The One Challenge

[lorddrake]

I came up with a funny idea.

A character with no more than one level in each class he takes? And got me thinking.

What about challenge those brains in the playground?

The rules:

1 The character cannot have more than one level on each class or PrC
2 The character cannot have more than LA+1
3 The character must be level 10 (and have the amount of money supposed to have by that level)
4 The character may use any book, but nothing online or dragon magazine (exception: errata)
5 The character must be awesome!

Good luck!

[CommodoreCrunch]

First level has to be Factotum. All skills are forever class skills.

Incidentally, my roommate has the same character concept that he wants to play. I don't know the specific build, though.

[DonutBoy12321]

Participating. This is gonna be fun.

[Psyren]

First level has to be Factotum. All skills are forever class skills.

Rogue 1 gives you more skill points though. (Or Swordsage 1, with the broken interpretation.) Taking Factotum afterward still gives you all skills as class skills.

[dextercorvia]

By awesome, what exactly do you mean?

[CommodoreCrunch]

Rogue 1 gives you more skill points though. (Or Swordsage 1, with the broken interpretation.) Taking Factotum afterward still gives you all skills as class skills. Guess I'm remembering Factotum's skills/level wrong then. Thought they had the same as Rogue.

Even better, Changeling Rogue 1 substitution level gives 10 skills points. Don't know if that's something that's been errata'd though.

[lorddrake]

By awesome, what exactly do you mean?

I thought they must be uncommon. Do nice things. Not really sure. I just said that for fun.

[Gullintanni]

Hmmm...Cloistered Cleric 1 gets you a lot of mileage. TU attempts, Travel Devotion, Knowledge Devotion and if you pick up the Undeath domain, you get Extra Turning as a bonus feat. If you grab the Magic domain then you're treated as a wizard of half your class level for the purposes of activating wizard only items like scrolls and wands. This doesn't help you much for scrolls, but it means you can activate any wizard wand ever and every cleric wand ever with no UMD checks.

[lorddrake]

Hmmm...Cloistered Cleric 1 gets you a lot of mileage. TU attempts, Travel Devotion, Knowledge Devotion and if you pick up the Undeath domain, you get Extra Turning as a bonus feat. If you grab the Magic domain then you're treated as a wizard of half your class level for the purposes of activating wizard only items like scrolls and wands. This doesn't help you much for scrolls, but it means you can activate any wizard wand ever and every cleric wand ever with no UMD checks.

But wouldn't you have 1 class level for cloistered cleric and 1/2 to use wizard-only items?

[Gullintanni]

But wouldn't you have 1 class level for cloistered cleric and 1/2 to use wizard-only items?

"Magic Domain
Granted Power

Use scrolls, wands, and other devices with spell completion or spell trigger activation as a wizard of one-half your cleric level (at least 1st level). For the purpose of using a scroll or other magic device, if you are also a wizard, actual wizard levels and these effective wizard levels stack."

Bolded for emphasis.

Minimum 1.

[Dragonsoul]

Here's a Gestalt thing I did
(http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205902)
I'm sure I can wiggle it into one stream of things

[Gotterdammerung]

wiz1/rainbowservant1/dread witch1/ master specialist1/ paragnostic apostle 1

so far feats are human with 2 flaws and bonus iron will from otyugh pit: precotious apprentice, sanctum spell, spell focus, iron will, 3 feats left to play with before lvl 10.


Just need to find 5 more +1 spellcasting prestige classes with easy prerequisites.

sooo

incantrix 1
ruathar 1
fatespinner 1
Geometer 1


hmmm for the last one lets do loremaster 1


So you got a lvl 10 wizard.

[Doc Roc]

Any Full BAB 1/Fighter 1/Crusader 1/Warblade 1/Ardent 1/Slayer 1/Thrallherd 1/Elocater 1/Sanctified Mind 1/Anarchic Initiate 1/

Practiced manifest?? will fix you good here. ML 9, and Thrallherd. Just... thrallherd.

[Gwendol]

Ranger/Scout/Monk/Knight/Cleric/Fighter/Paladin/Aglorandan Griffon Rider/Purple Dragon Knight/Marshal

Monk using the Overwhelming attack variant for power attack bonus feat

[Killer Angel]

you totally call for this (http://www.goblinscomic.com/09022005/). :smalltongue:

[Curmudgeon]

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

1st|Changeling Rogue sub level 1|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Balance 4, Bluff 4, Concentration (cc) 2, Diplomacy 4, Disguise 4, Hide 4, Jump 4, Move Silently 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4|Willing Deformity [Vile], Skill Focus (Diplomacy)* (retrain to Craven), Negotiator* (retrain to Darkstalker), Combat Expertise|sneak attack +1d6, social intuition

2nd|Spellthief|
+1|
+0|
+2|
+2|Concentration 4, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Search 5, Use Magic Device 5||sneak attack +1d6, steal spell (0 or 1st), trapfinding

3rd|Cloistered Cleric|
+2|
+2|
+2|
+4|Diplomacy 6, Knowledge (arcana) 6, Knowledge (religion) 6|Power Attack, Improved Initiative (Time domain), Martial Weapon Proficiency (warhammer)* & Weapon Focus (warhammer)* (Metal domain)|rebuke undead, domains (Knowledge, Metal, Time), spells

4th|Battle Dancer|
+3|
+3|
+4|
+4|Balance 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 7|Improved Unarmed Strike|AC bonus, unarmed strike

5th|Sneak Attack variant Fighter|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+4|Jump 8, Speak Language (Draconic) 1|Deformity (tall) [Vile]|sneak attack +1d6

6th|Justiciar of Taiia|
+4|
+4|
+6|
+6|Concentration 5, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Spellcraft 4|Alertness, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain)|sneak attack +1d6, 0 1st-level spells

7th|Initiate of the Draconic Mysteries|
+5|
+6|
+8|
+8|Concentration 6, Hide (cc) 10, Move Silently (cc) 10||evasion

8th|Nightsong Enforcer|
+6|
+6|
+10|
+8|Hide 11, Search 8, Spot 8, Tumble 5||sneak attack +1d6, teamwork (hear/see allies)

9th|Assassin|
+7|
+6|
+12|
+8|Use Magic Device 12|Improved Trip|sneak attack +1d6, death attack, poison use, spells

10th|Unseen Seer|
+8|
+6|
+12|
+10|Hide 13, Diplomacy 11, Use Magic Device (cc) 13|Vile Ki Strike [Vile], Knowledge Devotion (from Knowledge domain), Aberration Blood, Extended Reach, Inhuman Reach, Knock-Down, Travel Devotion, Snap Kick|damage bonus +1d6, +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class (Assassin)[/table]* - feat that gets exchanged for something else @ level 10

BasicsRace: Changeling - Medium Humanoid (shapechanger, extraplanar)
Minor Change Shape (Su)
Natural Linguist: Speak Language always a class skill
+2 racial bonus to Bluff
+2 racial bonus to Intimidate
+2 racial bonus to Sense Motive
Favored Class: Rogue
with Faerûn Dark Creature template: darkvision 60'
superior low-light vision
Hide in Plain Sight (Su) except in daylight
+8 racial bonus to Hide
+6 racial bonus to Move Silently
speed 40'
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Auran, Terran, Draconic
Alignment: Neutral Evil

32 point buy:
STR 14
DEX 14
CON 8
INT 16
WIS 12
CHA 14 (+18 with boosts and Cloak of Charisma +2)

Ability Boosts:
+1 Charisma @ level 4
+1 Charisma @ level 8

Stretch likes to use Minor Change Shape to look like a Dwarf, which makes it that much more amusing when stretching to kick an opponent in the face, 20' away.

