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true_shinken
2011-01-06, 09:17 PM
Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef XVII. Here in Optimization Colosseum, contestants will endeavor to create an optimized and flavorful character using a specified D&D3.5 prestige class as a "Secret Ingredient".

Contestants: You will need to present your build at at least one of the following points: 5th level, 10th level, 15th, 20th, and a "sweet spot" that you feel is the high point of the build. Feel free to present as many of these as you like, and please give a rundown of the build's abilities and playability at all of the levels you didn't show. The rules are as follows:

Menu: For most challenges, the "special ingredient" will be drawn from Core plus Completes. There will, from time to time, be special challenges that showcase secret ingredients from other books--for example, the XPH.


32 point-buy is the presumed creation method, but we have generally allowed other levels of point-buy.
If you do use a different point-buy, please make your case for its necessity in your entry. Keep in mind that for using exceptionally large or small point-buys may warrant deductions in elegance and/or power.

Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon magazine is disallowed, and Unearthed Arcana is allowed; but see Elegance below. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Also, item familiars are forbidden because I hate 'em.

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 11:59pm CUT on Friday, January 14th 2010 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, true_shinken (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=50679). Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying.

Judging: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Secret Ingredient.


Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.


Elegance could bear a little elaboration. It basically measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavor for power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is an automatic loss of one point per flaw in this category. Other things that will cause lost points here are excessive multiclassing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points.


I am going to have to ask the contestants to PM me about any disagreement with the judges. Under no circumstances is a contestant to defend themselves inside the thread, since it breaks anonymity.

Presentation: Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build, as I'm likely to miss it when reviewing the entries!


Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to use the following table for their entry.NAME OF ENTRY
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

2nd|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

3rd|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

4th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

5th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

6th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

7th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

8th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

9th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

10th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

11th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

12th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

13th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

14th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

15th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

16th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

17th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

18th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

19th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

20th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities[/table]

CodeNAME OF ENTRY
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

2nd|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

3rd|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

4th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

5th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

6th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

7th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

8th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

9th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

10th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

11th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

12th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

13th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

14th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

15th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

16th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

17th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

18th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

19th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities

20th|New Class Level|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Skills|New Feats|New Class Abilities[/table]


For entries with spellcasting, use the following table for Spells per day and Spells Known. (Spells Known only if necessary, i.e. Sorcerer or Bard, but not Wizard or Warmage)
Spells per day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

CodeSpells per day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]


For other systems (Psionics, ToB, Incarnum, etc.) keep track of PP/maneuvers/essentia separately, preferably in a nice neat list.

Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until the "reveal," in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.

Leadership is banned; we're producing a meal, not a seven-course banquet for a hundred diners.

So! Who wants to sign up as a contestant, and who wants to sign up as a judge? Looking for about 5 judges and as many contestants as feel like playing!

This week's special ingredient is:
Planar Handbook's Ardent Dilettante!
We will have trophies for 1st through 3rd places, as well as a special trophy for honorable mention. Judges, contestants and guests alike are invited to vote for honorable mention via PM.

Allez optimiser!

Judges
TG Oskar
Tam_Oconnor (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10111438&postcount=7)
vikingofdoom (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10112158&postcount=11)
OMGPonies (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10147218&postcount=73)

Contestants
Amphetryon
Zonugal
FishAreWet
TheGuildedDuke
Fearan
kestrel404
OMGPonies
monkeysammich
Ernir
Xodion
Urpriest
NoldorForce
Ingus
dextercorvia
Zaq
KitTheOdd

The Builds
Aesh Duan (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175478&postcount=147) Dee (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175488&postcount=148)
The Slide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175545&postcount=149)
Snow (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175563&postcount=150)
Gabriella (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175580&postcount=151)
Anette (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175594&postcount=152)
Arleigh Skye (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175601&postcount=153)
V'grax (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175626&postcount=154)
"Hazy" Vernal Equinox (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175636&postcount=155)
Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10175650&postcount=156)

Past Competitions

Iron Chef I: Entropomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142470)
Iron Chef II: Psibond Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146583)
Iron Chef III: Cancer Mage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148584)
Iron Chef IV: Stonelord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150595)
Iron Chef V: War Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152543)
Iron Chef VI: Master of Masks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156876)
Iron Chef VII: Green Star Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158633)
Iron Chef VIII: Pyrokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160266)
Iron Chef IX: Animal Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162702)
Iron Chef X: Mythic Exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164381)
Iron Chef XI: Blade Bravo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166539)
Iron Chef XII: War Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9426386#post9426386)
Iron Chef XIII: Vigilante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172233)
Iron Chef XIV: Seeker of the Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174434)
Iron Chef XV: Drunken Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176049)
Iron Chef XVI: Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178202)

T.G. Oskar
2011-01-06, 09:24 PM
Yuuuup, gonna be judging this one. Assassin was quite hard to deal with, but it was something that was easy to work with (and darn, it was complicated to judge, even though I was a competitor!).

But this? With the scaled progression? This is gonna be a challenge for the chefs. And why not judge a PrC that relates to exploring sensory experiences?

Will keep the guidelines as a secret, but one thing's for certain: so as long as the competition doesn't provide with an "allowance" in magic items, I don't partake of building stuff through Magic Items. The severity of the penalty comes with the severity of how I visualize the creature's dependance on magic items. I find those in the competition as stuff that just modifies the flavor of the build, and doesn't allow the build to flourish. However, if the class provides or requires a magic item, I will consider it.

Other than that, surprise me. This is a really hard PrC to work with.

Amphetryon
2011-01-06, 09:37 PM
I'll compete, though as has been said earlier about this PrC, I worry that with the increasing difficulty of staying in the class, the builds will ultimately be more about qualifying than anything else.

bartman
2011-01-06, 09:59 PM
Wow, I was considering maybe entering this one as a competitor, even though I am nowhere on the level of optimization I have seen on here, but after taking a look at the SI, well, only 2 words... holy crap....

I have never seen a prestige class so hard to qualify for...

ok, thats my 2 cents, thats all, you may continue on with your competition.

Zonugal
2011-01-06, 10:20 PM
I'm on-call this entire weekend for my job so I'll throw my hat into the ring.

Certainly a very difficult prestige class, should make for an amazing challenge.

Tvtyrant
2011-01-06, 10:58 PM
Don't own this one. Oh well such is life.

Tam_OConnor
2011-01-06, 11:27 PM
I think I'm going to try judging this one.

My criteria:
Originality: Essentially, measuring the degree to which I screw up my face and say 'what?' The secret ingredient itself has predetermined fluff, but I won't deduct points for reflavoring that (within reason).

Power: Like others have said, how much does this build elevate its component classes?

Elegance: How well does this build flow from class to class? I get twitchy when I see more than one template. I may not like the multiclassing penalties, but having them will still impact your score. This prestige class seems to encourage dips, so I'll be lenient on them: in this case, a lack of dips will probably increase your elegance score. Justifying odd choices, through fiction or otherwise, will be to your benefit.

Use of Secret Ingredient: Why does this build need Ardent Dilettante? Did you take at least nine levels of it?

Go forth, and don't come back until you've finished snogging Madam de Pompadour and invented the banana daiquiri.

FishAreWet
2011-01-07, 01:43 AM
I'll try entering. But I must say this class is terrible. Short of 9/10 casting progression, bonus feats and See It Again the class has no remediable features. The latter being the only thing unique about it.

EDIT: Damn Dragon Mag being banned, I had a great idea!:smallfurious:

T.G. Oskar
2011-01-07, 01:56 AM
I'll try entering. But I must say this class is terrible. Short of 9/10 casting progression, bonus feats and See It Again the class has no remediable features. The latter being the only thing unique about it.

That's...pretty much the idea of ICO.

Take a PrC that's hard to work with, and make a build that's original, playable, and that really uses the ingredient. Original is played in Originality: instead of going for the expected entry, explain why you used X race and Y background. Playability is defined by Power and Elegance; Power means just how good the build is, and generally the best scores are those that are strong overall. If your build relies on a specific trick, then it might lose points; if your build blooms late but begins awfully, then it might lose points (and viceversa). Elegance, on the other hand, relies on how easy it is to reach the full power potential of the build, whether it relies on several tricks or whether it's nice and easy, whether the build is legal and other things.

A good example is...Drunken Master, or Blade Bravo. People used Stoneblessed to enter with other races in what was a gnome-specific class. Using stuff like Psionics and rogue-inclined classes maximized the benefits of the class. It required a very specific type of playstyle to make it effective, and in the end, people made builds that played with that style, added something no one else had thought of, or simply gave it a twist to the old utility of the class. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a challenge.

Another was Mythic Exemplar. You could do a lot of things with that PrC because it had 6 different entry points; however, some entry points were less effective than others (namely Reikhardt's path). And yet, there were entries which pushed what you could get from Mythic Exemplar to the limit; that doesn't mean, though, that the PrC is really good or useful. Quite the contrary; it's one of the few PrCs that are easily forgettable. Imagine if, say, Ordained Champion was used instead; Ordained Champion is a great PrC, quite specific but rife with good class abilities. Thus, the class would have had a lot of entries and a lot of strong and elegant entries, which wouldn't have been a challenge at all.

Thus, why the need for challenging, hard to optimize PrCs, and hence why Ardent Dilettante. Perhaps you make one of those "unredeemable features" a very important part of your build, perhaps you can find tricks no one else might have figured out, perhaps adding bits of another PrC brings out the full potential of Ardent Dilettante... That's what the entire ICO competition is about.

But of course, not everyone is driven to make a great build with it; interests are different. Hence, why some dive in, why some bow out and why some decide to go for the judging ;)

Thurbane
2011-01-07, 02:00 AM
Woo! After 2+ weeks with no internet (modem arrived today) I was worried I'd missed this one! :smallbiggrin:

vikingofdoom
2011-01-07, 02:07 AM
I volunteer to judge this contest, with the following guidelines:
Power-I dislike overly powered build, and prefer Tiers 2-4 for the builds. Due to the nature of this PrC, I am willing to consider a wider range of power levels though.
Originality-If I can recognize the build from somewhere, or the build is really obvious, I will dock marks here.
Elegance: I normally dislike dipping, but for this contest, understand that it is necessary for this class. As such, minimal dipping is encouraged. Also, the better your build "flows" from one level to the next, the better you will do.
Use of the Secret Ingredient: The more the secret ingredient is central to the build, the better it will do. Straight-foward, but I encourage taking 9-10 levels (I won't dock you for getting True Ress cast to come back to life if necessary.
I look forward to examining all the tasty submissions this one should get.

T.G. Oskar
2011-01-07, 02:11 AM
I dunno, shink...but it seems like everybody just wanna judge this one.

But, I gave my word that I would (possibly) judge this competition, not that I would (possibly) compete in this one, so I can't change my decision (except for saying no, but that would be silly don't you think?).

Really, we already have...what, 4 judges and 0 competitors? Oh wait, it's...3 judges and 1 and 2/2nds competitors (2? 3?)...never mind...

The Gilded Duke
2011-01-07, 02:16 AM
I'm in it to compete. Got one idea I'm thinking of right now, will see how it works out.

Fearan
2011-01-07, 05:54 AM
Well, this is not a surprise. Although the PrC itself sucks, so did the GSA. So no quaries with this one. I'll enter as a contestant
By the way, some clarification, plz. Will exotic weapon proficiency via "X may treat Y as a martial weapon, rather then exotic" count?

Kesnit
2011-01-07, 06:54 AM
Somehow I knew what the SI would be, give that TS said it was one that had been requested a lot.

I'm just going to watch this one from the sideline. Classes start up again Monday and I need to focus on them until I get settled into the routine.

kestrel404
2011-01-07, 07:02 AM
I'll be competing again, I've got time this weekend.

Fish: Dragon Compendium is available - if what you desire is in there, you can still use it.

Fearan: That generally works just fine - it's still an exotic weapon, and you've got proficiency with it (from a level of fighter or ranger or something), so you 'have proficiency with an exotic weapon'.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-07, 07:36 AM
Competing.

monkeysammich
2011-01-07, 08:09 AM
I'd like to join as a competitor. :smallbiggrin:

Ernir
2011-01-07, 08:43 AM
Hmm. Interesting class. I'll try to compete for once.

true_shinken
2011-01-07, 09:34 AM
Well, this is not a surprise. Although the PrC itself sucks, so did the GSA. So no quaries with this one. I'll enter as a contestant
By the way, some clarification, plz. Will exotic weapon proficiency via "X may treat Y as a martial weapon, rather then exotic" count?
Yes, it counts. It's adressed in the FAQ or something like that somewhere.

OP updated with contestants and judges. I must confess I'm really excited with this contest. As atested by Amphetryon, qualifying by itself is a challenge, so this will be very different from Assassin.

Grynning
2011-01-07, 09:42 AM
Having never owned or even looked at the Planar Handbook, and having no desire to go buy it right now, I'll sit this one out guys. However, if you're short judges let me know and I'll see if I can borrow a copy from someone. Have fun!

Fearan
2011-01-07, 10:33 AM
Yes, it counts. It's adressed in the FAQ or something like that somewhere.

OP updated with contestants and judges. I must confess I'm really excited with this contest. As atested by Amphetryon, qualifying by itself is a challenge, so this will be very different from Assassin.

IMHO, the main challenge will be to explain, why your build actually needs the Ardent Dilettante

monkeysammich
2011-01-07, 10:34 AM
Actually, the main challenge will be to explain, why your build actually needs the Ardent Dilettante

How, as I'm trying to work out... how Ardent Dilettante adds to what I already have. It's... tricky.

I like it.

Xodion
2011-01-07, 11:23 AM
I'm not familiar with this class either, but from what everyone else is saying it sounds very intriguing and challenging, so I'm probably going to have a go anyway. I'll borrow the book from my DM on Monday (he has every 3.5e book ever, or close to it).

Does anyone mind giving me an idea of the flavour of the class, so I can think about how I can fit it into a character's background over the weekend? Obviously you can't post the actual stats and abilities, or any suggestions for classes to go with it, but some idea of the fluff would be great :smallsmile:.

monkeysammich
2011-01-07, 11:28 AM
Its the prestige class associated with the Society of Sensation... and it is all about experience all there is to life (and death!). Its a very interesting class.

Xodion
2011-01-07, 11:36 AM
Thanks, that's great. It does sound very interesting, and very difficult to pin down into a role... Yeah, I'm going to try and have a go at this one :smallsmile:

Urpriest
2011-01-07, 11:37 AM
I intend to compete. I've got an idea for this one that's at least amusing, if not powerful.

NoldorForce
2011-01-07, 12:33 PM
Put me down as a competitor. I recall actually making a build with this for some now-defunct arena, so mentioning the AD brought some nice memories.

Ingus
2011-01-07, 12:53 PM
Wonderful pick, this time. I'll check tomorrow, but I'll try to partecipate

Akal Saris
2011-01-07, 03:05 PM
Honestly, it doesn't look that difficult to qualify for even the highest level parts, since it's a high skills PrC and the 5 levels before you can enter can take care of the rest of the qualifications. It's more a matter of finding a niche where the PrC will actually benefit the character more than levels in Unseen Seer or whatever.

Zaq
2011-01-07, 03:24 PM
It seems like one of the big problems will be originality. There's a few obvious routes to go that allow you to knock out large chunks of the prereqs all at once. While those are delightful, that's the kicker about the ICOC: the obvious best answer is almost guaranteed to show up in someone else's entry. You then have to choose—do I use this really cool trick and risk being unoriginal, or do I ignore it and use something that may be less elegant or less effective? It's like Scattergories, only much slower and geekier.

Anyway, I thought of a fun fluff angle for this, and I'll see if I can attach enough crunch to it to be worth my time. Don't sign me up just yet, but I'll see if I can't make this my first entry. No promises.

Thurbane
2011-01-07, 07:32 PM
I was going to enter as a competitor with a build I had previously begun working on, but then I realized the entry method I used was quite obvious, and pretty uncreative. I'm going to have a think about alternate entry methods, and if inspiration strikes, I'll submit a build.

monkeysammich
2011-01-07, 08:08 PM
I was going to enter as a competitor with a build I had previously begun working on, but then I realized the entry method I used was quite obvious, and pretty uncreative. I'm going to have a think about alternate entry methods, and if inspiration strikes, I'll submit a build.

I've already scrapped try #1... try #2 is on the drawing board and seems a lot more... elegant.

Psychonix
2011-01-08, 12:52 PM
I'm up for giving this a go as a competitor, it looks fun.

Urpriest
2011-01-08, 12:54 PM
I'm in an odd place with this...pretty much the opposite of what people usually say. I've got all the time in the world, so I should be working on this just to keep myself occupied...but my idea is seeming less and less interesting. So we'll see if I actually submit anything. Since there are so many prospective entrants (boy is this challenge becoming popular!) this may be for the best.

true_shinken
2011-01-08, 01:27 PM
So we'll see if I actually submit anything. Since there are so many prospective entrants (boy is this challenge becoming popular!) this may be for the best.

Actually, we're slightly below the average number of entrants. Usually we have around 50% of the entrants actually submitting build, but this time around I think we'll have less than that.

Cieyrin
2011-01-08, 05:03 PM
Looking at this with interest, though I'm gonna stick to being an observer this round. Judging last round was exhausting. ~_~

true_shinken
2011-01-08, 05:06 PM
OMG! I already received an entry!!!:smallsmile:

dextercorvia
2011-01-08, 05:38 PM
I have the fluff cozying up my brain and most of the crunch is coming together, so I will enter this one. Maybe it will finally come together for me. This is the first time I've had fluff that really went with my crunch.

ps true_shinken, your sig still points at XVI.

Zaq
2011-01-08, 05:58 PM
Alright, I've got a build (or at least, I've got the skeleton of a build) that's so ballsy I just have to try it. I predict that each judge will either love it or hate it. The power level leaves a little something to be desired, but hey, let's see what we can do. Count me in.

Oh, and a suggestion for the future: I've been combing through the old ICOC topics to see what does and does not tend to do well with the judges, and it's kind of a pain to try to find all of the entries in the middle. Might I suggest that, once the entries are posted, we add links to them in the first post? It shouldn't take that long, but it'll make them much easier to reference.

KitTheOdd
2011-01-09, 02:35 PM
Put me down as a competitor. Hopefully I can get it together.

true_shinken
2011-01-09, 03:10 PM
Might I suggest that, once the entries are posted, we add links to them in the first post? It shouldn't take that long, but it'll make them much easier to reference.

Good idea. I'll do just that.

The Gilded Duke
2011-01-09, 09:46 PM
Build submitted.
Whew.
Had so many fewer ideas this time, really just the one I sent in.

Clepto
2011-01-09, 10:54 PM
I'm a long-time lurker on these boards, but I rarely, if ever, post anything. However, my role-playing group has taken a break from D&D for the moment, so I need to get my fix from somewhere.

In our group, me and one other guy are the only "optimizers", and we generally try to keep it to a minimum so that the other non-optimizers don't feel worthless, so this will be my first real attempt at high-end optimization. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?

Put me down as a contestant. Good luck everyone.

Private-Prinny
2011-01-09, 10:59 PM
I'm a long-time lurker on these boards, but I rarely, if ever, post anything. However, my role-playing group has taken a break from D&D for the moment, so I need to get my fix from somewhere.

In our group, me and one other guy are the only "optimizers", and we generally try to keep it to a minimum so that the other non-optimizers don't feel worthless, so this will be my first real attempt at high-end optimization. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?

Hey, you have nothing to lose. And besides, people have different things they like to do here. Some people prefer to compete, carefully crafting an entry to be their ideal of the class, and some people prefer the judge's chair, analyzing the builds meticulously to find every last trick it has up its sleeve.

Myself, I entered Round II, came in dead last, and then ended up hosting Rounds VI-X. C'est la vie, I guess. :smalltongue:

Zaq
2011-01-10, 03:08 AM
Argh. I can come up with reasons for the character to want to have (most of) the AD's abilities, and I've come up with a couple weird tricks, but I'm having a devil of a time actually making the character do all that much. Everything I introduce that skirts around this problem introduces another, namely, why go AD instead of just that?

This is, of course, not a new problem, nor is it a unique one. Just . . . frustrating. Every time I take a step back and look at my tricks, I keep asking myself "that's very nice, but what does it do?" And then I swear a little and start erasing.

Xodion
2011-01-10, 06:50 AM
I'm a long-time lurker on these boards, but I rarely, if ever, post anything. However, my role-playing group has taken a break from D&D for the moment, so I need to get my fix from somewhere.

In our group, me and one other guy are the only "optimizers", and we generally try to keep it to a minimum so that the other non-optimizers don't feel worthless, so this will be my first real attempt at high-end optimization. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?

Put me down as a contestant. Good luck everyone.

I'm exactly the same - I signed up to have a go at this challenge, even though I've never really done any optimisation outside of my group. Our DM lets me and the other optimiser get away with a bit, but it's not fair on the others so we try to restrain ourselves, and we are limited in which books we can use. Still, I'm hoping my knowledge of the Core & Complete books will make up for my unfamiliarity with the more powerful books, and that I can pick up points in Originality to counter the lack of Power.

I'm a bit worried about this current build though - I'm trying to avoid what I think are the obvious classes, but I'd have to sacrifice a lot of Power to do so. I also have a sinking feeling that whichever one I choose, someone else will do the same :smallconfused:

true_shinken
2011-01-10, 09:21 AM
Received the second entry. It impressed the hell out of me!

monkeysammich
2011-01-10, 09:43 AM
I'm not deluding myself in expecting to place as a rookie... but I had tons of fun going over builds and coming up with something creative.

true_shinken
2011-01-10, 09:45 AM
I'm not deluding myself in expecting to place as a rookie... but I had tons of fun going over builds and coming up with something creative.
Well, it's not dellusional at all to expect to win as a rookie. I think gbprime did it.

gbprime
2011-01-10, 10:31 AM
Yup, 3 competitions, 2 medals thus far. Just be creative!

I'm waffling on this one. I have a great build idea, but there's only 3 judges and a lot of contestants. I'll wait til Wednesday to decide between contestant or judge volunteer.

Pechvarry
2011-01-10, 11:14 AM
It seems like one of the big problems will be originality. There's a few obvious routes to go that allow you to knock out large chunks of the prereqs all at once. While those are delightful, that's the kicker about the ICOC: the obvious best answer is almost guaranteed to show up in someone else's entry.

I think this may be something of a trap, though. Originality is only one of the 4 categories, and builds judges deem thoroughly unoriginal still tend to score higher than a 2 in the category.

Sometimes, I think a very standard entry could turn out very well. Spoons McGee wasn't a cat or a living building, and he didn't use exalted Vows or something similar for strange ways to power, yet he obviously did very well. This was my thoughts on Blade Bravo as well, as I felt 5 completely unoriginal builds using the expected entry methods could use the class in cool, yet different, ways.

I know, I know. I should've just entered and put in my own gnome. But then I see things like Exemplars of Evil builds and I don't even know what an otyugh hole is...

kestrel404
2011-01-10, 11:40 AM
I'm not deluding myself in expecting to place as a rookie... but I had tons of fun going over builds and coming up with something creative.

The first time I entered one of these, I came in 3rd (though there was no trophy for 3rd place then). It's certainly not impossible, or even unlikely, to place as a new competitor.

Keld Denar
2011-01-10, 12:03 PM
I'm waffling on this one. I have a great build idea, but there's only 3 judges and a lot of contestants. I'll wait til Wednesday to decide between contestant or judge volunteer.

Eh, go compete. I'm lurking this thread like like a tinted van outside a drug lab. If more judging is needed, Mr Shinkin knows how to find me.

Clepto
2011-01-10, 07:54 PM
Because I'm new at this, I need some clarification from more experience optimizers. Pre-reqs for higher levels of Ardent Dilettante require being able to cast 1st level arcane and/or divine spells. How does that jive with abilities that grant spells that are cast as spell-like abilities? Can I do that?

Keld Denar
2011-01-10, 07:57 PM
If the prereq were to cast X spell, a SLA would cover you (See Complete Arcane for details, Mindbender is a great example). Since the prereq states that you have to actually cast X level spells, you need to be able to cast the spells, and SLAs won't cut it.

EDIT: Too slow! :smallcool:

Urpriest
2011-01-10, 08:00 PM
Because I'm new at this, I need some clarification from more experience optimizers. Pre-reqs for higher levels of Ardent Dilettante require being able to cast 1st level arcane and/or divine spells. How does that jive with abilities that grant spells that are cast as spell-like abilities? Can I do that?

No. Spell-like abilities work for requirements that ask for the ability to cast a specific spell, but not for a general level of spells. Besides, very few spell-like abilities are specifically arcane or divine. Relevant rules in Complete Arcane's prestige class section.

Private-Prinny
2011-01-10, 08:03 PM
Because I'm new at this, I need some clarification from more experience optimizers. Pre-reqs for higher levels of Ardent Dilettante require being able to cast 1st level arcane and/or divine spells. How does that jive with abilities that grant spells that are cast as spell-like abilities? Can I do that?

This does not work. The relevant text is from Complete Arcane.


Characters or creatures that use spell-like abilities or invocations never learn the arcane circumlocutions of logic and mental training necessary for advanced spellcasting. As such, requirements for feats and prestige classes based on specific levels of spells cast (“Able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells,” for example) cannot be met by spell-like abilities or invocations—not even spell-like abilities or invocations that allow a character to use a specific arcane spell of the appropriate level or higher.

For something that calls out a specific spell, on the other hand (Mindbender, for example), the appropriate SLA would work.

Thurbane
2011-01-10, 08:26 PM
If the prereq were to cast X spell, a SLA would cover you (See Complete Arcane for details, Mindbender is a great example). Since the prereq states that you have to actually cast X level spells, you need to be able to cast the spells, and SLAs won't cut it.

EDIT: Too slow! :smallcool:

No. Spell-like abilities work for requirements that ask for the ability to cast a specific spell, but not for a general level of spells. Besides, very few spell-like abilities are specifically arcane or divine. Relevant rules in Complete Arcane's prestige class section.
Actually, that's really good to know. Not neccessarily for this build, but for things like Arcane Trcikster - I'd pondered how to get a Beguiler to qualify, and now it seems the Spell Hand feat will do the trick. :smallbiggrin:

Amphetryon
2011-01-10, 08:37 PM
I think this may be something of a trap, though. Originality is only one of the 4 categories, and builds judges deem thoroughly unoriginal still tend to score higher than a 2 in the category.

Sometimes, I think a very standard entry could turn out very well. Spoons McGee wasn't a cat or a living building, and he didn't use exalted Vows or something similar for strange ways to power, yet he obviously did very well. This was my thoughts on Blade Bravo as well, as I felt 5 completely unoriginal builds using the expected entry methods could use the class in cool, yet different, ways.

I know, I know. I should've just entered and put in my own gnome. But then I see things like Exemplars of Evil builds and I don't even know what an otyugh hole is...
I absolutely think you should not let your doubts prevent you from entering, but remember, some judges have tied Originality and Elegance together in their scoring rubrics in the past.

Clepto
2011-01-10, 09:24 PM
If the prereq were to cast X spell, a SLA would cover you (See Complete Arcane for details, Mindbender is a great example). Since the prereq states that you have to actually cast X level spells, you need to be able to cast the spells, and SLAs won't cut it.

EDIT: Too slow! :smallcool:

Hrm. That rules out one of my builds. I thought I was on to something too.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Xodion
2011-01-11, 05:24 PM
I have my idea down pretty solidly now, managed to find a good balance between power and originality, and some interesting backstory ideas :smallsmile:. Still, not much time to actually put the whole lot together and write the backstory...

Before I start formating it correctly, what is the formating procedure? Do private messages accept spoilers and the table tags properly, or will shinken add that later?

Cieyrin
2011-01-11, 05:29 PM
I have my idea down pretty solidly now, managed to find a good balance between power and originality, and some interesting backstory ideas :smallsmile:. Still, not much time to actually put the whole lot together and write the backstory...

Before I start formating it correctly, what is the formating procedure? Do private messages accept spoilers and the table tags properly, or will shinken add that later?

All the normal formatting will work in PMs. Just remember that PMs have a 25k character limit, as opposed to the normal 50k character limit of posts in the forum.

FishAreWet
2011-01-11, 05:51 PM
Concept is done. Just need to write it up now.

Psychonix
2011-01-11, 09:23 PM
Ugh, possibly the wrong challenge to decide to give this a go for.
Not really finding anything interesting, or at least, one that you couldn't do better by taking different PrCs...
The only real thing I can come up with is fluff reasons for why the PrC would fit with the the other classes and PrCs, but it doesn't do anything particularly amazing.

Zonugal
2011-01-12, 02:41 AM
I finally did it, I FINALLY DID IT!!!

I came up with my concept, it has taken me four days or re-reading the secret ingredient but I finally did it.

Oh this will be something...

monkeysammich
2011-01-12, 08:20 AM
I'm interested in seeing the different ways people made this work. I had 3 different builds I was tossing around..

Fearan
2011-01-12, 09:19 AM
Sorry, have to pass.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-12, 09:57 AM
In what seems to be my pattern as of late, I may have to switch to judging. Shink, can we just say that if I don't have a submission in by the deadline I'm judging?

Amechra
2011-01-12, 03:29 PM
I'll try my hand at this. Hopefully, I'm better of than last time. :smallwink:

FishAreWet
2011-01-12, 03:39 PM
Computer crashed, lost writeup and willpower.

true_shinken
2011-01-12, 03:45 PM
In what seems to be my pattern as of late, I may have to switch to judging. Shink, can we just say that if I don't have a submission in by the deadline I'm judging?

Sure, I used to do that a lot as well.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-12, 04:10 PM
Sure, I used to do that a lot as well.

Excellent; I'm following in some awesome footsteps. I'm definitely going to be judging this round, since I can't think of anything new or different to do with this class. I had one idea, but it had been done better in a previous round. With that out of the way, it's time for...

My Criteria (spoilered for length)

Originality

1: The build is either a duplicate or a collage of pieces gleaned from well-known charop builds.
2: The build closely mirrors another submission in election (race/class/etc) and/or execution (entry/combos/tricks). Please note that, in such situations, both submissions will receive the reduced score.
3: The build is fairly straightforward, though some small elements may have been unexpected.
4: The build is unexpected in either election (race/class/etc) or execution (entry/combos/tricks), but not both.
5: The build was entirely unexpected and unique, both in election and execution.

NOTE: I also evaluate the character's backstory as a component of my originality score. Particularly unique and decent stories may receive a small bump (up to +1), though drab or cliche stories will not be penalized. I understand that the build itself is the focus of the competition, but I feel that a finely crafted or well-told story can really give a build identity.

Power

1: The build, as presented, cannot function in its chosen role. Examples include a wizard with 9 INT.
2: The build functions more weakly in a party than a similar build without the secret ingredient, relying entirely on items or an unreasonable number of preparation rounds.
3: The build functions as well in a party as a similar build without the secret ingredient. Though the build can still function without items or an unreasonable number of preparation rounds, it does so at a significantly reduced capacity.
4: The build functions as a stronger party member than a similar build without the secret ingredient. Though the build can still function without items, it may rely on an unreasonable number of preparation rounds.
5: The build excels at its chosen role/roles within a party, eclipsing a similar build without the secret ingredient, even in the absence of items or adequate preparation rounds.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that I evaluate submissions against similar builds, rather than against each other. I will evaluate a caster submission against the strength of other casters, a skillmonkey build against the strength of other skillmonkeys, and so on.

Elegance

1: The build presented is illegal by any reading of the rules, functions only upon an intentional misreading of the rules, or contains 3 or more "dips" (defined as two or fewer levels in any class).
2: The build presented is overly complex, or relies on conflicting class features (either mechanically or in terms of flavor). No more than two dips.
3: The build presented is simple and straightforward enough that most DMs would allow it at their table. No more than 1 dip.
4: The build presented, while streamlined, efficient, and free of dips, relies on a variant such as LA buyoff or variant classes/races presented in Unearthed Arcana. Please keep in mind that such elements can be presented as possible adaptations with no reduction to Elegance. However, if the variant is presented as the default option for the build, the deduction will be taken.
5: The build presented is so streamlined that it all seems to blend together as one larger class. Feats are useful as soon as they are taken, material from Unearthed Arcana is presented only as a possible option, and the character progresses at a natural rate from levels 1-20.

NOTE: As per contest rules, flaws will cause a deduction of one point each, to a minimum score of 1. Also, while I will not penalize cheese in terms of power, it may cause a reduction in elegance.

Use of the Secret Ingredient (UoSI)

1: The build does not qualify for the Secret Ingredient, renders the class features useless in some way, or hampers class features gained elsewhere by taking the Secret Ingredient.
2: The build has utilized (but not showcased) any of the class features acquired.
3: The build has showcased at least one class feature acquired, and taken at least half of the levels of the Secret Ingredient.
4: The build has taken every level of the Secret Ingredient, or provided a persuasive explanation as to why not doing so was beneficial. Most class features acquired are showcased, but not all.
5: The build has taken every level of the Secret Ingredient, or provided a persuasive explanation as to why not doing so was crucial. Every class feature acquired is showcased.

NOTE: As mentioned, by my criteria a character can fail to use every level of the Secret Ingredient and still receive a perfect score in this category. It's not just about how much you use...it's about why and how you use it.

Please note that submitting an illegal build will result in penalties to elegance. Feats you do not qualify for will net you a -0.5 penalty, while class levels you do not qualify for will receive a -1 penalty per class. Failure to qualify for the Secret Ingredient will instead be penalized under Use of the Secret Ingredient. Please double check your entry requirements and feat prerequisites.

If there are any questions or comments on my criteria, let me know via PM or through the chairman.

I'm surprised by the number of early entries this time around. Because of this, the grumpy old man who lives inside of me is expecting plenty of typos and mechanical errors. I hope that I am proven wrong. :smalltongue:

monkeysammich
2011-01-12, 04:23 PM
Its difficult to not have a dip in your builds to cover all the bases... I'm sure we'll see some interesting combos.

I wonder how many Ur-Priests we'll see? :smallbiggrin:



Spoilered per the below post.

Cieyrin
2011-01-12, 04:56 PM
Speculation

I'd spoiler that, speculation is frowned on till after the reveal.

EDIT: *cough*

monkeysammich
2011-01-12, 04:59 PM
It doesnt help to spoiler it if you quote it in your post.:smallamused:

Ernir
2011-01-12, 05:08 PM
I have to withdraw (again). Can't hammer this into the shape I want it to be.

gbprime
2011-01-12, 05:09 PM
With 4 judges declared now, I'll compete in this one after all. Build to submit later this evening.

Amechra
2011-01-12, 05:17 PM
How many levels do you need for something not to be considered a dip?

Cieyrin
2011-01-12, 05:36 PM
How many levels do you need for something not to be considered a dip?

Varies by judge. 3 levels is enough of an investment that I wouldn't call it a dip but that's me.

gbprime
2011-01-12, 07:01 PM
How many levels do you need for something not to be considered a dip?

And in this contest, it depends on the circumstance. You can hardly fault someone for 2 levels of monk or rogue if the special ingredient requires Evasion, for example. But if it's something not required by the special ingredient then 1-2 levels is often considered a dip and it's not a positive thing.

Cieyrin
2011-01-12, 07:11 PM
And in this contest, it depends on the circumstance. You can hardly fault someone for 2 levels of monk or rogue if the special ingredient requires Evasion, for example. But if it's something not required by the special ingredient then 1-2 levels is often considered a dip and it's not a positive thing.

It'd still be a dip, though. It's kinda dependent on the connotation of what you're getting from it that makes the difference. For this class, yeah, you'll probably have to dip classes if you want to get far into them, and the judges should be aware of that fact. If you're after feats and ACFs, that's something else entirely.

dextercorvia
2011-01-12, 07:22 PM
In the past, it has often not been regarded as a dip if its class features are advanced by a PrC.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-12, 07:25 PM
For my judging, I consider two or less levels to be a dip.

Amphetryon
2011-01-12, 07:50 PM
In the past, it has often not been regarded as a dip if its class features are advanced by a PrC.

I cannot recall a specific instance where this was precisely true; some judges have been more forgiving than others regarding dips, though, particularly early in the contest's history.

Draz74
2011-01-12, 08:28 PM
I think any judge will agree that 1-2 levels is a dip in most cases.

The difference is, some judges don't actually consider dipping a bad thing.

Thurbane
2011-01-12, 08:32 PM
My 2 cents (although I'm not a judge): a dip (1-2 lvls) that adds something to a character and isn't totally at odds with the overall character concept is OK in my book. Multiple dips, and dips that that just seem plain out of place with the character concept (i.e. a non-casting melee build that dips Conjuror 1 to get Abrupt Jaunt), are a bit ineligant.

Tam_OConnor
2011-01-12, 09:12 PM
It really depends on the circumstances. If you take a level of fighter for your second level and then it gradually decreases in importance as your hp and equipment list fill out, then I'm much less likely to call it a dip. But if you've got three open levels at the ends and you decide to take three levels of warblade to suddenly gain maneuvers, it feels much more like a dip. Like I said, though, I'm not penalizing dipping for this contest, but I am rewarding not dipping.

Amphetryon
2011-01-12, 10:20 PM
It's going to be down to the wire for me on this one. Making the background do what I want it to do is the killer.

Amechra
2011-01-12, 10:43 PM
Remind me, are Unearthed Arcana class variants allowed?

gbprime
2011-01-12, 10:50 PM
They are allowed, yes.

dextercorvia
2011-01-13, 01:44 PM
I cannot recall a specific instance where this was precisely true; some judges have been more forgiving than others regarding dips, though, particularly early in the contest's history.

I'm thinking of Alexei from IC X. He was penalized for other things, but was penalized by no judge in elegance for only taking CC1 (his only base class).

true_shinken
2011-01-13, 03:03 PM
I'm thinking of Alexei from IC X. He was penalized for other things, but was penalized by no judge in elegance for only taking CC1 (his only base class).
It's hard to call that a dip. If I remember correctly, he finished all the other classes he took.

Amphetryon
2011-01-13, 04:19 PM
It's hard to call that a dip. If I remember correctly, he finished all the other classes he took.

Really? A single level taken of Cloistered Cleric (great skill points, essentially free Knowledge Devotion, divine casting, etc) is almost certainly a dip, unless CC is somehow on the 'special exceptions' list.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-13, 05:09 PM
If I was judging, it would have been ruled a dip and scored accordingly. This whole conversation goes to show that different judges have different criteria.

Private-Prinny
2011-01-13, 05:30 PM
Really? A single level taken of Cloistered Cleric (great skill points, essentially free Knowledge Devotion, divine casting, etc) is almost certainly a dip, unless CC is somehow on the 'special exceptions' list.

That's not really fair. Alexei (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9208769&postcount=97) may have only had a single level of Cloistered Cleric, but every single other class on there gave divine casting progression, which ran off of Cloistered Cleric. I can imagine if Alexei was a Wizard instead the build would be getting flak for dipping Wizard for Abrupt Jaunt.

gbprime
2011-01-13, 05:36 PM
I can see arguments either way on that one, but I like what he did there.
CC 1 / Paragon 3 / Paragon 3 / Squire 3 / Mythic Exemplar 10 ...
Yes, every other class except the base is maxed out.

Gametime
2011-01-13, 06:00 PM
If I remember correctly, most judges were sufficiently impressed by the elegance of a build using only a single base class level that no one really saw the single level as cherrypicking.

Amphetryon
2011-01-13, 06:29 PM
Character submitted. I wasn't sure I'd finish in time. :smallsmile:

Xodion
2011-01-13, 06:50 PM
Character submitted. I wasn't sure I'd finish in time. :smallsmile:

We have another 24 hours, don't we? The front page says 23:59 on friday, which should be tomorrow night.

Also, what is the standard for skills on the level progression table? On the last challenge I can see full listing of all skill ranks for each level, skills increased at that level for each level, and total skill points for each level. Which do we use? :smallconfused:

Private-Prinny
2011-01-13, 07:48 PM
We have another 24 hours, don't we? The front page says 23:59 on friday, which should be tomorrow night.

Also, what is the standard for skills on the level progression table? On the last challenge I can see full listing of all skill ranks for each level, skills increased at that level for each level, and total skill points for each level. Which do we use? :smallconfused:

Specifically, it's midnight GMT, which means you have to adjust for timezone. For example, I'm in GMT -5, so when the contest ends, it'll be 19:00 for me. Incidentally, the contest ends in a little over 23 hours, so you're right anyway.

You can use any skill progression notation you'd like, assuming Shinken doesn't say otherwise. I'd just pick one of the previous formats and copy it.

Thurbane
2011-01-13, 09:12 PM
http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcounter.html?day=15&month=01&year=2011&hour=0&min=0&sec=0&p0=0

Clepto
2011-01-13, 09:53 PM
Unfortunately, it looks like I'm gonna have to bow out. I've come up with several concepts, but none are focused enough to make a playable character. Either that, or I can't come up with a decent story. I know the background matters very little for the contest, but I'm a huge Lore-fiend, so it matters to me.

Also, the double-casting requirement is rough. It's hard to justify taking something that you're either never going to use, or if you do, it won't be half as good as what something similar can do.

Anyway, best of luck to the rest of the contestants. I'll try to jump in on the next one.

Amechra
2011-01-13, 11:30 PM
I just got mine in: WOO!

Sadly, I don't have time for another build; less than 24 hour is a little too close for me.

All I can hope for, though, is that we don't have repeat of last time, where half the builds were freakin' cats! Or, more specifically, that they weren't penalized for using a fairly common idea.:smallannoyed:

BG
2011-01-13, 11:54 PM
Also, what is the standard for skills on the level progression table? On the last challenge I can see full listing of all skill ranks for each level, skills increased at that level for each level, and total skill points for each level. Which do we use? :smallconfused:

As someone who just posted all the new skills, I think you're supposed to post the total skill points each level. I didn't do that mostly because I was running out of time and playing a high-int, human skill monkey.

Zaq
2011-01-14, 12:31 AM
This is a lot harder than I expected. I think that I may just have to bite the bullet and take a hit in the Power department to keep my fluff happy. I hope that I finish tonight, since I'll be at work when the deadline hits (meaning that if I don't finish tonight, I'm out).

Well, a less-than-perfect build is better than no build at all, right? If I can get it up to "adequate," (instead of aiming for "amazingly powerful") I'll be . . . well, not happy, but sufficiently satisfied to submit it. Back to work.

gbprime
2011-01-14, 01:52 AM
Build submitted. Good luck to all! :smallcool:

Zaq
2011-01-14, 09:12 AM
Damnation. I couldn't get everything finished before I had to go to bed, and I'll be at work when the deadline hits. I guess I'm out of this one. Sadface.

true_shinken
2011-01-14, 09:29 AM
Damnation. I couldn't get everything finished before I had to go to bed, and I'll be at work when the deadline hits. I guess I'm out of this one. Sadface.
I'll only post the builds tomorrow afternoon, so you might be able to make it.

monkeysammich
2011-01-14, 11:03 AM
I say last place gets a "sad panda" medal. :smallcool:

gbprime
2011-01-14, 12:08 PM
So... 21 contestants? 15 of whom intend to push past the finish line? Wow, these are gonna be some hard-won medals!

Zonugal
2011-01-14, 12:45 PM
I'll only post the builds tomorrow afternoon, so you might be able to make it.

So if what sort of time are we looking at? Because right now there is no way I could submit a build I would be pleased with but later this evening when I return from a dance club I'll be able to pound through a build like none other.

true_shinken
2011-01-14, 12:52 PM
So if what sort of time are we looking at? Because right now there is no way I could submit a build I would be pleased with but later this evening when I return from a dance club I'll be able to pound through a build like none other.
I dunno. When I wake up. I have a gaming session tomorrow at 16h, so I'll be leaving home at about 15h (I'm at GMT-3, btw). I might only be able to post the builds after the game if I wake up late, though. I usually wake up late on saturdays. I just don't know, really.

Zaq
2011-01-14, 02:51 PM
Well, I'll see what I can do. There's a lot more legwork involved than I had bargained for, but if I can pull it off, then I'll be happy.

dextercorvia
2011-01-14, 03:27 PM
I'm scrapping my build. It started out strong, OP even, but by the end of the build it is no more powerful than an optimized wizard. I really liked the story though, so I might share that after the builds are posted.

kestrel404
2011-01-14, 03:38 PM
Done! Didn't think I'd make it this time. I really like the flavor/story on mine.

Cieyrin
2011-01-14, 04:43 PM
All I can hope for, though, is that we don't have repeat of last time, where half the builds were freakin' cats! Or, more specifically, that they weren't penalized for using a fairly common idea.:smallannoyed:

2 of the 14 submissions were cat-related, one was a tibbit, the other an anthropomorphic cat, who did very different things with their builds. I don't see how that makes it common or why they should have been penalized for it. :smallconfused:

BG
2011-01-14, 04:48 PM
Well, a less-than-perfect build is better than no build at all, right? If I can get it up to "adequate," (instead of aiming for "amazingly powerful") I'll be . . . well, not happy, but sufficiently satisfied to submit it. Back to work.

The key is to have fun with it. If everyone has fun, there's no winners or losers*.

*well, except for, y'know the actual winners and losers.

Amechra
2011-01-14, 04:56 PM
Only two? Huh, thought there were more.

Still, I'm working on a second character...

Urpriest
2011-01-14, 05:05 PM
Only two? Huh, thought there were more.

Still, I'm working on a second character...

In past competitions we've had Felix the Cat, not to mention at least one other Tibbit. Making one's build a cat/misc animal is a little like Binder, it tends to get included. Whether that means it deserves an elegance deduction depends on the sentiments of the judge.

Clepto
2011-01-14, 05:58 PM
For me, this build was just a Triple Threat of Worthlessness. One, I couldn't justify taking two casting classes, just so I could ignore one of them. Two, I couldn't justify taking two caster classes, and have them both be worthless at level 20. I have to admit though, Vancian casting is not my favorite, nor is it my strongsuit. And three, if the point of the contest is to use a given Secret Ingredient, I want to use the whole thing, not part, so I couldn't bring myself to skip the second caster and only go half way.

Credit goes to whoever picked that class for the contest though. It's rough. Really stressed out my (admittedly sub-par) optimization-fu. I did have a lot of fun trying to find builds that worked, which is mostly the point.

As I said in a post above, good luck to the contestants who, unlike me, don't give up. I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the builds.

Amechra
2011-01-14, 06:30 PM
Mine is, I think, decently strong, even with the horrid casting.

Remind me, web stuff is OK, right?

Cieyrin
2011-01-14, 06:33 PM
Mine is, I think, decently strong, even with the horrid casting.

Remind me, web stuff is OK, right?

Yes, just link back to it.

Thurbane
2011-01-14, 06:34 PM
Mine is, I think, decently strong, even with the horrid casting.

Remind me, web stuff is OK, right?
Yep, WotC web-only content (articles, enhancements etc.) is OK...if it was posted as an April Fools joke, you might take an elegance hit. :smalltongue:

Xodion
2011-01-14, 07:52 PM
Submitted, with only -48 minutes to go... He hasn't posted them yet, so it's fine :smalltongue:

I seriously underestimated how much effort that would take, I've made so many characters that I thought it would be easier than that. Cookies for everyone mad enough to want to do this on a regular basis, I think I'll sit out of the next one!

Thurbane
2011-01-14, 07:57 PM
There's a certain base class that makes entry (and continued reqs) quite easy - be interesting to see how many builds used it...

