Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXVII

[Amphetryon]

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef XXXVII. Here in Optimization Colosseum, contestants will endeavor to create an optimized and flavorful character using a specified D&D3.5 prestige class as a "Secret Ingredient".

Contestants: You will need to present a write-up of your build at at least one of the following points: 5th level, 10th level, 15th, 20th, and a "sweet spot" that you feel is the high point of the build, as well as presenting a fully-fleshed out 20-level build in the table below. 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. Web-exclusive 3.0 or 3.5 materials by WotC are expressly allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere, as this may cause an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Also, item familiars are forbidden because I hate 'em. This comes up often enough to bear mention in the rules: Dragon Compendium is allowed.

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 11:59PM GMT on Saturday, September 22th, 2012 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, Amphetryon. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 11:59PM GMT on Saturday, October 6th, 2012 to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

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

Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
Elegance could bear a little elaboration. It basically measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavor for power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is an automatic loss of one point per flaw in this category. Other things that will cause lost points here are excessive multiclassing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points. Please note the following change: a legal source's relative obscurity should not be considered as penalizing Elegance, excepting the aforementioned issues with Unearthed Arcana. Using too many sources may be an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion, but a book's relative obscurity may not.
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 Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For other systems (Psionics, ToB, Incarnum, etc.) keep track of PP/maneuvers/essentia separately, preferably in a nice neat list.
Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until the "reveal," in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.

Leadership is banned; we're producing a meal, not a seven-course banquet for a hundred diners. If your entry includes a prestige class or ACF that grants Leadership or a Leadership-like ability as a bonus feat, the feat should be ignored and is not eligible to be traded away for another feat or ACF through any means.

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

This week's special ingredient is:
Complete Warrior's Justiciar
We will award 1st through 3rd places, as well as a shout-out for honorable mention. The honorable mention prize is given to the most daring or unexpected build. Judges, contestants and guests alike are invited to vote for honorable mention via PM.

Allez optimiser!

Contestants

Judges

The Builds

Past Competitions

Iron Chef I: Entropomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142470)
Iron Chef II: Psibond Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146583)
Iron Chef III: Cancer Mage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148584)
Iron Chef IV: Stonelord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150595)
Iron Chef V: War Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152543)
Iron Chef VI: Master of Masks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156876)
Iron Chef VII: Green Star Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158633)
Iron Chef VIII: Pyrokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160266)
Iron Chef IX: Animal Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162702)
Iron Chef X: Mythic Exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164381)
Iron Chef XI: Blade Bravo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166539)
Iron Chef XII: War Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9426386)
Iron Chef XIII: Vigilante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172233)
Iron Chef XIV: Seeker of the Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174434)
Iron Chef XV: Drunken Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176049)
Iron Chef XVI: Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178202)
Iron Chef XVII: Ardent Dilettante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182492)
Iron Chef XVIII: Unseelie Dark Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186097)
Iron Chef XIX: Dread Pirate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190607)
Iron Chef XX: Incandescent Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10976416)
Iron Chef XXI: Ghostwalker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198921)
Iron Chef XXII: Dervish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206576)
Iron Chef XXIII: Divine Crusader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210071)
Iron Chef XXIV: Tactical Soldier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214198)
Iron Chef XXV: Scion of Tem-Et-Nu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217441)
Iron Chef XXVI: Shadowdancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220956)
Iron Chef XXVII: Mindbender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224008)
Iron Chef XXVIII: Cryokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227304)
Iron Chef XXIX: Consecrated Harrier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229688)
Iron Chef XXX: Initiate of Pistis Sophia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233346)
Iron Chef XXXI: Shadow Sentinel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236908)
Iron Chef XXXII: Temple Raider of Olidammara (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239786)
Iron Chef XXXIII: Drow Judicator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243052)
Iron Chef XXXIV: Dragon Disciple (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246072)
Iron Chef XXXV: Death Delver (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249542)
Iron Chef XXXVI: Acolyte of the Skin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252923)

[Venger]

Booyeah. I'm all over this, I've got just the build.

[mattie_p]

If I can, I will enter. I've sat out the last two due to real life, would love to compete with this ingredient. We will see...

[eggs]

After the conspicuous shortage of judges last time, I'd volunteer on that front.

[Amphetryon]

After the conspicuous shortage of judges last time, I'd volunteer on that front.

Thank you, kindly.

[Narsis]

looks interesting. at least his abilities mesh somewhat well with each other. might try a build. and if that doesn't work i guess i could judge...

[Kuulvheysoon]

I might try a build, but I'll likely be too busy.

We'll see how inspired I get, I guess.

[ThreeDSix]

Oh look! So close! Just two pages off the mark! :smalltongue:

Please excuse me while I come up with criteria that isn't completely arbitrary!:smallbiggrin:

[eggs]

Just to get this out of the way early, I'll try to sketch out a rubric for the criteria:

Originality
I'm not going to penalize going through obvious and necessary motions. For example, a build with Wild Shape and spellcasting can grab Natural Spell without worrying about me docking anything; I get that there are things a build needs to work. But those things aren't going to be winning you any points here either.

What I will award points on is a new and functional trick or combination incorporated into the character's MO. The less familiar and the more deeply ingrained in the build's functionality this schtick is, the more originality points the build will receive. This will go to a maximum of 4 points. If I don't see build features interacting in a way that I hadn't seen before this Iron Chef, those points will cap out at 3. This is an area where I'm going to be harsh: the interesting part of IC is coming up with new builds; not refitting old ones onto different classes.

The last point will be awarded based on backstory. If it's something new and avoids cliches, I'll give it a point; if I think it's obvious, tired or already done, I won't give it a point. Very binary. This is not an area where I'll be harsh; it's just a D&D backstory, not a writing workshop.

Power
First, it has to be able to stand up to level-appropriate challenges throughout its progression. If it looks like it goes through a severe slump or like can't keep up with Monster Manual selections at any given ECL, I'll dock points, regardless of how strong it gets at level 20.

Second, I'm going to dock points unless you can show that your build is able to thrive in multiple common settings and against multiple kinds of obstacles and defenses: if your build relies on a tactic that is easily negated or ignored, and it doesn't have at least one backup strategy, it is not going to make for a powerful character in a campaign.

In both of those, it would help if you pointed out anything that might sneak by me, like Piggy's Doomspeech and save DCs in the last IC.

Lastly, I will reserve one point. If your build is clearly more effective performing its job with levels in the Secret Ingredient than it would have been by instead putting levels into its other constituent classes (taken straight out of the can, using minimum sourcebooks, NOT comparing equal levels of effort), I'll award that point. If not, the Power score will be capped at 4.

Elegance
I'm going to break this one into two parts: narrative and mechanical elegance.

For narrative elegance, I'm basically going to try to imagine pitching the build to a group that plays with fluff taken straight out of the book. The easier it is to explain the premise/justify the various levels, the better the score I'm going to give here. (That doesn't mean I'm suggesting to grab cookiecutter copies of the same fluff - irony and succinct amalgams are awesome; I'm just discouraging dipping a coherently ironic Druid/Renegade Mastermaker build into Dragon Shaman, Master Spy and Berserker.) I will award up to 2 points on this criterion.

Mechanically, I'm mostly going to be looking at the purposefulness of the various build choices. What I mean is: For every level/feat/etc, there will ideally be a clear mechanical reason for that level/feat/etc. to be in the build, beside just counting down to hit a certain skill rank prereq or similar space-filling. I will award up to 2 points on this criterion, and I will be harsh (so if something is subtle or unintuitive, point it out).

The last point is going to be for my overall subjective impression. I won't even try to say what plays into that, except that I'm not a fan of loose ends.

Use of Secret Ingredient.
If your character's MO doesn't involve the Secret Ingredient, I won't give any points; that part shouldn't be a surprise.

If your character's MO involves only aspects of the Secret Ingredient that are available elsewhere, I will dock points heavily - especially if the alternatives are otherwise superior. The more unique to the Secret Ingredient the abilities you focus on are, and the more deeply incorporated they are into the build's basic functionality, the more points I will award. These points will be awarded to a maximum of 4.

I'll keep one point in reserve. If your build manages to use every part of the class without any contrivances, I'll award that point. Remember that this point is going to be reserved for everybody, and working toward it may undermine Originality and Power, so it may not be worth gunning for specifically.

I'm not planning to award perfect scores.

...That looks half-way plausible. :smallwink: Let's say that's how this is going to happen.

EDIT: Spoilered to not obnoxiously hog space.

[Dumbledore lives]

I'll try to get an entry in, though you know how these things are, I got a few ideas already.

[Zaq]

Those are some . . . deceptively restrictive prereqs. Getting in here is harder than it looks, at least if you're trying to do anything interesting.

I have some hypotheses about what we'll be seeing, both obvious and somewhat less obvious. We shall see.

Also, those are some eyebrows in that picture. Look at those buggers. I bet he spends half an hour a day maintaining them.

[GreenSerpent]

Hmmm. This one should be interesting.

[Amphetryon]

Those are some . . . deceptively restrictive prereqs. Getting in here is harder than it looks, at least if you're trying to do anything interesting.

I have some hypotheses about what we'll be seeing, both obvious and somewhat less obvious. We shall see.

Also, those are some eyebrows in that picture. Look at those buggers. I bet he spends half an hour a day maintaining them.

Not just the eyebrows, either; there's actually no wind blowing his hair. :smalltongue:

EDIT:
FAQ:
Is Dragon Compendium Allowed? Yes, but individual issues of Dragon Magazine are not.

What about 3.0 materials? 3.0 materials, whether online or in printed form, are allowed unless they've been officially updated to a 3.5 edition.

Are Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, or Kingdoms of Kalamar allowable sources? The Dragonlance Campaign Setting is allowed, but the subsequent books for Dragonlance are considered 3rd party, and are therefore not eligible, despite the "WotC approved" status of those books. The same holds for Oriental Adventures (1st party) and the subsequent Rokugan books (3rd party). Similarly, materials from Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, and Kingdoms of Kalamar are considered 3rd party for purposes of this contest, and are therefore not allowed.

What about online sources in general? If the online source is a) published by WotC, and b) not replaced by an updated version at a later time, it is eligible. Use it, link it.

Where's the line drawn with "acceptable/unacceptable" for Unearthed Arcana? This will likely vary a bit from Chairman to Chairman. Item Familiars and Gestalt have always been verboten, since before IC migrated to GitP; don't expect that to change. Flaws have similarly always been noted as warranting a deduction; while I am Chairman, I'm extending that to Traits, though they warrant 1/2 the penalty in Elegance that a Flaw would because they're roughly 1/2 as useful. Alternate spell systems, alternate skill systems and alternate crafting rules all create an uneven playing field, and as such, will be disallowed for as long as I am Chairman. Bloodlines are ripe for abuse, and will be strongly discouraged as long as I am Chairman. Note that judges are allowed to look askance at any use of Unearthed Arcana not specifically mentioned above, at their discretion, and otherwise penalize Elegance according to their preference.

What, exactly, does the ban on Leadership mean? As folks have started to try to work around the edges of this one, I'm forced to spell it out more plainly. No Leadership, Draconic Cohort, or Feats that grant a similar ability are allowed EXCEPT Wild Cohort while Amphetryon is chairman. Any PrC you choose with Leadership or a Leadership-analog has that ability entirely ignored for this contest, as it may neither be used nor traded away via any means whatsoever.

What's the minimum score in a category? Assuming an entry is legal, the minimum score in any category is 1. If a judge is convinced that an entry is illegal by the RAW, the judge may give a 0 or decline to score a given entry. Because this contest focuses on Player Characters, an entry that is not technically allowed for a PC, but is viable as an NPC, counts as a legal entry, but may receive a minimum score at the judges' discretion.

Does the Urban Tracking Feat count for Justiciar's prerequisites? Not unless someone can link to an official WotC ruling saying it does.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Awesome job, Fiddler! I really enjoyed the story behind your build. And great job also to Venger, Gilded Duc and Kazyan!


Whoa, thanks to those who put Zhirvaush in for Honorable Mention. Glee! Congratulations to The Dark Fiddler, Venger, and The Gilded Duke. And to everyone else who made something of the Acolyte!