Feat ShenanigansTake flaws Shaky and Vulnerable @ level 1 for 2 more feats.
Retrain Negotiator to Darkstalker, and Skill Focus (Diplomacy) to Craven, @ level 10.
Convert Knowledge domain to Knowledge Devotion feat @ level 10.
Perform the Dark Chaos Shuffle for granted Fighter feats, using spells Embrace the Dark Chaos (Fiendish Codex I, page 92) and Shun the Dark Chaos (Fiendish Codex I, page 95) serially with feat Demonic Sneak Attack [Abyssal Heritor] each time as the temporary intermediary (Fiendish Codex I, page 82) @ level 10:
Fighters, paladins, and clerics automatically have Armor Proficiency (heavy) as a bonus feat. They need not select it. (Player's Handbook, page 89)
Fighters, barbarians, paladins, clerics, druids, and bards automatically have Armor Proficiency (medium) as a bonus feat. They need not select it. (Player's Handbook, page 89)
Fighters automatically have Tower Shield Proficiency as a bonus feat. They need not select it. (Player's Handbook, page 101)
Barbarians, bards, clerics, druids, fighters, paladins, and rangers automatically have Shield Proficiency as a bonus feat. They need not select it. (Player's Handbook, page 100)
This lets the character pick up extra feats Aberration Blood, Extended Reach, Inhuman Reach, and Knock-Down, respectively, by trading in the above Fighter feats.
Also use the Dark Chaos Shuffle on Weapon Focus (warhammer) and Martial Weapon Proficiency (warhammer) granted by the Clerical Metal domain, for Travel Devotion and Snap Kick.

ExpensesCirclet of Persuasion: 4,050 gp
Cloak of Charisma +2: 3,600 gp
Steadfast Boots: 1,260 gp
Medal of Gallantry: 1,215 gp
mithral chain shirt: 990 gp
glassteel masterwork spiked chain with wand chamber: 950.5 gp
Bought Sparring Dummy of the Master, trained with it, and sold it back: 10,333.33 gp
Paid NPC spellcasters for 6 cycles of Dark Chaos Shuffle: 26,460 gp
Partially used wand of Wraithstrike (1 charge remaining): 81 gp

48,939.83 gp of 49,000 gp Wealth by Level used, leaving 60.17 gp for mundane gear

Book CitationsDeityless Cleric in a Forgotten Realms setting (Player's Guide to Faerûn, page 5):

Chapters 1 through 3 of Player’s Guide to Faerûn update and supersede Chapters 1 and 2 of the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting.
From Chapter 1 of FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting (superseded):

... every cleric chooses a patron deity from the expansive Faerûnian pantheon.
(This build does actually work with Grumbar as patron deity.)

Changelings (Races of Eberron, page 41) in a Forgotten Realms setting
From Races of Eberron on page 6:
Why is Races of Eberron a core D&D supplement and not an Eberron-specific book? Changelings, kalashtar, shifters, and warforged are excellent additions to any D&D campaign, offering fun and unique play experiences and enriching any setting.
Faerûn-only Dark Creature template (Cormyr: The Tearing Of The Weave, page 152)
Partially used Charged Magic Items (Dungeon Master's Guide, page 199)
Feat Retraining (Player's Handbook II, page 193)
Character Flaws Shaky and Vulnerable (Unearthed Arcana, page 91)
Reducing Level Adjustments (Unearthed Arcana, page 18)
Haggling use of Diplomacy (Complete Adventurer, page 98)
Fractional BAB variant (Unearthed Arcana, page 73)
Vile Feats for serving Ragnorra, an Elder Evil (Elder Evils, page 10)
Clerics and Domain Feats conversion (Complete Champion, page 53)
Changeling Rogue substitution level 1 (Races of Eberron, page 122)
Sneak Attack variant Fighter (Unearthed Arcana, page 58)
Spellthief (Complete Adventurer, page 13)
Cloistered Cleric variant (Unearthed Arcana, page 50)
Battle Dancer (Dragon Compendium, page 26)
Justiciar of Taiia (Deities and Demigods, page 205)
Assassin (Dungeon Master's Guide, page 180)
Initiate of the Draconic Mysteries (Draconomicon, page 131)
Nightsong Enforcer (Complete Adventurer, page 60)
Unseen Seer (Complete Mage, page 81)

Craven feat (Champions of Ruin, page 17)
Darkstalker feat (Lords of Madness, page 179)
Knowledge Devotion feat (Complete Champion, page 60)
Travel Devotion feat (Complete Champion, page 62)
Willing Deformity [Vile] (Heroes of Horror, page 125)
Deformity (tall) [Vile] (Heroes of Horror, page 121)
Vile Ki Strike [Vile] (Elder Evils, page 14)
Snap Kick feat (Tome of Battle, page 32)
Aberration Blood feat (Lords of Madness, page 178)
Extended Reach feat (Savage Species, page 34)
Inhuman Reach feat (Lords of Madness, page 180)
Knock-Down feat (Deities & Demigods, page 51)
Demonic Sneak Attack [Abyssal Heritor] feat (Fiendish Codex I, page 82)

Circlet of Persuasion (Dungeon Master's Guide, page 252)
Cloak of Charisma +2 (Dungeon Master's Guide, page 253)
Steadfast Boots (Magic Item Compendium, page 138)
Medal of Gallantry (Magic Item Compendium, page 116)
mithral (for chain shirt) (Dungeon Master's Guide, page 284)
glassteel (for spiked chain) (Champions of Valor, page 65)
Sparring Dummy of the Master (Arms and Equipment Guide, page 137)

Embrace the Dark Chaos spell (Fiendish Codex I, page 92)
Shun the Dark Chaos spell (Fiendish Codex I, page 95)
Critical Strike spell (Spell Compendium, page 56)
True Strike spell (Player's Handbook, page 296)
Shock and Awe spell (Spell Compendium, page 189)
Wraithstrike spell (Spell Compendium, page 243)

SpellsWraithstrike wand (1 charge)

Spells Known:
Critical Strike: Assassin 1, Divination
True Strike: Assassin 1/Time 1, Divination
Shock and Awe: Assassin 1

Spells/Day:
Cloistered Cleric: 3 @ level 0, 2+1 @ level 1
Assassin: 3 @ level 1
Justiciar of Taiia: 1 @ level 1

Elements of Awesomeness7d6 + 10 sneak attack damage
Supernatural Hide in Plain Sight, with +21 Hide modifier
evasion, leveraged with a good (+14 modifier) Reflex save
unarmed strike dealing 1d6 + 2 (STR mod) + 1 (vile damage)
extra attacks: Snap Kick for extra unarmed strike with 1+ melee attacks
Knock-Down + Improved Trip + bonus attack, each iterative attack, when enabling requirements met
20' unarmed reach
40' reach with spiked chain
Move and full attack (Travel Devotion, usable 4 times/day, 10 rounds each)
10' steps (handy when casting/triggering a swift action spell prevents Travel Devotion movement)
Use wands of Assassin and Cleric spells without checks
+20 Use Magic Device modifier guarantees success on Emulate a Class Ability @ level 1, and Use Wand