OMG PONIES
2011-01-14, 08:04 PM
For me, this build was just a Triple Threat of Worthlessness. One, I couldn't justify taking two casting classes, just so I could ignore one of them. Two, I couldn't justify taking two caster classes, and have them both be worthless at level 20. I have to admit though, Vancian casting is not my favorite, nor is it my strongsuit. And three, if the point of the contest is to use a given Secret Ingredient, I want to use the whole thing, not part, so I couldn't bring myself to skip the second caster and only go half way.

Credit goes to whoever picked that class for the contest though. It's rough. Really stressed out my (admittedly sub-par) optimization-fu. I did have a lot of fun trying to find builds that worked, which is mostly the point.

As I said in a post above, good luck to the contestants who, unlike me, don't give up. I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the builds.

I had the same problem.


Yep, WotC web-only content (articles, enhancements etc.) is OK...if it was posted as an April Fools joke, you might take an elegance hit. :smalltongue:

FWIW, you will get an elegance hit from me for using April Fools' articles.

Urpriest
2011-01-14, 08:33 PM
There's a certain base class that makes entry (and continued reqs) quite easy - be interesting to see how many builds used it...

Yeah, half the reason I didn't end up entering was because my build used that, and I couldn't think of a good reason to build it any other way.

Amechra
2011-01-14, 08:59 PM
I most probably did to, though to be fair it offers more of a nice bonus than anything.

And I don't think I'm going to get my second one in.

Since I doubt anyone will crib off potential builds, may I suggest we post our potentials?

Divine Bard 3/Warlock 4/Ardent Dilettante 9/Ghost Savage Progression 2/Ardent Dilettante +1. It would have worked because a least invocation counts as a 1st level Arcane spell for prerequisites; this is how Warlock can get in to Arcane Trickster. Discarded because it was weak as hell, and MAD.

Ranger 5/Unseelie Dark Hunter 5 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20030315a)/Ardent Dilettante 10, using story to justify resurrection. Wisdom SAD, and a lot of speed. Only problem is that I couldn't get flavor to fit...

All my other builds ended up using something untenable, so...

Private-Prinny
2011-01-14, 09:12 PM
Divine Bard 3/Warlock 4/Ardent Dilettante 9/Ghost Savage Progression 2/Ardent Dilettante +1. It would have worked because a least invocation counts as a 1st level Arcane spell for prerequisites; this is how Warlock can get in to Arcane Trickster. Discarded because it was weak as hell, and MAD.

Actually, that build is illegal. Your caster level for invocations will work, but the invocations themselves don't count as an X-Level spell. A warlock could get into Mindbender, which requires Charm Person, since the invocation produces the necessary effect. They could get into Blood Magus, since their caster level for invocations can go above 5th. They can't get into Ardent Dilettante because they don't actually get 1st level spells.


Characters or creatures that use spell-like abilities or invocations never learn the arcane circumlocutions of logic and mental training necessary for advanced spellcasting. As such, requirements for feats and prestige classes based on specific levels of spells cast (“Able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells,” for example) cannot be met by spell-like abilities or invocations—not even spell-like abilities or invocations that allow a character to use a specific arcane spell of the appropriate level or higher.

Amechra
2011-01-14, 09:20 PM
Ah, misread that. Good thing I didn't enter it.

Tam_OConnor
2011-01-14, 10:25 PM
Must...resist...reading spoilers until my judging is finished... Looking forward to the builds!

Clepto
2011-01-14, 11:20 PM
Since it's past midnight GMT, I suppose I can post this, but I'll Spoiler it for the benefit of those who are submitting late.

The reason I asked about spell-like abilities earlier in the thread was because I was hoping to cheese out the skills and arcane casting reqs in one go by using Factotum. But, since it says that Factotums are actually using spell-likes instead of spells. . .

On a side note, what would be the legality of meeting arcane reqs with Shadowcaster? The book actually says that mysteries are cast "As arcane spells", until the caster gets high enough level to make them spell-like.

Urpriest
2011-01-14, 11:32 PM
Since it's past midnight GMT, I suppose I can post this, but I'll Spoiler it for the benefit of those who are submitting late.

The reason I asked about spell-like abilities earlier in the thread was because I was hoping to cheese out the skills and arcane casting reqs in one go by using Factotum. But, since it says that Factotums are actually using spell-likes instead of spells. . .

On a side note, what would be the legality of meeting arcane reqs with Shadowcaster? The book actually says that mysteries are cast "As arcane spells", until the caster gets high enough level to make them spell-like.

I've heard it mentioned that Shadowcasters can qualify for both arcane and divine casting prestige classes. I would imagine such a rule would be in the PrC section of the shadowcaster part of ToM.

Akal Saris
2011-01-15, 12:00 AM
I've heard it mentioned that Shadowcasters can qualify for both arcane and divine casting prestige classes. I would imagine such a rule would be in the PrC section of the shadowcaster part of ToM.

Response
Besides Shadowcasters, which I don't think qualify for this PrC by themselves, there's also the Savant and the Sha'ir, which are arcane+divine casters without multiclassing.

Whisper Gnome Savant 10/Ardent Dilettante 10 is a perfectly good build, in fact. It was my intended entry, but this is my 1st week of work & school and I couldn't decide on a real focus besides the usual factotum-style tricks with poison, iajutsu, and stealth, so I didn't work too hard on it.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-15, 12:04 AM
While it's past the deadline, I would encourage everyone to refrain from potential build posting/discussion until the Big Reveal. The deadline has been pushed back before, you know...

Clepto
2011-01-15, 12:33 AM
I've heard it mentioned that Shadowcasters can qualify for both arcane and divine casting prestige classes. I would imagine such a rule would be in the PrC section of the shadowcaster part of ToM.

Actually, I just read that part of the book to double check. Relevant text:

Levels in shadowcaster do not qualify a character for prestige
classes with the following entry requirements:
• A caster level requirement where the type (arcane or divine)
is specified. Exception: Shadowcasters can qualify for the
mystic theurge prestige class (DMG 192). In order to do so,
they are allowed to substitute the ability to cast 2nd-level
mysteries for the ability to cast 2nd-level spells. They must
meet all other requirements for the prestige class normally.
In addition, if a shadowcaster takes cleric levels to meet
the divine spellcasting requirement, he must be devoted
to a god that grants access to one of the following domains:
Knowledge, Magic, Darkness*, or Illusion*.
*Domain described in Spell Compendium.
• Ability to cast spells of X level where the type (arcane or
divine) is specified.
• Ability to cast a specific spell, even if a mystery exists with
a similar effect

Immediately above that, it states that they DO qualify for classes that specify caster level, but no type. Similar to warlocks qualifying for some classes. Also, it specifically states that they DO qualify for Mystic Theurge, but nothing else that specifies arcane caster level.

Zaq
2011-01-15, 04:24 PM
Sent! Bless you, Shinken, for unofficially extending the deadline!

I doubt that I'll place, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the judges deal with mine.

Cieyrin
2011-01-15, 04:31 PM
I doubt that I'll place, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the judges deal with mine.

Ah, ye of little faith. We've had first timers place before and I don't see this as any exception.

Zaq
2011-01-15, 04:33 PM
Well, mine has a few problems, some of which are glaringly obvious. I won't say more for fear of identifying myself, but I'm more in this to see the comments than to get the scores.

But hey, the door's open. Let's see what comes of this thing.

Amechra
2011-01-15, 09:17 PM
I really hope this isn't like last time. I was hitting myself for making glaring mistakes.

However, I covered my bases this time. Wooh!

BobVosh
2011-01-15, 09:30 PM
I thought the cut off date was yesterday, anyone know when the builds are going up?

kestrel404
2011-01-15, 09:35 PM
It was. TS has been MIA. The builds will probably show up when he does. Patience, grasshopper.

Cieyrin
2011-01-16, 03:12 PM
*pokes thread for the shinken to remember his deadline was yesterday* :smalltongue:

OMG PONIES
2011-01-16, 04:23 PM
Yeah, shink, hope everything's ok and you're just enjoying your weekend too much to post.

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 07:48 PM
Hello, guys! Sorry for being so late. I had a very busy weekend, with relatives visiting and a 14 hour long D&D session (it was all shades of awesome).
Now, for the big reveal!

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 07:51 PM
Gotta see it all, gotta see it all!




Overview: Aesc Duan Dee
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br> Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Rogue 1|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|4 Disable Device, 4 Craft (Trapmaking), 4 Craft (Poisonmaking), 4 Search, 4 Open Lock, 4 Hide, 4 Move Silently, 4 Spot, 4 Listen, 4 Tumble, 4 Knowledge:Local|Able Learner|Trapfinding, +1d6 Sneak Attack

2nd|Binder 1|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+2|+1 Disable Device (5), +1 Open Lock (5), +1 Craft (Trapmaking) (5), +1 Search (5), +1 Tumble (5)||Soul Binding

3rd|Warlock 1|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+4|+1 Disable Device (6), +1 Craft (Trapmaking) (6), +1 Search (6), +1 Hide (5), +1 Move Silently (5)|Blend Into Shadows|Eldritch Blast 1d6, Invocation (Darkness)

4th|Ranger 1|
+1|
+4|
+4|
+4|+1 Disable Device (7), +1 Craft (Trapmaking) (7), +1 Search (7), +1 Hide (6), +1 Move Silently (6), 4 Survival|Track (Ranger Bonus)|Spiritual Connection

5th|Swordsage 1|
+1|
+4|
+6|
+6|+1 Disable Device (8), +1 Craft (Trapmaking) (8), +1 Search (8), +1 Hide (7), +1 Move Silently (7), +4 Knowledge: Local (8)|Weapon Focus: Stone Dragon Weapons (Discipline Focus)|Maneuvers, Quick to Act +1

6th|Trapsmith 1|
+1|
+4|
+8|
+6|+2 Spot (6), +2 Listen (6), +4 Craft (Poisonmaking) (8), +1 Hide (8)|Darkstalker|Booby Traps, Spells, Master Disarmer, Trap Sense +1

7th|Ardent Dilettante 1|
+1|
+4|
+10|
+6|4 Knowledge: Nature, 4 Intimidate, +1 Move Silently (8)||Heightened Senses, Lore

8th|Ardent Dilettante 2|
+2|
+4|
+11|
+6|5 Perform (Storytelling), +2 Craft (Trapmaking) (10), +1 Hide (9), +1 Move Silently (9)||Enthrall

9th|Warblade 1|
+3|
+6|
+11|
+6|+2 Spot (8), +2 Listen (8), 3 Concentration|Practiced Spellcaster (Trapsmith)|Maneuvers, Battle Clarity (Reflex), Weapon Aptitude

10th|Ardent Dilettante 3|
+3|
+7|
+11|
+7|+3 Perform (Storytelling) (8), +4 Survival (8), Trick: Listen to This||Joie de Vivre

11th|Ardent Dilettante 4|
+4|
+7|
+12|
+7|+2 Craft (Poisonmaking) (10), +2 Craft (Trapmaking) (12), +2 Concentration (5), +3 Search (11)|Cold Endurance (Bonus)|Sense Link

12th|Disciple of Thrym 1|
+5|
+7|
+12|
+9|+1 Hide (10), +1 Move Silently (10), +1 Craft (Trapmaking) (13), +1 Craft (Poisonmaking) (11), +1 Disable Device (9)|Touchstone: City of the Dead|Spells, Detect Fire, Protection of Winter

13th|Sand Shaper 1|
+5|
+7|
+12|
+11|5 Diplomacy, +1 Hide (11), +1 Move Silently (11)||Desert Insight, Dust Magic, Sand Shape

14th|Ardent Dilettante 5|
+5|
+7|
+12|
+11|4 Knowledge: Religion, +2 Spot (10), +2 Listen (10), +1 Craft (Poisonmaking) (12)||Scent

15th|Ardent Dilettante 6|
+6|
+8|
+13|
+12|+4 Knowledge: Religion (8), +2 Hide (13), +2 Move Silently (13), +1 Disable Device (10)|Craft Magic Arms and Armor|Seen It Before

16th|Ardent Dilettante 7|
+6|
+8|
+13|
+12| +5 Diplomacy (10), +2 Craft (Trapmaking) (15), +2 Survival (10)|Skill Focus (Knowledge: Religion) (Bonus)|

17th|Divine Oracle 1|
+6|
+8|
+13|
+14|+2 Hide (15), +2 Move Silently (15), +1 Craft (Poisonmaking) (13)||Oracle Domain, Scry Bonus

18th|Ardent Dilettante 8|
+7|
+8|
+14|
+14|+3 Craft (Trapmaking) (18), +3 Spot (13), +3 Listen (13)|Poison Spell|See It Again

19th|Ardent Dilettante 9|
+7|
+9|
+14|
+15|+4 Hide (19), +4 Move Silently (19), +1 Search (12)||Blindsense 10'

20th|Ardent Dilettante 10|
+8|
+9|
+15|
+15|+2 Hide (21), +2 Move Silently (21), +2 Spot (15), +2 Listen (15), +1 Craft (Trapmaking) (16)|Enhanced Illumian Sigils|Death Holds No Mysteries[/table]

I wanna see the very best
Like no one ever has
To try things is my real test
To feel them is my cause
I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Find sensations and understand
The feeling that's outside

(Sensation! Gotta see it all!)
It's what I see
I know it's my destiny
(Sensation!)
Oh, you're what I feel
In a world I think is real

(Sensation! Gotta see it all!)
A sight so true
Our courage will pull us through
You find me and I'll find you
Sensation!
Gotta see it all (Gotta see it all!)


"Still nervous, kid?" Aesc smiled down at the potential new Sensate, who was sweating as she obsessively checked her notes.
"Yes, sir. I mean, what if I forget something? How can I possibly describe everything?"
"Ah, you can't worry about that sort of thing. We know what it's like. Besides, you should savor your nervousness! Have you ever before felt quite like this? The feeling of anticipation before baring your soul to those whom you hope to make your peers? If I were you, I'd be more focused on this new feeling; there's really nothing quite like it!"
The young candidate's eyes brightened a little bit, though her trembling didn't really get any better. "You're . . . you're right, Mr. Dee! Normally when I get nervous I get sort of a pit in my stomach, but this time it feels more like my heart's racing, with a touch of lightheadedness!"
Aesc chuckled, his typically raspy voice making it echo a bit. "You might even want to write down what you feel about it. You really don't want to forget this sort of thing. I'm sure I've forgotten more than I can remember knowing in the first place. You don't want that, do you?"
"No, sir . . . but you, forgetting things? Surely you don't mean that! Your stories are half the reason I decided to join the Society in the first place! In fact, you couldn't tell me another one, could you? It would help take my mind off this, and it would probably prove to you that you remember more than you think you do."
The sigils over Aesc's head spun slightly faster as he pondered her request. "I still think that you should focus on your nervousness a bit more, but if you insist . . . let me tell you about my past."

Aesc Duan Dee, an Uurkrau Illumian, grew up in a relatively big port city on the Prime Material Plane. A rogue of some mechanical skill, he drifted from organization to organization, helping out with locks and traps and occasionally pulling the odd minor heist. It was a workable (if relatively unstable) lifestyle for several years, until one such heist went a little bit too right.

Aesc had broken into the house of a minor noble and made off with a large leather book. The occult market being what it is, he knew that it would be a while before it would be safe to fence such a distinctive score. As an Illumian, Aesc had always had some measure of curiosity, so in the days and weeks before the authorities stopped looking for his prize, he decided to read the book and see what it contained.
Aesc is now a 1st level rogue who acts pretty much like any other 1st level rogue. He's happier as a skillmonkey than as a combatant, but the occasional sneak attack really isn't bad.

He had been expecting spells, but instead found weird magical sigils or runes that seemed to beckon to him. Knowing the value of symbols and sigils, Aesc tried to copy one sigils to take to a more magically inclined friend, but as he did so, he was shocked to find a figure spring forth from it. A voice echoed in his mind:
"As you have brought me life, so I bring you my favor. All I request is to feel as much as possible in the brief time we have together."

Pleasantly surprised by the new skills this entity gave him, Aesc was more than happy to accept the thing's urging to go out and sate his curiosity in every manner possible. This pattern continued for a while, and life was good. Aesc gradually gathered two things: first, that he had made some kind of pact with an otherworldly entity, and second, that doing so was amazingly easy and satisfying. Searching out other kinds of pacts, Aesc discovered that he was more in tune with magic than he had previously thought, even able to slip into darkness as others watched—or didn't—in awe.

Aesc has bound his first vestige and unwittingly made some kind of warlock pact. The most useful vestiges at this level are generally Leraje (for the bonus to hiding and the free Precise Shot) and Aym (since being on fire is still a solid defense at this point, and the touch attack isn't bad if you can get into flanking). His warlock abilities give him access to Blend Into Shadows, making him even better at hiding than your average rogue.

No matter what kind of pacts tied strings to his soul, Aesc always felt one drive above any other: feeling. The vestiges, as he found they were called, just wanted to feel once again what it meant to be alive, a desire to which Aesc could relate perhaps just a little bit too well. The constant search for something new led him to take up the art of tracking, since following the trail of someone or something almost always led to something new and exciting. The animals and plants seemed to speak with him, telling him new and exciting secrets.

Of course, with this sort of reckless attitude necessarily comes some measure of danger. Following the wrong trail often got him into trouble, though none so great as the time that he got taken hostage by a raiding party of Githyanki. Aesc had accidentally followed the trail of an adventuring party who were themselves on the trail of a band of Githyanki raiders. Aesc ended up getting captured and whisked away in one of the great ships of the astral pirates.

It was only a fortuitous counter-raid by a group of Githzerai as the ship sailed through the silver sea of the Astral Plane that kept Aesc from being sold into slavery on Gehenna; the Githzerai did not particularly care about him, but were happy to do anything to spit in the eyes of the Githyanki, so he was allowed to follow them back to their monastery on Limbo and train as a novice.

Naturally, Aesc's chaotic nature did not go over too well with the Githzerai, and some part of him longed for the days of fiddling with traps and locks. It was not long after he had mastered the basics of their martial arts that he was expelled from the monastery for booby-trapping the great hall from top to bottom simply out of boredom. Aesc would later note that the traps weren't quite the same as he remembered them being when he was back home; interestingly, the weird magic entities studded throughout his soul led him to see each trap as a kind of magical sigil in and of itself, giving him access to a new kind of arcane power he never would have suspected. The Githzerai did not care about this, of course, and simply unceremoniously deposited him in Sigil as soon as the next portal thereto opened up.

Aesc has now taken levels in ranger, swordsage, and trapsmith. His eldritch blast and sneak attack aren't quite cutting it as much as they used to, so he supplements his skills with traps (which he usually creates while hidden, to make himself less vulnerable), poisons, and a little bit of trapsmith magic. He has Mountain Hammer, which gives him some out-of-combat utility, and the Spiritual Connection ACF for ranger allows him to speak with animals and plants three times per day, which is likely to make gathering materials for poisons easier.

Getting deposited in the Cage (as many bashers call the City of Doors) turned out to be the luckiest break that Aesc ever got. Aside from there being more to see and do than a cutter can find anywhere else in the multiverse, Sigil was home to a society of kindred spirits: the Society of Sensation, with whom Aesc immediately joined. He leapt at the opportunity to follow different Sensates on any kind of adventure at all.

Sponsored by the Sensates, Aesc traveled from plane to plane, learning more and more about what he already knew and finding out things he didn't even think were possible. In any locale, Aesc was always excited to try to meet with the natives, often learning some of their ways and leaving some of his own behind. He trained with a band of hobgoblins on Acheron, formed a diplomatic relationship with the frost giants of Jotunheim, compared the smithing styles of the dwarves on Mt. Celestia and the dwarves of Ysgard, and even returned to the Prime (to a desert just across the mountains from his hometown) just for a change of pace. Rapidly climbing through the ranks of the Sensates, Aesc's curiosity was often indulged, though never satisfied.
Aesc uses Ardent Dilettante to augment his Trapsmith casting. He's fully a support character at this point and does not really care to attack his foes directly; his Warblade maneuvers are all utilitarian in nature. After taking Disciple of Thrym and Sand Shaper, Aesc lets one more level of Ardent Dilettante count toward the final level of Trapsmith casting, then dives into advancing Disciple of Thrym casting.

Feeling a new kind of magic in his soul after the affair with the frost giants, Aesc experimented with it and put it through its paces. Though icy in nature, he found that he was able to use a hot or even deserty flavor of magic with his new power. Furthermore, Aesc felt in his soul tugs of power so strong that they threatened to tear him apart; these came from at least two sources so opposite in nature that Aesc had no choice but to try them both until he had felt what they were like.

Blasts of purest good and foulest evil ripped through Aesc as he tested his new powers as best as he could. The pain that the power wracked his body with was unlike any that he had ever experienced, which was saying a lot for someone of his background. Naturally, he kept doing it, trying and failing to find words for it every time but relishing the experience nonetheless.

Wanting to know more about this, Aesc started studying the teachings of good and the teachings of evil. He eventually submitted himself to the guidance and care of an enterprising cleric of knowledge, who sought to run tests on Aesc to see what he could learn about this. Under this cleric's watch, Aesc pushed himself farther and farther, feeling the planes tug on him like children playing a game of strength. One such experiment pushed his body a bit farther than his soul could easily repair, and Aesc found himself standing in the realm of the dead.

Aesc's soul, pulled in so many directions at once, didn't end up anywhere simple; instead, he saw countless planes and experiences all calling to him and vying for his attention. More than that, he saw the connections between the planes in ways he had never noticed before; when his cleric friend had pulled his soul back into his body, Aesc understood more than he ever had in the past.

Aesc has discovered Sanctified and Vile spells. He uses Naberius to heal the stat damage that they cause, making them a useful tool in his box. His efforts to understand where these spells came from led him into the Divine Oracle class, which adds even more tricks to his arsenal.

Blessed with a new understanding of how to see things, Aesc continued trying to see it all, eventually climbing to the highest levels of the Sensates. Today, Aesc still holds the distinction of being one of the first to combine so many forms of magic into one body at once, a feeling which he will try and fail to describe until the day his name is put into the dead-book for good.

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 07:52 PM
Now, back to Pokemon Part two of Aesc's build.


Note: all numbers assume no items or bonuses from high ability scores.


Aesc Duan Dee
Chaotic Neutral Uurkrau Illumian
Rogue/Binder/Warlock/Ranger/Swordsage/Warblade/Trapsmith/Disciple of Thrym/Sand Shaper/Ardent Dilettante

Starting Stats:

STR 8
DEX 14 (level-ups go here)
CON 14
INT 16
WIS 14
CHA 12

Hit Dice: 6 + 13d8 + 4d6 + d10 + d12

Maneuvers and Stances Known:

(ECL 5, Swordsage 1): Shadow Jaunt, Mountain Hammer, Child of Shadow, Sudden Leap, Wind Stride, Cloak of Deception, Fire Riposte
(ECL 9, Warblade 1): Leading the Charge, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge

Spells per day / known (Trapsmith):
Spells per day/Spells known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|-|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|-|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|-|2/3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|-|2/3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|-|2/3|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|-|3/4|2/3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|-|3/4|2/3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|-|3/4|2/3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|-|3/4|2/3|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|-|3/4|2/3|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|-|3/4|2/3|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|-|3/4|2/3|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|-|3/4|2/3|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|-|3/4|2/3|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|-|3/4|2/3|1/2|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

Spells known:
ECL 6: Haste, Gaseous Form
ECL 9: Dispel Magic
ECL 10: Dimension Door, Stone Shape
ECL 11: Arcane Sight, Resilient Sphere
ECL 13: All spells granted by Desert Insight
ECL 14: Wall of Stone, Fabricate

Spells per day (Disciple of Thrym):

Spells per day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|-|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|-|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|-|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|-|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|-|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|-|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|-|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|-|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

Gets all spells listed in Desert Insight, since it does not specify that only one class gains the benefit.
Adds Oracle Domain at ECL 17.

Strategies:
Aesc is a support character. He is not meant to be a frontline fighter, and he'll never win any damage contests. That said, he is a capable skillmonkey, has some useful low-level magic, and is not without his tricks.

Trapsmith is a beautiful class not only because it gets a very interesting casting progression but also because booby traps keep getting better with ranks, not with class levels (advanced versus basic traps notwithstanding). Thus, the DC on Aesc's traps stays competitive even at higher levels. Aesc's high Craft (Poisonmaking) skill makes it easy for him to apply poison to his traps, giving them an edge even when the damage tends to fall short.

Also, putting Spell Storing bolts (which he eventually can make by himself) in his crossbows gives him a lot of versatility with the crossbow trap. Spells can be preloaded, which is nice, and his spell lists aren't terrible once they're loaded into crossbow bolts. Lesser Shivering Touch alone should give his opponents pause, especially when it's been dunked in some kind of nasty poison. Preparation is the name of the game; setting up the bolts with the spells and the poison ahead of time is quite useful, and of course traps always work better if you have the chance of setting them up before combat.

Aesc is a capable scout. Heightened Senses keeps his perception abilities good, and he's stealthy enough to get to where he wants to be. Lore lets him make sense of what he finds. Blend Into Shadows is, of course, fantastic, especially if you keep a rock with Darkness on it in your belt pouch, so you can always be near magical darkness. He's pretty good at tracking, especially once he gets Scent. One of his best scouting tricks comes from Sense Link: the creature with whom your senses are linked does not need to be a humanoid. Indeed, it could be a mouse, a sparrow, a horse, or something else innocuous. Aesc can use the Spiritual Connection ACF (which lets him speak with animals and plants) to convince a small animal beneath notice to follow a desired target or slip into somewhere tricky, Aesc's senses following in tow. He can do this through Diplomacy, Intimidate, or perhaps simply asking nicely with a morsel of food.

Aesc's maneuvers are almost entirely defensive or utilitarian. Mountain Hammer is intended for use outside of combat, where it basically functions as Disintegrate (if a bit slower). Most of his maneuvers should be self-explanatory, but none of them are really intended as offense.

While he has to rummage into his bag of tricks a bit more than other people, Aesc is still decent at supporting his party. The spells from Trapsmith, notably haste, are famously useful as utility or buffs, and Joie de Vivre certainly doesn't hurt. See It Again can be used to great effect to copy, for example, a partymate's high-level spell, or it can just be used to get another charge out of his own small number of daily spells. White Raven Tactics is as good on Aesc as it is on anyone else. Enthrall's save DC lags a bit at the end, but is still relatively useful out of combat. Ask your GM if an Enthralled opponent will notice you setting up a trap; they may or may not.

The vestiges Aesc binds change across his career. In the beginning, he favors Aym and Leraje, but as he levels, Naberius tends to come to the fore, for reasons which should be obvious: he heals the stat damage done by Sanctified/Corrupt spells (or by slipping with the poison) and make Diplomacy easier (which helps with convincing small animals to be scouts, among other things).

Aesc's caster level is not as bad as it may seem. He gets to add a bonus from Dust Magic, a bonus from his Krau sigil, and (for Trapsmith) a bonus from Practiced Spellcaster. (It's actually quite difficult to get a higher Trapsmith caster level without resorting to stacking tricks like Master Spellthief!) His Uur sigil adds to his DEX-based skills and his initiative modifier, and the Uurkrau power word lets him base his bonus spells per day on Dexterity, which may or may not come up depending on how free the GM is with stat-boosting items. If he has access to them, though, he can boost both of his casting classes with just DEX.

Design Philosophy:
I wanted to make an Ardent Dilettante with the following restrictions:

-No bards.
-No factotums.
-No more than one level in any non-AD class.
-No base classes that give arcane or divine spells.

Under those restrictions, a lot of the easy avenues got cut off, so I had to find alternatives. I think, overall, that I have succeeded in making a fun support character, even if I had to sacrifice power to do so.

Questions and Answers:

Q: What's up with the Sanctified and Corrupt spells?
A: Book of Exalted Deeds and Book of Vile Darkness do not specify that only Good or Evil characters can cast Sanctified or Corrupt spells, and that any prepared caster has access to them. Being neutral and dedicated to trying new things, it makes sense for Aesc to try using both. Naberius serves to heal the stat damage done, making the costs less painful. There aren't that many Sanctified or Corrupt spells that are overwhelmingly useful, though casting them into a Spell Storing crossbow bolt can be an interesting experience. Poison Spell works when casting a spell into a Spell Storing bolt, so you can potentially have two kinds of poison on one bolt.

Q: Why no UMD?
A: I wanted to assume absolutely no magic items (beyond what you eventually get to craft yourself with Craft Magic Arms and Armor). UMD is useless without something to use it on, and I didn't want to assume that there would be free access to a magic mart. If you want to add in UMD, it's easy enough to tweak the skills (mostly by slowing down Hide/MS/Spot/Listen a point or two apiece).

Q: An Illumian with Able Learner?
A: Yup! They're humanoids with the human subtype. If the human subtype doesn't make you count as human, I don't know what does.

Variants:

If flaws are allowed, Craven makes your meager Sneak Attack stay relevant for longer, and Hidden Talent (Psionic Minor Creation) does wonderful things for your poisons. If you use fractional BAB and saves, your BAB skyrockets (relatively speaking) while your saves become a lot more reasonable; in fact, with just a little bit of shuffling, you may be able to get into Divine Crusader instead of Disciple of Thrym, and doing so will give access to higher-level spells faster. Taking 3 levels of Trapsmith (dropping Divine Oracle, and either Warblade or Sand Shaper) gets you access to advanced booby traps, but doing so goes against the "only one level" policy. Handy items include general skill boosters for any of your important skills, wands and scrolls if you use the UMD variant, basic defensive gear, and basic stat boosters. A ring of wizardry and/or some pearls of power can increase your magical longevity.

Sources:
Player's Handbook (Rogue, Ranger)
Races of Destiny (Illumian, Able Learner)
Tome of Magic (Binder)
Tome of Battle (Swordsage, Warblade)
Complete Arcane (Warlock, Practiced Spellcaster)
Complete Divine (Divine Oracle)
Drow of the Underdark (Blend Into Shadows, Poison Spell)
Complete Champion (Spiritual Connection ACF)
Frostburn (Disciple of Thrym, Cold Endurance)
Sandstorm (Sand Shaper, Touchstone)
Book of Exalted Deeds (Sanctified spells)
Book of Vile Darkness (Corrupt spells)
Planar Handbook (Ardent Dilettante)
Dungeonscape (Trapsmith)

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:01 PM
JB: Hm... It's just sliding on your knees.
KG: Is it? Or is it the single most powerful stage-move in any rocker's arsenal?
- Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny

The Slide

The Slide was created like any other Kaorti, through the horribly painful transformation of a humanoid victim. In its case the Slide was at one time a human child. With no recollection of its former life this fact has no real meaning to the Slide. His earliest memories were of pain. Being born, if you can call it being born, into a world that causes pain just by being in it is no way for a creature to grow up, even if one is a Kaorti. Its early years were spent in with a small amount of his people that had taken over a remote fort in the middle of a ruined castle that no ordinary citizens of the world visited anymore. While the resin suits that the Kaorti create protect them from the painful material plane the Slide grew to relish the pain and unlike his people he had grander aspirations than delivering the material plane into the far realms. In fact he thought that such a thing would be a tragic occurrence. He visited the far realms a few times with his people but even with the vivid chaotic sights, sounds, and smells of the far realms they had nothing on the realness of the Material plane. He started to love the world and wanted to see everything there was in it. He learned to travel to the ethereal plane and eventually to possess objects and creatures. Through these things he could fully experience the world and everything it had in it. Eventually he found his way to the Society of Sensation while riding in the body of a sensate that ironically did not even know he was there. He found the Society tenets to be inspiring and the decided that the experience of dying was something that he had to know. While taking his sensate vehicle into one of the sensoriums he just stopped breathing, feeling the air go from his lungs, and the weakness and panic of the body were awe inspiring. He went on to find new ways to experience death. Jumping from a high tower as a young maiden, bleeding out as a poor servant boy, starving a wealthy merchant, all of these things brought new and profound experiences.

The Slide keeps a low profile but has been known to thwart his own people’s attempts to destroy the Material plane as well as any other plans that would stop his manipulation of the populace of the material plane, all while leaving disturbing suicides in his wake.

Progression:

Kaorti, Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar)
32 point buy
Str: 8, Dex: 8, Con:10, Int: 16, Wis: 12, Cha: 18
Ending Stats
Str: 4, Dex: 12, Con:10, Int: 20, Wis: 12, Cha: 28
{table=head]ECL|Class|Base Attack |Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

3rd|Outsider 1|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+2| (52+2) Perform: singing 4, Hide 2(cc), Diplomacy 2, Sense Motive 2(cc), Spot 2(cc), Listen 2(cc), Heal 4, Concentration 4, Intimidate 1, Knowledge: arcane 4, Knowledge: planes 4, Spellcraft 4, Use Magical Device 4, Survival 4|Apprentice(Entertainer) |
4th|Outsider 2|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+3| (13) Perform: singing 1, Bluf 2(cc), Heal 1, Concentration 1, Intimidate 1, Knowledge: arcana 1, Knowledge: planes 1, Spellcraft 1, Use Magical Device 1, Survival 1 | |
5th|Beguiler 1|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+5| (11) Perform: singing 1, Hide 4, Spot 1, Listen 1, Concentrion 1, Knowledge: arcana 1, Search 2|Martial study: Moment of perfect clarity|Armored Mage, Trapfinding

6th|Fiend of Possession 1|
+2|
+5|
+5|
+7| (7) Perform: singing 1, Hide 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Concentration 1(cc) ||Ethereal form, hide presence, possess object
7th|Fiend of Possession 2|
+3|
+6|
+6|
+8| (7) Perform: singing 1, Hide 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Concentration 1(cc) ||Curse, magic item

8th|Fiend of Possession 3|
+3|
+6|
+6|
+8| (7) Perform: singing 1, Hide 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Concentration 1(cc) |Improved Initiative |Control object

9th|Fiend of Possession 4|
+4|
+7|
+7|
+9| (7) Perform: singing 1, Hide 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Concentration 1(cc) | |Animate object, possess creature

10th|Fiend of Possession 5|
+4|
+7|
+7|
+9| (7) Perform: singing 1, Hide 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Concentration 1(cc) | |Ally or enemy, possess noncontinuous object

11th|Fiend of Possession 6|
+5|
+8|
+8|
+10| (7) Perform: singing 1, Hide 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Concentration 1(cc) |Ability Focus (Possess creature)|Control creature

12th|Ardent Dilettante 1|
+5|
+8|
+10|
+10| (11) Hide 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Concentration 1, Use Magical Device 1, Swim 5| |Heightened senses, lore

13th|Ardent Dilettante 2|
+6|
+8|
+11|
+10| (11) Hide 1, Spot 4, Listen 4, Bluff 1, Concentration 1| |Enthrall

14th|Ardent Dilettante 3|
+6|
+9|
+11|
+11| (11) Hide 1, Diplomacy 1, Sense Motive 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Disguise 2, Concentration 1, Use Magical Device 1, Skill Trick: Collector of Stories|Ability Focus (Control creature) |Joie de vivre

15th|Ardent Dilettante 4|
+7|
+9|
+12|
+11|(11) Hide 1, Diplomacy 1, Sense Motive 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Disguise 2, Concentration 1, Use Magical Device 1, Skill trick: Spot the weak point|Death blow(b)|Sense link

16th|Ardent Dilettante 5|
+7|
+9|
+12|
+11| (11) Hide 1, Diplomacy 1, Sense Motive 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Disguise 1, Concentration 1, Use Magical Device 2, Skill trick: Listen to this||Scent

17th|Ardent Dilettante 6|
+8|
+10|
+13|
+12| (11) Hide 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Disguise 1, Concentration 1, Use Magical Device 3, Skill trick: Assume quirk|Martial study: Insightful Strike|Seen it before

18th|Ardent Dilettante 7|
+8|
+10|
+13|
+12| (11) Hide 1, Diplomacy 1, Sense Motive 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Disguise 1, Concentration 1, Use Magical Device 2, Search 1|Martial study: Mind over body(b)|

19th|Ardent Dilettante 8|
+9|
+10|
+14|
+12| (11) Hide 1, Diplomacy 1, Sense Motive 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Disguise 1, Concentration 1, Use Magical Device 3| |See it again

20th|Ardent Dilettante 9|
+9|
+11|
+14|
+13| (11) Hide 1, Diplomacy 1, Sense Motive 1, Spot 1, Listen 1, Bluff 1, Disguise 1, Concentration 1, Use Magical Device 3|Martial stance: Hearing the air |Blindsense 10 ft
||||||||

19th*|Uncanny Trickster 1|
+9|
+11|
+16|
+13| (13) ||Bonus trick, favorite trick

20th*|Uncanny Trickster 2|
+10|
+11|
+17|
+13| (13) |Martial study: Shadow stride|Bonus trick, favorite trick, Ardent Dilettante 10 (death holds no mysteries) [/table]
Beguiler Casting
{table=head]ECL|CL|0| 1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th
6th|1|
5|
3|
-|
-|
-|
-

13th|2|
6|
4|
-|
-|
-|
-

14th|3|
6|
5|
-|
-|
-|
-

15th|4|
6|
6|
3|
-|
-|
-

16th|5|
6|
6|
4|
-|
-|
-

17th|6|
6|
6|
5|
3|
-|
-

18th|7|
6|
6|
6|
4|
-|
-

19th|8|
6|
6|
6|
5|
3|
-

20th|9|
6|
6|
6|
6|
4|
-

|||||||

20th*|10|
6|
6|
6|
6|
5|
3[/table]
* with level buy off

Build Explanation

Build Explanation:
The idea behind the build is that to truly sense new things you must sense them as a different person. Being able to possess any creature and experience pain, joy, and even death allows for more fulfilling experiences than feeling these things as one person with one set of senses. Slide stays ethereal unless he is currently possessing a creature and the creatures he possess do not last very long. Experiencing death is the greatest sensory experience possible. When controlling a creature he can do so for at least 15 rounds. As an NPC Slide would haunt a city seeking to experience death and suffering in a new and inspiring ways causing a rash of suicides. As an adventurer Slide seeks new experiences from stranger and more complex sources. Seeking out rare creatures or powerful figures through which to sense the world and eventually death.

He has 9th level Beguiler casting allowing for 4th level spells but his many tactic is to possess the baddest enemy and either attack its allies or make it kill itself. He can coup de grace himself as a standard action if a coup de grace is likely to kill his possessed creature. His saves are fairly low but the Diamond mind maneuvers for using concentration in place of a save helps make up for them. The only spells that we won’t care about failing a save for are spells that end possession which are all will saves. If he finds himself unable to possess any creature in a combat situation he turns ethereal and leaves. He can perform UMD shenanigans if needed.
His ethereal form ability allows him to get around the Kaorti’s natural vulnerability to the Material plane. He has some spell like abilities from being a Kaorti including alter self, color spray, feather fall, ray of enfeeblement, reduce, and spider climb.

Secret Ingredient:
Mechanically Ardent Dilettante doesn’t add a large amount to the build. It increases beguiler casting and increases his perception skills. Thematically however it provides a great insidious way to experience new things without harming oneself. Most creatures can only experience death once and experiencing it more than that requires the expense and inconvenience of being raised. His perception skills are fairly high and he has blindsense out to 30ft with Hearing the air. He also has a large amount of skill tricks at his disposal.
The build requires Fiend of Possession more than Ardent Dilettante and it does what it does from ECL 11 when he can control a creature in order to cause it to kill itself.

Equipment: The build requires no equipment and most of it wouldn’t be useable while possessing a creature. All of his equipment becomes ethereal with him and I think ability bonuses from items may stick with him. Getting a Tome of Leadership and Influence would be beneficial. With a +4 tome and +6 magic item his possession saves can reach 32 or higher.

Options: If level buy off is available you can get 2 more levels for Uncanny Trickster to get to the 10th level Ardent Dilettante class features without having to die.

A variant build based on the same idea of possession is playing a ghost human. You can take 4 levels of the ghost progression class on the wizards site and get the Malevolence power to mimic magic jar. It also qualifies for the dying and undeath requirement for the Ardent Dilettante. The Fiend of Possession build just seemed funner and allowed for better optimization of the actual possession method. The ghost build would have gone Paladin of Tyranny 4, Beguiler 1, Ardent Dilettante 10, Chameleon 1, Ghost 4. It would get 10th level chameleon casting allowing for 6th level arcane or divine spells each day. A ghost would also work well as a back story when the sensate kills himself the first time and just enjoys it so much he has to come back as a ghost to experience it again. The ghost build probably would have made a better contestant but time was not on my side, so goes procrastination.


At ECL 20

Outsider 2, Beguiler 1, Fiend of Possession 6, Ardent Dilettante 9
Kaorti, Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar)
Neutral Evil
Hit Dice: 2d8 +1d6 +6d6 +9d8 (74 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 11 (touch: 11, flat-footed: 10)
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+6
Attack: -
Full Attack: -
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Attack options: -
Special Actions: Possess creature (DC 27), control creature (DC 27),
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +15, Will +14
Abilities: Str 4, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 20, Wis 12, Cha 28
Skills: Perform +17, Hide +22, Diplomacy +17, Sense Motive +14, Spot +27, Listen +32, Bluff +23, Disguise +18, Heal +14, Concentration +21, Intimidate +14, Knowledge: arcane +11, Knowledge: planes +10, Spellcraft +10, Use Magic Device +30, Survival 6, Search 17, Swim 2
Skill tricks: Collector of Stories, Listen to This, Spot the weak point, Assume quirk
Feats: Apprentice (entertainer), Martial Study: Moment of perfect clarity, Improved Initiative, Ability Focus (possess creature), Ability Focus (control creature), Death blow, Martial Study: Insightful Strike, Martial Study: Mind over body, Martial Stance: Hearing the air
Challenge Rating: 20

Possessions:


Sources

Complete Adventurer (feats)
DMG 2 (Apprentice feat)
Fiend Folio (Kaorti, Fiend of Possession)
SRD
PHB 2 (Beguiler)
Planar Handbook (Ardent Dilettante)
Tome of Battle (Maneuvers and stances)

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:04 PM
I can't help but picture him as this guy (http://finalfantasy-xiii.net/media/artwork/snow.png). I should be ashamed of myself.

Snow

Story
While I wrote the character's personality and early life events, I didn't have time to write a full background story.
However, after describing it to a friend they wrote a really great story that captures the idea perfectly, so I wanted to include it anyway to give you a feel for the character as a whole.

He doesn't entirely remember his first name, the one that his parents gave him when he was born. It probably, fittingly enough, began with an A. He's had as many names as some of the thrillseekers he meets claim to have had lovers. They say you always remember the first. But he doesn't. It was a long time ago.

The local drow took him when he was still growing - no longer a child, but by no means an adult, either. Perhaps seventy. His captors did not care to give him a name, but the drow children who sometimes came and tormented him with sticks and food held just out of reach were immoderately amused by his strange colouring, and christened him Snow. (Where in the world had they found snow, down in the dark? He wondered about that, sometimes. And did they see in a different fashion, or had his skin paled further still?) He still answers, reflexively, to that name, though there are precious few he has ever told about it.

In the end, they told him, they would offer him up on the altar to their hungry goddess, but it was some time before the next ceremony, and in the interval they would amuse themselves otherwise.

For hearing: the time when he was in a great deal of pain, and became aware that the high, thin, animal keening that had accompanied the pain constantly from its beginning was in fact his own voice. He had not known that a mere humanoid larynx could produce a sound so raw, or so strangely pure, or maintain that tone for so long even as his throat first ached, then burned, and then filled with the taste of blood.

He does not fully remember what happened at the altar, either. He was unconscious for quite a lot of it, feeling only the blessed relief of feeling nothing, and too dazed with pain to properly understand anything for much of the rest. But something happened, and they did not kill him, and after he woke up they treated him in the way one might treat some fragile thing of uncertain purpose but great value, with care that was no less considerate for being bemused. A divine visitation, he gathered later; a manifestation of their goddess in some way, directing that he should live. So for a while after that they addressed him respectfully, and surnamed him Chosen-of-the-Goddess, and taught him some of their secrets. And when as was perhaps inevitable he turned his new powers to the task of escaping the underdark and left many dead behind him, when he emerged into the world he still had no other name; and he kept it, because it seemed to him that there was something savagely elegant in the irony.

(On his way out of the tunnels, twisting and turning, he briefly stumbled across the bottom of a shaft that led all the way up to the light, with a disc of pale winter sky shining at the top of it. At the bottom of the shaft a mound of snow, knee-high, had piled up and stayed unmelted in the dark. And in the dim light it was indeed grey.)

He travelled very far. He learnt. He sought out strange things, new things, hoping that if he could not shake off his memories of the dark he could at least deluge them in new ones; maybe one day they would be so far buried he could, indeed, forget. He fell in with the Society of Sensation, and latched on eagerly to the idea that there was (perversely) a home somewhere for those others who roamed the worlds looking for the new, never content to experience a thing but compelled to remember it, tabulate, retell, compare. The first thing he ever told to the Society was about catching sight of the pale glimmer of the snow, and stepping out into the first sunlight he had seen in years. They were intrigued.

He adventured for a while with this band of mercenaries or that; in those years he flirted with names from the countries he passed through, being briefly Joscelin and even more briefly Talan. He fought a war here and a war there, and defeated this tyrant and that dragon, and once brought down a god - a minor god, sustained only by the small but rabid cult he had led as prophet before his ascension, but a god nonetheless. There had been six of them on that quest, and only two survived.

For smell: the evening when he and his last remaining companion, who knew him as Kalerav, stood in the ruined sanctuary of a dead god and burned their companions' bodies on the desecrated altar. The smell of smoke, of charring flesh spiked with a counterpoint of burning hair, and of red-hot metal as the armour they had died in glowed. The smell of blood, and rot, and ichor, that pervaded the temple and that even the fire did not wholly cleanse. (Still, still, sometimes, he thinks he catches the unclean reek clinging to his clothes and skin.) His last remaining companion from that band parted from him in the next town, and he never saw her again.

He studied with notable magicians on a dozen planes: at the grand universities, the academies with their white pillars and vaulted roofs, where he pretended to nobility he did not have and called himself Cesaire; in smoky rooms piled high with parchments; in narrow hermitages tucked away in the folds of cliffs; in high towers where sleepless acolytes tracked the stars; and, more than once, in bare stone dungeons whose walls crawled with chalked symbols that made the eyes water and the brain itch, and whose occupants were guarded day and night. He gathered knowledge. He found newness in ancient things: in crumbling books, in rotten scrolls, in antique jewellery and fragile bones.

He learned how to lie, to others and himself; and gradually, drifting a little further with every journey, his sense of what was genuinely true and what was not unravelled. Odd moments in time were solid, pinned down by memories especially vivid and unusually pure; but the rest fragmented.

He called himself Haesten in Pandemonium, and spun a long tale for the court of a minor demon lord about how there was fiendish blood in him, generations back, and was never entirely sure afterwards whether this was true or false. He told a young dragon scholar (cloistered and bookish, which perhaps accounted for its unusually trusting nature) that his name was Thamyris, and that he had been working undercover with the forces of evil for decades and needed access to its research to better understand his enemy; and he was believed. Of that he could not quite convince himself, though he tried; but somewhere at the back of his mind was always the knowledge that Lolth had put her mark on him, and with it a destiny he could neither erase nor escape.

