Barghest Boss

[AlanBruce]

Greetings! My group of players will have their PCs possibly adventuring into a mine a few miles outside their home city, attempting to find clues that will help them overcome whatever's happening in their home.

Any kind of research regarding said mines has proved futile- records say it was sealed away a long time ago by the local authorities and so, by all accounts, ought to be empty...

That isn't the case.

Monsters have taken refuge inside the mines, claiming it as their own. The area is big enough to accommodate different bands of monsters that should not conflict with each other, which brings me to the thread's title.

One such area has goblins. Not too many, but crafty enough to lay traps on intruders into their cavernous turf. The goblins have 4 levels of rogue, so direct combat won't be their forte, resulting in quick skirmishes against the party.

When eventually they are brought down, or if enough goblins survive, the party may have to deal with their leader, a Greater Barghest. I used the elite array and gave it the following build:

Ranger 1/ Mortal Hunter 10

By my calculations, which may be a tad off, it's a CR 16 opponent, since Greater Barghests don't have a favored class, but their skill set somewhat points out to a ranger build and Mortal Hunter has ranger feat requirements.

Spoiler: Feats So Far

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Track (B) - from Ranger
Boost SLA (B)- from Mortal Hunter
Alertness
Improved Initiative
Power Attack
Vile Natural Attack
Mutilator
Flay Foe
Mortal Bane - subject to change, most likely after looking at the GB's SLAs

The party is between ECL 10 and 11, with a projected spike of ECL 12-14 by the time they reach the mines. Their make up at a simplest glance is:

Spoiler: The Party

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1. Desert Halfling sorcerer/stormcaster with an air elemental familiar

2. Human fighter/paragon/warblade

3. Human Conjurer with the Abrupt Jaunt ACF

4. Human Bard/Cleric/ MT, especializes in healing

5. Human Ranger/ Swordsage

6. Desert Dwarf Crusader/Paladin/Cleric/ RKV

As a team, they are pretty solid, and the Stormcaster lives up to his name, being able to sculpt and empower thunderbolt rather well while riding on top of his familiar via Alter Self.

The Bard/ Cleric sings and uses her feats and ACFs to grant them temporary HP which helps a lot.

The melee guys are very good at their thing, with the ranger being a kukri crit fisher, while the paladin uses a guisarme to great effect and the warblade loves swinging a Greathorn Minotaur Hammer.

The wizard is rarely hurt, given its myriad of protections and ability to move around and reshape the field, resorting to Acidic Splatter as a go to offensive when not being attacked.

Which brings us back to the Barguest:

1. What should it's CR actually be?

2. How much wealth should I give him so as to gear him up properly. Do I go off by CR to determine his WBL?

3. Any feats/ACFs that should be added or changed?

4. What would be a good gear for a monster like this, since I am trying to build him as a hunter in the mines, which have little to no light, although the party has already purchased a bunch of torches, has an ever burning torch...and a dwarf with them.

Any 3.5 books are allowed, but trying to stick away from XPH, MoI and BoED.

Dragon Compendium is a go, as would Dragon Magazine material.

Thank you very much in advance.

[Talverin]

Have the Goblins sunder their torches as they work their way through. Burn through their supply, including the Everburning torch. It won't make things a lot harder, but it'll give a nice edge. Alternatively, hit them with a Darkness spell!

When I ran a Greater Barghest as a boss enemy, I had it using greater invisibility and making hit-and-run attacks while the party fought a bunch of Goblins. They were able to catch out and thrash the other, normal Barghests that ran with it, but the boss remained elusive. They're good ambushers.

[AlanBruce]

Have the Goblins sunder their torches as they work their way through. Burn through their supply, including the Everburning torch. It won't make things a lot harder, but it'll give a nice edge. Alternatively, hit them with a Darkness spell!

When I ran a Greater Barghest as a boss enemy, I had it using greater invisibility and making hit-and-run attacks while the party fought a bunch of Goblins. They were able to catch out and thrash the other, normal Barghests that ran with it, but the boss remained elusive. They're good ambushers.