Cheese factor awesomely high: Deityless Cleric in Forgotten Realms, who also serves Elder Evil Ragnorra
Fractional BAB
LA +1 template with LA buyoff
17 feats:
Flaws to get 2 more feats
3 Vile feats from serving an Elder Evil
2 feats used and then retrained
Dark Chaos Shuffle on 4 Fighter class automatic bonus feats, and 2 Cleric domain-granted feats
Partially charged wand of Wraithstrike
Everything 10% cheaper through Haggling. Stretch has a guaranteed 39 Diplomacy check while making all the listed purchases, which succeeds for the discount against any Indifferent merchant with a Diplomacy modifier up to +9.
... and yet this cheese is all from the official WotC books, exactly as lorddrake stipulated.

[lorddrake]

Pretty nice, Curmudgeon!

I really thought nobody would turn up a synergetic character. It is pretty awesome!

[Doc Roc]

Pretty nice, Curmudgeon!

I really thought nobody would turn up a synergetic character. It is pretty awesome!

Wait, so ML 9/10 isn't synergistic?

[Venger]

I came up with a funny idea.

A character with no more than one level in each class he takes? And got me thinking.

What about challenge those brains in the playground?

The rules:

1 The character cannot have more than one level on each class or PrC
2 The character cannot have more than LA+1
3 The character must be level 10 (and have the amount of money supposed to have by that level)
4 The character may use any book, but nothing online or dragon magazine (exception: errata)
5 The character must be awesome!

Good luck!

Starting abilities:
Str 8 (useless to a rogue, moreso to a caster, doubly so for a roguey caster/castery rogue)
Dex 16 (dodge blows, he's a ragdoll in combat)
Con 14 (health)
Int 16 (both skill boosts go here at lvl 4 and 8)
Wis 12 (to cast 2nd lvl divine spells)
Cha 10 (I got a soft spot for cha)
Beguiler Spells per day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
5th|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

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

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

[/table]
Suggested Spells: Haste, Dispel Magic at lvl 7, Gaseous Form at lvl 8

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

8th|-|0/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]
Suggested Spells: Shadow Double (DotU), Healer's Vision (CSco)

Chameleon Spells per day (Arcane and divine)
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
10th|4|2|0|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

this does sound like fun!

I'm game for this.

Rogue1/ Spellthief1/ Factotum 1/ Thief of Life 1/ Beguiler 1/ Ardent Dilettante 1/ Trapsmith 1/ Assassin 1/ Mindbender 1/ Chameleon 1

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

1st|Rogue 1|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Bluff 4, Craft (trapmaking) 4, Disable Device 4, Disguise 4, Heal 2, Hide 4, Intimidate 4, Know (arcana) 2, Know (religion) 2, Move Silently 4, Open Lock 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 2|Able Learner, Darkstalker|Sneak Attack +1d6, Mimic

2nd|Spellthief 1|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Bluff +1 (5), Disable Device +1 (5), Disguise +1 (5), Hide +1 (5), Know (arcana) +2 (4), Move Silently +1 (5), Open Lock +1 (5), Spellcraft +2 (4)||Steal Spell (0 or 1st) Sneak Attack +2d6, Trapfinding

3rd|Factotum 1|
+0|
+0|
+4|
+2|Bluff +1 (6), Craft (trapmaking) +2 (6), Disable Device +1 (6), Disguise +1 (6), Heal +2 (4), Hide +1 (6), Search +2 (6)|Craven|Inspiration (2 points), Cunning insight, Cunning Knowledge, trapfinding

4th|Thief of Life |
+0|
+2|
+6|
+2|Bluff +1 (7), Craft (trapmaking) +1 (7), Diplomacy 2, Disable Device +1 (7), Disguise +1 (7), Hide +1 (7), Move Silently +2 (7), Search +1 (7)||Lifesense (5ft)

5th|Beguiler 1|
+0|
+2|
+6|
+4|Bluff +1 (8), Craft (trapmaking) +1 (8), Disable Device +1 (8), Disguise +1 (8), Hide +1 (8), Know (arcana) +1 (5) Move Silently +1 (8), Search +1 (8), Sense Motive +1 (5), Spellcraft +1 (5)||Armoured Mage, Trapfinding

6th|Ardent Dilettante 1|
+0|
+2|
+8|
+4|Autohypnosis 5, Concentration 5|Versatile Spellcaster|Heightened Senses, Lore

7th|Trapsmith 1|
+0|
+2|
+10|
+4|Assume Quirk (Skilltrick) Bluff +2 (10), Craft (trapmaking) +1 (9), Diplomacy +2 (4), Hide +2 (10), Move Silently +2 (10) ||Booby Traps (Simple), Master Disarmer, Trap Sense +1

8th|Assassin 1|
+0|
+2|
+12|
+4|Bluff +1 (11), Craft (trapmaking) +1 (10), Open Lock +6 (11), Search +1 (9)||Sneak Attack +3d6, Death Attack, Poison Use, Spells

9th|Mindbender 1|
+0|
+4|
+12|
+6|Bluff +1 (11), Craft (trapmaking) +1 (11), Diplomacy +5 (9)|Master Spellthief (Arcane Caster Level Spellthief, Factotum, Beguiler, Assassin, Trapsmith = 6)|Telepathy, Arcane Caster Level +1 (Trapsmith), Steal Spell (2nd)

10th|Chameleon 1|
+0|
+4|
+12|
+6|Bluff +1 (13), Craft (trapmaking) +1 (12), Diplomacy +1 (10), Hide +3 (13), Move Silently +3 (13)||Aptitude Focus 1/day(+2)[/table]

phew! I'll edit in playtips a little later. that really took it out of me.

You are a master of disguise starting from the first level. Due to all the different classes, you get trapfinding four times on this character. Rogues have a handful of ACFs to switch it out for if you get it elsewhere (or just want to dump it because it sucks) but spellthief, beguiler, and factotum do not have any of these published class features available to them. your DM will likely allow you to pick from a few of the other ACFs for rogue for your other superfluous trapfindings. since you can take 20 on a trapfinding check, being stuck with it three times over is less than awesome.

that said though, you should never meet a trap you don't like with this build. from the get-go, you're all about traps. you'll likely take an interest in them and due to your unnatural predisposition to sniffing them out (trap sense x3 ftw) it'll only be a matter of time before you start building your own. as opposed to normal characters, almost all of your skill points (of which you have a ton) are spoken for since you need to qualify for 6 different prestige classes (but their qualifications overlap as much as possible) so you really only need disguise 8, hide 8, MS 8, Bluff 8, Diplomacy 4, Intimidate 4, Sense motive 4, trapmaking 8, DD 8, open lock 5, search 8, spellcraft 4 for an absolutely flabbergasting 77 skill points needed to qualify for everything. naturally, the things that are easier to qualify for are shunted to the front and the things that require the most ranks in things are pushed to the back. most of these, like many prestige classes, make it impossible to qualify before level 5, so they must be delayed until level 6 at the earliest.

these are Ardent Dilettante, Trapsmith, Assassin, Mindbender, and Chameleon

Thief of life, in a departure from almost every prestige class (the only ones that spring to mind are walker in the wastes, master specialist, stoneblessed, and stonedeath assassin) can be entered before 5th level. If your game allows generic classes, then 1 lvl of generic expert with the +2d6 SA feat will get you into thief of life at level 2 and let you start using all its cool abilities a whole 2 levels before you are supposed to have them (immunity to death effects as a 6th level character? yes please) but generic classes aren't supposed to mix with normal ones, they are not widely known about, it's a little cheesy, and the rules disallow more than one level of thief of life, so this isn't necessary

that said, however, one can slip into thief of life by taking two classes that give SA at first level (you need heal and knowledge arcana as class skills though, so good luck with that) since neither rogue nor spellthief get heal as a class skill, I must incorporate a level of factotum posthaste to get heal as a class skill and enter thief of life on time, like a normal person.

