Iron Chef... Appetizer Edition (E6) III

[Amechra]

After long hiatus... there is another one.

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef... EPIC 6. Here in Optimization Colosseum, contestants will endeavor to create an optimized and flavorful character using a specified D&D 3.5 prestige class as a "Secret Ingredient". D&D 3.5 BASE CLASS as the "secret ingredient"

Contestants: You will need to present your build at at least one of the following points: 3rd level, 6th level, after 5 feats, after 10 feats, 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.

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 11:59pm CUT on Monday, March 12th, 2012 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, Amechra. 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, which must make up half the build, at least.


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. However, this is e6, so unless you want to be smacked, I advise a lack of characters with spells of levels higher than 3. Just saying.


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
[/table], along with a list of the first 10 bonus feats you are taking after you complete your 6th level.

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
[/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

1st|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-

6th|-|-|-|-[/table]

Code[SPOILER]Spells per day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd

1st|-|-|-|-

2nd|-|-|-|-

3rd|-|-|-|-

4th|-|-|-|-

5th|-|-|-|-

6th|-|-|-|-[/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:
Miniature Handbook's's Marshal (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b)
We will have trophies ABSOLUTELY NO TROPHIES for 1st through 3rd places, as well as a special lack of a trophy for honorable mention. People, vote for honorable mention by PMing me.

Allez optimiser!

Judges


Contestants


The Builds


Past Competitions
Divine Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197000)
Monk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201548)

[Zonugal]

Awwwwww Yeah!

[Zaq]

Oh man, it's back! Now I just need to cram enough time into or out of my schedule to make a build. One week isn't very long, but if I can find a way . . .

Also, man, E6 is NOT kind to this class. You knew that, of course, but man. NOT kind.

[Urpriest]

This is actually kind of interesting. E6 is the kind of environment where I would expect the Marshal (even Marshal 6) to not be horrendously painful. I look forward to seeing what gets presented.

[smasher0404]

Are we allowed to use the feats presented here (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/206323-e6-game-inside-d-d.html)? or are they considered off-limits?

[Amechra]

With my mighty powers of CHAIRMAN JUDGEMENT!...

Yes, they are allowed.

[grarrrg]

We will have trophies ABSOLUTELY NO TROPHIES for 1st through 3rd places, as well as a special lack of a trophy for honorable mention.

So does this mean that everyone who participates but doesn't win DOES get a trophy? :smalltongue:

[dextercorvia]

Marshal? I'll have to consider this.

[Amechra]

NO! Trophies are a potential allergen, and this meal is allergen free!

{If you know a guy who would be willing to help make trophies, on the other hand...}

[Xodion]

Awesome, I love the Marshall, and I have next week off work :smallbiggrin:. Now, I just need to learn how E6 works...

EDIT: Oh yes, I remember looking at this last year. Also, the deadline is next monday? Is it usually that soon?

[Lonely Tylenol]

It really is too bad that I can't think of a way to make a dedicated Marshal build useful before 7th level, but I'm willing to try.

[Zaq]

Hmm. I've come up with a few ideas. I think at least one is sorta original, though a couple are pretty obvious. The elephant on the room is still glaring at me, of course, but that's a problem we're all just going to have to address. I've said enough.

If I have time, I might even do two builds, but that's a really big if.

[motoko's ghost]

I'll help judge if you need judges

[Zaq]

OK, I've got the early parts of at least one build finished, but man, this class loses steam in the long run, doesn't it? It doesn't give you a lot to build on in ways that still emphasize its unique strengths, such as they are.

Also, this would be at least 60% easier if it were full BAB. Seriously.

I think I can do this, though. I love this kind of challenge.

For the record, we're cool with one person submitting multiple builds, right? I've got two divergent ideas that are just refusing to play nice with each other. I know that multiple builds are cool in normal Iron Chef, so . . .

[JoeYounger]

I've never played in one of these, but I'd like to give this a shot!

How much wbl do we get? Or are we just making builds and not actual characters?

[Cieyrin]

I've never played in one of these, but I'd like to give this a shot!

How much wbl do we get? Or are we just making builds and not actual characters?

You're building a character, who should be able to stand on its own. Generally speaking, IC entries frown on depending on specific equipment being available. Normal WBL is fine, though what normal is in Epic is somewhat up to debate. If we go strictly be XP gained, an E6 Epic character 10 feats in should be ECL 11 WBL or just shy of it.

[JoeYounger]

Awesome, I wont be dependant on an item, but an item familiar never hurt anyone amirite?! I'll start working with normal WBL for a level 10 character, but I'd appreciate it if I get get an official responce on how much there is to work with.

Also, can I get a ruling on if its ok to do a LA buy off and start with 9 extra feats?

Also, are typical E6 feats like the +1 bab on the table?

[Cieyrin]

Item familiars are likely to get you hit in Elegance, due to the main contest's banning of them, though I leave that to individual judge's interpretation.

For LA, I would assume you'd use the normal change of point buy via amount of LA thing E6 has.

For the last....I leave that to Amechra.

[JoeYounger]

Ok, yeah, I didn't know that they were banned in the typical IC, not did I know about the ob thing. Is there a place where I can find stuff like that? Or should I just start reading the old ic posts?

[Cieyrin]

Ok, yeah, I didn't know that they were banned in the typical IC, not did I know about the ob thing. Is there a place where I can find stuff like that? Or should I just start reading the old ic posts?

All I'm saying is Item Familiars aren't explicitly banned here but, like a lot of material in Unearthed Arcana, may get you hit point-wise for using it.

Looking at the main contest or previous Appetizer rounds are a good way to see what works well and what doesn't for the contest, though, really, make what you think will work well for the contest. If you like what you made, the judges may share the sentiment.

[JoeYounger]

Awesome, thanks for the input! :)

[Lonely Tylenol]

You're building a character, who should be able to stand on its own. Generally speaking, IC entries frown on depending on specific equipment being available. Normal WBL is fine, though what normal is in Epic is somewhat up to debate. If we go strictly be XP gained, an E6 Epic character 10 feats in should be ECL 11 WBL or just shy of it.

I would like a ruling on this, because while in terms of strict EXP comparison, E6+10 feats is ECL 11, the game recommends considering PCs to be one ECL higher for every 5 feats they have after reaching level 6 (which means E6+10 feats is ECL 8). It would be nice to know where we are going forward from.

[Amechra]

In my opinion, the ECL is used primarily to make sure CRs match up; you are stuck with ECL 6 WBL, I'm afraid.

[MukkTB]

Is too bad speculation is banned or I'd be having fun. I'll probably submit a build but I don't have the system mastery to make much of this.

[DeAnno]

The topic doesn't have a specific exemption for Dragon Magazine Compendium; that's allowed as normal right?

[Amechra]

It is allowed.

[Zaq]

How many judges do we have? We probably need more.

I'm eager to see the reveal. My submission has been sent. I can't wait to see how it stacks up!

[DeAnno]

Submitted.

[The Underlord]

I'm here if you need judges.

[Amechra]

Let's get down to buisness
To defeat the huns.
Did they send me daughters
When I asked for sons?



Chief Silent-Tongue, Dragonwrought Kobold

Marshal 1/Sorcerer 2/Marshal +2/Mindbender 1

Chief Silent Tongue is a Marshal/Sorcerer that specializes in leading groups of sneaky, ranged characters on raids and ambushes, and is also eminently capable of infiltrating an enemy alone for espionage and sabotage. As one might expect, he makes a fine leader for a tribe of Kobolds, with more than a few tricks up his sleeves and a surprising amount of raw power.

Fluff

Cloudscale waited eagerly for the start of his first battle. The war-band was hidden in the woods just East of the trail, waiting for the party of greedy human traders to pass so they could take their riches. It was day so Cloudscale would have trouble seeing, but Chief Silent-Tongue always made sure everyone had Sunglasses to see in daytime. Cloudscale wasn't actually too good at hiding, but Chief Silent-Tongue had told him in his head just where to sit behnd the tree and warned him that his tail was sticking out. Cloudscale wouldn't have been confident alone, but Chief Silent-Tongue was a Dragon and he never lost.

Soon, the caravan was passing by and Cloudscale wanted to jump out, but Chief Silent-Tongue told him in his head he had to wait for the right time so he waited, and waited, and just when he couldn't wait anymore Chief Silent-Tongue told everyone in their heads to attack and sprayed a big cone of Grease all over the traders and their caravan. Chief Silent-Tongue told him in his head who to shoot, and he shot him right through the neck while he was slipping over the Grease.

All the humans looked real confused, and the ones that weren't confused anymore were dead. Chief Silent-Tongue didn't let up though, and told everyone to switch to wands and fire a volley. Most of them didn't know much about wands, but Chief Silent-Tongue did and he was in all their heads. Cloudscale pulled out his wand and waved it at one of the big armored humans coming at them and a big ball of acid came out splashed him right in the head. He was pretty surprised it worked since he usually couldn't get it on the first try, but when Chief Silent-Tongue was there everything worked better.