Armed with the fruits of the young dragon's patient research into the nature of the Infinite Abyss, he went to Sigil, the city that borders on everywhere, and took a gate through to that layered and spiralling plane; and the first layer he reached was unmapped, and very bleak, bare stone here and there riven with pits that seemed to be bottomless, or if they ended to end on some plane stranger still.

For sight: a deep well of nothingness that manifested to his eyes as utterly black and at the same time a sort of brightly shifting mottled grey, as if vast, silent things drifted to and fro in the void far beneath. At the very bottom was a light, of what colour he could not say, except that it was a colour that seemed not merely to present itself to his eyes but to reach through them and paint itself in agonising swathes across his soul.

He travelled the Abyss for some years, partly out of a kind of reviled fascination with the things he found, and partly because there are some planes that are not easily left.

Eventually he found his way to the sixty-sixth layer, that is called by some the Demonweb Pit, and there saw distantly through the curling fog the crawling iron fortress of the goddess Lolth. He spoke with some of the high priestesses who attended the goddess, and asked why, why in the world She had spared his life on her altar so many years before; and they had no answer for him. The goddess Herself did not speak. It did not dawn on him until years later that he should have asked whether She had a true name for him, and by then it was too late.

And so with that last hope of an answer gone, he returned to wandering, and it perhaps says something about his life that the few hours for which he was in the presence of his patron Goddess faded swiftly in his mind. Too much new had entered it, too soon, though still (still!) the deepest, oldest stratum refused to shift. He still woke screaming, now and then; still thought he felt the scars on his arms and back, long since healed away.

He returned to Sigil, and amused himself there by collecting and cataloguing the myriad eccentricities only possible in a realm magical to its very bones.

For taste: the moment when in a small walled garden in an outlying suburb of the City of Doors he had, with the owner's amused permission, plucked a fist-sized jewel-like fruit from a gnarled tree, and bitten into it, and it tasted of ice-cold water drunk straight from glacial streams, and honey, and a little of incense and perhaps a little of blood, and he had imagined that if one could condense ecstasy into a taste it would taste like that. It had sapped his strength, and left him a shaking-handed invalid for some weeks; and the owner of the garden later told him that if he had actually eaten the fruit, rather than being so lost in sensation he forgot to do so anything so vulgar as swallow, that would have been the end.

Sigil dominated his life after that; it seemed for some decades that there would always be something new there. A new fashion; a new trick of magic that spent arcane power like water but was very beautiful; a gate opened to a previously unvisited plane of Hell; and always there were new people - travellers, traders, adventurers, the wandering and the lost - with whom to exchange reminiscences. He called himself Mandori one year, and Estrehan another; Ysilaj in a third; and most of the names he used did not last even that long.

One day in the summer of what was possibly his hundred and seventieth year, certainly close to a century since he lost his name, he was in Sigil for what was perhaps the sixtieth or seventieth time, and explored its alleys and byways in the old way, and found some things that were indeed wonderful and new; but the feeling itself, the delight of finding something new - that was no longer new, and the sensations on which he stumbled pleased him less. When newness itself was insufficiently novel, what was left?

And so he took a portal out to the great Spire that Sigil orbits, and climbed it to the very point, and looked down. Clouds wandered around the shoulders of the mountain far below, the rivers and plateaux of the Outlands lost in haze. He had seen many of them, if not most, though not all.

For touch: the moment when, with the constant cyclone generated by Sigil's spin whipping his hair backwards from his face, eyes watering and skin numb, he stepped calmly forward into the wind, as though the insubstantial air would take his weight; and it did not.


General Info

Snow, NE Male Gray Elf Favoured Soul 1/Wizard 4/Loremaster 5/Ardent Dilettante 10
Worshipper & Favoured Soul of Lolth
Stats:
Str 8 -> 6
Dex 16 -> 18
Con 14 -> 12
Int 16 -> 18 (+1 every 4 levels, reaching 23 at Level 20)
Wis 10
Cha 12


Level Progression

Snow
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Favoured Soul 1|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+2|Concentration 4, Jump 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4|Empower Spell|Proficiency with deity's favoured weapon (Lolth - whip)

2nd|Elf Wizard Racial Substitution 1|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+4|Concentration 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Search 1, Spellcraft 5||Generalist wizardry, Scribe Scroll, summon familiar (Rat)

3rd|Wizard 2|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+5|Concentration 6, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Spellcraft 6|Practiced Spellcaster (Wizard)|

4th|Elf Wizard Racial Substitution 3|
+1|
+3|
+3|
+5|Concentration 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 7, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Search 2, Spellcraft 7||Natural Link

5th|Wizard 4|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+6|Concentration 8, Decipher Script 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Spellcraft 8||

6th|Ardent Dilettante 1|
+2|
+3|
+5|
+6|Concentration 9, Knowledge (Arcana) 9, Knowledge (The Planes) 6, Perform (Oratory) 4, Spellcraft 9|Sudden Maximise|Heightened Senses, Lore

7th|Ardent Dilettante 2|
+3|
+3|
+6|
+6|Concentration 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Perform (Oratory) 8, Spellcraft 10||Enthrall

8th|Ardent Dilettante 3|
+3|
+4|
+6|
+7|Concentration 11, Decipher Script 4, Jump 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 10, Listen 1, Spellcraft 11, Spot 1, Tumble 1||Joie de vivre

9th|Ardent Dilettante 4|
+4|
+4|
+7|
+7|Concentration 12, Listen 3, Search 5, Spellcraft 12, Spot 3, Tumble 2|Energy Substitution [Lightning], Skill Focus (Knowledge[The Planes])*|Sense link, Bonus feat

10th|Loremaster 1|
+4|
+4|
+7|
+9|Bluff 2, Concentration 13, Decipher Script 6, Spellcraft 13||Secret (+2 Will Save)

11th|Loremaster 2|
+5|
+4|
+7|
+10|Bluff 4, Concentration 14, Decipher Script 8, Spellcraft 14||Lore (stacks with AD Lore)

12th|Loremaster 3|
+5|
+5|
+8|
+10|Bluff 6, Concentration 15, Decipher Script 10, Spellcraft 15|Split Ray, Maximise Spell*|Secret (Bonus feat)

13th|Loremaster 4|
+6|
+5|
+8|
+11|Bluff 8, Concentration 16, Decipher Script 12, Spellcraft 16||Bonus Language

14th|Loremaster 5|
+6|
+5|
+8|
+11|Concentration 17, Decipher Script 16, Spellcraft 17||Secret (+1 dodge bonus to AC)

15th|Ardent Dilettante 5|
+6|
+5|
+8|
+11|Bluff 10, Concentration 18, Listen 5, Spellcraft 18, Spot 5, Tumble 4|Quicken Spell|Scent

16th|Ardent Dilettante 6|
+7|
+6|
+9|
+12|Bluff 12, Concentration 19, Listen 6, Search 8, Spellcraft 19, Spot 6, Tumble 8||Seen it before

17th|Ardent Dilettante 7|
+7|
+6|
+9|
+12|Bluff 14, Concentration 20, Listen 7, Search 10, Spellcraft 20, Spot 7, Tumble 13|Residual Magic*|Bonus feat

18th|Ardent Dilettante 8|
+8|
+6|
+10|
+12|Bluff 16, Concentration 21, Listen 8, Search 12, Spellcraft 21, Spot 8, Tumble 16|Spell Focus (Evil)|See it again

19th|Ardent Dilettante 9|
+8|
+7|
+10|
+13|Bluff 18, Concentration 22, Listen 10, Search 14, Spellcraft 22, Spot 10, Tumble 19||Blindsense 10ft

20th|Ardent Dilettante 10|
+9|
+7|
+11|
+13|Bluff 20, Concentration 23, Listen 12, Search 16, Spellcraft 23, Spot 12, Tumble 22|Corrupt Spell*|Bonus feat, Death holds no mysteries[/table]
* indicates a bonus feat


Spells

Arcane Spells per day, including Bonus Spells
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|4|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|4|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|4|4|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|4|4|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|4|4|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|4|5|4|3|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|4|6|4|3|2|-|-|-|-|-

10th|4|6|4|4|3|-|-|-|-|-

11th|4|6|5|4|3|2|-|-|-|-

12th|4|6|5|4|4|3|-|-|-|-

13th|4|6|5|5|4|3|1|-|-|-

14th|4|6|5|5|4|4|2|-|-|-

15th|4|6|5|5|5|4|2|1|-|-

16th|4|6|6|5|5|4|4|2|-|-

17th|4|6|6|5|5|5|4|2|1|-

18th|4|6|6|5|5|5|4|3|2|-

19th|4|6|6|5|5|5|5|3|2|1

20th|4|6|6|5|5|5|5|3|3|2[/table]

Divine Spells, including Bonus spells
At all levels, spells per day are 5 of 0th level and 4 of 1st level. Spells known are:
0 - Create Water, Cure Minor Wounds, Guidance & Read Magic
1 - Bless, Cure Light Wounds, Comprehend Languages


Level Showcase

Level 5

At Favoured Soul 1/Wizard 4, Snow is ready to enter Ardent Dilettante. 8 ranks in Concentration, Knowledge-(Arcana) and Spellcraft, and lower ranks in 8 other skills qualifies him easily, and his traumatic past gives plenty of opportunity for experiences to tell to the Society of Sensation.
Generalist wizardry gives him an extra 2nd level spell for his 4 arcane casting levels, and 1 level of divine spellcasting provides some useful backup healing at these low levels. Practised Spellcaster (Wizard) brings his CL up to 5 and will offset the next level's lack of casting, and next level also brings Sudden Maxmise for an awesome if limited damage potential.


Level 9

Snow has just entered the 4th level of Ardent Dilettante, having 8 ranks in Perform-(Oratory) from telling tales of his experiences, martial weapon proficiencies from being an Elf, and both arcane and divine casting. He now also has the prerequisites for taking Loremaster levels, with 10 ranks in both Knowledge-(Arcana) and -(The Planes), access to 3rd level Divination spells, 3 metamagic feats and Skill Focus in a Knowledge skill.
Still a powerful spellcaster for his level, Snow now has access to Energy Substitution (Lightning), giving him even more flexibility.


Level 16

The prerequisites for the next level of Ardent Dilettante (7th) are tough, but easily accomplished from the combination of Elven martial weapon proficiencies, Favoured Soul providing divine spellcasting and an exotic weapon proficiency (Lolth's favoured weapon is the whip), Wizard for arcane casting, and Ardent Dilettante itself providing lots of skillpoints (6 per level) and all skills as class skills. By now, Snow has certainly visited at least 3 planes, if not more.
Many skillpoints, near-full casting and plenty of bonuses for scouting makes Snow a very versatile character, and some powerful metamagic/spell combinations provides a powerful arsenal of spells, with more to come using Residual Magic next level.


Level 19

About to take the final level in Ardent Dilettante, Snow has been everywhere and seen everything. Even death has been experienced, and in one of the most dramatic ways possible.
Residual Magic has kicked in now, and more levels of arcane spellcasting bring him 9th level spells at this point. The most powerful Ardent Dilettante ability is also in his repertoire, See it again, giving him the ability to reproduce any spells cast on him. All that is missing is the final bonus feat from level 10 of Ardent Dilettante, providing a nice pair of feats that work well together - Spell Focus [Evil] raises the DC of Evil type spells by 1, and Corrupt Spell sets a spell type to Evil and untypes half of the energy damage, for a +1 spell level modifier.


Level 20 Build - No Equipment

Medium Humanoid (Elven)
HD: 8 +9d4 +10d8 +20 (95HP)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30ft
AC: 15 (10, +4 DEX, +1 dodge)
Bab/Grapple: +9/+7
Attack: Ray +13
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Special Qualities: Low-light Vision, Immune to sleep effects, Proficiency with longswords, rapiers, longbows, shortbows and whips; Generalist wizardry, Scribe Scroll, summon familiar (Rat), Natural Link, Lore, Enthrall, Joie de vivre, Sense link, Scent, Seen it before, See it again, Blindsense 10ft, Death holds no mysteries
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +15, Will +15 (+2 vs Enchantment)
Abilities: Str 6, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 21, Wis 10, Cha 12
Skills: Bluff +21, Concentration +24, Decipher Script +21, Jump +5, Knowledge (Arcana) +15, Knowledge (The Planes) +18, Listen +19, Perform (Oratory) +9, Search +28, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +30, Spot +19, Tumble +28
Feats: Empower Spell, Practiced Spellcaster (Wizard), Sudden Maximise, Energy Substitution [Lightning], Skill Focus (Knowledge[The Planes]), Split Ray, Maximise Spell, Quicken Spell, Residual Magic, Spell Focus (Evil), Corrupt Spell



Build Notes and Tactics

I decided to try and strike a balance between Power and Originality, avoiding what seemed like the obvious route through Bard/Divine Bard. Using the Elven weapon proficiencies and the proficiency in your god's favoured weapon from Favoured Soul let me gain most of the Ardent Dilettante requirements in one level and my race, and Gray Elves are always good for a Wizard. Using only one level to gain everything else allowed me to focus on Wizard levels, and I still gained level 9 spells at level 19, with a CL of 20. I thought about boosting the CL some more, but felt Snow's classes flowed together quite well, and didn't want to ruin the flavour and Elegance by adding another dip in something that didn't fit.

I tried to keep the Ardent Dilettante's class features central to the build, making good use of both the spellcasting and the skills range to make a flexible yet powerful caster, capable of filling both a primary caster and scout/skills role. Heightened Senses combined with decent skill ranks and elf bonuses makes Snow a decent scout, and abilities like Scent, Blindsense and Seen It Before allow him to overcome many of the biggest challenges for scouting roles, and his spellcasting can fill in any gaps (a wand of Find Traps and preparations of Knock should do this well).

A strong selection of metamagic feats and spells should make Snow a formidable opponent, and high ranks in Tumble should keep him from being cornered and unable to cast. Spell Focus [Evil] and Corrupt Spell work particularly well together, enabling me to raise the DC on any spell for +1 spell level, as well as changing half of any energy damage to divine power (untyped) to bypass energy resistance. Add the ability to reproduce spells targeted at him (See It Again), and he will able to conserve spells as well as using powerful spells thrown at him that he does not know, increasing his versatility and the standard of his ability to fill in any role a party needs.


Equipment Suggestions

+6 stat-boosting equipment is fairly essential - Int for spellcasting, Dex and Con for survivability, and Cha to use the Ardent Dilettante's abilities. The Robe of the Archmagi is fairly useless by this point, for slightly more you can get Bracers of Armour +8 and a Vest of Resistance +5, and SR18 is not worth it. Get a Ring of Protection +5 and the best Ring of Wizardry you can afford, and as many Manuals and Pearls of Power as you can lay your hands on. Also consider a mithral buckler, +5 and some kind of Fortification on it (moderate at least), no ASF and no check penalty means you can wield it untrained with no down side. Metamagic rods will be very useful, and wands or scrolls of useful spells would also be great, especially as you have both Wizard and Cleric spell lists to cast from - for example, a wand of Detect Traps (Cleric 2) turns you into an excellent party scout. Top it off with some handy Ioun stones and some flavourful items, all in a Bag of Holding or two, and you're set to go!


Sources

Complete Arcane - Practiced Spellcaster, Sudden Maximise, Energy Substitution, Split Ray
Complete Divine - Favoured Soul, Lolth's favoured weapon, Spell Focus (Evil), Corrupt Spell
Complete Mage - Residual Magic
Races of the Wild - Elf Wizard racial substitution levels
Planar Handbook - Ardent Dilettante (obviously)
SRD - everything else

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:06 PM
Names keep remembering of stuff while I picture the characters. Does anyone know this (http://blog.cantocidadao.org.br/up/c/ca/blog.cantocidadao.org.br/img/gabriela_cravo_canela.jpg)?


Gabriella, Voice of Salvation found among the Damned

Her Story:

The first tale told by Gabriella before the Society of Sensation.

Hot, searing flames, feasting on my flesh as it was slowly consumed. I lay on my back, bent painfully backwards over a pile of painfully hot and sharp rubble. The portions of my skin that had blackened and burned away still pained me. My entire left arm, missing below the elbow, still pained me. As I slowly burned there, in the ruins of the castle that I had called a home, my mind sought to escape what my ravaged body could not. I have always been bright, even as my beauty overshadowed that intellect. So despite the burning agony of the flames, my mind told me what I needed to do to escape the flames.

Chanting voices from outside the castle, calling out for the death of the dark lord and all his 'servants'. They knew I was in here, and I didn't for a minute think they'd care. I asked for forgiveness. I begged. I pleaded. I swore to change. And I meant every bit of it. The sound of my cries for redemption echoed even over the roar and crackle of the flames as they consumed me. And I was sure that someone had heard.

Then it was black. I couldn't see or hear, but I could smell. My nose could tell where I was, from the brimstone and the charnel smell. When you do what I used to for a living, you know where you're going. All the priests will tell you. It's not like a girl gets a lot of choice in it, usually the only option you're given is whether you've got bruises when the client shows up - not that it matters much, 'cause you'll usually have them after. But the priests always make sure you know, even when they're the client. So when I got to hell, I wasn't much surprised. I was naked, but that was nothing new, and they were leading me by a chain around my neck and I had to breath when they let me, but again not something I was unfamiliar with. What does it say about a girl's life when going to hell feels like another day at the office?

Then they did something I wasn't expecting - they held a trial. I mean, that was a joke. Did they really think I'd expect fairness there, of all places? But then I saw something I could barely credit - a Celestial was sitting there, to act as my judge. A literal guardian angel, except that instead of protecting me from the demons around me, he would condemn me to their care. I could taste bile rising within my throat. My stomach rebelled at the look of deep sorrow that the being's eyes held.

"Gabriella. You repented your sins with your dying breath. Those sins were many and varied by the laws of your home, but the ones that most mattered to the state of your soul was your oath of servitude to the lich lord Aerkoth, and the betrayal of the people of your home. How can you ask forgiveness of such deeds?"

My eyes flashing, I spit at the angels feet. "Betrayed my home? You seriously think that was the worst of my 'sins'? Not one of the orc-spawned spits who ran that hole was an whit better than Aerk! I don't regret that, I considder it the only good thing I ever did in my life!"

The angel sighed and shook his head. "Unless you repent every one of your evil acts, you give me no choice. I must sentence your soul..."

"No! It may not have been all that good, but it wasn't evil! I will bet you that every one of the men I gave up to Aerk is down here. Every one! I'll bet...I'll bet my soul!"

And the angel looked upon me, and said, "Done."


Twenty years later

"And that, berks, is the light and dark of it." The society cheered in a standing ovation for Gabriella, among their favored storytellers and poets. Drinks were bought for her, and many other things were offered, as all those who knew her offered to pay for what she could not.

Most of the offers were declined, out of habit more than for out of propriety or a desire for sobriety. Gabriella had tasted and tried every experience the sensorium had to offer, price be damned. Many of her fellow patrons were wealthy, and few indeed were stingy with that wealth, especially when Gabriella was willing to offer...other forms of payment.

Most thought her a Tiefling, and to be honest her appearance held more in common with a succubus than any mortal breed. But Gabriella knew exactly what she was - the Angel told her on her way out of hell - and it was far less pleasant than simply being related to the spawn of hell. But now she had her second chance at life, her chance at redemption, and she wasn't wasting a single second of that time. Every moment of life was precious, every breath she took was a victory over hell itself. And if her form was...not quite heavenly, well at least she hadn't lost any of her beauty.

So she lived. She spread the good word, acting as a voice to the heavens even as her body became more hellish. She shone with holy light even as her eyes glowed with the light of the abyss. She walked the bleeding border between heaven and hell and soaked up all the life she could.

You never knew when you are going to die. Live each moment like it's your last.


The Build:

Name: Gabriella
Race: Hellbred (Body) (Middle-Aged)
Alignment: LG
Abilities:
Str 7, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 9, Cha 18
Stat Increases from levels: Int +1, Cha +4
Stat Increases from VoP: Cha +8, Int +6, Con +4, Dex +2
Final Ability Scores: Str 7, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 22, Wis 9, Cha 30

Class:

Gabriella
{table=head]Level|Class|BAB|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1st|Beguiler 1|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Bluff 4, Conc 4, DD 4, Know(Arc) 4, Search 4, Spellcraft 4, Tumble 4, UMD 4|Sacred Vow, Devil's Favor|Armore Mage, Trapfinding
2nd|Beguiler 2|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Bluff 5, Conc 5, DD 5, Know(Arc) 5, Search 5, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 5, UMD 5||Cloaked Casting (+1 DC), Surprise Casting
3rd|Beguiler 3|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|DD 6, Know(Arc) 6, Search 6, OL 5|Vow of Poverty|Advanced Learning
4th|Beguiler 4|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|DD 7, Know(Arc) 7, Search 7, OL 7, Listen 6|Nymph's Kiss, Devil's Sight|
5th|Beguiler 5|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|DD 8, Know(Arc) 8, Search 8, OL 8, Listen 8, Speak Lang 4||Silent Spell
6th|Ardent Dilettante 1|
+3|
+1|
+3|
+4|DD 9, Search 9, Perform (Poetry) 8|Ordered Chaos, Servant of the Heavens|Heightened senses, lore
7th|Ardent Dilettante 2|
+4|
+1|
+4|
+4|DD 10, Search 10, Perform (Poetry) 10, Know (Planes) 5, Speak Lang 5||Enthrall
8th|Prestige Bard 1|
+4|
+1|
+6|
+6|Know(Arc) 11, Listen 11, Spellcraft 6, Diplomacy 3|Words of Creation|Bardic Music, Bardic lore
9th|Prestige Bard 2|
+5|
+1|
+7|
+7|Know(Arc) 12, Listen 12, Diplomacy 8, Prof (Astrologer) 3|Shape Soulmeld (Blink Shirt)|
10th|Emissary of Barachiel 1|
+5|
+1|
+7|
+9|Know(Arc) 13, Listen 13, Prof (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive 5|Touch of Golden Ice|Calling
11th|Sublime Chord 1|
+5|
+1|
+7|
+11|Search 14, Listen 14, Perform (Poetry) 12, Conc 9||Bardic Music, Bardic Lore
12th|Sublime Chord 2|
+6|
+1|
+7|
+12|Search 15, Know (Architecture) 5, Spellcraft 10, Conc 10|Otherworldly Countenance, Nimbus of Light|Song of Arcane Power
13th|Ardent Dilettante 3|
+6|
+2|
+7|
+13|DD 16, Search 16, Open Locks 12, Climb 5|Joie de vivre
14th|Ardent Dilettante 4|
+7|
+2|
+8|
+13|DD 17, Search 17, Open Locks 16, Balance 5|Eyes of the Abyss, Devil's Flesh, Holy Radiance|Sense Link
15th|Ardent Dilettante 5|
+7|
+2|
+8|
+13|DD 18, Search 18, Gather Information 5, Conc 15|Practiced Spellcaster (Beguiler)|Scent
16th|Ardent Dilettante 6|
+8|
+3|
+9|
+14|DD 19, Search 19, Sleight of Hand 10|Stigmata|Seen it Before
17th|Ardent Dilettante 7|
+8|
+3|
+9|
+14|DD 20, Search 20, Autohypnosis 10|Devil's Stamina|
18th|Ardent Dilettante 8|
+9|
+3|
+10|
+14|DD 21, Search 21, Use Psionic Device 10|Keeper of Forbidden Lore, Vow of Purity|See it Again
19th|Ardent Dilettante 9|
+9|
+4|
+10|
+15|DD 22, Search 22, Conc 21, Tumble 10||Blindsense 10'
20th|Ardent Dilettante 10|
+10|
+4|
+11|
+15|DD 23, Search 23, Conc 23, Spellcraft 19|Demonic Skin, Vow of Obedience|Death holds no mysteries[/table]


Spellcasting:

For simplicity, I'm only going to list the level of spellcasting ability at each stopping point.
At level 5, It's just 5th level Beguiler casting, with 1 extra 1st level spell from Advanced Learning.
At level 10, you've got 7th level Beguiler casting and 1st level Emmisary of Barachiel casting. EoB spells are probably Cure Light Wounds and Protection from Evil since just about everything else is already on the Beguiler spell list.
At level 15, Beguiler 7, EoB 1, Sublime Chord 5, with a caster level of 15 for both Beguiler and Sublime Chord (thanks to practiced spellcaster). This gives 1st-7th level arcane spells and 1st level divine spells. Spell choices for Sublime Chord should run towards utility with perennial favorites like Polymorph, Teleport, Planeshift and Limited Wish.
At level 20, Sublime Chord casting is maxed out at 10 levels, with a CL of 20. Spell choice is still geared towards utility since spells are limited. Choices for 9th level spells are probably Shapechange and Gate, to give the most options.


Requirements:

This build is an exercise in jumbing through lots of hoops. Fulfilling all of the requirements is a matter of choosing and placing the hoops just right. Here's a breakdown of the requirements that are met at each level and how they are met.
3 - Vow of Poverty: All equipment is forsaken except for a simple weapon. This is only a minor hardship for a Beguiler. Later it will be a bit difficult to keep up with the power curve without magic items, but as a spellcaster that's not nearly as much of an issue.
6 - Arcane Dilettante 1: A skill requirement of one skill at 8? Easily done. At least 5 more skills with at least a rank? Not an issue. Give a speech in front of the Society of Sensation? That was probably her first stop when she got to Sigil.
6 - Ordered Chaos: This feat requires a nonchaotic alignment (we're lawful) and a +4 base will save (ours is +6).
8 - Prestige Bard: Arcane Spellcasting, not a problem. Perform at 8? Picked up with that first level or Arcane Dilettante. Knowledge Arcana was rank 4 at 1st level. BAB is currently +4, so no problem there. And a non-lawful alignment? Thanks to the Ordered Chaos feat, we count as chaotic when we want to - the text of the feat specifies that it counts for the Chaotic alignment requirement of another feat, and if it meets that requirement in a feat I cannot see it failing to do so for a prestige class.
8 - Words of Creation: Int and Cha started out high enough, and our Will save is pretty high at this point.
10 - Emissary of Barachiel: Lawful Good alignment - check. Some skill requirements, easily met. And two exalted feats, which were picked up thanks to Vow of Poverty.
11 - Sublime Chord: 3rd level Arcane spells - We've got 7th level beguiler casting. Big list of skills - all accounted for. Bardic Music ability was picked up from prestige bard.
14 - Ardent Dilettante 4: Perform at 8 we got already to get into Prestige Bard (not to mention Sublime Chord), two martial weapon proficiencies is met by Beguiler alone, and spellcasting is obvious.
17 - Ardent Dilettante 7: Strength based skill at 5 - climb. Dex based skill at 5 - tumble. Weapon proficiencies - met by a combo of (Prestige) Bard and Beguiler. Arcane spellcasting from Beguiler and Divine spellcasting from Emissary of Barachiel. Visited 3 planes - we've got Planeshift on our spell list.
20 - Ardent Dilettante 10: The skill requiremnts were met before we were 5th level. We've still got Planeshift, so visiting 6 planes isn't any harder than visiting 3. And as for having died and come back to life - we're Hellbred.


Use of Secret Ingredient:

This class is all about experiencing everything that life has to offer. Walking the path of life, adventuring, changing yourself by living life, these are the central ideas behind the Society of Sensation and by extension the Ardent Dilettante class. Everything about this build is selected to feed back into these ideas. At the same time, the class itself is primarily suited to being a skill-focused caster.
Heightened senses - A bonus to several highly useful skills that scales with class levels. This is very nice, and put to good use by having both a high search and listen skill. This bonus also combines very nicely with all the extra sensory abilities granted by both this class and various demonic feats and VoP.
Lore - Bardic lore ability. This stacks with levels in Prestige bard and high int bonus.
Enthrall - A handy little ability, having it meant not needing either of the demonic feats that were similar.
Joie de vivre - Good hope is a handy bonus and using this means not having to use
Bonus feat - This is the real reason this class is better than Unseen Seer. General bonus feats. Not having a pre-selected list, these are something of a rarity among classes and prestige classes. The big crunch-based reason for using the abyssal heritor and devil-touched feats is because, with these bonus feats, we can take enough of them to make it worth while.
sense link - An interesting form of scrying. Saves us from spending a spell slot on the scry spell.
Scent - Often useful.
Seen it before - A bonus against illusions. Very fitting for a beguiler.
See it again - This ability, right here? This makes the entire class worth taking. Depending on how the GM interprets it, it could be the most broken ability in the game, or it could just be incredibly potent. The reason for this is very simple - it allows you to twin any spell that includes you in the area of effect. Any spell. Cast by anyone. Including yourself. Depending on the GM's reading of the ability, that could include twinning Wish without paying the XP cost again. It also makes you immune to a lot of mind control spells (in the next round, you use that ability to command yourself and any allies that got caught by the original to ignore the original caster's commands). It can double the effects of healing spells (mass cure moderate wounds?). Most amusingly is that if you've got spell turning up, you can really punish casters who target you, because after the spell they cast bounces back, you can cast it at them (because they targeted you with it)!
Blindsense 10 ft. - This works amazingly well with the Devil's Eyes ability to get Blindsight for limited periods during the day. Anything that Blindsense can sense, Blindsight will reveal in full detail. Of course, with True Seeing from VoP always active, both have limited utility.
Death holds no mysteries - The capstone, while very nice, is not terribly useful to a Hellbred. Although with 9th level spells you may well be able to get around even that limitation. If not, then if you haven't earned your redemption by 20th level you probably aren't going to.


Tactics:

Level 5 - You're a normal Beguiler. VoP brings your AC roughly up to par with what it would be otherwise, but aside from that you're not significantly different from a normal Beguiler.
Level 10 - Prestige Bard with Words of Creation gives you a handful of new and useful options. The fact that Prestige Bard 'gives access to all bard spells' and the way Beguiler spellcasting works is a very potent combination. Most likely though, the GM would not let you get away with the trick any more than they would let you get away with a Rainbow Servant Beguiler, but you should be able to convine him to let you pick up some bard spells through effort. Ardent Dilettante gives a boost to these abilities as well with Lore and Enthrall, as well as an increase in your trapfinding abilities. Finally, Emissary of Barachiel gives you yet another option for granting your allies a Morale boost while simultaneously debuffing the bad guys using the Calling ability. Vow of Poverty may feel a bit limiting at this point, but in another level you'll have the spells to make up for its limitations. Partially making up for this lack of trinkets is the Shape Soulmeld feat - 10' teleportation at will is very nice!
Level 15 - All those spells you were missing out on when you branched out from Beguiler? They're back with a vengence, and they've brought friends! In addition to 7th level spells, you get a nice selection of demonic powers to play with - powers which do not in any way taint your soul, thanks to the buffering effects of Hellbred and the Ordered Chaos feat. This is what fighting fire with fire is really all about!
Level 20 - You've got 9th level spells. You can spontaneously twin a spell (anyone's spell, as long as you're part of the AoE) once a day. And you're as good at searching for and disabling traps as a specialized rogue with non-epic magic items. As far as 'niche's go, you've got a very comfortable one.


Adaptations:

This character was designed to ride the bleeding edge between good and evil, getting exalted feats and demonic ones in roughly equal measure. Change the race and remove VoP and you can take the character in any number of other directions. Change the feat selections and you can have yourself a party face, a walking vault of knowledge or any number of other things. This is a very versatile build chassis, just like Ardent Dilettante was meant to be a versatile prestige class.


Sources:

PHBII: Beguiler
Book of Exalted Deeds: Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty, Nymph's Kiss, Servant of the Heavens, Words of Creation, Touch of Golden Ice, Nimbus of Light, Stigmata, Holy Radiance, Vow of Purity, Vow of Obedience, Emissary of Barachiel
Fiendish Codex I: Abyssal Heritor feats (type of feat), Ordered Chaos, Keeper Of Forbidden Lore, Eyes of the Abyss, Demonic Skin, Precognitive Visions
Fiendish Codex II: Hellbred (race), Devil-Touched feats (type of feat), Devil's Favor, Devil's Sight, Devil's Flesh, Devil's Stamina
Unearthed Arcana: Prestige Bard
Complete Arcane: Sublime Chord, Practiced Spellcaster
Magic of Incarnum: Shape Soulmeld, Blink Shirt

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:08 PM
That image is all shades of awesome. Just thought I should say that.
It wasn't spoilered, but I'm afraid it might cause window stretching, so I spoilered it.

Annette the 'Impure'

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs5/i/2004/281/c/5/_bride_of_lucifer__by_noah_kh.jpg

CG Wraith (Human) Paladin of Freedom 5/Bard 5/Ardent Dilettante 9/Wraith 5/Emancipated Spawn 3

ANNETTE THE 'IMPURE'
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills*|Feats|Class Features

1st|Paladin of Freedom|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Concentration 4, Sense Motive 4, Diplomacy 4|Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty, Gift of Discernment|Smite Evil, Code of Conduct, Detect Evil, Aura of Good

2nd|Paladin of Freedom|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Concentration 5, Sense Motive 5, Diplomacy 5|Insightful Strike|Divine Grace, Lay on Hands

3rd|Paladin of Freedom|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Concentration 5, Sense Motive 5, Diplomacy 6, Ride 1, Knowledge (Nobility) 1|Healing Devotion|Aura of Resolve, Divine Health

4th|Paladin of Freedom|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Concentration 5, Sense Motive 5, Diplomacy 7, Ride 2, Knowledge (Nobility) 2|Gift of Grace|Turn Undead, Paladin Spellcasting

5th|Bard|
+4|
+4|
+3|
+3|Perform (Dance) 3, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 5, Diplomacy 8, Ride 4, Knowledge (Nobility) 3||Bardic Music, Fascinate, Inspire Courage, Countersong, Bardic Knack

6th|Bard|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+4|Perform (Dance) 4, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 5, Diplomacy 9, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 4, Swim 3|Extra Music, Words of Creation|

7th|Bard|
+6|
+5|
+4|
+4|Perform (Dance) 5, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 5, Diplomacy 10, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 4, Bluff 4||Inspire Competence

8th|Bard|
+7|
+5|
+5|
+5|Perform (Dance) 6, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 11, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 5, Knowledge Religion 2|Nimbus of Light|

9th|Bard|
+7|
+5|
+5|
+5|Perform (Dance) 7, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 12, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Religion) 5|Songs of the Heart|

10th|Ardent Dilettante|
+7|
+5|
+7|
+5|Perform (Dance) 8, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 13, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 5, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 5|Nymph Kissed|Heightened Senses, Lore

11th|Ardent Dilettante|
+8|
+5|
+8|
+5|Perform (Dance) 9, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 14, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 5, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 5||Enthrall

12th|Ardent Dilettante|
+8|
+6|
+8|
+6|Perform (Dance) 10, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 15, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 6, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 5, Knowledge (Nature) 5|Holy Radiance, Requiem|Joie de Vivre, +1 Level of Bard Spellcasting

13th|Ardent Dilettante|
+9|
+6|
+9|
+6|Perform (Dance) 11, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 16, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 11, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 6, Knowledge (Nature) 5|Lyric Spell|Sense Link, +1 Level of Bard Spellcasting

14th|Ardent Dilettante|
+9|
+6|
+9|
+6|Perform (Dance) 13, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 17, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 13, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 9, Knowledge (Nature) 5|Sanctify Martial Strike (Unarmed Attack)|Scent, +1 Level of Bard Spellcasting

15th|Ardent Dilettante|
+10|
+7|
+10|
+7|Perform (Dance) 15, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 18, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 15, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 12, Knowledge (Nature) 5|Snowflake Wardance|Seen it Before, +1 Level of Bard Spellcasting

16th|Ardent Dilettante|
+10|
+7|
+10|
+7|Perform (Dance) 17, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 19, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 17, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 15, Knowledge (Nature) 5|Extra Music, Knight of Stars|+1 Level of Bard Spellcasting

17th|Ardent Dilettante|
+11|
+7|
+11|
+7|Perform (Dance) 19, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 20, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 19, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 18, Knowledge (Nature) 5||See it Again, +1 Level of Bard Spellcasting

18th|Ardent Dilettante|
+11|
+8|
+11|
+8|Perform (Dance) 21, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 21, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 21, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 21, Knowledge (Nature) 5|Divine Ward, Hands of a Healer|Blindsense 10 ft, +1 Level of Bard Spellcasting[/table]

HER SECOND LIFE
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

5th|Wraith|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Diplomacy 3, Hide 8, Intimidate 8, Listen 8, Search 8, Spot 8|Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative|Fly 60 ft (Good), Darkvision 60 ft., Daylight Powerlessness, Incorporeal Traits, +2 Turn Resistance, Undead Traits, Unnatural Aura, Constitution Drain, Create Spawn

6th|Paladin of Freedom|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+4|Diplomacy 7, Hide 8, Intimidate 8, Listen 8, Search 8, Spot 8|Ghostly Grasp| Smite Evil, Code of Conduct, Detect Evil, Aura of Good

7th|Emancipated Spawn|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+6|Diplomacy 7, Bluff 4, Hide 8, Intimidate 8, Listen 8, Search 8, Spot 8||Recall Feats, +4 Turn Resistance

8th|Emancipated Spawn|
+4|
+3|
+1|
+7|Diplomacy 7, Bluff 10, Hide 8, Intimidate 8, Listen 8, Search 8, Spot 8||Recall Class Features, +6 Turn Resistance

9th (After Rediscovery, technically 27th)|Emancipated Spawn|
+16|
+12|
+13|
+16|Hide 8, Intimidate 12, Listen 8, Search 8, Spot 8, Perform (Dance) 21, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 7, Diplomacy 28, Ride 5, Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Swim 5, Bluff 33, Knowledge Religion 5, Survival 21, Knowledge (Nature) 5|Versatile Spellcaster|Rediscovery, +8 Turn Resistance, +1 use of Smite Evil, Divine Spirit.
[/table]

ABILITY SCORES
32 Point Buy
Charisma 16 (+6 from Vow of Poverty, +4 from Levels)
Wisdom 16 (+4 from Vow of Poverty)
Dexterity 14 (+2 from Vow of Poverty)
Strength 10
Intelligence 10
Constitution 10

Second Life
Charisma 15 (+8 from Vow of Poverty, +6 from Levels)
Wisdom 14 (+6 from Vow of Poverty)
Dexterity 16 (+4 from Vow of Poverty)
Intelligence 14 (+2 from Vow of Poverty)
Constitution and Strength are non-Abilities

STUFF FROM VOW OF POVERTY, EXCLUDING BONUS FEATS
1st: +4 AC
5th: +5 AC, OK in all weather, do not need to eat or drink anything, Exalted Strike +1
10th: +7 AC, +1 NA, +1 Deflection bonus, +1 to all saves, Immunity to Mind Reading stuff, Exalted Strike +2 Good, DR 5/Magic, +2 Charisma, OK in all weather, no need to eat or drink anything
15th: +9 AC, +1 NA, +2 Deflection bonus, +2 to all saves, Immunity to Mind Reading stuff, Exalted Strike +3 Good, DR 5/Evil, +6 Charisma, +4 Wisdom, +2 Dexterity, OK in all weather, no need to eat, drink, or breath, Energy Resistance 5 to all Energy types, continuous Freedom of Movement
20th (Actually, 27th, but who's counting?): +13 AC, +2 NA, +3 Deflection bonus (Replaced by +9 from being Incorporeal), +2 to all saves, Immunity to Mind Reading stuff, Exalted Strike +5 Good, DR 10/Evil, +8 Charisma, +6 Wisdom, +4 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, OK in all weather, no need to eat, drink, or breath, Energy Resistance 15 to all Energy types, continuous Freedom of Movement, continuous True Seeing, Regeneration equal to HD (not the nifty kind.)


FOR ALL YOU NAYSAYERS:
The Paladin Code of Conduct says nothing about not being allowed to be a prostitute. So there. Also, this build is a little below the amount needed for 20th level, give or take a little, so that is why it ends at about 18 (but still results in ECL 27.) Also, when Annette takes the last level of Emancipated Spawn, she regains her class levels; this is why she gained the abilities of a 5th level Paladin of Freedom when she took that level. Also, because skill ranks are part of your class levels, you get back your skill ranks when you reach the end of Emancipated spawn, meaning that her 33 ranks in Bluff are totally legal.
This was partially inspired by the thought, “can I get an ECL higher than 20 with only the experience required to get to 20?” Which, as you can see, I succeeded at.

BACKSTORY
Jozun knocks hard on the door of the brothel, and does not wait one minute after it is open.

"Hello, I hear you have a haunting?"

Wordlessly, the prostitute took her to the door of a dark room, and then she, too knocked. A voice calls out, clear as a bell,

"Who is it?"
"That cleric of Pelor you asked for."
"Show him in"

Jozun took a deep breath, and stepped into the room. Immediately, a light, about as bright as a bright candle surrounded an area of shadow, outlining one of the most stunningly beautiful women Jozun had ever seen, who only looked to be in her late twenties, if that. Of course, there was the issue that she seemed to be made of shadows, and made the hair on his neck stand straight up.

"A hello, Cleric. I called you here toda-"
"IN THE NAME OF PELOR, TURN UNDEAD!"
"-y; that wasn't very nice. Now anyway, I called you here today to record the story of my life, so handsome young bucks like yourself dont waste their time trying to get rid of me. Will you listen."
"Fine, evil beast."
"I'm not evil; far from it in fact. Well, I'll start from when I joined service under Lastai's Paladins. You know, the good old Lusty Brigade? Anyway, when I joined, I decided to go all the way, and took the Poverty vows. You know, give up all your money to charity and all that. Really, it helps your natural beauty if you don't let worldly goods get in your way, and there are plenty of cheap ways to obtain decent pleasure. For example, after joining, I went down to the local brothel, and pretended to be one of the girls for a night. It was an experience, let me tell you! I took a liking to the place, and consecrated it in Lastai's name, defended it with my honor/life, you know the dealie."
"I seem to understand what you're talking about, yes."
"Remind me again; Pelor is one of those deities who likes chastity, right?"
"No, and screw you for asking."
"Temper, temper. Anyway, Lastai's priests came down and showed her approval one night, if you know what I mean, and I basically moved out of the temple and into the brothel. I mean, why not? They give me room and board (which Lastai eventually supplied), and I got them good income. Besides, Lastai made me immune to diseases after a point, so I really was one of the purest people there, in a way..."
"Can you change the subject, please?"
"Spoilsport."
Levels (1-4): Annette is a Paladin. An exceedingly unwealthy Paladin, but a Paladin all the same. She is a skirmisher due to her lower protection; however, given that she has Wisdom to hit, and the power to give herself or allies Fast Healing for a short amount of time, she isn't exactly afraid of fighting. She also has a nice buff for allies with her Gift of Grace; basically, she can give up some or all of her Divine Grace and spread the removed bonus to saves around. Very nice if she has members in her party who are hurting in the saves department. She also has the (flavor) ability of always knowing what her deity wants her to do; it is a very nice protection from Falling. Gift of Discernment FTW! She can also Turn Undead weakly, and has a single daily Paladin spell. She tries to make it count, by using Protection from Evil and other such buffs. She's primarily a minor buffer at these levels, with some short term (Healing Devotion) and all day (Gift of Grace) buffs for her and her friends. Her immunities to Enchantment effects and Disease are nice, too.

"Hmm, what else to talk about... Oh yes, one of the girls was an exotic dancer from out West. She taught me a couple tricks, like how to fascinate people (might have been the way I walked around half naked. Being immune to the elements is rather nice; Praise Lastai!), how to counter someone elses dancing, and how to, you know, Inspire 'Courage', if you know what I mean..." She winks at Jozun.
"I thought we agreed that we would keep away from that topic."
"I'm a freakin' prostitute, or at least I was; it's not as if I'm talking about something blasphemous, is it? Anyway, besides the dancing lessons, I also received some magic lessons; mostly to increase my natural charms, but a couple of other useful tricks, here and there, never hurt anybody, right? Right."

Levels (5-8): Now Annette is a Bard. She is treated as if she has half her Bard levels in skill ranks for all skills that can be used untrained, at the very least; this means she can at least Aid Another with practically anything, and helps display the Dilettante aspect. She also has Bardic Music, and we all know how nice that is, especially with her Words of Creation. She also can glow whenever she wants, due to Nimbus of Light; as a result, she doesn't need a torch. She also has her Bard spells, which tend to all be buffs. In other words, she has become an even better buffer, who can still hurt things, though not as much as someone dedicated to fighting. It isn't really her bag, due to highish Diplomacy.

"Oh, and how could I forget the time that Sensate came around. Lastai's body, but he was an animal in the sack. I mean, RROWR"
"Off that topic, PLEASE."
"Fine. Anyway, their philosophy is basically Lastai's, in that it says pleasure is awesome, and should be shared. Of course, not all their pleasure is of the sexy kind; a lot of them learn techniques to heighten their senses a bunch, so that even smelling a flower feels like sex. And the actual sex..."
"I beg of you, woman-undead-being, please keep off that topic."
"As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, a Sensate came around, and extended me an invitation to their super exclusive club. So I bade the brothel goodbye, and went of to spread the joys of loving, consensual, holy sex to the multiverse. I easily got past the entry requirements, and so went a-travelin'. I eventually picked up some of their tricks, like the ability to peak-a-boo on someone else's senses, which makes sex a lot more entertaining when you feel both sides..."
":Sob...:"
"Oh, quit whining. Anyway, that's when I put some of my fighting talents to work. Got them from Lastai herself, you know. It really helped get adrenaline going, made everything a little more exhilirating. Led to some fun times, let me te-"
"Wait, fighting talents? When would a prostitute need those?"
"Some of the customers are... less than gentle. I tend to deal with them quickly." The woman's pleasant expression darkens, and then becomes brighter.
"Oh well, that's behind me for now. Anyway, things were going great, until we met that necromancer, and he mobbed us with Wraiths... And that is how I died."
"How are you so... not evil, then?"

Levels (9-12): Now Annette has reached the secret ingredient, and my, how it agrees with her! Enthrall makes for good battle prevention, and it pretty much takes the place of Fascinate, because those Bardic Music usages can be better used to Inspire Courage once an actual fight takes place; Joie de Vivre makes for a nice buff, because who doesn't like a little +2 morale bonus to practically everything? The fact that the class heightens her senses is rather good, and makes her a decent choice as a back-up sentry; even if she hasn't invested any points in Spot/Listen, she still is treated as if she had 2 ranks in them, which is at least better than none. Her repertoire of Bard spells has increased, and allows her to buff people to even greater heights; and if that weren't enough, that glow of hers can now hurt undead (thank you, Holy Radiance!). She keeps to her Diplomacy developing ways, so she can act as a back-up Diplomancer, in case the normal one gets sick; Nymph Kissed helps with that good ol' +2 to all Charisma based skills. In summary, she can be the Face of the party, a Buffer, and a back-up fighter. She also has a Bardic Knowledge-type dealie, so she can be the party's reference library, if they don't already have one.