Thanks! It was great to win my first IC contest, but... I feel kind of bad winning with only one judge.


That said, I'm not entirely sure if I should ever judge again.

Well, I had no problems with your judging, and would certainly have no problems with you judging again, but I can understand why you might not want to.


Another thing that has discouraged me from judging is the need to post criteria beforehand. Not only does doing so feel like making a commitment to have time to judge; it also is something that I don't know how to express or put in words.

Hmm, is that a requirement? I thought it was tradition, but not strictly necessary. If I judge, I probably won't know exactly what my criteria would be until I actually sit down and start...

Anyway, I may enter this one, if I can think of a build. If not, I'll judge.

If I judge, Batman references are going to get an automatic 1 in everything :smalltongue:

[Piggy Knowles]

Thus far I've got a couple of ideas, but nothing earth-shattering. If I don't get a eureka moment, I'll throw in my hat as a judge.

[Careless]

You know what? I'll try it. I'm aiming for not-last-place. Perhaps a bit ambitious, but I might be able to pull it off.
Good luck everyone.

[Menteith]

If I can come up with something worthy of submission, I'll compete. Time to go splatbook diving for inspiration!

[Venger]

Thanks! It was great to win my first IC contest, but... I feel kind of bad winning with only one judge.
hey, you earned it! you made something worthwhile with acolyte.



Hmm, is that a requirement? I thought it was tradition, but not strictly necessary. If I judge, I probably won't know exactly what my criteria would be until I actually sit down and start...
it isn't a rule of the contest, but it does help you a lot when you are judging so you can have a baseline to compare everyone to.



If I judge, Batman references are going to get an automatic 1 in everything :smalltongue:

man, does no one on the message board like batman? I was also shocked to see the absesnce of batmen back in vigilante.

[Sgt. Cookie]

I think I have an idea for this one. I just might join in.

[Kuulvheysoon]

man, does no one on the message board like batman? I was also shocked to see the absesnce of batmen back in vigilante.

I think that this was more due to everyone thinking that everyone else was going to do something Batman-esque.

[ThiagoMartell]

I think I'll judge as well.

[The Dark Fiddler]

man, does no one on the message board like batman? I was also shocked to see the absesnce of batmen back in vigilante.

I like Batman. Batman's cool.

I don't like 5 Batmen, and I I think that 5 Batmen would get incredibly low Originalities all around.

My original post was facetious, but every joke carries a kernel of truth.

[GreenSerpent]

Oh god I have several ideas. Now to actually get working with the mechanics...

[Dusk Eclipse]

I like Batman. Batman's cool.

I don't like 5 Batmen, and I I think that 5 Batmen would get incredibly low Originalities all around.

My original post was facetious, but every joke carries a kernel of truth.

Ok no batman, but what about Nightwing? Batgirl? Batsrael?:smalltongue:

[Devmaar]

I want to enter but I go Uni next weekend!

Let's see what happens

[Venger]

Ok no batman, but what about Nightwing? Batgirl? Batsrael?:smalltongue:

whoa dude. justiciar azrael-batman circa 1991 during the knighfall arc would be awesome. you've gotta do that now.

[Kazyan]

Like others, I have an idea, though I'm struggling to make everything fit.

Unlike others, I find Batman to be a very uninteresting character.

[Dusk Eclipse]

whoa dude. justiciar azrael-batman circa 1991 during the knighfall arc would be awesome. you've gotta do that now.

Nah, Justiciar doesn't inspire me to do anything with it, I will have little to no free time in the next few weeks, I don't really know much about Batsrael, just the bare basics by skimming Wikipedia and tvtropes and finally it was meant as a joke.

[eggs]

Unlike others, I find Batman to be a very uninteresting character.
But...
But...
His parents are DEAD! :smalltongue:

[Venger]

Like others, I have an idea, though I'm struggling to make everything fit.

Unlike others, I find Batman to be a very uninteresting character.

each to his own. as with any character who's been around so long, there are a lot of writers who've done him, not all of them well. it's really like reading a different character when different writers work on him, so it's all about finding one you like. obviously a high degree of subjectivity is involved.

these skills are really killing me. Finding a class that has all of them as class skills is proving especially difficult

[Curmudgeon]

Those are some . . . deceptively restrictive prereqs. Getting in here is harder than it looks, at least if you're trying to do anything interesting.
You might note that the example Justiciar, Sharsek, (Complete Warrior, pages 48-49) is illegal because he fails to meet the entry qualifications for the prestige class. Rangers don't get Gather Information as a class skill, so at Ranger 6 Sharsek can have a maximum of (6 + 3)/2 = 4½ ranks. 5 ranks are required for Justiciar entry. The City Slicker feat (Races of Destiny, page 150) could fix that problem.

[Careless]

Edit: Thank you Menteith

God, I'm so out of my depth here, this is going to be fun.

[Menteith]

Careless, you might want to PM those questions to the chairman and delete your post, though I can answer one of them for you;

"Does the Urban Tracking Feat count for Justiciar's prerequisites? Not unless someone can link to an official WotC ruling saying it does. " (post #13)

[Kuulvheysoon]

each to his own. as with any character who's been around so long, there are a lot of writers who've done him, not all of them well. it's really like reading a different character when different writers work on him, so it's all about finding one you like. obviously a high degree of subjectivity is involved.

these skills are really killing me. I especially like the "multiclass note" that tells us pallies can continue advancing. In a class that requires 3 skills they do not have as class skills, and requires 2 feats they have no use for

Funny enough, it doesn't bother me as much as a class like, say, Knight of the Chalice, which requires spellcasting to get in.... then provides it's own casting.

THE HUMANITY!

[Amphetryon]

Please refrain from listing entry methods into the PrC, as they could both count as speculation and negatively impact an entry's score with appearances of unoriginal concept.

Thanks.

[Venger]

Please refrain from listing entry methods into the PrC, as they could both count as speculation and negatively impact an entry's score with appearances of unoriginal concept.

Thanks.

edited my original post. sorry about that, just joining in on the talk about the PrC, didn't mean to spoil.



Funny enough, it doesn't bother me as much as a class like, say, Knight of the Chalice, which requires spellcasting to get in.... then provides it's own casting.

THE HUMANITY!

oh, man, those really grind my gears too. sometimes you get nar demonbinder though, so they're not all bad

[Draz74]

You might note that the example Justiciar, Sharsek, (Complete Warrior, pages 48-49) is illegal because he fails to meet the entry qualifications for the prestige class. Rangers don't get Gather Information as a class skill, so at Ranger 6 Sharsek can have a maximum of (6 + 3)/2 = 4½ ranks. 5 ranks are required for Justiciar entry.

Huh, so apparently WotC does know about Dusk Giant/Inspire Greatness TO cheese, after all ... :smallwink:

[Venger]

Huh, so apparently WotC does know about Dusk Giant/Inspire Greatness TO cheese, after all ... :smallwink:

I feel like I'm missing the joke. I'm aware of the dusk giant trick, but what does "sharshek" have to do with that?

[Narsis]

hmm...i have a couple ideas. and one that should definitely be unique. :smallbiggrin:

[Feytalist]

Woo boy. Justiciar. Somehow I was under the impression that it was already used as an ingredient in another competition? I suppose I was wrong.

I actually have one lying around somewhere, used in an old campaign of mine. I might just go dust him off. He was singularly useless though, if I recall. Although I do have an exam coming up in two weeks. Sigh. Damn real life.

[Kuulvheysoon]

I feel like I'm missing the joke. I'm aware of the dusk giant trick, but what does "sharshek" have to do with that?

Sharshek is the sample NPC Justiciar presented in Complete Warrior. Who incidentally cannot qualify when he enters the class.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Huh, so apparently WotC does know about Dusk Giant/Inspire Greatness TO cheese, after all ... :smallwink:


I feel like I'm missing the joke. I'm aware of the dusk giant trick, but what does "sharshek" have to do with that?


Sharshek is the sample NPC Justiciar presented in Complete Warrior. Who incidentally cannot qualify when he enters the class.


To further elaborate, Dusk Giant is a creature from Heroes of Horror who has an ability called Cannibalize (IIRC) which allows them to eat sentinent creatures and increase their HD momentariliy, Polymorphing into one would allow you to break some level-based caps such as maximum skill points per level, which would allow Sharshek to get the required ranks in Sense motive despite being cross-class for most of his levels.

[Venger]

Sharshek is the sample NPC Justiciar presented in Complete Warrior. Who incidentally cannot qualify when he enters the class.

Nope, I was clear on that, as I was on him not qualifying for justiciar. Honestly, I just assume sample characters don't qualify until I see explicit proof to the contrary rather than the other way around since it's so common.



To further elaborate, Dusk Giant is a creature from Heroes of Horror who has an ability called Cannibalize (IIRC) which allows them to eat sentinent creatures and increase their HD momentariliy, Polymorphing into one would allow you to break some level-based caps such as maximum skill points per level, which would allow Sharshek to get the required ranks in Sense motive despite being cross-class for most of his levels.
Oh, now I understand what you guys were talking about. Polymorphing does indeed give the cannibalize ability, which is bafflingly sorted under special attacks instead of special qualities.

However, dusk giant does call out the specific benefits you get from your extra HD: str, con, NA, hp, BA, saves, and feats. it doesn't mention skills, though the sample greater and lesser have a lot more skills. are they capable of advancing and gaining HD normally? do they gain skills anyway as a normal part of gaining hD?

this trick is indeed pretty hilarious, and seems much in the spirit of Do the Wight Thing to get rid of troublesome racial HD.

it's also nice to know that even WotC ignores that whole "if you lose the prereqs, you retroactively unqualify for a PrC" that CWar introduced.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Nope, I was clear on that, as I was on him not qualifying for justiciar. Honestly, I just assume sample characters don't qualify until I see explicit proof to the contrary rather than the other way around since it's so common.



Oh, now I understand what you guys were talking about. Polymorphing does indeed give the cannibalize ability, which is bafflingly sorted under special attacks instead of special qualities.

However, dusk giant does call out the specific benefits you get from your extra HD: str, con, NA, hp, BA, saves, and feats. it doesn't mention skills, though the sample greater and lesser have a lot more skills. are they capable of advancing and gaining HD normally? do they gain skills anyway as a normal part of gaining hD?

Yep, all monster gain Skills if they increase in HD, since it isn't explicitly mentioned that you don't, you do.

this trick is indeed pretty hilarious, and seems much in the spirit of Do the Wight Thing to get rid of troublesome racial HD.
IIRC Dusk Giant need to cannibalize constantly or they revert to their lesser versions, can someone with HoH at hand check for me please?

it's also nice to know that even WotC ignores that whole "if you lose the prereqs, you retroactively unqualify for a PrC" that CWar introduced.
It is a debated ruled, and from my reading it only applies to classes in CWar and CArc, so people should take that into account in this particular IC.


Answers in bold.

[Venger]

Answers in bold.

good to know you get skills too

I have HoH. you need to cannibalize every day (not constantly) or you lose 1 HD/day. I have also seen that ruling applied in IC.

[Uhtred]

So I have never entered one of these before, and I admit that lawful characters are not traditionally my baliwick, but I think I have a viable build for this class. Is it strictly based on levels and feats and features and backstory, or am I equipping the character as well? If so, do I just use the WBL chart in the DMG and update his equipment every level?

[Dusk Eclipse]

So I have never entered one of these before, and I admit that lawful characters are not traditionally my baliwick, but I think I have a viable build for this class. Is it strictly based on levels and feats and features and backstory, or am I equipping the character as well? If so, do I just use the WBL chart in the DMG and update his equipment every level?

You don't have to equip it all (in fact if your character is reliant on a particular magic item, you will likely get penalized by the judges); but you can and generally it is useful to proved an idea of good items for the build (for example if your build uses Hexblade curse, you can mention that Hexbands would make the build stronger)

[Venger]

So I have never entered one of these before, and I admit that lawful characters are not traditionally my baliwick, but I think I have a viable build for this class. Is it strictly based on levels and feats and features and backstory, or am I equipping the character as well? If so, do I just use the WBL chart in the DMG and update his equipment every level?

welcome to the contest! hope you enjoy your stay.

go to the first post and look at some of the earlier entries to see what's expected and check out the chart.

you're expected to give levels, skills, feats, features, and backstory, as laid out on the chart in the OP.

you don't need to give a complete breakdown of every piece of equipment that your guy/gal has, and that is in fact discouraged for taking forever to read and having your character rely on gear rather than class features (thus showing off how cool the SI is) it also assumes WBL, which some judges take umbrage with

as long as your build doesn't rely on a specific piece of equipment to be functional at all, there's nothing wrong with listing a piece of equipment or two under an adaptation/notes section.

don't give an equipment list at every level, it'll take forever and lose you a ton of points.