Condumables like Torches and the Ever Burning Torch can be sundered. Tricky to pull off from rogues, but doable. Maybe a trap that teleases water and sprays them? Food for thought.

The party has fought invisible foes before and the sorcerer loves stocking up on scrolls of See Invisibility. The party mage usually prepares ond as well, along with Glitterdust, but overall, the party’s perception checks are not the best, which is where the Barghuest excels, being an ambusher and getting that first hit in.

Any more ideas are welcome. Please keep them coming!

[Elkad]

I find the idea of mundane darkness stopping a L12-14 party frankly hilarious.

Surely they have something besides burning sticks.
30% of random magic weapons shed light (20'/40'), which means it's an option for anyone making one. Ioun torches. A few sunrods in the bottom of a Haversack. Darkvision (even on a tattoo or potion). Fire elemental familiars. Blindsight and similar. Plus more exotic/expensive methods.

If they don't have a way to get by without torches, I'd definitely take advantage of it. Give them a hint early maybe. Water/wind trap to put their torches out, but in an easy-ish fight. Just put some ranged guys far enough from the everburning torch that targeting them is a problem. Let them forget about it for a few levels. Then hit them with it again, HARD.

[AlanBruce]

I find the idea of mundane darkness stopping a L12-14 party frankly hilarious.

Surely they have something besides burning sticks.
30% of random magic weapons shed light (20'/40'), which means it's an option for anyone making one. Ioun torches. A few sunrods in the bottom of a Haversack. Darkvision (even on a tattoo or potion). Fire elemental familiars. Blindsight and similar. Plus more exotic/expensive methods.

If they don't have a way to get by without torches, I'd definitely take advantage of it. Give them a hint early maybe. Water/wind trap to put their torches out, but in an easy-ish fight. Just put some ranged guys far enough from the everburning torch that targeting them is a problem. Let them forget about it for a few levels. Then hit them with it again, HARD.

The party has ways to navigate unlit areas.

Darkvision for the dwarf, stances that grant scent for the ToB classes and of course, spells.

The party cleric decided to stock up on mundane lighting sources for some reason. Fire elementals are a good idea, and the party Conjurer has SM spells in his book, but the sorcerer, who also has the spell known refuses to summon fire related critters due to background reasons.

Ranged weapons in this party are scarce. The last encounter taught them the value of a composite bow, since before that they relied on the mages for long range blasts. Having said that, they only bought one and they prefer melee due to an increased damage output.

I wasn’t planning on sending the goblins in directly- that’s not how that race typically fights. I had considered mundane traps at first to give the party a hint, possibly followed by something a tad more complex.

The issue I have is with the Barguest; I want to make sure it’s well geared to possibly face them alone or with a small cadre of goblins by his side.

[Kayblis]

By what you're telling us, this is one of those occurences in which players know how to make decent builds but haven't played much, as noted by how they don't seem to have many contingencies if any at all in case their main strategy fails. It would be good to know how much treasure they carry on average, because a lv 10 group with 2k gp each is very very different from a lv 10 group with 50k gp each.

Assume they'll deal with darkness quite easily, if no spellcaster has Dispel Magic at this point they have bigger problems than just darkness. Special conditions like smoke to hinder sight will be much more efficient, and attainable by simply burning something in the hallways. Crude traps that drop rocks on them or force them to slow down while being pelted by arrows are in good taste for goblins and other small critters. Having tiny tunnels in which only a Small or smaller creature can pass by squeezing is an efficient standard practice.

To be honest, a single boss won't stand much chance against 6 PCs unless he's very overleveled. A CR 16 opponent would be good for a 12th level party of 6, and putting some more goblins in there would make the fight better and last longer. Make sure you invest in defense instead of pure offense, otherwise the combat will last 2 rounds - that means mundane/magical armor for the beast, some way to cast Shield, and maybe trading some feats. Mutilator doesn't do much for a Barghest, as his Feed ability keeps anyone he eats from resurrecting anyways.