Soon the battle was over and all the humans were either dead or had run away, except one on the ground. Acid and grease were everywhere and the whole place looked like a big Dragon had breathed on it a whole lot. Bold as a big Dragon himself, little Chief Silent-Tongue walked right up to the hurt human on the ground and stared in his eyes for a little bit, and the human stared right back and didn't look too afraid. I guess that just shows how dumb humans are, since a minute later Chief Silent-Tongue was done with the human and killed him with more acid. Chief Silent-Tongue said in their heads he knew where everything was now and told Cloudscale to go to the Caravan with 3 holes in the side and get the scrolls from inside.

Everyone was doing their jobs getting stuff and packing up the riches, and Chief Silent-Tongue had gotten some of the human food and given it to everyone to eat. When they were done they hustled back into the woods and left the rest of the destroyed caravan and all the dead humans on the road. If this was what battles were like Cloudscale couldn't wait for the next one.


The Build


Point Buy 32, Venerable Dragonwrought Kobold (with Web Enhancement ('http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a'))
{table=head]Ability Score|Buy Cost|Base Score|Modifiers|Final Score


Strength|
0|
8|
-4 Racial|
4

Dexterity|
4|
12|
+2 Racial|
14

Constitution|
6|
14|
-2 Racial|
12

Intelligence|
5|
13|
+3 Age|
16

Wisdom|
1|
9|
+3 Age|
12

Charisma|
16|
18|
+3 Age, +1 HD|
22[/table]


Chief Silent-Tongue
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Marshal 1|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|4 Bluff, 2* Concentration, 4 Diplomacy, 2* Hide, 4 Intimidate, 4 Sense Motive, 2* Tumble|Dragonwrought (Green), Skill Focus (Diplomacy)|Minor Aura (Motivate Charisma), Rite of Draconic Passage (Disguise Self)

2nd|Sorcerer 1 (Dragonblood)|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+4|4 Move Silently, 1 Use Magic Device|Draconic Heritage (Green)|Arcane Insight +2

3rd|Sorcerer 2|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+5|2 Move Silently, 3 Concentration|Practiced Spellcaster|-

4th|Marshal 2|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+6|1 Bluff, 1* Concentration, 1* Move Silently, 1* Hide|-|Major Aura (Motivate Urgency)

5th|Marshal 3|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+6|2 Bluff, 1* Move Silently, 1* Hide, 1 Sense Motive|-|Minor Aura (Motivate Dexterity)

6th|Mindbender 1|
+3|
+5|
+1|
+8|3 Concentration, 1* Move Silently|Draconic Reservoir|Telepathy 100 feet, Greater Rite of Draconic Passage
[/table]

Spells per day
{table=head]Level|0th|1st|2nd

1st|-|-|-

2nd|5|5|-

3rd|6|6|-

4th|6|6|-

5th|6|6|-

6th|6|8|5[/table]

Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0th|1st|2nd|New Spells

1st|-|-|-|-

2nd|4|2|-|Charm, Grease, Caltrops, Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Mage Hand

3rd|5|2|-|Read Magic

4th|5|2|-|-

5th|5|2|-|-

6th|6|3|1|Invisibility, Lesser Orb of Acid, Ghost Sound[/table]

Extra Feats
1)Combat Charm
2)Silent Spell
3)Sculpt Spell
4)Acidic Splatter
5)Craft Wand

6)Extra Spell: Color Spray
7)Versatile Spellcaster
8)Mindsight
9)Extra Spell: Create Trap
10)Extra Spell: Shock and Awe



Levels 1-3

Dragonwrought Kobold: As a low level Marshal you want as high a Charisma bonus as possible to boost up your Minor Auras, and there's no better deal than the +3 Cha from Dragonwrought Kobold for 0 LA. Kobold is also extremely useful as a Sorcerer, giving us Disguise Self as an SLA with the Rite of Draconic Passage and eventually an extra level of Sorcerer casting with the Greater Rite. Unfortunately these luxuries cost us our 1st and 6th level feats, but the sacrifice is worth it. In addition, the Slight Build and small size offer a +8 bonus to Hide checks, great for Ambush tactics.

Minor Aura: Motivate Charisma: This aura is actually most useful for yourself right now, but you can get a whole lot of use out of it. Effectively your Charisma bonus for checks and skills is doubled to +10, letting you get away with a lot of stuff combined with your already high social skills. In addition, this is useful for helping nearby allies with Wands they might have scavenged, giving them a +5 bonus to UMD checks. As Silent-Tongue grows he'll get more and more use out of this Aura.

Disguise Self (SLA): This is most useful to disguise yourself as some less hated small creature, like a Halfling or Gnome, so you can easily approach your enemies or enter populated areas. Your outrageous Charisma and social skills will synergize well with this, and often you'll be able to dismantle a group from the inside using this tactic.

Charm Person: This is most useful right now if you can get somebody alone while Disguised to persuade them to do useful things like giving you information, wandering off into the wilderness, or picking disagreements with erstwhile allies. Normally, it can be difficult making the opposed Charisma checks required to get the most out of this spell, but with your +10 (and rising) Charisma checks you should have an easier time than most.

Grease, Caltrops: Grease is your weapon of choice for leading ambushes now, setting up ranged sneak attack for your Rogue friends and slowing down melee attackers from getting at your party. Caltrops is sort of a lesser Grease that you can set up before the battle in a strategic location or use when your slots are running low. Liberal use of both will be great for hit and run tactics.

Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Mage Hand: Standard useful cantrips.

Dragon Heritage (Green): Since being a Kobold gives us a +8 to Hide checks, Green Dragon Heritage is handy for picking up a better Move Silently Check. The Dragonwrought feat gives us +2 and we will buy up lots of Move Silently Skill ranks as well.

Practiced Spellcaster: This feat will allow us to qualify for Mindbender, fix problems with being behind against SR, and make our Lesser Orb of Acid damage respectable.

3rd Level Pertinent Statistics:

Marshal/Magic:
Minor Auras: Motivate Charisma +5
Spell Save DC (1st level spells): 16

Skills/Checks modifiers (assumes Cha aura, no check penalties):
Charisma: +10
Initiative: +2
Bluff: +14 = +4+10
Concentration: +6 = +5+1
Diplomacy: +17 = +4+10+3
Disguise (with Disguise Self): +20 = +10+10
Hide: +12 = +2+2+8
Intimidate: +10 = +4+10-4
Move Silently: +10 = +6+2+2
Sense Motive: +5 = +4+1
Tumble: +3 = +1+2
Use Magic Device: +11 = +1+10

Defenses: (highly gear dependent, assumes Chain Shirt and no Magic)
HP: 15
AC: 18 = 10+2+4+1+1
Fort: +3 = +2+1
Refl: +2 = +0+2
Will: +6 = +5+1


Levels 4-6

Note: It is assumed that you begged, borrowed, or stole a +2 Cloak of Charisma or similar by now as it is common as dirt and your most important possible piece of gear. With the stat bump, your Charisma is now 24.

Major Aura: Motivate Urgency: While most of the major Auras are pretty underwhelming with a +1 bonus, Motivate Urgency can actually be very useful for leading raids. That extra 5 feet of speed means your side wins in a footrace, and will usually be able to escape melee pursuit. Escapes are aided and abetted by strategic Grease and Caltrops.

Motivate Dexterity: This is the optimal alpha-strike Aura, netting Hide, Move Silently, and Initiative all at once. Unfortunately at level 5 it is difficult to use this to help your allies hide as you must make noise to communicate with them, but this will be solved at level 6 with Telepathy. In any case a +7 bonus for the entire group to Hide, Move Silently, and Initiative is extremely useful for setting up Ambushes and successfully carrying them out. Often you will set an ambush, try to do a large amount of damage in a round or two, then flee battle with your party to set another Ambush before melee can close with you.

Telepathy 100 feet: This is the reason you are a Mindbender, and in fact it is even a large part of the reason you are a Sorcerer. Having telepathy means your party can take full advantage of Motivate Dexterity's Alpha Strike potential without giving away your position by speaking. Telepathy is also extremely useful with Charm Person as it allows you to communicate silently with someone already charmed, to either prevent detection or to allay suspicion.

Draconic Reservoir and Greater Rite of Passage: The extra level of Sorcerer spells is huge because it gets you your second level spell, Invisibility, AND second level spell slots (which will be great with metamagic later). Even Draconic Reservoir itself gives you more uses of the Disguise Self SLA, which is quite useful as well.

Lesser Orb of Acid: This is your main form of hit point offense, and generally used when Charm Person won't work and Grease is already covered. This spell tends to actually be more useful as a wand for your allies, which you will eventually be able to craft yourself. It tends to make a very good weapon for Rogues due to ignoring SR, being a ranged touch attack, and having a good energy type. Lastly, it is thematic with your Green Dragon Heritage.

Invisibility: This allows for a less diplomatic method of infiltration than Disguise Self, and can also be used on other members of your party. It is useful but expensive to use with alpha strikes; its best use is with Scouting, especially combined with Telepathy for the silent communications.