[OMG PONIES]

I'll be participating...for great justice! Whether it's as a competitor or judge only time will tell.

[eggs]

If a piece of gear your character character relies on, or that makes a nice combination with your build's features, definitely mention it. Or if your build relies on doing something unintuitive, mention that (like primarily boosting Wisdom instead of Strength on your Paladin).

But if it's just the Bag of Tricks picked as a whimsical toy, the Cloak of Resistance that every character is obligated to wear or a magic sword whose specific enhancements don't really matter, you don't need to list that, it's probably not worth mentioning.

[123456789blaaa]

I'm just throwing a question out here but what do you guys think makes a good/bad SI? Personally speaking, many of my least favorite competitions have had SI"s with lots of 1/day SLA's so that might be something.

[Dusk Eclipse]

IMO unique (Blade Bravo) or customizable abilities (Assassin), otherwise they tend to pretty much look the same (see AotS which had a lot of fear stacking).

[Venger]

I'm just throwing a question out here but what do you guys think makes a good/bad SI? Personally speaking, many of my least favorite competitions have had SI"s with lots of 1/day SLA's so that might be something.

I would agree with this. Stuff like stonelord is (to me) very difficult to optimise, since even though you may be able to boost its SLAs, they're still 1/day. I personally like the classes that you look at and say "wow. I wish I could play one of those, if only x were different"

it tends to be ones with really interesting flavor behind them, even if the mechanics are a little lacking. acolyte is a good example of this. it is one of the SLAs=class features holdovers from tome and blood, but the idea of binding a fiend to your skin is so awesome that I'd always liked the idea even if mechanically it didn't do a lot.

[eggs]

Class features that involve big build-diverging decisions are always more fun than ones that don't (eg. a Fleshwarper with plant grafts is going to be getting different benefits out of the class than a Fleshwarper with yuan-ti grafts; I get much more of a kick out of that than Alienists, all get essentially the same thing).

1/day abilities are usually also a huge turn-off, since it's generally impractical to invest any resources in making them stronger or using them uniquely.

[123456789blaaa]

Class features that involve big build-diverging decisions are always more fun than ones that don't (eg. a Fleshwarper with plant grafts is going to be getting different benefits out of the class than a Fleshwarper with yuan-ti grafts; I get much more of a kick out of that than Alienists, all get essentially the same thing).


I dunno about this. In theory it's true but in practise it doesn't seem to work out that way (see the animal lord competition where most of the contestants used snakelord and the mythic exemplar competition where most of the contestants used Imdastri).

Also, fleshwarper doesn't seem like a good secret ingredient to me. Most of the actual abilities are small boring bonuses and what stops people from picking the same best grafts instead of themed ones? After all, one of the abilities of the fleshwarper is to gain access to a multitude of different types of grafts that normally are impossible to access to (for creatures not of a specific type).

[Menteith]

- Classes with unique mechanics. Shadow Sentinel's resource system is a good example of this.

- Classes that offer choice within themselves. This could be bonus feats, mutually exclusive ability choices, or classes that offer different benefits based on how they're entered.

- Classes without significant entrance requirements. I find that alignment requirements especially give me trouble, as I can have trouble "forcing" an alignment on a character I've envisioned for a mechanical reason.

[Venger]

- Classes with unique mechanics. Shadow Sentinel's resource system is a good example of this.
I agree with this. that's part of what makes jaunter so popular in IC.


Classes that offer choice within themselves. This could be bonus feats, mutually exclusive ability choices, or classes that offer different benefits based on how they're entered.
we saw a fair bit of this in animal lord, and I agree that it's a positive thing.


Classes without significant entrance requirements. I find that alignment requirements especially give me trouble, as I can have trouble "forcing" an alignment on a character I've envisioned for a mechanical reason.

I agree here as well. I hope you don't have too much trouble being lawful for justiciar. for the most part, judges aren't going to say 'you didn't seem very lawful in your backstory, points off'. as long as your alignment restrictions add up, it ought to be fine.

[Amphetryon]

- Classes with unique mechanics. Shadow Sentinel's resource system is a good example of this.

- Classes that offer choice within themselves. This could be bonus feats, mutually exclusive ability choices, or classes that offer different benefits based on how they're entered.

- Classes without significant entrance requirements. I find that alignment requirements especially give me trouble, as I can have trouble "forcing" an alignment on a character I've envisioned for a mechanical reason.

Anyone have a list of PrCs that fit these requirements, without full casting or the popularity that would otherwise make them a poor fit for the point of the Iron Chef (optimizing under-used PrCs)?

[Venger]

Anyone have a list of PrCs that fit these requirements, without full casting or the popularity that would otherwise make them a poor fit for the point of the Iron Chef (optimizing under-used PrCs)?

well, as mentioned in the last thread, I think kensai would be kind of fun as an SI. it's got unique capability with its weapon stuff, customization within it, so 2 kensais are very unlikely to look the same, and it doesn't advance casting and isn't widely used. it requires 2 feats, but isn't especially difficult to get into.

the disciples/thralls of x from vile darkness also very rarely see play, and I've always wanted to do something with mammon or grazz't's people.

bloodhound would be fun for the same reason justiciar is fun: unique abilities and deceptively complex criteria to fulfill.

I know it's a little on the bland side, but I actually kind of like yakuza, and think that it's general enough that we could see a lot of different approaches to it

darkrunner is also lackluster in the same way that drow judicator was (to me anyway)

I really like fatemaker, but am not sure if its 10 levels of unique progression would discourage its use as an SI. assassin has that and it got used, so I don't think that'd rule it out entirely. I'm not sure why, but I never see people use fatemakers.

primeval, as discussed last time, is not too great and sees little use, but could be fun, and since everyone would choose their own primeval form, there'd be a lot of differentiation.

twisted lord is a class that I always thought was kind of good, but sees little use due to its obscurity. it's ridiculously easy to qualify for, and is the only class besides exemplar and uncanny trickster I've seen to give 8 points/lvl.

that's about all the 10 level, non-full casting, fun, relatively easy to enter PrCs that haven't been featured on IC I can think of right now. how about other people?

tl;dr:
kensai
thralls/disciples, especially mammon/grazz't
bloodhound
yakuza
darkrunner
fatemaker
primeval
twisted lord

[Amphetryon]

tl;dr:
kensai
thralls/disciples, especially mammon/grazz't
bloodhound
yakuza
darkrunner
fatemaker
primeval
twisted lordDisciple of Dispater gets plenty of discussion.
Now, from those remaining, which comply with Thiago's requirement that they have no association with "fear-stacking" or "Intimidate shenanigans?"

[Venger]

Disciple of Dispater gets plenty of discussion.
Now, from those remaining, which comply with Thiago's requirement that they have no association with "fear-stacking" or "Intimidate shenanigans?"

true enough. the others not so much though.

well, none of them, really. some have intimidate, but none really centers around it.

[Amphetryon]

true enough. the others not so much though.

well, none of them, really. some have intimidate, but none really centers around it.

That reads to me as "none of the listed SI options will be considered a 'good choice' without complaint." :smallwink: Choosing the Secret Ingredient is fun, isn't it?

[The Dark Fiddler]

Woo boy. Justiciar. Somehow I was under the impression that it was already used as an ingredient in another competition? I suppose I was wrong.

Don't feel bad, I could've sworn that Iron Chef was already on its fifty-somethingth competition.

[Menteith]

More random PrCs that might be viable candidates;

Shadow Sun Ninja, Valadis Beastkeeper (possibly with changed entry req. to allow for non-Eberron adapations), Soul Eater (with clarification on how it functions), Runescarred Berserker, Ashworm Dragoon, Swiftblade.

[Kuulvheysoon]

twisted lord is a class that I always thought was kind of good, but sees little use due to its obscurity. it's ridiculously easy to qualify for, and is the only class besides exemplar and uncanny trickster I've seen to give 8 points/lvl.

that's about all the 10 level, non-full casting, fun, relatively easy to enter PrCs that haven't been featured on IC I can think of right now. how about other people?

The incredibly obscure Scorpion Heritor (Sandstorm) also gets 8+Int skill points/level, as well as full SA.

Off the top of my head I'd love to see Wildrunner (RotW), Shadowmind (CAdv) and Fang of Sseth (SK).

And bonus points for the horrendously bad Knight of the Chalice (CW).


More random PrCs that might be viable candidates;

Shadow Sun Ninja, Valadis Beastkeeper (possibly with changed entry req. to allow for non-Eberron adapations), Soul Eater (with clarification on how it functions), Runescarred Berserker, Ashworm Dragoon, Swiftblade.

Ashworm Dragoon? Come on, that class is actually pretty good. And Swiftblade is actually actually good. Soul Eater's a fairly popular choice as well, so I doubt that one will be a Secret Ingredient anytime soon.

[Amphetryon]

More random PrCs that might be viable candidates;

Shadow Sun Ninja, Valadis Beastkeeper (possibly with changed entry req. to allow for non-Eberron adapations), Soul Eater (with clarification on how it functions), Runescarred Berserker, Ashworm Dragoon, Swiftblade.

Ashworm Dragoon and Swiftblade are both too good/popular to make good choices.

Soul Eater has a huge can of worms with it, in addition to the "fear/debuff stacking shenanigans" complaint.

Runescarred Berserker is hilariously hard to qualify by RAW in 3.5 (as in, you can't, if Curmudgeon's reading of the RAW is correct). Its "separate casting mechanic" is also one which has been specifically requested against of late.

Shadow Sun Ninja also hits the "fear/debuff stacking shenanigans" complaint squarely. While it's the only ToB class I'd personally consider at all for the contest, any ToB class runs the risk of being considered "too good" for the purposes of Iron Chef.

Valadis Beastmaster is a "separate casting mechanic" class, a mechanic which has generated specific calls against it of late. It also shares the issue with RsB of being arguably "too obscure".

[OMG PONIES]

Let's just go back to the method of "whichever PrC will make competitors groan the most." :smalltongue:

[Menteith]

I'm suddenly very grateful that I'm not the one who has to choose the ingredients. Thank you Amphetryon! :smallsmile:

Additionally, I'm really, really happy with my current build for Justicar. I've got to make sure that I've got Skills squared away, but otherwise, the mechanics of it are set!

[Venger]

That reads to me as "none of the listed SI options will be considered a 'good choice' without complaint." :smallwink: Choosing the Secret Ingredient is fun, isn't it?

I don't understand what you mean. could you explain?

I don't think that anyone will look at the list I gave and say "that is going to give us an entry that's all fear stacking"

I certainly don't want people to complain about my secret ingredient suggestions. you're the chairman, so the decision's ultimately up to you. I just thought throwing out a few that complied with Menteith's criteria might give us an impression of what chefs wanted to cook next time around (and what you thought might be fun)


The incredibly obscure Scorpion Heritor (Sandstorm) also gets 8+Int skill points/level, as well as full SA.
I am a huge fan of scorpion heritor. its tremorsense ability is awesome, and full SA for a 10 lvl prc is unprecedented besides assassin (I think) so that's pretty fun.

I do question your assertion that sandstorm is more obscure than shattered gates of slaughtersdale though :smalltongue:



I'm suddenly very grateful that I'm not the one who has to choose the ingredients. Thank you Amphetryon! :smallsmile:

Additionally, I'm really, really happy with my current build for Justicar. I've got to make sure that I've got Skills squared away, but otherwise, the mechanics of it are set!
on that note, my build is done as of yesterday, I just need backstory

[Amphetryon]

I don't understand what you mean. could you explain?At the risk of setting up a recursive loop, I'll have to ask for more information about the source of your confusion before I can explain.