Inspiration is super at low levels, and while cunning knowledge will be sort of underwhelming in the mid-levels (since this exercise was only up to 10) since it adds your factotum lvl onto skill checks (which is 1 by the rules) it will still be a nice boost every once in a while while you're still low level and the DCs for everything are nice and low. use cunning insight on damage when you're able to pop off a sneak attack at low levels, because the extra 3 points of damage on top of your 2d6 might be able to knock an enemy into the negatives

Thief of Life's lifesense combined with your darkstalker feat means that you can see the enemy even if they're hidden/invisible, but they can't see you. you're maxing hide and MS (for assassin later) so make the most of it before enemies get a way to detect you reliably and then laugh at that with darkstalker. this also removes spot and listen from being as important (since this character is so skillstarved)

beguiler is a spontaneous arcane caster, which qualifies it for versatile spellcaster, allowing it to go nova and cast a 2nd lvl spell while burning 1st lvl slots. this is balanced out because burning through all your firsts when you only have 3/day is kind of a stupid thing to do, but we don't care about that because we don't want to cast 2nd level spells, we just want to be able to for master spellthief. since we are level 5, versatile spellcaster must come after we have a spontaneous casting class at level 6 and then master spellthief can come at level 9 when we can cast 2nd lvl arcane spells.

Ardent Dilettante is more of a thematic choice than a mechanical one. in a build that can't take more than one level of each class, this one is almost a must. it's easy to qualify for (the first level at least, unlike other PrCs, you have to meet new prereqs to take lvl 4, 7, and 10) and you get "lore" which is like bardic knowledge and heightened senses, which give a bonus (1+class lvl/2, so 1) on spot/listen, search, and sense motive checks, which the latent trapsmith in you will appreciate

it's 9/10ths casting, so the first level doesn't help spellcasting (as usual) which made the rest of the build... challenging, to say the least

like factotum and exemplar, it treats all skills as class skills, allowing you to put 5 points into autohypnosis (keyed off wis) (+2 bonus to know(psionics) if they're in your game. you can put some of the points I put in diplomacy there. diplomacy's not necessary after the 4 ranks for mindbender, I just like it) autohypnosis allows you to spit in craven's face by letting you reroll an autohypnosis check against the same DC of a fear effect after you fail your save. skills are much easier to boost for a skillmonkey than saves, so you can laugh in the face of danger as much as you want. 5 in concentration also gives you a +2 synergy bonus to autohypnosis checks, so you ought to make it most of the time. you also should have some ranks in concentration since you're a spellcaster (kind of)

trapsmith requires trapfinding to qualify, so keep at least one of your earlier ones from spellthief, factotum, or beguiler if your DM allows you to trade some or all of them away (trade your rogue one for penetrating strike though. mimic is just here for flavour since this character is a disguise/stealth/trickery machine) this is here for the spells. it also allows you to lay traps so you can avoid direct combat, which you ought to appreciate since your beguiler/trapsmith spells don't deal damage and you hilariously have a BA of +0 right up to 10th level due to dipping 1 lvl in 8 3/4 BA classes and 1 lvl in 2 1/2 BA classes. you are going to have an absolute devil of a time ever hitting anything, so stay out of combat as much as possible and try to line up SAs that deny dex (and flank too if possible, those odds must be stacked in your favour)

if your character ever manages to kill someone (build a gunpowder bomb if your game is somewhat realistic about its medieval tech, the crossbows couldn't kill a housecat) then congratulations, you've just qualified for assassin! you now have poison use, which means your traps just began to suck a lot less. crossbow bolts may not deal much damage, but they do hold a load of poison quite aptly. poison use pre-assassin was possible as well and autohypnosis does allow you to make a check against the same DC to avoid secondary poison damage, but not primary. your fort save is abysmal (dip 2 classes w/ good, 8 w/ bad for +4 at lvl 10) and you have better places to spend your points than con (blasphemy I know) since you're not a combat model.

you're good at hiding, have darkstalker and lifesense as well, so you can sneak up on people in darkness even if you can't around, you can see them thanks to lifesense. the save on your death attack is going to be kind of ****ty, but if you can debuff the enemy with con draining poison using your crossbow traps and are able to observe them for long enough, you might be able to squeeze off a death attack. make full use of your disguise abilities (mimic ftw) as this is the best way to get close to a mark for the death attack without him noticing you, much easier than hiding. as far as adaptation goes, tack on the LA +1 dark creature template from tome of magic if your DM doesn't mind cheese. I avoided doing it here because it is seldom allowed, OP, and it leaves me less room for class shenanigans. HiPS is always good though, and the bonus to hide/MS it provides will help a lot when it comes to sneaking up on people for death attacks/SAs. it'd definitely help out for combat if that's very important in your games. if you don't like arcane dilettante, this build can still do all its tricks without it, so lvl 6 would be a fine point to tack it on

mindbender gives telepathy (awesome) and if you were playing this character past lvl 10 or your DM allows flaws, taking mindsight is a must. mindsight+lifesense=winning. nothing'll ever sneak up on you again. it also gives you another spell known from the ridiculous trapsmith list and this is the level when master spellthief comes online

it pools all your arane caster levels (for the purpose of caster level things) and also lets you steal more spells if you actually do that (a spellthief stealing spells? preposterous) so since mindbender adds another level onto your trapsmith level, it's treated as 2, so spellthief 1 + factotum 1 + beguiler 1+ trapsmith 2 + assassin 1= 6, so the CL for all your spells (and factotum's arcane dilettante ability, which is far more useful than it has any right to be) is 6, which is great since haste that only lasts 1 round is almost worse than no haste at all.

chameleon is the logical culmination of this build because it can do a little of everything and chameleon can help with that. flip and flop between arcane and divine focus as needed (depending on how many scrolls your DM lets you find) and add all the cool stuff that you want. switch your FFF to scribe scroll so you can double up on your trapsmith, assassin, and beguiler spells by adding them to your chameleon spellbook.

as far as weaknesses go, his fort save is a little higher than a straight class with poor fort saves, so that's something, and his will save is downright respectable. his ref save is amazing, and it's a real shame that it's impossible for him to get evasion in this contest, because he would make great use of it.

his base attack is 0 at level 10 which is too hilarious for words. I kind of want to play this character now just to see how it'll work out.

thanks for the challenge! this was awesome

[Lateral]

Wait, so ML 9/10 isn't synergistic?
Your build doesn't have ML 9/10.

