So how do you make a BBEG fighter a threat to PC's?
Normal Mode: Not "Because he controls some really powerful monsters"
Hard Mode: Not "Because he commands some wizards"
Nightmare Mode: Not "Because he has a stupidly powerful magical item"
Scale. Run it as a low level campaign but make him ludicrously high level. In a world of CR 1/2 commoners and CR 3 King's Guard a CR 12 bad guy is downright cinematic.
You make him a Warblade.
>>47797930
You could try not playing 3rd Ed.
That helps quite a bit.
I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I actually don't know if you are aware of the differences or not between earlier and newer editions and 3.0 so I offered a suggestion.
If not going 3.0 is not an option then my apologies.
>>47797930
Give him a rogueish and cowardly angle: make him a clever commander of the troops he has, and only fights when he knows he has the advantage. Give him hideouts filled with hidden corridors, trap doors and obstacles that he knows the layout of. He'll use ambushes, bribery, double-crossing and every kind of backstabbery to get the advantage and sees no shame doing what he needs to survive. In a world without magic it's the man 3 steps ahead who's invincible and bewildering.
Keep in mind if magic exists this guy will kinda be second-rate, so make sure your players by the same rules or else the lack of cheap get-out-of-jail-free contingencies will see him dead to an old fashioned detect evil+fireball.
>>47797930
Unless the boss is substantially stronger than the PCs, he'll probably go down quickly because they get four turns (or whatever) for every one of his. You can offset that by giving him allies/minions, or by letting him act on multiple initiative counts.
>>47798182
>an old fashioned detect evil+fireball
Not a problem in D&D 5e.
>>47797930
Make him the legitimate ruler of a realm, with numerous political connections and impeccable noble bonafides.
Anywhere you go, he can make sure you're harassed by tax collectors or your assets are seized. He's wealthy enough to put a bounty on your head that will make the kingdom you're fleeing to finance military expeditions just to get you. His brother is the Fantasy Pope, so if you want healing at a temple well fuck you.
As you're driven to desperate acts by your outlaw status, you accrue more enemies, independent of this guy's beef. Even his direct rivals won't support you openly because they can't tip their hand.
>>47797930
Don't have him fight fair. His entire throne room should be rigged with traps when they show up to it.
>>47798357
>implying he'd still be there after the PC's do the typical murderhobo thing and try to hack and slash their way to a decisive confrontation, with no thought given to cutting off his escape.
>>47797930
High as fuck levels.
Take the party's level.
Double it.
Throw another ten on top.
Yes that means 40 level against party of 15th.
My BBEG is currently the party's friend. He's got a lot of pull, and he's going to provide assistance to help the party take the current BBEG down, and then have his troops kill off the party and take the glory himself so he can increase his standing.
>>47797930
>Normal Mode: Not "Because he controls some really powerful monsters"
Give him an army, let the PCs fight against hordes of low level creatures, just enough to burn through their HP, spells, arrows, supplies.
>Hard Mode: Not "Because he commands some wizards"
Give him the support of the general population. Let them stand between the BBEG and the hoodwinked players.
>Nightmare Mode: Not "Because he has a stupidly powerful magical item"
Make one of the PC's the BBEG, have him working with the party, agreeing to hide his power level and his alignment.
>>47798807
tldr; make him deadly cunning, and if he really needs to kill the party, have him do it while everyone's guard is down. You could maybe even have him just come to their camp or inn and just come in and start killing, like Punisher's "The Russian."
>>47797930
>Not "Because he controls some really powerful monsters"
>Not "Because he commands some wizards"
>Not "Because he has a stupidly powerful magical item"
Because he's a skilled strategic commander, with the absolute loyalty of an army of elite warriors. Intelligent, patient, and revered in battle, and clever enough to not fall for any obvious manipulations a part could cook up.
>>47797930
Two levels of Altered Time Rate, great ST, Weapon Master, chosen weapon skill of 20, heavy plate armor, tower shield and Magic Resistance 10. Good fucking luck killing that thing on low TL.