6th Level Pertinent Statistics:

Marshal/Magic:
Minor Auras: Motivate Charisma +7, Motivate Dexterity +7
Major Aura: Motivate Urgency +5 feet
Spell Save DC (1st level spells): 18

Skills/Checks modifiers (assumes relevant aura, no check penalties, includes synergy bonuses):
Charisma: +14
Initiative: +9
Bluff: +21 = +7+14
Concentration: +10 = +9+1
Diplomacy: +25 = +4+14+3+2+2
Disguise (with Disguise Self): +26 = +14+10+2
Hide: +21 = +4+2+7+8
Intimidate: +16 = +4+14-4+2
Move Silently: +20 = +9+2+7+2
Sense Motive: +6 = +5+1
Tumble: +10 = +1+2+7
Use Magic Device: +15 = +1+14

Defenses: (highly gear dependent, assumes Chain Shirt and no Magic)
HP: 21
AC: 18 = 10+2+4+1+1
Fort: +6 = +5+1
Refl: +3 = +1+2
Will: +9 = +8+1


Extra Feats

Combat Charm: This one is fairly simple, in that it makes the use of Charm Person during Combat a much easier proposition. Often Charming the leader of the enemy force can cause enough confusion to finish off the enemy or allow your forces to escape to fight another day.

Silent Spell: Mainly useful with Charm Person, this makes it much easier to Charm someone while infiltrating a group. You do still have to prevent people (other than the target) from noticing your gestures somehow, but this generally requires much less in the way of distraction and seperation than covering up verbal components. This also can be handy for casting an Invisibility or a Mage Hand in a tight spot, and qualifies us for Sculpt Spell.

Sculpt Spell: Sculpt is extremely good with Grease and Caltrops, especially using the 20 foot burst and 40 foot cone. Setting up a ton of Caltrops prebattle with this can really make an Ambush, and with Grease it can make following your party up a hill or through a tunnel nearly impossible.

Acidic Splatter: Since you always have Silent Lesser Orb of Acid available if you have a 2nd level slot, this is a nice little boost for emergencies. The 10 foot range is less than you want, but enough to get by. Just as importantly, the +1 CL to Acid spells raises the base damage on your Lesser Orb to 4d8, which is great for Crafting 7th CL wands of it for your allies using the next feat.

Craft Wand: This is mainly useful for creating wands of your Acid spells and giving them out to allies, enabling high damage at range for anyone with even decent UMD. Since your Motivate Charisma Aura hands out a +7 bonus to UMD checks, even a 1st level Rogue with 12 Charisma and 4 ranks has a 65% chance of successfully using a CL 7 wand for 4d8 plus possible Sneak Attack. The expense can get fairly high, but your allies can pony up part of the capital making this easier to use. It's worth noting that though a wand of Acid Splash does little base damage, it's cheap and lets a Rogue do Sneak Attack damage with a ranged touch attack.

Extra Spell: Color Spray: This is another fairly close in option but it can be a lifesaver, especially sculpted. Save or stun can set up an extra turn for your side to deal sneak attack damage or get away from a bad situation.

Versatile Spellcaster: It's a great trick for converting your 0th level slots into something more useful, and you can even use it to get more 2nd level slots should you have to spam Invisibility or Silent Spells.

Mindsight: This is a good way to make sure you don't get counter-ambushed, giving you a pretty good idea of the surrounding 100 feet. Depending on DM interpretation you might be able to temporarily mark a target for your allies by sending Grease at it, but you should be ok even if you have to tell them since Telepathy is so convenient.

Extra Spell: Create Trap: This is a very Koboldy option which helps with the ambushes, especially in tight spaces to defend. You can also place them strategically beforehand to defend a retreat, possibly aided by Caltrops.

Extra Spell: Shock and Awe: This further aids your alpha strikes, effectively giving your party 10 more initiative. When you get this off your allies have a net +17 initiative bonus just from you, meaning they should get all get a surprise round and a normal round before the enemy can act.


Sources

SRD: Sorcerer, Silent Spell, Craft Wand, Grease, Charm Person, Invisibility, Color Spray, All Cantrips but Caltrops
Miniatures Handbook: Marshal
Races of the Dragon (and Web Enchancement ('http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a')): Dragonwrought Kobolds, Versatile Spellcaster, Create Trap
Complete Arcane: Mindbender, Sculpt Spell
Complete Mage: Acidic Splatter
Spell Compendium: Lesser Orb of Acid, Shock and Awe, Caltrops
Lords of Madness: Mindsight
Dragon Magazine Compendium: Combat Charm

[Amechra]

You're the saddest bunch I ever met
But you can bet before we're through
Mister, I'll make a man
Out of you.


Ezekia, General of the Faithful

Story


Ezekia was always destined for greatness. Being directly related to angels will do. The bloodline was somewhat diluted, but the shine of celestial greatness was still apparent in words and natural people skills, as was expected.

But something separated her still. Despite showing no particular ingenuity or vividness of imagination, Ezekia had a mind that was utterly unique in the world. Whether it was sheer belief, will or desire, she was naturally gifted with powers few other beings in the world manifested.

Initially serving as a leader of her villagers Militia, Ezekia was inducted for a time in the Church of the Savior, where she learnt martial skills and a code of honour. But strength of arm and agility where gifts she did not possess, and instead she led platoons of the faithful or the military, using her mental powers to disable and damage foes even as her very presence empowered those around her to slay the vile monsters that plagued the land.



Build



LG Phrenic Lesser Aasimar
Paladin 2/Marshal 4

Stats

{table=head]Level|18 Point Buy|Racial|Template|Level 4

Str|10|10|10|10

Dex|10|10|10|10

Con|14|14|14|14

Int|8|8|10|10

Wis|8|10|12|12

Cha|15|17|21|22[/table]

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

1st|Marshal|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Bluff 4 (4), Concentration 4 (2), Diplomacy 4 (4), Spot 4 (4)|Skill Focus: Diplomacy, Hidden Talent|1 Minor Aura

2nd|Paladin|
+1|
+4|
+0|
+2|Concencration 1 (3), Diplomacy 1 (5)|N/a|Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Smite Evil 1/Day

3rd|Paladin|
+2|
+5|
+0|
+2|Concencration 1 (4), Diplomacy 1 (6)|Psionic Talent|Divine Grace, Lay On Hands

4th|Marshal|
+3|
+6|
+0|
+3|Bluff 2 (6), Concentration 1 (4.5), Diplomacy 1 (7)|N/a|Major Aura +1, Gain one Major Aura

5th|Marshal|
+4|
+6|
+1|
+3| Bluff 2 (8), Concentration 1 (5), Diplomacy 1 (8)|N/a|Additional Minor Aura known

6th|Marshal|
+5|
+7|
+1|
+4|Bluff 1 (9), Diplomacy 1 (9), Skill Trick 2 (Social Recovery)|Psionic Talent|Adrenaline Boost
[/table]

First Five Feats After Level 6

1-Expanded Knowledge
2-Psionic Talent (4)
3-Psionic Body
4- Expanded Knowledge
5- Psionic Talent (5)

Next Five Feats After Level 6

6- Expanded Knowledge
7- Psionic Talent (6)
8- Expanded Knowledge
9- Psionic Talent (7)
10- Expanded Knowledge

Auras

Minor
1 – Motivate Charisma
4 – Master of Tactics

Major: Motivate Attack

Power Points
{table=head]Level|PP Total|Source
1|5|Phrenic (+1), Hidden Talent (+2), Charisma Bonus (+2)
2|8| Charisma Bonus (+5[3])
3|10| Psionic Talent (+2), Charisma Bonus (+7[2])
4|15| Charisma Bonus (+12[5])
5|18| Charisma Bonus (+15[3])
6|21| Charisma Bonus (+18[3]), Psionic Talent (+3)
6/5f|30| Psionic Talent x2 (+9)
6/10f|43| Psionic Talent x2 (+13)

[/table]

Power Powers
{table=head]Level|Powers/Source
1|Force Screen (Phrenic), Precognition Defensive(Phrenic) , Telempathic Projection (Hidden Talent)
2|-
3|Empty Mind (Phrenic), Mind Thrust (Phrenic)
4|-
5|Body Adjustment (Phrenic), Brain Lock (Phrenic)
6|-
6/5f|Ego Whip (Expanded Knowledge), Vigor (Expanded Knowledge)
6/10f| Dimension Swap (Expanded Knowledge), Suggestion (Expanded Knowledge), Empathic Transfer (Expanded Knowledge),
[/table]

Level by Level



Level One

Allrighty, from the get go Ezekia doesn’t have a great deal of ability to personally inflict violence, but makes up for it with the following:

Psionics – At this point there is Force Screen, whose main point is to save the cost of a shield, and Defensive Precognition, which can boost our low saves.

Skills – Marshal boosts our initial Diplomacy total to 17 (Charisma +5, Ranks +4, Skill Focus +3, Aura +5). With Telempathic Projection we get +4 to 21, as well as...

C-c-c-c-c-c-coommmmbooo...
Telempathic Projection specifically shifts the targets attitude to one step, as seen on the SRD http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Diplomacy_Skill here.