In combat, let the Barghest cast Mass Bull's Strenght on his goblin allies and maybe Mass Enlarge Person to get more damage out of those little rascals. He's not affected by the Enlarge as he's not humanoid, but he gets Bull's Strenght. Invisibility Sphere helps with positioning at the start of combat too, if a goblin flees combat beforehand and alerts his master he's supposed to have those up when the party arrives. Crushing Dispair is a fair ability to use when the group is coiled together, probably by round 1, as it's 1/day.

[AlanBruce]

By what you're telling us, this is one of those occurences in which players know how to make decent builds but haven't played much, as noted by how they don't seem to have many contingencies if any at all in case their main strategy fails. It would be good to know how much treasure they carry on average, because a lv 10 group with 2k gp each is very very different from a lv 10 group with 50k gp each.

Assume they'll deal with darkness quite easily, if no spellcaster has Dispel Magic at this point they have bigger problems than just darkness. Special conditions like smoke to hinder sight will be much more efficient, and attainable by simply burning something in the hallways. Crude traps that drop rocks on them or force them to slow down while being pelted by arrows are in good taste for goblins and other small critters. Having tiny tunnels in which only a Small or smaller creature can pass by squeezing is an efficient standard practice.

To be honest, a single boss won't stand much chance against 6 PCs unless he's very overleveled. A CR 16 opponent would be good for a 12th level party of 6, and putting some more goblins in there would make the fight better and last longer. Make sure you invest in defense instead of pure offense, otherwise the combat will last 2 rounds - that means mundane/magical armor for the beast, some way to cast Shield, and maybe trading some feats. Mutilator doesn't do much for a Barghest, as his Feed ability keeps anyone he eats from resurrecting anyways.

In combat, let the Barghest cast Mass Bull's Strenght on his goblin allies and maybe Mass Enlarge Person to get more damage out of those little rascals. He's not affected by the Enlarge as he's not humanoid, but he gets Bull's Strenght. Invisibility Sphere helps with positioning at the start of combat too, if a goblin flees combat beforehand and alerts his master he's supposed to have those up when the party arrives. Crushing Dispair is a fair ability to use when the group is coiled together, probably by round 1, as it's 1/day.

At the moment, between gear and consumables, an estimated 100 to 200K worth of stuff, so they aren't really in the ditch, perhaps reason why the party cleric even bought a pack mule and a cart.

Darkness and dim lighting isn't a problem- they have 4 spellcasters. Of the four, three can reliably prepare Dispel Magic and cast it effortlessly. If they don't prepare such spell, that's on them, but they always have at least one in store, just in case.

The idea of a solo boss fight is not a good one, I know. Action economy will screw him over, Especially since the RKV likes using WRT ad infinitum.

Having said that, their buffs mainly revolve around AC, not saves, so the Barguest's SLAs may come in handy, especially with the ones that he can use 1?day. Mass Enlarge Person is nice, will have to see if it benefits the goblins to be medium sized or not, since the idea of small or tiny tunnels is a pretty good one: can't hit what you can't see or reach, after all.

Mutilator was there for shock value. His Feed ability take a full round to work, and with action economy in place, he may not have the time to do that. Having said that defense will definitely play a bigger part than offense.

[Kayblis]

They seem to be fairly well-equipped. Depleting resources will make a great difference here, make sure to ambush them a couple times so they don't arrive at the boss' door with many consumables and buffs.

-Monsters can use armor. It costs more and has the usual nonproficiency penalties, but you're giving class levels to your Barghest so that solves it. Let him have a monstrous large chainmail or something like that, maybe enchanted.

-Goblins can be small to use guerrilla warfare around their cave, and a couple get Enlarged in the boss room while some stand from height/wall tunnels still shooting arrows and bolts at the party.

-If you want to push them more into not-dumb territory, have cheap alchemical items like tanglefoot bags being thrown along the usual arrow volleys. There are many cheap alchemical items that replicate some spell effects or create new ones. Also, setting stuff on fire as a combat tactic is very underrated, get the party on an upward slope and send a flaming wooden cargo cart their way. With rocks. They're also on fire.