Levels (13-18): Sense Link is awesomesauce; just thought you should know. It allows Annette to be a rather decent scout, in that she can eavesdrop practically anywhere; she sees a couple people in room, and wants to know what they're saying? No problemo. She also gets Scent, which adds a little tracking ability to her repertoire; along with her automatic save when faced with an illusion, the above are all reasons I want her in the front line, until battle at least. But the shmexiest ability she has so far is See it Again, also known as “Hey, you, enemy spellcaster. Yeah, you, with the face. I think you cast this at me.” If you haven't collected what it does yet, it let's you copy any spell that has targeted you/had you in its area of effect within the last round. It's only 1/day, but it is seriously still badass, since she can officially pass on 1 buff a day that someone casts on her. Blindesense is useful, but kind of meh after that. She also has Lyric Spell, so she can cast spells using Bardic Music instead of spell slots; considering she has 13 uses per day, she can keep up her casting for a little while longer. Funnily enough, her Lyric Spell feat also allows her to cast Paladin spells from her Bardic Music uses, which is pretty nice. She has reached the pinnacle of her Bardic Spellcasting, the equivalent of a 13th level Bard; in other words, she has spells up to 5th level, which are all pretty nice on the buffing front. She can dance up some Snowflake Wardance, upping her chance to hit with any barehanded attacks she might use, she can sanctify her attacks, and she can cast Touch spells on certain allies at Short range, meaning she doesn't have to come too close to the fighting (Divine Ward is a godsend in more than one way, you know.) She has reached awesome levels of power, and is decent at acting like pretty much half the party. She is awesome.

"So there I was, a wraith, helping fight the good fight against my old friends, when suddenly the wraith that got me in the first place died, so I became free, and switched back to being good. I ran away from my former group, which was easy considering I could fly faster than they could walk, and then I settled down and tried to, you know, help people. I kinda didn't have my memories at that moment. But anyhoo, I ended up fighting for, though I didn't know it at the time, my old patroness Lastai. She helped me recuperate my lost memories, but it was a long and exacting process, that only got me bits and pieces. Until one day..."

Levels (5-7): Hey, what gives? Her utterly awesome class features are gone, and she only gets back her feats halfway through this interval; she doesn't even get her skills back until after this. In other words, the only saving grace at the moment are the immunities inherent in her form right now, and they are beauties. Incorporeal, Blindsense, and having a constitution DRAINING touch attack? The ability to create spawn? 60 ft flight? Yes please! She took her Bard abilities as her Remembered Class Features (Requiem means she can buff herself using Bardic Music. Sneaky, huh?) She can also boost her spawn with Bardic music, making them a bit more frightening than usual. At this point in time, she hides in the back and spams Wraiths made from villainous commoners or something; she doesn't want to come anywhere near combat with enemies of her party's level. Ghost Touch is a nice feat to grab, and it is funny to realize that she can use magical items for one level. Still, due to the dramatically lower ECL, she is leveling faster than everyone else, which is nice, because the next level is a DOOZY!.

"It all came rushing back. Now, I don't know if you've ever made love to a celestial, which I hav-"
"For the love of Pelor's Glorious Sunburst, please stop using sex as an example for things!"
"Fine, fine. Anyway, it feels reaaally good to get back all of your memories and powers all at once; it also meant that I recalled the brothel I left. The very one your standing in, in fact. When I got back, I didn't reveal myself immediately; that would have freaked out the girls, which there was a new batch of, by the way. The owner was a cruel bastard, by the way. Beat the girls something fierce. Of course, I couldn't have that, so I turned him into a wraith. Now he helps me protect the girls; justice at it's finest."

Level (9/27): Annette is now ECL 27, and loving every minute of it! Her base saves are high, she has lovely amounts of AC, she can walk through walls, she has all her class level goodies back, she has really nice ranks in a bunch of skills, she has a frickin' +9 bonus to all saves from Divine Grace, which she can spread around, she still has a practical army of wraiths following her around, she nearly never misses with her Constitution Draining attack, the list goes on, and on... accept that she is now officially useful in pretty much every party category except for main caster, because she has all of the aforementioned class abilities, and you would need to turn like a 31st level Cleric to even have a chance of fazing her. Oh, and by the way? The fort save on that Con-Draining touch of hers is now DC 33.

"So, Mr. Cleric, I want you to go back to your temple and tell them that this brothel and the road it stands on are under Annetta the Impure's protection, and don't need an exorcism. At all."
She ***** her head for a moment, and then adds,
"But if you find any cute looking necrophiles, tell them to come try their best!"
She turns off her aura of light, leaving Jozun confused and slightly disturbed by the whole ordeal.


Paladin Spells per day/Bard Spells per day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|-|1/-/-|-|-|-|-

5th|-/2/4|1/-/-|-|-|-|-

6th|-/3/5|1/1/2|-|-|-|-

7th|-/3/6|1/2/3|-|-|-|-

8th|-/3/6|1/4/3|-/1/2|-|-|-

9th|-/3/6|1/5/4|-/2/3|-|-|-

10th|-/3/6|1/5/4|-/2/3|-|-|-

11th|-/3/6|2/5/4|-/4/3|-|-|-

12th|-/3/6|2/5/4|-/4/4|-/1/2|-|-

13th|-/3/6|2/5/4|-/5/4|-/2/3|-|-

14th|-/3/6|2/5/4|-/5/4|-/3/3|-|-

15th|-/3/6|2/5/4|-/5/4|-/4/4|-/1/2|-

16th|-/3/6|2/5/4|-/5/4|-/5/4|-/3/3|-

17th|-/3/6|2/5/4|-/5/4|-/5/4|-/4/4|-

18th|-/3/6|2/5/4|-/5/4|-/5/4|-/4/4|-/1/2

2nd Life|-/3/6|3/7/4|-/6/4|-/6/4|-/6/4|-/3/2[/table]

Spells Known:
0th: Detect Magic, Ghostharp, Ghost Sound, Read Magic, Message, Prestidigitation
1st: Disquietude, Inspirational Boost, Shock and Awe, Sleep
2nd: Alter Self, Eagle's Splendor, Phantom Threat, Suggestion
3rd: Charm Monster, Dispel Magic, Love's Lament, Wounding Whispers
4th: Break Enchantment, Dimension Door, Unluck, Wall of Dispel Magic
5th: Revenance, Greater Blink

Sources
Core, Unearthed Arcana, Savage Species, Planar Handbook, Book of Exalted Deeds, Magic of Faerun, Player's Guide to Faerun, Eberron Player's Guide, Frostburn, and Libris Mortis.

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:09 PM
Get ready for Captain Arleigh and the World of Tomorrow!

Arleigh Skye

Aasimar – Chaotic Good – Ranger 8 / Knight of the Weave 2 / Ardent Dilettante 10

Backstory
Born the daughter of a widowed midwife, Arleigh was always the subject of much gossip in her village. But by age 9, this unusually robust girl could create bright golden light by force of will alone, and her mother had to share her secret at last. Arleigh was the result of a dalliance with an angel… an elemental Deva of some sort.

The news was life changing to the young girl. She’d given up the idea of ever meeting her father, but now… now she started to obsess about it. After all, he’d have to be a good father if he was a celestial, right? But meeting him would mean travelling… and learning… and planar magic. She wasted no time apprenticing herself to the loose fraternity of rangers in her area, as they were the most travelled people she could think of.

After she mastered the basics, she started teaching herself new and exotic things. An otherworldly weapon style a traveler agreed to teach her, the basics of arcane magic, bits of history from bards she met… and the more she delved into the exotic, the more she found she liked it. But it was finally learning to work Ranger magics that thrilled her the most. Magical energy was fascinating, like a 6th sense she’d never used before. An order of rangers and mystics offered to teach even more to someone who was willing to take up arms in defense of magic itself.

Suddenly able to sense magic at will, the sensation was electrifying to Arleigh. It wasn’t LIKE a sixth sense, it WAS a sixth sense. And the world she had come to know as a ranger was suddenly a much larger place, and she wanted more. Histories and magical studies began to be her focus, and she learned to cast arcane spells, as well as honing that otherworldly weapon training to a dangerous level. A quick trip through the Plane of Shadow on a mission for the order was daunting to most, but Arleigh relished it, and caught the attention of a man who would become her patron.

The mage was a planeswalker. He travelled not out of a need to serve (though he did a lot of that), but rather out a need to experience. And he soon inducted Arleigh into the Society of Sensation and all its attendant lore. While she didn’t savor the part of the crowd that reveled in new intoxicants, she got on well with those who thrived on excitement and discovery of places. These were people who could GET her places… perhaps even to her father. And they taught her things… techniques for powerful magic, secrets of harnessing part of her father’s mixed bloodline for arcane power, tips for using her nose when her eyes were not enough.

With each passing day, more of the universe unfolded around her, and Arleigh wouldn’t stop until she had seen it all.
The Build

{table=head]STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA|-|Level Bonuses
16|14|12|12|12|16|-|+1 CHA at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, +1 CON at 20th [/table]
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

Race|Aasimar|
-|
-|
-|
-| +2 Spot (Racial), +2 Listen (Racial), Speak Language (Celestial)|-|+2 Wis, +2 Cha, Darkvision 60’, Daylight (Sp, 1/day), Resist (Acid, Cold, Electricity) 5

2nd|Ranger 1|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0| Hide 4, Listen 4, Move Silently 4, Search 4, Spot, 4, Survival 4, Swim 4|Combat Reflexes, Track|Favored Enemy 1 (x), Wild Empathy

3rd|Ranger 2|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+0| Hide 5, Listen 5, Move Silently 5, Search 5, Spot 5, Survival 5, Swim 5|Rapid Shot|Weapon Style

4th|Ranger 3|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1| Concentration 2, Listen 6, Spot 6, Survival 6, Kno – Arcane (cc) 1|Exotic WP – Xendrik Boomerang, Endurance|-
-|3000xp LA Buyoff
4th|Ranger 4|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+1| Concentration 4, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Spellcraft (cc) 1|-|Animal Companion, Ranger CL 2

5th|Ranger 5|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+1| Concentration 6, Kno – History (cc) 1, Listen 8, Spot 8, Survival 8|-| Favored Enemy 2 (x)
6th|Knight of the Weave 1|
+5|
+6|
+4|
+3| KNo – History 2, UMD 2|Boomerang Daze|Detect Magic, Read Magic, Knight CL 1
7th|Knight of the Weave 2|
+6|
+7|
+4|
+4| KNo – History 3, UMD 4|-|Armored Caster (Light), Knight CL 2

8th|Ardent Dilettante 1|
+6|
+7|
+6|
+4| Kno- History 5, Kno – The Planes 1, Listen 9, Perform 2, Spot 9|-|Heightened Senses, Lore

9th|Ardent Dilettante 2|
+7|
+7|
+7|
+4| Kno – The Planes 2, Listen 10, Perform 5, Spot 10, UMD 5|Practiced Spellcaster|Enthrall, Knight CL 7

10th|Ardent Dilettante 3|
+7|
+8|
+7|
+5| Kno – The Planes 3, Listen 11, Perform 8, Spot 11, UMD 6|-|Good Hope, Knight CL 8

11th|Ardent Dilettante 4|
+8|
+8|
+8|
+5| Kno – The Planes 4, Listen 12, Spot 12, UMD 10|Air Bloodline|Sense Link, Knight CL 8

12th|Ardent Dilettante 5|
+8|
+8|
+8|
+5| Kno – The Planes 5, Listen 14, Spot 14, Survival 9, UMD 11|Craft Wand| Scent, Knight CL 9

13th|Ardent Dilettante 6|
+9|
+9|
+9|
+6| Listen 16, Spot 16, Survival 11, UMD 12|-| Seen It Before, Knight CL 10

14th|Ardent Dilettante 7|
+9|
+9|
+9|
+6| Kno – The Planes 6, Listen 17, Spot 17, Survival 12, UMD 15|Arcane Strike|Knight CL 11
15th|Ardent Dilettante 8|
+10|
+9|
+10|
+6| Concentration 8, Kno – The Planes 8, Listen 18, Spot 18, Survival 13|Improved Scent|See It Again, Knight CL 12

16th|Ardent Dilettante 9|
+10|
+10|
+10|
+7| Concentration 11, Kno – The Planes 9, Listen 19, Spot 19, Survival 14|-|Blindsense 10’, Knight CL 13

17th|Ardent Dilettante 10|
+11|
+10|
+11|
+7| Concentration 12, Kno – The Planes 10, Listen 20, Search 7, Spot 20, Survival 15|Uncanny Scent|Death Holds No Mysteries, Ranger CL 3

18th|Ranger 6|
+12|
+11|
+12|
+8| Listen 21, Search 11, Spot 21, Survival 16|Robilar’s Gambit|Manyshot

19th|Ranger 7|
+13|
+11|
+12|
+8| Listen 22, Search 15, Spot 22, Survival 17|-|Woodland Stride, Ranger CL 4
20th|Ranger 8|
+14|
+12|
+13|
+8| Concentration 15, Listen 23, Search 16, Spot 23, Survival 18|-|Swift Tracker [/table]
Spells per day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|Rgr 1|Rgr 2|---|KW 1|KW 2|KW 3|KW 4|KW 5|KW 6|Knight Spells Known

4th|0|-|---|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|0|-|---|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|0|-|---|2|-|-|-|-|-|1st (Comprehend Languages, Shield)

7th|0|-|---|2|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|0|-|---|2|-|-|-|-|-|-
9th|0|-|---|3|2|-|-|-|-|1st (Charm Person) 2nd (See Invisibility, Bull’s Strength)
10th|0|-|---|3|2|-|-|-|-|-

11th|0|-|---|5|4|3|-|-|-|1st (Lesser Restoration, Obscuring Mist), 2nd (Bear’s Endurance, Gust of Wind), 3rd (Arcane Sight, Dispel Magic, Wind Wall)

12th|0|-|---|5|4|3|3|-|-|4th (Break Enchantment, Death Ward, Shout)

13th|0|-|---|5|5|4|3|3|-|2nd (Shield Other), 3rd (Fly), 5th (Cure Critical Wounds, True Seeing, Telekinesis)

14th|0|-|---|5|5|4|4|3|3|4th (Neutralize Poison), 6th (Banishment, Control Winds, Teleport)

15th|0|-|---|5|5|5|4|4|3|3rd (Phantom Steed), 5th (Dimension Door)

16th|0|-|---|5|5|5|4|4|4|6th (Greater Dispel Magic), 3rd (exchange Dispel Magic for Greater Magic Weapon)

17th|1|-|---|5|5|5|4|4|4|-

18th|1|-|---|5|5|5|4|4|4|-

19th|1|0|---|5|5|5|4|4|4|-

20th|1|0|---|5|5|5|4|4|4|- [/table]
Level Highlights
NOTE – This build uses both a feat chain from Eberron source books and a Prestige class from Faerun source books. While I would not normally do this, I think Ardent Dilettante justifies it, taking experiences and knowledge from such diverse sources.

Level 6 – Arleigh got her first taste of magic a few levels ago with Ranger spells and is hooked now. Knight of the Weave has worked out perfectly for her, as she now has Detect Magic at will, which is a brand new sense for her, and a new way of looking at the world. Functionally, she is still primarily an archer, having obtained Aptitude Weapon on her composite strength bow and using it to daze people at range using Boomerang Daze.

Level 9 – She’s developing her senses now, having embraced the Ardent Dilettante path, and is on the road to becoming a competent spellcaster. Still only 1st level spells, but with a caster level of 7, she is working on Use Magic Device for other needs.

Level 12 – Arleigh can hold her own in melee combat now, having commissioned a greatsword with aptitude weapon on it as well. She’s also mastered 3rd level spells (primarily defensive) and is drawing arcane power from her elemental heritage. And Craft Wand is being put to use to broaden her repertoire, as she has other casters help her make them. More importantly, she has picked up NEW SENSES! (Scent, Sense Link, and the spells See Invisibility and Arcane Sight)

Sense Link deserves some elaboration, as this is why she has picked up Craft Wand this level. 10 minutes to set up a sensor that lasts 4 minutes is kind of useless. But make a WAND out of it, and it’s a standard action to set up that 4 minute sensor instead, and she can use her animal companion to look ahead.

Level 15 – Sweet Spot – She is a much more powerful spellcaster now, able to use Telekinesis and Control Winds, the new sense True Seeing, and emergency spells like Cure Critical Wounds and Neutralize Poison. More importantly, this repertoire of 6th level spells powers her melee attacks now, with lots of higher level spell slots for Arcane Strike and some excellent save DC’s with her dazing attacks. Her Scent ability has gotten better, she’s added blindsense as well, and she often uses her spell duplication ability to multiply an ally’s major pre-battle buff spell.

Level 18 – At this level, Arleigh is getting back into her neglected fighting skills. Robilar’s Gambit combined with Arcane Strike and dazing melee attacks results in a combatant that is highly effective at depriving enemies of actions so she and her party members can finish them off. And her scent ability is so highly developed now, she can track at full speed by scent alone and pinpoint invisible targets within 20 feet of her.
Magical Gear
Level 6 – The big upgrade for this level is a composite strength bow (18 str) enchanted to +1 with Aptitude Weapon to make use of the boomerang daze feat. A +2 Str item is the only other requirement.

Level 9 – The usual… bigger STR item, Dex and Cha items, resistance gear. Wand of Cure Light should be available now too, and any arrows with energy damage on them to help those boomerang daze DC’s.

Level 12 – She’ll want that Aptitude Weapon ability on her greatsword now, and she’s starting to make wands. Ranger marksmanship spells, her Sense Link ability, other utility spells.

Level 15 – The greatsword is more important now, a higher bonus and energy damage and/or Holy property so she can really bust up with arcane strike and boomerang daze.

Level 18 – Lots of stat boost items now, a Ring of Evasion, and a Cloak of Displacement for tough opponents.
Source Books
{table=head]Sourcebook|Class/Race|Feats
Champions of Valor|Knight of the Weave|-
Complete Divine|-|Practiced Spellcaster
Complete Warrior|-|Arcane Strike
Dragon Magazine Compendium|-|Air Bloodline
Player’s Handbook|Ranger|Blind Combat Reflexes, Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Craft Wand
Player’s Handbook 2|-|Robilar’s Gambit
Planar Handbook|Aasimar, Ardent Dilettante|-
Races of Eberron|-|Boomerang Daze
Savage Species|-|Improved Scent, Uncanny Scent
Unearthed Arcana|LA Buyoff|-[/table]

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:12 PM
Bloody hell!
I post.

V'grax
CN High Elf Sha’ir 5/Ardent Dilettante 4/Blood Magus 5/Ardent Dilettante +6

Starting stats: STR 10 DEX 16 CON 12 INT 14 WIS 10 CHA 16
V’grax
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Sha'ir 1 (DMC 52)|
+0|
+1|
+3|
+2|Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Decipher Script 2, Diplomacy 4, Knowledge (arcana) 1, Knowledge (the planes) 1 |Toughness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#toughness)|Summon Gen Familiar, Spells

2nd|Sha'ir 2|
+1|
+1|
+3|
+3|Bluff +1, Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Spellcraft 1|-|-

3rd|Sha'ir 3|
+1|
+2|
+4|
+3|Concentration +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Spellcraft +1|Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Hand Crossbow) (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#exoticWeaponProficiency) |Recognize Genie Works

4th|Sha'ir 4|
+2|
+2|
+4|
+4|Concentration +1, Perform (oratory) 1.0, Spellcraft +1|-|Boost CHA

5th|Sha'ir 5|
+2|
+2|
+4|
+4|Concentration +1, Jump 1.0, Spellcraft +1|-|Elemental Protection

6th|Ardent Dilettante 1 (PlH 55)|
+2|
+2|
+6|
+4|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Tumble 1|Anarchic Bloodline (DMC 92)|Heightened Senses, Lore

7th|Ardent Dilettante 2|
+3|
+2|
+7|
+4|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|-|Enthrall

8th|Ardent Dilettante 3|
+3|
+3|
+7|
+5|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|-|Boost CHA, Joie de Vivre

9th|Ardent Dilettante 4|
+4|
+5|
+8|
+5|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|Great Fortitude (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#greatFortitude), Power In The Blood (DMC 105)| Bonus Feat (Great Fortitude), Sense Link

10th|Blood Magus 1 (CAr 26)|
+4|
+7|
+8|
+5|Bluff +2, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1|-|Blood Component, Durable Casting, Stanch

11th|Blood Magus 2|
+5|
+8|
+8|
+5|Bluff +1, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +2|-|Scarification

12th|Blood Magus 3|
+5|
+8|
+9|
+6|Bluff +2, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1|Practiced Spellcaster (CAr 82)|Boost CHA, Death Knell

13th|Blood Magus 4|
+6|
+9|
+9|
+6|Bluff +2, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1|-|Blood Draught

14th|Blood Magus 5|
+6|
+9|
+9|
+6|Bluff +2, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1|-|Homunculus

15th|Ardent Dilettante 5|
+6|
+9|
+9|
+6|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|Extend Spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#extendSpell)|Scent

16th|Ardent Dilettante 6|
+7|
+10|
+10|
+7|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|-|Boost CHA, Seen It Before

17th|Ardent Dilettante 7|
+7|
+10|
+10|
+7|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|Persistent Spell (CAr 81)|Bonus Feat (Persistent Spell)

18th|Ardent Dilettante 8|
+8|
+10|
+11|
+7|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|Improved Counterspell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#improvedCounterspell)|See It Again

19th|Ardent Dilettante 9|
+8|
+11|
+11|
+8|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|-|Blindsense 10'

20th|Ardent Dilettante 10|
+9|
+11|
+12|
+8|Concentration +1, Diplomacy +1, Jump +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Perform (oratory) +1, Spellcraft +1, Tumble +1|Twin Spell (CAr 84)|Boost CHA, Bonus Feat (Twin Spell), Death Holds No Mysteries[/table]

Spells per Day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|4/5|3/3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|5/6|4/3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|5/6|4/4|2/-*|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|5/7|5/4|4/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|5/7|5/5|4/3|2/-*|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|5/7|5/5|4/3|2/-*|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|5/8|5/5|5/3|4/2|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|5/8|6/6|5/4|4/3|2/-*|-|-|-|-|-

9th|5/9|6/6|5/4|5/3|4/2|-|-|-|-|-

10th|5/9|6/7|6/5|5/4|4/3|1/-*|-|-|-|-

11th|5/9|6/7|6/5|5/4|5/3|3/2|-|-|-|-

12th|5/9|6/8|6/6|6/5|5/4|3/3|1/-*|-|-|-

13th|5/9|6/8|6/6|6/5|5/4|4/3|3/2|-|-|-

14th|5/9|6/8|6/6|6/5|5/4|4/3|3/2|-|-|-

15th|5/9|6/9|6/7|6/6|6/5|4/4|3/3|1/-*|-|-

16th|5/9|6/9|6/7|6/6|6/5|5/4|4/3|3/2|-|-

17th|5/9|6/9|6/8|6/7|6/6|6/5|4/4|3/3|1/-*|-

18th|5/9|6/9|6/8|6/7|6/6|6/5|4/4|4/3|3/2|-

19th|5/9|6/9|6/9|6/8|6/7|6/6|5/5|4/4|3/3|1/-*

20th|5/9|6/9|6/9|6/8|6/7|6/6|5/5|4/4|4/3|3/2[/table]

*Due to the Sha’ir’s unique casting mechanic, V’grax can cast spells he does not know, at the cost of a greatly increased time to retrieve the spells. Because of the nature of a Sha’ir’s casting mechanic, “spells known” includes Sorc/Wiz spells as well as several Cleric Domains. Sha’ir is not OGL to my knowledge, so I am not including the precise breakdown of those domains. I’ll gladly provide additional information on those domains through true_shinken at individual judges’ requests.

SPELLS KNOWN
0 - Resistance, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Daze, Prestidigitation, Flare, Ghost Sound, Message, Resistance
1 - Mage Armor, Grease, Color Spray, Magic Weapon, Enlarge Person, Obscuring Mist, Protection from Law, Detect Secret Doors, Entropic Shield
2 - Resist Energy, Glitterdust, Alter Self, Bear’s Endurance, Eagle’s Splendor, Shatter, Soften Earth and Stone, Heat Metal, Fog Cloud
3 - Dispel Magic, Sleet Storm, Haste, Greater Magic Weapon, Light of Venya (PlH), Gaseous Form, Clairvoyance, Protection from Energy
4 - Dimensional Anchor, Evard’s Black Tentacles, Shout, Polymorph, Spike Stones, Freedom of Movement, Divination
5 - Summon Monster V, Hold Monster, Waves of Fatigue, True Seeing, Planar Breach (PlH), Opalescent Glare^ (PlH)
6 - Globe of Invulnerability, Acid Fog, Planar Binding, Rary’s Telepathic Bond (PlH), Fire Seeds
7 - Plane Shift, Spell Turning, Energy Immunity (CAr), Earthquake
8 - Dimensional Lock, Polymorph Any Object, Moment of Prescience
9 - Time Stop, Precipitate Complete Breach (PlH)

^There’s a hilarious error in the duration of this spell that effectively gives a permanent gaze attack to the recipient. Even without the error, I consider it viable for V’Grax.

SOURCE LIST
1. SRD 2. Planar Handbook (Ardent Dilettante PrC and its associated Society for Sensation, some spells) 3. Complete Arcane (Blood Magus PrC, Practiced Caster feat, Persistent Spell feat, Energy Immunity spell) 4. Dragon Magazine Compendium (Sha’ir, Anarchic Bloodline feat, Power in the Blood feat)

BACKGROUND AND LEVEL HIGHLIGHTS

I Hear(1st level)
Having reached the age which my people consider maturity, I have been permitted by he who was my master, the wise and powerful Sha’ir Caleh-ibn-Succor, to attempt the summoning of my own gen! My gen will bring me the knowledge of magics many and varied, though I understand that my ability to retain that magic in my feeble brain will be limited, at least as I begin. By successfully completing this summons, I shall at last show that the long years he and I put into my apprenticeship have borne fruit, and in so doing, I shall be released from my apprenticeship, free to travel the wide world. It is even possible that I may see more of the world than what is ruled by our great Caliph, may he gather a thousand camels and a hundred wives. Truly, this is the most momentous, important day of my entire life.
An air gen gives V’Grax a more than serviceable scout at 1st level. The ability to cast arcane or divine spells as situations arise is obviously helpful. That said, the weird way the Sha’ir gain access to their spells makes it difficult to deal with surprises, and requires a ‘fifteen minute workday’ attitude from both V’Grax and his party, lest he be reduced to firing his longbow. Good spells for him to know include Mage Armor, Grease, and Color Spray; he wants spells that either have long enough durations to be useful more than once, or that can immediately swing a fight for his side. That longbow goes a long way to improving his usefulness at low levels, as do the other martial weapons V’Grax is automatically proficient with as an Elf, by the way. Toughness, while admittedly a bad feat, is more useful to V’Grax than in many other cases because his spell retrieval method means there is a greater likelihood that he’ll be stuck without either armor or his primary weapons - his spells - than is typical for most PHB classes. Obviously, it also fulfills a prerequisite for later. V’Grax most ably fills the roll of the party arcanist at this point, though the versatility of his casting allows him to be the divine caster if need be, and certainly allows him to be the primary backup in that role.

I Smell(5th level)
Whatever am I to do? Curse me for a fool, I have managed to hide my place in the world from my beloved gen, Salim! (Calm down, V’Grax, and retrace your steps, as your beloved former master Caleh-ibn-Succor would instruct. Do not just mope about like a jackal waiting for the lions to finish feasting!) Our tracker, Mufasa, led us to a drow enclave shortly after Salim had started bringing me spells of the second echelon, such as the extremely useful Bear’s Endurance. In fighting our way out, I came into possession of a hand crossbow and its bolts, tipped with a sleep drug. Oh, how very foolish I looked at first as I was learning my aim! We escaped, albeit barely, and collected our pay for that endeavor.

Of course! The cloaked drunkard at the bar who instigated the fight with our barbaric companion, Ulfgar! He must have been a deceiver, perhaps even one of those cursed spider-kissers come to exact revenge for the damage we brought to their enclave. Perhaps he found a way to kidnap Salim! Now, with that knowledge, I can ask Mufasa to track that cloaked rascal and hopefully recover my Salim. I am glad that I have become more resilient to the elements if he has gone back to the drow home, I must say. They were encamped directly beneath that volcano, and the heat will be more bearable now. Truly, this is the most momentous, important day of my entire life.
With a selection of 3rd level spells from both arcane and divine magics, V’Grax can handle most situations if given time to prepare and the ability to approach them promptly. The hand crossbow gives him a more concealable option for firing if he’s caught without proper spells, and if someone in the party can provide sleep poison - which V’Grax’s Elven blood gives him immunity to - so much the better (the sleep poison in the background story is not a required item). Because it’s a one-handed ranged weapon, V’Grax can more easily keep it in hand while casting, whereas the longbow may have been problematic in that respect, depending on DM and source material available. Recognize Genie Works is a highly niche-oriented ability, but if the Sha’ir base class and its default culture is expected within the game world, it should be useful once or twice at least. Energy Resistance at this level is always welcome. The various “+4 to [stat]” spells are solid 2nd level targets for V’Grax to have Salim retrieve, while Dispel Magic may be the top 3rd level priority when he can only make a single choice.

I Taste(10th level)
Three days now, and I cannot escape the feel of the grit of sand between my lips and gums. I am alive, praise the Ten Thousand Gods; the steady, stolid sounds of the blood pulsing through my veins in my ears is proof enough of that for me. I believe that the heightened awareness of my surroundings I have enjoyed since joining with the brethren in the Society of Sensation are the only reason I can make that claim, after those thrice-accursed drow sent enslaved janni to avenge their defeat at the hands of my traveling companions and I.
When they found us, they first toyed with us all, shifting the lot of us to the bizarre plane of existence called the Astral Plane, where we could all see our life-forces tethered to us like hobbles on a stallion. There we were beset by horrid gnashing teeth from some unseen quarter, and I know if I had not worked hard with the Society of Sensation in bolstering my otherwise flabby body, I would have died right there. The recuperative magics Salim had brought me the previous night were all that saved the lot of us then, I am sure. Only Ulfgar’s terrible strength and the sheer luck of my Precipitate Breach spell connecting with an unknown sentient demi-plane forced our assailants to return the fight to our native plane. There they swirled the sands to surround and swallow us, and there my life-force was snuffed out.
I must confess, the sound and feel of my own beating heart and the tang of old blood in my mouth when the Cleric Mufasa hired brought me back from Limbo was the most joyous combination of sensations I’d ever experienced. So moved was I that I have decided to take to the magics of the blood, myself. It will make me even more durable, and, I believe, will make me a more valuable member both of my traveling party and of the Society for Sensation. Truly, this is the most momentous, important day of my entire life.
With Anarchic Bloodline, V’Grax makes his spell selection even more versatile. There is admittedly room for discussion in how it works for a Sha’ir, but permanent access to 9 extra spells and a follow-up feat at the cost of spells antithetical to his alignment is a pretty decent bargain, RAW. He’s continued to focus his skill selection on Diplomacy and Spellcraft, due to Sha’ir requirements, while also expanding into some Tumble ranks for increased survivability on a chaotic battlefield. The good Reflex saves for Ardent Dilettante improve his survivability, while the significant boost in skill points expands his non-magical versatility. Heightened Senses and much better HP combine with that good Reflex save to shore up his ability to work with the party scout, or as an auxiliary scout himself. Lore, and a decent INT, allows him to play the part of the party’s sage. Enthrall gives V’Grax a way to end conflicts before any weapons are drawn, without expending any spells, and bases off his best stat. With the Joie de Vivre ability, V’Grax helps his entire party at once as a Bard would, but with a far better selection of spells. He uses his bonus feat from Ardent Dilettante 4 to fill out his qualifications for Blood Magus; Power In the Blood gives legs to the spells Anarchic Bloodline provided and is an excellent thematic fit for Blood Magus. Entering Blood Magus allows the Ardent Dilettante’s ‘must have died and returned to life’ requirement to serve a dual purpose, and gets V’Grax a good Fort progression, and sturdier casting. As he progresses in it, Blood Magus will also provide free Scribe Scroll and Brew Potion feats. Story-wise, he’s now fulfilled two-thirds of the ‘must have visited 3 different planes’ requirement and possibly all three of them, if the DM allows the Prime Material Plane to count for qualifications.

I Feel(15th level)
While the workings of blood magics have been interesting, I am not entirely sad to put that chapter of my life behind me and once again devote my attentions to my fellows in the Society for Sensation. There are so many places and experiences to explore! Just last week we were forced to contend with a high priestess of Llolth and her minions; it seems the dark elves have long memories of their perceived slights, indeed. We would have been ambushed and killed, had I not established a link with Salim to alert us of the dangers from the north, and had the capricious winds in the caverns not carried the scent of the accompanying dangers from the western tunnel. Fortunately, I was alerted by these factors and was able to Plane Shift my companions and I safely to the Ethereal Plane, including my blood pet, the homunculus I call Jafar. This plane was strange to me, with so few aspects of sound and smell and taste surrounding us! Had our circumstances not been so dire, I would have gladly explored this region in greater depth.

The priestess sent her minions after us in her own diabolical fashion, but I had summoned a Hound Archon to accompany us for an extended time, and we had the upper hand. Now, we stand at the precipice of finally eradicating the Drow menace from the countryside, if the Ten Thousand Gods so will it. I must send Salim for the appropriate divine magics during our rest period, or surely we will be overmatched. Truly, this is the most momentous, important day of my entire life.
Scarification and Blood Draught, as indicated before, give V’Grax Scribe Scroll and Brew Potion as bonus feats, allowing him to hold niche spells in reserve; Death Knell allows him to immediately dispatch an enemy at death’s door should the circumstance arise. Practiced Caster is a necessary evil due to the 9/10 progression of Ardent Dilettante and ⅘ progression of the Blood Magus levels taken. By snagging the homunculus, V’Grax gets two auxiliary scouts for himself and the party, as well as an extra reserve of HP for himself. A generous DM might allow the homunculus to gather scrolls and potions to expand V’Grax’s spell repertoire even further, but that’s not required for the concept to work. Because all of his castings of spells are on more of a timer than other casters, Extend Spell is exceptionally useful in prolonging the time when V’Grax’s spells have a positive impact on the party’s adventures. With the Scent ability, V’Grax becomes difficult to surprise. This is especially true if he chooses to have Salim gather Divination spells for him, of course.

I See(20th level)
We are victorious, and yet, there is so much still to do! The entirety of the threat posed by the spider-kissers is gone from our country, but in its place, a portal to Llolth’s realm has opened where we banished the last of her infernal servants. In our final confrontation, I was able to alert my friends of the illusory nature of the wall of fire hemming us in and to geas the Drow Wizard who sought to do the same to me. The assassins in their midst were unable to hide themselves from us with the techniques taught to me by the Society of Sensation, my Time Stop turned the tide, and the battle’s aftermath revealed the priestess as a rakshasa in disguise. Now, we prepare to venture into the portal, to combat the hated former consort of Corellon herself on her home ground. I am nervous, but not afraid, as death has lost its ability to inspire terror in me. Truly, this is the most momentous, important day of my entire life.
Seen It Before works with his homunculus, his gen, and all the other abilities increasing sensory input to keep V’Grax and his friends from being caught unawares, as does Blindsense. With See It Again, V’Grax gets free use of any spell the opponents may use against him, while the classes he’s taken have made it so that none of his saves are truly weak. Death Holds No Mysteries makes it easier for his companions to bring him back, as a Raise Dead is considerably more affordable than a True Resurrection, allowing greater resource expenditure in other areas the party may need. V’Grax has 9th level arcane and divine spells at his disposal, so he has access to the most powerful toys in the game, and can pick and choose which ones will be most useful in a given situation. With Persistent Spell, he can choose to be constantly Displaced, or to give a constant Greater Magic Weapon to Ulfgar, as he sees fit, among other choices. With Improved Counterspell, V'Grax need not worry about having just the right spell at any moment in order to deal with enemy casters. Twin Spell doubles the battlefield control of spells like Evard's Black Tentacles.

I Want(Gear Wish List)
Any items boosting CON and the casting stat - in this case, CHA - are always welcome and should be considered top priority. Scrolls and wands of various spells, particularly the divine spells V’Grax counts as ‘known’, should prove very useful in the early-to-mid stages of his adventuring career. Staves of divine spells become more desirable the further V’Grax advances, since the divine spells are more tedious to obtain, particularly in time of need. Obviously, any choices that improve defense will aid survivability and should also make the cut as they become available. The benefit V’Grax has is that he can choose, with some preparation time, to mimic most of the effects he desires from magic items at his whim.

I Could Use(Optional Choices)
+9 BAB. Yeah. Even with 9th level spells, that's painful. Fractional BAB and Saves would help out a lot. Even with the small boost to BAB that would provide, Non-Combatant and Vulnerable would be good flaw choices because V'Grax is not a frontline combatant. With those flaws, V'Grax has room for Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration, to increase his casting abilities.

I Think (Some Thoughts on Build Choices)
Sha’ir was chosen as a single class way to obtain both arcane and divine spells without needing to outsource through Arcane Disciple or other feat shenanigans, and without needing to dip a different base class and thereby risk losing 9th level spells. This also meant that Ardent Dilettante’s spellcaster progression would provide a 100% return on the spells of Sha’ir, rather than only advancing ½ of the caster class’s spells. The fact that there’s never been another Sha’ir entered in Iron Chef (at least, prior to this contest’s reveal) was also a factor.
With race, I went back and forth between Lesser Drow for the free EWP, and the various lesser planetouched races like lesser Aasimar, which are suggested in the Sha’ir’s flavor text and grant blanket MWP. Ultimately, I decided to stick with a race found in the SRD and the Player’s Handbook, because it gave all the MWP benefits I wanted from a race, some minor additional benefits, and didn’t create any additional source bloat on the build or imply a further restriction of setting.

As indicated above, I went with Blood Magus as a way of utilizing the requirement that an Ardent Dilettante must die and return to advance to the pinnacle of the PrC to strengthen the build thematically and overall, with a high FORT progression and better HP than the Sha’ir provides. Free access to item creation feats I missed out on by not using a Wizard was another strong draw to Blood Magus, especially since the Sha’ir only keep their spells in memory for a limited time. Finally, exiting after obtaining the homunculus allowed me to finish up Ardent Dilettante while getting a second companion who could serve as a quick way to heal V’Grax’s wounds as well as a scout while maintaining access to 9th level spells; a generous DM and downtime might even make the homunculus more valuable than that in obtaining information and items, perhaps even aiding in their creation.

I debated finishing the Ardent Dilettante in a straight shot, and then rounding out the build with Blood Magus, rather than having the progression interrupted as it is in the final draft. Ultimately, I decided that the Scarification, Blood Draught, and homunculus abilities were too useful to the mid-game to leave until the end. I also felt that this was true to the Ardent Dilettante’s nature as one more interested in the journey than the destination, one eager for the occasional diversion.

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:14 PM
Click the link. You know you want to.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDm_ZHyYTrg


”Hazy” Vernal Equinox
The Gray Elf Blues Fiddler without a Soul

“Early this mornin'
When you knocked upon my door
Early this mornin', ooh
when you knocked upon my door
And I said, “Hello, Pazuzu,”
I believe it's time to go.”

The Last Record of Old Hazy

”Hazy” Vernal Equinox
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Wizard 1|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|P. String +4, Diplomacy +4, Conc +4, K History +4, K Planes +4, K Arcana +4, K Religion +3,Spellc+4|Apprentice (Entertainer), Elven Proficiencies| F. Specialist Conj (No Necro, Evoc, Ench), Abrubt Jaunt

2nd|Wizard 2|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|P. String +5, Diplomacy +5, Conc +5, K History +5, K Planes +5, K Arcana +5, K Religion +5, Spellc +5||

3rd|Wizard 3|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|P. String +6, Diplomacy +6, Conc +6, K History +6, K Planes +6, K Arcana +6, K Religion +6, Spellc +6, Hide .5|EWP Elven Lightblade|

4th|Wizard 4|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|P String +7, Diplomacy +7, Conc +7, K History +7, K Planes +7, K Arcana +7, K Religion +7, Spellc +7, Hide 1||

5th|Wizard 5|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|P String +8, Diplomacy +8, Conc +8, K History +8, K Planes +8, K Arcana +8, K Religion +8, Spellc +8, C. Alch +1||Spontaneous Divination

6th|Ardent D 1|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+4|P String +9, Conc +9, Spellc +9, Hide +9, Move Silent +1|Mentor (Entertainer), Heighten Spell| Heighten Senses, Lore

7th|Ardent D 2|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|P String +10, Conc +10, Spellc +10, Hide +10, Move Silent +10||Enthrall

8th|Ardent D 3|
+3|
+2|
+4|
+5|P String +11, Conc +11, Spellc +11. Hide +11, Move Silent +11, Spot 8||Joy d' Vivre

9th|Ardent D 4|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+5|P String +12, Conc +12, Spellc +12, Hide +12, Move Silent +12, Autohypnosis 8|Invisible Spell, SF Conjuration|Sense Link

10th|Ardent D 5|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+5|P String +13, Conc +13, Spellc +13, Hide +13, Move Silent +13, Autohypnosis +13, Spot 13||Scent

11th|Ardent D 6|
+5|
+3|
+6|
+6|P String +14, Conc +14, Spellc +14, Hide +14, Move Silent +14, Autohypnosis +14, Spot +14, Swim 5, K Arcana 10||Seen it Before

12th|Ardent D 7|
+5|
+3|
+6|
+6|P String +15, Conc +15, Spellc +15, Hide +15, Move Silent +15, K Arcana +15, UMD +3|SF Illusion, Iron Will|

13th|Ardent D 8|
+6|
+3|
+7|
+6|P String +16, Conc +16, Spellc +16, Hide +16, Move Silent +16, K Arcana +16, UMD +8||See it Again

14th|Ardent D 9|
+6|
+4|
+7|
+7|P String +17, Conc +17, Spellc +17, Hide +17, Move Silent +17, K Arcana +17, UMD +14||Blindsense 10

15th|Ardent D 10|
+7|
+4|
+8|
+7|P String +18, Conc +18, Spellc +18, Hide +18, Move Silent +18, K Arcana +18, UMD +16, Spot +18|Insightful Reflexes, SF Spellcraft|Death Holds No Secrets

16th|Archmage 1|
+7|
+4|
+8|
+9|P String +19, Conc +19, Spellc +19, K Arcana +17||Mastery of Shaping

17th|Archmage 2|
+8|
+4|
+8|
+10|P String +20, Conc +20, Spellc +20, K Arcana +20, K Planes +14||Spellpower 1

18th|Archmage 3|
+8|
+5|
+9|
+10|P String +21, Conc +21, Spellc +21, K Arcana +21, K Planes +20|Practiced Spellcaster|Spellpower 2

19th|Archmage 4|
+9|
+5|
+9|
+11|P String +22, Conc +22, Spellc +22, K Arcana +22, K Planes +22, K Religion +11||Spellpower 3

20th|Archmage 5|
+9|
+5|
+9|
+11|P String +23, Conc +23, Spellc +23, K Arcana +23, K Planes +23, K Religion +16||Spellpower 4[/table]

The Songs and Spells of Hazy


Spells per day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|3|2+3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|4|3+3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|4|3+3|1+3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|4|4+3|2+3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|4|4+3|2+3|1+3|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|4|4+3|2+3|1+3|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|4|4+3|4+3|2+3|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|4|5+3|4+3|2+3|1+3|-|-|-|-|-

9th|4|5+3|4+3|3+3|2+3|-|-|-|-|-

10th|4|5+3|5+3|3+3|2+3|1+3|-|-|-|-

11th|4|5+3|5+3|3+3|3+3|2+3|-|-|-|-

12th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|3+3|2+3|1+3|-|-|-

13th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|4+3|3+3|2+3|-|-|-

14th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|4+3|3+3|2+3|0+3|-|-

15th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|4+3|3+3|3+3|1+3|-|-

16th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|3+3|2+3|0+3|-

17th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|3+3|3+3|1+3|-

18th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|3+3|1+3|0+3

19th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|3+3|2+3|1+3

20th|4|5+3|5+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|4+3|3+3|2+3[/table]

Spells at 20th level with Intelligence Items and Archmage Adjustments
Spells per day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
20th|4|7+3|6+3|6+3|6+3|5|5+2|5+3|4+3|4+3[/table]

Grant the Fiend his Due (Spells Used)

“Hazy” Vernal Equinox is a focused specialist caster, he gave up the ability to cast Enchantment, Evocation and Necromancy spells to gain a greater number of Conjuration spells per day. He is also a spontaneous diviner, which means he can convert his prepared spells spontaneously to divination spells of the same level or lower, even divine spells that aren't on his class list. He often uses his extra Conjuration slots to spontaneously cast divination spells.
Only key spells are listed.

1st Level:

Grease
Sniper's Eye
Truestrike
Truecasting
Detect Evil
Silent Image
Detect Thoughts


2nd Level:

Invisibility
Minor Image
Web
Glitterdust
Fog Cloud
Alter Self
Rope Trick
Divine Insight
Hunter's Eye


3rd level

Mask of the Ideal (For use with Binding)
Major Image
Sleet Storm
Dimension Step
Stinking Cloud
Phantom Steed
Haste
Fly
Heart of Water
Divination
Scrying


4th level

Greater Invisibility
Black Tentacles
Dimension Door
Solid Fog
Polymorph
Celerity
Spell Enhancer
Stone Shape
Assay Spell Resistance


5th level

Persistant Image
Planar Binding Lesser
Teleport
Wall of Stone
Cloudkill
Telekinesis
Transmute Rock to Mud
Transmute Mud to Rock
Overland Flight
Greater Blink
Xorn Movement
Scry Location
True Seeing


6th Level

permanent Image
Planar Binding
Freezing Fog
Scalding Mud
Disintegrate
Eyes of the Oracle
Hindsight
Stonetell


7th level

Choking Cobwebs
Greater Teleport
Summon Monster VII
Plane Shift
Reverse Gravity
Moment of Prescience


8th level

Superior Invisibility
Greater Shadow Evocation
Planar Binding Greater
Maze
Summon Monster 8
Greater Celerity
Polymorph Any Object
Greater Prying Eyes
Foresight


9th level

Gate
Shapechange
Timestop
Choose Destiny




The Mithral Fiddle (Useful Equipment)

Masterwork Mithral Fiddle (+2 to Perform Strings)
Masterwork Tool of Spot (+2 to Spot)
Headband of Intellect +6 combined with Circlet of Persuasion
Periapt of Wisdom +6
Tome of Clear Thought +5
Orange Ioun Stone (+1 caster level)
Cloak of Resistance +5
Crystal Mask of Insightful Detection combined with Third Eye of Aware
(+10 Competence bonus to Spot, +9 Insight Bonus to Spot and Search)
Slotless Crystal Mask of Mind Armor (+4 to will)
Rod of Lesser Extend
Blessed Book
Eternal Wand of Create Magic Tattoo (can give +1 CL)
Prayer Bead of Karma (+4 caster level for 10 minutes 1/day
Other items can be purchased to increase hide and move silently, provide ac and other useful bonuses.



Pazazu Went down to Cormanthyr (5th level)


Pazuzu went down to Cormanthyr, he was looking for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cos he was way behind: he was willin' to make a deal.
When he came across this young elf sawin' on a fiddle and playin it cold.
And the demon jumped upon a hickory stump and said:
“Boy let me tell you what:”
“I bet you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player true.”
“And if you'd care to take a deal, You'd be better too”
The elf said “My name's Vernal Equinox and it might be a sin,
But Ill take your deal, I'll never regret, I'll be the best thats ever been”


At fifth level Hazy is an effective battlefield controller, he has many conjuration spell slots which can be used for spells like sleet storm or web, and he gains further battlefield control from illusion and transmutation spells. He has just gained spontaneous divination, which lets him spontaneously convert his prepared spells to divination spells, even those not on his spell list. Using other classes spell lists, he can get some powerful divination spells such as Divination and Scry earlier then other wizards, making him effective at information gathering as well.