[Venger]

Disciple of Dispater gets plenty of discussion.
Now, from those remaining, which comply with Thiago's requirement that they have no association with "fear-stacking" or "Intimidate shenanigans?"
none of the ones I submitted (to my knowledge) have any fear-stacking/intimidate stuff.


true enough. the others not so much though.

well, none of them, really. some have intimidate, but none really centers around it.


That reads to me as "none of the listed SI options will be considered a 'good choice' without complaint." :smallwink: Choosing the Secret Ingredient is fun, isn't it?
I'm not sure what you mean. do you mean "I don't think you'll be satisfied unless someone complains about the SI you have chosen" ? because that is not true of me. if you meant something else, what is it?

At the risk of setting up a recursive loop, I'll have to ask for more information about the source of your confusion before I can explain.

my confusion is regarding your interpretation of my comment. did you feel differently about their intimidate/fear stuff? they're not really centered around it.

as far as runescarred berserker goes, why is it impossible to qualify for? couldn't one take survivor, then buy 2 CC in local (rashemen) ? or is there something I am missing?

[Amphetryon]

none of the ones I submitted (to my knowledge) have any fear-stacking/intimidate stuff.

If they have Intimidate as a class skill or another means of debuffing the opponent(s), they're likely to see use for "stacking fear/debuff shenanigans," particularly in the absence of full casting or a similar strong alternative.


I'm not sure what you mean. do you mean "I don't think you'll be satisfied unless someone complains about the SI you have chosen" ? because that is not true of me. if you meant something else, what is it?That's almost 100% the opposite of what I said; I said that none of the options listed meet the metric of avoiding the complaints leveled against SI choices. I made no comment whatsoever about you, or someone else, not being satisfied until there was a complaint.


my confusion is regarding your interpretation of my comment. did you feel differently about their intimidate/fear stuff? they're not really centered around it.See above regarding Intimidate. Merely having it on their Class list - and not having a strong incentive in the PrC to ignore it - means that at least one person is likely to build any of those PrCs with Intimidate/fear stacking/debuffing as a theme, which has caused complaint of late.


as far as runescarred berserker goes, why is it impossible to qualify for? couldn't one take survivor, then buy 2 CC in local (rashemen) ? or is there something I am missing?As of 3.5, it is not technically possible to qualify for the Berserker Lodge feats without the DM houseruling for you, per Curmudgeon's interpretation of the RAW.

[Venger]

If they have Intimidate as a class skill or another means of debuffing the opponent(s), they're likely to see use for "stacking fear/debuff shenanigans," particularly in the absence of full casting or a similar strong alternative.

That's almost 100% the opposite of what I said; I said that none of the options listed meet the metric of avoiding the complaints leveled against SI choices. I made no comment whatsoever about you, or someone else, not being satisfied until there was a complaint.

See above regarding Intimidate. Merely having it on their Class list - and not having a strong incentive in the PrC to ignore it - means that at least one person is likely to build any of those PrCs with Intimidate/fear stacking/debuffing as a theme, which has caused complaint of late.

As of 3.5, it is not technically possible to qualify for the Berserker Lodge feats without the DM houseruling for you, per Curmudgeon's interpretation of the RAW.

I understand now. well, like you said, it's awfully hard to find classes with no casting/intimidate.

ah, that explains that. thanks

[ThiagoMartell]

Disciple of Dispater gets plenty of discussion.
Now, from those remaining, which comply with Thiago's requirement that they have no association with "fear-stacking" or "Intimidate shenanigans?"
Yay, I'm important! :smallcool:
I think that just having Intimidate as a class skill does not necessarily mean we'll get all builds with fear optimization. Kensai is a bit of a problem since it gets a bonus to Intimidate, so you either use it or lose points, since you're not using all parts of the SI.
From the SI suggested, my personal favorites are Scorpion Heritor, Wildrunner and Shadow Sun Ninja - though I also think Shadow Sun Ninja could be used later, because it will cause a storm of fear-optimized characters.
Amph, congratulations on being this open about suggestions, that's pretty cool.

[Kuulvheysoon]

I'm probably going to enter - tweaking a final design before final fluffing.

For all the first-timers out there, here's some advice (set to the 'tune' of a certain commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUxPYXvTElA))


Start with a simple idea
Think
Think more
Drink coffee
Stop thinking
Start doing
Plot a build
Kill the build
More coffee
Build something totally original
Ok, not that original
Blow-your-mind original
Now it’s time to create something
Do it again and again
That’s good
Kick out the clichés
Call in the fluff writers
Call in the rules guys
Call in the optimizers
Not those optimizers
Those Optimizers
Blow off lunch
Blow off dinner
Blow off weekends
SLEEP
...
Ok, that’s enough sleep
More coffee
Build a preliminary build
Mold it
Shape it
Hate it
Start over
Build another preliminary
Mold it
Shape it
Love it
That’s good
More coffee
Give it some kick
Give it more power
More power
Never too much power
Base Attack of +15
No, +16
Make it in less than 20 levels
Oh no, the Rules laywers
You can’t do that.
Kick out the Rules lawyers!
Playtest the build.
Tweak
Tweak
TWEAK
TWEAK
STOP!
Get a second opinion.
Call the critics.
Call your friends.
Get a celebrity endorser.
Huh
No
No
No
No
Yes. He’s perfect.

I am?
Yes, you are.
Making an ICO winning build.
It’s that easy.

[Kazyan]

Wow. It fits! So that means somebody else is probably using it. Maybe? And it's not nearly...but it fits! *pulls hair*

[Venger]

Yay, I'm important! :smallcool:
I think that just having Intimidate as a class skill does not necessarily mean we'll get all builds with fear optimization. Kensai is a bit of a problem since it gets a bonus to Intimidate, so you either use it or lose points, since you're not using all parts of the SI.
From the SI suggested, my personal favorites are Scorpion Heritor, Wildrunner and Shadow Sun Ninja - though I also think Shadow Sun Ninja could be used later, because it will cause a storm of fear-optimized characters.
Amph, congratulations on being this open about suggestions, that's pretty cool.

hey, you were the one who said what we were all thinking, that entitles you to a little recognition. too bad you didn't like any of my suggestions, maybe next time. I'd kind of like to roll up a scorpion heritor as well. that bonus against mind affecting is pretty sweet as far as feat taxes go.

I really like twisted lord. I love the silly troll face he's making, I'm sure there'd be some weird things people would do with that class.

[Kelb_Panthera]

I'm probably going to enter - tweaking a final design before final fluffing.

For all the first-timers out there, here's some advice (set to the 'tune' of a certain commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUxPYXvTElA))


Start with a simple idea
Think
Think more
Drink coffee
Stop thinking
Start doing
Plot a build
Kill the build
More coffee
Build something totally original
Ok, not that original
Blow-your-mind original
Now it’s time to create something
Do it again and again
That’s good
Kick out the clichés
Call in the fluff writers
Call in the rules guys
Call in the optimizers
Not those optimizers
Those Optimizers
Blow off lunch
Blow off dinner
Blow off weekends
SLEEP
...
Ok, that’s enough sleep
More coffee
Build a preliminary build
Mold it
Shape it
Hate it
Start over
Build another preliminary
Mold it
Shape it
Love it
That’s good
More coffee
Give it some kick
Give it more power
More power
Never too much power
Base Attack of +15
No, +16
Make it in less than 20 levels
Oh no, the Rules laywers
You can’t do that.
Kick out the Rules lawyers!
Playtest the build.
Tweak
Tweak
TWEAK
TWEAK
STOP!
Get a second opinion.
Call the critics.
Call your friends.
Get a celebrity endorser.
Huh
No
No
No
No
Yes. He’s perfect.

Yes, you are.
Making an ICO winning build.
It’s that easy.


Heh, that reads like a George Carlin bit.

R.I.P. George. He'd roll over in his grave if he heard somebody say that...... and wasn't dead.

[OMG PONIES]

I do question your assertion that sandstorm is more obscure than shattered gates of slaughtersdale though :smalltongue:

Wow, that book is obscure! Even more so than Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde :smalltongue:.


I really like twisted lord. I love the silly troll face he's making, I'm sure there'd be some weird things people would do with that class.

There was an entry in Round X, I believe (whichever round we did Blade Bravo) that made use of Twisted Lord--I think it was Moudo.

[Amphetryon]

Wow, that book is obscure! Even more so than Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde :smalltongue:.



There was an entry in Round X, I believe (whichever round we did Blade Bravo) that made use of Twisted Lord--I think it was Moudo.

Yep. Trust me, I know. :smallwink:

[Venger]

Wow, that book is obscure! Even more so than Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde :smalltongue:.
heehee




There was an entry in Round X, I believe (whichever round we did Blade Bravo) that made use of Twisted Lord--I think it was Moudo.

oh, I must've forgotten.

hey, what's the fastest from announcement to submission in iron chef? I tried checking the IC records thread, and I didn't see it there. I was talking about it earlier but have been unsuccessful while looking at the archive.

[Kuulvheysoon]

I am a huge fan of scorpion heritor. its tremorsense ability is awesome, and full SA for a 10 lvl prc is unprecedented besides assassin (I think) so that's pretty fun.

I do question your assertion that sandstorm is more obscure than shattered gates of slaughtersdale though :smalltongue:



Wow, that book is obscure! Even more so than Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde :smalltongue:.

Oh, I didn't mean that It's Hot Outside is obscure - I meant that I've never heard of a build that uses Scorpion Heritor.

[Amphetryon]

hey, what's the fastest from announcement to submission in iron chef? I tried checking the IC records thread, and I didn't see it there. I was talking about it earlier but have been unsuccessful while looking at the archive.
We've had one submission in +/- 3 hours, as I recall. It was under Prinny's watch.

[ThiagoMartell]

Oh, I didn't mean that It's Hot Outside is obscure - I meant that I've never heard of a build that uses Scorpion Heritor.

It's a pretty cool class, I've used it for NPCs a few times. In fact, a themed a whole tribe around it.

[Dusk Eclipse]

It's a pretty cool class, I've used it for NPCs a few times. In fact, a themed a whole tribe around it.

I've used it in a pbp; but I only had one level and the game died before the first combat was finished. hmmm now I am tempted to build a Scorpion Heritor and submit is as soon as (if) it is revealed as a secret ingredient.

And wow I just checked the Record thread and it went up to ICOCitP XV. Is anyone willing to re-start it?

[OMG PONIES]

And wow I just checked the Record thread and it went up to ICOCitP XV. Is anyone willing to re-start it?

It's on the list of things I intend to do...right after updating the spreadsheet. TBH, it's fallen off a lot in recent rounds due to being busy with RL.

[Fable Wright]

Dang... I have the perfect idea for this competition, using almost all of the abilities beautifully, and I just know it's going to be using the same base class as at least 3 other entries. Hopefully the other elements of the build are going to make up in the Originality department somewhat...

[Venger]

Dang... I have the perfect idea for this competition, using almost all of the abilities beautifully, and I just know it's going to be using the same base class as at least 3 other entries. Hopefully the other elements of the build are going to make up in the Originality department somewhat...
well, yeah, a certain base class seems to be coming to the forefront with this SI. darn prereqs.

[Menteith]

I feel confidant that no one else is dumb enough to do what I'm doing. :smalltongue:

[mattie_p]

I feel confidant that no one else is dumb enough to do what I'm doing. :smalltongue:

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I've got a dumb idea too.

[Venger]

I feel confidant that no one else is dumb enough to do what I'm doing. :smalltongue:


I wouldn't be so sure about that. I've got a dumb idea too.

aw, man, my idea's pretty dumb too. I hope we don't all end up doing the same thing.

[mattie_p]

aw, man, my idea's pretty dumb too. I hope we don't all end up doing the same thing.

Man, that would be dumb.

[Kuulvheysoon]

I feel confidant that no one else is dumb enough to do what I'm doing. :smalltongue:


I wouldn't be so sure about that. I've got a dumb idea too.


aw, man, my idea's pretty dumb too. I hope we don't all end up doing the same thing.

Well, that makes threefour of us, because guess who else has a dumb idea?

[Piggy Knowles]

Huh... I was having a lot of trouble coming up with anything remotely original for this (I love this class, but all of the decent options just seemed painfully obvious to me), but I just had a pretty cool idea. Time to crack open some books and see if I can get this one to work out!

