"The Black Octopus" (CR 20 encounter by ShakaUVM)

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"The Black Octopus" (CR 20 encounter)

What danger lurks beneath the dark waters of night? The Black Octopus is a shapechanging orcish pirate who plies on the shipping trade channels. When he sights the PC's ship coming towards him, he readies himself and attacks, taking on the form of a black giant octopus from ages pages.

Note: The Black Octopus is a shapechanging grappler that I tried to build with a minimum of spellcasting. His offense works out decently well (he deals roughly 2,000 grappling damage per round), but his power level flies up in the next couple levels past 20, if you want to advance him for higher level groups.

Best of all, he does all this without any magic items. (If you want to present a better challenge for your PCs, you can give him tomes, ioun stones, etc.) Standard 32 point build rules. Stats below include himself fully buffed. All buffs are > minutes per level, so he activates them all before attacking a ship. The only questionable buff is metaphysical claw (which states it can be cast on any natural weapon as long as you have a claw or bite, so can it be cast on a tentacle?) but ultimately, all the buffs are more or less irrelevant to the build. Expansion is probably the most critical. You can push levels around to accomplish different feats (a couple more levels in barbarian or BBC gives greater rage for another +2 strength, druid or primeval levels can give more primeval forms per day, etc.), but the basic offensive power doesn't change very much. This character is an NPC designed as a boss encounter, so he doesn't need to go supreme more than once per day.

As a PC, he is still pretty good, but I'd tweak him a bit so he could be useful in more combats per day.

Frostblood Orc

Stats

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Str: 52 (17 base + 1 regression + 4 stat bumps + 4 racial + 12 Octopus Form + 4 Animal Affinity + 2 Chain of Offense + 6 Rage + 2 Expansion)
Dex: 18 (13 base + 6 Octopus Form + 1 Regression - 2 Expansion)
Con: 28 (14 base + 4 Octopus Form + 1 Regression + 1 stat bump + 6 rage + 2 chain of Offense)
Int: 5 (8 base - 2 racial - 1 regression)
Wis: 14 (15 base - 2 racial + 1 regression)
Cha: 5 (8 base - 2 racial - 1 regression)

HP: 335 (full at 1st, 2/3rds after)

BAB: +17 (all natural)

AC: 24 (+6 dragonhide husk, +9 natural armor, -2 size, +4 dex, +2 insight, -2 punishing stance, -4 reckless rage)

PP: 18 PP per day (4PP expansion, 4PP +3 Offensive Prescience, 3PP Animal Affinity, 6PP Metaphysical Claw on 2 claws, bite and 3 tentacles)

Grapple Check: +47 (+17 (BAB) +21 (Str) +8 (Size)) (*Edit, removed grip of iron)

Damage per grapple: 1d8+24 (base) + 2d8+9 (constrict) + 8x(1d8+24)+3 tentacles + 3d6+14 (bite) + 2x(3d6+14) (claws) + 6d6+28 (rend) + 14d6 (punishing stance) + 14d6 (Rapid Assault) = 449 (+49 first round only) = 449/498 damage per grapple check

Full attack (grapples) at: +47/+42/+37/+32 at 449/498 damage per successful check. Average damage: 1796/1992 (first round)

or

Full attack: +37/+32/+27/+22 1d8+25 unarmed strike + +32/+32/+32 1d8+14 tentacles + +31/+31/+31/+31/+31 1d8+13 tentacles + +32 3d6+14 bite + +32/+32 3d6+14 claws + 6d6+28 rend = 383.5 average damage. Plus improved grab on tentacle attacks. Plus the first unarmed strike is a DC 22 stunning fist.

Saves:

(click to show/hide)

+32/+18/+31(+9)

Special Qualities:

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Cold Subtype
DR 3/silver
DR 1/-
Low Light Vision
Darkvision
Swim Speed
Scent
Stranglehold (Coup de Grace as move action)
Savage Grapple (not the feat, the Black Blood Cultist ability: on a successful grapple check, deals damage with all natural weapons)

Levels:

(click to show/hide)

1) Warblade (Stance: Punishing Stance +1d6 damage -2 AC, Counter: Moment of Perfect Mind, other useless 1st level maneuvers)
2) Ex-Monk (bonus IUS feat and increases grapple damage)
3) Barbarian (+6 str with Reckless Rage 3/day, (BBC levels stack with barbarian levels))
4) Ranger (bonus track feat)
5) Fighter (+6 AC from Dragonscale Husk alternate class ability, bonus WF: Grapple)
6-13) Black Blood Cultist 8 (gain claw, bite, rend natural attacks)
14-17) War Mind 4 (+2 Str and Con, +2 AC, Expansion, Precognition, Animal Affinity, Expanded Knowledge: Grip of Iron)
18-20) Primeval 3 (+1 Str Con Dex Wis, -1 Int Cha, alternate form)