Other than that, you know the usual Tucker's Kobolds tactics. How far you want to go depends mostly on how intelligent or cunning you want your goblins to be.

[AlanBruce]

They seem to be fairly well-equipped. Depleting resources will make a great difference here, make sure to ambush them a couple times so they don't arrive at the boss' door with many consumables and buffs.

-Monsters can use armor. It costs more and has the usual nonproficiency penalties, but you're giving class levels to your Barghest so that solves it. Let him have a monstrous large chainmail or something like that, maybe enchanted.

-Goblins can be small to use guerrilla warfare around their cave, and a couple get Enlarged in the boss room while some stand from height/wall tunnels still shooting arrows and bolts at the party.

-If you want to push them more into not-dumb territory, have cheap alchemical items like tanglefoot bags being thrown along the usual arrow volleys. There are many cheap alchemical items that replicate some spell effects or create new ones. Also, setting stuff on fire as a combat tactic is very underrated, get the party on an upward slope and send a flaming wooden cargo cart their way. With rocks. They're also on fire.

Other than that, you know the usual Tucker's Kobolds tactics. How far you want to go depends mostly on how intelligent or cunning you want your goblins to be.

I am aware that the Barguest can wear armor and gear, mostly by virtue of his build. My problem is coming up with decent stuff to make him an effective hunter in the mines. Will have to look at good enchantments for his gear. Weapons will likely not be needed, since the Barguest has natural ones, but perhaps a spare weapon or two, most likely a ranged one, just in case.

The mine cart filled with flaming rocks is great and a mine would have inclines. Add sneaky goblins hiding in hard to reach tunnels above will give this party a run for their money (or teleporting, since the sorcerer can cast DD). All in all, they should be, if not completely depleted, low enough on arcane and divine fuel by the time they reach the boss.

If you have any ideas for good gear suited for a monster like this, I would be most welcome, since I am still trying to figure out if he should get WBL based off CR.

[Talverin]

A good way to make them spend lots of resources would be using illusions. Maybe they keep almost catching the Barghest... So they think. He appears at the end of a tunnel, and they all open up on him with spells and arrows... and then the illusion disperses. Or pull the old 'house of mirrors' trick and make illusions of him... right until one of them actually snaps at them. Trip, sunder, maybe a bull rush into a trap of some kind. And then dimension door out. I like the 'goblins above' idea, dropping rocks or such on them. Reflex save vs an uncomfortable amount of damage. Collapse tunnels to try and get them to use more powerful spells to try and blow them clear. Get them angry and out of sorts.

On the equipment end (Which I know you keep asking for advice about) I'm not as helpful. I would say maybe Energy Resistance, or Fortification. I dunno about you, but far too many of my dramatic boss fights have been ended rather abruptly by a nat 20. Invulnerable would give you DR5/Magic. A little resistance goes a long way. If it doesn't have SR already, maybe think about enchanting it with SR.

If in doubt, kit it out like an adventurer. Cloak of Resistance for save bonuses, maybe a metamagic rod of something moderately nasty. A necklace of fireballs very prominently worn around its' neck might dissuade them from using anything big and blasty in close quarters for fear of setting it off. An entire necklace of fireballs going off at point blank range is enough to terrify most not-fire-immune players.

Enchanted javelins maybe? Stuff that boosts casting stats? You can declare them to be made to fit an exotic creature, so it'd take time, money, and a skilled craftsman to make them into something a normal person could wear. Maybe the cloak of resistance is a cloak on the barghest, but because it is made like a collar, it could only be worn as a circlet, taking up the head slot. Boost mentals or boost saves? TAKE YOUR PICK!

Additionally: From reading about a little online, it looks like rather than WBL from CR, you'd figure out how much you want the total value of the encounter to be.

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemasteri...counter-Design

For example, a CR 15 encounter on the "Fast" XP track would have a value of 29k GP. A level 15 character, on the other hand, would have 240k GP based on WBL.

Alternatively, some of the equipment could be 'sustained by its' lifeforce' and stop working when it dies, magical tattoos that go away when it is killed, or 'consumable' items. Also you could reduce the 'encounter price' of a piece of equipment by making it cost something else; +4 armor might normally be 16k, but maybe it'll take 10k additional to resize it for any of you to wear, making the items' 'encounter value' only 6k.

Edit: Also, Barghests may use magic differently than normal. Enchanted items made by/for them may use ingredients that... just don't work well with 'traditional' magic item crafting. They have their own techniques, but without knowing those techniques, some of the components are useless. Reduce item 'disenchantment' or sale value accordingly.

[daremetoidareyo]

Deck him out with alchemy items and make him run away after 1 round across the traps that his goblin trapsmiths set up.

Who are the goblins protecting their turff against? Besides adventurers? Fire genasi lapis lazuli miners? Cuz the goblins are likely more optimized against those home born threats. We can then adapt their techniques against the Pcs. Maybe they have a magical siege engine that they wheel out against certain threats. Having a goblin manned death laser on the same field grants some battlefield control to them.

Another option is the good old fashioned rust monster Cavalry with net throwers astride (rust monsters ready actions for rusting out the weapons used for cutting free) throwing entanglements around. Because the nets are weaved from the scalps of sentient creatures, they lend themselves to vile enchantments. The smoking weapon enchantment seems perfect. Sickened and entangled. If the Cavalry withdraws, the barghest and trapsmith team then begins to harry them. Probably with an end goal of pushing them into the enemy's territory. To do this, consider the fell conspiracy feat to keep communications between goblin teams open. Maybe put a spectral insignia on the communication leaders detectable by detect magic.

Consider throwing some goblin werebat in there for diversity, especially of there is a large cavern. Those werebats can also access outside allied tribes. Those diplomatic werebats might be a clue if the Pcs encounter those allied outside tribes. Maybe the barghest and goblins have access to materials that the races of war love to use. A vein of abyssal shriek iron? These above ground contacts will allow the goblins to prepare against incursions.

Id give the barghest a 1 time use item of placeshift/teleplantation if it really looks like it might die (below 1/4 to) . Kill him before he uses it, get the cool item. Fail to do so, he shifts away, and then pcs figure out how to cow the rest of the goblin underkingdom.

[AlanBruce]

A good way to make them spend lots of resources would be using illusions. Maybe they keep almost catching the Barghest... So they think. He appears at the end of a tunnel, and they all open up on him with spells and arrows... and then the illusion disperses. Or pull the old 'house of mirrors' trick and make illusions of him... right until one of them actually snaps at them. Trip, sunder, maybe a bull rush into a trap of some kind. And then dimension door out. I like the 'goblins above' idea, dropping rocks or such on them. Reflex save vs an uncomfortable amount of damage. Collapse tunnels to try and get them to use more powerful spells to try and blow them clear. Get them angry and out of sorts.

On the equipment end (Which I know you keep asking for advice about) I'm not as helpful. I would say maybe Energy Resistance, or Fortification. I dunno about you, but far too many of my dramatic boss fights have been ended rather abruptly by a nat 20. Invulnerable would give you DR5/Magic. A little resistance goes a long way. If it doesn't have SR already, maybe think about enchanting it with SR.

If in doubt, kit it out like an adventurer. Cloak of Resistance for save bonuses, maybe a metamagic rod of something moderately nasty. A necklace of fireballs very prominently worn around its' neck might dissuade them from using anything big and blasty in close quarters for fear of setting it off. An entire necklace of fireballs going off at point blank range is enough to terrify most not-fire-immune players.

Enchanted javelins maybe? Stuff that boosts casting stats? You can declare them to be made to fit an exotic creature, so it'd take time, money, and a skilled craftsman to make them into something a normal person could wear. Maybe the cloak of resistance is a cloak on the barghest, but because it is made like a collar, it could only be worn as a circlet, taking up the head slot. Boost mentals or boost saves? TAKE YOUR PICK!