Any Full BAB 1/Fighter 1/Crusader 1/Warblade 1/Ardent 1/Slayer 1/Thrallherd 1/Elocater 1/Sanctified Mind 1/Anarchic Initiate 1/

Practiced manifest?? will fix you good here. ML 9, and Thrallherd. Just... thrallherd.
The first four levels have no ML advancement, Slayer 1 has no ML advancement, Thrallherd 1 has no ML advancement, and Sanctified Mind 1 has no ML advancement. Even with Practiced Manifester, your ML is only 7 and you only have 4th level powers. Plus, your PP blows.

[Curmudgeon]

trapsmith requires trapfinding to qualify, so keep at least one of your earlier ones from spellthief, factotum, or beguiler if your DM allows you to trade some or all of them away (trade your rogue one for penetrating strike though.
Penetrating Strike is for trap sense (Rogue level 3 ability), not trapfinding (Rogue level 1 ability), so that's not going to work. There are a few things you can trade Rogue trapfinding for (bonus to Appraise for divine items, Poison Use; others with the right race), but Penetrating Strike isn't one of them.

[lorddrake]

Wait, so ML 9/10 isn't synergistic?

I never said yours weren't. I haven't really looked into yours thoroughly, but I've read Curmudgeon who specified every detail of his build. I'll say more soon.

[Doc Roc]

Your build doesn't have ML 9/10.

The first four levels have no ML advancement, Slayer 1 has no ML advancement, Thrallherd 1 has no ML advancement, and Sanctified Mind 1 has no ML advancement. Even with Practiced Manifester, your ML is only 7 and you only have 4th level powers. Plus, your PP blows.

I appear to be brutally illiterate. Yeouch.

[Venger]

Penetrating Strike is for trap sense (Rogue level 3 ability), not trapfinding (Rogue level 1 ability), so that's not going to work. There are a few things you can trade Rogue trapfinding for (bonus to Appraise for divine items, Poison Use; others with the right race), but Penetrating Strike isn't one of them.

Whoops! thanks for the correction. my mistake. Antiquarian is the appraise thingy, and poison use is drow only, so I can't do it with a human character. I went with EoE's mimic for the whole disguise motif

[Curmudgeon]

Antiquarian is the appraise thingy, and poison use is drow only, so I can't do it with a human character.
The Poison Use ACF isn't Drow-only. While it's explained in terms of Drow society (which is perhaps helpful if you're using Drow of the Underdark in building a Drow character), there's no racial requirement for this ACF.

Of course, this option's only going to matter if you have a need for Poison Use before your Assassin level. Poison Use twice isn't a whole lot better than trapfinding four times. :smallsigh:

[Venger]

The Poison Use ACF isn't Drow-only. While it's explained in terms of Drow society (which is perhaps helpful if you're using Drow of the Underdark in building a Drow character), there's no racial requirement for this ACF.

Of course, this option's only going to matter if you have a need for Poison Use before your Assassin level. Poison Use twice isn't a whole lot better than trapfinding four times. :smallsigh:

oh, silly me, you're right now that I check DotU

well yeah, assassin's poison use ought to be enough

[Myth]

Grey Elf AJ Conjurer 1
Elf Paragon 1
Master Conjurer 1
Abjurant Champion 1
Geometer 1
Fatespinner 1
Incantatrix 1
Wayfarer Guide 1
Spellguard of Silverymoon 1
Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil 1

I'm sure I have messed up on the order and the perquisites (I'm at work. Hence, away from my books. Not that I'm working that much atm), but I'm certain it's possible to make a 10/10 caster level Wizard with 1 level dips in everything.

[CommodoreCrunch]

Magic Missile Necromancer

Here I have done my best to optimize the use of Magic Missile. I've only touched spellcasters that can learn Magic Missile, and I've poured my prestige class spellcasting increases into Warmage, mostly to get maximum benefit from Armored Mage should my Twilight Armor break, etc. It's also nice to have the flexibility of on-the-fly metamagicing spontaneous casting offers.
There's not much I can do to increase Magic Missile's damage, so I've chosen to abuse Negative Levels. With Arcane Thesis and Practical Metamagic, I can spit out Fell Drain Magic Missiles all day long, and if I sense a foe who's one negative level from dying, I can throw a reduced-cost Fell Drain, Fell Animate Magic Missile his way and get a cuddly, wuddly zombie pal out of it.
At lower levels the build can't do this, so I picked up Energy Substitution and Born of Three Thunders to be an annoyance and help provide some minor battlefield control. Plus, Magic Missiles that go BOOM and throw people to the ground are just funny.
That's about it. The build is fairly straightforward. Every spell prepared and cast is at least a Fell Drain Magic Missile. Twenty-five missiles/day+wild magic equals anywhere between 50 and 125 negative levels each day, given sufficient targets.

Silverbrow Human
*Dragonblood Subtype
*Feather Fall (Sp) 3/day
*+2 Racial bonus on Disguise checks

Languages: Common, Draconic, Aquan
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

32 Point Buy
{table=head]Ability|Score
Str|8
Dex|12
Con|14
Int|16
Wis|8
Cha|22

[/table]
+1 to Charisma at 4th and 8th

Feats
*Bonus Feat at 1st from Human
*Flaws Meager Fortitude and Noncombatant at 1st for two bonus feats
*Bonus Feat (Scribe Scroll) from Wizard
*Feat at 3rd
*Bonus Metamagic Feat (Born of Three Thunders) from Wu Jen
*Feat at 6th
*Feat at 9th
*Three Bonus Vile Feats for serving an Elder Evil
*Embrace the Dark Chaos+Shun the Dark Chaos three times (using Demonic Skin as an intermediary) to cycle out Scribe Scroll, Deformity (Face) and Abominable Form for Rapid Metamagic, Practical Metamagic (Fell Drain) and Practical Metamagic (Fell Animate)

Spells/Day

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

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

Wu Jen Spells per day
{table=head]0th|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

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


Detailed Build
{table=head]Level|Class|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1|Factotum|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Hide 4, K:(Arcana) 4, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 4|Fell Drain, Snowcasting, Frozen Magic, Magical Aptitude|Inspiration, Cunning Insight, Cunning Knowledge, Trapfinding

2|Wizard|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Hide 5, K:(Arcana) 5, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 5, Spot 5, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 5, Use Magic Device 4|Scribe Scroll|Summon Familiar, Focused Specialist (Evocation/Enchantment+Transmutation)

3|Warmage|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+4|Hide 6, K:(Arcana) 6, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 6, Spot 6, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 6, Use Magic Device 4|Energy Substitution (Elec)|Armored Mage (Light), Warmage Edge

4|Wu Jen|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+6|Hide 7, K:(Arcana) 7, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 7, Spot 7, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 7, Use Magic Device 4|Born of Three Thunders|Watchful Spirit, Bonus Feat

5|Sorcerer|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+8|Hide 8, K:(Arcana) 8, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 8, Spot 8, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 8, Use Magic Device 4|Willing Deformity, Abominable Form|Summon Familiar

