BBEG...

[Rifter11]

I'm building a homebrew BBEG because I can't find anything I really want to use. I was wondering what, if those of you whose Rifts Fu is better than mine knows, is the toughest critter in Rifts thats not an Alien Intelligence or the Lord of the Deep.

My guess would be a Norse Giant or an Ancient Dragon. Looking forward to seeing your replies!

[ShadowLogan]

Toughest critter can also be a relative factor depending on how prepared the party is for the critter, or even their composition.

A Zavor (CB1r, last pair of pages) can be a nightmare for a pure magic using party, but also a push over if equipped correctly for example.

So, what is your criteria for toughest critter? Most APM? Most MDC? Most damage dealing? Resistances/Vulnerabilities? Location of encounter? Party Limiting Gimmick (magic users aren't the best to take on a Zavor for example, and you don't want to rely on energy weapons to go up against a Power Leech)? Customizable Augmentation (Gene Splicers, Bio-Wizard, Necromancer, or Borg) allowed?

[Shorty Lickens]

The lesser splugorth minions. Not the true splugorth.

A really powerful line walker. Or a shifter.

Go thru all 3 conversion books. TONS of good ideas. I keep wanting to use a powerful supernatural monster as my Big Bad. But the players never get around to actually finding the Main Boss in most of my campaigns. They get side tracked with other tangents.

As Kevin pointed out in a book or two, the best villains usually don't die and rarely fight the heroes directly. They go on forever, challenging and harassing them. Usually with minions but sometimes directly, so long as their life/existence is not threatened. General rule in all story telling is the worst villains are ones who manipulate others into doing their work for them. And most of the time the Big Bad has huge plans. Epic plans. He cant win, but he doesn't know that, and he keeps trying. More often than not the heroes are NOT his target. They just keep getting in the way of his progress. So occasionally he will try to end them, but he puts in a low effort, and fails. So they all go their separate ways to plan and re-group and try again next time.
Its basic storytelling.

[Incriptus]

It of course depends on the composition of your party. A group of 3 street rats in a black market campaign probably has a different big bad end guy than a group of 7 demigods.

However from your examples, yeah an Adult (Great horned for example) Dragon is great. Some of the tools for a BBEG is the ability to take multiple shots from multiple opponents so having 1000's of MDC can help with survivability. Perhaps more important though is the to leave the fight, either as an escape or the players just being beneath him, so that Teleportation ability works wonders. Invisibility and Metamorphisis are also great for having the BBEG having observed, or even interacting with the players without them knowing it.


Other examples I like are ...
Lizard Mage from the conversion book 1 [Tremendous PPE and Magic, even more than adult dragons, but only(!) hundreds of MD instead of thousands)
Super Powered characters from Heroes Unlimited [Mega Heroes and/or Immortals if you're feeling feisty]
Demi Gods/Godlings [Often just the class you originally wanted with Demigod added to it]
Nightlords [Although I personally frown on an arbitrary crossover with nightbane]
Splugorth Minions [In particular I had good turn out with a well equipped conservator]
Master Vampires [especially if suited and booted to cover for his natural weaknesses]

[Curbludgeon]

I'll add the Mulka from Manhunter and Major Elemental Forces from RCB3 as possible things to include. For a goofier option one might see if a Gene-Splicer will mess with some Hecatoncheires.

[Rifter11]

Toughest critter can also be a relative factor depending on how prepared the party is for the critter, or even their composition.

A Zavor (CB1r, last pair of pages) can be a nightmare for a pure magic using party, but also a push over if equipped correctly for example.

So, what is your criteria for toughest critter? Most APM? Most MDC? Most damage dealing? Resistances/Vulnerabilities? Location of encounter? Party Limiting Gimmick (magic users aren't the best to take on a Zavor for example, and you don't want to rely on energy weapons to go up against a Power Leech)? Customizable Augmentation (Gene Splicers, Bio-Wizard, Necromancer, or Borg) allowed?

I was thinking along the lines of 1. Total MDC (with additional coming from magic or psionics taken into consideration) 2. Total attacks per melee 3. Damage per attack or magic/psionic/super powers/ etc. Brought to bear. Gods, Titans(not the giants), alien intelligences and others with 10's of thousands of MDC need not apply.

[Rifter11]

Thanks for all the responses!

[Warshield73]

It of course depends on the composition of your party. A group of 3 street rats in a black market campaign probably has a different big bad end guy than a group of 7 demigods.

This is the most important thing to remember. The big bads that my players still talk about are the ones that had something for each player. Not a mirror but an opponent that allows them to play with there powers, skills, and equipment.