The Deva of Music (15th level)


Those who have seen your face draw back in fear
I am the mask you wear it's me they hear
My spirit and my voice in one combined.
The Wraith of the Festhall is there inside my mind.

Floating, Falling, Sweet Intoxication
Touch me, Trust me, Savor each Sensation
Let the dream begin, Let your Darker Side give in
To the power of the music that I write
My spirit and my voice is one combined.

Sing, my Deva
Sing for me
Sing, my Tanar'ri
Sing for me

For years Hazy was known and welcome to music halls throughout the planes, until he finally performed for the Society of Sensation itself at their Grand Festhall in Sigil. He joined them shortly after as one of their greatest performers. But his good fortune did not last forever, as Pazazu came to collect his due. In the Lower Aerial Kingdoms Hazy fought a fiddle dual for his soul, in the end winning Pazuzu's own Mithral Fiddle. With his soul restored, Hazy was resurrected by the Society of Sensation, but the wounds of a Demon Prince are not so easily healed. His face was still savaged by the demon's talons, he put on a crystal mask and vanished from society.
But even self imposed exile does not end obsession, and every master must have a student.

Unlike most wizards, Ardent Dilletante gives Hazy access to abilities normally inaccessable. He gains a formidable spot score, and a decent hide and move silently score. While they will not fool dedicated spotters, they are enough to fool other wizards. He also gains 14 ranks in autohypnosis which can be used to resist poison, make stabalization checks, and most importantly memorize large amounts of information. After equipment he has a +25 on lore checks, able to gain extremely obscure and forgotten information on a roll of 5. Lastly, while his DC is low, he is good enough to enthrall his first level apprentice entertainer. His major tricks are listed below.

Eidetic Baubau Scrying:

Hazy uses Planar Binding to summon a Baubau, using various items and spells available (including good hope from Joi d'Vivre) to him he is able to beat the Baubau in a charisma check and convince it to serve him. The Baubau has self only greater teleport at will. He first uses Sense Link on the Baubau, the Baubau then greater teleports to a list of locations. The Baubau's stealth abilities should help against most observers at the locations, and if not.. there are always more Baubau.

At each location that the Baubau teleports to, the Clairvoyant spell effect of Sense Link follows the Baubau. Nobody else besides the Baubau gets a save vs the spell. While spying on each location Hazy uses Autohypnosis to try and memorize every detail, he automatically succeeds.

Sense Link has no limit on uses per day, and with Planar Binding Hazy can have a single Baubau minion for a long amount of time. This gives Hazy essentially free scrying that bypasses many scrying defenses. When the duration of Sense Link runs out the Baubau teleports back and gets it re-applied.

Hazy can sense link with multiple Baubau's at the same time, but he can only memorize one location per round. Although it is far less efficient.


Illusionist Dueling Tactics:

Winning the battle often comes down to who goes first.
While there are many methods available to boost or otherwise bypass initiative, nerveskitter, celerity, sense danger and so on, what Hazy focuses on instead is winning the surprise round, or even better never being detected at all.

He tends to have:
Hide and Move Silently
Invisibility
An Opaque Illusion over the area.
An Invisible Opaque Illusion over that.

Now against other people attempting the same thing:
Scent
Blind Sense 10
True Sight
Seen it Before

When someone with True Seeing sees an Invisible Spell, it becomes Visible, even if the Invisible Spell was an illusion. In addition to normal abuses such as invisible webs, invisible cloudkill or invisible summoned monsters, this may be able to force an illusion visible when seen with True Seeing, making the Seer have to make a will save to defeat this anyway.

With Seen it Before Hazy gains an action advantage over other characters when dealing with illusions including invisible illusions. While normally you have to use a move or standard action to interact with an illusion, Hazy gets a free will save when it is cast, and can later interact if he fails the original one.

Also by the end, with equipment, he uses heightened senses and the skills list of Ardent Dilletante to gain a +46 spot modifier which is enough to use the epic rules to see through any sort of invisibility, and beat the hiding scores of most characters and monsters. His will save, while not as impressive gets up to +28, which should help against most illusions.

With the combination of ways to remain concealed, easy concealment from conjuration spells, and multiple modes of detection Hazy should be able to gain the surprise round, and in many cases stay unnoticed and untargetable.





Sympathy for the Archfiend(20th level)


Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm an elf of spells and grace
I've been around for a long, long year
Stolen many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when Eliminster
Had his moment of Doubt and Pain
Won't you guess my name?

After withdrawing from the high society of Sigil, old Hazy traveled the planes, playing his mithril violin and casting his spells, learning the greater secrets of magic itself, always trying to capture the perfect sound. He left behind a trail of ruined apprentices, all of them failures in his mind, either failing to reach perfection in their arts, or going mad as they approached it.

None were as successful as he was, none surpassed their master like he did. None of them regained their souls. But in his travels, old Hazy became the very thing he once feared. A fiend of honeyed lies and soulfilled tunes, in his heart only knowing pride.

As an Archmage Hazy gains two main abilities, mastery of shaping lets him change the arrangement of his conjuration spells to best fit the battlefield, avoiding whatever allies he has at the moment, and hitting enemies right where it hurts. He also increases his caster level, making up for the slight loss from ardent dilletant and surpassing it. In normal conditions he has a caster level of 25 (From Spellpower, Practiced Spellcaster and the Ioun Stone) With his prayer beads he can get up to 29.

With Shapechange Hazy can access all the usual forms, and with his high caster level he is able to take some of the forms from the epic level handbook. With his high lore ability he should be able to find out about the Gloom. Changing into them gives him 13d6 sneak attack as a special attack ability along with their physical ability scores. He can then cast an extended spontaneous Hunter's Eye for an additional 9d6 sneak attack, and then use it with spontaneous Sniper's Eye and various orbs or Telekinesis if he needs to do damage.

See it Again helps with reapplying buff spells like extended Hunters Eyes or Extended True Strikes.


The Contract

While Pazuzu is central to the backstory, the build doesn't actually use any Pazuzu wish tricks to gain access to any abilities early. The build works just as well with any other chaotic evil corrupting mentor (entertainer).

To qualify for Ardent Dilletante Hazy uses the standard elf martial weapon proficiencies, his single exotic weapon proficiency from a feat his own wizard casting, and spontaneous divination. Spontaneous divination lets him sacrifice a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a divination spell of the same level or lower. This includes any spell of the divination school, including those not on the wizard/sorcerer spell list. Unlike similar abilities, the type of the spontaneous spell is not changed to arcane. Hazy is able to spontaneously cast a divine detect evil spell, and with that is able to qualify for Ardent Dilletante.

The use of invisible spell to defeat true seeing is controversial however it is also a useful metamagic feat for concealing movement slowing and trap style battlefield control methods. It is not essential to the build but is included as an additional layer of defense if it is available.



“Hazy” Vernal Equinox died all to early at the age of 270, beginning rumors of the Curse of Hazy, where many of the greatest blues fiddlers also met unfortunate ends at the age of 270. Rumor says Hazy can still be found, slowly being tortured in the Lower Aerial Kingdoms of the Infinite Abyss. Even after death, his screams make music so full of beauty and meaning that they could melt mountains. Make sure to give the Tanar'ri his due.

Pazuzu

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:17 PM
I think most people will end up calling him Designate, I hope the contestant won't mind. That's a lot of numbers!

Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Warblade|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Balance +4, Climb +4, Knowledge (Arcana) +2, Knowledge (History) +2, Martial Lore +4, Speak Language +1, Tumble +4 |Adamantine Body|Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude

2nd|Fighter|
+2|
+4|
+0|
+0|Climb +1, Know (Arcana) +.5, Tumble +1|Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Great Falchion|Bonus Feat

3rd|Fighter|
+3|
+5|
+0|
+0|Climb +1, Perform (Oratory) +1, Tumble +1, Know (Arcana) +.5|Skill Knowledge (Perform), Power Attack|Bonus Feat

4th|Warblade|
+4|
+6|
+0|
+0|Balance +1, Climb +1, Know (Arcana) +.5, Martial Lore +1, Perform (Oratory) +1, Tumble +1||Uncanny Dodge

5th|Warblade|
+5|
+6|
+1|
+1|Balance +1, Climb +1, Know (Arcana) +.5, Martial Lore +1, Perform (Oratory) +1, Tumble +1 ||Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)

6th|Dragon Devotee|
+5|
+8|
+1|
+1|Know (Religon) +1.5, Listen +2, Perform (Oratory) +1|Endurance|Ability Increase (+2 Cha), Natural Armor

7th|Dragon Devotee|
+6|
+9|
+1|
+1|Know (Religon) +1.5, Listen +2, Perform (Oratory) +1|Weapon Focus: Scimitar|Combat Technique, Draconic Resistance

8th|Dragon Devotee|
+7|
+9|
+2|
+2|Know (Religon) +1.5, Listen +2, Perform (Oratory) +1|Ability Increase (+2 Con), Ignore Spell Failure

9th|Dragon Devotee|
+8|
+10|
+2|
+2|Know (Religon) +1.5, Listen +2, Perform (Oratory) +1|True Believer, Improved Critical: Great Falchion|Claws, Combat Technique

10th|Pious Templar|
+9|
+12|
+2|
+4|Know (Religion) +1, Perform (Oratory) +1, Tumble +1 ||Mettle

11th|Ardent Dilettante|
+9|
+12|
+4|
+2|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1||Heightened Senses, Lore

12th|Ardent Dilettante|
+10|
+12|
+5|
+2|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1|Steadfast Determination|Enthrall

13th|Ardent Dilettante|
+10|
+13|
+5|
+3|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1||Joie De Vivre

14th|Ardent Dilettante|
+11|
+13|
+6|
+3|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1|Improved Sunder|Bonus Feat, Sense Link

15th|Ardent Dilettante|
+11|
+13|
+6|
+3|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1|Combat Brute|Scent

16th|Ardent Dilettante|
+12|
+14|
+7|
+4|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1||Seen It Before

17th|Ardent Dilettante|
+12|
+14|
+7|
+4|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1|Knowledge Devotion|Bonus Feat

18th|Ardent Dilettante|
+13|
+14|
+8|
+4|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1|Improved Fortification|See it Again

19th|Ardent Dilettante|
+13|
+15|
+8|
+5|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1||Blindsense 10ft.

20th|Ardent Dilettante|
+14|
+15|
+9|
+5|Climb +1, Jump +1, Know (Geography) +1, Know (The Planes) +1, Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1|Jack of All Trades|Bonus Feat, Death Holds No Mysteries[/table]



Pious Templar Spells per day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|-|0|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|-|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|-|1|0|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|-|1|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|-|1|1|0|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|-|1|1|1|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|-|2|1|1|0|-|-|-|-|-

18th|-|2|1|1|1|-|-|-|-|-

19th|-|2|2|1|1|-|-|-|-|-

20th|-|2|2|2|1|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

Sorcerer Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

Sorcerer Spells Per Day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|5|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]



Backstory:

"Let today differ from both yesterday and tomorrow." So goes the daily affirmation spoken by clerics within the temples of Aasterinian. It is here that Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73, also known simple as D32, served as a temple guardian for many years. Not eating, not sleeping, just listening to the adventures and exploits of the clerics of the Messenger of Io. They would talk of mountains, oceans and even of different planes of existence. D32 would hear these tales and long to go on such quests himself.

One morning, following the prayer to the great bronze dragon, D32 knelt at the altar and prayed for guidance... he no longer wished to stay locked within the walls of the temple, he wished to go out and explore the world and other planes.

The statue of Aasterinian above him shifted slightly above him, speaking in his heart... "Go now, child. For you are among my chosen. Seek out everything there is to being alive."

Aasterinian's blessing began manifesting on D32's body physically. At first he became more polished naturally and his body hardened. When the magic permeated throughout, his hands also extended into sharp dragon claws. This natural magic gave him a limited ability to cast magical arcane spells, channeled through his Dragon patron.

Dedicating his life to The Messenger, he took a sacred vow to forever serve as her emissary. On that day, an aspect of Aasterinian appeared to him and beseeched him to travel more than this world, but to travel other planes as well, first by seeking out the Society of Sensation and regaling them of his exploits as well as his desire to experience all there is to life, despite his artificial life being constructed.

The society found his tales fascinating and assisted him with continuing his foray into the multiverse.
Race: Warforged
Starting Stats: STR 16, DEX 10, CON 16, INT 14, WIS 10, CHA 10
[Starting: 16, 10, 14, 14, 12, 12]

+2 CHA, +2 CON from Dragon Devotee
+5 STR from Level Adjustments
+6 to all stats from Belt of Magnificence
+5 to STR from Manual

Ending Strength: 32, for a +11 modifier

Using a +5 Great Falchion, +30 to hit/1d12+21 Damage before Power Attack, Knowledge Devotion or any Maneuvers

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:23 PM
That's the last of them. Nine Sensates for the judges to look over.
I added links to the builds in the OP.
Get ready, set, judge! :smallcool:

monkeysammich
2011-01-16, 08:24 PM
Wow, most impressive to all the entrants. They are all very unique.

Thurbane
2011-01-16, 08:25 PM
Well..no Savant after all. I thought that would be a common entry point, since it grants arcane and divine casting, which the PrC then advances, allowing for continued entry reqs. All you need is one exotic weapon proficiency and some skills...

true_shinken
2011-01-16, 08:27 PM
Well..no Savant after all. I thought that would be a common entry point, since it grants arcane and divine casting, which the PrC then advances, allowing for continued entry reqs. All you need is one exotic weapon proficiency and some skills...

At least two builds (Hazy and V'grax) took that route, except without Savant. Very clever.

FishAreWet
2011-01-16, 08:47 PM
My build with a terrible writeup that I never submitted because I lost the file where I was writing out the table and got discouraged.Factotum 1/Cleric 1/Wizard 1/Bard 1/ Binder 1/ Chameleon 7/Ardent Dill 8

Disappointed to not see a Savant entry.

Akal Saris
2011-01-16, 09:14 PM
I was working on a savant build, but I got bored with it :P

Clepto
2011-01-16, 09:14 PM
I'm happy to see that my idea didn't get replicated at all. At least it was a semi-original idea.

My build that I didn't submit because I didn't like the casting progression:

Rogue 2/Wizard 1/Archivist 1/Human Paragon 3/Ardent Dilettante 10

I didn't finish the build, but the idea was Wizard and Archivist for SADness, Paragon for skills, spell advancement, and the stat bonus (for Int, of course).

Thurbane
2011-01-16, 09:19 PM
I was working on a savant build, but I got bored with it :P
Ditto - mine was staright Savant 10/AD 10, focussing feats on an Improved Familiar...

T.G. Oskar
2011-01-16, 10:51 PM
Whew! A challenge I got on the plate!

I can't estimate a tentative date for results, but I can say one thing: it will take quite some time. Possibly two days per build, since they are delightfully complex. Hopefully I'll do one per day, but don't take my word on any of the dates I've placed; what with trying to figure out when I can retake my RL D&D group and a few other things, it may be more complex than expected.

Fortunately, there are nine. So the task shouldn't be so hard.

Urpriest
2011-01-16, 11:47 PM
My idea was a Bard 5/Ardent Dilettante 2/Apostle of Peace 1/Ardent Dilettante +8/Hierophant 4, named Aquarius with a Hair-themed writeup. I dropped it because I figured Bard would give me low originality, and I realized that Ardent Dilettante's spellcasting advancement has a pesky "gained before taking levels in this class" clause which would mean that it wouldn't advance Apostle of Peace casting in the above build (by the way, this is something at least one of the above builds neglects). The character would have focused on party support and diplomancy, using Enthrall to make enemies easy targets for diplomancing and boosting the DC with Vow of Nonviolence.

By the way, I'm amused that two people decided to go with Vow of Poverty prostitutes. I'm just happy they weren't cats as well.

Zonugal
2011-01-16, 11:56 PM
My original idea was going to an Elan Bard 3/Archivist 3/Ardent Dilettante 10/Cataclysm Mage 4 but I just kept getting swamped with school/work.

His flavor was that he had gotten stuck in a Sense Escalation Tank and went full on insane. Each day is equal to a lifetime and with Elan's being immortals he was going to be stuck in there for so long that he actually experienced every single thing one could ever do. All acts, all decisions were beyond him as he had already done them. He'd be a villain because he'd be questing to end all of experience as it was the only thing he hadn't experienced.

Psychonix
2011-01-17, 12:07 AM
Intriguing use of the PrC in some of the builds... About all I managed was a build that sort of fitted the fluff, but didn't really do that much. I then gave up as I didn't have the time to adjust it, and it because it wasn't a particularly good build anyway.
Bard 5/Ardent Dilettante 4/Temple Raider of Olidmarra 2/Ardent Dilettante 4/Temple Raider of Olidmarra 3/Ardent Dilettante 2

Amechra
2011-01-17, 12:49 AM
My idea was a Bard 5/Ardent Dilettante 2/Apostle of Peace 1/Ardent Dilettante +8/Hierophant 4, named Aquarius with a Hair-themed writeup. I dropped it because I figured Bard would give me low originality, and I realized that Ardent Dilettante's spellcasting advancement has a pesky "gained before taking levels in this class" clause which would mean that it wouldn't advance Apostle of Peace casting in the above build (by the way, this is something at least one of the above builds neglects). The character would have focused on party support and diplomancy, using Enthrall to make enemies easy targets for diplomancing and boosting the DC with Vow of Nonviolence.

By the way, I'm amused that two people decided to go with Vow of Poverty prostitutes. I'm just happy they weren't cats as well.

Hmm, one was damned, one is now a lonely, lonely wraith.

Something tells me we shouldn't emulate them.

Thurbane
2011-01-17, 12:56 AM
...I also briefly considered a Bard/Ur Priest/AD build, but the fluff just wouldn't fit together in my head...

Zaq
2011-01-17, 02:56 AM
I can easily see having two prostitutes. Given the flavor of the class, that honestly kind of makes sense.

I can see having two VoP characters. It is, if nothing else, a way to distinguish one's self.

Having two VoP prostitutes kinda blew my mind a little bit. Not gonna lie.

Anyway, seems like a fun crop. As always, I was way off the mark when it came to guessing what we'd see a lot of and what we wouldn't see much of. And now, of course, comes one of the hardest parts: waiting for the judges.


My idea was a Bard 5/Ardent Dilettante 2/Apostle of Peace 1/Ardent Dilettante +8/Hierophant 4, named Aquarius with a Hair-themed writeup. I dropped it because I figured Bard would give me low originality, and I realized that Ardent Dilettante's spellcasting advancement has a pesky "gained before taking levels in this class" clause which would mean that it wouldn't advance Apostle of Peace casting in the above build (by the way, this is something at least one of the above builds neglects). The character would have focused on party support and diplomancy, using Enthrall to make enemies easy targets for diplomancing and boosting the DC with Vow of Nonviolence.

By the way, I'm amused that two people decided to go with Vow of Poverty prostitutes. I'm just happy they weren't cats as well.

I'm pretty sure that all that clause means is that you can't use it to advance spellcasting you don't actually have.

true_shinken
2011-01-17, 09:02 AM
I'm pretty sure that all that clause means is that you can't use it to advance spellcasting you don't actually have.
I dunno about RAW, but RAI is with Zaq on this one, I believe. Anyway, if this becomes an issue, any judge must decide if it's legal or not.

Urpriest
2011-01-17, 02:11 PM
I dunno about RAW, but RAI is with Zaq on this one, I believe. Anyway, if this becomes an issue, any judge must decide if it's legal or not.

Really? I can't see any particularly clear reason why that would be the RAI. Is it done that way in an NPC statblock, or in a FAQ response or something?

gbprime
2011-01-17, 02:19 PM
Really? I can't see any particularly clear reason why that would be the RAI. Is it done that way in an NPC statblock, or in a FAQ response or something?

Yeah, I gotta say, rule as written the Ardent Dilettante does state that it only advances spellcasting that you had BEFORE TAKING THE PrC.

vikingofdoom
2011-01-17, 02:55 PM
Review for A.D.D:
Power: 2 This build tries to do to much in the build, and consequently, is falling behind a reasonable party, requiring too much time to buff up before a fight.This cost you a few points.
Originality: 4 I would never have thought a build with 11 classes in it would be seen, and this is rather unusual. I deducted 0.5 marks for using a variant of the Pokemon theme in your backstory, and another 0.5 marks for using such an obvious pun in your name.
Elegance: 1 Simply put, this build seems to be very contrived, even more so than any of the others. While I did say dipping could be considered, 10 classes with 1 level each is not dipping-its simply awkward.
UotSI: 5 This build simply wouldn't be possible without AD. What more could I say than that you're build is dependant on the primary class?

Private-Prinny
2011-01-17, 03:19 PM
I decided to run D32's full name through a hexadecimal converter for kicks, and it translates as Designate '2 Senses'. It's actually pretty clever.

vikingofdoom
2011-01-17, 03:35 PM
Review for Slide:
Power: 3 This character can hold his own in a party of PCs, and has a range of abilities that are useful for its level. While not overwhelmingly strong, this character is likely to be allowed in an actual game.
Originality: 4 This character has a unique set of abilities and desires. It was unusual while remaining useable.
Elegance: 2 This build is illegal at levels 17+: you don't have any divine spells, and as such, do not qualify for anything above level 6 in AD, so that cost you points from elegance.As well, it uses 3.0 material, which is less elegant than being 3.5 exclusive.
UotSI: 1 As you yourself stated, AD was on here purely for fluff reasons and didn't add anything to this build.

Amphetryon
2011-01-17, 03:41 PM
Vikingofdoom, we appreciate your efforts, but your reviews will be easier to tally if you edit them to a single post. :smallsmile:

kestrel404
2011-01-17, 03:41 PM
Viking, instead of posting one set of scores in each post, perhaps you'd rather edit one post each time you've got a set of scores to add? That will make OMGs' and Shinkens' jobs easier when they go and tally the scores.

Edit: I've never been Ninja'd before.

vikingofdoom
2011-01-17, 03:51 PM
Review for Snow:

Power: 4 This character is quite powerful. He is capable of taking on encounters on his own with a good use of spell.
Originality: 4 This character had an interesting backstory that was enjoyable and unique.
Elegance: 4 This build was quite elegant in matching fluff to crunch. You managed to make the threads of this build come together quite elegantly.
UotSI: 4 This build was very influenced by the SI, which did form the majority of its power and flavour.
Total: 16

Review for Slide:

Power: 3 This character can hold his own in a party of PCs, and has a range of abilities that are useful for its level. While not overwhelmingly strong, this character is likely to be allowed in an actual game.
Originality: 4 This character has a unique set of abilities and desires. It was unusual while remaining useable.
Elegance: 2 This build is illegal at levels 17+: you don't have any divine spells, and as such, do not qualify for anything above level 6 in AD, so that cost you points from elegance.As well, it uses 3.0 material, which is less elegant than being 3.5 exclusive.
UotSI: 1 As you yourself stated, AD was on here purely for fluff reasons and didn't add anything to this build.
Total: 10

Review for A.D.D

Power: 2 This build tries to do to much in the build, and consequently, is falling behind a reasonable party, requiring too much time to buff up before a fight.This cost you a few points.
Originality: 4 I would never have thought a build with 11 classes in it would be seen, and this is rather unusual. I deducted 0.5 marks for using a variant of the Pokemon theme in your backstory, and another 0.5 marks for using such an obvious pun in your name.
Elegance: 1 Simply put, this build seems to be very contrived, even more so than any of the others. While I did say dipping could be considered, 10 classes with 1 level each is not dipping-its simply awkward.
UotSI: 5 This build simply wouldn't be possible without AD. What more could I say than that you're build is dependant on the SI?
Total: 12

Review for Hazy:

Power: 4 This character is quite powerful, losing marks only because it would be weaker than a similar build without AD
Originality: 3 Wizard into an prestige class into Archmage is a very common build type, but I found the backstory quite interesting and unique.
Elegance: 1 This build, while elegant, is to the best of my knowledge illegal due to its lack of divine spellcasting (Spontaneous Diviner doesn't change the source of the magic, so you still only cast arcane spells, even if they are off the cleric's list0
UotSI: 2 I liked how you used the SI, but still felt that the build could have used something else better. As stated above, you don't qualify for the higher levels of AD, but that was deducted from Elegance
Total: 10

Review for Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73:

Power: 5 This character is exceptional at what he does, and quite powerful overall. He would be capable of holding his role in a party.
Originality: 4 I can honestly say I wasn't expecting a melee combatant out of this class. I also like the use of an uncommon race.
Elegance: 2 This build involves several books, but was otherwise well done. AD still not qualified for, due to a lack of the necessary Con based skills.
UotSI: 2 I felt that how you used the SI was clumsy and could have been better done with a different character. You also could have not taken the SI and still have roughly the same power of build. your use of the SI was illegal, but that was deducted from elegance.
Total: 13

Review for Annette:

Power: 3 This character is significantly more powerful than a PC with equal levels. However, being a 27th level in a 20th level campaign means that it is harder to be a team player without overwhelming everyone and is likely to get you hit by a flying DMG in play.
Originality: 4.5 I like the originality in the build, but deducted a mark for having the same initial character concept as another entrant (VoP prostitute was still unexpected) and then added 1.5 points for having such an interesting backstory.
Elegance: 3 Emancipated spawn was awkward for this build. You also used a large number of sources, but that was counted against you less because the build flows nicely except for the break caused by becoming a wraith.
UotSI: 4 The SI fit both in the build well for the most part, serving to be useful to increase its power, and with the backstory you created.
Total: 14.5

Review for Gabriella:

Power: 5 This character is quite powerful, fulfilling its role in a party excellently without overshadowing other members.
Originality: 3 Deducted some marks for using a VoP prostitute within this build, gave bonus marks for using beguiler and Emissary of Brachial.
Elegance: 3 This build flows fairly well. Points deducted for using prestige bard, but still good overall.
UotSI: 4 This build used the SI very well, which makes it very powerful.
Total: 15

Review for Arleigh:

Power: 4 This character is quite strong and a good team player in a group. He fills his niche fairly well without overshadowing the rest of the party.
Originality: 4 This character used a fairly unusual entry method, with a rather unusual backstory.
Elegance: 2 You used a prestige class from Faerun, a feat from Eberron, LA buy-off from UA, and a second feat from the Dragon Magazine? That is very inelegant.
UotSI: 3 You used the SI fairly well, with the exception that you can't make a wand of Sense Link, do to it not being a spell. Otherwise, everything works.
Total: 13

Review for V'grax:

Power: 4 You a very powerful with 9th level arcane and divine casting. However, you easily overshadow the rest of the party and don't play well with others.
Originality: 3 This character was fairly unique, but his backstory was somewhat meh for originality.
Elegance: 2 Can I say how much I dislike most things that come from the Dragon Magazine? Anyway, this class loses a mark in elegance for using a Dragon magazine class to qualify.
UotSI: 3 This build gains very little either thematically or in terms of power from AD, but still manages to use it somewhat effectively.
Total: 12

Tam_OConnor
2011-01-18, 01:17 AM
Some very nice builds here. Just for the record, I start at 3, and add or subtract points from there.
Aesc Duan Dee
Originality: 3.5; I kept waiting for the second levels of all the classes, and they never came. It was like staring into the abyss, and the classes looked back at me. Overall, though, it's an original build (I'd forgotten all about Disciple of Thrym and Sand Shaper), but it doesn't do much to innovate. Advancing the Trapsmith casting was not something I was expecting at all, though (+0.5).
Power: 4; Relative to his role as a support character, Dee does pretty well. On an absolute scale, he doesn't do so well, but that's not how I'm judging.
Elegance: 3; From the fluff, I would have expected a lot more Binder. The ranger, swordsage and warblade levels are sticking out as somewhat unexpected, and not in a good way. Similarly, you use an awful lot of sources.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3; This is pretty much what I expected, in that it's a very generalist build. It doesn't make exceptional use of any particular ability, but it adds the Ardent Dilettante's abilities to a grab-bag of others.
Notes: Design notes and complete sources were very helpful, thank you. Would have liked to see some recommendations for magical items: mercanes, anyone? Complete build?
Composite Score: 13.5
Slide
Originality: 4; Can't say I was expecting fiend of possession (+1; though kaoti made me cringe; I was dreading critical shenanigans).
Power: 2; Slide does possession very well (+1), but with a maximum of 15 rounds of control, how does he function as a PC? You throw in a line about him opposing the destruction of the Material, but how does he fit into a party? He'd be a hellish villain, but I'm having trouble with him as a PC (-2).
Elegance: 2.5; It flows well, but Slide's trick doesn't even come online until level 11; what does he do before then? (-0.5)
Use of Secret Ingredient: 1; You said it yourself: this is a possession build with Ardent Dilettante providing fluff, not abilities (-1). Hearing the Air cost you two feats, and supercedes one of the perception abilities of the SI; why even bother with the 9th level of it? Add that to your late entry... (-1)
Notes: I'm not sure your inclusion of the 'variant' build was to your benefit, as it sounded like a much stronger concept.
Composite Score: 9.5
Snow
Originality: 3.5; Class-wise, this was what I was expecting. The Lolth worship, from a moon elf, no less, was not. Compliment your writer-friend as well, because the story was very well done. (+0.5)
Power: 4; Snow's feats lean him towards blasting, but those feats make blasting more viable without overly hampering him. It's the salvaging of blasting that nets him some added versatility (+0.5). The metamagic focus is helpful without straying into cheese (+0.5).
Elegance: 4; Low number of sources (+0.5), with the classes flowing nicely from one to the next, avoiding all dips but the 1st level (+0.5).
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3; What I was expecting: it doesn't do anything spectacular with the SI, but it adds a few useful tricks.
Notes: Outlining how you met the pre-reqs was very helpful, thank you. If I was still playing 3.5, I'd accept him at my table with qualms. Did you consider Olin Gisir (or whatever the elven Loremaster is called)?
Composite Score: 14.5
Gabriella, Voice of Salvation found among the Damned
Originality: 4; Beguiler and Bard were expected, but Hellbred and mixing up the exalted and demonic/diabolical feats was very well done (+1).
Power: 4; Stays competitive with usual play expectations, and has some nasty tricks to pull out (+1).
Elegance: 2.5; Got to dock you here because of prestige bard (-0.5).
Use of Secret Ingredient: 4; Unlike everyone else so far, you've pointed out how to make optimal use of your abilities (+1).
Notes: Laying out how you met the requirements was very kind, thank you. Full build?
Composite Score: 14.5
Annette the Impure
Originality: 3.5; Wasn't expecting this precisely, but Paladin of Freedom and Bard were both on the hit list. Everyone does seem to forget about the Savage Species prestige classes, though (+0.5).
Power: 4; I can't deny the breadth of Annette's abilities (+1).
Elegance: 1; 'Legal' and 'classy' are two very different things. I'll let the other judges dive into the kettle of fish with regard to legality, but I do have a few questions: Are you using the wraith template in Savage Species, or adding in the wraith abilities as the MM? Because if it's the template, then max ranks are still 23. And if it's the monster - well, I couldn't find a monster progression for it (-2).
Use of Secret Ingredient: 2.5; Late entry (-0.5). Other than that, though, it works well, though without any notable synergy.
Notes: ...have you been spending time on the Dungeons and Dames thread? Because that picture is a running joke there. No, the Paladin code doesn't forbid prostitution, but since they have a church behind them, it's far more likely to be a role as a sponsored prostitute. Also, throwing that in there came off as just a bit confrontational.
Composite Score: 11
Arleigh Skye
Originality: 3.5; This would be the kind of lead-in I'd expect for Horizon Walker, not Ardent Dilettante (+0.5).
Power: 3; Arleigh picks up some neat tricks, but the slow BAB growth from the SI is rather like shooting yourself in the foot (even).
Elegance: 3.5; Mixing settings (which I'm waiving, even though Eberron is a closed setting and you pick up the boomerang proficiency before leaving Faerun), assumed LA buy-off (-0.5). Otherwise straight-forward, with a commendable lack of dips (+1).
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3; Late entry (-0.5). Neat trick with Sense Link and wand-crafting (+0.5).
Notes: The three ranger levels at the end seem rather wasted. Thank you for the clear source list. I was expecting you to use the Planar Ranger or the Mystaran ranger substitution levels from Champions of Valor.
Composite Score: 13
V'grax
Originality: 4; Yay, Sha'ir and genie magic (+0.5)! And bonus points for Blood Magus (+0.5). Very nice fiction alongside, as well.
Power: 4; What do you say to a wizard with increased versatility (+1)?
Elegance: 4; Avoids dips and flows well, thanks to Sha'ir (+1). Good job getting multiple uses out of that 'death' thing.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3; It does what it needs to, but you don't make any particular use out of it. But that's alright: adding them to your bag of tricks is fine.
Notes: I agree, the Sha'ir does call out the ability to cast arcane spells as well as "a limited selection of divine spells." Nice catch, and it's good to see Al Qadim back in action ('It means 'ancient.' As in, 'that cheese is al qadim.')
Composite Score: 15
"Hazy" Veral Equinox
Originality: 2.5; Wizard 5/ prestige class 10/Archmage 5 is a bit of an old hat. It doesn't mean it isn't a wonderfully hat forged from the tormented souls of your enemies, but it is a bit worn (-0.5).
Power: 4; A wizard specifically designed to counter other wizards (+1).
Elegance: 3.5; Avoids dips and flows well (+1), though the Spontaneous Divination trick leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth (-0.5).
Use of Secret Ingredient: 4; Neat trick with the babaus (+0.5), and again with winning illusion duels (+0.5).
Notes: Complete build? I applaud your selection and conversion of lyrics, though I am forced to point out that 'gray elf' is a grave insult to any true moon elf of Faerun.
Composite Score: 14
Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73
Originality: 3.5; It's certainly a more melee-focused build than I expected for this contest, and I hadn't seen Dragon Devotee before (+0.5).
Power: 2; So you pick up Pious Templar, and eventually 4th level domain spells, but I don't know your domains. And as is, you're hamstringing yourself with a +14 BAB (-1).
Elegance: 2; Considering the story, it feels like Crusader would have been a better fit. But as is, the lack of explanation means that I don't really have any idea of what the build was supposed to do, leading to a general unfocused feel (-1).
Use of Secret Ingredient: 1; You go to all of this trouble to pre-qualify for all ten levels of the SI, and then...? Why take this over Horizon Walker, or Jaunter? Why do you set up a melee base and then go into a low BAB, 9/10th casting class? I don't know, and you don't tell me (-1). Also, late entry (-0.5), and no mention of what the SI does for you (-0.5).
Notes: Source list? Complete build? Domains chosen? Maneuvers? It feels unfinished.
Composite Score: 8.5

OMG PONIES
2011-01-18, 01:08 PM
STANDINGS AFTER ONE JUDGE
{table=head]ENTRY|PLACE|TOTAL|AVERAGE
V'grax|GOLD|15|3.75
Snow|SILVER|14.5|3.625
Gabriella|SILVER|14.5|3.625
"Hazy" Vernal Equinox|Fourth|14|3.5
Aesh Duan Dee|Fifth|13.5|3.375
Arleigh Skye|Sixth|13|3.25
Anette the Impure|Seventh|11|2.75
The Slide|Eighth|9.5|2.375
Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73|Ninth|8.5|2.125[/table]

No offense, vikingofdoom, I just didn't want to include your scores until they were complete.

kestrel404
2011-01-18, 03:15 PM
I'd just like to point out that Viking has finished his judging, check the previous page for scores.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-18, 05:34 PM
Thanks for the heads up, kestrel! Will add to the sheet and post updates.

TALLIES AFTER TWO JUDGES
{table=head]ENTRY|PLACE|TOTAL|AVERAGE
Snow|GOLD|30.5|15.25
Gabriella|SILVER|29.5|14.75
V'grax|BRONZE|27|13.5
Arleigh Skye|Fourth|26|13
Aesh Duan Dee|Fifth|25.5|12.75
Anette the Impure|Fifth|25.5|12.75
Hazy Vernal Equinox|Seventh|24|12
Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73|Eighth|20.5|10.25
The Slide|Ninth|19.5|9.75[/table]

true_shinken
2011-01-18, 08:43 PM
Really? I can't see any particularly clear reason why that would be the RAI. Is it done that way in an NPC statblock, or in a FAQ response or something?

This class is all about learning/experiencing new things. Locking choices out ('you can't advance because you had to experience divine magic before level 5') seems weird, IMHO.

Amechra
2011-01-18, 09:08 PM
Do you have any ideas for the next competition?

true_shinken
2011-01-18, 09:18 PM
Do you have any ideas for the next competition?

I have my mind on a class from Complete Mage.

bondpirate
2011-01-18, 09:25 PM
These are really good. Too bad work got in the way of me competing, but I look forward to the next one.

Clepto
2011-01-18, 10:34 PM
I have my mind on a class from Complete Mage.

I vote for anything that doesn't have divine AND arcane as casting requirements.

Amphetryon
2011-01-18, 10:58 PM
I have my mind on a class from Complete Mage.

There's only one in there that I can see that's "bad" enough to be an Iron Chef challenge, I think...

Urpriest
2011-01-18, 11:09 PM
There's only one in there that I can see that's "bad" enough to be an Iron Chef challenge, I think...

And that one has requirements that make there be pretty much only one way of qualifying. If you're gonna do that, why not do Blighter instead? Much more interesting IMHO.

Akal Saris
2011-01-18, 11:09 PM
I'm hoping it's Wild Soul.

I mean, there's "peaceful contact with a fey creature" and there's "peaceful contact with a fey creature," if you know what I mean :smallbiggrin:

Waker
2011-01-18, 11:20 PM
I am quite curious as to what the next challenge will be. I had wanted to participate in this one, but I stumbled across the thread right before the submissions phase so I would have been a late entry.

Amechra
2011-01-18, 11:30 PM
Out of curiosity, will the online classes (Unseighlie Dark Hunter, Cold-Iron Warrior, Swiftblade, and Eye of the Xehenoth, or however you spell the last one.)

Because all 4 are unique, and don't really offer a single starting path.

Swiftblade would be out, but hey, you have the only Wisdom based Arcane spellcaster in the game, the only class that can SA people who aren't flatfooted/flanked, and a class with non-magical counterspelling!

Thurbane
2011-01-18, 11:44 PM
You got links to those handy, Amechra?

Amechra
2011-01-18, 11:50 PM
Soitenly!

Swiftblade (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327)
Unseelie Dark Hunter (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20030315a)

Cold Iron Warrior (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20040507a)

Eye of the Whatever (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20061107b)

T.G. Oskar
2011-01-18, 11:50 PM
There's only one in there that I can see that's "bad" enough to be an Iron Chef challenge, I think...

Nightmare Spinner? Because Holy Scourge has 5 caster levels, mind you, while Nightmare Spinner has oodles of flavor (though I can figure out the most fitting race and most fitting secondary prestige class out for it).

Though...maybe shinken will obviate the rules and use a 5-level PrC for the first time?

true_shinken
2011-01-19, 07:16 AM
Though...maybe shinken will obviate the rules and use a 5-level PrC for the first time?
Not happening. :smallbiggrin:


Out of curiosity, will the online classes (Unseighlie Dark Hunter, Cold-Iron Warrior, Swiftblade, and Eye of the Xehenoth, or however you spell the last one.)

I like that idea. Complete Mage may have to wait. :smallamused:

Zaq
2011-01-19, 10:03 AM
I still really want to see Incandescent Champion (MoI). I hope that we do that sooner or later.

true_shinken
2011-01-19, 10:10 AM
I still really want to see Incandescent Champion (MoI). I hope that we do that sooner or later.
You can be sure that one is gonna happen under my watch. :smallwink:
I just don't want to throw it here after Ardent Dilettante. Both are from somewhat obscure books that not everyone has; by sticking to Core/Completes, more people have the opportunity to compete.

Zonugal
2011-01-19, 10:33 PM
Question of curiosity but how do the judges tend to feel if someone uses Legacy Champion (Weapons of Legacy) to advance the secret ingredient?

Just wanted to know in the case of any future competitions.

Thurbane
2011-01-20, 12:49 AM
Well, I'm not a judge (yet), but I can't see any real problem with it...

Zaq
2011-01-20, 01:43 AM
Also speaking as a nonjudge, I'd be hard-pressed to think of a time when you'd really gain anything by doing so. I guess that it would help with AD in that you could get the higher-level abilities without dipping an arcane or divine class, but you lose a level anyway (LC starts advancing the other class at 2nd), so there's not much to gain unless you really needed more skill points out of a 2 + INT class. It's kind of pointless unless you're using some kind of shenanigans, so I guess you're likely to be judged based on why you felt that you needed LC in the first place. Unless it's a really sweet trick, I'd tread cautiously. Doesn't seem like you'd stand to gain much in the scoring department, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a judge ding you for it.

Again, I'm not judging, and I don't claim to speak for anyone. That's my gut assessment, though.

T.G. Oskar
2011-01-20, 05:41 AM
Well, for all of you guys worried about my judging, I'm 1/9ths of the way. After three days. Hence, why I stated don't get hold of any schedule I give. Fortunately, I expect that was the hardest build to adjudicate (four pages for it) and that the rest will be slightly easier.

@shinken: I expect you're not gonna use Swiftblade (it's a staple of gish builds), but in case you use another of them PrCs, I can only say one thing: Kestrel alert!! Kestrel alert!! Though how much of an alert that is depends on how broken you consider Ms. Kestrel's work.

kestrel404
2011-01-20, 07:13 AM
Well, I HAVE had my eye on a couple of those PrCs for use in previous competitions, but why are you going on alert for little old me? :D

dextercorvia
2011-01-20, 09:01 AM
My build was going to be a Theurgeish metaspell specialist, that collected spells. He would use something like a combo of Red Wizard and Black Wizard's Special abilities.

I didn't catch if anyone used this, but the trick I planned to highlight was See it Again in conjunction with Mage's Lucubration. A party member can cast a Buff on you. Thanks to See it Again, you can reciprocate, and (if it is fifth level or less) up to 24 hours later, you can cast Mage's Lucubration to recall it, and have it prepared in you mind "as normal". Then you can scribe it into your Blessed Book. The base was Archivist/Wizard, so that would cover almost every spell up to fifth level in the game.

Pechvarry
2011-01-20, 11:24 AM
I mean, there's "peaceful contact with a fey creature" and there's "peaceful contact with a fey creature," if you know what I mean :smallbiggrin:

Faerie Mysteries Initiate power go!
..
I was really expecting to see some entries with both, AD and Horizon Walker. Not that I'd know how one would stick them both in.

true_shinken
2011-01-20, 12:50 PM
@shinken: I expect you're not gonna use Swiftblade (it's a staple of gish builds), but in case you use another of them PrCs, I can only say one thing: Kestrel alert!! Kestrel alert!! Though how much of an alert that is depends on how broken you consider Ms. Kestrel's work.
She is one of my favourite designers, actually. Races of the Dragon is one of my most prized possessions.

Waker
2011-01-20, 01:08 PM
So any guesses to when the winners of the contest will be announced?
And what is the projected date for the next contest?

gbprime
2011-01-20, 01:34 PM
We're waiting on 2 more judges results at least, and then a brief period of rebuttal. :smallwink:

OMG PONIES
2011-01-20, 02:17 PM
Sorry, I've been slammed at work, so my judging has not been as speedy as I would like. I'm almost done the first entry.

kestrel404
2011-01-22, 10:30 AM
Well, two judges up and two more writing minor essays on the characters. I bet I know which one was acting as a stumbling block for them. Good luck finishing them off this weekend.

T.G. Oskar
2011-01-22, 11:03 AM
Well, two judges up and two more writing minor essays on the characters. I bet I know which one was acting as a stumbling block for them. Good luck finishing them off this weekend.

Who said it was gonna be finished this weekend? Hopefully it'll be before the end of next weekend.

Remember, minor essays and everything. So far finished with two of the nine, so I'm...22.22% finished. Only 7 more to go. I didn't specified time, but hey, at least I'm dealing with it as best as I possibly can.

Just one thing I can give ahead; it'll be in spoilers just in case someone doesn't want to see it, but it's something I must say:
Check the entry requirements. Please, check the entry requirements. It's a matter of "I beg you, pretty please with a cherry on top".

Amphetryon
2011-01-23, 06:10 PM
*Pushes the Ardent Dilettante back to the front before it wanders too far back*

Tam_OConnor
2011-01-23, 07:37 PM
"But I've never seen what waits beyond page ten! I must know! The Society of Sensation must know!"

gbprime
2011-01-23, 08:23 PM
"But I've never seen what waits beyond page ten! I must know! The Society of Sensation must know!"

Page 10? That's like SO five days ago! That's practically the Far Realm. :smallwink:

Akal Saris
2011-01-24, 12:17 AM
Remember, in order to advance to the full 10 pages, this thread must die and then be brought back to life by some means.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-24, 01:13 PM
I lol'd, Akal. Judging is done for 3 builds, and still chugging along.

EDIT: Judging is done for 4 builds, though my workload is unrelenting right now. I hope to be done by the end of the week. If not, I'll work on it next weekend as well to finish by month's end. AND THAT'S A PROMISE!*

*Editor's note: promises only apply in the absence of new videogames or other shiny distractions

true_shinken
2011-01-25, 06:16 PM
Man, for a second there I thought I hadn't done the reveal for some reason :smallbiggrin: Got me quite worked up

Amphetryon
2011-01-28, 07:58 AM
"A wandering thread am I, a thing of shreds, and patches...":smalltongue:

kestrel404
2011-01-28, 10:32 AM
But the thread wasn't at page 10 yet! Now we've got to start all over again...

;)

OMG PONIES
2011-01-28, 10:54 AM
Sorry, still trudging through my judging. 5 builds down, though!

gbprime
2011-01-28, 12:58 PM
"A wandering thread am I, a thing of shreds, and patches...":smalltongue:

of ballads, songs, and snatches, and really weird arse PrC's. :smallcool:

Amechra
2011-01-28, 04:19 PM
So...

Any guesses as to the next one?

kestrel404
2011-01-28, 04:49 PM
TS has already given some hints (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10192148&postcount=198).

T.G. Oskar
2011-01-30, 02:50 PM
Sorry to interrupt the experience of you Sensates, but...

No, I haven't finished yet, don't be bashing me! I was just reporting to tell you guys I'm alive and haven't forgotten you. Actually, I'm at 1/3rd of the way to completion. So far, it's 22 pages (at least in Word, with font Calibri and size 11) chock full of critique that just urges to get out. Not as shocking as last time...wait, I've actually exceeded the page limit of the earlier judging! That might be because of the more liberal use of spaces between paragraphs, but aside from that it's probably a larger rationale than before. With 15,000 words and 73,000 characters (no spaces or whatnot), you'll realize that it's a much larger judging (and that's with 66.7% completion!)

Remember why I said I wasn't placing an end date? Well...that, and playing a bit of DDO, a bit of SRW A Portable, trying my earnest to find FFT: War of the Lions (it was lost), trying to advance a bit in Lost Odyssey AND pre-ordering Tactics Ogre for PSP, you can figure I was quite occupied (not to mention making a Tattooed Monk homebrew and trying to find work...or at least a glimpse of that) and you can realize I've been quite occupied. So don't expect me to finish before February starts nor on the first week, but it'll finish soon and I'll hopefully surprise you.