6|Unseen Seer|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+10|Hide 9, K:(Arcana) 9, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 5, Search 8, Spot 9, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 9, Use Magic Device 4|Arcane Thesis (Magic Missile)|Sneak Attack 1d6, Spellcasting (Warmage)

7|Ruathar|
+0|
+0|
+4|
+12|Hide 10, K:(Arcana) 10, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 8, Search 8, Spot 10, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 10, Use Magic Device 4|-|Word of Friendship, Gift of the Elves, Spellcasting (Warmage)

8|Frostmage|
+0|
+0|
+4|
+14|Hide 11, K:(Arcana) 11, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 9, Search 8, Spot 11, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 11, Use Magic Device 4|-|Natural Armor Increase (+1), Spellcasting (Warmage)

9|Wild Mage|
+0|
+0|
+6|
+16|Hide 12, K:(Arcana) 12, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 10, Search 8, Spot 12, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 12, Use Magic Device 4|Fell Animate|Wild Magic, Spellcasting (Warmage)

10|Wyrm Wizard|
+0|
+0|
+6|
+18|Hide 13, K:(Arcana) 13, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 11, Search 8, Spot 13, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 13, Use Magic Device 4| Deformity (Face); Dark Chaos Shuffle: Rapid Metamagic, Practical Metamagic (Fell Drain), Practical Metamagic (Fell Animate)|Knowledge of the Wyrm, Spellcasting (Warmage)[/table]

Purchases
*Three rounds of Embrace+Shun the Dark Chaos: 14,700gp
*Cloak of Charisma +2: 4,000gp
*Headband of Intellect +2: 4,000gp
*Ring of Protection +3: 16,000gp
*+1 Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt: 5,250gp

I could have done better here, but digging through magic items can get so damn tedious. Regardless, this comes to a total of 43,950gp spent of 49,000.

Awesome Factors
*Capable of killing a wide array of foes with Magic Missile.
*Capable of Raising The Dead with Magic Missile.
*Magic Missiles that knock you on your ass.
*Magic. Missile.
*Wild Magic is just silly.

Books Used

Player's Handbook (Wizard, Sorcerer, Scribe Scroll, Magical Aptitude)
Player's Handbook II (Arcane Thesis)
Dungeon Master's Guide (Magic items)
Dungeonscape (Factotum)
Complete Mage (Focussed Specialist, Unseen Seer, Rapid Metamagic)
Complete Arcane (Warmage, Wu Jen, Wild Mage, Energy Substitution, Born of Three Thunders)
Frostburn (Frostmage, Snowcasting, Frozen Magic)
Dragon Magic (Silverbrow Human, Wyrm Wizard)
Races of the Dragon (Practical Metamagic)
Races of the Wild (Ruathar)
Magic Item Compendium (Twilight armor enhancement)
Libris Mortis (Fell Drain and Fell Animate)
Fiendish Codex I (Shun the Dark Chaos, Embrace the Dark Chaos, Demonic Skin)
Elder Evils (Willing Deformity, Abominable Form, Deformity (Face))
Unearthed Arcana (Flaws)
(I think I remembered everything...)

[Curmudgeon]

Magic Missile Necromancer
Unseen Seer doesn't get "Sneak Attack 1d6"; instead it gets "damage bonus +1d6", which will only give an increase to existing sneak attack, sudden strike, or skirmish damage. Your build doesn't have any of those, so no benefit.

[lorddrake]

Magic Missile Necromancer

Here I have done my best to optimize the use of Magic Missile. I've only touched spellcasters that can learn Magic Missile, and I've poured my prestige class spellcasting increases into Warmage, mostly to get maximum benefit from Armored Mage should my Twilight Armor break, etc. It's also nice to have the flexibility of on-the-fly metamagicing spontaneous casting offers.
There's not much I can do to increase Magic Missile's damage, so I've chosen to abuse Negative Levels. With Arcane Thesis and Practical Metamagic, I can spit out Fell Drain Magic Missiles all day long, and if I sense a foe who's one negative level from dying, I can throw a reduced-cost Fell Drain, Fell Animate Magic Missile his way and get a cuddly, wuddly zombie pal out of it.
At lower levels the build can't do this, so I picked up Energy Substitution and Born of Three Thunders to be an annoyance and help provide some minor battlefield control. Plus, Magic Missiles that go BOOM and throw people to the ground are just funny.
That's about it. The build is fairly straightforward. Every spell prepared and cast is at least a Fell Drain Magic Missile. Twenty-five missiles/day+wild magic equals anywhere between 50 and 125 negative levels each day, given sufficient targets.

Silverbrow Human
*Dragonblood Subtype
*Feather Fall (Sp) 3/day
*+2 Racial bonus on Disguise checks

Languages: Common, Draconic, Aquan
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

32 Point Buy
{table=head]Ability|Score
Str|8
Dex|12
Con|14
Int|16
Wis|8
Cha|22

[/table]
+1 to Charisma at 4th and 8th

Feats
*Bonus Feat at 1st from Human
*Flaws Meager Fortitude and Noncombatant at 1st for two bonus feats
*Bonus Feat (Scribe Scroll) from Wizard
*Feat at 3rd
*Bonus Metamagic Feat (Born of Three Thunders) from Wu Jen
*Feat at 6th
*Feat at 9th
*Three Bonus Vile Feats for serving an Elder Evil
*Embrace the Dark Chaos+Shun the Dark Chaos three times (using Demonic Skin as an intermediary) to cycle out Scribe Scroll, Deformity (Face) and Abominable Form for Rapid Metamagic, Practical Metamagic (Fell Drain) and Practical Metamagic (Fell Animate)

Spells/Day

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

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

Wu Jen Spells per day
{table=head]0th|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

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


Detailed Build
{table=head]Level|Class|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1|Factotum|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Hide 4, K:(Arcana) 4, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 4|Fell Drain, Snowcasting, Frozen Magic, Magical Aptitude|Inspiration, Cunning Insight, Cunning Knowledge, Trapfinding

2|Wizard|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Hide 5, K:(Arcana) 5, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 5, Spot 5, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 5, Use Magic Device 4|Scribe Scroll|Summon Familiar, Focused Specialist (Evocation/Enchantment+Transmutation)

3|Warmage|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+4|Hide 6, K:(Arcana) 6, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 6, Spot 6, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 6, Use Magic Device 4|Energy Substitution (Elec)|Armored Mage (Light), Warmage Edge

4|Wu Jen|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+6|Hide 7, K:(Arcana) 7, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 7, Spot 7, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 7, Use Magic Device 4|Born of Three Thunders|Watchful Spirit, Bonus Feat

5|Sorcerer|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+8|Hide 8, K:(Arcana) 8, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 4, Search 8, Spot 8, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 8, Use Magic Device 4|Willing Deformity, Abominable Form|Summon Familiar

6|Unseen Seer|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+10|Hide 9, K:(Arcana) 9, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 5, Search 8, Spot 9, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 9, Use Magic Device 4|Arcane Thesis (Magic Missile)|Sneak Attack 1d6, Spellcasting (Warmage)