Example: The PC was a hatchling great horned dragon, he ended up fighting a super powered person with alter physical structure fire who was all but invincible to magic. Most games the PC was blasting people with fire and lobbing spells at that bad guys, in this battle he was beating a guy senseless, and being beaten senseless, until he finally drowned the guy.

A really good BBEG isn't necessarily as much about the power level as it is about how there defeat resonates with the players.

I want to echo some of the posts above and say that Dark Conversions and Pantheons of the Megaverse are breat places for a BBEG.

[barna10]

The Hundred-handed from Pantheons used to be the "toughest" by the OP's criteria.

[Zer0 Kay]

A custom built Nightspawn

[Hotrod]

I'm building a homebrew BBEG because I can't find anything I really want to use. I was wondering what, if those of you whose Rifts Fu is better than mine knows, is the toughest critter in Rifts thats not an Alien Intelligence or the Lord of the Deep.

My guess would be a Norse Giant or an Ancient Dragon. Looking forward to seeing your replies!

Tough critter? There's an implicit conundrum there: what makes a critter tough?

If you're looking for oodles of M.D.C. and lots of potent attacks, War (the Apocalypse Demon in Africa) is a viable option, as are the Dominators of Phase World, ancient dragons from the Siege on Tolkeen series, and any number of evil gods from Dragons & Gods.

If you're looking for "loads of magical tricks up one's sleeve," Death (the Apocalypse Demon in Africa) is a viable option, as are Pestilence and Famine, the ruler of the Federation of Magic (Alistair Dunscon), master vampires, and any number of evil gods from Dragons & Gods.

If you're looking for power in the form of minions, servants, and armies, then Rama-Set (Africa) is a good option, as are Xiticix Queens, ARCHIE, The Gargoyle Emperor (Triax 2), the Angel of Death (Mindwerks), and the lords of Hades and Dyval.

If you mean tough as in "tough to figure out" or "tough to worth through in a moral/ethical sense, then I'd go with a human antagonist who either is or might be, under different circumstances, an ally of the PCs.

I mean, it's Rifts; you can find BBEG candidates in just about any book. Do you have a specific theme, region, faction, or flavor of toughness that particularly interests you?

[Hotrod]

Toughest critter can also be a relative factor depending on how prepared the party is for the critter, or even their composition.

A Zavor (CB1r, last pair of pages) can be a nightmare for a pure magic using party, but also a push over if equipped correctly for example.

So, what is your criteria for toughest critter? Most APM? Most MDC? Most damage dealing? Resistances/Vulnerabilities? Location of encounter? Party Limiting Gimmick (magic users aren't the best to take on a Zavor for example, and you don't want to rely on energy weapons to go up against a Power Leech)? Customizable Augmentation (Gene Splicers, Bio-Wizard, Necromancer, or Borg) allowed?

I was thinking along the lines of 1. Total MDC (with additional coming from magic or psionics taken into consideration) 2. Total attacks per melee 3. Damage per attack or magic/psionic/super powers/ etc. Brought to bear. Gods, Titans(not the giants), alien intelligences and others with 10's of thousands of MDC need not apply.

1. Hundred-Handed from Pantheons. Hands-down, no question.
2. Hundred-Handed from Pantheons, though there might be some other viable options.
3. Hundred-Handed from Pantheons, as long as they have very high strength.

Those beings are stupid tough, more so than many gods.

Question, though: why are you going for this? Crazy high M.D.C. makes for long, dull fights in my experience.

[Devjannz]

I have a BBEG who is a Wolfen Necromancer named Seldrac who started out on the Palladium world but was defeated by a small group consisting of a Human Warrior, Wolfen Ranger and Elf Long Bowman. Seldrac had kidnapped the infant children of the Human and Wolfen to use them as sacrifices in a ritual to grant him immortality (via becoming a Vampire) and so they joined forces to get them back and were joined by the Elf who was a mutual friend. They assaulted his citadel and once inside were able to make it to the inner sanctum where the ritual was being performed. When they confronted him, he failed to notice the Elf who had stayed back so that he could sneak forward while the others distracted Seldrac (like many BBEG, he had a tendency to monologue and let his ego get the best of him). The Elf was able to jump on the alter as Seldrac tried to stab the first child and deflect the blade with his arm bracer. He took the children and leapt away toward his companions. The caused the magic energy of the ritual to go crazy and make it seem as if Seldrac had been consumed by it. It actually opened a portal and transported him to an alien world called Wormwood. There he eventually came into the service of The Unholy as a way of amassing power for himself as well as the Unholy. He eventually was sent to another alien world to collect souls to power the Unholy's war machines. The world he is on is Rifts Earth.


All of this was backstory for a PC in my RIFTS game who was a female Paladin from PF. She was the daughter of the human warrior who was almost sacrificed. It made for some interesting dreams and psychic visions (she was a major psychic as well as a Paladin).