As an outsider, I believe the Abomination does not require food to survive or sleep, for that matter. That isn't to say that they cannot eat just for the sheer sensation of sentient flesh ripped apart by its claws and fangs.

I really like the idea of "friends" for the monster. From what I have read, this creature seems much like a loner- the Marruspawn don't want it running around the desert butchering them and it would take someone very powerful to keep it in check. However, that isn't to say that a beholder (or a few) could have taken residence in his pyramid while the creature is sealed and made it their own, posing a threat to the PCs if they decide to go hunt it under the premise that he's alone.

Sorry I miss read the abomination part... Being created with the blood of a god the Beholders could think it is a aspect of the great void and worship it. Or they could be the corrupted remains of some of the people that sealed in the first place