Craft an NPC... DCC: The Castellan, Half-Dragon Ettin

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

So, I've got this Dungeon Crawl Classic's mini assembled: A Half-Dragon Ettin.

Here's the catalog picture. Mine's not painted, yet.

He's going to be evil and likely a recurring villain in my campaign. Each head is going to be 8th level.

The setting is semi-prehistoric. Gnoll tribes to the west. Dinosaurs, mammoths, sabertooths, etc... Also, African hints... Babboons, apes, etc...

The Ettin will first be encountered while the PC's are travelling from the main town toward the west. They've already encountered a small group of gnolls.

What class(es)/feats would you make each head to optimize the ettin for survivability? If the campaign were gestalt, what gestalt combos would you recommend for each head?

As it's a half-dragon, what evil dragon type would work best? There's a red and a black dragon that play into the history of the locality. The black is known (to the DM) to mate with just about anything to produce various offspring.

What hooks do you suggest for the half-dragon ettin?

Also, assuming that the big item on the necklace is magical and important, what should it be? What powers should the item have?

Thanks in advance?

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Also, would you count this as two NPC's as far as XP goes? Counting each head separately?

 

[Herobizkit]

This guy screams "Leader". I would strongly consider making one head a Marshall and giving him the Leadership feat so he may have a lovely bunch of followers to buff. Dragon Shaman also seems like a no-brainer for twice the buffing goodness.

How about giving him one black and one red head?

 

[Ilium]

That big necklace looks like a key to me. Maybe a key to a planar gate acquired by his dragon sire and given to the ettin for safe keeping? Or maybe it's the key to the vault where his sire is trapped in a magical stasis, and the ettin wants to free him! Classic.

I agree that he needs minions, so one class should be a leader-type. Dragon shaman certainly seems appropriate, but I'd mix it with something less buff-centric and more smack-related. How smart is he? Could he be a duskblade?

 

[DM_Jeff]

Tresstocou CR12
Male Ettin Half-Black Dragon Barbarian 2/Ranger 2
CE Large Dragon (Augmented Giant)
Init 4 (+4 Improved Initiative); Senses low-light vision and darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +8, Spot +12
Languages Giant, Goblin, Orc

AC 23, touch 9, flat-footed 23
hp 154 (14HD)
Immune to sleep, paralysis and acid
Fort +18 Ref +3 Will +5

Speed 50 ft. (10 squares), Fly 80 ft. (Average)
Melee +1 longsword +24/+19/+14 (2d6+14/19-20) and bite +18 (1d8+6) or 2 claws +23 (1d6+13) and bite +18 (1d8+6) or +1 longsword +24/+19/+14 (2d6+14/19-20)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +11; Grp +28
Special Atk rage 1/day and breath weapon (60-ft. line of acid) 2/day

Abilities Str 37, Dex 11, Con 20, Int 9, Wis 11, Cha 11
SQ low-light vision and darkvision 60 ft., immunity to sleep, paralysis and acid, superior two-weapon fighting, low-light vision, fast movement, uncanny dodge, favored enemy (plants +2) and wild empathy
Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Leadership, Track, Two-Weapon Fighting
Skills Intimidate +2, Jump +25, Listen +8, Ride +1, Search +7, Spot +12.
Possessions +1 leather, +1 longsword, cloak of minor displacement, oil of bless weapon, oil of greater magic weapon +2, potion of cure serious wounds, potion of remove fear, key to the acid enclave demiplane, 150 pp, 2,220 gp.

Rage (Ex): The following changes are in effect as long as Tresstocou rages:
AC 21, touch 7, flat 21
hp 182 (14HD)
Fort +20 Will +7
Melee +1 longsword +26/+21/+16 (2d6+16/19-20) and Bite +20 (1d8+7) or 2 claws +25 (1d6+15) and Bite +20 (1d8+7) or +1 longsword +26/+21/+16 (2d6+16/19-20)
Base Atk +11 Grp +30
Abilities Str 41, Con 24
Skills Jump +27 (+4 ranks, +15 str, +8 speed).
His fit of rage lasts for 10 rounds, though he may voluntarily end it prematurely. After raging, he is fatigued (-2 Strength, -2 Dexterity, can't charge or run) for the duration of that encounter. Tresstocou can fly into a rage only once per encounter and only one time per day. Entering a rage takes no time by itself, but Tresstocou can do it only during his action, not in response to someone else's action.

Breath Weapon (Su): Tresstocou can use his breath weapon twice per day (once for each head), he can breath a 60-foot line of acid that deals 6d8 points of acid damage to creatures within its area. A successful Reflex save (DC 19) reduces the damage by half.

Superior Two-Weapon Fighting (Ex): Tresstocou can fight with a weapon in each hand. Because each of Tresstocou's heads controls an arm, Tresstocou does not take a penalty on attack or damage rolls for attacking with two weapons.

Low-Light Vision: Tresstocou can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar low-light conditions.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Tresstocou retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.

Favored Enemy (Ex): Tresstocou has selected Elves as favored enemies. She gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against Elves. Likewise, she gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against Elves.

Wild Empathy (Ex): Tresstocou can use body language, vocalizations, and demeanor to improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to influence the attitude of a person, but Tresstocou's modifier to the die roll is +1. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly. To use wild empathy, Tresstocou must be able to study the animal and it him, so they must be within 30 feet of each other under normal conditions. Generally an attempt takes 1 minute. Tresstocou can also use this ability to influence the attitude of a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but he takes a -4 penalty on the check.

-DM Jeff