[eggs]

Well, that makes threefour of us, because guess who else has a dumb idea?
Dang. I'm glad I'm not submitting anything, because my best idea is also extraordinarily dumb. Now I'm just getting excited to see how many flavors of dumb crop out of this thing. :smalltongue:

[OMG PONIES]

Well, that makes threefour of us, because guess who else has a dumb idea?

Me? Who told you?!

[Careless]

Me? Who told you?!

I guarantee my idea is dumber than any of yours. I absolutely guarantee it. Now I just need to decide if I want complete incongruity that can be explained well by story, or just be kinda weird...

[Venger]

I guarantee my idea is dumber than any of yours. I absolutely guarantee it. Now I just need to decide if I want complete incongruity that can be explained well by story, or just be kinda weird...

go for it. I made a half-ogre who rides around on an elephant and throws flaming pumpkins at people and wrote eight haikus for his backstory. almost got HM too. if you have a fun idea, you should submit it.

[Fable Wright]

Well, I just submitted my first Iron Chef build. I have a sinking feeling that I somehow butched the formatting/could have the fluff better/am going to lose based on something other than the build. Is this normal?

Also, I can't tell whether or not my [REDACTED][REDACTED][REDACTED][REDACTED], a [REDACTED] to the [REDACTED] is brilliant, dumb, or awesome. Time will tell, I guess...

EDIT: Being unable to discuss the build will not help anything, I take it...

[Piggy Knowles]

go for it. I made a half-ogre who rides around on an elephant and throws flaming pumpkins at people and wrote eight haikus for his backstory. almost got HM too. if you have a fun idea, you should submit it.

I loved that one, especially because of the trick where you used the shadowdancer's HiPS ability to hide in your own mount's shadows. It inspired me to write up a mini-supermount build using the Shadow Cloak pally sub levels for a whisper gnome who beefed up his riding dog, hid in its shadow, and used Mounted Combat to negate any hits on it.

[Menteith]

Well, I just submitted my first Iron Chef build. I have a sinking feeling that I somehow butched the formatting/could have the fluff better/am going to lose based on something other than the build. Is this normal?

Yes. I remember submitting my Dragon Disciple entry (which finished one spot away from placing), and immediately regretting not spending more time on it.

[Kelb_Panthera]

A simple tip:

If you're worried about your formatting, pm the build to yourself before pm'ing it to the chairman. That way you can check that the formatting is right before you submit the build.

[only1doug]

Well, that makes threefour of us, because guess who else has a dumb idea?

Just about everyone I think, I'm personally torn between 2 dumb ideas... (and I won't submit both)

[Sgt. Cookie]

Due to IRL time constraints, I'm going to have to judge instead. I'll post up a criteria shortly.

[Venger]

I loved that one, especially because of the trick where you used the shadowdancer's HiPS ability to hide in your own mount's shadows. It inspired me to write up a mini-supermount build using the Shadow Cloak pally sub levels for a whisper gnome who beefed up his riding dog, hid in its shadow, and used Mounted Combat to negate any hits on it.

well! high praise coming from the guy who always wins. thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed that trick, I was especially proud of it.


A simple tip:

If you're worried about your formatting, pm the build to yourself before pm'ing it to the chairman. That way you can check that the formatting is right before you submit the build.

an easier way is to use the "preview post" function on either an unrelated thread or a PM to yourself. posts have a 50k character limit, while PMs have a 25k one, so if it says it's too long in a PM, try to just preview post in an unrelated thread (in case you accidentally click submit, you can delete it without tipping your hand)

[Menteith]

I currently have a wonderful 21 level build. Cutting it down to 20 levels makes it much less awesome. Frowntowns. This is what I get for reading through my collection and finding something I desperately want in the build, instead of just leaving my mostly done entry alone. Well, still have plenty of time to figure out a way to make this work.

[Sgt. Cookie]

Judging criteria:



Originality: Does your build make use of any well known tricks? Is the fluff nice and unexpected? Is it daring and new? Have you entered the SI unexpectedly?

Power: How well does your build function? Could it go toe to toe with your standard 4 man party, and win? Or could the Wizard beat you in (Unbuffed) melee?

Elegance: How well does your build fit together? Are there any glaring issues? Is your build even legal? Have you dipped excessively?

Note on legality: There is a range of penalty, depending on how serious the illegality of your build is. For example: You satisfy every requirement except for 1 skill rank, not too much of a penalty, but if you lacked one of the feats, expect a huge one.

Note on dipping: I won't be penalising a Ranger (Or similar) dip, because Track is a nasty feat to spend a character feat on.

Use of Secret Ingredient:How many levels of the SI did you put in? If it is less than 10, you can't get more than 3, less than 5 no more than 1.

Other notes: I operate an "error carried forward" system. That means you only get penalised once, for example, if you lack the requisite 6 ranks in search, you get an elegance hit, but if you used the SI well, you could still gain the max of 5 points.

[only1doug]

Well my level build is done, just needs fluff and some example levels now.

[Venger]

Well my level build is done, just needs fluff and some example levels now.

I really enjoy writing the "snapshots" for sample levels. it really helps you to go through all the build's abilities and tricks for the judges

[RFLS]

I realize this is slightly off topic- is one of the ToB prestige classes likely? Obviously not windicator or JPM, but maybe Deepstone Sentinel?

[Kazyan]

I currently have a wonderful 21 level build. Cutting it down to 20 levels makes it much less awesome. Frowntowns. This is what I get for reading through my collection and finding something I desperately want in the build, instead of just leaving my mostly done entry alone. Well, still have plenty of time to figure out a way to make this work.

You're not building the same thing I'm building, are you? :smalleek:


I realize this is slightly off topic- is one of the ToB prestige classes likely? Obviously not windicator or JPM, but maybe Deepstone Sentinel?

The Chairman has said a few times that only Shadow Sun Ninja would make a good SI, and will probably be on hold until our trigger-happiness for fear stacking cools down.

[Draz74]

I realize this is slightly off topic- is one of the ToB prestige classes likely? Obviously not windicator or JPM, but maybe Deepstone Sentinel?

What Kazyan said. I think Deepstone Sentinel was ruled out (only) because it's only 5 levels long.

Same with Bloodclaw Master.

Eternal Blade and Bloodstorm Blade, on the other hand, are probably just too strong, like JPM and RKV.

Master of Nine probably too easy to use well and only 5 levels.

[The Dark Fiddler]

What Kazyan said. I think Deepstone Sentinel was ruled out (only) because it's only 5 levels long.

Same with Bloodclaw Master.

Eternal Blade and Bloodstorm Blade, on the other hand, are probably just too strong, like JPM and RKV.

Master of Nine probably too easy to use well and only 5 levels.

Isn't Bloodstorm Blade generally considered not worth taking for all 10 levels, though?

[Dusk Eclipse]

IIRC it is because the class is too front-loaded, I guess if the relevant abilities were more spreaded out many people would take it to 10.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Isn't Bloodstorm Blade generally considered not worth taking for all 10 levels, though?

The important stuff is in levels 1-4, but the other abilities are still quite nice. It really does seem just a bit too good for IC.

It is, notably, the only PrC in ToB that doesn't increase your initiator level. It gets the standard 1/2 for non-adept classes as PrC's and classes from other books.

[ThiagoMartell]

You know, having to build it 1-20 and filling that table is such a hassle. In the first contests you cold just present the build at 3 different points in the progression... why did this change?

[RFLS]

You know, having to build it 1-20 and filling that table is such a hassle. In the first contests you cold just present the build at 3 different points in the progression... why did this change?

Because this makes it harder to fudge stuff and easier to judge.

[Heatwizard]

Oh man, I've got an idea so stupid that I feel compelled to piece something together. I don't even care if I get last place, which is good because I probably will.

[Fable Wright]

Out of curiosity, whatever happened to the Contestants/Judges/The Builds sections in the OP? Is it just vestigial? The last time I see it used was in the Mindbender competition, which is a bit of a shame... it can be kinda annoying to jump through a thread to try to find the builds, and having links to them would make pairing up judges' comments on builds and the actual builds easier.

Also, Sgt. Cookie, don't you only need to take 5 ranks in Gather Info/Search/Survival? Or is my book wrong? :smallconfused:

[only1doug]

Also, Sgt. Cookie, don't you only need to take 5 ranks in Gather Info/Search/Survival? Or is my book wrong? :smallconfused:

Pre Reqs are
Skills:
Gather Info 5 ranks
Search 5 ranks
Survival 5 ranks

Feats:
Skill Focus: Gather Info
Track

BAB:
+5 +6

Edit: My build has now been submitted, and I have that "I could of done it all very differently" feeling... like entering the class with the correct BAB...

[Kuulvheysoon]

Pre Reqs are
Skills:
Gather Info 5 ranks
Search 5 ranks
Survival 5 ranks

Feats:
Skill Focus: Gather Info
Track

BAB:
+5


Edit: My build has now been submitted, and I have that "I could of done it all very differently" feeling...

Actually, it's a BAB of +6, not +5. Just saying. :smallwink:

[Kazyan]

Actually, it's a BAB of +6, not +5. Just saying. :smallwink:

Yes.

You need +6 BAB.

:smallfurious:

[Venger]

Yes.

You need +6 BAB.

:smallfurious:
didn't get the whole "aim for prcs enterable at 6" memo

[The Dark Fiddler]

Edit: My build has now been submitted, and I have that "I could of done it all very differently" feeling... like entering the class with the correct BAB...

Well, the contest isn't over yet; I'm sure you can still submit revisions, no?

[Fable Wright]

Well, in the interest of fixing up the Builds section of old competitions, I present this:

Iron Chef XXVII Builds
Lilly Bleak (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365856&postcount=232)
Frater Omnia Vincam (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365869&postcount=233)
Jongler, the Vile Trickster (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365882&postcount=234)
Shelob Ephel Duath (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365898&postcount=235)
Maccles the Cheshire cat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365905&postcount=236)
The Ethereal Enslaver of Evil (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365909&postcount=237)
The Charred Charmer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365926&postcount=238)
Sir Daenmoor Dreslyth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365931&postcount=239)
Lydia deVrey (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365953&postcount=240)
Anjelica, Unholy Scion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365969&postcount=241)
Senator Alden Graildark (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12365982&postcount=242)
Monty Took (Part 1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12366047&postcount=243), Part 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12366061&postcount=244))


Iron Chef XXVIII Builds
Old Man Winter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12527073&postcount=170)
Calipso (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12527089&postcount=171)
The Antipode (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12527103&postcount=172)
The SGACSPD (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12527123&postcount=173)
Bjorn Doragoniru (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12527137&postcount=174)

Iron Chef XXIX Builds
Venator Incorporum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661038&postcount=178)
The Silver Hawk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661048&postcount=179)
D'Arnis (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661056&postcount=180)
Mayael the Unforgiven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661064&postcount=181)
Nakam Ovilka (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661078&postcount=182)
Yohana Mulsh (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661098&postcount=183)
Ral'Tik-Deja'raluk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661121&postcount=184)
Cassius Humatiel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661134&postcount=185)
Thorik Stonetooth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661142&postcount=186)
Griblax Tookersnout (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661171&postcount=187)
Jan Kwan (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661180&postcount=188)
Genji (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661187&postcount=189)
Lama de Maldini (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661196&postcount=190)
Qilin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661203&postcount=191)
Manx Fireheart (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661211&postcount=192)
Shere Khan Sing (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661224&postcount=193)
Ebrahim Bahadir'Aziz (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12661249&postcount=194)
Iron Chef XXX Builds

The Wanderer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833183&postcount=202).
Grandmaster Thrask Goldfang (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833191&postcount=203).
Candle, the Lantern of Pistis Sophia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833201&postcount=204).
Koko (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833223&postcount=205).
Guang Pho Sung (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833235&postcount=206).
Naye, Pariah of Aralith (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833244&postcount=207).
Jael Filius (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833252&postcount=208).
Trishna Bodhi (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833273&postcount=209).
Zool (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833285&postcount=210).
Shui Cho (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12833307&postcount=211)

[mattie_p]

So I was working on skills today and found a problem. I fixed that problem and broke them in a different way. Now I can fix that but found a problem with feats....