Play anima.
>>47797930
What kind of videogame campaign are you running if the villain has to also be a boss battle?
>>47797930
The BBEG is Morgoth.
>>47799997
What kind of unsatisfying mess are you running where you don't physically confront the enemy warrior?
If you don't want a fight, don't make them a fighter
>>47798095
This.
4e fighters are terrifying, make him right in that and he'll sit there and refuse to die while the entire party is desperately swinging away at him
>>47799997
>wanting a satisfying final confrontation makes your campaign VIDYO GAEMS
Fuck off, "Fighter" indicates Dungeons and Dragons, not Boredom and Backstabbings
>>47797930
He is a Champion of Khorne
>>47797930
Give him legendary resistances and actions. Oh and lair actions.
>>47797930
Have no BBEG for now
Current villain is plotting to kill the king of a human kingdom, and one of the players (a goliath prince) likes the king. He's escaped them, and now it's a matter of pride
>>47797930
>Nightmarish mode
>BBEG is a half-minotaur human barbarian/warblade/fighter build
>Uses a sweeping ghost touch spiked chain
>Maxed STR and DEX
>Feats:
Mage Slayer, Pierce Magical Concealment, Pierce Magical Protection, Combat Reflexes, Improved Trip, Stand Still, Hold the Line;
>Is in the Thicket of Blades stance
>Is buffed with all standard low level buffs via items, particularly Enlarge Person
>Uses magical items contributing to tripping bonuses
>Fights only in places as tall as he is and difficult terrain
>Has a honor guard of wolf-rider kobolds with tanglefoot bags and nets
>Has a bodyguard who uses a tower shield and always makes cover for him from ranged attacks
This thing would be terrible to fight. He doesn't command wizards or powerful monsters nor has a powerful magical item, but everything is awfully annoying about fighting him.
He's not undefeatable, by far, but if the party isn't well prepared they'll face a very humiliating defeat.
To make him nigh-undefeatable:
>Hard mode
He has an item of Antimagic Field. He'll lose size and buffs, but he still has one of the best melee builds around.
Strip Archaon the eversechosen of his chaos wizards and any of his demons; all chaos warriors and norscan tribes, nothing else.
nightmare mode: prior to retrieving the six treasures of chaos
>>47797930
You are the DM man.
This fighter?
When he looted the tower of lord mage BigdaWigga it wasnt due to some hookey magic doodad or divine empowerment
His strength comes from his tache.
While it adorns his face he can grab a death spell out of the air and break it over his knee.
He could resculpt the face of the kingdom if he gave a damn, but something occupies his time....
So bow we have an unwinnable battle unless they play it smart.
Infiltrate his Gentlemen's club of doom to shave his face?
Seek the legendary vial of elf essence, potent enough to render his lip unhaired with but a whiff?
Or maybe even fond out what keeps him at bay.
Maybe the conflict apuld be resolved with words?
Dont just make him a buff pc.
Make him special.
Memorable.
A pain in the ass to the mudertrain school of thought.
PCs are roman legionnaires aiming to conquest Gaul
>>47799948
/thread
>>47798075
This.
The last time I ran Pathfinder, I had a fighter as a major villain, and the only reason he was a threat was because I was using a heavily homebrewed fighter class I wrote up that was significantly more powerful than the base class. It got energy resistance, an AOE ground smash, special techniques that applied hindering effects to enemies in combination with attacks, speed and movement bonuses, innate untyped DR, Evasion but for Fortitude and Will saves, the ability to dispel magic by hitting spells hard enough, and other fun shit.
The only powerful monsters were weaker than him and were fought in the lead-up to him. His only spellcasters were military battle-mages fought in the lead-up to him. His magic items were on par for his level, nothing artifact-level.
tl;dr what >>47798095 said.
>>47797930
He's a Terminator Space Marine.