7|Ruathar|
+0|
+0|
+4|
+12|Hide 10, K:(Arcana) 10, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 8, Search 8, Spot 10, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 10, Use Magic Device 4|-|Word of Friendship, Gift of the Elves, Spellcasting (Warmage)

8|Frostmage|
+0|
+0|
+4|
+14|Hide 11, K:(Arcana) 11, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 9, Search 8, Spot 11, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 11, Use Magic Device 4|-|Natural Armor Increase (+1), Spellcasting (Warmage)

9|Wild Mage|
+0|
+0|
+6|
+16|Hide 12, K:(Arcana) 12, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 10, Search 8, Spot 12, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 12, Use Magic Device 4|Fell Animate|Wild Magic, Spellcasting (Warmage)

10|Wyrm Wizard|
+0|
+0|
+6|
+18|Hide 13, K:(Arcana) 13, K:(Nature) 4, K:(The Planes) 4, Listen 11, Search 8, Spot 13, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 13, Use Magic Device 4| Deformity (Face); Dark Chaos Shuffle: Rapid Metamagic, Practical Metamagic (Fell Drain), Practical Metamagic (Fell Animate)|Knowledge of the Wyrm, Spellcasting (Warmage)[/table]

Purchases
*Three rounds of Embrace+Shun the Dark Chaos: 14,700gp
*Cloak of Charisma +2: 4,000gp
*Headband of Intellect +2: 4,000gp
*Ring of Protection +3: 16,000gp
*+1 Twilight Mithral Chain Shirt: 5,250gp

I could have done better here, but digging through magic items can get so damn tedious. Regardless, this comes to a total of 43,950gp spent of 49,000.

Awesome Factors
*Capable of killing a wide array of foes with Magic Missile.
*Capable of Raising The Dead with Magic Missile.
*Magic Missiles that knock you on your ass.
*Magic. Missile.
*Wild Magic is just silly.

Books Used

Player's Handbook (Wizard, Sorcerer, Scribe Scroll, Magical Aptitude)
Player's Handbook II (Arcane Thesis)
Dungeon Master's Guide (Magic items)
Dungeonscape (Factotum)
Complete Mage (Focussed Specialist, Unseen Seer, Rapid Metamagic)
Complete Arcane (Warmage, Wu Jen, Wild Mage, Energy Substitution, Born of Three Thunders)
Frostburn (Frostmage, Snowcasting, Frozen Magic)
Dragon Magic (Silverbrow Human, Wyrm Wizard)
Races of the Dragon (Practical Metamagic)
Races of the Wild (Ruathar)
Magic Item Compendium (Twilight armor enhancement)
Libris Mortis (Fell Drain and Fell Animate)
Fiendish Codex I (Shun the Dark Chaos, Embrace the Dark Chaos, Demonic Skin)
Elder Evils (Willing Deformity, Abominable Form, Deformity (Face))
Unearthed Arcana (Flaws)
(I think I remembered everything...)


I found your build very funny and interesting. My players would love it, because Magic Missile became a running gag on our group.

Very nice!

[CommodoreCrunch]

Unseen Seer doesn't get "Sneak Attack 1d6"; instead it gets "damage bonus +1d6", which will only give an increase to existing sneak attack, sudden strike, or skirmish damage. Your build doesn't have any of those, so no benefit. Ah yes, that's right. Guess that's what I get for doing this at two in the morning. It doesn't matter anyways, since the build can't use it with its primary offensive tool. It's very much a one trick pony.

[Tyndmyr]

Grey Elf AJ Conjurer 1
Elf Paragon 1
Master Conjurer 1
Abjurant Champion 1
Geometer 1
Fatespinner 1
Incantatrix 1
Wayfarer Guide 1
Spellguard of Silverymoon 1
Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil 1

I'm sure I have messed up on the order and the perquisites (I'm at work. Hence, away from my books. Not that I'm working that much atm), but I'm certain it's possible to make a 10/10 caster level Wizard with 1 level dips in everything.

You've got the same initial three levels I would...but level 4 is alo posing me a problem.

Abj Champion, you do not meet the qualifications for at all, btw.

[Gullintanni]

You've got the same initial three levels I would...but level 4 is alo posing me a problem.

Abj Champion, you do not meet the qualifications for at all, btw.

Is it possible to squeeze out 3rd level arcane spells by 3rd level via Earth Spell/Sanctum spell etc? That's the trick you used to qualify for Master Specialist right?

If you could get 3rd level spells, you could pick up Rainbow Servant as your 4th level, which is full casting if Text > Table.

[kulosle]

abjurant champion has a BAB requirement doesn't it? also there are plenty of classes you can get into early by using apprentice, versatile spellcasting, earth spell, and sanctum spell.

Can we please assume we are using the fractional progression, other wise the BAB is going to suck for almost all these characters.

I would guess that the best character you could make with this would be a kobold sorcerer. kobold make early entry easy, +3 to sorcerer level for two feats. your other feat you take versatile spellcasting.

[Tyndmyr]

Is it possible to squeeze out 3rd level arcane spells by 3rd level via Earth Spell/Sanctum spell etc? That's the trick you used to qualify for Master Specialist right?

If you could get 3rd level spells, you could pick up Rainbow Servant as your 4th level, which is full casting if Text > Table.

Rainbow servant as 4th would help.

And the good news is, I can cheese my way into another full casting class at 5.

Abj Champ requires what, BaB +5? It is probably fairly unlikely to matter in this contest until the end.

[Gullintanni]

Rainbow servant as 4th would help.

And the good news is, I can cheese my way into another full casting class at 5.

Abj Champ requires what, BaB +5? It is probably fairly unlikely to matter in this contest until the end.

At which point, the cost for picking up Divine Oracle is just 8 ranks of Knowledge [Religion]. You can pick up Skill Focus [Knowledge: Religion] using the magical locations in CS, so for any level you can't find advancement for, it's basically an open option.

[Tyndmyr]

I fear skill points might still be fairly tight with this build. Usually, the skill points to get into a PrC is not a great problem, but with this many...interesting.

[Gullintanni]

I fear skill points might still be fairly tight with this build. Usually, the skill points to get into a PrC is not a great problem, but with this many...interesting.

It could be tough, but since we're using a Grey Elf, it's possible to start play with a 20 Intelligence...assuming a 32 point buy, it might be possible to eke out the necessary skills.

That'd net us 49 skill points by level 4, assuming all the classes we're using have 2+Int.

EDIT: I've also noticed, Elf Paragon is 2/3 casting, missing its CL at level 1. Unless there's something I missing, that kinda screws over the 10/10 build.

[Curmudgeon]

EDIT: I've also noticed, Elf Paragon is 2/3 casting, missing its CL at level 1. Unless there's something I missing, that kinda screws over the 10/10 build.
Half-Drow (Races of Faerûn, pages 62-63, and Drow of the Underdark, page 220) and Drow Paragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm#drowParagon) would help with full Wizard spellcasting, but it's not going to give you the INT boost for skill points. Maybe you'll have to sink feats into Open Minded (Complete Adventurer, page 111).