So much to do, so little time.

[Draz74]

Well, the contest isn't over yet; I'm sure you can still submit revisions, no?

In fact, I think it's required that he do so, in order to avoid breaking anonymity when the builds are revealed. :smalltongue:

[Menteith]

Because this is bugging the heck out of me;

Does the Justiciar have every Knowledge skill on its skill list? There's no errata for it, and it lists "Knowledge" on the skill list, instead of "Knowledge [X]".

[Amphetryon]

Because this is bugging the heck out of me;

Does the Justiciar have every Knowledge skill on its skill list? There's no errata for it, and it lists "Knowledge" on the skill list, instead of "Knowledge [X]".In the absence of errata, that's what it gets. I could see a judge taking exception to any Knowledge that didn't formally exist prior to Complete Warrior's 1st printing, though.

[mattie_p]

Build is done, just need some notes and fluff.

[OMG PONIES]

Grr, I won't have time to submit by the deadline. However, I may be able to judge--here's hoping that someone picks up on the one trick I found!

[mattie_p]

And... submission sent. Good luck to all competitors.

[GreenSerpent]

Alas, back-to-university has prevented me from competing.

[Menteith]

Sorry to hear that you guys won't be able to submit this round. Good luck to everyone still cramming, and I can't wait until the reveal!

[Kazyan]

Here's hoping no one picked up on my trick. Doing the "but it's too obvious!" dance makes you tired.

[Kuulvheysoon]

I'm afraid that I'm going to have to go the way of OMG PONIES and GreenSerpent and bow out of this one.

I'll reveal my proposed stupid idea sometime after the reveal.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Geez, we've got contestants dropping like flys here. There're still at least two contestants left, right?

[Piggy Knowles]

I'm still hoping to enter... I've got my tables done and my fluff written. Now I just need to do the build explanation, and barring any craziness I should have plenty of time tomorrow.

[only1doug]

Geez, we've got contestants dropping like flys here. There're still at least two contestants left, right?

There have been 5 or 6 people already announcing completed builds, we should be ok.

[Uhtred]

Still refining my build, flitting and flavoring. Should be done by the 6th.

[mattie_p]

Still refining my build, flitting and flavoring. Should be done by the 6th.


Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 11:59PM GMT on Saturday, September 22th, 2012 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, Amphetryon. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying.

You actually have about 7 hours or so to get it in.

[Amphetryon]

There have been 5 or 6 people already announcing completed builds, we should be ok.

7 received so far, with over 3 hours to go.

[only1doug]

7 received so far, with over 3 hours to go.

Yup, i was confident that i wouldn't win by default.

[Piggy Knowles]

Entry is in with hours to spare. Good luck, all!

[mattie_p]

Entry is in with hours to spare. Good luck, all!

If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do, right? :smalltongue:

[Venger]

finishing touches going on. backstory was extra fun this time, hope you enjoy it.

[mattie_p]

I hope everyone enjoys mine as well. I think you will, but obviously cannot be sure until I get some feedback...

Even with a (possibly) smaller crowd, looks to be a good competition.

[Venger]

blargh. html coding is hard. done with my entry.

well, I look forward to reading yours. I'm sure it'll be really good.

[Amphetryon]

Now (that I can stop fighting with connectivity issues, blargh) it's time for the reveal! Please refrain from posting in this thread until after I've given the all clear. Thanks.

[Amphetryon]

A striking Paladin against evil.

Doril Shadowbane, Champion of Pelor

Foreword

I am proud to present Doril Shadowbane: Centaur, Paladin, Shadowstriker and Justicar. He fights for Pelor and Justice, bringing down evildoers where ever he finds them and dragging them back to Justice where Practical.


The Story

During his long adolescence Doril was inquisitive and curious but felt that something was missing from his life, something important, something holy.
A roaming Cleric spoke of the glories of Pelor to the curious and Doril was enlightened, now he realised what was missing, Pelor's shining light was calling him and he had been unable to hear the call but now he had seen the light.

Doril Dedicated Himself to Pelor and the defeat of Evil, he soon learned of a dedicate group of Pelorites who hunted Undead and other evildoers and he quickly joined their order, Bringing Pelors Light to the darkest domains.

Whilst Travelling Doril conversed with many of similar inclination, A former Ranger called Sharshek told him of the Justicar's People dedicated to finding criminals and returning them to the scene of their crimes to face Justice,
The concept appealed to Doril, publicly punishing a crime helps to encourage peoples belief in the system of laws and order.


The Stats

Stats
Base Stats

Str: 16
Dex: 8
Con: 12
Int: 14
Wis: 14
Cha: 14

Racial modified stats

+8 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom.

Str: 24
Dex: 12
Con: 16
Int: 12
Wis: 16
Cha: 14

all level increases to str.


The Build

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

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

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

3rd|Monsterous Humanoid 1|
+1|
+0|
+2|
+2|Gather Information 2.0, Listen 4, Survival 4|Track|

4th|Monsterous Humanoid 2|
+2|
+0|
+3|
+3|Gather Information 2.5, Listen 5, Survival 5||

5th|Monsterous Humanoid 3|
+3|
+1|
+3|
+3|Gather Information 3.0, Listen 6, Survival 6|Good Devotion|

6th|Monsterous Humanoid 4|
+4|
+1|
+4|
+4|Gather Information 3.5, Listen 7, Survival 7||

7th|Paladin 1|
+5|
+3|
+4|
+4|Knowledge (Religion) 2, Gather Information 4.0||Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Smite evil 1/day

8th|Shadow Striker 1|
+6|
+5|
+4|
+6|Gather Information 4.5, Search 2|Skill Focus (gather Information)|Badge of Office, Luminous Weapon

9th|Shadow Striker 2|
+7|
+6|
+4|
+7|Gather Information 5.0, Search 3, Knowledge (Religion) 3||Smite Evil 1/day, Sun's Blessing

10th|Shadow Striker 3|
+8|
+6|
+5|
+7|Search 5, Knowledge (Religion) 4||Surge of Piety

11th|Justicar 1|
+9|
+6|
+5|
+9|Gather Information 8, Listen 8, Survival 8|Improved Unarmed Strike|Bring em back alive, non lethal strike +1d6

12th|Justicar 2|
+10|
+6|
+5|
+10|Gather Information 11, Listen 9, Survival 9||Improved Grapple, Crippling Strike

13th|Justicar 3|
+11|
+7|
+6|
+10|Gather Information 14, Listen 10, Survival 10||EWP (Manacles), Street Savvy +2

14th|Justicar 4|
+12|
+7|
+6|
+11|Gather Information 15, Listen 12, Survival 12|Scorpion Grasp|non lethal strike +2d6

15th|Justicar 5|
+13|
+7|
+6|
+11|Gather Information 16, Listen 14, Survival 14||Hog-Tie

16th|Justicar 6|
+14|
+8|
+7|
+12|Gather Information 17, Listen 16, Survival 16||Street Savvy +4

17th|Justicar 7|
+15|
+8|
+7|
+12|Gather Information 18, Listen 18, Survival 18|Quick Draw|non lethal strike +3d6

18th|Justicar 8|
+16|
+8|
+7|
+13|Gather Information 19, Listen 19, Survival 19, Knowledge (religion) 6||Improved Hog-Tie

19th|Justicar 9|
+17|
+9|
+8|
+13|Gather Information 20, Listen 20, Survival 20, Knowledge (religion) 8||Street Savvy +6

20th|Justicar 10|
+18|
+9|
+8|
+14|Gather Information 21, Listen 21, Survival 21, Knowledge (religion) 10|Snap Kick|Intuition, non lethal strike +4d6[/table]


Feat List

L1 Track
L3 Good Devotion
L6 Skill Focus: Gather Information
L9 Improved Unarmed Strike
L12 Scorpion Grasp
L15 Quick draw
L18 Snap Kick

Racial Benefits
Darkvision 60'
Speed 50'


Example Levels

ECL9 Shadowstriker
Doril is dedicated to destroying Undead and hunting Evil, his Luminous weapon can receive Sun's blessing 3/day (powered by smite evil), at this stage Doril will be using a two-handed weapon for better damage against his opponents

Doril Shadowbane L7 (ECL9)

Lawful Good Centaur 4/ Paladin 1/ Shadowstriker 2

Large Monsterous Humanoid
HD: 4d8+3d10+21 (59hp)
Initative: +1
Speed: ?? (50' base modified by Heavy armour: 35' perhaps?)
AC 22, Touch 11, Flat footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+19
Attack: Greatsword +14/+9 melee (3d6+10/19-20) or Javelin +8 ranged (1d8+7/×2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Smite Evil, Luminous Weapon, Sun's Blessing
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Badge of Office, Good Devotion, Track.
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +10
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14
Skills: Survival +10, Listen +10, Gather Info +10, Knowledge (religion) +4, Search +4
Feats: Track Good Devotion, Skill Focus: Gather Information
Equipment:

This example provides only mundane Equipment, Wealth By level should give Doril significantly improved abilities.


Luminous Weapon: 3/day for 10 rounds: weapon glows with light (as spell) and deals an additional 4 points of damage to evil or undead creatures.
Sun's Blessing: 1/day: Luminous weapon increases to Daylight and deals 1d6 fire damage for 2 rounds.
Smite evil: 2/day: Can also be sacrificed to gain extra uses of Sun's Blessing.


ECL15 Justicar
Doril has hunted down many criminals and returned them to trial, he has now Learned the Hogtie Technique.
Doril will either use Massive force (two handed weapon) for opponents that he wishes to destroy or when he wishes to capture he will use Manacles and enhance their abilities with Luminous weapon.
If Doril sucessfully hits an opponent with a light weapon (such as manacles) he can initiate a grapple as a free action.

Doril Shadowbane L13 (ECL15)

Lawful Good Centaur 4/ Paladin 1/ Shadowstriker 3/ Justicar 5

Large Monsterous Humanoid
HD: 4d8+9d10+39 (110hp)
Initative: +1
Speed: ?? (50' base modified by Heavy armour: 35' perhaps?)
AC 22, Touch 11, Flat footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +13/+29
Attack: Greatsword +21/+16/+11 melee (3d6+12/19-20) or Javelin +8 ranged (1d8+8/×2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Smite Evil, Luminous Weapon, Sun's Blessing, Surge of Piety, Bring em back alive, Non lethal strike (2d6), Crippling Strike, Scorpion Grasp, HogTie.
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Badge of Office, Good Devotion, Track, Street Savvy +2
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +14
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14
Skills: Survival +17, Listen +17, Gather Info +19 (+21), Knowledge (religion) +5, Search +6
Feats: Track, Good Devotion, Skill Focus: Gather Information, EWP (manacles), Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Scorpion Grasp
Equipment:
This example provides only mundane Equipment, Wealth By level should give Doril significantly improved abilities.


Luminous Weapon: 3/day for 10 rounds: weapon glows with light (as spell) and deals an additional 6 points of damage to evil or undead creatures.
Sun's Blessing: 1/day: Luminous weapon increases to Daylight and deals 1d6 fire damage for 3 rounds.
Smite evil: 2/day: Can also be sacrificed to gain extra uses of Sun's Blessing or increase effect of Surge of Piety.
Surge of Piety: Any undead that touches Doril is shaken for 1 round or until it is no longer in physical contact with him even if it normally cannot be affected by this condition. 1/day as a full round action Doril may channel a burst of positive energy that functions as a consecrate spell and deals 1d8 positive energy damage to all undead within 30' (no save). This damage may be increased by 1d8 for each smite evil attempt that Doril sacrifices.


ECL20 Master Justicar
Doril has Improved his Hogtie Technique so that he can approach a person and almost instantly have them in chains. as before he can initiate a grapple as a free action after a successful hit with a light weapon (such as his free unarmed attack from a snap kick)
This attack technique could look like this: Weapon attack (two handed weapon)- using non lethal strike, snap kick with non lethal strike, Scorpions grasp into a grapple, Improved Hogtie (quickdrawing Manacles).