Now, in our Marshal-ally position of leader of the, for instance, the local militia and volunteers would definitely count as “Helpfull”. Telempathic switches that to “Fanatic”. As per the conditions for entering that state of mind, it now lasts 6 days (CHA + 1), in spite of Telempathic itself only lasting 1 min/level. RAI? I doubt. RAW? I think so. Net result is bonuses to STR, CON and Will save and a willingness to do anything for you. As power point levels increase, this grows better every level and later, every time we take Psionic Talent. Assuming a weeks warning for a day of battle, at this point you could have 25 fanatics (“Create” 5 fanatics for the initial five days, after that it continues until PP have to be spent elsewhere. Essentially done at the end of day of adventuring with any remaining PP).

Telempathic can also be used on any opponents. “Unfriendly” is a very different level to “Hostile”, and can then be altered further with judicious use of our +21 Diplomacy check.

Level Three

Paladin nets a whole number of features.
Detect Evil is used as per the label. Particular potential can be found with use of Telempathic and long term diplomacy use to attempt to alter the behaviour of individual miscreants.

Divine Grace makes the saving throws excellent (At level 3 they go from 5/0/2 to 10/5/7, improving over levels and Charisma gain).

Lay on Hands would primarily come into play as an insta-stabilise, allowing Ezekia to go between a dozen individuals to be healed later.

Psionically we gain Empty Mind and Brain Lock. Empty boosts Will saves which is meh, but Brain Lock is the true gain. At this point an enemy can be stunned for 5 rounds (Concentration Ranks + 1), a truly nasty debuff for any BBEG, particularly ones reliant on flight, the whole while your army of fanatics (Potentially 50 at this point) or fellow characters are smashing them.

Level Six

We fill out our Marshal, allowing our the numerous fanatically assistants to hit vastly better (+1 from free STR, +1 from AURA, +2 from charging as another free bonus, Master of Tactics and their own numbers ensure a large amount of damage is done).

Adrenaline Boost allows a quick health boost to any and every ally in 30 feet, allowing our horde of fanatics to potentially survive the fearsome prospect of area attacks or even stabilise them all if many/all are knocked into negatives.

Incidentally, said horde is potentially 126 (Now 7 day period, 21 PP burnt for 6 days).

Diplomacy is now at +30, including Aura and Telempathic. Should that fail, our Skill Trick allows us to re-roll as a bluff check at +25. Second chances are always a good thing.

We get Body Adjustment, allowing excellent healing for Ezekia should she be gravely injured.
Mind Thrust allows an excellent 6D10 surprise hit 40 feet away.

Level Six + Five Feats

Upon taking Psionic Body, Ezekia’s HP accelerates rapidly, as well as Power Points going up and new powers being unlocked.

Ego Whip allows one shotting, as a sufficiently boosts use may reduce Charisma of an opponent to zero, forcing them into a coma. Vigor increases survivability even more, Ezekia is literally a tank at this point, with AC, saves, hit points and healing ability allowing her to spend an age weathering the assault of many foes.

180 fanatics.

Level Six + Ten Feats

Hit Points continue to grow.

Dimension Swap allows instant removing of allies from troublesome situations. Ezekia’s own excellent survivability ensures only the enemies frustration.

Suggestion allows a manifold of uses, from investigation, sabotage, all the way to pack mule and pyramid trap searcher.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0840.html

Empathic Transfer allows that massive load of hit points to directly affect allies, removing injuries to bounce off Vigor as required.

258 fanatics. Life is good.



Equipment



WBL for 6 lvl = 13 000

Weapons – Ezekia gets a great saving here, as offense just isn’t her schtick. Eventually she does get some attacks, but she’ll never burn gold at the swordsmiths.

Armour – Mechanus Armour for preference, what with that lack of Dex Bonus, enchanted as much as you wish.

Miscellaneous – A Charisma boosting item is a no brainer. Orange Ioun stones would also boost the DC’s for the contested powers.





Source List

{table=head]Item|Source List|Page #
Phrenic|SRD| http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/phrenicCreature.htm
Lesser Aasimar|PG|191
Marshal|WoTC Web| http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b
Paladin|SRD| http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/paladin.htm
Adrenalin Boost (ACF)|PH2|49
Hidden Talent|XPH|67
Other Psionic Feats|XPH|39 - 52
Social Recovery|CS|89
[/table]

[Amechra]

Tranquil as a forest
But on fire within.
Once you find your center
You are sure to win.


Tianna AKA The Eternal Fairy Queen


The True Story of The Eternal Fairy Queen
This is the story of the Eternal Fairy Queen of Freedonia. Now, I am sure that you have all heard the legend of how she led the free army to victory over the army of Sir Valdaron. This is not that story, this is the story of how she came to be the person that she is.

It is well known that Tianna is not fully fey, but instead half human with a bit of dragonblood thrown in from her human father. What is not so well known is that her mother was an author as well as a fairy and that she chose Tianna’s father because she thought that a daughter with lovely silver accents in her purple fairy wings and long silver hair would be the perfect princess for her story. That’s right, Tianna was born solely so her mother could bring her stories to life. To those who are not acquainted with the fey, this may seem a bit strange but for the long lived fey artists such dedication to their art is only natural.

Ever since she was born, Tianna was raised to be a beautiful and elegant princess. She took readily to the arts of speechcraft and singing. So lovely was her singing that even the birds would listen with envy. So convincing her speeches that rare was the mortal who she could not sway with her words. She was the perfect princess until the dragon blood from her father awakened within her on her 13th birthday. It was then that she grew her first set of scale armor. With the strength of her distant dragon ancestor protecting her she realized that she could defend the weak, that she could be the knight in shining silver armor instead of the princess in the tower. Unfortunately, her mother decided such “unladylike” activities as archery and warfare would ruin the story so she locked Tianna in a horribly trapped tower guarded by vile monsters for a prince to find.

It wasn’t a bad sort of imprisonment, Tianna passed the time reading the works of the great authors. The adventures of the great heroes of old taught her many things about being a hero, as well as how to use the strength of her personality to convince arrows to fly true. Tianna’s mother spread the word that the most beautiful princess in the world was locked in a tower. Soon waves of middle of the road heroes tried to storm the tower. What brave hero could possibly resist the chance to win the heart of a fair princess after all? Soon, every brave knight on the continent had tried and failed and the threads of the story began to unravel.

Tianna realized that sometimes the princess has save herself and using her wiles convinced one of the monsters guarding her to take to the roof of the tower so she could see the stars since she fear that no hero would ever be able to rescue her. Once she was outside she promptly hypnotized the monster and flew away and began her own story. She joined an adventuring company at the nearest town and set off to become a great hero like the one who should have come to save her.

Shortly after she reached her second level, Tianna’s group received a request from the queen of a small kingdom to rescue her son from the caves of the mountain orc tribes who captured him while he was adventuring. So, finally Tianna got her chance to rescue a prince and she did so in a most dashing manner. So much so that they fell in love, married, and she became the queen to be. The kingdom was a happy place and she was finally fulfilling her destiny as a princess. Everything was going well until the queen was murdered and her son took over.

Upon being crowned king, Sir Valdaron instituted martial law to try and find the murderer. Howeverm as he gained more power, he began to crave more and more. He began wars and taking slaves to build the fortifications to defend the kingdom. Always he cloaked his arguments in the terms of the “greater good” but Tianna could not bear such evil being committed against her people. She tried to stop him with the strength of her words but to no avail and in the end she had to flee when he drew his sword against her. It was then that she fled to the temple of Milil to act as a lay servant and artist.

She tried to be a good artist and embrace her craft but she could not bear the suffering of her people. So she took up the mantle of Milil to become his heroic knight of freedom and began the war to free her people. Using the strength of her fey blood to trick and out maneuver her former husband’s troops and might of her dragon blood to provide the strength of the dragons to her troops she led the free army made up of former slaves, outcasts, honorable men and women from across the continent to victory over the strongest army in the region. Upon her victory she cast her husband out of the kingdom for she loved him too much to kill him.

After her victory Tianna continued to hone the statecraft skills that her mother taught her so long ago and improve her combat abilities to better defend her people and became the undying fairy queen of Fredonia who has reigned for over 200 years. The rest as they say, is history.

I hope you enjoyed my story,
A Certain Fairy



Stats:
18 pt buy according to rules for LA 2 template
Str: 8
Dex: 12+2=14
Con: 14-2=12
Int: 10
Wis: 8 +2=10
Cha: 14 +4=18


Tianna The Eternal Fairy Queen
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Marshal|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Diplomacy Perform:Sing Bluff UMD|SF:Diplomacy, Charming the Arrow, Magic in the Blood|Minor Aura Motivate Charisma

2nd|Marshal|
+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|Diplomacy Perform:Sing Bluff UMD||Major Aura Resilient Troops

3rd|Paladin of Freedom|
+2|
+5|
+0|
+3|Perform:Sing UMD|Dragonfire Inspiration|Aura of Good, Inspire Courage, Smite Evil

4th|Paladin of Freedom|
+3|
+6|
+0|
+3|Sense Motive UMD||Divine Grace, Lay on Hands

5th|Marshal|
+4|
+6|
+1|
+3|2x Diplomacy, Sense Motive, UMD ||

6th|Marshal|
+5|
+7|
+1|
+4|Diplomacy, 3x Sense Motive |Song of the Heart|Grant Move Action 1/day
[/table]

SLA

HD
1-2 Charm person at will, hypnotism 1/day, faerie fire or glitterdust 1/day
3-4 Detect law 3/day, sleep or enthrall 1/day
5-6 Protection from law 3/day, Tasha'a hideous laughter or suggestion 1/day

Feat and Ability Explanation


Warning, this build is designed to be playable and enjoyable from first level. It can probably be made more powerful if one doesn't consider that important, but I like organic characters. The build while playable all the way through, is particularly effective after level 3 when dragon fire inspiration comes into play.

First of all, let me explain how marshal is used in this build. Motivate Charisma is used in this build to give Tianna excellent social skills to solve problems nonviolently, negotiate truces, make a living playing music, and the ability eventually use wands no fail.

Determined Caster caster is used to help get SLAs through spell resistance and serves as a good demonstration of the power of Tianna's fey blood. It is also useful for any other spell casters in the party as +4-6 on spell resistance checks can make all the difference against powerful foes.

Finally, the ability to give an extra move action is useful for enabling melee characters to move and full attack at the beginning of combat. Which can be decisive advantage if your troops don't have pounce (AKA are not lion totem barbarians).

Level 1: Tactics at this level include flying overhead and peppering foes with arrows, charming everyone and their mother with at will charm person, making use of the fun that is glitterdust and faery fire as the situation warrants, and of course Tianna uses her beauty to hypnotize her opponents and give them a command such as go home, sit down, look the other way, etc.

Level 2: Same as level 1. You gain +1 to all saves from Marshal greater aura

Level 3-4: Add dragonfire inspiration and inspire courage to the tactics from the previous levels. Combined with a badge of valor and a wand of heroism DFI gives an extra 3d6 damage to everyone in the party’s attacks. Also, she can use detect law to hunt devils, some evil clerics, etc. As well as sleep and enthrall to prevent her weaker enemies from attacking her so she can avoid unnecessary deaths.

Level 5-6
+Charisma to overcome spell resistance to make using the SLAs more effective.
Around here UMD becomes almost foolproof for wands only failing about 10-15% of the time. So there are lots of fun things to play with here, benign transportation, buffs, heroics for special use feats, healing and so forth. You also gain an extra 1d6 of cold damage from DFI. Also there are Tasha'a hideous laughter to eliminate weak willed enemies from combat and suggestion for any use you can think of.

Epic Feat Analysis

PB Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot: More arrows (extra 1d8 +4d6 damage per round) and greater ease of shooting into melee.

Ability Training Charisma: No fail UMD for wands with a circlet of persuasion and +2 for every other charisma based skill.

Improved Charisma: +2 Charisma yields +1 DC for all SLAs

Hover: Full Attacks while flying

The rest of the feats are flexible

I chose the 4 fey heritage feats to better emphasize the strength of Tianna's Fey Heritage .

Plus dr 4/cold iron helps with the low constitution.

Fey presence gives Deep slumber to put powerful but weak willed enemies to sleep, charm monster to make monsters into her friends, and disguise self helps Tianna go undetected about her kingdom and trick her enemies (giving her an effective 22 to disguise checks).

Fey Power should yield an additional +1 to the save DC of all of Tianna’s SLAs.

You could alternatively choose to emphasize her dragon heritage and take some draconic auras (draconic aura vigor if the DM allows it), extra music, flyby attack, and perhaps force of personality.

Items that are particularly helpful: Circlet of Persuasion allows no fail wand usage, and a +1 cloak of charisma allows Tiana to have a charisma of 22 which is pretty good for e6. Finally, a badge of valor and a wand of heroism are extremely useful for increasing DFI damage.

[Amechra]

You're a spineless, pale pathetic lot
And you haven't got a clue.
Somehow I'll make a man
Out of you.



Chozo, the Voice of Courage

“No matter what happens, to the end of us all, remember that I believe in you.”
--Chozo



Male NG Kenku Marshal 6

Stats:
STR: 8 – 2 = 6
DEX: 10 + 2 = 12
CON: 14
INT: 14
WIS: 13
CHA: 17 + 1 (4th level) = 18

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

1st|Marshal 1|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Truespeak 4, Diplomacy 4, Bluff 4, K: Religion 4, K: Arcana 4, Sense Motive 4 |Truename Training|SF: Diplomacy, minor aura (Motivate Dexterity)

2nd|Marshal 2|
+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|Truespeak +1 (5), Diplomacy +1 (5), Bluff +1 (5), K: Religion +1 (5), K: Arcana +1 (5), Sense Motive +1 (5)||Major aura (Motivate Ardor)

3rd|Marshal 3|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+3|Truespeak +1 (6), K: Religion +1 (6), Listen 4|Minor Utterance of the Evolving Mind (Universal Aptitude)|Minor aura (Motivate Intelligence)

4th|Marshal 4|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Truespeak +1 (7), K: Religion +1 (7), Spot 4||Grant move action

5th|Marshal 5|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|Truespeak + 1 (8), K: Religion +1 (8), Spot + 1 (5), Listen + 1 (5), Trick: Listen to This||Minor aura (Motivate Charisma), major aura (Hardy Soldiers)

6th|Marshal 6|
+4|
+5|
+2|
+5|Truespeak +1 (9), Spot + 3 (8), Trick: Point It Out|Fell Conspiracy|
[/table]
E1: Weapon Finesse
E2: Jack of All Trades
E3: Martial Study (Shadow Jaunt)
E4: Martial Stance (Island of Blades)
E5: Shape Soulmeld (Lucky Dice)
E6: Open Least Chakra (Hands)
E7: Spirit Sense
E8: Alertness
E9: Keen-Eared Scout
E10: Quick Reconnoiter



“I don't think I saw him with his helmet off but once or twice, but somehow, just from the way he'd keep talkin', I could tell that he had a big ol' smile on his face whenever he was pointin' out a chink in someone's armor or tellin' me when to keep my head down. Not a smirk; a smile, the kind you just can't fake. And I know a thing or two about fakin' smiles. Well, at least as far as a bird-man like him CAN smile, anyway . . . but still, whatever it was, it was real.”
--Magatris Graveltoes, Rogue and grateful flanking buddy

Chozo doesn't seek greatness for himself; he seeks greatness for you. Combat is not his forte; he'd much rather be rolling skills than rolling heads. That said, as a kenku, he's uniquely well-suited to aiding his comrades, and at low levels, that +3 from Aid Another can mean life and death. Motivate Dexterity is chosen for the bonus to initiative, though at level 1, that +4 can make the difference between the Rogue successfully tumbling and the Rogue getting skewered on the end of an orcish spear. In the case that Chozo needs to actually do damage himself, he's much better at range than in melee, though at least his heavy armor and shield keep him relatively safe if he has to get in close to aid someone. Even Aiding Another is difficult with –2 STR at level 1, so you might be best off by hucking daggers and Tanglefoot Bags.

“Remarkable fellow, that Chozo. Made me feel smarter just by standing there. He was a real pleasure to work with. Teaching him the basics of Truespeak was the least I could do, really. I'm proud to have him as a member of our order.”
--Vyurek Duskwatcher, Truenamer and Seeker of Unseen Words in the Paragnostic Assembly

As early as third level, Chozo's mission is clear: help others shine beyond anything they could do alone. Universal Aptitude is such a crazy good power that I'm surprised people haven't done more with it. Between UA, his auras, and his boosted Aid Anothers, pulling off fantastic skill checks is just something his party should expect to be able to do. To put it another way, Universal Aptitude plus the right Motivate aura gives a +9, which is the difference between being fully trained and being fully untrained. Add in one of Chozo's Aid Anothers, and that's the difference between having 10 in the relevant stat and having 16. In other words, Chozo can take someone with no ranks and with 10 in the relevant stat and make them as good at it as if they had full ranks and a 16 in the relevant stat. Best of all, it's not limited to untrained folks . . . let's just say that Rogues adore him.

“I swear, he must have been a gift to us from Ehlonna herself. He wasn't much to look at, but that bird could talk well enough to convince anyone of anything! I'm convinced that his body was just a shell for the pure beauty of his words. Sometimes, I could even hear his voice in my mind, like when we were trying to sneak somewhere or when it wouldn't have done to have him talking out loud. He was always there, he was always helpful, and he never let us forget how much he believed in us . . . nor did he let us forget to stay alert, for that matter! No, no, Chozo was no bird. Chozo was a voice. The bird was just along for the ride.”
--Petian Dryadson, Cleric of Ehlonna and part-time poet

Fell Conspiracy, despite its sinister name, is not evil . . . and it's truly awesome. It's a ceremony feat that, at lower levels, lets the participants cast Message at-will (there's some roleplaying fun there), and at higher levels, it grants the party a cumulative +2 to Spot and Listen for each participant, as well as giving them telepathy. This is, of course, perfect for someone like Chozo; even when speaking out loud wouldn't be appropriate, he can keep offering his allies advice and aid, even if not Universal Aptitude. In addition, with that huge bonus to Spot and Listen, the party should be able to see danger coming just fine, even if they're usually unobservant slobs. Point it Out, of course, just provides some extra security. Listen to This is similar, though truth be told, it's primarily there because I find the concept of a kenku (with mimicry as a racial feature, mind you) with Listen to This to be hilarious.

“He was always neat to have around. His voice'd change depending on what kind of orders he was giving. Sometimes he'd remind me of a stern but caring grandpa, sometimes he'd sound like a preacher leading his church, and I swear sometimes it'd sound like the cosmos themselves were the ones talking in there, booming out of that armor of his. He really did believe in us, though. One time, he handed me a pen and told me I needed to forge us a letter from the king. Me, I asked? He just stood there and told me he knew I could do it . . . and damned if he wasn't right! I'm still proud of that one. Got Magatris out of jail just fine, it did!”
--Olorry Yethlord, Fighter and frontline adventurer

Epic play treats Chozo well. Weapon Finesse means that he can more reliably use Aid actions in combat, opening up plenty of wiggle room for his party to try risky tricks (or just put a few more into Power Attack). Island of Blades means that he can flank just by standing there, and of course, since he himself gets a +4 from flanking, he might even hit something, if you really needed him to (though he's still better off Aiding). With Motivate Dex, Cha, and Int, his party's pretty good at most skill checks even without UA, though of course it just gets terrifying with it. Jack of All Trades means that he can aid with just about any skill he likes, so he can still help the Wizard make that Spellcraft check or help the Bard make that Knowledge check. The Lucky Dice can be used to give all his allies a bonus to skills (yes, it stacks!) or to attack/damage . . . or, if appropriate, to saves. It eats his swift actions, but since he doesn't often need to switch auras once combat starts, that's not so big an issue. Keen-Eared Scout is hilarious when you combine it with Fell Conspiracy's massive Listen bonus . . . the amount of information you can get from it is awesome, and Quick Reconnoiter makes it even easier. Spirit Sense is fun from a roleplaying perspective, especially with Chozo's Diplomacy score being what it is (with Motivate Charisma but no items or UA, it's +20 . . . not maxed, perhaps, but not shabby), meaning that he's likely to be able to get a little bit of information out of the spirits before they vanish. Of course, his Diplomacy isn't limited to working on spirits, and he's a fine party face any day of the week.

Quick summary:
Chozo is very good at aiding another, both in combat and out. In combat, he mostly gives allies bonuses to hit through flanking, Aiding, and Lucky Dice, and he can also give bonuses to damage through Motivate Ardor and Lucky Dice. Out of combat, he gives enormous skill bonuses with Aiding, Universal Aptitude, the Lucky Dice, and his auras. Fell Conspiracy lets his auras work telepathically and lets his allies have huge bonuses to Spot and Listen. With him around, failed skill checks are pretty much a thing of the past . . . and he can work on just about anyone. Grant Move Action is great for, as might be expected, positioning allies, especially with Island of Blades up, and he's a pretty darn good party face.

On Truespeak:
As early as level 2, Chozo qualifies to be a Paragnostic Scholar in the Paragnostic Assembly purely through mechanical means, no story needed. This can give him a +5 typeless bonus to Truespeak. With Motivate Intelligence up, at level 6 he has a standing bonus of 9 (ranks) + 2 (INT) + 4 (CHA) + 5 (Assembly) = 20. Since the DC to affect a level 6 character is 27, he succeeds most of the time already. Allowing a masterwork tool gets him up to +22 (so he succeeds on a 5 the first time, then a 7, 9, 11 . . .). Allowing an Amulet of the Silver Tongue gets him up to +25 (so he succeeds on a 2 the first time). Allowing both gets him up to +27, so he autosucceeds the first time he tries every day. Still, he doesn't strictly NEED any items to have a respectable accuracy, especially since it will be used almost exclusively out of combat. Similarly, if you're not comfortable with relying on the Assembly existing, he can get by just fine with an Amulet instead of the Assembly, though in that case you'd probably want to swap out a feat for Skill Focus.

Variants:
Motivate Tactics can be used as an easy and reliable damage bonus, since Island of Blades makes flanking so easy. If you like, you could take Weapon Finesse earlier, making his combat presence more noticeable early on. It is possible to keep taking Minor Utterance of the Evolving Mind and Utterance of the Evolving Mind, making him more casty (utter-y?) if that's your thing. Chozo is intentionally built to be item-agnostic, though of course he benefits from the basics and anything similarly obvious (such as an Amulet of the Silver Tongue). Fell Conspiracy probably lets you qualify for Mindsight when it's active, if that's your sort of thing. I wasn't sure, so I decided to leave it off. Finally, a note about Fell Conspiracy: the Message portion of it specifies that it works off of Chozo's caster level. Since Chozo doesn't really have a caster level, it's not clear at all how this works, if at all. That said, even ignoring the Message part of it, the massive bonus to Spot and Listen, plus party-wide telepathy, makes the feat a winner.


Source List:
PHB
Miniature's Handbook (Marshal)
Monster Manual 3 (Kenku)
Magic of Incarnum (Shape Soulmeld, Open Least Chakra)
Heroes of Horror (Spirit Sense)
Complete Adventurer (Jack of All Trades, Quick Reconnoiter)
Tome of Battle (Martial Study, Martial Stance)
PHB2 (Keen-Eared Scout)
Complete Scoundrel (Skill tricks)
Tome of Magic (Truename Training, Minor Utterance of the Evolving Mind)
Exemplars of Evil (Fell Conspiracy)

[Amechra]

You're unsuited for the rage of war
So pack up, go home you're through
How could I make a man
Out of you?


AYGAR THE AURA-BULL
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack[/br]Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Marshal 1|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|K: Arcana 4, K: Religion 4, K:Nature 4, K: Planes 4, Ride 4, Handle Animal 4|Mounted Combat|Minor Aura: Over the Top

2nd|Marshal 2|
+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|K: Arcana 5, K: Religion 5, K: Nature 5, K: Planes 5, Ride 5, Handle Animal 5 ||Major Aura: Motivate Attack

3rd|Marshal 3|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+3|K: Arcana 6, K: Religion 6, K: Nature 6, K: Planes 6, K: Local 1, K: Dungeoneering 1|Knowledge Devotion (class skill: Dungeoneering)|Minor Aura: Motivate Intelligence

4th|Marshal 4|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|K: Arcana 7, K: Religion 7, K: Nature 7, K: Planes 7, Collector of Stories||Grant Move Action 1/day

5th|Marshal 5|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+4|K: Arcana 8, K: Nature 8, K: Planes 7, Ride 8, Speak Language: Draconic||Minor Aura: Master of Tactics, Major Aura: Motivate Urgency

6th|Warblade 1|
+4|
+6|
+1|
+4|K: Local 4, K: Dungeoneering 4|Ride-By Attack|Battle Clarity (Reflex), Weapon Aptitude, Battle Leader's Charge, Charging Minotaur, Leading the Charge, Mountain Hammer
[/table]
First epic: Spirited Charge
Second epic: Dragon Steed
Third epic: Killoren Ancient
Fourth epic: Power Attack
Fifth epic: Draconic Aura (Resist Fire)
Sixth epic: Killoren Destroyer
Seventh epic: Open-Minded (5 points into Intimidate)
Eight epic: Open-Minded (3 points into Intimidate, 2 points into Never Outnumbered)
Ninth epic: Imperious Command
Tenth epic: White Raven Defense

Vitals:
Male Killoren Marshal 5/Warblade 1, CN
STR: 16
DEX: 10
CON: 14
INT: 14
WIS: 8
CHA: 15, 16 after level 4

Character:
A hunter of the wildest sort. A charging bull reincarnated into a two-legged shape. A walking collection of secrets, half of them yours. None of these fully describe the creature known as Aygar, but none of them are entirely inaccurate.

Aygar isn't willing to talk much about where he came from or his past in general. He believes in action first and foremost, with a definite focus on the here and now. Relentless in his pursuit of both his chosen prey and his desired secrets, he comes thundering out of nowhere, hits with the force of a charging bull, and disappears as quickly as he came.

A self-reliant man, Aygar is happy when he can help his teammates, but he doesn't need to rely on anyone but himself and his trusty steed. Whether that steed is a horse, a dragon, or something in between, Aygar lives in the saddle whenever he can, approaching combat as a mixture of a jousting match and a fierce hunt.

Wild though he is, Aygar is no barbarian. He is quite learned and even erudite, and he is happy to spend some time discussing obscure lore on the topic of the day. That said, he is mercurial as any fey, and his thoughts will inevitably end up returning to the thundering of hooves and the satisfying impact of the lance before too many hours have passed.