[Little Brother]

Father/Envy(Take your pick)
Naenhoon Illumian
Cloistered Cleric 1 - Heighten Spell, (F) Earth Sense, (F) Earth Spell
Wizard 1 - Scribe Scroll
Mystic Theurge 1 - Extra Slot
Erudite 1
Swordsage 1
Geomancer 1 - Silent Spell
Dweomerkeeper 1
Incantrix 1 - Still Spell
Mindbender 1 - Innate Spell
Now, this build is only 9 levels because I decided to buy Psychic Reformations to trade away the bonus Metapsionic feat for Supernatural Transformation. Three wishes a day, supernaturally. If that doesn't fly, for some reason, I just switch out innate spell for Skill Focus(Knowledge Religion), take a level of Divine Oracle, and then sacrifice a large city for the XP to wish for a Ring of three Wishes. Or a Candle. Or anything I want, really. Wish is fun that way.
Organization isn't my forte, sorry.

[Gullintanni]

Half-Drow (Races of Faerûn, pages 62-63, and Drow of the Underdark, page 220) and Drow Paragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm#drowParagon) would help with full Wizard spellcasting, but it's not going to give you the INT boost for skill points. Maybe you'll have to sink feats into Open Minded (Complete Adventurer, page 111).

Well...at least they get 4+int/level...a minor boost. And they can keep the build going.

[kulosle]

That build if feat starved to death. As in it can't exist due to lack of feats.

I just realized that the best build would be a beholder mage. Early entry tricks can let you get in as your second level. then take 8 classes that up arcane casting.

human
1 beguiler- practiced spell caster, sanctum spell, cosmopolitan (intimidate), assume supernatural ability (antimagic eye)
2 beholder mage
3 rainbow servant - enlarge spell
4 ruathar (from races of the wild)
5 mind bender
6 arcane devotee - iron will
7 incantrix -
8 fate spinner
9 wayfarer guide - any feat
10 sacred excorsit

skills needed
profession gambler 5, concentration 4, spell craft 8, knowledge geography 10, knowledge the planes 10, knowledge religion 7, arcana 10, bluff 4, diplomacy 4, intimidate 4, sense motive 4

[Tyndmyr]

Im pretty sure that level 2 WBL does not get you two scrolls of PaO.

[kulosle]

I'll check my cheese fu again, but i'm pretty sure you only need one.

[JaronK]

The rules:

1 The character cannot have more than one level on each class or PrC
2 The character cannot have more than LA+1
3 The character must be level 10 (and have the amount of money supposed to have by that level)
4 The character may use any book, but nothing online or dragon magazine (exception: errata)
5 The character must be awesome!

Okay, it's time for a cheesy crazy Kobold!

Basic start: Venerable Dragonwrought Desert Kobold (-4 Str, +2 Dex, +1 Wis, +3 Int, +3 Cha) with a Major Gold Dragon Bloodline (note that this doesn't raise ECL or level when you take a "bloodline level." Note also that this increases your level for certain effects by 2 for each class you have).

Lion Totem Whirling Frenzy Barbarian 1 (Grants extra attacks with rage, and pounce)
Dragonblood Sorcerer 7 (Dragons can take anything that requires dragonblood, ignoring all prerequisites... this lets you take the Sorcerer 7 substitution without taking other Sorc levels. Note that because of the wording, you still end up with just one level of Sorcerer casting this way... but you get the BAB and saves of a 7th level Sorcerer. So that's 1 level of Sorc casting, 3 BAB, +2 Fort, +2 Ref, and +5 Will)
Dragonblood Cleric 9 (As above, you get 1 level of Cleric casting along with +6 BAB, +6 Fort, +3 Ref, and +6 Will)
Marshal 1 (with Motivate Charisma, and you get Skill Focus: Diplomacy)
Binder 1 (Now you can bind Naberius)
Warlock 1 (Take the +6 to Diplomacy ability)
Fighter 1
Unarmed Swordsage 1 (your initiator level, because of the interactions of the two bloodline "levels", is 12).
Crusader 1 (Initiator level is 13).
Warblade 1 (Initiator level is now 15)

So, out of the box we've got 8th level maneuvers in one martial adept class (I went with Warblade, but you can take your pick). You've also got 7th level maneuvers in another, and 6th in the third... that's a lot of maneuvers, too.

We've also got incredible Diplomancer abilities... you can have 15 ranks in Diplomacy, +9 from Skill Focus and the Warlock ability, and double your Charisma bonus to it due to Marshal, so if you can get your Charisma to 24 (easy) you've got a +38 Diplomacy, and can use it as a standard action.

Our BAB without fractional BAB is 13, but with it it's 17. Your saves are also through the roof (with or without fractional, but even without they're all but untouchable in Fort and Will). And if you throw your feats into Pouncing, you should have no trouble slaughtering any enemy. Also, you've got a tiny touch of Sorcerer and Cleric casting... which is handy for using wands and such.

And you're a tiny death dragon thing. That's awesome, right?

JaronK

[Curmudgeon]

Dragonblood Sorcerer 7 (Dragons can take anything that requires dragonblood, ignoring all prerequisites...
This is a huge, limburgery stretch. From page 4 of Races of the Dragon:
Dragons automatically qualify for any classes, prestige classes, racial substitution levels, feats, powers, or spells that require the dragonblood subtype. Meeting the dragonblood qualification for a racial substitution level of a class, and qualifying for arbitrary levels of a class, are quite different.
Requirements
To take a dragonblood sorcerer substitution level, a character must have the dragonblood subtype and be about to take his 1st, 4th, or 7th level of sorcerer.

[JaronK]

You've quoted it yourself. The Dragonblood Sorcerer 7 (for example) has the requirements that you have to be about to take your 7th level of Sorcerer, and you must be Dragonblooded. The Dragon rule says that you automatically qualify for any racial substitution level that requires the Dragonblood subtype.

So, you qualify for Dragonblood Sorcerer 7 as soon as you count as a Dragon (which is level 2, since you get it via a feat, which you chose after class levels).

"Meeting the dragonblood qualification" is not what the Dragon type gives you. It gives you automatic qualification, which means you don't care what any other prerequisites. It doesn't say "A dragon counts as dragonblooded for all requirements" which is the interpretation you seem to be going for.

And yes, it's cheesy, but for a challenge like this it's fun to play around.

JaronK

[lorddrake]

And yes, it's cheesy, but for a challenge like this it's fun to play around.

JaronK

I'm actually in love with your kobold, JaronK!

EDIT: It's a sexy scaled god of war! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0439.html)

[Gullintanni]

This is a huge, limburgery stretch. From page 4 of Races of the Dragon: Meeting the dragonblood qualification for a racial substitution level of a class, and qualifying for arbitrary levels of a class, are quite different.

"Dragons automatically qualify for any classes, prestige classes, racial substitution levels, feats, powers, or spells that require the dragonblood subtype."

Bolded for emphasis...due to the careless wording there, the text above essentially reads:

"Dragons automatically meet all prerequisites for...stuff...that requires the Dragonblood Subtype."

Your pre-requisite could be Dragonblood Wizard Level >9000, and you'd still technically meet the prereqs as long as you were a 1HD Dragon. It's a dirty trick that any DM would be patently insane to allow but...I think it's RAW supported. :smalleek:

[kulosle]

Darn you Jaronk. :smallbiggrin: I thought that I would be the one to post the best build but nope this clearly trumps mine. Good job.

[Dr.Epic]

Is this the Fumbles challenge?:smallwink: