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The Thinktank => Min/Max It! => : Barbarossa December 26, 2010, 03:18:11 AM

: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Barbarossa December 26, 2010, 03:18:11 AM
: Paraphrased from Wikipedia
Nematocysts are very efficient weapons. A single nematocyst has been shown to suffice to paralyze a small arthropod. The most deadly nematocysts can cause excruciating pain to humans, often followed by death, sometimes within two or three minutes. The chance of survival if stung while alone is "virtually zero."
I'm creating a character concept (Possibly for a future Big Bad Evil Guy) that I call Gorehonego. At the moment, it is a character that is going to be fighting a couple of my friends' incredibly optimized builds. Here are the rules for the match.


There are some other ones, but none that are relevant to this topic. You see, Gorehonego is a horrible monstrosity of a demon-beast that takes some elements of the 'Million Attacks in One Action' thread, such as the 'Tauric Creature: Millipede' template, as well as some ideas of my own.

This character concept is not alone in its quest for glory, unlike some others. This build utilizes Gate and True Mind Switch to provide an incredibly powerful body for my mentally powerful character to use, but in order raise the CL of Gate high enough to summon a hugely powerful creature, I use Circle Magic from a Red Wizard Cohort. The Red Wizard's cohort is a Psion that uses some other techniques to True Mind Switch the powerful mental character into the powerful physical creature, summoned from the deepest pits of the Abyss. I decided that two characters (The cohorts) alone would be a pretty lame fuck-the-world cult, so I expanded the concept. The Cohort-Chain involves 12 Cohorts in all in addition to my main character, but I plan on making these characters myself, though I can make changes to accommodate what comes out of this thread.

The main benefit of this huge number of Cohorts is that I get a huge number of Followers to accompany me into battle. The downside is that I have to stat them up. This is where you guys come in. I need to create an unstoppable army using these guidelines.


Against such staggeringly powerful enemies as a Wizard/Initiate of the Sevenfold Vale/Incantatrix, the first thought that came to my mind was, "Hey, cannon fodder!", but I'm sure that you folks can think of a way to produce some awesome mooks to help my character (A crossbow shooting maniac with over nine thousand tentacles, thirty arms, 100+ heads, and eight sets of wings) take out the most powerful wizards in the world in less than seven days. Here's the story I plan on using for my campaign, if anyone wants some flavor tips.

Story
[spoiler]Rolaun the Corrupt is the head of the cult, a Red Wizard of incredible power. He works within the great cities of the world to convert all who will listen to his cause; the summoning of his dark god, Gorehonego. His longtime friend is Arastil Mindbreaker, a mysterious psion specialized in confusion and illusion. Eleven other champions of darkness form the Circle of Thirteen, a cabal of unholy mages bent on world domination. Their soldiers, known as the Nematocysts, are numerous and fierce. The common man cannot tell friend from Nematocyst, because the Nematocysts are peasants just like them. During the day, anyway. At night they perform services for their masters, such as slaying any upstart adventurers who would prevent their goal. Before they can summon the Dark One, however, they must acquire a suitable weapon for it that will serve as the focus of the ritual. It is Seramal, a powerful weapon of legacy used for slaying paladins in ancient times when demons ruled the material plane.[/spoiler]

Tl;DR: I need some first through sixth level mass-tactics soldiers that can beat up all manner of hyper-optimized characters (and a Druid).
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Bauglir December 26, 2010, 05:12:19 PM
How are you using Gate with 9th level spells banned?
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Lycanthromancer December 26, 2010, 05:50:06 PM
Spells, but not Spell-Like Abilities?

Also, planar binding.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Barbarossa December 26, 2010, 07:18:31 PM
Oh right, items are still allowed to use 9th level spells. That's why the Red Wizard's staff was so darn expensive. In half an hour or so, I'll post a picture of the command structure of this organization, to help anyone who wants to help me.

Spells, but not Spell-Like Abilities?
Nope, the only way to get a 9th level spell effect is by getting an item with it.

Also, planar binding.
Greater Planar Binding only allows one creature of up to 18 HD. With Gate I can get something with 25 HD.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Lycanthromancer December 26, 2010, 07:19:39 PM
There are some pretty damned powerful creatures with 18 HD and below. Hell, the psychoactive skin of proteus is incredibly powerful, and it only goes up to 7 HD.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Barbarossa December 26, 2010, 08:02:46 PM
Yes, but I need a body that can withstand the attacks of some other incredibly powerful builds. Instant death effects such as disintegrate and the like are also banned, so having hit points is pretty useful

Here's the command structure of the cult. Halp?
[spoiler](http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7542/commandstructure.png)[/spoiler]
In general, the characters further to the left have more power.  The only exception is the group of advisers, who directly serve Gorehonego by telling him everything that he needs to know. I'd imagine that their immortality has given them plenty of time to research. Those 12 characters are entirely focused on Knowledge checks, each one specialized for a different check.

"Hey, how hard would it be to break that mountain?"
"According to my calculations... DC 120."
"Piece of cake."