Aygar never stays in one place too long. There is always something new to seek, whether that be prey on the run or a secret to be found. One way or another, the irresistible lure of the promise of a new conquest will find him galloping across the open plains once more, all in good time.

Strategy:
At its core, this build seeks to pile bonuses onto a charge attack, which, with Spirited Charge and a lance, does triple damage from the back of your trusty steed. With all the combat-relevant monster knowledge skills trained and Motivate Intelligence, Aygar can pretty consistently get good bonuses on Knowledge Devotion. His favored aspects are Aspect of the Ancient and Aspect of the Destroyer. See, things that use Knowledge: Nature for monster knowledge checks are almost entirely mutually exclusive with things that your Killoren Smite will affect, so just choose whichever aspect is more likely to give you the best bonus damage. Killoren Smite is nasty on a charge, of course, and the gigantic bonus to Knowledge: Nature granted by the Aspect of the Ancient makes Knowledge Devotion truly fearsome against applicable creatures. I like to believe that Collector of Stories applies to Knowledge Devotion checks, but even a ruling to the contrary doesn't hurt the build in any unrecoverable way; it's still relevant (Aygar's clearly a knowledge-monkey), just not quite as nice.

Since Marshal 6 is a dead level, Aygar pops over to take a dip into Warblade, losing nothing but a +1 to Will and Reflex. Instead, he gains a +2 to Fortitude (+1 over what he would have gotten) and a bigger HD, as well as a bonus to Reflex through Battle Clarity (funny how that works out). Oh, and some maneuvers and stances too, of course! Leading the Charge effectively gives you another aura. Battle Leader's Charge is a good backup option, as is Charging Minotaur. Mountain Hammer is equally useful in and out of combat, and its uses are obvious. Unfortunately, you can't use your Stone Dragon maneuvers when your mount is flying, but if you're able to use your mount and its flight, you won't miss them much, since they're mostly backups for when you're grounded.

Remember that once you make the check, Knowledge Devotion is good to go, so you're free to start in Motivate Intelligence, make your Knowledge checks as free actions, then snap into Over the Top, effectively getting the bonuses from both MI and OtT at once, at least from a combat perspective.

Dragon Steed is a really fun feat from the Draconomicon that gives you a pet Dragonnel, which is an intelligent (INT 6) mount with a move speed of 40 and a fly speed of 90. This is, as you might imagine, really nice, especially combined with Ride-By Attack. Its other statistics aren't too shabby either, but the real gold is the fact that it flies, and fast. Before you get Dragon Steed, you'll be using a warhorse, which should pretty much get the job done at low levels.

Without accounting for magic items, you can expect to have your STR (times 1.5 for two-handing), your Knowledge Devotion bonus, Over the Top, and Leading the Charge combining to give you at least a flat +11 damage on a charge, which can easily be higher if you get more than the minimum on Knowledge Devotion. You might also get the bonus of a Killoren Smite, if applicable. Of course, this doesn't include your base weapon damage or Power Attack, and it's multiplied by 3 on a successful Spirited Charge. That's enough to put a serious dent in anything you run into in E6, and with your enormously fast mount and Ride-By Attack, positioning yourself to do so again and again is pretty easy. Both Leading the Charge and Over the Top apply to your allies as well, so you definitely encourage hilariously reckless charge-happy behavior. That said, while your whole party CAN benefit from all your auras (4 at once, eventually!), you can do just fine with them on your own.

Killoren Ancient is chosen because, quite simply, it's really entertaining to use. Ten minutes isn't that much, and you can get a lot of answers this way, especially since there isn't a limit on the number of times you can do it. In fact, if you have a prepared caster in the party (meaning that you're gonna be sitting around for an hour anyway), you can easily learn six things before breakfast! Also, as I interpret it, since nature itself is giving you the information you seek, I don't see a problem with spending two meditation sessions to attempt two rolls on the same question, though it's an awesome ability even if your GM disagrees. Killoren Destroyer is mutually exclusive with it, but since one is an in-combat benefit and one is an out-of-combat benefit, I see it more as making sure that both of your favored aspects are useful, making sure that you don't feel cheated out of your fun toys by picking one over the other. Basically, use your judgment. If you're going to be fighting nature-related foes, or if you think you could use some hints, go for the Aspect of the Ancient. If you're not, go for the Aspect of the Destroyer. Both are useful, so make the most of them.

Power Attack hits the field kind of late, but honestly, you get more mileage out of Spirited Charge than anything else, so it's important for it to hit the field as soon as possible . . . and you'll need to make sure you've got good to-hit bonuses before you can afford to start using PA. Of course, once it's there, it's as good for you as for anyone else (well, OK, for anyone else who isn't a Shock Trooper), especially since you multiply it with Spirited Charge.

If you can't get good charging distance with your mount, or if you can't fit your mount indoors, you can rely on Master of Tactics to give you a similar, though smaller, bonus to damage. If you can charge but can't use your mount, Over the Top and Leading the Charge still work just fine, as does Battle Leader's Charge. I'm honestly not sure if Battle Leader's Charge works when mounted, but even if it doesn't, it's just fine as a backup option.

Draconic Aura is chosen simply because, if you look at the enemies in the CR range you mostly expect to find in E6, fire attacks show up disproportionately often, and giving the entire party resistance to it is generally a winning trade. Notice that, since the aura is gained as a feat rather than by swapping out a major aura for it, there's no reason we can't have it up at the same time as our major aura, since it's not a Marshal aura.

Once Intimidate starts being an option, it provides you with some out-of-combat utility, as well as an option for when you can't bring your pet Dragonnel indoors. Never Outnumbered + Imperious Command may not be the newest trick in the book, but it's an effective one, and you can still grant your allies plenty of aura bonuses while Command-locking an enemy, if you need to.

Toys:
Anything that either piles bonus damage on a charge or makes charging easier makes you happy. Likewise, anything that gives bonuses to Knowledge makes Aygar even more of a know-it-all. A good CHA-boosting item will, through your auras, do both, so if one is available, snap it up ASAP! Your saving throws are nothing to write home about, so you'd also do well to pick up something to help them out. Armor for your mount should be a priority, since even though your Ride check will help keep it safe through Mounted Combat, you still lose a lot of effectiveness if you're forcibly dismounted, so you want to keep your steed safe.

It's a little cheesy, but if you're allowed to pick your Dragonnel's feats, you can have it take Martial Study and Martial Stance for Island of Blades, thus effectively granting you a permanent flanking bonus.

If your GM doesn't like Dragon Steed, Wild Cohort will serve much the same purpose, even though it can't fly.

Sources:
Miniatures Handbook, Draconomicon, Races of the Wild, Tome of Battle, Dragon Magic, Complete Champion, Complete Adventurer, Complete Scoundrel, Drow of the Underdark

[Amechra]

That's all of 'em; judges, you may begin.

(I was going to use Full Metal Jacket quotes, but all the appropriate ones would get me banned.)

[The Underlord]

So the judges are me, Amercha and motoko?

[Amechra]

I actually do not judge, as a matter of fairness; I know who sent in each entry, after all, so I may be biased.

So just you and Motoko.

And I didn't make an exhibition build, which I will next time; if I had made one, it would be like Griffith from Berserk.

Does giving you guys 1 week to judge sound fair?

[motoko's ghost]

1 week sounds okay.

[Amechra]

I missed this one in my PM box, so include this one as well:


The Hoard Leader

Race:
Old Changeling

Point Buy:
STR 8 - 3 (age) => 5
DEX 8 - 3 (age) => 5
CON 8 - 3 (age) => 5
INT 16 + 2 (age) => 18
WIS 14 + 2 (age) => 16
CHA 18 + 2 (age) => 20

Flaws:

Feeble
Noncombatant


Trait: Illiterate

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

1st|Marshal 1|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Autohypnosis 1, Bluff 4, Diplomacy 4, Disguise 4, Handle Animal 4, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 4, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 2, UMD 2|Skill Focus (Diplomacy), Able Learner, City Slicker (RoD), Nymph's Kiss|Motivate Charisma

2nd|Marshal 2|
+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|Autohypnosis 2, Bluff 5, Diplomacy 5, Disguise 5, Handle Animal 5, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 5, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 2.5, UMD 2.5|-|Hardy Soldiers +1

3rd|Dragonfire Adept 1|
+1|
+5|
+0|
+5|Autohypnosis 3, Bluff 6, Diplomacy 6, Disguise 6, Handle Animal 6, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 5, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 3, UMD 6|Racial Emulation (RoE), Dragontouched|Breath Weapon 1d6, Least Invocation (Beguiling Influence)

4th|Marshal 3|
+2|
+5|
+1|
+5|Autohypnosis 3.5, Bluff 7, Diplomacy 7, Disguise 7, Handle Animal 7, Intimidate 7, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 5, Sense Motive 7, Spellcraft 3.5, UMD 7|-|Motivate Dexterity

5th|Marshal 4|
+3|
+6|
+1|
+6|Autohypnosis 4, Bluff 8, Diplomacy 8, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 8, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 5, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 4, UMD 8, Never Outnumbered (Skill Trick)|-|Grant Move Action 1/day