Also: if you want to experience getting lost on a single thread suddenly having 70+ pages in a single day, MSPA forums are your choice. They change the main topic almost daily, after around 100 pages chock-full of...zaniness, what with the elaborate reactions and topics. Just for all you desperate Sensates.

gbprime
2011-01-30, 03:02 PM
So this is gonna be... 1 week to submit builds and 3 plus weeks for judging. What's the record on THAT for past competitions?

Cieyrin
2011-01-30, 03:35 PM
So this is gonna be... 1 week to submit builds and 3 plus weeks for judging. What's the record on THAT for past competitions?

Prior to this, probably last IC, since I dropped out of judging and then came back in to finish the judging that got put on hold for 2 weeks or so.

Akal Saris
2011-01-30, 04:43 PM
Just my 2 cents, but I'd like future judging to be shorter, so we can have the next competition within a timely date. Both as a contestant and a viewer, I'm more interested in the builds than the judging.

kestrel404
2011-01-30, 05:16 PM
While I appreciate that the judges want to be thorough in their analysis of the entries, I really don't see the need to have more than, say, a page of text for any given entry. Even that is probably overkill.

Amechra
2011-01-30, 05:44 PM
I'm almost afraid to see your review of mine.

Here, I'll give you a hint as to which it is, so you can be more/less vicious in it:
It has Ardent Dilettante in it.

OMG PONIES
2011-01-31, 07:14 AM
Just my 2 cents, but I'd like future judging to be shorter, so we can have the next competition within a timely date. Both as a contestant and a viewer, I'm more interested in the builds than the judging.

I feel the same way--it's just an unfortunate set of circumstances that means judging that normally takes two days has taken weeks on end. I, too, am eager to move to round XVIII and I'd hate for there to be a drop in interest because of the delay in my rambling.


While I appreciate that the judges want to be thorough in their analysis of the entries, I really don't see the need to have more than, say, a page of text for any given entry. Even that is probably overkill.

My problem isn't the length of my commentary, but rather the depth of my review. In trying to make sure every build is legal, I pore over feat requirements and class entry requirements before even getting to the commentary. With an ingredient like this, I've actually set up a mini-spreadsheet to make judging entry requirements quicker, but it still takes some time. Also, I've already made compromises for the sake of speed--unless it's glaring, I don't check if all your skills are appropriately taken as class skills or cross-class skills.

6 builds down. I do hope to finish today, and will be working on judging during work and throughout my lunch break.

Amphetryon
2011-01-31, 08:16 AM
I'm almost afraid to see your review of mine.

Here, I'll give you a hint as to which it is, so you can be more/less vicious in it:
It has Ardent Dilettante in it.
That's exactly the one I would have guessed!

Amechra
2011-01-31, 04:18 PM
I was that obvious?

Tam_OConnor
2011-01-31, 11:57 PM
Well, I didn't clue in on it. After all, it's not like there's a wisdom requirement for ardent dilettante.

T.G. Oskar
2011-02-02, 12:15 AM
Joyous news, gentlemen!

...Just in case, not finished yet. But with 88.8% of the scores done, and only needing to finish the last score, I can safely say I'll post the scores before Friday comes. Being Wednesday right now where I live, that means between today, tomorrow, or come worst Friday night.

You may now return to your desperation because of lack of scores. If I'm lucky enough, I might synch with Ponies for a superb simultaneous posting technique! Or else, Ponies might do it before I do, so don't fret anymore!

OMG PONIES
2011-02-02, 03:24 PM
Finally! The moment you [may or may not] have been waiting for! My judging is [pretty much] complete! And there was much rejoicing in the streets !

AESC DUAN DEE
TOTAL: 6
AVERAGE: 1.5

[B]ORIGINALITY: 2
Illumians are frequent flyers in charop.
Using Naberius to heal ability damage as you take it is also a charop staple.
Dipping Sand Shaper for bonus spells is also a well-known trick.
Disciple of Thyrm, however, was a new one for me.
I'm glad to see someone used Ardent Dilettante to advance something as different as trapsmith.
POWER: 2
You have a VERY low BAB...your second iterative attack comes at level 15, for a total +8 BAB at level 20!!! Also, you have a -1 STR mod with no Weapon Finesse on a DEX-focused character? While I know that melee combat is not Aesc's specialty, this is just a bit too weak.
Good use of Uurkrau to boost your CL/DEX-based skills and use DEX for your bonus spells.
Besides Desert Insight and Oracle Domain, no mention of what Disciple of Thyrm spells you'd be using.
You never get advanced traps, only basic ones.
CL bonus for Dust Magic only applies to arcane casting, so it does not boost Disciple of Thyrm. Also, keep in mind, your STR 8 character has to lug around 15 pounds of sand to get that bonus.
You can't use Sanctified Spells with Trapsmith casting, since it's not a prepared caster. Also, the "neutral /= evil" argument won't work, since BoED calls out sanctified spells as being:
For those willing to utterly devote themselves to good... A similar case can be made for corrupt spells.
While you can do a little bit of lots of things, you can't really do any of it (besides trapcrafting) well. While trapcrafting would be deviously cool for an NPC, I'm not sure that party members can always wait for you to create and set traps.
There's some dispute as to whether you can advance Disciple of Thyrm casting with Ardent Dilettante, since you didn't have any levels in it before entering Ardent Dilettante. No deduction.
ELEGANCE: 1
I'm unsure if Illumians qualify for Able Learner. While they are humanoids with the human subtype, they are not specifically humans. There is some debate on this topic, so no deduction.
Does not qualify for Practiced Spellcaster (0 ranks in Spellcraft).
Is Enhanced Illumian Sigils the same feat as Enhanced Power Sigils? No deduction, just curious.
10 DIPS! I see what you were doing, and it's an awesome challenge for yourself, but 10 dips does not make an elegant build.
You don't qualify for White Raven Tactics, since you have 0 White Raven maneuvers (as Leading the Charge is a White Raven stance). Move along, folks, nothing to see here.
RAI (as I take them), it's pretty clear that Sand Shaper's desert insight only adds to arcane casting classes. However, no deduction.
UOSI: 1
Does not qualify for Levels 7+ of SI (no STR-based skill @ 5+ ranks, no exotic weapon proficiency).
I like your Speak w/ Animals + Sense Link animal trick.

THE SLIDE
TOTAL: 9
AVERAGE 2.25

ORIGINALITY: 2
Fiend of Possession is old hat in charop.
I was expecting a handful of beguiler builds, since they fulfill the casting and skill requirements easily.
Experiencing different methods of death is an interesting concept, if a little dark.
POWER: 3
I can understand why your STR is so low, since you're usually ethereal or using other peoples' bodies, but 4 is just a bit TOO low for my taste.
While controlling a creature, you lose all of your own class features, etc. You essentially become the creature, but with your own mental ability scores and SLAs. As such, this build may be stronger with classes that focus on SLAs, but your 11 levels of beguiler/ardent dilettante are wasted while possessing a creature.
While the trick you get at ECL 11 is fairly good, you're entirely a one-trick pony.
You can't coup de grace yourself. A coup de grace can only be delivered to a helpless opponent.
ELEGANCE: 3
Good use of Fiend of Possession's Ethereal Form to circumvent the kaorti's material vulnerability.
Small nitpick: my Fiend Folio says that kaorti get disguise self as a SLA, with no mention of alter self.
1 dip
UoSI: 1
Does not qualify for levels 7+ of the SI (no exotic weapon prof, no divine casting, and it's very difficult to raise a dead outsider).
Hearing the Air is redundant with AD blindsense.
You said it yourself: "the build requires Fiend of Possession more than Ardent Dilettante."
As mentioned under power, while controlling a creature, you lose all benefits of the S.I.

SNOW
TOTAL: 14
AVERAGE: 3.5

ORIGINALITY: 4
I was not expecting a Favored Soul to show up--it was a great pick for the exotic weapon proficiency and divine casting.
Loremaster was not only a great thematic fit, but was a great way to advance casting & lore while providing a handy bonus feat. This was a great way to use a common prestige class!
I love Residual Magic, and I don't think it gets enough attention (especially for metamagic fiends like Snow).
POWER: 3
Even though you make up for lost CL via Practiced Spellcaster, two lost caster levels slow down your wizard casting.
Energy Substitution with no Energy Admixture? That feat could have taken the place of something like Sudden Maximize to truly increase your damage output.
A nice (if minor) synergy between Corrupt Spell and Spell Focus (evil)
While Ardent Dilettante did provide some more versatility to your chassis, I can't help but think a sorcerer would have fared better for your blaster-caster (especially when paired with Favored Soul).
ELEGANCE: 3
Favored Soul dip
No indication of arcane spells in your spellbook, so no way to tell if you qualify for Loremaster.
UoSI: 4
Nice use of elf/favored soul of Lolth to meet the weapon proficiency entry requirements.
As you point out, Heightened Senses does combine nicely with the elven skill bonuses.

GABRIELLA
TOTAL: 12
AVERAGE: 3

ORIGINALITY: 2.5
Hellbred isn't the most original race choice.
Beguiler was an expected chassis (see The Slide).
I've come to expect at least one Sublime Chord in every round.
Another Vow of Poverty prostitute
However, the Abyssal Heritor feats were new for me.
I'm glad to see that someone used Autohypnosis for their CON-based skill requirement!
POWER: 4
While unoriginal, Sublime Chord is powerful.
However, it's unclear whether you can actually use Ardent Dilettante to advance Sublime Chord casting. Since it's heavily debated, I won't deduct for it.
Beguilers know all spells on the beguiler spell list. Prestige bard grants no additional spell access (at least, not in Unearthed Arcana). Where are you seeing that they "give access to all bard spells?"
I'm surprised that you didn't note prestigious bard's +2 CL to divination, enchantment, and illusion spells (since that's the majority of the beguiler's spell list).
ELEGANCE: 1
Build assumes a UA variant (prestige bard).
You don't qualify for Precognitive Visions, as you need WIS 13.
FC II, pg 80: "After selecting a devil-touched feat, you can no longer use or select exalted feats." Even if you argue that you didn't select Devil's Favor, you selected Devil's Sight at level 4.
You don't qualify for Devil's sight, as it requires Wis 15.
Since you lose the benefits of Vow of Poverty, your ability scores are actually STR 7 DEX 12 CON 14 INT 16 WIS 9 CHA 22
Because of the above, you don't qualify for Devil's Flesh, which requires CON 15.
As listed, you've used a 33 point buy (0 for STR, 5 each for DEX and CON, 10 for INT, 0 for WIS, and 13 for CHA).
3 dips
Ordered Chaos was a good way to get prestige bard, as the full text of the feat calls out that it allows you to qualify for prestige classes with a chaotic requirement. While prestige bard specifically requires a nonlawful alignment, saying that Ordered Chaos does not allow Gabriella to qualify here would be splitting hairs (and, IMHO, incorrect).
UoSI: 4.5
Great use of abyssal heritor feats to boost lore and heightened senses
You definitely find a use for your bonus feats. While the devil-touched feats invalidate your exalted feats, they can be easily replaced with more Abyssal Heritor feats.
While one of your examples of See It Again basically comes right from the description of the ability, I like your idea about doubling healing spells, but I'm not sure if your spell turning trick (while hilarious) works as intended. The ability specifies that ALL aspects of the spell (which I take to include targets) would be identical. So, as I take it, the effect would target you (and any other targets) again, possibly being turned back once again. However, it could use up your available turning levels, which could result in partial turning. Still, hilarious.
The Devil's Sight/Blindsense combo is tasty: sense someone's presence, then activate Devil's Sight to pinpoint them without wasting a daily use. Unfortunately, you don't actually qualify for Devil's Sight, so you can't really use it.
I like the detailed breakdown of the S.I. class abilities. It spells out exactly why each one is useful.

ANNETTE
TOTAL: 7
AVERAGE: 1.75

ORIGINALITY: 3
When I saw the arcane and divine casting requirement, along with the skill requirements, my first thought was bardadin.
However, I didn't expect to see any emancipated wraith spawn.
Another Vow of Poverty prostitute.
POWER: 2
No Devoted Performer on a bardadin?
Sunlight Powerlessness makes this character rather useless during the day.
Don't forget, 0 HP means immediate destruction.
How would a wraith spawn travel around with a party of 18th-level characters without being a liability?
When you become a wraith, you still require the same amount of XP to advance levels as when you were alive (as per Savage Species). So, to reach the levels you've shown here, you would need the XP of a 22nd-level character.
Bard was an odd choice for Regain class features--you regain bardic music, sure, but also VERY hampered casting. Since you only have 5 actual levels of bard, you regain 1 spell per level per day of levels 0-2. The small scope and limited number of these abilities means that you're not really making up much in the lost power department.
ELEGANCE: 1
Your confrontational tone about the Paladin's Code of Conduct is offputting, to say the least. Also, while I don't want to turn this into an alignment debate, the Book of Exalted Deeds mentions that
A good character is not opposed to sex in principle, but will not condone exploitative or coercive relationships such as prostitution... While I know that some people don't like what the BoED says about good, if you're going to reap the benefits of exalted feats you should at least consider this section as well. Also, depending on DM opinion, prostitution could infringe upon the "respect for individual liberty" part of the Paladin of Freedom's code. If not, they make take issue with you slaying people and raising them as dominated spawn for the same reason.
Relies on a UA variant (Paladin of Freedom)
How did you acquire three feats at first level?
You don't qualify for Words of Creation, as you don't meet the INT or Will save requirements.
You don't qualify for Sanctify Martial Strike (unarmed strike), since you don't have Weapon Focus (unarmed strike).
When you become a wraith, your alignment becomes "always lawful evil." Granted, you can revert once your creator is destroyed, but that's still at least some time that you fall (as well as losing the benefit of your exalted feats).
Recall Feats still requires that you meet the prerequisites of the feats you recall, which will cause some problems on the road to Rediscovery (all exalted feats, Extra Music, Song of the Heart, Requiem, Lyric Spell, Snowflake Wardance, Extra Music).
Once you take levels outside of paladin, you cannot return. I can see why taking the first level again after becoming a wraith isn't really "returning" to the class, but I can also see how some DMs would argue that it certainly is. No deduction, though.
UoSI: 1
While I don't want to punish you twice for losing all class abilities, you take almost every level of the secret ingredient and then reset yourself to a weak 5th-level character with none of those levels until rediscovery (which takes you 4 more levels to reclaim).
Recall Class Features wasn't even used to pick Secret Ingredient features back up.
Didn't finish the secret ingredient.

ARLEIGH SKYE
TOTAL: 16
AVERAGE: 4

ORIGINALITY: 4.5
Aasimar is a familiar favorite, and the only thing keeping this from being a perfect score.
Ranger was not expected, though it nicely meets divine casting, skill rank, and martial weapon proficiency requirements.
I've never even seen Knight of the Weave used before. It's got great (read: minimal) entry requirements for picking up some arcane spellcasting, and the odd progression makes up for the odd lost level (Arcane Dilettante in this case).
Good combo: aptitude weapons, arcane strike & boomerang daze. While Arcane Strike itself isn't anything new, I like what you did with it as a DC booster.
POWER: 4
Combat Reflexes, Robilar's Gambit, and Arcane Strike don't work when wielding a bow. I see the Aptitude greatsword as well, but I'd rather you take more advantage of your chosen combat style or choose the two-weapon fighting style.
Arcane Strike is a great way to increase the damage from your sword, thus increasing the save DC for your daze attack.
You've excelled at making a scouting gish who is competent in both melee and ranged combat with a nasty debuff capability via Boomerang Daze.
ELEGANCE: 2.5
1 dip.
LA buyoff is assumed.
Cross-setting material used (Knight of the Weave/Xen'drik boomerang). While I appreciate your note, I still feel that this warrants a small deduction to Elegance.
Do not qualify for Practiced Spellcaster (not enough ranks in Spellcraft).
Hard to raise an outsider for the final level of the Secret Ingredient.
No deduction, but in what type of performance is Arleigh trained?
UoSI: 5
Good use of Improved/Uncanny Scent to boost the Scent ability provided by the Secret Ingredient.
I applaud your ingenuity on the Sense Link wand.
A ranger chassis like this puts Heightened Senses to great use.
Sixth sense of magic was nice and flavorful.

V'GRAX
TOTAL: 11
AVERAGE: 2.75

ORIGINALITY: 4
About time somebody used the sha'ir to qualify for both arcane and divine spellcasting!
I did not expect to see a Blood Magus, much less a Blood Magus entered via sha'ir. Clever noticing the special entry requirement of both.
POWER: 3
Because you only have 5 levels in sha'ir, your retrieved spells are only available for 5 hours. While re-retrieving spells isn't bad for known arcane spells, attempting to retrieve unknown arcane spells or divine spells can be a nuisance for your party. Extend/Persistent Spell are great in this case, but they chew up your higher-level spells and they're harder to retrieve.
Taking more levels in sha'ir would give you some (limited) use of lesser planar ally and planeshift, which would have been perfect for the Ardent Dilettante. No deduction here, just noting how cool it would have been to see an Ardent Dilettante w/ a free plane shift every day (even if it's only to and from elemental planes).
Blood Magus was a good way to get item creation feats, but keep in mind that they only work on yourself. No potions for your party members.
ELEGANCE: 3
No deduction, but please try to list total skill ranks instead of "+1" every level (especially with ingredients like Ardent Dilettante that have heavy skill requirements).
You don't qualify for anarchic bloodline, since spell retrieval is a form of preparation.
In turn, you no longer qualify for Power in the Blood.
UoSI: 1
Does not qualify for levels 4-7 of the secret ingredient, due to lack of sufficient ranks in Perform (oratory).
While I initially questioned your decision to break up Ardent Dilettante levels, I appreciate and agree with your assessment.
Another good use of elven weapon proficiencies to satisfy some entry requirements.

"HAZY" VERNAL EQUINOX
TOTAL: 10.5
AVERAGE: 2.625

ORIGINALITY: 2
Again, glad to see autohypnosis used for the CON-based skill.
This is a plain vanilla archmage build pulled straight from the handbooks.
However, I like the Sense Link/Planar Binding Combo a lot. You've given me a great idea for an Ardent Dilettante NPC.
POWER: 3.5
Aside from the Sense Link trick, Hazy seems like he'd play very much like a straight wizard.
However, the skill boosts from Ardent Dilettante can't be ignored, as they make Hazy a formidable skill monkey and sneak.
While you have some common caster weaknesses (like a +5 FORT save), your other defenses are pretty solid, not to mention the slight boost in HP.
ELEGANCE: 4
How do you have access to Choose Destiny? It's only on the Destiny domain list. It's one of my favorite spells in the game, but that's the most annoying part of it.
Prayer Bead of Karma only works w/ those who can cast divine spells.
As far as I see, autohypnosis only allows you to memorize text. Where do you see that you can memorize everything you see?
Spontaneous Divination was errata'd to only apply to divination spells you know, which are only arcane spells.
UoSI: 1
Because of the spontaneous divination errata, Hazy does not qualify for SI levels 7+ (no divine casting).
I liked the sense link/Planar Binding combination enough that I credited it to you under originality, though.

D32
TOTAL: 9
AVERAGE: 2.25

ORIGINALITY: 4
I didn't expect to see a build that was so focused on melee combat.
Dragon Devotee was an interested and unexpected way to pick up arcane spellcasting.
However, I thought we'd see plenty of dips into Pious Templar.
POWER: 2
No list of tactics used.
Good use of Steadfast Determination w/ Mettle.
Cannot use Pious Templar spells without a stat-boosting item.
Disappointing to see a Combat Brute build that doesn't use the Dungeoncrasher fighter variant.
Knowledge Devotion comes online too late in the build. Also, you can't use it against aberrations/oozes (dungeoneering), humanoids (local), or animals/fey/giants/monstrous humanoids/plants (nature). Even with Jack of All Trades, you're counted as having 1/2 rank, but Knowledge Devotion requires at least one rank to activate.
If your focus is divine casting/divine gish, you're fairly limited. If your focus is combat, I'm stumped as to why you took 10 levels in a class that didn't offer full BAB.
ELEGANCE: 2
2 dips
Relies on a UA variant (Skill Knowledge)
Aasterinian's favored weapon is the scimitar, so you technically don't qualify for Pious Templar. At my table, I would allow it since a falchion "...is essentially a two-handed scimitar..." (PHB 117), but technically Weapon Focus: Great Scimitar is different from Weapon Focus: Scimitar. However, the warblade's weapon aptitude class feature is yet another reason I would allow it at my table, and will not be making a deduction here.
No deduction, but please try to list total skill ranks instead of "+1" every level (especially with ingredients like Ardent Dilettante that have heavy skill requirements).

UOSI: 1
No explanation of how the secret ingredient's class features benefit the build.
Does not qualify for levels 7+ of the SI without stat-boosting items (since Pious Templar requires WIS of 11+ in order to cast their spells).
Even with stat-boosting items, does not qualify for level 10 of the secret ingredient. (no CON-based skill ranks, and warforged cannot be returned to life or unlife).

There they are. If you have any questions or disputes, please refer them to the chairman as per Iron Chef procedure. Some of these were new concepts for me, and I gave each entry at least two complete readthroughs before starting my comments and scores. However, I know that I may have missed or misunderstood something, so don't be afraid to let me know.

TALLIES AFTER THREE JUDGES (BEFORE DISPUTES)
{table=head]ENTRY|PLACE|TOTAL
Snow|GOLD|44.5
Arleigh Skye|SILVER|42
Gabriella|BRONZE|41.5
V'grax|Fourth|38
"Hazy" Vernal Equinox|Fifth|34.5
Annette the Impure|Sixth|32.5
Aesh Duan Dee|Seventh|31.5
Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73|Eighth|29.5
The Slide|Ninth|28.5[/table]

true_shinken
2011-02-02, 04:29 PM
OMG, nice judging.
Only one thing I have to point out: Stances count as maneuvers for requirements.

OMG PONIES
2011-02-02, 05:38 PM
Geez, would you know that I actually read that chapter of ToB to make sure before posting that comment, and somehow missed the multiple places where stances count for maneuver prerequisites?

EDIT: Judging updated.

T.G. Oskar
2011-02-02, 07:11 PM
Aww...I wanted synched judging reveals!

But don't fret: with a last entry that was so easy to judge, I declare I've finished and I'm ready to post the entries! I'll do it three by three, that way I'll be sure to cover all without having to skip one, and also do it symmetrically (sort of).

Aesc Duan Dee
Originality
The Ardent Dilettante is a class that’s meant to experience a bit of everything; or at least, the class and the flavor seem to work with that. Dipping is the mechanical expression of experiencing everything; you take abilities of one or two more classes to enhance the experience of it. And finally, the class really likes to experience and find the meaning behind everything. All three combine very, very well in that regard.

In terms of Illumians, they are pretty common in terms of use, and pretty rare everywhere else. They get this aura of mysticism behind them, what with their intricate connection with their language which essentially makes them living words, and their concept of hidden cabals where they live their lives makes them all the more secret. However, in terms of optimization, they are used a lot, and the term “uurkrau” shows a strong reason why: the class mostly exists to support part of your power (spellcasting). It’s hard to define where flavor starts and where crunch takes over, but luckily, this isn’t the case.

The story is what redeems this character’s originality. You really thought a lot about what made the character. The first thing was the odd choice for 1st class: rogue. Mechanically there’s a reason: you want to qualify for the class ASAP without touching Bard or Factotum, and that’s laudable. Yet, with the dangling words flowing on your forehead, it’s difficult to think he would hide well. Binder and Warlock make a very strong mix in terms of flavor (and mechanically as well…so as long as you mix Naberius with Hellfire Warlock), but work in bypassing that restriction: you worked well with those limitations, but the way they were introduced to the character were a bit forced. Which is bad, because the motive of your character is solid gold: Aesc wants to willingly aid vestiges to feel, and thus the Society of Sensates really plays with that idea. That’s something I really liked: the blend between the need to feel and the vestiges’ need to feel.

As for the rest of the story, I would like to see how the character really developed. Win or lose, despite the really weird mix of classes, I would really like to see a story based on the character (preferably as a graphic novel), because the story has catchy moments. As for the song…lyrics made by you, or they’re part of a song? Because it seems kinda like…I dunno, new wave (Erasure, Duran Duran?)

Score: 4 (Illumian used to gain a different stat to qualify for spellcasting is a very old optimization trick; I feel that the use of the race only fit miraculously. Also, some things felt nudged in, specially how Aesc entered into Binder and Warlock. To your fortune, the Binder/Society of Sensation/Illumian lore mix really rescued the story, which I feel is what makes it really original).

Power
First and foremost: how in heavenly tarnation I’m gonna figure out how to deal with so many additions!? It’s a very different take on Haverdash the Masked, without using Factotum OR Chameleon OR Master of Masks OR any feat to dip into other systems. However, it’s very complex to work with: it uses arcane and divine spellcasting (intended; it’s a requirement after all), but also invocations, pact magic AND maneuvers. That seems to be an Elegance dilemma, so I’ll simply go into power issues.

First…it’s understandable that you have so low attack power; you’ve stated you’re a support character, but aside from the Hide checks your damage potential is sorta lacking: fortunately, you do rely on Eldritch Blast which is a touch attack and attempt to draw slightly more power from sneak attacks, so essentially you use your formidable Dexterity and buffs to deal that damage as much as you can (using Blend with Shadows and Darkstalker to remain hidden). Spell-wise, you have a wide list of attack spells and support spells that give you some staying power, but they appear quite late and only provide a mild boost to your main EB-SA tactic. As you mentioned, maneuvers are mostly utility (Mountain Hammer to break doors and walls, Shadow Jaunt to make short-range teleportations, Wind Stride for added mobility, WRT and IHS just because; of those, only Mountain Hammer and Fire Riposte (and probably Leading the Charge if you’re…charging, which isn’t really an option) work for attack, and Fire Riposte is a counter, thus you’re relying on not being hit and you hitting back; some maneuvers don’t make much sense (Sudden Leap requires a good Jump check, which you can only barely do with Bull’s Strength + Good Hope; Leading the Charge is there just for White Raven Tactics).

As for Sanctified and Corrupt spells: while powerful, I don’t feel they add much to your character. They exist to increase your spell list, but I don’t see why it is so important to have, say, a 7d6 Hammer of Righteousness or a 7d6 Diamond Spray attack. I might look a lot for weird, quirky and unique stuff (and get lambasted by it), and I might love BoED (and by comparison, not much of a fan of BoVD), but this seems to be tacked in just to increase your casting ability. Being creative with spells is just as important as having a wide choice, and in that regard Sanctified and Corrupt spells don’t add that much, other than an apparent excuse to use Naberius aside from Aym or Leraje (honestly, I prefer to see Aym or Leraje than abuse of Naberius, but that’s me).

What I do see is a focus on defense and retaliation. Examples: Darkness, Fire Riposte, Aym’s Halo of Flame, probably Greater Luminous Armor, Child of Shadow, Cloak of Deception, Wall of Blades, Protection of Winter, Good Hope’s bonus to AC and saves, eventually spectacular bonuses to Reflex and Will saving throws…quite definitely I see the enemy having a hard time hitting you, which is good because you want your attacks to hit even if they hit very slowly. I see a strong dependence on buffs, but fortunately those are self-provided so that minimizes (and actually increases) their worth. Huge Dex is also a strong point, since the build is Dex-intensive (you use it for AC, initiative, most of your skills, Reflex, AND spellcasting). It’s gonna be real hard to hit you and pinpoint you, and you’ll be singing them with fire if they get too close.

It’s really, really hard to gauge your power based only on analyzing every single trick you get (and you have a LOT), but one thing’s for certain: the first 3 levels define your attack method, the first 6 levels seem to be your sweet spot, and that means very early power for your build, which is a good plus. It’s a build that, perhaps with less propensity for dips, would make a rather decent build. But again, the propensity for dips is an elegance issue, not a power issue.

Finally: it’s admirable that you thought of not using scrolls, and I can understand you for that: your build is decent without them. However, I would have at least considered UMD because the chances of getting a scroll are pretty high based on loot. UMD doesn’t limit itself to activating wands or scrolls (which would have given a boost to your power, even though you do get a wide set of spells you can activate pretty much for free, which reduces your dependence on UMD), but also allows you to fool certain magic items, which would have added to your Originality were you to add it. I would lambast you for not adding UMD, but trying to be less reliant on magic items (a good one for me) is something I can pass by.

Score: 2.5 (while hard to hit and having lots of uses outside of battle, the excessive dipping causes your general power gauge to drop. You’re an early bloomer, getting lots of power during your first 6 levels, then remaining useful at 9th level, but later you mostly drop your power potential. However, it’s not a bad build for the remaining 11 levels, all the more since you use cleverly two spellcasting-granting PrCs. Dex is obviously what you’re built for, and the reliance on other stats is not as crippling as with other builds.)

Elegance
Well, where do I start? I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of 1s in here, given the excessive dipping you’ve made. Fortunately for you, I like delving into lots of books to make weird builds, so you’re in luck here. Thus, you’re neutral in terms of how much or how little you dipped in.

That said, there are a few things that really turn me a bit off. The first will hurt you like nothing else: you can’t qualify for any levels of Ardent Dilettante after the 6th. It very clearly states “any one Strength skill”, which means you should have had either Climb, Jump, or Swim. With Sudden Leap, I imagined at best you’d have at least Jump, but I didn’t saw that: it was when I was figuring how useful would Sudden Leap would have been that I noticed something was amiss. This is real bad, because you really had the skill in consideration, and it’s really a shame. I’ll be the first to admit that’s really an abusive skill check requirement, but considering that you had Jump in mind makes this a really bad oversight. So…how much I should worry? Enough to consider that it was a really bad oversight, but not enough to crucify you for it. At least 1 point, I’d say.

Second is the Sanctified and Corrupt spells. I can, by RAW, admit that you could cast Sanctified or Corrupt spells without any trouble. The problem lies on how you justify learning sanctified spells by being a disciple of Thrym, who by all means is EVIL. It’s already on a flimsy cord the reading of whether good people can learn sanctified spells (basically, you need to be REAL good to do so, but other than that there’s no solid rule on whether you can do it or not), but the fact that you’re a Warlock (which requires being chaotic or evil; even then, you can justify getting your powers from an Eladrin), who follows Thrym, and whom also dabbles in Corrupt magic makes this a big no-no. But that wouldn’t be as bad. What makes it bad is that it adds nothing to your build, other than expanding the spell list. Really, Luminous Armor is real good, Telepathy Tap works very well with your idea of experimenting sensations, and Celestial Transformation adds a good deal of power to your build, but aside from that, you really didn’t need to go that far for spells (consider you get even more spells by adding Champions of Valor and Champions of Ruin, but even then). It’s the relative lack of need for those spells combined with the dubious method of acquiring them that reduces Elegance. The hit is not as strong when you consider that your character seeks to experience the exaltation of good and the vileness of evil, but don’t seem to see the method behind it. It’s far too much of a stretch to consider that a disciple of an evil deity would somehow have access to good powers, and there’s no explanation on how you really got your Warlock powers which would have really saved your neck right there. Then you add poison, which by BoEDs rules is an evil act.

Another thing I feel tacked on is Divine Oracle. I understand your idea of going with a theme (no classes or PrCs over 1), but aside from the boost to divine power I don’t see what you bring to the table with this PrC. This really hurts, because aside from adding 3 or 4 more spells, you don’t seem to gain much from it. Contemplative would have been oodles better, since you could customize your domain choice to something that could have boosted your build, and you had the ranks in Knowledge (religion) for them (plus it would have freed your feat slot from Skill Focus). Other options would have been better, but the alignment doesn’t allow them or you don’t have the abilities fit for them; I was thinking on Eldritch Disciple or Anima Mage, which aside from a few difficulties you could have entered fittingly, boosting your choice of vestiges or invocations and adding some oomph to your power (heck, with Eldritch Glaive or the ability to bind a slightly stronger vestige, you could have done wonders!) I could have ignored it if it was a hard call, but unfortunately it wasn’t.

As for good things, while I might have lambasted you a bit for the use of Illumian in Originality, here it’s a very good idea. You made the class almost SAD, pumping Dexterity to great levels, and what’s better, giving the character chances to boost it even further, so you have a strong DC for spells you might want to cast and a strong Initiative and touch AC, which helps your build immensely. Furthermore, and perhaps a good point out of dipping into nearly everything, is that the build is hardly boring to use; you have just TOO. MANY. OPTIONS. This is both good and bad, but the nice thing is that nearly half of the options you have can be used outside of battle: traps, utility maneuvers and spells, loads of skill checks, etc. The build is, thus far, one of the best I’ve seen in terms of sticking to a theme, and for that you deserve a cookie or Internet.

Score: 3.5 (can’t qualify for Ardent Dilettante over 7th level which is bad, and I don’t see what Divine Oracle or Sanctified spells add to the list other than “more spells”. However, being Dex-based and sticking to a theme, alongside really bringing the feel of “experiencing everything” refreshes the build.)

Use of Secret Ingredient
Wow, it is hard to define how well the secret ingredient is used. But I see a few efforts towards using the ingredients.

Again, smacking you a bit for not qualifying for 7th level or higher. Jump is sorely missed, as Sudden Leap shows. Your perception skills are top-notch, which makes Heightened Senses all the more useful (since you can get a very good use of Listen and the Listen skill trick). Obviously tried as much to exploit the good skill points per level and the Factotum-like access to skills, what with the varied skill list you have. I could have lambasted you for the use of Ranger, but Spiritual Connection has an obvious link with Enthrall and you want to Track with your scent ability, so it’s obvious you really used Ranger for that (and it’s a surprising use of Ranger, a very clever dip if I must say so myself). Joie de Vivre is an orphan feature, but you make a surprisingly good use out of it because you have several skill checks that can take benefit out of it (Spot, Listen, Craft [poisonmaking] and Craft [trapmaking]). Blindsense, on the other hand, isn’t cleverly exploited with stuff such as Blind-Fight or skill tricks, which is really bad considering that, despite how late it was gained, it was a small step to be less dependent on True Seeing or blindsight. All in all, it’s a good use of the senses, which really fits with the PrC, except for the blindsense ability you get at the end.

As for the bonus feats…well, those can be easily exploited, and what’s great is that you used them to qualify for different bonus feats. I’ll slap your wrist a bit because Divine Oracle forced you to consume your 7th level bonus feat, while you could have gotten Enhanced Power Sigils earlier.

Score: 4.5 (a build that seeks to provide some usefulness to senses and experiencing those? With vestiges that really want that? By golly, we have a match here!)

Overall: 14.5 (3.625)
This build defies most conceptions about the challenge. Here we have a theme build, one built (no pun intended and probably should smack myself for being redundant) upon a variety of experiences both in fluff and in crunch. Senses are really important to your character, the ability to feel everything the world has to offer essential. It makes an unlikely fit to the Illumian lore (the use of githyanki, the contrast between light and darkness, fire and cold, good and evil even if the latter was a bit exaggerate to my taste, again no pun intended), it uses the lore of vestiges really nicely (vestiges want to feel, and the binder grants them the ability to feel; going with the idea of championing sensation is really a masterful stroke), and the idea of dipping in everything with the intention of experiencing different abilities blends very nicely. However, it is a very complex build, one that despite being original and flavorful is hard to adjudicate on any table, and that won’t work well with other judges (or with most DMs). It’s a juggle of many books, and a very difficult first build to judge. Also; I don’t see your character suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder, sadly (that way, the irony would have been most delicious!)

The Slide
Originality
Wow, this is…disgusting, to say the least. Really, really disgusting. I like it!

So what caused this apparent double-take? Simple. It’s pretty odd to see Kaorti, given that while a common name in optimization, it’s a VERY uncommon name in actual usage. It’s a 2 HD, LA +2 Outsider with the Evil and Extraplanar subtypes that cannot exist on its own, yet instead of going with the Kaorti Resin bodysuit (and looking like the Pyro), you decided to use flesh and bone suits. Talk about creepy.

But really, it’s VERY strange to see such an unusual mix to actually work somewhat. The story is even stranger: I really don’t see why it has to be a kid; heck, it could have been an old man and I wouldn’t have possibly cared. The new kaorti would have still found solace in sensation, which is the defining concept of your build; your build isn’t meant to be played; it’s meant to be the slasher of a slasher horror campaign, and darned I’d be if I wouldn’t acknowledge that. Kinda reminds me of Jason from the movie Jason Goes to Hell: the Final Friday. Heck, he could have made an awesome Assassin build just because. It’s just the Kaorti with levels of Fiend of Possession (a rare choice, actually) that makes this build deadly original.

But darn, the story’s creepy. Made even creepier to know the kaorti is really an enfant terrible, a hellion by any other name.

Score: 5 (probably not the next Stephen King, but darn, this makes for a creepy villain. Right out of the league, I tell you).

Power
Another early bloomer, but darn this is a really brutal one. The first few good things I see is Outsider hit dice granting you decent BAB (you’re starting two levels later, but you still get good BAB meaning you get something similar to poor BAB but faster) and great saving throws. The second good thing I see is Ethereal Form. That alone is pretty much the ultimate defense, so as long as you don’t face force attacks or ghost touch weapons. If the thing gets rough, though, you get to hitch a ride on their items (and eventually on THEM). What’s better: technically you don’t need a Kaorti resin bodysuit, since you can spend most of your time on the Ethereal Plane (thanks to the Ethereal Form class ability counting as the Etherealness spell) and materialize when you need to attack them (which would be at the beginning of your career, upon which you can subtly influence the creature using your Beguiler spells or outright dominate them to do your bidding). That means that at level 11th, you’re effectively everything and everyone, and if someone slays your current character, you can just go away, enter the favored item of another character, and bring mayhem to them.

This, however, brings the little trouble with this build: aside from using others as meatsuits, the character itself is in a bit of a predicament. The first few levels are powerful, but your top is level 11; afterwards, it’s just boosting your spellcasting ability in case you had to be thrown at. And one thing leads to another: the fact that nearly the entirety of your power is blocked by a 1st level spell really hurts. If you’re outside and bodiless, you need subterfuge to enter (in order to use the Hide Presence class ability), which can be potentially fatal even though you’re reliably strong at that level. Then there’s the concept of Banishment, Dismissal, and anything that affects evil outsiders (because you’re still an evil outsider). There are few defenses against that (the DC for the spell is arguably one of the most dangerous, since your DC is roughly equal to your character level, and you still have to beat their caster level which progresses faster than your Will saving throw), so if you’re even reflexively dismissed and found, you’re in a world of trouble (because the beguiler’s spells are mostly blocked by that 1st level spell). At that, what may work is cursing all creatures with the Curse class ability, or using Ray of Enfeeblement to make them weaker, or using the class abilities to make them friendly towards you while you plot your backstab. It’s an entirely different method of playing, relying on subterfuge instead of raw power, and how people are prepared towards that is just how strong your character is. However, to measure just how effective the build may be, the result would be…

Score: 2.5 (it’s not a weak build; quite the contrary, it’s a very unique method of fighting that uses your opponents as their weapons. However, Protection from Evil is your bane, and until you find a way to counteract that spell, your method of fighting will leave you ever vulnerable to stronger spells such as Forcecage, Banishment or Dismissal.)

Elegance
I’ll start by saying it’s a very simple build, whose power is measured by how much you use Fiend of Possession. At 11th level you could essentially do all you need, so the other 9 levels of Ardent Dilettante really don’t seem like they’ll provide anything. However, that’s something better left for Use of Secret Ingredient, so let’s go to how that simplicity may or may not be useful.

And in terms of usefulness, it’s pretty good. Fiend Folio is a rare book, and a 3.0 book at that, so the fact that I had to go look for the update (lucky you I have the hardcover book) makes it not very elegant. The fact that you neglected to add the spell-like abilities is a hard hit, if only because you get a decent group of spells (of course, you don’t get Alter Self but rather Disguise Self; still, having Ray of Enfeeblement is a good debuff, and Color Spray is very strong for early levels, hence why I mentioned the “early bloomer” thing). Then there’s lots of dips from other books, such as Complete Scoundrel and Tome of Battle, which while good seem a bit tacked on to cover some flaws. The suggestion of level adjustment is a very cool way to address the final level and add even more skill tricks to your repertoire, but it kinda begs that you had taken those levels first to make them a bit more useful. However, not gonna penalize you for that.

One point to meet, though, is that you can only take Martial Study three times tops. You took it FOUR times, in order to get both Diamond Mind saving throw boosts, Insightful Strike and an out-of-the-blue Shadow Hand ability. I shouldn’t penalize you for that because the fourth acquisition appears on the levels acquired through Level Adjustment buy-off, but it’s something I wish to stress out, since it not only breaks a minor rule, but it seems to be there just because. However, one thing I CAN penalize you is getting Hearing the Air a bit late, exactly at the moment you get blindsense, because it immediately invalidates the ability you just acquired. Earlier on, you could have just gotten Quick Reconnoiter and get free uses of Spot and Listen every turn, which help immensely with the perception issues. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth because you gain a much better ability by taking a feat, meaning you kill the level you just took.

Still, I have to make a very serious decking. Technically, you shouldn’t take any more than 6 levels in Ardent Dilettante, if only because you can’t cast divine spells. This is bad, since I was noticing the lack of a Strength check (something upon which I smacked another build), and only LATER I realized a much *easier* entry requirement was missed. Uncanny Trickster wouldn’t have been needed, but you could have dealt with the trouble of those two levels (could have gotten them in Ardent Dilettante, thus getting both Blindsense and Death Holds no Mysteries but allowing to justify Hearing the Air, though I would have still decked you in points anyways).

Score: 2.5 (very simple, an unique take, but you wouldn’t know by looking at your build that Kaorti have spell-like abilities, or proficiency with all martial weapons and one exotic weapon, which are rather useful. Also, you invalidate your 9th level of Ardent Dilettante with Hearing the Air, which would have left you with another open spot. And even if only viable by means of LA buy-off, you took Martial Study a fourth time just to get a maneuver that doesn’t seem to fit, whereas you could have gotten another feat. And also: just one more level wouldn’t have hurt.)

Use of Secret Ingredient
I’ll start by saying the following: with Fiend of Possession, you need as many senses as you can get. Ardent Dilettante works covering exactly that, giving you the senses you might be missing such as scent and blindsense, an extrasensory link through Sense Link, and a superb bonus to perception senses.

Having said that, the meat of the build is Fiend of Possession. Everything else is secondary; you could have gone the Assassin path and ended up better. Heck, you could have gone with any 10 level semi-independent PrC and still be a strong class. Ardent Dilettante DOES aid you in the area of senses and how your senses become limited while possessing an object, but once you learn to possess a creature, that becomes near meaningless. Beguiler spellcasting is advanced, true, but you could have ignored its advance and still gotten some utility out of the class. See it Again is definitely a strong ability, but the type of spells you’ll get aimed at are either beneficial (Protection from Evil, probably Magic Circle against Evil) or won’t do them jack (Holy Smite, Holy Word, Dismissal, Banishment), meaning your ability would work only sparingly. And furthermore, you kill one level by getting a strictly better ability, while using Uncanny Trickster to qualify for that which your character was actually aiming at. These are big hits, if only because there’s a thematic need for the PrC, but not a proper feel for the class. If the spellcasting was truly essential (and I feel it is, but not to the extent it could have really been exploited), then you would have gotten better scores.

Score: 2.5 (most of the builds will probably deal with the same trouble, but yours is decked mostly because of the potential seemingly wasted. I say seemingly, because you can still make good use of the mish-mash of abilities and you definitely benefit from everything sense-related while using your Fiend of Possession abilities, but the combo of trying to qualify for Ardent Dilettante’s last level without actually doing so, plus the relative lack of utility from See it Again makes the build’s use of the ingredient suffer a bit. I would have changed my mind with some explanation of how each ability was useful, because I really see most of the abilities fitting the build’s intention of controlling a creature, but the meat of the build is Control Creature, not using the other abilities to the benefit of your enemy until the time comes).

Overall: 12.5 (3.125)
There are several things I liked and several that don’t. What really makes the build plunge is the fact that more meat to the build would have been great. The amount of fluff is a bit minimal for such a flavorful build, something I feel it influenced my judging decisions regarding your character. The story is short and concise (and macabre as well) but the build seems half-complete, in terms of not exploiting the inherent synergy between Fiend of Possession and Ardent Dilettante.

Which is a shame, since the build really stands out as a villain for a horror campaign, straight out of Heroes of Horror (of which I see nothing, to my dismay). The sheer amount of taint alone would have been brutal, a unique take on depravity emerging from a corrupted being. Heck, it could be a very unique take on the build introduction (the creature wasn’t taken to become a Kaorti; his taint was so much it made it devolve into one). It also reminds me of Cenobites, and the sheer amount of story behind it really falls behind as you see how it was built.

However, if it makes you happy: I want him as a villain. Really. It’s macabre, and with a good narrating tone, it might chill the hearts of my players. I feel a bit ashamed I couldn’t play that character to its fullest potential, but I urge any DM that does so to use your character (with some fixes in order to make it rules-legal and with full knowledge of the synergy between Fiend of Possession and Ardent Dilettante) to chill the spine of their players as they see “a young maiden gleefully falling to her death, only to twitch and see a monstrous, ghastly horror emerge from her body, ready to lunge towards you.” Now imagine a really creepy voice seeing that, and you can imagine just how awesome your build is (and with a bit more story behind, much, much better.)

Snow
Originality
So…lemme get this straight. A gray elf, taking levels in wizard, and…follower of Lolth, right? Aside from that slight double take, it’s a pretty generic build, something that’s almost meant to be punished. You see, gray elves are the first choice for wizards because they have good Int scores for their poor Dex scores, and they still have wizards as their favored classes, not to mention they qualify as elves for racial substitution levels (which you use, though I personally have a bit of doubt whether those sub-races might qualify, as drow are meant to be a sub-race of elves but behave almost entirely different). Then you use a Wizard, which was kinda expected.

Normally, the story and the reason why you chose Lolth would be important, but I don’t see how that double-take alters the story to make it original somehow. The story is superb, but the theme is just not there: you could have gone with Boccob for all I care and the story wouldn’t have changed that much. It’s the build I have a problem at, if only because there’s no connection as to why it has to be Lolth aside from “it’s the enemy of all elves”. If it helps, it’s a non-bard, non-factotum entry which should earn some points, except most other people did similar and fluffier choices.

Score: 1.5 (an elf that worships Lolth is weird enough, but then again all drow are elves. Still, a gray elf wizard is just something that’s as vanilla as “half-orc barbarian” or “dwarven fighter with axe, heavy armor and beard”. I would have gone *gasp* if you had chosen a different drow deity, though).

Power
It’s pretty simple: you’re a Wizard. That alone tells what kind of power you wield. Simple and easy.

…But that’s not my style, so I’ll elaborate. You’re a Wizard that can cast 9th level spells; that alone makes you near undefeatable. You’re one level below a normal Wizard, which means you might not be as powerful as a single-classed Wizard, but heck, you get some good punch out of Favored Soul spells and low-level Wizard spells. Ardent Dilettante is another hit, but you get to use 9th level spells before epic, and with your choice of racial substitution level, it’s not hard to figure out; you have a huge variety of spells to choose from, and the rest are mostly accessible from scrolls. The ability to use wands such as Lesser Vigor and Cure Light Wounds for outside of battle makes you the out-of-battle healer, so you’ve just made the cleric cry in a corner as you manipulate the forces of the Multiverse.

Of course, the power of a Wizard depends almost exclusively on which spells it has access to. Choosing bad spells makes your build weak, choosing good spells makes your build good, choosing broken spells makes your DM smite you with the DMG out of frustration. The fact that you have access to Wish, Time Stop and Gate alongside Contingency and Permanency makes your build one of the most powerful thus far…simply because it’s the vanilla Wizard. Really, you can’t go wrong with the vanilla Wizard.

Score: 5.0 (it’s a Wizard, for goodness sakes, and the delay on spells doesn’t hurt a bit since you get Loremaster to add some secrets and bonus feats! Plus, the good saving throws and wand selection from Favored Soul makes you a really versatile on your spellcasting outside of battle).

Elegance
It’s a simple build, it’s quite well explained, so I don’t see many problems with it. Minor things with it include not mentioning how you qualify for such a difficult class (but I see Jump, Favored Soul and Wizard, and the story says Snow dies in Sigil so… There seems to be some merit to using elf, since it provides the martial weapon proficiencies, Favored Soul grants the Exotic Weapon proficiency (but I feel you could have used it on a different way) and the divine spells, as well as the oft-ignored proficiency with Jump. Loremaster brings some minor additions to your power, which is quite evident that relies really on Wizard spellcasting.

Still…I dunno, Favored Soul just doesn’t seem to cut it. It provides three good things, but you could have gotten those in a different way. Cleric offers something similar if choosing the War domain for a rare deity (which adds on Originality), plus you wouldn’t depend so much on Charisma (because, otherwise, the build would have begged for a Drow entry, since they get good Charisma and you could have taken advantage of the Favored Soul and Wizard specializations from the Drow, again adding to Originality). It’s very practical, but doesn’t seem to mesh that well at a first glance; it’s only when you see what it enables that you see the importance of it. However, there’s a problem that surfaces only when you see the secret ingredient, so it’s really minor and better addressed in that section.

One more thing: the fact that there’s only 6 books makes it oh-so-less cluttered, and the fact that I know most of the stuff you’re mentioning adds to the elegance; most of the tricks are known by people and are tested, tried and true, so a DM has enough reason why to say yes or no. The only two rare choices are the secret ingredient AND Residual Magic, so…

Oh, and another minor nitpick: not sure whether a gray elf would qualify as an elf for the racial substitution level, but then again that’s not relevant enough. It’s more of a concern of mine rather than an actual thing to worry.

Score: 5.0 (simple, easy build, and everything seems to be in order. Really, I have more “concerns” than “hair-pulling, head-banging troubles” while seeing your build, and that’s very, very good).

Use of Secret Ingredient
Hoooooo boy, now this build is gonna get a whuppin’! Where do I start!?

Oh, yeah… I know… It’s a Wizard build. From the beginning, that means you’re using the secret ingredient to boost your Wizard spellcasting. Look at it in this way: when adding a PrC, you have to weigh the pros and cons of it compared to taking more Wizard levels OR taking levels in PrCs that are really part of the theme of the character. In that sense, you use only 30% or so of the abilities of Ardent Dilettante, and it feels you added the levels just to comply with the requirement of the competition. To boot: first, you advance spellcasting; good, but 9/10ths spellcasting doesn’t beat a full spellcasting PrC. Second, there’s no need to get scent and blindsense if you already have loads of extrasensorial abilities such as scrying, prying eyes or even the dip in Mindbender for Mindsight. Third, Good Hope has limited uses and seems secondary when compared to, say, Haste or Greater Mage Armor or Heart of Fire/Water/Wind/Earth, which have so many buffs tacked in. Fourth…well, you can get the idea. Sense-based abilities are not exploited, so you’re getting sense-based abilities just for the heck of it, and they aren’t exploited.

Of what you DO use…Lore you already get from Loremaster, so you effectively have the ability of a 15th level bard in terms of knowing stuff, which meshes well with the…well, it doesn’t have an erudite feel, something that would have been stupendous with Archivist, and that’s bad. See it Again is pretty much self-sufficient, something that will make some sense, except that you have access to Spell Turning a few levels ago. Really: it’s only important if you wish to repeat a spell you’ve already cast without expending a spell level, which is about the only use you might have for it (aside from probably taking benefit of a specific spell you might want to have repeated). It’s a very minor, very quirky “mimic” ability; Limited Wish and Wish are less stringent, though they do require an XP loss which is inconsequential to the power they can add. And the capstone is just…well, what can I say of an ability that will never come to play if you’re a smart spellcaster anyways?

Even if not going with such PrCs as Incantatrix or Archmage, I feel that you could remove Ardent Dilettante, replace it with more levels of Loremaster and perhaps one more PrC (Geometer comes to mind for some reason) and you wouldn’t have lost anything. Your main power is not reflected either on your Favored Soul spellcasting (you’re adding it as a means for entry, not as a source of power although it provides with useful spells nonetheless) or your Loremaster’s secrets (aside from the bonus feat, the Loremaster abilities are just TOO minor) or your Ardent Dilettante abilities, but your Wizard spellcasting. And that’s bad, because it means it’s not different enough to justify the use of the PrC in comparison with other PrCs that aren’t as broken as Incantatrix/Archmage but still useful nonetheless.

Score: 1.5 (for being a class that has a thing for senses, that’s the least of your worries. It’s an artificial construct to qualify for the competition while using a Wizard build, which while not bad it doesn’t showcase why Ardent Dilettante may be used, in comparison to others. Still, you get cookie points for advancing Lore and adding at least ONE more spell to the list of abilities the Wizard can add).

Overall: 13.0 (3.125)
Something that I feel it’s disappointing is that the build is flavorful and very strong (perhaps just TOO strong), but it doesn’t seem to be meant to showcase the PrC, and that’s really bad. For a Wizard, scent and blindsense (not to mention Spot OR Listen) are inconsequential, and whichever few spell potential you might get from the class just doesn’t justify the entry. It gets mondo points for power and elegance, but that’s expected from a vanilla build. It’s not the fault of the Wizard class levels, but on a few other things that doesn’t seem to build up to a real sensate.

T.G. Oskar
2011-02-02, 08:58 PM
...Ironically, while I was posting my scores, I had to eat, but not before knowing that apparently both girls (Gabriella and Annette, unless Arleigh is also a female, or maybe D-32) had so much content the entire post exceeded the 50,000 character mark. Yeah, I thought by threes would be nice, but my own stuff betrays me... Probably two by two, then at the end I show just how monstrous my judging tends to be?

I place the blame on Annette's Elegance description, but it's worth every word, I assure you gents.

Gabriella
Originality
Whoa, hellbred!? I thought the quota for awesome was filled already, but this is quite surprising! Basically, a damned soul eager to fix her past, and she does it under the strictest representation of “carpe diem”, experiencing things no one was ever meant to experience. This is really nice fluff, considering that she has experienced what it is to be damned, and all she needs is to achieve the ultimate experience of both damnation and salvation. Also, while beguiler is quite common, the way it fits with the fluff is unique in many sorts; she was a deceiver, and the class fits with the common description of one, so it’s natural to think of it. Also, very unique way in how you met each of the requirements.

A few minor nitpicks, though. First, it’s very hard to figure her former profession as a …woman of life, a task that the short yet meaningful story reveals only sparingly. The other, which also has some repercussions in Elegance, implies a lack of correlation between the build and the story. Was she turned into a hellbred and THEN made her progression, or she was instead turned into a hellbred after she was nearing epic level? The story suggests the latter, which is a pretty unique way to meet the requirements for the last level (basically you become a hellbred before level 19), but instead you get troubles with Elegance. I’ll explain those there.

Score: 4.5 (awesome story, awesome choice of race, awesome progression…the only thing is that Beguiler is a pretty common choice because of how good it is. But I smile seeing stuff from the Book of Exalted Deeds, tho.)

Power
This is a surprisingly strong build, though one that has to be considered carefully. This is because of the presence of Vow of Poverty, which is a double-edged sword; by all means, the benefits from the vow should have already been removed because of what the build and the story suggest.

First, the meat of the build itself: spellcasting. You chose a pretty interesting path by taking Beguiler spellcasting, fitting Prestige Bard to meet Sublime Chord requirements, and finally get into Sublime Chord. Basically you get up to 7 levels of Beguiler spellcasting, which with the 10 levels of Sublime Chord and Practiced Spellcaster means you get 9th level spells at level 19th, something surprising considering that you get it one level later and STILL manage to get a few divine spells alongside your main arcane spellcasting. What’s better, you can technically cast in light armor, use the beguiler’s cloaked casting abilities with Sublime Chord (as you’re using that degree of spellcasting) and get most of the good 1st, 2nd and 3rd level spells of the Beguiler. It is a very fluid progression which, while halted right around the middle, quickly picks up. The latter level spells are from the sorcerer/wizard spell list, meaning you get the potential of a sorcerer without the problems of 1st level spells, given that you get beauties like Mage Armor, Mirror Image and Haste. And obviously you’re going with the broken spells, so definitely the power is as relevant as that of a Sorcerer: tier 2, not world-breaking but still potent. I find that someone who plays Sorcerers will find the build an interesting thought exercise, and those who play Sublime Chords an even more interesting thought exercise.

The second is the choice of feats. Normally, I would oppose to the choice of Devil-Touched and Abyssal Heritor feats, but the fluff just beautifully counters it. Basically, you are seeking redemption, so you’re normally following the path of the Exalted Good; yet, because of your hellbred condition, you not only seek to gain the benefit of devil-touched feats, but dabble a bit in the abnormal situation offered by Ordered Chaos. It’s interesting to say the very least, because it essentially works the same as someone who knows the Celestial, Abyssal and Infernal languages; your build is basically the mechanical simile to the languages themselves. Vow of Poverty is not that powerful, but it allows you to get more Exalted feats; however, Abyssal Heritor feats usually get more powerful the more feats you have of the same tag (something I believe shifters introduced?), and you get a strong list. Bonuses to Search and Spot, darkvision, natural armor (even though very late; earlier on it would have been quite good), fascination which mingles very well with the bard’s fascination abilities (which you have!), boosting a bit more bardic knowledge… Then, you get devil-touched feats which add blindsight (although temporarily, so it doesn’t conflict with blindsense), fast healing and MORE natural armor.

However, the big conflict here is Vow of Poverty. You manage to get some of the feats through Vow of Poverty’s bonus to ability scores, but that precludes the use of spell components, and I don’t see Eschew Materials. But let’s ignore that: what really kills the power of most of the feats is the clause that forbids selecting or using Exalted feats. There’s no counter-argument on the hellbred that ignores that, so it means no Vow of Poverty, no Nymph’s Kiss, no Touch of Golden Ice, no Nimbus of Light, no Stigmata, no other vows. What’s worse: you can’t choose Exalted feats since 1st level, because you get Devil’s Favor at 1st level which automatically counters that. How that hits power? Well, it makes you lose 1 skill point per level (so that means you’d need to reorganize the feats), it makes you lose a lot of feats, but what really pushes it is that you lose bonuses to ability scores and everything offered by Vow of Poverty. This is bad but also good: you lose the bonuses to ability scores which means you can’t qualify for Devil’s Sight nor Devil’s Flesh, meaning you lose the blindsight and natural armor you would have otherwise gained from them. Basically, of all the feats you have, you lose around 10 feats total, and about 30-40% of them are really good. Fortunately Demonic Skin and Eyes of the Abyss counter the loss, but then that makes the latter feats a bit redundant. As a DM, I can’t ignore the fact that hellbred are only exempted from the negative levels of evil items, but not of the repercussions of devil-touched feats, so a great deal of your power gets lost with that. And the whole point becomes moot when you realize that Vow of Poverty only grants minor benefits for what you would have otherwise gotten. Sure, you tried to bypass the idea about magic items, but just as true is that you’ll get magic items as the fact that you won’t get those you want to. Which is kinda silly, because a minor reorganization of feats and skill points makes the build just as effective otherwise. The hit is mostly on Elegance, not really on Power.

Score: 4 (Sublime Chords are pretty strong, almost to the extent of tier 1 spellcasters just because of their choice of abilities. Like the idea of Abyssal Heritor and Devil-Touched feats in conjunction, but the fact that you can’t choose two of the latter feats and no access to Exalted feats causes a hit to your otherwise high amount of power; still, the hit is mostly on the all-important ability scores, not on anything else since you get spells to counter that).

Elegance
I find it sad that such a good build has an Achilles’ heel. That is, of course, the originality of the build clashing with the tough luck of strict reading.

Now, and recapping the two issues for clarity: as far as I can see, the character either began as a hellbred, or turned into one during the way, AND you somehow thought Evil Exception was some sort of counter to the clause of Devil-Touched feats. And the latter was probably intentional. The clause of the devil-touched feats is the big pebble in the road here, because it invalidates most of your choices, as well as invalidating some of your ability scores as well. This makes the build a bit cluttered, and also invalidates the entry to Emissary of Barachiel if you can’t use the Exalted feats, thus invalidating the entire entry into Ardent Dilettante, hence reducing your power score IMMENSELY. The fact that you were trying to use Vow of Poverty to deal with the magic item issue (essentially ignoring the need for magic items by complementing with spells) really cripples the build. There are a few divine spellcasting classes or PrCs that could have allowed entry into Ardent Dilettante, since otherwise you specified very carefully which was the methodology used to comply with entry requirements. It’s a real shame, because it makes your build stumble right at the same place most other builds seem to stumble upon.

Another perk, but more of a peeve than a real concern, is the choice of Infernal Aspect. I can understand the choice of more feats (and basically Devil’s Sight effectively replaces the Spirit aspect), but I feel Spirit would have been a strong choice in here. First, you already had a good Constitution score; second, you have Devil’s Stamina, so you get more HP; third, you’re a spellcaster so more Charisma is good, even if the Constitution loss is bad; fourth and most important, you could have qualified for Mindsight without touching the Mindbender class, something that really smarts because it would have allowed you to gain an extra sense with very long range, allowing you to prepare before the creatures even have a chance to notice; finally, it would have allowed you to ignore Wisdom for slightly more Constitution or a better score. However, the focus of the build is the (ab)use of feat acquisition (Vow of Poverty, the Body aspect and Ardent Dilettante help on that, alongside the free metamagic feat from Beguiler; between those, you effectively have one feat per level, something that few builds can boast upon, even though half of those feats are invalidated because of build issues).

One thing I must congratulate you is on how you met the requirements for most of the legal entry requirements. Had the Exalted feat thing worked, you would have gotten a pretty interesting way to enter the PrC’s latter levels, alongside the use of Prestige Bard to qualify for Ardent Dilettante and Sublime Chord while boosting Beguiler spellcasting, AND also allowing to qualify for the martial and exotic weapon requirements (basically, Ardent Dilettante FORCES you to be a Bard, so you might figure the martial weapons and the whip allow you to qualify). I would have said getting Divine Bard was a good way to enter as well, though it would have made you depend a bit on Wisdom (and your Wisdom is pitifully low; really, how did you manage to get Devil’s Sight on first place?). If it weren’t for that clause, the way to enter Emissary of Barachiel would have been interesting as well.

Though…why Emissary of Barachiel, anyways? Calling is a nice trick, but not something awe-inspiring such as, say, probably Evangelist or something. Again, Divine Bard would have been an equally nice entry trick for Ardent Dilettante, not to mention allowing you to gain Inspirational Boost to make your Inspire Courage abilities slightly better.

Score: 3 (well explained, got requirements with nice detail, but what kills it is ignoring the clause of Devil-Touched feats as well as lack of awareness of your own ability scores. Also, the dip on Emissary of Barachiel makes sense in terms of fluff, but not mechanical sense whereas something like Divine Bard would have been an entry trick with better sense.)

Use of Secret Ingredient
I don’t think I could explain the worth of the build better than you did. Certainly, you pointed out everything the build has to offer. I see that you made a very good use of all skills (something that few classes like the Factotum and few PrCs such as the Exemplar grant) by adding UPD and Autohypnosis, though the lack of Iaijutsu Focus and more UMD is sorely lacking. The loss of Nymph’s Kiss really blows in here, since you lose an extra skill point which you would normally use to get even more skills this way. Lore not only gets boosted by the Prestige Bard’s bardic knowledge, but from Keeper of the Forgotten Lore which is a nice way to get some class skills beforehand. Heightened Senses and Eyes of the Abyss grant a superb Search and Spot scores, especially good since they allow you to get a better Spot skill with the lack of Wisdom; however, the real winner here is Search (I think you can find just about everything by taking 1; that’s a superb tactic in terms of finding most traps and secret doors, as well as getting a clue). Enthrall, Fascination and Otherworldly Countenance blend real well. Joie de Vivre mostly helps with granting a solid boost to skill checks, which helps a lot when trying to activate a dorje or psicrown with UPD, but Sublime Chord allows you to use it more times and with better results, so it’s not that strong. Sense Link grants you spells you wouldn’t have otherwise gained through Beguiler, making you a nice spy when coupled with Invisibility. Much like other builds, the existence of blindsight early on offsets the benefit of blindsense, but because the latter is limited to a few uses per day, blindsense becomes your short range alert, so they complement rather than oppose, which is good; and no, because Vow of Poverty becomes illegal, you don’t get True Seeing so it’s even better, more because this form of blindsight is extraordinary, something that only Darkstalker can counter (but you can use it on an Antimagic Field, so yeah…); again, this is why the Spirit aspect or Wis 15 would have worked (I mean, it says “bonus feat” but generally you need to qualify for that feat, you know). Death Holds no Mysteries seems counter-intuitive, as you’ve stated, because as a Hellbred you’re probably gonna face death real quick but you can’t return unless someone uses Resurrection or True Resurrection on you, so the loss is minimized.

Score: 4 (using the “all skills as class skills” clause is really good, and you complemented most of the class abilities that could be enhanced with feats. However, the last level is somewhat killed because the race itself makes it hard to return to life, and Heightened Senses only works at a 35% of its full potential.)

Overall: 15.5 (3.875)
I feel really bad that the experiment was reduced in potential by such an unfortunate situation like the conflict between devil-touched and Exalted feats. The build has some promise, taking into consideration the intention to ignore magic items as well as the fluff which really captures the idea of someone who wishes to sense the hardest of things. If I were a DM, I would really think it twice and probably have a small chance (can’t say how much, but no less than 5% and no more than…40%) to ignore that clause and just let you play the character with the Exalted feats and the devil-touched feats and the Abyssal Heritor feats in combination. I really dug the idea of someone who uses seduction and deception in a noble way, in order to redeem her condemned soul, and the build was developed around that idea. The funny thing is that the core of your build, which is the spellcasting and to an extent the skills and senses are not affected that much. This is a build that needs revision; with a few tweaks, you can reclaim most of the illegal abilities and make the build just as strong, if not more, than it actually is.

Annette the Impure
Originality
Goodness gracious, yet another “woman of the easy life”? I feel really bad for Jozan, although we all know he’s a follower of the Burning Hate so evidently he wouldn’t have wanted to see a “supposedly good” wraith putting him in his place.

Now, as for HOW original it may be…it’s certainly interesting, to say the very least. The bard entry was expected, but oddly enough only a few actually dared to enter as a bard, so it’s not that unoriginal at all. Heck, you’re the only one who took ACTUAL bard levels; the other took Prestige Bard levels; a daring move, of course, one that will cause no loss of points because the surprise factor was someone actually using the Bard. Wraith is also a rather unique choice, given that it’s not a ghost but it still allows incorporeality, plus it has the spawning ability based on Constitution instead of Strength. I almost lament it wasn’t a Dread Wraith, because of what offered (but that’s not the case anyways), but a simple wraith is enough, since you intended to make it progress through class levels.

One other thing I like, but that could have been perfected a bit (and let’s face it, there’s two conflicting points to the issue) is the lateral thinking: basically, you created a character who’s level 27 but that advanced as a character of 20th level (or a little bit). It needs a bit of polish (I’ll speak of that in Elegance), but it’s certainly a nice trick to showcase. Just in case: was it shown on the WotC forums, or BG, or Frank’s forum, or even here by any chance?

Score: 4.5 (a Wraith was certainly odd, and the way you suddenly reclaim your powers is equally as good. The only slight problem was the addition of Paladin of Freedom, which is a regular trick with Bard; however, having Bard by itself is no problem because only one other chose that path, and everyone else tried NOT to use Bard to enter so it’s a daring choice in going the expected choice).

Power
This will be a complex observation, since it’s a class that effectively has two varied progressions. I’ll first analyze the character’s path as a living creature, and then her path as an emancipated spawn.

As a living creature, she is certainly quite the character. She absolutely loves her Charisma, what with Paladin of Freedom adding Divine Grace and uses of Turn Undead, Bard adding great arcane spellcasting, Snowflake Wardance and Insightful Strike (I’ll assume for a moment you mean Intuitive Attack) adding Wisdom and Charisma to your attacks (at least Wisdom, since Snowflake Wardance means you need to use a slashing weapon, and unless you can craft a crude axe or something that is usually not an option), and then into Ardent Dilettante for advancing the undoubtedly nice Bard spellcasting. However, if I were to analyze your character’s utility in battle…it’s very little. Vow of Poverty requires a good influx of power to balance the loss of magic items, and that is usually provided by full arcane (Sorcerer, Wizard) or full divine (Cleric OR Druid) spellcasting; Bard spells are usually good but not spectacular to complement the vow. The character only barely reaches minimum BAB on her career as a living follower of Lastai (why it always appears to me as Lashtai is extremely odd, perhaps it’s because it has some similarities to Lakshmi). The spells chosen are nice, since it has some of the good defenses and a way to cause damage over time (Wounding Whispers), which I find is a key component in the battle capabilities of a Bard. On the other hand, with varied uses of Diplomacy and Bluff, alongside Fascinate and…well, the fluff, you’re a magnificent party face, and you have several enchantment spells that aid on both sides of battle. While not gamebreaking by any means, it’s still a build that would allow for a low tier 3/high tier 4, which is reasonable enough.

However, the wild swing comes with the exchange into a Wraith. The first two things you get are incorporealness and Constitution drain, which means you get a powerful attack and defense mode, plus Unnatural Aura allows most animal companions (you know, one of the key aspects of a Druid) to remain paralyzed in fear, which forces the best class in the game to fight in unorthodox ways. However, this comes with a drawback: you lose a lot of class levels, and need to survive four levels in order to reclaim pretty much everything you had. Of those, three levels only grant a small amount of spells, and two levels mostly grant the feats you had in life, so that means you’re still weaker than before. The good thing is that you’ll gain pretty much the same amount of XP from weaker monsters, and at CR 5-9 most monsters are not particularly powerful: incorporeality and Con drain are definitely strong points, so basically you gain quite a load of power from Emancipated Spawn.

However, there’s one problem on Elegance that reflects quite dearly on Power, and it’s one that’s better reflected in Elegance. I see one way in which you effectively deal with the problem, but the fact is that the other 78% is addressed, and a good deal of that power is not entirely recovered. Plus, I dunno if you could use Holy Radiance as an undead creature, because you would be taking damage yourself.

Score: 3.5 (the career as a living character was more of a support option than a frontline combatant, and well inclined towards a jack of all trades depiction. The sudden change into Wraith made you weaker, but entry into Emancipated Spawn basically multiplied the benefits of the sudden exchange. However, the fact that the build is quite definitely a late bloomer has to be considered, since early on the build relies on combat, which your character mostly lacks, and the late-game status mostly forces you to be a supportive character, strictly behind a Cleric or Wizard, and quite behind a full Bard or Crusader in supportive abilities.)

Elegance
My, we have a HUGE set of troubles in here. I’ll start with the beginning; this looks and feels like a practice in Theoretical Optimization, and this is generally a bad idea. The trick is awesome to showcase, but there’s a big problem in this build, and it’s one that the backstory didn’t really fix.

Why, oh why, did your character never requested an Atonement!?!?!?!?!? All I can interpret is that Lastai herself agreed to support you, but there’s no real mention of Atonement, which is a key aspect in recovering Exalted feats. You see, Exalted feats behave a bit like the Paladin’s code; once you make a willful Evil act, the feat is lost. Unintentionally becoming a Wraith, for example, doesn’t cross that, but you become an Evil creature and essentially do evil things intentionally even under control of another Wraith does cross that. The trouble here is that you definitely need an Atonement for that to work, since although you can change your alignment pretty much willfully (and Libris Mortis suggests that, once freed from enslavement by another undead creature, the undead may seek to return to his or her former alignment), the recovery of powers is an entirely different thing.

But that’s not the big problem: I might concede that Lastai, interested in bringing you back to her flock, decided that it was proper to give you Atonement for the sins committed while being an undead creature, considering that they were done partly unwillingly (compelled rather than literally dominated). However, getting Exalted feats means you should ascribe to the rules in the Book of Exalted Deeds, and there’s one thing that definitely seems troubling here: the use of your Constitution drain to create more undead. This is a very, very, very flimsy reading, since Libris Mortis and Book of Exalted Deeds have almost extremely opposite views on undead; at the very least, it drives one to think of the little fluff about redemption, and the one example that the book has: the Redeemed Villain. That, or obviously one character who’s quite similar to yours in terms of seeking redemption: Eludecia. The concept of the game is that when a character embraces goodness again, it willfully seals off abilities that may be considered evil: for example, Eludecia willfully negates herself the ability to drain the ability scores of creatures, even though most Good spells allow damage and even drain. As a Chaotic, Exalted Good character, your views might be a bit more relaxed: you might consider that using your Constitution drain isn’t inherently a bad thing, so you might use it once or twice. However, what you might have huge problems around is when you insist you can USE that in order to create spawn. That’s not just Evil (because you’re literally killing the individual in a twisted form of redemption), that’s actually NOT CHAOTIC (because you’re robbing the individual of its own free will, and actually obeying orders from you IN THE AFTERLIFE). So, unless you decide to seal off your spawn ability (which is a great deal of the power you would otherwise have), you’d be constantly going against your Paladin of Freedom code AND quite probably the Exalted feats. That means you’d constantly need Atonement, and Lastai, while a good deity, will probably disagree with your actions and eventually refuse to give it, hence you’d permanently lose a great deal of your power; as well, if you go too far in crushing the freedom of others, you’d probably lose your Bard powers, making you no better than a commoner. Do consider that.

However, the other thing is that, while a good idea to showcase the TO trick, it does violate one of the precepts of the competition: creating a 20th level character build. While it goes with the spirit of the competition (a 20th level character has XP equivalent to a 20th level character), it doesn’t go with the letter of the competition (you should create a 20th level character, not a 27th level character). It’s certainly a nice build (since you’d be effectively ECL 27th, but technically 9th level), and a very nice trick to showcase, but not one that follows the rules. I’ll deck points in this (and by now, you should figure the points are negative), but not because of showcasing the build; instead, it’s because the build has other issues that have to be resolved, and they invalidate the build although not the trick.

There’s one more thing I wish to address, and that is…how in heavenly tarnation you read the Wraith’s rules? Savage Species doesn’t have a wraith monster class, but it has a wraith monster template. The template allows you to take a sample character and transform it into a wraith, but it leaves you with LA +7, something that legally cannot be removed until ECL 21st. That means you’d need to be at least ECL 8th to qualify, or perhaps ECL 25th (the 18 levels you had before, then apply the template which means you gain the level adjustment), and the last few levels would make you ECL 28th with the powers of a character at level 21st. Otherwise, you couldn’t use the Wraith because it would rely on how much LA you could get, and a monster class where there’s a monster template means you’d have to follow the rules of the class and the template, meaning you’d start at ECL 12th at the very least (5 HD plus the LA +7). There’s several degrees of wrong in this, which directly invalidates the build. Really, it would have been a bit better if you used Shadow instead of Wraith, mostly because the latter has a monster class progression, albeit rather exaggerate for my tastes. However, I fear I’ll have to be legalistic in this one, and be too severe. Don’t get me wrong: the trick is superb, but messing into the rules of Savage Species on monster characters requires a great deal of maneuvering in order to make it work.

So…is there good things to the build? If I were to analyze it just at the living career, there’s certainly no troubles related to that. Since you haven’t died, you can’t qualify for the last level of Ardent Dilettante, but you stop at level 18th so you’re mostly fine. The character is a nice supporter during her living career, and it’s an honest-to-goodness build before trying the undead shenanigans, trying to support her power with Vow of Poverty and Nimbus of Light to develop some solid defenses, and complementing the rest with bardic spellcasting to form a superb defense and support without much offense. I miss a bit the use of Devoted Performer, but that would require the use of actual Paladin levels and going Lawful Good; certainly, it could have been a nice “optional” to see, where if Paladin of Freedom levels counted as Paladin levels (and I could argue they do), you would have 8 uses of Bardic Music and your Smite Evil would have dealt a respectable 8 points of damage. With Charging Smite and another level in Paladin of Freedom, you could have worked a respectable damage while making a charge. With the optional in place, a dip in Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian would have granted you a Charging Pounce, since Charging Smite overrides the usual requirement of the normal Smite (though it would require a very strict reading, and would probably qualify for a single attack of the pounce, but you’d get several chances to use it if it otherwise failed). It also boasts some devotion to the classes, meaning you don’t make dips in the strictest sense of the word (4 levels in each mostly overrides the concept of a build). However, what good the build has only adds to an already negative score, so it won’t change a bit.

Score: 1 (sorry mate, but the build has flaws above and beyond the idea of showcasing a build. Remember I told you that the trick required some work? This is the reason. Actually, I would have given the build a -1.5 because, even though the build has some serious flaws, the core of the build is actually pretty good and would have worked on general play, plus I really enjoyed the lateral thinking and some of the tricks elaborated. The build was pretty simple, but the attempt to showcase a trick was what killed it. Oh, and as a minor thought: you ACTUALLY gain the ECL of the character, so you’d actually be a 27th level character, not a 9th level character, for purposes of XP and whatnot. It also means you’re an Epic character.)

Use of Secret Ingredient
Despite the modest attempt in using the ingredient, the build was showcasing a trick, so Ardent Dilettante wasn’t really necessary. Sublime Chord + Virtuoso would have been just as powerful, and what you really showcase is making an Epic character with the XP required to make a 20th level character, so quite definitely Ardent Dilettante is a garnish, not the main entrée. Of what I see that works, you manage to magnify the idea of getting more feats, but that’s mostly because of Vow of Poverty (but the idea of getting lots of feats is still a good synergy); sadly, someone else did the same and did it better. Enthrall, on the other hand, makes sense in a build such as this: you have lots of enchantments and bardic music, and the ability serves as a way to conserve your spellcasting. On the other hand, you could have gotten Good Hope by means of spellcasting and it would have been far stronger, so this cancels out. Another thing is that you at least attempted to get blindsense, without going later on and getting Lifesense: you had access to a strictly better feat and ignored it, so it’s at the very least a good thought. As for the rest…don’t see much use to it, though you do have Survival to contrast with the scent ability, something I find others might not have thought of.

However, I don’t see what real benefits you got from the PrC, aside from bonus feats and spellcasting advancement, since going straight Bard would have granted better BAB, more skill points and more uses of Bardic Music (Suggestion, Inspire Greatness, Song of Freedom, better Inspire Courage that would have been multiplied by Words of Creation). Heck, you could have gone Troubadour of Stars and gotten access to sanctified spells, upon which you’d have gotten some gems as Greater Luminous Armor and Exalted Raiment, and you could have gotten more than Ardent Dilettante, which with the Wraith trick would have allowed you to reinforce your spellcasting and become an Outsider while still retaining your incorporeal abilities (darn, that’s a really nice trick! Wonder, wonder…) This is a problem, because it doesn’t redeem the entry as anything more than showcasing TO, and the idea of that little quote was mostly to show how the PrC could be abused; here, it’s mostly to show how Emancipated Spawn is made of awesome.

Score: 1.5 (the build doesn’t seem to benefit a lot from Ardent Dilettante, but rather from Emancipated Spawn; that’s what you’re showcasing. There are some thoughts to the use of the class, but more than half of the abilities are plausibly ignored, gained only as minor stuff to what you get, and it doesn’t reinforce your abilities during your career as a living being).

Overall: 10.5 (2.625)
While I liked the story and the trick showcased, the build doesn’t show how awesome an Ardent Dilettante can be. It mostly shows how you can get to be an Epic character with the amount of XP a 20th level character would require, and even then the trick has some flaws. The trick has promise, but it has to be refined, and mostly requires the use of a spawning creature that’s actually decent but without an excessive LA score so that the trick works. The build requires being analyzed as two builds in one, and while the undead build certainly seems impressive, the living build could use some work. That makes the character entirely dependent on the DM’s whim, which is bad because it doesn’t truly showcase the actual power of the build OR the utility of the PrC.

T.G. Oskar
2011-02-02, 09:06 PM
Arleigh Skye
Originality
Hmm, daring to go with Aasimar, then going against the usual call and into Ranger, then another wild shift into Knight of the Weave but ignoring the use of Sword of the Arcane Order (which you could easily qualify), then getting into Ardent Dilettante to use the growth of the class for Knight of the Weave, and finally advancing with Ranger. Certainly it’s not the most usual of entries, considering the class pretty much begs Bard or Factotum entry. However, it’s certainly not the most unusual of entries. It’s a very vanilla entry, with the story far too short to entice the reader into the meat of the build. Granted; it’s nice to take it safe (and that gives points on Elegance), but not much into Originality. I’d say it’s above average, since it deals with unusual entry requirements on a pretty normal chassis. That adds a few more points, because I see how you decided to go with the raw power of Ranger and Knight of the Weave instead of going for choices that would be considered common, such as Sword of the Arcane Order (again, but that’s granted) and using KotW as a trampoline for Sublime Chord (which would be insanely difficult), which should influence a bit more under Elegance (simplicity) rather than Power (but we’ll see about that).

Score: 3.5 (while a pretty simple, vanilla entry, the use of Knight of the Weave for its own sake rather than as a trampoline or using any of the other options makes it all the more interesting. However, compared to other builds, yours requires something that makes it shine.)

Power
One of the themes I see with this build is adaptation. I see such distant things like using Boomerangs instead of bows, but also not neglecting the melee portion; also, using light armor over heavier armor in order to take advantage of the Ranger’s abilities. However, upon closer examination, I see that the choices done seem rather weak. I’ll elaborate quickly.

First, the ability scores. Knight of the Weave has a peculiar advancement regarding arcane spellcasting ability, with a bunch of very nice spells alongside swifter access to them, but requires a good amount of Charisma to pull off. Note that I said “good”, not “astounding”. The big problem lies in that it makes the normally not-so-MAD Ranger chassis a rather MAD build. Basically, you need good Strength to use your main melee weapon (a greatsword, if I recall correctly), Dexterity for AC (recall you use light armor, not heavy armor) and ranged attack bonus (for your boomerang), Constitution for HP (that’s usually important, and I see a 12 which is only above average but with your defenses might not be enough), decent Wisdom (you want to cast Ranger spells, though I’ll speak about that a bit later) and good Charisma for arcane spellcasting (and UMD, but there’s other ways to deal with UMD: you have Good Hope and spells to work that out…wait, no Eagle’s Splendor. What were you thinking of?). That’s 5 out of 6 abilities, so you’re very spread out in what you can do, and you chose what’s probably the third most important ability to build up. The big problem I see is that, while arcane spellcasting is a great deal of your power, you don’t use Charisma more than you’d use, say, Strength or Dexterity. In fact, Dexterity (which I see as the most important ability score in your build) is quite weak, considering that you’ll be using light armor and there’s very few AC buffs around that I can see (Shield is one…and that’s it). What’s worse is that I don’t see many non-AC defenses, which is a doubly bad tactic because you’re intending to go melee alongside ranged, and with a strong weapon to boot.

The second point is the unfortunate circumstance of Wisdom compared to Ranger spells. Craft Wand is a very useful way to deal with the lack of Ranger spellcasting (you can create spells from your own wands, which is great), but the biggest problem is that your Wisdom, although allowing you to cast 2nd level spells, doesn’t grant you the slots to do so. Focusing on Knight of the Weave is reasonable, given that you want to have 6th level arcane spellcasting as your calling card, but by Ardent Dilettante 7th you had that requirement fulfilled. Meanwhile, adding one or two more levels in Ranger would have granted at least one spell slot for 2nd level Ranger spells, which would have opened the option of self-constructing 2nd level Ranger spells, pretty much a multiplicative factor in your spellcasting potential because you’d have access to Barkskin for your AC, Owl’s Wisdom for your Will saves, Swift Haste for when you need to cast the Haste spell without expending your arcane spellcasting slots, Animalistic Power for a quicker boost to Str, Dex and Con; Hunter’s Sense for greater damage, and so on. I think the weight of an extra 6th level spell slot and 2 more spells seems to outweigh the benefits of opening 2nd level Ranger spell slots, but since you added Craft Wand, the benefit would effectively switch out. It would have also allowed you to get spells with higher CL on the side of Ranger, meaning spells like Barkskin and Resist Energy would have been slightly more powerful than they currently are (even with the half-casting; Practiced Spellcaster neatly obviates that requirement so you’d get at least CL 9th on those spells). Switching two points of Charisma with Wisdom (or just ONE!) would have granted you a very nice selection of spells to work with, and a bit more Will to boot. This is because of how point buy works: raising Cha from 15 to 16 costs two points, while raising Wis from 12 to 14 costs 2 points; effectively, you’re raising two points for the cost of one, and since you’ll be boosting Charisma anyways (at least to even levels), you’d be getting more spellcasting bang for your buck. I see that spells are a great deal of your power, so it feels like neglecting your spellcasting just for a meager benefit (though Knight of the Weave spells aren’t meager at all).

Although mentioned as a passing point, the use of magic items is slightly frowned upon; you see, you’ll never know when you’ll have the right magic item on your disposal. I think I’ve been quite vocal on that one, but there’s one thing I do like: you’re being conservative on the choice of magic items…well, mostly up to level 18th with Ring of Evasion (that thing is expensive!) Part of your build’s power is getting Aptitude weapons for Boomerang Daze, which in paper is good (attack multiple times, daze multiple times, and if you deal more damage you’ll daze even harder, meaning you neutralize enemies in more ways than one; in the table, it may not be that legal (and that’s an issue that goes right there on Elegance). I won’t deck you that much on the use of magic items because, up until 18th level, you’re pretty conservative with what you get (+1 weapons are not that hard to get at 5th level) and not making yourself so dependent on magic items (such as Blindfolds of True Darkness for the blindsight or Cloaks of Starmantle for the unique form of defense or even tomes for inherent bonuses to scores). Since part of that wealth will be consumed creating wands, it should be reasonable to expect that you’ll get as many wands as you want (of the spells you can cast, at the very least) which add a good pinch of power.

Score: 3.5 (good use of resources, Boomerang Daze on different weapons means you work as a debuffer kind of character, but 2nd level Ranger spells could have been reached easily, turned into wands, and granted greater power. Also, a bit too far from the ideal gish which would have granted lots of cookie points.)

Elegance
There’s many complex builds, so seeing a simple one is really refreshing. The small table on the sources area is really neat, and shows how less cluttered your build is (though some builds are even less cluttered). But that’s mostly a comment.

What I do like is going for the simplest of options, staying true to the power of the PrCs rather than trying to play it up a bit. Knight of the Weave and Suel Arcanamach are usually steps for the all-powerful Sublime Chord class, but on their own they are very good classes (if only a bit odd because they have medium BAB for a class that seeks to be a gish, using heavy armor and generally engaging in combat). The fact that you seek more Ranger levels is also a great touch, though perhaps a bit more work would have netted a very nice class ability (namely, metamagic feats and Fast Metamagic); still, since your theme uses a lot of tracking, getting the Ranger tracking abilities seems even more fitting than an ability that would be otherwise wasted, so props for that (it also aids on the secret ingredient, so more points there).

There are some issues, though, and that’s with Boomerang Daze. Basically, Boomerang Daze has the problem of only being useful with boomerangs (and of those, only Talenta and Xen’drik boomerangs). So namely, you could only use them with boomerangs. Now, the reading of Aptitude weapon enhancement is a bit shaky, and it allows for the oft-abused trick of Lightning Maces with non-mace weapons; the controversy behind that reading has often removed Aptitude from many books, and part of your combat strategy involves using non-boomerang weapons on that regard. That means the following: wherever Aptitude is banned or the trick disabled, your build will take a pretty serious hit, since otherwise you’ll be relying on your main damage, which is good but could be better. There will be a point reduction from that, but it’ll be minor because the trick is otherwise good, and if you went with boomerangs (which aren’t half bad, actually) you could deliver some nice damage there (Power Throw, Brutal Throw, Quick Draw and Far Shot work wonders on making Boomerang Daze all the more powerful, plus it would have given points in Originality) so the fact that you’re proficient in them doesn’t null your tactic that much (all you need to do is change your tactics, and with Rapid Shot you could reliably lock people down with daze, a very unusual tactic for a Ranger). However, that tidbit is part of your build and thus has to be marked down.

Another thing to mark down: not all DMs use level adjustment buy-off. Usually, and this is a good reminder: most competitors place notes indicating the progression they’d use with LA buyoff. Since LA buyoff is not always certain, the build’s last level is affected a bit; that shouldn’t be so crucial since what you get is mostly +1 BAB and Swift Tracker, alongside more Fortitude and Reflex saving throws (which are pretty decent already). It’s another minor pegging, more of a gentle reminder than anything else.

I also like what you did with entry requirements. Usually, the tough ones are the spellcasting requirement, the Str-based skill requirement and the exotic weapon proficiency requirement; those three are nicely swatted; Swim is a rather useful skill to have, the EWP option was used to qualify for something else as well (Boomerang Daze) and you’re giving some use to both your arcane and divine spellcasting (the latter much more than the former, though). Minor pegging for not making them so clear at the end, since I usually go for whether you qualify for the Str-based skill requirement first, but nothing to scoff at.

Oh, and yes…has your character died? Most went all the way to qualify for the 10th level, but the story wasn’t that clear on that regard. Since those are very specific special requirements, you might assume that your character was revived in order to qualify, but it’s a miss that should be considered.

Score: 4.5 (most of the concerns are minor, albeit consequential. Aptitude is the biggest quirk in here because it really doesn’t downplay your power but rather your options, considering that it would have made you a unique form of Ranger that uses throwing weapons rather than bow or sword. LA buyoff is also noticeable but not as deadly since the sweet spot was achieved some time ago.)

Use of Secret Ingredient
Right from the start, I see that you wanted your tracking ability to be superior. The Ranger adds the Track feat, Ardent Dilettante adds the scent ability, and you top it off with Uncanny Scent and Improved Scent. That, combined with the superior bonuses to all Heightened Senses skills (Spot and Listen are huge, Survival is just as large, Search not that much but it’s not something to worry about) and how you deal with the other senses (True Seeing is very powerful but limited in moments it can be used, blindsense complements your olfactory abilities with extrasensory abilities) allows for a very surprising showcase of all five senses (six, what with Sense Link) turned into very delicate sensors. The fact that you used the feats to improve class abilities synergizes wonderfully. Did I mention you also have Detect Magic, so basically you’re inescapable regardless of what defenses your enemy might have (I think you fool even Darkstalker, congrats on that one). Then you add the Favored Enemy bonuses…yep, you generally get close to +35 on those Spot and Listen checks (not really, just a mildly exaggerate claim, but not so far from the truth, what with 23 ranks + 1 from Wis + 6 from Heightened Senses +4 from favored enemy…) So…how about the rest?

Well…you certainly used your 9/10ths spellcasting progression to advance both arcane and divine spellcasting, so that’s good news. Good Hope helps quite a lot, given that it boosts several traits including skill checks (meaning your UMD checks are much better), and you seem to provide a very good use to getting all skills as class skills (that means more UMD, though you already had the skill as a class skill via Knight of the Weave). Blindsense, unlike other builds, has a reason to exist over here: although supplanted by spells such as True Seeing and scent, their use can either be disabled or nullified, hence allowing blindsense to serve as a last-resort option. The fact that Uncanny Scent, which would normally disable blindsense, appears one level later suggests the level isn’t killed. See it Before is the big kicker in here, because it basically makes True Seeing kinda pointless, what with having scent, sight and hearing all pointing up potential illusions. The Will save might be a tad troubling here because it’s the lowest save you have, but it allows two saves to happen, so that increases the percentage of success; the fact that you can do that before the enemy enters regular reach range means you have a good defense against illusions. See it Again is just as good as the rest, so there’s no point on mentioning that out.

That leaves Enthrall which…I don’t see too much use, though you have a huge Charisma score to work out. The character seems quite independent but still useful to a group (as a tracker or debuffer), so suddenly gaining an enchantment doesn’t seem like the kind of ability your theme would benefit from. What’s worse, the fact that your DC is very good thanks to your Charisma doesn’t mean much, considering that the ability score could have gone somewhere else. Aside from that, and probably Lore (but the Lore ability is always interesting, and you get to use synergy abilities to enhance that), the rest of the class certainly fits. What’s most interesting about this build is that it fits seamlessly with Ardent Dilettante, given that other options would have been rather odd; it’s a class that uses Ardent Dilettante to its best, however awkward the use of Enthrall may be. Heck, it leads me to think: was Ardent Dilettante made for a bard, or actually for a Ranger? The use of scent and blindsense, which are sense-based abilities, seems to lead upon that. No use of Bard nor Rogue, a solid amount of skill points, with the only caveat of a loss of BAB (that’s what might make it not so useful for Rangers), but I find a lot of sense in adding the PrC into your build in comparison to others, or simply going full Knight of the Weave and Ranger (although more levels of Knight of the Weave wouldn’t have been bad in any case).

Score: 5 (even though Enthrall isn’t really an ability you might use a lot, the fact that you considered it as part of your build means you thought of the class as the most important part of your build, and to your fortune it shows. I was surprised for the use of Scent, an ability I consider most builds should have if not having blindsense, blindsight or tremorsense just because melee characters need more fun.)

Overall: 16.5 (4.125)
There are few builds over here that showcase the utility of Ardent Dilettante. Your build has quite some utility and some usefulness regarding a team, but yours is the build that showcases a bit more of the Dilettante’s tricks. It’s a build that needs some polish in terms of its core (the ability scores), but with some well-placed effort it could do well as a useful part of a tier 3 team. It’s very simple, quite elegant, but pretty vanilla on the fluff; spiced a bit, such as giving more relevance to the boomerangs, could have given a spicy flavor. It’s certainly not that generic, but the lack of Favored Enemies is a good example of how unspecific it is as well. All in all, while a very good build, it’s not necessarily an entertaining one, but a few more minutes in the burner can definitely make a difference and a memorable PC, NPC or even villain if you decide, one that’s almost hound-like in its pursuit (and remember, not all villains have to be good, nor Good will never have differences with Good despite what Celestials have taught us).

V’Grax
Originality
Wow, sha’ir!? You managed to make me look at the Dragon Compendium, you know… It’s a very odd form of entry to Ardent Dilettante, but one that oddly covers the part of arcane and divine spellcasting (though it’s odd not to see Savant, which really looked like THE entry way into Ardent Dilettante). Also, impressed to see Blood Magus into the fray: I’ve always wondered how useful the PrC may be, considering that it’s one class with lots of flavor and some impressive abilities (+2 to Constitution, Damage Reduction) but isn’t mentioned that much. What’s equally odd is the fact that you used the elf (because High Elf is the basic elf, while the Grey Elf is what you might consider as the true “high elf”) in a very unusual way; while taking advantage of Dexterity, you didn’t went for Ranger, Rogue or Wizard with it which makes it odd.

Though, I’ll smack you a bit for something. I would have loved, if only the fluff, that you added something from Al Qadim. Sha’ir are from Al Qadim (if my memory isn't hazy), and while mechanical stuff has to be from recognized books, fluff is quite mutable and thus you could use a nice defining quirk from it. I like the way the story is organized, though, giving a very strong flavor that could be definitely expressed as Arabian (albeit not Muslim, but then again we’re not going for precision on that one). It was a fun and interesting read, though your efforts to remove some of the mechanics from the story have their flaws (“second echelon of spellcasting” works wonders to refluff “2nd level spells”, but I feel you could have done slightly better with Precipitate Breach refluffed into “the sheer luck brought by Salim’s magic, whom ripped a breach into a sentient demiplane” would have made the story even more unique). There’s some strength in the story, and the choice of classes and abilities is certainly unique, but it lacks just a little bit more.

Score: 4.5 (would have loved to see more Al Qadim, but otherwise, a very unusual entry. Also, sha’ir!?)

Power
With Dragon Magazine content, you either make a nice hit or a nice miss. I feel utterly unqualified to measure the true strength of a sha’ir, mostly because the spell selection is utterly complex. Basically, you get access to the ENTIRE sorcerer/wizard spell list (a great boon, and with the concept of being able to gather spells you don’t know it blurs the utility of the sorcerer with the versatility of the wizard), and the way you gather the spells makes it insanely strong; I’d fear the sha’ir is quite definitely a Tier 1 character just because of the sheer amount of spells at its disposal. The fact that you also get divine spells of certain categories means you also dabble on the cleric’s spell list, making your spell choices even LARGER. Those two things make the sha’ir just too powerful to behold, because if a wizard can do something with some preparation, the sha’ir needs only 6 or so minutes and a good Diplomacy score.

BUT, the Diplomacy score comes into play. Unless your Diplomacy is off the scale, the sha’ir prized spellcasting suddenly drops out. The DC for the Diplomacy check is just absurd: at 1st level, you get mostly 4 ranks, plus whatever you get from Charisma, plus 1 for being sha’ir, plus 2 if you’re using known arcane spells, and they only last for a minute; on the other hand, asking for too many spells at the same time is just painful. Then there’s the fact of spell retrieval: can you only ask for ONE spell, or for several but the level of the spell stacks (hence, if you were to ask for at least 3 or 4 6th level spells, you’d have a modifier to your Diplomacy score of -18/-24?).

This makes the sha’ir just as shaky as the truenamer, because their success hangs upon a single ability check. There’s also the thing that if you multiclass, you don’t gain more bonuses to that Diplomacy check because of being a pure sha’ir, so if you multiclass, your spellcasting (arguably your best feature) goes down the drain because you have to be painstakingly careful on choosing your spells (to ensure a reasonable Diplomacy check of around 5 or lower). The sheer set of variables involved in the choice of spells makes the sha’ir a true wild card, either the best class in game (period!) or a nuisance to play.

However, the rest of the abilities have to be considered. I think a very clever move was to get Scarification, because you can effectively increase your spellcasting by choosing utility spells (those you’d use if you were a Sorcerer) and have them on demand while you send your gen familiar to get the spells you really need; it’s like having an Ultimate Magus in play, but with divine spells on top of that. The loss of two spellcasting levels (one from Blood Magus, one from Ardent Dilettante) hurts a bit, but oddly enough helps your Diplomacy requirement, so despite your power slowing down a bit (roughly at levels 6th and 14th, ironically the turning points of low-level play and semi-epic play), it doesn’t really lowers that drastically. The fact that the sha’ir casts like both a sorcerer and a wizard (spells at odd levels, but casts more spells than a Wizard) makes that loss not so earth-shattering. Blood Magus really seems to deal with gaining resilience while casting spells while attempting to minimize the loss of spell levels.

Then there’s the situation of manipulating two more creatures; a gen familiar and a homunculus. One serves as a bizarre HP pool while the other has the functions of a spy, but neither of them are really that powerful. One of them is essential (your gen familiar is dead, you get no more spells) while the other is potentially lethal (2d10 on a character with d4 HD and Con 12 might have some problems with HP, so something that deals 11 points of damage on average definitely doesn’t help). Losing one of the two means your power is constantly threatened, something a wizard usually has little trouble with (losing the wizard’s spellbook is bad, but the contingencies they prepare mean that such a loss is minor; losing a gen familiar requires an entirely different method of contingency).

Feat-wise, I see that there are some very good choices out there, but some far too delayed. Extend Spell at 15th level is a very bad idea, and Twin Spell at 20th is even more. Meanwhile, Anarchic Bloodline at 6th level and Power in the Blood as your 9th level bonus feat are bad choices: while you get more spells to choose at, you can already technically choose them (all you do is basically get them as spells known, making them easier to get) and the increased amount of spells you get makes slightly more sense later on. You might wonder whether Extend Spell at 6th level is a bad idea, but trust me, it’s not: by that level, you can take a 3rd level spell slot and expend a spell such as Mage Armor (which adds to your defense) for half a day, making it a very reasonable choice; same for 10 min/level spells. Twin Spell should be a potent method to increase your spellcasting potential, and thus should be roughly at the level you get Power in the Blood or slightly later. Anarchic Bloodline and Power in the Blood could be delayed, since what you get from them starts to get good at 11th level or later, which means you could get Anarchic Bloodline at 12th level, Practiced Spellcaster at 15th, and Power in the Blood probably as your 18th or 20th level feat. While this may be a situation with Elegance (feat organization), it directly affects your power as you gain access to great metamagic feats too late, while the return is not as potent as you’d like to.

Score: 4 (the Sha’ir is potentially a Tier 1 class, but the Diplomacy and gen familiar make it a risky endeavor. Blood Magus adds a lot to your power, but the feats reduce that amount. I could easily give it a 5 just because of the sheer power of the sha’ir spellcasting, but I seem appropriate to make it 4 just because of how difficult it was to measure the power level of the class.)

Elegance
First thing I liked was the “I Want”, “I Could Use” and “I Think” sections, as well as how you tackled the dual spellcasting requirement. For the latter, sha’ir is still a surprising option, one that wouldn’t happen if the Dragon Compendium was banned (I think this would be reason enough to ban it, what with Wizards and Sorcerers mocking the gen familiar but soiling their robes when noticing their full spellcasting ability). I’m also surprised with the way you handled returning to life (fulfilling the Blood Magus requirement); while I consider that such “Special” requirements are automatically fulfilled for purposes of qualification, I do like that the way to handle the requirement was cleverly handled by making it a requirement for something else. Using Anarchic Bloodline (though I find other feats could have worked just fine, and I really expected an elemental bloodline as per the sha’ir fluff) was another nice touch. As you said, you gained 100% return on the Ardent Dilettante progression, and it places a precedent for PrCs such as Geomancer (really; you can cast 1st level arcane and divine spells, thus you qualify and still get 100% return), and it showcases a very nice trick…which gets frustrated by the fact Sha’ir isn’t exactly legal on most tables. But it makes you think: if Dragon Compendium gets legal, Sha’ir gets even more power by just dabbling on theurge-inclined classes, and the thought of having a Sha’ir/Wizard/Ultimate Magus build is blood-shivering. However, there’s always the looming trouble of using Dragon Compendium, a source which is legal for competition but not as legal for most tables, meaning that your build can be made or broke just by allowing or disallowing one book.

Regarding the former: using Blood Magus to gain some measure of wealth through custom-made magic items to expand your spellcasting options is close to pure genius. While not overtly depending on magic items, the fact that you can create your own from a very large list makes you have a good amount of spells almost at every moment, which with Anarchic Bloodline and Enthrall/Joie de Vivre means you’re rarely out of spells, and that’s great. The thoughts behind the choices are also elaborate and complete, showing you really thought of pretty much all the steps (I still get frustrated by the feat selection, though).

Another thing is the simplicity: another build that has few if no dips, using a mixture of exotic (so to speak) classes with less exotic choices (Elf) and even some steps to achieve slightly greater power (namely, choosing the weights of Toughness and Great Fortitude in order to qualify for Blood Magus).

Troubles in your build, though…I don’t seem to find that many. I still argue about the feat selection, particularly on the timing of the choices; metamagic should have appeared first because you’d get slightly more power from extended and twinned spells than from a small subset of powers, and the slight delay on CL could be offset at any moment after 14th level. This is a question of build elegance rather than complying with rules; the boost on Power you would have gotten from choosing the right feats at the right time would have made a strong difference on your Power, and hence it indirectly affects your Elegance.

Score: 4.5 (timing, timing, timing! Timing in feat selections makes a great difference; the ability to choose more spells contrasts with the ability to enhance your spells, and that affects your Power. Otherwise, this would have been a very impressive build. Everything is well explained and detailed, just as I like it, so it’s that little spine that gives the nudge.)

Use of Secret Ingredient
Alas, such a good build has to have an Achilles’ heel. Sadly, that’s the secret ingredient itself. Notice how many times I’ve mentioned how impressive the sha’ir was? This should have caused some concern to you, because I really didn’t saw how Ardent Dilettante aided on the sha’ir progression; what I see is how the use of both Blood Magus and Ardent Dilettante affect your sha’ir progression.

Of what you do use…being a primarily charismatic character, Enthrall is quite definitely a strong choice. Sadly, your spellcasting brings that to play nearly four levels ago. And, your spellcasting isn’t exactly geared towards enchantment, so it showcases how little you expect to use that ability. The two things I see the most are the excellent use of an otherwise theurgic class (because sha’ir allows both arcane and divine spellcasting, but sadly that’s a thing of the sha’ir, not from Ardent Dilettante) and how important Joie de Vivre is for you (more skill checks = better Diplomacy = more spells).

As for the rest, I see far too little use. Heightened Senses? You care little for senses, and neither your gen familiar nor your homunculus take benefit from that; the bonus applies only to the Ardent Dilettante and it’s a bonus, not effective ranks (recall that, do you?). Lore is mostly there just because; same for scent and blindsense, which see little use as you’re not the scout of the team. Seen it Before works a bit too flimsily with your gen familiar’s empathic link; while your empathic link is a sort of sense, it’s not a sense in the strictest mention of the word. What’s worse, after seeing how other classes take advantage of gaining ALL skills as class skills, not seeing that exploited is bad. What hurts the most is that the detour on Blood Magus means your Diplomacy is not properly exploited, so your Diplomacy will be low (and that affects your spellcasting). Ardent Dilettante doesn’t progress neither your gen familiar nor your homunculus, so you end up with two weights that request more care from you than the aid they may grant (and in the case of one, the aid it grants is invaluable). It really doesn’t feel like Ardent Dilettante adds anything to the build, and Blood Magus seems to add a bit more.

But…it’s really hard to say that with the sha’ir. The class itself has things that depend greatly on class level, so multiclassing isn’t really an option. I’m surprised as to how good the spellcasting progression of the class was handled, but Blood Magus just smacks that idea out of my mind. I would have liked to see more, but really: Ardent Dilettante isn’t made for the Sha’ir.

Score: 1.5 (only the Good Hope SLA and the way spellcasting was handled really show here; the rest doesn’t blend on any circumstance, neither mechanically nor thematically. As other builds, this was really just to enter the competition, and not to showcase the beauty of the PrC.)

Overall: 14.5 (3.625)
I was quite amazed and surprised by the choice of sha’ir on the build, but this was really a build that would have taken advantage of all levels in Sha’ir instead of trying to take levels on a PrC that grants too little to advance into. You get three bonus feats; without Ardent Dilettante, you would have saved at least one feat and could have made a more conscious choice of the other two, and that’s bad because that could have been a great saving grace. In fact, Blood Magus is showcased in greater detail just because it offers a lot more to the build than Ardent Dilettante does (and if you had progressed farther, you would have gained immense benefits from it, such as Bloodseeking Spell, more HPs and the awesome Bloodwalk ability.) However, it’s a first-time showcase of a class that has lots of promise, if only because of its unique spellcasting ability; rest assured, while not showcasing the PrC, the build has great value on its own.

T.G. Oskar
2011-02-02, 09:27 PM
“Hazy” Vernal Equinox
Originality
A gray elf wizard going into archmage…can’t go more vanilla than that. If I go and tell you that 15 levels in Wizard and 5 levels in Archmage do the exact same effect as your build, except they grant an extra level worth of spellcasting, I wouldn’t be lying. And then you go Focused Specialist…

Sigh.

I really expect a bit of originality, but seeing another gray elf wizard just killed it. The other one at least had a twist; a follower of Lolth to be precise. There were other builds who were pretty vanilla but they still had some utility. This? I have a player that’s using a gray elf wizard, and that’s because it’s almost the default entry for wizard using Core mechanics (a good Dex/Int character, ability with longbow so that means it can deal decent damage on the first levels without relying on a crossbow), but what really killed it was the repetition.

Now, I know it’s rare to see two builds whom are similar in a few aspects, but you could have at least tried something else. Going safe is good (and that will show off in Power) but not always the best move (that’ll be seen here).

The tough part? I half-expected Virtuoso over here. Thing is, you need Perform to enter Ardent Dilettante; that’s for sure. Bard, hence, was the expected entry; not Wizard. How both blend is something best seen on Use of Secret Ingredient, but if anything, the theme could have saved it. By nixing Evocation, most of the sound spells are gone; with Enchantment, the other half is pretty much gone. That’s an entire theme gone down the drain, and the story simply doesn’t mix with the build because it’s a means to an end, not the end itself. From what I saw on an earlier build, and from what I’ve seen so far of yours, it’s not even a means to an end; it’s basically trying to hammer a square into a round hole. In fact, it’s a shocking disparity between fluff and crunch, since while the fluff suggests a sort of singing wizard, few things actually relate to singing AND wizardry. I could try, simply try, to find some sense to the build, and probably I could find it; maybe the Perform (string instrument) skill is actually useful somehow. But, and this is a big but, even trying to ignore the “it makes no sense!” voice hammering on my mind, I can’t see Perform (string instruments) as nothing less than the attempt to give some flavor to an otherwise entirely different build and trying to fulfill a requirement as well.

Now, one thing I’ll consider, and that’s the Apprentice/Mentor feat. You’ll see a brutal hit to Elegance there, but otherwise it’s a rare feat to see. You might ask “why?”; you’ll see once I reach there.

Score: 1 (Don’t think I have some bias against Wizard/Archmages or something; it’s just that, with so many people going with builds that used no Bard or Factotum as default entries, seeing another Wizard was really frustrating, and seeing a cookie-cutter build even more. You might argue that Sublime Chord was an expected entry; I rewarded the daring attempt to use the expected entry in a very different way, even though others might pummel Originality on that, because the other things used were truly amazing; on the other hand, a repeated character and a dissonance between fluff and crunch really don’t help on the story. Oh, and no pun intended ;) )

Power
Of course, when speaking about Power, things differ. It’s a Wizard; hence, it’s Tier 1, and with Focused Specialist neglecting the three schools that’ll probably see the least use, alongside Archmage, you should probably expect a truly powerful character.

Then the spells appear. The usual suspects, and with a huge amount of spells per day (with the Divination school pretty much memorized), imply that your character won’t be easy to beat (which makes the latter capture by Pazuzu highly unlikely; I mean, you have the chance of getting several Moments of Prescience and Foresights, not to mention Scrying up the wazoo!!). All chosen spells are the classic utility spells, going from the ever-useful Web, Stinking Cloud and Glitterdust to the unholy trio of Gate, Wish and Shapechange. With such a spell list, are you really, really, really sure Pazuzu tricked your character, or you merely used Wish to replace Pazuzu and the trapped character is actually the demon prince being tortured for eternity?

That, of course, means you really don’t need the items you’ve stated. Others have gone safe and tried using Vow of Poverty (not always useful, but good attempts nonetheless) or tried to showcase their builds making items an optional choice, but you know I’m not a fan of seeing tomes as part of the “required equipment”. Sure, you’ll have an unbeatable Intelligence (which again begs the question; how the heck did you got cheated by Pazuzu!? I mean, you even have a Periapt of Wisdom, for goodness sakes!), but that doesn’t really show anything when a gray elf wizard already has enough power to essentially ignore that insane boost to Intelligence. Normally, that would be a huge hit to Power (and Elegance), but since your power is essentially unlimited, it makes no dent on it; in fact, you could be naked with your spellbook and you’d still win battles. That’s what Wizards do, no? Especially with Gates and Shapechange to become powerful creatures…

Score: 5 (well, what else do you expect from Wizards, hunh? Then you add Archmage for CL 24th before level 20, and you can figure things aren’t gonna be harsh for you. I half-expected seeing Wish or Gate as a spell-like ability, but you really don’t need that; that’d be insult to injury.)

Elegance
Last minute entry of the Swim skill in order to qualify, but I still err on the side of your character being unable to take Ardent Dilettante over 7th level. This is, of course, because of Spontaneous Divination. Rule of thumb: it pays to read the Errata.

Quoting from the errata: “You can spontaneously cast any spell you know from the divination school by sacrificing a prepared spell of equal or greater level.” Any spell you know means only arcane spells, unless you know divine spells as well (Archivist, perhaps?) That alone makes your build’s last levels in Ardent Dilettante illegal, considering that the reading was flimsy in first place, and that most people know Complete Champion had errata because of Mythic Exemplar. It’s a rather simple ruling, so by the errata, you can’t cast spells from a divine source. I’d leave it as a bit of an oversight, but this is a serious one, because even without the errata the precedents that exist suggest that you don’t; besides, Detect Evil is also an arcane spell, so generally you go for that. Alternative Source Spell and Southern Magician are ways to deal with arcane <-> divine spellcasting, which while also rather flimsy ruled they do have some strong support.

Another thing is not specifying that the required items were just suggestions. I could have worked with the fiddle, because it’s something that’s not very expensive; however, I don’t take it lightly with tomes, as I’ve stated several times they are very rare items and not something that everyone and their mother should have access to (not to mention they’re very expensive). Again, others suggested the items as optional belongings and I didn’t measure their power because of them; I didn’t measure your character’s power based on your items, since the character is powerful enough on its own. But, since most people decided to try and surprise me, I’ll make the decking minor; how’s a -.5 sound? (I presume it must taste like sh…ocolate chips made from dark chocolate and dipped in maraschino cherry elixir, with a dip of bismuth liquid on top, or probably a bit too harsh; if the latter, apologies but I have to be harsh.)

Now, remember what I said about Apprentice and Mentor? Both feats (at least Mentor, but your choice of Apprentice – Entertainer also deals with it) suggest you eventually gain a pair of cohorts for minor services. While not Leadership in full suite, the fact that you eventually get an apprentice that you might eventually use as a cohort and also keep the Apprentice benefit of summoning a cohort of half your level (if it’s a 10th level wizard or 10th level cleric, it’s still powerful enough) leaves a bit of a bad taste on the mouth. Problem is, even without the cohorts, I see a minion-mancer on the works (Planar Binding for Babau, which are pretty nasty guys) mixed with the cohorts (which you claim you abandon, which isn’t so bad but still leaves the aftertaste; it’s like aspartame) means at any moment you could be handling three people. That’s the main course, plus a bittersweet entrée and a tangy cocktail, all in one. Leadership is banned for a good reason; while Planar Binding might be kosher, and your attempts to drop away the cohorts to prevent multiple character manipulation help a bit, the fact that Mentor (and Apprentice – Entertainer) is a mini-Leadership in the works doesn’t seem like a proper way to handle a valid need (aka, Perform as a class skill, though I recall Perform can be gained as a class skill through other means).

Aside from that? I’m trying to figure your actual total Intelligence score. I don’t see it, though I can assume it’s over 18 because you want Int to be the highest score, and because you have Insightful Reflexes to have a superior Reflex score. That’s a bad oversight, because it doesn’t show exactly how powerful is your character, and whether it could qualify for certain feats and abilities. Placing the spells you intend to use is a good idea, because most people went for spontaneous spellcasters or left their spellbooks blank, meaning I know which spells I could ban if I were your DM (though probably I wouldn’t, because, believe it or not, I’m a pretty easygoing DM). It’s pretty evident (which is what hurts your Originality) what’s your focus, which is evidently spellcasting, because of the huge amount of boosts you seek to add to the build (Prayer Beads, Archmage, Spell Focus, etc.)

Score: 2 (if curious, try to see if there’s errata for it, no matter how bad WotC was with errata on 3.5, and no matter how bad it may be with 4th Edition. The use of items and the suggestion of the existence of cohorts are also bad for your score. Still, I don’t hit your score any more because, aside from that and the invisible ability scores, it’s a well organized build.)

Use of Secret Ingredient
Much like I said the other build that used a gray elf wizard; what does the Arcane Dilettante brings to the table that more levels of Wizard wouldn’t bring? Fortunately, your build gets slightly more use of the class, if only sparingly.

First, the fact that you at least try to have a nice Spot score. Problem is, with spontaneous divinations the entire concept of Spot goes down the drain. There’s a strong point you make, though, and that is relying on otherwise common senses as a fallback when magical senses are fooled; the problem is that there’s no Listen to support that Spot, nor you make good use of Search or Survival, and the only reason you have Spot in there is because you need to make good use of Heightened Senses. It’s almost like the great use you give to Perform (string instruments).

One thing I like, though, is how gaining all skills as class skills, plus the huge Int score, allows you to suddenly boost some skills, such as the aforementioned Spot and Autohypnosis. I would have liked to see that ability exploited a bit more, but at least it was considered.

What wasn’t considered was the rest. By the time you get them, and with Spontaneous Divination at bay, any other sense seems redundant. Scent isn’t boosted, nor does Blindsense, and they exist only to support your already formidable divination abilities (since you get a Blessed Book chock-full of them, I suppose…) The fact that you could already use Clairvoyance/Clairaudience with your spell list doesn’t help a lot. Another thing is the fact that the inability to determine your total Charisma score means the full potential of Enthrall cannot be measured, and getting some daily uses of Good Hope seems rather inconsequential when you have such stuff like Shapechange on your hands.

What this means is that, while you did good use of the feats and the spell progression (like everybody), the only saving grace in the use of this PrC was…well, the ability to gain Autohypnosis. Yet, when you compare it to gaining more levels on another class (say, more Wizard levels, or even Incantatrix if you really wanted to push it), AD simply can’t compare. For starters: more Wizard levels would have allowed you to have full caster level, which would have allowed you to ignore Practiced Spellcaster and still get CL 29 on your spells (if using Prayer Beads of Karma). That’s one feat slot that would have been empty, with another that could have been covered with your wizard bonus feat slots. Good Reflex saves and a higher Hit Dice don’t compare to slightly delayed spellcasting and meager abilities (in your case, because your magical senses are far better than anything else). Again; there’s merit in choosing the class, but it really doesn’t showcase why Ardent Dilettante is a better choice. Like most builds, it’s really showcasing why X or Y class is a great choice. And that’s bad, because it’s repeating the same mistakes done by the other build, meaning that choosing Wizard was really a bad idea.

Score: 1.5 (getting Autohypnosis was pretty much the best thing you got from the class, aside from the higher amount of HP and Reflex saves. Going 1 level of Psion and then Cerebremancer would have gotten you roughly the same amount of Autohypnosis, plus 6th level psionic powers. While it’s not the best form of comparison, the fact is that you could have skipped any level of Ardent Dilettante, gotten Wizard levels, and you wouldn’t have lost anything because what you gained was not truly impressive. One sentence is not enough to change one’s mind.)

Overall: 9.5 (2.375)
Sometimes, the most powerful, classic or simplest choice isn’t the best. Sometimes, a bit more dedication can truly save a build from despair. Sadly, while the story is pretty nice what with all the references to old songs from the Rolling Stones and…Aerosmith, IIRC; don’t take me as a music expert in any case…doesn’t seem to fit with what the build really is: Yet Another Wizard/Archmage build ™. I will admit: Ardent Dilettante is a hard meat to please, but some effort could have been done in spicing things up a bit. Even if it would have been a bit counter-intuitive, even a dip into Virtuoso would have caused a major difference; as is, the fact that someone else did something very similar except using another DMG PrC feels like people went the easy road for an “unpleasing” PrC.


Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73
Originality
Warforged seem to be a popular choice nowadays, but that’s reasonable; with the loads of benefits you get, including composite plating, the immunities (energy drain comes as a good one) and the fortification. The way the race was used, though, is quite unique. So let me go carefully on this because it shocked me a bit…

A WARFORGED WHO THINKS HE’S A DRAGON!?!??!?!? Or well, dragon-ish? I just have to laugh; that was certainly surprising, because it’s a clever way to add a draconic feel to a creature who’s just barely living. Well, it lives but for all purposes it has a life expectancy well beyond mortal comprehension, and the “barely” fits in because they’re usually short-lived (as in, no more than 2 years of existence or such, arguably 20 years at most).

There’s another thing I liked. The base classes are quite definitely non-spellcasting based, since even the Ranger went for the spells. However, the way you got your spells (through Prestige Classes) certainly gives a different feel to the build, because there’s a unified theme behind the build (a warrior which had knowledge of special techniques, awakening draconic potential in its body and devoting almost exclusively to the dragon deities) which may or may not contrast with Ardent Dilettante (though I can figure that might not be the case, but we’ll see if that stands in.)

What I can say, though, is that the story is a bit too short. I say this because it’s full of promise; Aasterinian is not a common deity to choose, given that it’s one best fit to bards; points for Ardent Dilettante, not enough points for sense given that the character is a warrior first and foremost. The last parts of the story seem like Designate has a really good patron, because I would have expected a joke from Aasterinian (or maybe that’s Hlal, but they’re pretty similar on that regard). I liked the idea that Aasterinian sponsors what little magic the character knows (it gives an idea that you thought well how to add Dragon Devotee to the mix of abilities), but I would have refined the backstory a bit more, possibly telling how Designate (or D32, as you wish to call the character) experienced death, what was the first experience of smell (since Warforged don’t smell), and so on. This is not a grave oversight, but one that wasn’t peculiarly exploited because the feeling of the build’s fluff was having a character who has no need to breathe, eat, smell or sense to suddenly experience those abilities.

Score: 4.5 (the backstory was well thought, and it’s certainly a bizarre entry, but I would have really liked to see how the tale fit with the fluff of the character. I could see it as phenomenal, because while Warforged are common, the choice of a creature who has no need to sense as the race meant for a PrC that’s all about senses definitely has promise; it’s the choice, not the propensity, that matters here, and a bit more fluff would have garnished the plate so nicely. All in all, a wonderful, refreshing build.)

Power
With two Wizards, a Knight of the Weave, a Sublime Chord and a Sha’ir, your build certainly seems the weakest of them all. Pious Templar gives a nice amount of 4th level spells, and being a chaotic character, you could certainly qualify for a non-Paladin spell list (though it’ll end up as either Paladin or Blackguard, never thinking that chaotic deities have no need for spells such as Magic Circle against Chaos or so on), meaning you’d get some of the nice spells on Spell Compendium and quite probably on other places (though Paladins outdo Blackguards on that regard.) The faster access yet more limited progression, alongside with the spellcasting you gain from Dragon Devotee (1st level Sorcerer spellcasting) means your spellcasting is not your forte.

So, we go to the physical, and observe the mixture between Fighter and Warblade, with a very limited choice of maneuvers. That means you have, at best, 2nd level maneuvers (not 3rd level), which is a very strong hit (because most 3rd level maneuvers are awesome, plus you could have gained either Iron Heart Surge or White Raven Tactics, two amazing maneuvers that define the power of the Warblade). Most of this reflects on Elegance, but they dent your power quite well.

Thus, when observing the power of your build, I observe that your character is basically a resilient charger build, which while decent (what with Great Falchion as a weapon, meaning a huge chance for critical hits), certainly isn’t the most powerful. This combines with the Ardent Dilettante’s poor BAB, which as you may observe means you never reach the coveted 16 BAB that most warriors seek after. Knowledge Devotion (a melee favorite) helps somewhat, but it isn’t the best way to increase your damage potential. Adamantine Body and Improved Fortification are excellent defenses, though, but not enough because you need to reinforce your non-AC defenses (Reflex and Will, specifically will because replacing with Concentration once per day is not the best defense).

Again, while it’s not a bad build at all, the fact that others pretty much exceeded the expectations indirectly harms your build in more ways than one. It’s a good attempt, but unfortunately what you gain is not enough to ensure you’ll survive all 20 levels, considering you can only do enough without the acquisition of better maneuvers. Which…is exactly the thing: while others pretty much concentrated their power in hopes of max-ing the Power score, your build dilated that power so much with spellcasting that neither of the choices is really that good.

Finally, there’s a thing I should mention on Elegance which will also cause problems for you…

Score: 2 (a resilient charger when you have two entries that shatter the foundations of the world, with a third that makes the planes shake in fear, and others which have a very strong power potential hurts your build. The power of the build is diluted between melee and spellcasting, and while Pious Templar has a nice amount of spells, what you get from Dragon Devotee is not enough to justify.)

Elegance
Let’s start with the first problem. Normally, I place this on both Power and Elegance, but this is mostly an issue of Elegance: while others mostly suggested magic items to use and boost themselves, you make them pretty much mandatory. First, you state the full amount of Strength you’d get from the Belt of Magnificence and the manual of Strength, meaning you expect to do that damage pretty much reliably. It’s just one tome compared to six, but it’s still a bad idea. Second, you depend on the Belt of Magnificence to cast your divine spells, since your Wisdom is 10 (recall that? You can’t cast spells of a specific level if you don’t have a Wisdom score of 10 + the specified level; Pious Templars don’t get 0 level spells, hence they need a minimum of 11 on the score to cast spells.) While you’d still qualify for Ardent Dilettante (you’re technically capable to, you’re just unable to do so naturally), that’s a huge hit to your Power, given that the strongest thing you have on your list are divine spells. A Strength of 14 would have solved most of those situations and given you a nicer starting Will score. However, and this is the third: some DMs may consider that the inability to actually cast 1st level divine spells makes you ineligible for the 7th level and higher degrees of Ardent Dilettante, which is generally a bad idea because most people actually did the same, albeit unintentionally (making this officially the hardest hurdle to bypass, and here I was thinking Strength-based skills were the real trouble…)

The rest are just minor nitpicks. For example: Weapon Focus (scimitars)? Shouldn’t it be Weapon Focus (great falchions)? What’s worse is that the feat grants very little (if not anything, but hey, it’s a free +1 to your attack rolls, so what the hey…) and doesn’t seem to serve for anything in particular. This is mostly tied to what I see is a bigger problem: feat selection.

So…I shouldn’t go and deck you because your feat selection seems poor, and I won’t, but this is mostly advice. Two levels of Fighter are nice, but two levels of Warblade were just as good; the extra level of Dragon Devotee is really what bugs me off. You see, you get four feats (two from Dragon Devotee, two from Fighter) with that, and all are considered Fighter bonus feats which assists you a lot on the power potential of your character. However, and this is what I find most disappointing, is that you could have gone without the 4th level of Dragon Devotee (you have a slam that deals just as much damage as your claws) and gone one extra level of Warblade, which would have allowed you to replace one 1st level maneuver with a 3rd level maneuver (thus allowing you to gain a crucial 3rd level maneuver), plus a 3rd level stance which would have helped a LOT on your power. Completing Ardent Dilettante in one go is not a bad idea and is actually elegant, but the way you dealt with Warblade seems to be inelegant from an optimization perspective, and…guess what, this is an optimization exercise, so it would be reasonable to deck you points for that. But things like that happen, so I won’t go and deck you for that…well, not much anyways. You already got decked for that in Power, so I won’t go and be abusive with decking in Elegance as well.

However, the use of magic items (as I’ve stated) as if assuming you have free access to them is a no-go. Maybe a +1 weapon would be acceptable, but great falchions aren’t particularly common; you might find someone who sells that weird weapon, probably the rare smith that sells a masterwork version, but not one that sells a magic version (and much less one with a score higher than 1). And stuff like Belt of Magnificence + tomes are really disliked in my opinion as they distract a lot from the sheer power of some builds, so I can give a huge hit on that regard (given that you did quite well with Adamantine Build and Improved Fortification.)

There’s one thing that bugs me as well: why Warblade? Is it because of the huge amount of skills you could choose? I really, really, really saw this character as a Crusader, from both a fluff and a crunch perspective. You still get Jump, you get Steely Resolve which aids a lot on your defensive capabilities, you get Devoted Spirit maneuvers which aid on your healing when you get Improved Fortification, plus you could be a Crusader/Pious Templar of Aasterinian, AND you would have gained Indomitable Soul and Zealous Surge to aid that Will save (while probably getting Insightful Reflexes, if you wanted it, for your Reflex saving throws, though personally I would have ignored Reflex entirely). That would have saved you some feats, which you could have taken on Martial Study and Martial Stance and thus increased your power with maneuvers, while making you a very solid tank (DR, high Fortification and resilience all on the first few levels), and also making you less Int-ensive (pun intended) which means your character would be less MAD, hence much more elegant IMO. But again, this is mostly a bug and not something serious.

Aside from that…sources, sources, sources. Luckily most sources are easy to get (Tome of Battle, Player’s Handbook) but some are rarer (there are three books that have draconic content; guess which one I thought of first with Dragon Devotee? No, it wasn’t Races of the Dragon; it was Dragon Magic and that means something…) and some would be even harder to get (what are the chances that a judge knows Steadfast Determination is in Player’s Handbook II other than someone who has practically memorized the book?). Unlike others, the build seems a bit disorganized, showcasing the build nicely and the spells just as nicely but the rest just…smudged in without a bit of organization, and looking like an afterthought. That’s Elegance as well; the main course might be good, but if the garnish appears on all the wrong places and the plate’s unclean, people won’t eat the food, right? Some people “eat with their eyes”, meaning that anything that’s unpleasing to the eyes certainly won’t be enjoyed, let alone eaten.

Score: 3 (aside from the scores and the magic items, the build mostly seems like done hastily but without serious troubles. Since I can’t figure if you’re a newbie to the competition or a battle-hardened veteran, the flaws in presentation aren’t something I should, or will, focus in. However, I can focus on some pet peeves of mine, and one of them is quite definitely trying to see if the single-most potent of your abilities is legal or not. Also, the lack of alignment means I dunno which of the lists applies, meaning your power is entirely dependent on alignment. Think about that for a bit when meditating whether minor nitpicks in Elegance are important or not.)

Use of Secret Ingredient
Being one of the few, if not the only, character who has a clear melee focus for the build, certainly that makes it hard to analyze. The PrC wasn’t meant for melee characters, and most of the other people noticed, but there are a few things I liked that others didn’t capitalize.

For starters, scent and blindsense. Most of the other competitors had ways to bypass those scores; you, on the other hand, while certainly capable of doing so (I mean, you could have gained Hearing the Air roughly 14 levels before you got blindsense), declined to do so, focusing mostly on hard-gained abilities. While not gaining much advantage from scent or blindsense (other than what other melee characters would, which is great but not that shocking) and not advancing either of the abilities, there’s a real feel that the abilities will be greatly appreciated by the character, since they are abilities that don’t generally exist (Warforged don’t have the ability to breathe, hence they have no sense of smell; they don’t eat, so they don’t have a sense of taste meaning they have no need to use these senses) or that have a thematic feel (because, believe it or not, dragons have blindsense as a racial ability, meaning you get one step closer to dragonkind). The only trouble is that they’re gained late, but that shouldn’t be a predicament because most characters also get it late.

Heightened Senses sees some utility, mostly because of the options of the Warforged related to other classes. While not definitely advanced, the fact that a melee character is thinking of Spot and Listen definitely says something. The fact that, although not recommended because it’s not only a magic item but also campaign specific, you do have access to the Essence of the Scout (meaning even higher Spot and Listen checks) alongside your natural resilience (I mean, you get lots of Hit Points, Damage Reduction and decent AC) means you make a superb scout. Adding scent makes you a better scout, and blindsense works as a proximity sense for invisible characters, which while still hard to hit, won’t do much because Improved Fortification pretty much ends any troubles with critical hits (aside from Razing Strike which hurts like heck, because it doesn’t care for fortification) or sneak attacks.

Of all builds, the fact that you don’t have other special senses makes Sense Link quite good. Since you can do a decent (if not superb, as I mentioned) scout, you can alert others through the use of Clairvoyance, serving as a sort of radio transmitter for solo missions. Since you can engage in combat reliably until the time comes where your party reunites, and given Uncanny Dodge (which is a plus for going Warblade) you can’t be surprised that easily, you can engage in a task only a few would normally do, which increases your utility in a dungeon. As well, given that you get some serious boost out of most, having limited uses of Good Hope means you have a pretty solid buff when things get rough.

The rest, though, is what’s unsurprising. While you definitely expand your Knowledge (and thus make Knowledge Devotion even more useful), you don’t seem to exploit the ability to gain all skills as class skills, specifically getting UMD or UPD (remember, the skill is fine, since it adds to your power). You have a solid advantage in being capable of casting Paladin (or Blackguard, that depends on your alignment) and Sorcerer spells pretty much for free, but the fact that you could expand your buffs with wands or scrolls (whichever you might find) that aren’t from these two lists could have helped immensely. Still, the nice amount of Int and the fact that you complete most skills through the use of Ardent Dilettante means you make good use of the skill points, something which the Warblade gets but most of your other classes lack. The rest is just kinda meh: you won’t make great use of Enthrall because, despite your solid Charisma for spellcasting it’s not the same for DCs, Lore isn’t entirely boosted (no Knowledge – history) meaning you have as much Lore as a Loremaster or Bard, the capstone is gained far too late and you’re actually looking not to die…and well, See it Again which is hard to optimize (if possible at all). One thing I must specify is Seen it Before, because it allows a second Will save against illusions, but your poor Will saves mean you might not have the chance to exploit that (hence, why Crusader would have been better since you’d have two or three rerolls for that save, so to speak). The big predicament was the choice between Pious Templar spells or Sorcerer spells, since Dragon Devotee allowed you to gain more Sorcerer levels. That could have allowed you (Charisma notwithstanding) to gain access to Greater Magic Fang, which would have been incredibly good for your slam attacks (you do remember Warforged have slam attacks, no?) and the claws if you wished to keep them. As I see, you went for divine spells because of your predicament with Adamantine Body, but you could have gained 5th level spells which are just as good, if not better, than the few spells from Pious Templar, which would have gravitated into greater scores in Power (if only 1 point at most).

Score: 3.5 (while not the best use of Ardent Dilettante, it has something a few other builds seem to lack; an interaction between fluff and mechanics. Scent on a Warforged and blindsense on a Dragon Devotee are things I really liked because they expand upon the strictly mechanical use of the Prestige Class, and some of the other traits were used nicely. However, the big problem is that your build has a melee chassis, which means you’ll have some troubles in your main form of combat, considering your spellcasting is not the greatest of them all and your maneuver choice is skewed.)

Overall: 13 (3.25)
The build definitely needs some polishing, but for a character that has almost equal amounts of fluff and crunch well intertwined, it’s a good start. A Warforged that has a desire to experiment beyond what its own body provides, developing draconic traits and then going straight for the PrC that represents the communion with senses is a rather bold move on an optimization challenge. Of course, this being an optimization challenge, the expected power definitely falters, leaving you as a charger that does surprisingly well as a scout. I can’t define whether your build is a first entry on the competition (in which case, good job) or whether you, the competitor, is an experienced individual whom just happens to desire trying something different (which is nice, but not what’s really expected on the competition), but the build has to be polished in order to take advantage of the choices it possesses, such as a good use of maneuvers and the possibility of sorcerer spellcasting. However, it makes for a superb NPC that roleplayers would love to interact, and that primary roleplaying focus makes the build certainly an interesting one to judge.

--

And as usual, stats and comments:
This judging took 35 pages, 24,229 words, 138,706 characters (with 114,698 of those characters not relying on lines or spaces), 1,643 lines and 203paragraphs. Still not the largest document I've written, but certainly beats the earlier judging out of the water.

Now, Drunken Master was hard, but this PrC was harder. What I was surprised, though, was the set of hidden treasures in the chassis: all skills as class skills with 6+Int class skills (making it a skill-monkey by definition), with 9/10ths spellcasting and d8 HD (making it great for spellcasters, though ironically the abilities just ruin that), making Rangers the clearest option (or Ranger/Bards, which would have had enough Charisma and Wisdom to take advantage of nearly everything; Factotum was clearly a close second). I noticed that most people couldn't seem to clear the hurdle of 7th level, which was slightly more stringent than the prerequisite for level 10th (which is effectively dying...) Some hurdles were cleared nicely (using Favored Soul to qualify for exotic weapons, using Elf to qualify for martial weapons, lots of people went for Swim instead of Climb or Jump), but others were big downers (such as not getting the Strength score, even though pretty much everyone went for Concentration; or the fact that they needed to get both arcane and divine spells, thinking that spell-like abilities were essentially ways to solve that), meaning that the real challenge was meeting the requirements, not trying to optimize the PrC. That might have distracted some of the people, since aside from some spectacular uses of the PrC I noticed pretty much everyone just tried to benefit from the feats, the spellcasting and See it Again. Some were easy to deal with (Bardic Knowledge/Lore for the Lore ability, Quick Reconnoiter and Guerrilla Scout for Spot and Listen, Blind-Fight for the blindsense ability; I liked the use of Imp. Scent and Uncanny Scent through bonus feats, tho) and some which were just impossible to deal with (Enthrall just blew everyone out of the water, but it was really hard to maximize other than being Charisma-SAD).

Having said that, I presume that everybody must be anxious to point me why some scores need to be better; as usual, place that on chairman Shinken's hands. I think I was more generous than the rest of the judges, given that I've seen some really shaky scores, but maybe that's just me.

Amechra
2011-02-02, 09:44 PM
May I comment on my build yet?

Amphetryon
2011-02-02, 09:55 PM
May I comment on my build yet?

Tradition dictates we do not give away which build is ours until the chairman's "reveal"; if you have concerns about a judges' call, you can forward them to true_shinken. :smallsmile:

Amechra
2011-02-02, 10:46 PM
I'll wait, then.

OMG PONIES
2011-02-03, 11:12 AM
[FINAL?] TALLIES AFTER FOUR JUDGES (BEFORE DISPUTES)

{table=head]ENTRY|PLACE|TOTALS|AVERAGE
Arleigh Skye|GOLD|58.5|3.65625
Snow|SILVER|57.5|3.59375
Gabriella|BRONZE|57|3.5625
V'grax|Fourth|52.5|3.28125
Aesh Duan Dee|Fifth|46|2.875
Hazy Vernal Equinox|Sixth|44|2.75
Annette the Impure|Seventh|43|2.6875
Designate 32-20-53-65-6e-73-65-73|Eighth|42.5|2.65625
The Slide|Ninth|41|2.5625[/table]

true_shinken
2011-02-03, 11:36 AM
OK, now for disputes. I've yet to receive any votes for honorable mention this round, btw. Attention, judges - disputes for everyone!


I have every respect for Oskar's judging, and admire the detail and effort he has put into it all, but I am a little baffled by the discrepency between Use of Secret Ingredient scores. I built Snow around most of the abilities AD has to offer, whilst balancing them with a useful and powerful character, and I seem to have received a 1.5 simply because I chose Wizard as the base class, without taking into consideration the details of my build and tactics.

My tactics do specify that Snow uses the AD abilities to act as a competent scout as well as a powerful caster, fufilling two party roles whilst making the most of the AD's class abilities. Elven skill bonuses, Heightened Senses, Scent, Blindsense and the resistance to both enchantment and illusion from being an elf and Seen It Before (not to mention excellent saves across the board) all support this character, and were listed in my build.

Again, I have every respect for the judging, and if this has all been considered already, then so be it, but I am still slightly confused as to how the above is not showcasing the prestige class. Taking another PrC such as his examples of Archmage or Geometer (I do like Geometer) would weaken Snow's abilities as a scout and general spotter, and make him more vulnerable to the spells and attacks that will almost certainly be targetted at him as a major caster. I also assume that qualifiying for AD comes under Elegance, as I see at least one build receiving a high score in UoSI despite not qualifying for higher levels.

Finally, I would like to add that I think my rulebook library does not extend as far as Oskar's - I was not aware that there were any other Drow gods to choose from!


It's a technical point right now, since the last 2 judges seem to have moved me to 1st place, but vikingofdoom did seem to deduct points for something that was legal to do. And a half point is a half point. (shrug)



You used the SI fairly well, with the exception that you can't make a wand of Sense Link, do to it not being a spell. Otherwise, everything works.

Incorrect. A wand can be made from Spell Like Abilities.

Source (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/magicItems.html) (Also DMG, pg 215, top of right column.)


Prerequisites: Certain requirements must be met in order for a character to create a magic item. These include feats, spells, and miscellaneous requirements such as level, alignment, and race or kind. The prerequisites for creation of an item are given immediately following the item’s caster level.

A spell prerequisite may be provided by a character who has prepared the spell (or who knows the spell, in the case of a sorcerer or bard), or through the use of a spell completion or spell trigger magic item or a spell-like ability that produces the desired spell effect.


In the judging of Arleigh Skye, OMG mentions that it's hard for an outsider to be raised to qualify for that last level. Revive Outsider from the SpC makes this no more of an issue than for a non-Outstder.


Hi there. I believe that OMGPONIES made a few errors in his judgment of Aesc, and I'd like the chance to defend myself. If you could please pass these comments on to him in whatever manner you see fit, I'd appreciate it.

Dear Mr. PONIES,

While your analysis is mostly fair, I do feel the need to point out a few things. First, Aesc only uses Disciple of Thrym spells for Sanctified/Corrupt spells for exactly the reasons you mention. Second, while you're right about my ranks in Jump mysteriously disappearing between my spreadsheet and the final post (mea culpa . . . I even took Sudden Leap! I swear I had them and I don't know where they went, but since they weren't in the final build, I will make no effort to protest your ruling), Aesc is nonetheless proficient with the hand crossbow (an exotic weapon) from his rogue days. I don't know if this will sway your opinion one way or the other, but it needed to be said.


Annette:
(1) This may be splitting hairs, but a good argument can be made that the prostitution in question is not "exploitative or coercive." Without exploitation or coerciveness, there is no reason for an Exalted character to object to them. (2) Succubi are "Always Chaotic Evil," but the Succubus Paladin is the archetype of the Redeemed Evil. "Always" does not seem to mean "always."

Perhaps it was just me, but I have always read UA as allowing alternate classes. Although I am not able to look now, but I am pretty sure alternate classes (like Paladin of Freedom) have been used before. This would affect Gabriella, Annette, and D32


If the spell retrieval method is 'a form of preparation', then isn't a Sorcerer's 'a form of preparation' as well? Both can recast spells based on spells known. That would seem to eliminate all casters from using a pair of feats that add to spells known.
As noted, one strong draw for those feat choices was the thematic fit for both Sha'ir and Blood Magus.

Also, I'm sorry to inform Jumilk's laptop bit the bullet and she's using a new netbook, so trophies and medals will be a bit late.

vikingofdoom
2011-02-03, 12:05 PM
With regards to the question regarding my ruling, I was working off of the wording in Craft Wand:

You can create a wand of any 4th level or lower spell that you know.
Since specific trumps general in terms of conflict, Craft Wand can't create a Wand of Sense Link. The text describing wands would support my statement of spell-like abilities not functioning in a wand.

Pechvarry
2011-02-03, 12:10 PM
Ick, doesn't that wording apply to pretty much every item creation feat? Would suck for pre-12 Warlocks, I guess.