Super Secret Spy... need help

[Pard]

So, I am working on a character for this campaign. I want to make a spy/assassin type character. I've played three other campaigns with this DM and I think I want to focus on the social aspect of the game, so more along the lines of a cold war spy. I'd still like to be able to kick butt, or at least not suck...

I got some many different ideas and so I come here to ask for advice. Off the top of my head I can think of a straight rogue build (duh!). Also a ninja just might do the trick, I'd refluff it. A Factotum sure fits the social aspect because of the skill monkey-ness of a social build. Of course a swordsage also fits the bill, and so does a binder, and a beguiler, and a number of PrC classes...

So you see, I need some help.

Here is what I get for constraints:

Starting XP will be 206,000 (ECL 20+)
Stats 5d6, drop the lowest 1
Gold 800k, no restriction on item price
Up to two flaws and two traits
SRD is allowed, no questions asked
Any other source needs to be cleared with DM. (As I said, I've played with him before and he is the kind of guy who has as much fun watching your character being built as you have building it, he is pretty dang flexible, so any suggest is welcome)
Alignment, nothing evil.

As for race, I have one of two options that I wish to use. Either a satyr or a Gnome (maybe Whisper Gnome) with a Half-Fey template. I know a gnome with half-fey kind of doesn't make sense, but I have justified it with fluff, the idea being the gnome is more in touch with his immortal side than his mortal one.

LA buy-offs are allowed, so no worries about that +2 coming back to haunt me.

I'd prefer to stay away from casters, or at the very least make casting a minor part of the character.

EDIT

Abilities for the two races:

Satyr
+2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma

Gnome w/ Half-Fey
-2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, +4 Charisma

Whisper Gnome w/ Half Fey
-2 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma

[Amnestic]

Bard with ranks in Perform (One Liners) is a must of course. :smallamused:

Spymaster PrC is probably recommended, if only for the name.

[Pard]

A re-fluffed Bard may make a rocking Spy with I throw in the proper PrCs. Got to look into this "Spymaster". But you are right, for an epic level campaign like this, where one level doesn't hurt at all, that class will be a must in my build!

FYI, this game will probably reach into the 100s, level wise. His level 1 starts usually make it into the 80s, so a level 20 should make it into the 100s...

[ajburges]

Epic level?

Consider a rogue/spymaster/chameleon multi-class. Your covers can then be anything you want with supporting skillsets.

[Zaq]

I'm almost getting tired of how well they fill so many damn niches, but a Factotum will do a damn good job of spying it up. Their flexibility lets them make pretty sweet cover identities ("Who, me? I'm just a humble novice initiate at the church of Ehlonna. I can patch you up if you like, but that's about it." *Opportunistic Piety*).

I find that Psions (especially Seers, as should be obvious) make really good spies. You have to work a little bit to get the skills you need (the easiest way is to take Able Learner and a dip into either Rogue or Factotum, but that sacrifices a manifester level), but psionic powers are very good at getting the info you need. I don't know why I feel like a Seer would be a better spy than a Divination-focused Wizard (we all know that Wizards are the best at everything), but it feels like they get easier access to some stuff. Probably because I've used a lot of items that give me cool Clairsentience powers (the Gloves of Object Reading are guaranteed to piss off your GM in the best possible way, and a Third Eye Sense is just superbly useful) and not so many that give me Divination spells, I suppose.

[Mojo_Rat]

if your using pathfinder there is the master spy. you could likely even use it fir a non Pf game but itvhas all the social stuff death attack sneak attack even let's you duplicate alignments fake skills you dontvhave trained and convince magic that yes you are the king of bobwazzia.

[Telonius]

There's also the question about what sort of a spy you want to be. General infiltration, Break in and steal secrets, Gain legitimate access and learn secrets, Assassin-type, Gadgetry, Seduction, weapons specialist. All of that stuff is doable, but each one is slightly unique and would need attention in the build, depending on how much weight you want to give each one.

Obviously being undetectable is a primary concern, no matter which direction you take. Spymaster7 is important here, if you're not willing to be able to cast Mind Blank on your own. Maxed ranks in Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Knowledge (Local) and Sense Motive are also probably recommended.

For the race, I'd recommend the Gnome over the Satyr. A Satyr would be kind of ... well ... noticeable. As a spy, you want to avoid attention, not attract it. Granted, you're probably going to be disguised in some way. But even so, you don't want to risk the maid getting suspicious by all the fur you're shedding.

[TroubleBrewing]

FYI, this game will probably reach into the 100s, level wise. His level 1 starts usually make it into the 80s, so a level 20 should make it into the 100s...

... :smallconfused:

3.5 D&D doesn't really even effectively model past about level 25-30. I'm also not sure how you plan on advancing 80 levels. Even if you figure a single encounter per level, that's still 80 encounters. Planning on spying on a lot of gods, are we?

[Pard]

... :smallconfused:

3.5 D&D doesn't really even effectively model past about level 25-30. I'm also not sure how you plan on advancing 80 levels. Even if you figure a single encounter per level, that's still 80 encounters. Planning on spying on a lot of gods, are we?

He uses a custom setting. Hard to explain, but it works. He also rewards levels at a quicker pace, and does a lot of non-encounter XP. I was weary of it at first, but after 3 campaigns with him... well it works rather well.

And, yes, actually... we will be spying on gods :smallcool:

Since we are doing a level 20 start I ended up convincing him to let me use the Doppelganger from RoD (the level progression version). So I lose 8 class levels, but I gain a doppelganger without an LA. :smallbiggrin:

I also showed him the Spy custom class, here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136315), and he said it was probably a perfect fit for this campaign.

Then I will be taking the Spymaster PrC, right now I am thinking:

Doppelganger 8/Spy 5/Spymaster 7

And then I will back fill the spy class for a while. Probably dip into Factotum and Chameleon at a later point just so I can more convincingly fill the role of various different people.