Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[Vinzent]

I'm running the conclusion to one of my games soon and the heroes will be up against a big bad mage. I don't want him going down like a punk since he is supposed to be thousands of years old.

I though of giving him the ability to cast two spells per round. Is there a set of edges that would allow his, should I just fudge it, or is this going way too powerful?

Advice?

[dentris]

Well, if you use the Arcane Background (Super Powers), you can use two different powers in the same round because they are different skills.

On the other hand, if you want a true "magical" foe, maybe create a unique edge similar to Improved Frenzy, but for powers instead of attacks. I don't think it's overpowered for a villain, but it all depends on your group mentality. Does your mages will insist on the fact that if a villain has access to this edge, they should too? In that case, it could be overpowered in the hands of a PC.
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But the Voice consoles me and it says: "Keep your dreams;
Wise men do not have such beautiful ones as fools!"
--Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal, 1857, Translated by William Aggeler, 1954

[SeeleyOne]

Just make one of the requirements be "must be thousands of years old"

[Shadowdragon]

The great thing about SW is that villains and monsters don't have to follow the same creation rules as PCs. If you want your villain to be able to do something make it a special ability. For a thousands of years old mage you could give him something like Spell Merging (may cast two spells as a single Action). He could also have things like Hardy, maybe some (super)natural armour, etc. For a really tough boss you could even make a special ability that makes it so the mage wont take more than 1 wound from any given attack no matter how much damage is actually done.
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[robert4818]

Depending on where the fight will be:

Give him true regeneration.

In his tower/lab/HQ
Don't tell the players that he was wounded, simply describe them a description of the wounds closing. Have them make a notice (-4 to -6) check. If they succede, tell them they notice some large clear vat in the corner bubble up (like a water cooler that's just had a glass filled from it) when he took the wound. As long as the vat is intact, he has the equivalent of ~100 wounds. Once the vat is destroyed, he has 3.

Given the difficulty of the notice check, (they are after all concentrating on the Big Bad, not on noticing that a test-tube bubbled) the battle should last quite a few rounds. Once they do notice and take out the test-tube, who cares if he goes down like a chump.

[JackMann]

Echoing what SD said. You've got a much bigger toychest as GM than your players do. Don't feel afraid to use it. So long as the Big Bad is beatable, go ahead. If the players complain about him doing things they can't, explain it from an in-game perspective (he's thousands of years old and has had time to learn things they haven't) and from an out-of-game perspective (he has to stand up to the entire team of PCs and make a challenging, end-of-game fight).

[Lord Lance]

... and / or start the battle with the mage already 'powered on'. So he has deflection and armor active. Don't let a thief character takes the mage with Drop, or the fun will be over before it starts! You can have the big mage warned by a sort of magical alarm.
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[marshal kt]

the great thing about being 'thousands of years old' is has has great toys.
He should have rings, bracers and amulets with spells stored in them.
His jewelry would could have the barrier/amror/deflection spell cast on it.
His rings could have offensive and defensive spells on them.

Spells that increase his stats, giving him quickness or improved level-headed.

Look over using devices in NE. My super sorceror for NE has all of his powers in jewelry he was wearing.
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[Merlin_Sylver]

I pretty much agree with most of what's been posted here... though I would say that, if your players come up with an ingenous plan or get some really awesome rolls, don't take away their incredible victory just to make the fight last longer. A good way to make your players feel great about what seemed to be an easy victory is to explain just how nasty this guy really was, after the fact. Show them what his defenses were, and tell them what spells he was going to cast... in the end, they'll be thrilled that they took the guy down quickly.
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[skylion]

If one makes it to "thousand of years old" status, he probably didn't get there by accident. While it is true the Mage has taken extreme risks; be them very calculated, he knows 'when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em'.

Perhaps his longevity is a curse; that would make his age more due to the curse than any planning on his part, at least at first. He lives, he dies, he comes back, cranky, sore and looking for behinds to kick because he is just so darn cranky. And he's gotten good at doing it.

He values the placement of his fighting ground. Just look at the film 300. This Mage is skilled at picking his own "hot gates'. So skilled he could be in a class by himself.

He values not fighting. If it is a choice between risking life and limb and not, well a long long long life could suggest not fighting unless is was necessary.

Maybe, he just doesn't want to die, he has an obsession with not dying. Is the afterlife for him going to be something he wants to avoid and nearly all costs? Maybe he has learned some heavenly/infernal tricks to keep himself going that the players can't/won't undertand. This could be any of the supernatural powers suggested above.

And then there are the heroes. They are the heroes after all, and it should be them that takes this guy out. Their game after all.
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[robert4818]

I guess one last general note.

Remember that this isn't DnD. So you don't necessarily need the group on one big bad fight.

He might also be surrounded by his fanatically loyal guards, in a room full of traps, etc. etc. etc.

If you, in the end, have one WC bad guy, vs the party and there's nothing special about the circumstances/battlefield/guy then you are doing something wrong and the guy will fall like a chump.

[Ian]

if you want him to cast two spells, give the bad guy a demon familiar which can cast a spell for him on his action card. Ian

[ogbendog]

golems. familiars. enslaved demons. etc.

spare bodies. kill one, he possesses another.

[Vinzent]

[marshal kt]

the mage could also enter an item he's wearing, sort of like an old soul gem from back in AD&D or even the gems the eldar in 40k wear.

the item would radiate strong magic, the mage's, and the player who gets it would end up having to fight for possession with the mage. After a long term. You could even have it like a harrowed vs it's manitou like in DL.
The mage PC would want the item since it's strong magic, but he doesn't know what it really is. You could say he could learn that it's the mage's power, and has to figure out how to use/gain it. [that wouldn't be a lie, since a mage's power is himself.]

It alone could be the basis or even tie-ins to quests and adventures. Finding someone to figure out what the magic is. Then how to unlock it.

A key or clue could be something like, you have to completely open yourself to the power. [allow possesion]. the player wouldn't know it, but...

The player, would also want to get back all of the npc mage's stuff, if he doesn't still have it. It could/would be clues to releasing the power. [actually the npc giving him unconscious suggestions on how to use the power. when in reality, it's his way of gaining control and domination over the body.]
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[VonDan]

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