Doril Shadowbane L18 (ECL20)

Lawful Good Centaur 4/ Paladin 1/ Shadowstriker 3/Justicar 10

Large Monsterous Humanoid
HD: 4d8+13d10+60 (153hp)
Initative: +1
Speed: ?? (50' base modified by Heavy armour: 35' perhaps?)
AC 22, Touch 11, Flat footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +18/+35
Attack: Greatsword +21/+16/+11 melee (3d6+12/19-20) or Javelin +8 ranged (1d8+8/×2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Smite Evil, Luminous Weapon, Sun's Blessing, Surge of Piety, Bring em back alive, Non lethal strike (4d6), Crippling Strike, Scorpion Grasp, Improved HogTie, Snap Kick
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Badge of Office, Good Devotion, Track, Street Savvy +2
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +17
Abilities: Str 29, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14
Skills: Survival +24, Listen +24, Gather Info +26 (+32), Knowledge (religion) +11, Search +6
Feats: Track, Good Devotion, Skill Focus: Gather Information, EWP (manacles), Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Scorpion Grasp
Equipment:
This example provides only mundane Equipment, Wealth By level should give Doril significantly improved abilities.


Luminous Weapon: 3/day for 10 rounds: weapon glows with light (as spell) and deals an additional 6 points of damage to evil or undead creatures.
Sun's Blessing: 1/day: Luminous weapon increases to Daylight and deals 1d6 fire damage for 3 rounds.
Smite evil: 2/day: Can also be sacrificed to gain extra uses of Sun's Blessing or increase effect of Surge of Piety.
Surge of Piety: Any undead that touches Doril is shaken for 1 round or until it is no longer in physical contact with him even if it normally cannot be affected by this condition. 1/day as a full round action Doril may channel a burst of positive energy that functions as a consecrate spell and deals 1d8 positive energy damage to all undead within 30' (no save). This damage may be increased by 1d8 for each smite evil attempt that Doril sacrifices.





Sources

Centaur as a playable Race MM or From the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/centaur.htm)
Monsterous Humanoid levels from the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#monstrousHumanoidType)
Good Devotion feat from Complete Champion
Shadowstriker Class from Complete Champion
Scorpion Grasp Feat from Sandstorm
Snap Kick Feat from Tome of Battle


Other Notes

If allowed LA buyoff Doril should take more levels in Paladin (specifically allowed by both PRCs) to finish the 20 level build.

A note on Use rope skill: Use rope skill is a trap for Doril, he gains no benefit by using it instead of his Grapple check. At Level 20 his Maximum use rope skill is 21 ranks + 1 int modifier, his grapple check would be BAB (+18) + size modifier (+4) + Improved Grapple (+4) + Strength modifier (+9 without magical items).

Equipment:
Stat Boosting Items:
Doril Would mainly benefit from Strength boosts with minor benefits from Wisdom or Charisma boost items when convenient.

[Amphetryon]

He's good, bad, and ugly, all in one.

Dustie, The Thri-Kreen With No Name

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5044/5351298020_891997705b_z.jpg

Bloodbath Bill stumbled into the old barn, desperate eyes glancing around the wide enclosure as he stumbled into one of the old stalls lining the sides. The hay was damp, and smelled musty- that was normal, that was fine. Grasping his broken arm, he collapsed against the side of the stall. When did this go wrong? The stickup went off without a hitch; he and his posse had made off like the bandits they were. They had enough money to last for at least another three months; quite a feat, given their standard living.

And then, out of nowhere, as they were getting back to the hideout, it struck. Bill didn't know what it was- no one there did. It was all a blur. A mass of limbs and a jacket had burst out of the underbrush, lightning fast, and got Billy, before incapacitating Mighty Nelson within seconds. There was no hesitation after that- they ran. Bill got hit a half dozen times in the arm- it was broken for sure, but he got away. The others- the others weren't so lucky. It got them. It got all of them. He lost it- he knew he did. His breathing had slowed by now, and the pain had faded into a dull throb. He could get away- start anew. Maybe fall in with Black Heart Jones' gang- they had worked together in the past, and maybe- *snap*

Bill eyes darted up at the noise. It was here. It was following him. Taking up the rusted shovel leaning on the wall, he crept up to the door- maybe he could get a jump on it, and then-

A rasping, insectile voice appeared from behind him, causing him to jump. "Bloodbath Bill, your days as an outlaw are over."


The Build

Dustie, The Thri-Kreen with No Name
Psionic Thri-Kreen 4/Totemist 4/Swordsage 2/Justiciar 10

Starting Stats:
Before racial modifiers: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Cha 8, Wis 10
After racial modifiers: Str 18, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 10, Cha 4, Wis 12
(Stat bonuses from levels go to Strength.)
The Level-by-Level Breakdown:
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Thri-Kreen RHD|
+1|
+0|
+2|
+3|Gather Information 2, Hide 4|Multiattack|Deflect Arrows, Thri-Kreen Racial Abilities

2nd|Thri-Kreen RHD|
+2|
+0|
+3|
+3|Gather Information +.5, Hide +1, Search +.5||

3rd|Level Adjustment|
+2|
+0|
+3|
+3|||

4th|Level Adjustment|
+2|
+0|
+3|
+3|||

5th|Totemist 1|
+2|
+2|
+5|
+3|Survival +4|Skill Focus (Gather Information)|Wild Empathy, Illiteracy

6th|Totemist 2|
+3|
+3|
+6|
+3|Gather Information +1, Search +.5, Survival +1||Totem Bind (Chakra)

7th|Swordsage 1|
+3|
+3|
+8|
+5|Gather Information +.5, Search +1, Hide +3||Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus)

8th|Totemist 3|
+4|
+3|
+8|
+6|Gather Information +.5, Search +1.5|Track|

9th|Totemist 4|
+5|
+4|
+9|
+6|Gather Information +.5, Search +1.5||Totem's Protection

10th|Swordsage 2|
+6|
+4|
+10|
+7|Gather Information +.5, Search +.5, Hide +4||AC Bonus

11th|Justiciar 1|
+7|
+4|
+10|
+9|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +2|Psychic Renewal|Bring 'em Back Alive, Nonlethal Strike +1d6

12th|Justiciar 2|
+8|
+4|
+10|
+10|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +2||Improved Grapple, Crippling Strike

13th|Justiciar 3|
+9|
+5|
+11|
+10|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +1, Survival +1||Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Manacles), Street Savvy +2

14th|Justiciar 4|
+10|
+5|
+11|
+11|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +1, Survival +1|Martial Stance(Crushing Weight of Mountains)|Nonlethal Strike +2d6

15th|Justiciar 5|
+11|
+5|
+11|
+11|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +1, Survival +1||Hog-Tie

16th|Justiciar 6|
+12|
+6|
+12|
+12|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +1, Survival +1||Street Savvy +4

17th|Justiciar 7|
+13|
+6|
+12|
+12|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +1, Survival +1|Martial Study (Dancing Mongoose)|Nonlethal Strike +3d6

18th|Justiciar 8|
+14|
+6|
+12|
+13|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +1, Survival +1||Improved Hog-Tie

19th|Justiar 9|
+15|
+7|
+13|
+13|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +1, Survival +1||Street Savvy +6

20th|Justiciar 10|
+16|
+7|
+13|
+14|Gather Information +1, Search +1, Hide +1, Survival +1|Power Attack|Intuition, Nonlethal Strike +4d6[/table]

Meldshaping
{table=head]Level|Class|Soulmelds|Essentia|Chakra Binds

5th|Totemist 1|
2|
1|
0

6th|Totemist 2|
3|
2|
1

8th|Totemist 3|
3|
2|
1

9th|Totemist 4|
4|
3|
1
[/table]

Maneuvers
{table=head]Level|Class|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known

7th|Swordsage 1|Burning Blade, Distracting Ember, Cloak of Deception, Sudden Leap, Counter Charge, Fire Riposte|4|Child of Shadow

10th|Swordsage 2|Mountain Hammer|4|Assassin's Stance[/table]


The Legend

Level 5:

Thri-Kreen 4/Totemist 1

Dustie was born to be great. This much was known from the very moment of his hatching. As he was brought out into the world, the first cracks spidering out of the egg, the earth shook. Thunder rumbled on the horizon, and dust clouds billowed over the horizon as he came. As his clutch watched in awe, the storm grew ever louder and the cracks kept growing, until at last the storm had died down, and the young Thri-Kreen crawled out of his egg. It was at this time that the clutch first saw what was in the storm. Dozens of white-topped... things appeared in the dust clouds, led by prey-animals that the clutch had never seen before. Out of the things stepped... they didn't know. It looked like a molted Thri-Kreen, with two arms instead of 4, but it could stand and gesture with no difficulty. It was an odd creature. It was at this point that the clan noticed Dustie, and they knew his destiny. He would go to these creatures, and he would spend his life there. He was groomed by the tribe to learn how to learn from others, learning the basics of picking up details from others and gathering information from the very day he was born, and soon after was taught the sacred art of binding his soul to the land itself.

Years would pass before he would master the basics of the techniques, before he would be allowed to scout for the clutch's Hunters, and he faced trials and tribulations beyond what any would have expected of him. But that's another story.

This is weakest point in Dustie's build, at the very beginning of his career. Here, his lack of BAB makes him as skilled as spellcasters in combat, with defensive options that help him survive in combat from the Psionic Thri-Kreen levels, such as Greater Concealing Amorpha.

However, at this level, he is almost unmatched as a scout– between a high dexterity, the Chameleon psi-like ability, the Kruthik Claws soulmeld, and Hide as a racial skill, Dustie is able to sneak around unseen (though perhaps not unnoticed altogether).

Level 7:

Thri-Kreen 4/Totemist 2/Swordsage 1

Dustie grew up nice and strong- stronger, quicker, hardier than the other members of his tribe. He was a born fighter, and mastered the technique of bonding the totem-beast of his tribe, the Girallion, to his main Chakra the earliest of anyone else his age. The time swiftly came that he was able to become a man, and to lead his first Hunt- which he did with great aptitude.

But other things come with adulthood- namely, responsibility. Dustie was born to meet with the human tribe, and once he was grown he was responsible for fulfilling his destiny. With a heavy heart, he left his tribe, to enter the hive of the alien creatures.

There, he was astounded by the place. There were solid dwellings made of trees, fighting and laughing and strangers. He tried to learn about the town, to try to see what was there. People shunned him, and left him alone. But he had to find his destiny. Eventually, he found something he knew- he found skinned prey-beasts, the meat roasted and the skins hung out by vile liquid. This is where he would learn about the humans.

He found out that there were Hunters of this place, too. They brought in the prey-beasts, which they called Buffalo, he was told. They brought in 3 or 4 Buffalo each time they went out. Mighty Hunters, then. Dustie went to find them; this was something that he knew, a place to enter this new society, and learning the skill of these hunters, who could take 3 or 4 Buffalo per night! He followed them on their next Hunt, and was unprepared for what they saw. They were no real Hunters! They didn't fight the beasts with spear and wit alone. They tricked the beasts, with fire and shadow, before shooting the things where they stood. There was no justice in that! They didn't respect the animals, merely slaughtering them for food. Disgusted, Dustie left the field group, and went home to his clutch. There was no place with the humans.

Something stayed with Dustie that day, though. He had seen enough violent deaths at the hands of the prey-beasts. He could figure out a few tricks of these... butchers, could he not? He could save his clutch-mates' lives. He would just make sure to respect the Hunt-Beasts, to fight them like they deserved. Then it would be alright...

At this level, the build is beginning to come together. Dustie now has 7 natural attacks- 4 from his claws, one from his bite, and two more from his Girallion arms soulmeld. However, he has an unfortunately low attack bonus due to the level adjustment and lack of BAB from Swordsage and Totemist 1. However, the maneuvers he gains from the level in Swordsage more than make up for this. Distracting Ember and Cloak of Deception, in particular, allow him to raise his attack bonus to match Rogues, or exceed them in the case of high dexterity opponents. Against opponents with a low armor class and high hit points, such as the prey animals Dustie often hunts, the Burning Blade maneuver adds huge amounts of damage over the attack sequence- about 7d6+21 damage, if all attacks hit.