Additionally: From reading about a little online, it looks like rather than WBL from CR, you'd figure out how much you want the total value of the encounter to be.

Illusions have proven to be rather efficient in the past, so yes. I believe playing with their PC paranoia to smack everything that appears just to whisk away harmlessly and later on snap at one of them could be really effective.

Barguests don't come with illusion SLAs per se. One at best, but mostly invisibility related, easily countered by See Invisibility. Perhaps a wand wouldn't be a bad idea to invest on.

Enchanted javelins were definitely amongst my list of items for him or his minions. Nets thrown from above by the goblins should work very well too in order to incapacitate a few PCs for a round or two.

Barguests already have DR X/ magic. And the party packs only magical weapons, of different alloys to meet all their possible needs... so far. Stat boosters will definitely be a go, and perhaps a potion of resist energy for that fireball collar... a cruel last move, but in close quarters? deadly indeed.

Who are the goblins protecting their turff against? Besides adventurers? Fire genasi lapis lazuli miners? Cuz the goblins are likely more optimized against those home born threats. We can then adapt their techniques against the Pcs. Maybe they have a magical siege engine that they wheel out against certain threats. Having a goblin manned death laser on the same field grants some battlefield control to them.

Currently, the mines are occupied on the top most level by a Hextorian contingent, seeking to well... mine. The party is unaware of them there, and vice versa for the Hextorians.

The goblins won't mess with the upper level a lot- maybe taking a few slave miners on the lower levels when the guards aren't watching, but they aren't that bold. Especially since the newcomers have siege engines themselves to assist with mining, mainly a big constructs to discourage local attacks on them.

Other than those, the mine has an area with an Adaru and his company of Carnage Demons, broken through an ancient portal that expired and failed to keep them back home. They are a possible encounter, depending on where the party goes.

And because the mine has a bleak history and many died there and weren't properly buried, undead. Mostly as ghouls and ghasts. Possibly with an undead leader for them, but those can wait.

There's a Nycter druid, who would rather get all these menaces out of the caves, so at least the party may find an ally here.

Really digging the Rust Monster cavalry! The party carries a lot of metal. expensive too. They have dealt with aberrations, but not a Rust Monster.

I have notes on lycan encounters en route to the mine, but had not thought of werebat goblins. Those are too good to not use! Thank you very much for all your ideas!

[Talverin]

Oh man. Undead reminds me. Want a good wtf moment? Ghouls clawing up from the soil. Easy to get an ambush attack vs flat foot... and that paralysis is ruinous. Ambushing with it is guaranteed to tag at least one of them.

Or what if the Barghest (Or an illusionist in its' employ) disguised Ghouls as something else? Rocks, mine carts, or perhaps a chest. Maybe some kind of spell keeping the ghouls quiescent until then. Once interacted with, the illusion vanishes, and the Ghoul lashes out. Bonus points if you disguise them as regular corpses with Gentle Repose.

But I also have an unholy fascination with Ghouls and their unlimited reproduction... or conversion? Process.

[AlanBruce]

Oh man. Undead reminds me. Want a good wtf moment? Ghouls clawing up from the soil. Easy to get an ambush attack vs flat foot... and that paralysis is ruinous. Ambushing with it is guaranteed to tag at least one of them.

Or what if the Barghest (Or an illusionist in its' employ) disguised Ghouls as something else? Rocks, mine carts, or perhaps a chest. Maybe some kind of spell keeping the ghouls quiescent until then. Once interacted with, the illusion vanishes, and the Ghoul lashes out. Bonus points if you disguise them as regular corpses with Gentle Repose.

But I also have an unholy fascination with Ghouls and their unlimited reproduction... or conversion? Process.

I am a big fan of undead myself. Thankfully, 3.5 has a lot of them. Incorporeals were considered, but something about fast agile tracking ghouls running around tight dark filled corridors underground is too good an idea not to put into play.

I like the illusion to make them appear as deceased men, laid to rest in a tomb or some such. When the party approaches, they get a ready attack and with their stench, could conceivably catch one or two in the act.

Thank you for the idea!