Feats (*are bonus feats):

(click to show/hide)

1) Reckless Rage
1*) Endurance (bonus Frostblood Orc feat)
2*) Track
3*) IUS, Stunning Fist
3) Self-sufficient (primeval prereq, burned feat)
4*) Rapid Assault (+1d6 per attack on 1st round of combat)
5*) WF: Grapple
6) Wild Talent
8*) Improved Grapple
9) Improved Natural Weapon (claw)
12) Improved Natural Weapon (bite)
15) Improved Natural Weapon (tentacle)
18) Expanded Knowledge: Metaphysical Claw (or Grip of Iron)

Skills:

(click to show/hide)

(Oh, who cares. He can probably swim.)

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Reserved

[kitcik]

I like this too - nice BBEG. Not impossible by any means, but copuld be a good challenge to many groups.

[Thistledown]

This makes me curious about actual playability...

If this thing can do over 1000 damage per round (like most charop builds) doesn't it just make it rocket tag once again?  I mean if this BBEG gets his tentacles on a PC it's over and that character is dead, so presumably the characters will just fly out of range (they are level 20 so they can all fly right?) and nuke it from orbit.

They would be stupid to try and get into melee with a giant grappling squid. 

I've been thinking a lot about how to make high level play actually workable but this does not encourage me.  Rocket tag is boring.  They see this guy coming and have GOD lock it down while they snipe at it.  I just don't see how this makes for a fun encounter. 

Against an un optimized party it might just end up a TPK.

Seriously...who has over a few hundred HP to survive this kind of thing?

[zook1shoe]

As I mentioned in a diff thread, there are ways of getting more damage per round, plus get a fly speed that's unmatchable....

The Tauric/lycanthropy/bug-lycanthropy tricks can do this.

[midnight_v]

Why'd you post this individually after the other thread where I first posted it? I thought we were going to do somekind of... ah.. Icon index?

Also its more than just about playbility. . . funny thing when you see a 20 level build unless it comes online at a specific catch point say "Level 7 tricks active" most builds that are powerful at level 20 are "unplayble" if your position is "I hate rocket tag" cause at that level it really does exist just like at level 1. Sandbagging imminent.

Finally, these things are good because they demo rare interactions.

You can take the most powerful example of something and make it a more reasonable "Playable" build depending on how powerful you want it to be.

[Nameless Void]

Umm.. I can build a 20th level grappler with a consistant +80 odd to his grapple check who would not be scared of this guy at all. Heck I have a non-magical grappler at level 10 who has +48 to his grapple check.

+47 seems very low and his counter to Freedom of Movement is?

Entertaining though.

[123456789blaaa]

Why'd you post this individually after the other thread where I first posted it? I thought we were going to do somekind of... ah.. Icon index?

Also its more than just about playbility. . . funny thing when you see a 20 level build unless it comes online at a specific catch point say "Level 7 tricks active" most builds that are powerful at level 20 are "unplayble" if your position is "I hate rocket tag" cause at that level it really does exist just like at level 1. Sandbagging imminent.

Finally, these things are good because they demo rare interactions.

You can take the most powerful example of something and make it a more reasonable "Playable" build depending on how powerful you want it to be.

There wasn' any resolution as to who would actually make the handbook. I asked thread whether I should stop and no one said so. So I just assumed I should keep posting them.

Edit: I'll probably stop unless the making fo the compilation falls to me.

[midnight_v]

Why'd you post this individually after the other thread where I first posted it? I thought we were going to do somekind of... ah.. Icon index?

Also its more than just about playbility. . . funny thing when you see a 20 level build unless it comes online at a specific catch point say "Level 7 tricks active" most builds that are powerful at level 20 are "unplayble" if your position is "I hate rocket tag" cause at that level it really does exist just like at level 1. Sandbagging imminent.

Finally, these things are good because they demo rare interactions.

You can take the most powerful example of something and make it a more reasonable "Playable" build depending on how powerful you want it to be.

There wasn' any resolution as to who would actually make the handbook. I asked thread whether I should stop and no one said so. So I just assumed I should keep posting them.

Edit: I'll probably stop unless the making fo the compilation falls to me.

Oh!
Well I think you should do a compilation...

I mean you clearly have the love...

...and you're doing it anyway. So just compile them all into one thread, and add pictures