6th|Chameleon 1 (RoD)|
+3|
+6|
+1|
+6|Autohypnosis 4, Bluff 8, Diplomacy 9, Disguise 8, Handle Animal 9, Intimidate 9, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 5, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 4, UMD 9, Never Outnumbered (Skill Trick), Social Recovery (Skill Trick)|Sociable Personality (RoD)|Aptitude Focus 1/day
[/table]

Spells per day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd
6th|4|2|0|-[/table]

Feats:

Negotiator
Skill Focus: Handle Animal
Sacred Vow (BoED)
Complementary Insight (RoD)
Bind Vestige: Naberius (ToM)
Shape Soulmeld: Silvertongue Mask (MoI)
Draconic Aura: Vigor (DrM)
Dragon Trainer (RotD)
Improved Minor Shapechange (RoE)
Dinosaur Wrangler (RoE)


The Schtick
When Minor Shapechanged into a half-elf, the Hoard Leader has a Diplomacy modifier of 9 (ranks) + 5 (Charisma) + 5 (Motivate Charisma) + 9 (Feats) + 6 (Beguiling Influence) + 9 (Synergy) + 2 (Racial) + 2 (Soulmeld) = 47, and can either take ten, or roll and have a free reroll if he doesn't like the result. He can do this as a standard action with no penalty, which means that he can bring any Hostile creature to Helpful with no roll, any Helpful creature to Fanatic with no roll, and a Friendly creature to Fanatic on a 13, which he actually has almost a 2/3 chance of making because of his reroll.

On top of that, he can train animals. He has a Handle Animal modifier of 9 (ranks) + 5 (Charisma) + 5 (Motivate Charisma) + 5 (Feats) + 2 (Kit) + 1 (Trait) = 27 (31 when Minor Shapechanged into a halfling and rearing a dinosaur), and so can rear HD 13 animals and dragons (HD 17 dinosaurs) without a roll, HD 22 animals and dragons (HD 26 dinosaurs) taking 10.

The Hoard Leader can give his horde the edge they need in battle. Motivate Dexterity gives a +5 bonus to initiative, Hardy Soldiers gives them DR 1/-, and Draconic Aura (Vigor) helps restore them to health between battles. He can shapechange into a flying humanoid (such as an avariel) to avoid direct combat, and entangle foes with Entangling Exhalation. Finally, with an Intimidate modifier of 23, anything that manages to get close to him is going to be shaken (Fearsome armor helps with this).

Last, but not least, his Chameleon spells and UMD skill give him some added utility. Guidance of the Avatar gives a +20 bonus to a single check, Enrage Animal makes his horde rage, Eagle's Splendor nets him +4 to Charisma-based skills, Bless improves his horde's attacks, and he can activate wands on anything but a natural one.

[Cieyrin]

Anyone have any idea what race Tianna is supposed to be? I was thinking Half-Fey Human but I'm not sure where the Dragon part comes into it. I was expecting Dragontouched for Dragonfire Inspiration but no sign of it, so I have no idea...

[dextercorvia]

Anyone have any idea what race Tianna is supposed to be? I was thinking Half-Fey Human but I'm not sure where the Dragon part comes into it. I was expecting Dragontouched for Dragonfire Inspiration but no sign of it, so I have no idea...

From the backstory, I'm guessing Half-Fey Silverbrow Human. But, it isn't outright stated anywhere.

[Cieyrin]

From the backstory, I'm guessing Half-Fey Silverbrow Human. But, it isn't outright stated anywhere.

Oh yeah, that would make sense, given the emphasis early on on the silver accents and silver hair. Well alright then.

[DemonRoach]

Marshal
{table=head]Name|Race|Build

Chief Silent-Tongue|Dragonwrought Kobold|Marshal 3/Sorcerer 2/Mindbender

Ezekia|Lesser Aasimar|Marshal 4/Paladin 2

Tianna|Half-Fey Silverbrow human?|Marshal 4/Paladin 2

Chozo|Kenku|Marshal 6

Aygar|Killoren|Marshal 5/Warblade 1

The Hoard Leader|Changeling|Marshal 4/Dragonfire Adept 1/Chameleon 1

[/table]

That look about right?

[Cieyrin]

Marshal
{table=head]Name|Race|Build

Chief Silent-Tongue|Dragonwrought Kobold|Marshal 3/Sorcerer 2/Mindbender 1

Ezekia|Phrenic Lesser Aasimar|Marshal 4/Paladin 2

Tianna|Half-Fey Silverbrow human?|Marshal 4/Paladin 2

Chozo|Kenku|Marshal 6

Aygar|Killoren|Marshal 5/Warblade 1

The Hoard Leader|Changeling|Marshal 4/Dragonfire Adept 1/Chameleon 1

[/table]

That look about right?

Fixed that for you. :smallwink:

[Amechra]

Tianna is indeed a Silverbrow Human with the Half-Fey Template and the Dragonscale Husk ACF (the contestant swore he included it, but he did not.)

[Amechra]

Judges, there are 2 days left to judge.

[DeAnno]

I think this secret ingredient might have been too good; everyone paying attention was excited enough to make one and there was no one to judge!

[The Underlord]

Sorry, I've been away. I expected to have better internet connection, but I don't. So I guess I have to finish(and by finish I mean start) tomorrow. Don't be surprised if I can't make it in time.

[Amechra]

Just do your best.

I'm already thinking about the next one... don't worry, it'll have options (you aren't getting Samurai, since there ain't nothing much you can do with it.)

[Zaq]

If it's Dragon Shaman, I'm going to laugh.

[Cieyrin]

Just do your best.

I'm already thinking about the next one... don't worry, it'll have options (you aren't getting Samurai, since there ain't nothing much you can do with it.)

We'd have more options if it's OA Samurai. :smallwink:

Here's hoping it's OA Shaman, the caster no one seems to remember. :smalltongue:

[Amechra]

Oh, no, I wouldn't go for THAT class... yet.

I have a devious idea for the next one... see if I don't.

[Zaq]

So, um. Any progress from whoever's still judging? Not to rush you, of course—I just want to see who's still actually doing this, because right now it doesn't look like we've got too many people on that.

[The Underlord]

Well, can we get a deadline extension considering none of the judges got in on time?

[Amechra]

Extension 'til the same time on Thursday... but no further.

[DeAnno]

Seeing as it seems likely we will have only one (or perhaps zero) judge, I personally would not mind if Amechra judged as well, regardless of his knowing of the contestants' identities.

Hopefully it won't come down to that, but I'd prefer to see more than one judge weighing in here.

[Amechra]

I'll judge Tomorrow if only one judge shows.

[Zaq]

This is definitely worrisome. We had plenty of judges in the last two contests. I wonder what's wrong? Also, anyone got any ideas? This is far too much fun to just let it die.

[KoboldCleric]

This is just always the busiest time of year for me; had I thought I could have done it in any reasonable amount of time I would have judged for you, but I probably wouldn't even get it done until after Easter if I started now :/

I probably would have competed if time constraints hadn't made that impossible as well.

[Zaq]

If I had time, I'd almost suggest that we contestants swear to be honorable and good sports and just judge the ones that aren't ours—but I don't think I'd have the time to do a good job on my end.

This is sad.

[DeAnno]

If I had time, I'd almost suggest that we contestants swear to be honorable and good sports and just judge the ones that aren't ours—but I don't think I'd have the time to do a good job on my end.

This is sad.

If you do that, you do sorta have to correct to a standard average for every judge, since if you're a "hard" judge your build gets an advantage from being ignored by you, and vice versa. I'm not really that much a fan of the idea though, since I feel like most contestants might already be tired out from preparing their builds anyways.

[Zaq]

So, um. Line?

[Amechra]

Sorry, I'll get something up tonight.

Along with a reveal, in the same post.

[Amechra]

My apologies, everyone, but I'm feeling really sick right now, so I don't have the focus to properly score builds; I really liked all of the builds, and would probably play most of them, so its not like scoring them would be easy.

So I'll just reveal who made each one, and we can move on, forgetting this awful travesty.

{table=head]Build|Chef
The Hoard Leader|Jeff the Green
Ezekia, General of the Faithful|DemonRoach
Tianna|Fluffy_1.0
Chozo, the Voice of Courage|Zaq
Aygar the Aura-Bull|Zaq
Chief Silent-Tongue|DeAnno[/table]

It was a good contest; sorry for the lack of judging.

Our next contest will open shortly...

[DemonRoach]

Oh well, I enjoyed writing it up anyway :smallsmile:

[Zaq]

Yeah, I had fun with this one. I honestly didn't expect to be able to churn out two builds for this. Also, I hope you feel better soon, Amechra!

Any thoughts on what we can do to make the next contest not be judgeless?

[Amechra]

Yeah, I just entered allergy season, so I won't be too well for a while.

But it ain't that hard to get things started.

Oh, and for future reference, we do have someone to do trophies now! Huzzah!

The Mentalist has offered.