The numbers in the orange boxes represent the level of the cohort that will go in that box. Higher levels mean higher power.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Lycanthromancer December 26, 2010, 08:11:27 PM
Become a swarm. Hell, become a were-bat swarm. Or a were-murder of crows.

With evasion.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Barbarossa December 26, 2010, 08:19:29 PM
I've already got a character. But what to do with these mooks?
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: The_Mad_Linguist December 26, 2010, 08:39:05 PM
I've already got a character. But what to do with these mooks?
Make sure they're dead before you recruit them?
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Barbarossa December 26, 2010, 09:54:16 PM
I'm not sure what you mean. Undead mooks certainly do make things more interesting, but it doesn't help them be more effective in combat against 20th level player characters.

Here's a more specific goal. I have an incredible number of first level characters, and a singular enemy. They need to be able to resist area effects, and they need to be able to pose (as a group) at least a moderate threat to a heavily optimized caster that works within the bounds of the rules in the OP. Here's what I have right now.



Any suggestions?
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Lycanthromancer December 26, 2010, 09:56:11 PM
Give your army of 1st level artificers or wizards hoards of eternal wands that they make themselves.

Grease, magic missile, and silent image, for starters.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Bauglir December 26, 2010, 10:07:03 PM
Become a swarm. Hell, become a were-bat swarm. Or a were-murder of crows.

With evasion.

Were-murder of doves. You're immune to weapon damage that way. It's in a sidebar on the same page as Murder of Crows, IIRC.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Barbarossa December 26, 2010, 10:30:05 PM
Okay, masses of spells. That would work out beautifully.

How about mass labor? In one year's time, how many stone blocks could 5265 warforged with 18 strength lay down? I could win by just creating an impossibly complex labyrinth filled with all the traps that 500+ artificers could make in a year.

Become a swarm. Hell, become a were-bat swarm. Or a were-murder of crows.
With evasion.
Were-murder of doves. You're immune to weapon damage that way. It's in a sidebar on the same page as Murder of Crows, IIRC.
This I have to look into.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: The_Mad_Linguist December 26, 2010, 10:50:47 PM
I'm not sure what you mean. Undead mooks certainly do make things more interesting, but it doesn't help them be more effective in combat against 20th level player characters.
All ghosts.

CL 12 telekinesis can still deal decent damage as a set of ranged touch attacks to level 20 characters, incorporeality gives them decent defense and movement options, and the ability drain gaze abilities will rack up quickly.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Barbarossa December 27, 2010, 04:47:32 AM
I've decided that they're going to mainly be Warforged mooks, because I can't afford enough Ghost Touch equipment to equip them properly. Instead, they will spend the years' worth of preparation time creating an obscenely labyrinthine castle with as many traps as it takes to wear out a wizard before they can reach the massive underground room that contains my main force. Dimensional Locks and the like will prevent instant teleportation, and those who want to just burrow through the walls will be stopped handily by a couple dozen Huge Earth elementals waltzing through the walls. Any ideas on traps to prevent access by a tier one caster? I need them to either die attempting to get in, or be worn down enough that my hordes in the 'final' area will easily overwhelm them. This is my brainstorm so far.

I'm thinking it'll be similar to an extreme form of Tucker's Kobolds.]http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/]Tucker's Kobolds. (http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/)
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Lycanthromancer December 27, 2010, 11:07:31 AM
Make sure you have a kobold overseer/trapsmith (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8664950&postcount=25) (but make it full seer for better skill checks). And check my other posts in that thread.

Become a swarm. Hell, become a were-bat swarm. Or a were-murder of crows.

With evasion.

Were-murder of doves. You're immune to weapon damage that way. It's in a sidebar on the same page as Murder of Crows, IIRC.
Isn't that a Love of Doves?
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Bauglir December 27, 2010, 02:49:58 PM
Become a swarm. Hell, become a were-bat swarm. Or a were-murder of crows.

With evasion.

Were-murder of doves. You're immune to weapon damage that way. It's in a sidebar on the same page as Murder of Crows, IIRC.
Isn't that a Love of Doves?

I guess, if you're into that sort of thing. The murdering they're going to be doing, I mean.
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Lycanthromancer December 27, 2010, 02:54:45 PM
Become a swarm. Hell, become a were-bat swarm. Or a were-murder of crows.

With evasion.

Were-murder of doves. You're immune to weapon damage that way. It's in a sidebar on the same page as Murder of Crows, IIRC.
Isn't that a Love of Doves?

I guess, if you're into that sort of thing. The murdering they're going to be doing, I mean.
Death by Dove?

Is that like Murder by Chocolate?
: Re: The Cult of Gorehonego: The Nematocysts
: Bauglir December 27, 2010, 03:06:58 PM
Become a swarm. Hell, become a were-bat swarm. Or a were-murder of crows.

With evasion.

Were-murder of doves. You're immune to weapon damage that way. It's in a sidebar on the same page as Murder of Crows, IIRC.
Isn't that a Love of Doves?

I guess, if you're into that sort of thing. The murdering they're going to be doing, I mean.
Death by Dove?

Is that like Murder by Chocolate?

Yes, but with more feathers.