Finally, Swordsage adds one last key maneuver for Dustie- the Sudden Leap maneuver. In order to properly get off all of his 7 natural attacks, he needs to be in melee combat range. Sudden Leap, when combined with his 18 in Strength, 40ft base land speed, and +30 racial bonus, can allow him to close into melee combat range in a Swift action, giving the ability to move across the battlefield and full attack someone- a power usually reserved for Charger builds.



Level 11:
Thri-Kreen 4/Totemist 4/Swordsage 2/Justiciar 1

Time passed, as it is wont to do. Dustie lived a good life out on the plains, but he grew restless. The few tricks he picked up from the butchers made hunting far too easy now- he was the best hunter in clan history, and he felt less of a thrill from the Hunt. Not from overuse, either- the herds had started disappearing, showing up in smaller and smaller numbers, or not at all. Dustie had to follow the tracks they left, at times, to find the herd, rather than being able to see them from his home. To make matters worse, the humans' city had been growing. More and more of them were swarming the plains, tearing up the prairie grass and growing foreign plant in their place. Dustie knew that it was a sign. He had to go back, and fulfill his destiny. Whatever it was.

When Dustie entered the town, it was in a state of disarray. Doors were bolted shut, and there were sounds of fighting from the Saloon. Dustie barged in, seeking the source of the commotion. There, in the center of the room, was a brawler. As Dustie watched, dumbfounded, he slammed a man into the floor, threw another against the wall, and chucked one out onto the street behind Dusty. The man was a machine, and was clearly disturbing the peace. There was only one thing to do.

The thrill of combat was invigorating. Dodging blows, following up with an array of quick punches when the opponent left an opening, only for the foe to dodge many of them- it was the thrill that combat in the open plains had lost long ago. In the end, in a moment of triumph, he expended the focus he was unknowingly holding the whole battle to cause his fists to light up a second time in battle- both to his surprise and his opponents. In a quick finish, he knocked the man unconscious- in a way, it was a shame. He enjoyed the fight, more than any Hunt he had performed in a long, long time. A man walked up behind him and touched him on the shoulder. "Well now," said the sheriff, "That's some fine fight you got there, Dustie. How abouts we get this man in jail, and then we can talk about the bounty."

After the conversation, it all became clear. Dustie had seen the light, and held his destiny in his hands. Not only could he easily feed his entire tribe with the wealth that the bounty brought, there were dozens of men like the one he fought tonight out there, all his match or better. Dustie left his old life behind. He was born anew, casting off his Thri-Kreen name, and living the life of the bounty hunter. He was only known by the name the Sheriff gave him that night in the bar to those outside of his clutch. And soon, legends of a nameless Bounty Hunter, known to the few who knew of him as Dustie, came to be born.


Dustie finally qualified for his first level of Justiciar, which has brought quite a lot more material to the table to play with. First and foremost amongst the new tricks to play with are Assassin's Stance and Nonlethal Strike. These are reliable boosts to the damage of each of Dustie's attacks- 3d6 per attack for 7 attacks is no small amount of damage tacked on. However, as it is conditional damage, the ways that Dustie has to add it on should be noted.

First, he still has a huge hide bonus- between the Kruthic Claws and the Chameleon power, Dustie can probably start most encounters unseen, and can fire off a rapid assault in the first round of combat by closing into range with Sudden Leap. One possible tactic is to delay your initiative on the Surprise round to about 100 or so in the following round- as RAW says that you can "Act Normally" in the round, you get your full attack against any opponent that didn't act in the surprise round- given your hide check, that would be most of them.

Secondly, he has the Maneuvers Cloak of Deception and Distracting Ember to ensure Sneak Attack/Nonlethal Strike damage in at least two rounds of combat against any creature Sneak Attack and Nonlethal Strike can be applied to. These do require Swift actions, and so can't be used in the first round of combat with Sudden Leap; however, on just about any other round of combat, this tactic works.

Finally, against opponents already flanked or who aren't vulnerable to Sneak Attack damage, Burning Blade still provides a considerable damage boost in combat- the damage has been upped to 1d6+5 damage per attack, which is, on average, two point of damage less per attack than the 3d6 points of Nonlethal Strike + Sneak Attack damage.

The last point of interest here is the 11th level feat- Psychic Renewal. At first glance, this looks like an odd choice- Thri-Kreen qualify by virtue of their racial power point, but it seems to be a worse version of Sudden Recovery, a relatively subpar feat. However, it is, in reality, Dustie's Maneuver Recovery method. At this level, Dustie can easily afford a Rainbow Ioun Stone; this provides him with an extra 5 power points per day. However, given that Dustie doesn't have maneuvers that go above second level, and in fact relies on mostly first level maneuvers, means that he can recover one maneuver each encounter as a Swift action- a great improvement over the Swordsage's maneuver recovery method. This can give Dustie another round of Sneak Attack, give him another round of bonus damage against opponents immune to Sneak Attack, or the ability to close distance rapidly in the event of a chase.



Levels 15+:


Now, it was at this time that Dustie became the Bounty Hunter of legend that you know and love- I won't bother you with the tale of the time he wrestled Alligator Steve to the floor with his bare hands, and manacling those tiny arms behind his back, or about the time he broke every single bone in Granite McGee's body before that man fell to the floor; you already know those tales. He is a legend, a great hero of the west- and only a few years ago, he disappeared, leaving naught but the memory of him. He will never be forgotten, the Thri-Kreen with no name. He was born at the birth for the battle for the west- and died after it was tamed.

Fifteenth level is the last keystone of Dustie's build, where the last missing piece of Dustie's techniques come into place. Over the last 4 levels, Dustie gained the Improved Grapple feat, the Crushing Weight of Mountains stance, and finally, the ability Hog-Tie. All of these combine beautifully together, with the right synergies.

The first synergy between the grapple abilities gained at these levels and the rest of the build is Dustie's Girallion arms soulmeld. Dustie had been more or less ignoring the base bonus of binding it for most of his career- but now, that bonus comes back with a vengeance. When Dustie invests all of his essentia in the Soulmeld, he gains a +10 Competence bonus on Grapple checks, which is a huge advantage over most of his humanoid foes, and it helps bridge the gap in grapple checks between Dustie and larger foes.

The second main synergy is that making a grapple check takes an attack action- something that Dustie has plenty of per attack sequence. Each round, Dustie can make 7 attempts to draw his Masterwork Manacles and/or attempt to pin his opponent- and on each successful grapple check, the subject takes 2d6+1.5x Dustie's Strength modifier damage. Additionally, the multiattack feat proves to be a great boon here. Normally, when a character continues to use attack actions in a grapple, their bonus on the grapple check gets lower and lower. However, because of the multiattack feat, Dustie's grapple checks after the first suffer a straight -2 penalty across the board, giving him a huge edge when it comes to winning a grapple.

The last synergy with grappling comes with another one of the Justiciar's class features- Crippling Blow. Normally, this causes relatively small penalties over the course of a combat. However, with Dustie's 7 attacks per round (9 attacks once per encounter, with Dancing Mongoose), all of which having a great chance of hitting, the stat damage quickly adds up against unprepared characters. The stat damage can cause some large penalties in a grapple after the 2 or 3 rounds of Nonlethal strike that Dustie can usually get off each combat, potentially dealing way over 10 points of Strength damage in that time frame (21 in optimal conditions), giving -5 or far worse penalties to his opponents' grapple checks- allowing him to easily dominate the grapple.

The stat damage also has another use- against sneaky or roguelike characters, who could easily escape a pin or get out of manacles, stat damage is a good way to pin them down to be brought to justice- after they suffer damage to strength, the gear they carry can easily add up to become a Medium or Heavy load- which imposes a rather low Maximum Dex Bonus on their armor class. From this state, combat becomes significantly easier.




Adaptations
If your DM will allow you, one of the first things you should do with Dustie is to take the LA Buyoff option from Unearthed Arcana and the SRD. This allows Dustie to take more class levels rather than be bogged down the LA that would otherwise just fluff up his level without giving him that much benefit. If you do use this option, consider giving Dustie either two additional levels of Swordsage or two additional levels of Totemist- Swordsage is a good choice at later levels, as a high initiator level means that higher level maneuvers are granted, which is generally good news for Dustie. Some maneuvers, such as Pouncing Charge and Dancing Mongoose (taken in this build) are perfect for Dustie; however, take care to try to select Boosts and Counter for him to use. He wants to be full attacking each round, and Strikes generally do not allow for this. Alternatively, two more Totemist levels give Dustie the ability to bind a second Chakra, and give access to the Hands, Feet, and Crown Chakras.

If you are able to take more Swordsage levels, I recommend changing the build a bit. If you take a level of Swordsage right after you gain the Hog-Tie ability, rather than after finishing Justiciar, you can free up the feat slot that is currently holding the Martial Study(Dancing Mongoose) for a another feat. Some options are Hidden Talent, if that is allowed, to grand Dustie some basic Manifesting ability to compliment his psi-like abilities and give more uses for his Psychic Renewal feat. If this is disallowed by your DM, taking Power Attack at this level and investing ranks into Jump rather than Survival allows you to take Leap Attack at level 18, which can drastically increase your damage in conjunction with the Pouncing Charge Swordsage Maneuver.

Recommended Equipment:

Dustie isn't very reliant on much equipment, needing Light armor at best, no enchanted weapons, and so has a lot of flexibility in what he buys. However, a few suggestions for him are:

Ring of Counterspelling- A weakness of this build is Dispel Magic effects, which unshape soulmelds. Protecting against such attacks are a good idea.
Rainbow Ioun Stone- This is necessary to properly use the Psychic Renewal feat. Take it at 11th level, and no later.
An Amulet of Mighty Fists grants bonuses to each of Dustie's many natural attacks at a relatively low investment. If you can combine this with an Amulet of Health as per the rules in the Magic Item Compendium, the added Constitution helps shore up your weak Fortitude save and increase your hit points.
Grappling Tentacle- clocking in at 20,000gp, this graft grants a +5 Untyped bonus to grapple checks to complement the bonuses granted from Girallion Arms.
Belt of Giant Strength- Strength is an important stat for melee characters, and items that boost Strength are important.
Cloak of Resistance- While Dustie's base Reflex and Will saves are high, he doesn't have much else in the way of bonuses there, and his Fortitude save is low- which could spell his end without something to boost it.


Sources: SRD, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Tome of Battle, Magic of Incarnum, Fiend Folio (for the Grappling Tentacle).

[Amphetryon]

What do you call him? 'I can't say.'



Familiar Legends
There is a reason that many Conjurers prefer the company of a hummingbird, snake, or raven as their familiar. Some options are ruled out by time. Availability. And among those familiar with lore outside the arcane texts of the ivory wizarding towers, the answer is history, and a vague sense of foreboding that comes with it. Shortly after the inception of catweres, created by Transmuters, there began a heated conflict coming from the Conjurer house of the time and place. Ultimately, the Transmuter house was destroyed, slaying wizards and catweres. Bonds were separated, and threads of arcana should never be left unfinished, as any introductory Evoker can attest to.

There may be truth to the rumors of a graveyard-like dungeon deep within layers of the earth. It is hard to verify, however. After the first few monsters are slain by lucky adventuring parties, they always encounter one that they are particularly ill-equipped to handle. One that knows how to defeat them.

There may be hidden reasons as to the curious fact of the city's mage's guild: there are no Conjurers.

Legends are connected intricately. What if I were to say that these are connected, to a fourth? What if it is all connected to the most innocuous thing: the rumor of a stray cat in the area?

Allow me to explain. Not too long ago, the Tibbit race had entirely developed in several generations before jealously reached its peak. Transmuters and Conjurers had always been the most powerful of wizards, and the jealous ancient guild of Conjurers did not want to lose their...superiority, in a word. Capable of doing anything, they set their sights on destroying the Transmuter's guild. Many orbs were launched and many fiends were summoned. Generations of cast, tibbits, their intermediaries, and Transmuters were killed, as per the lore.

The connection between a familiar and its master cannot be understated, though a dour wizard does not often mention it. It is for this reason that, in the midst of the conflagrations, a tibbit-familiar chose not to die after a fiendish bear followed up the slaughter of its master by finishing the tibbit itself.

Time passed. The Transmuters' guild was all but wiped from history. The fall of the Conjurers' guild, decades later, came as quite a surprise.

The Tibbit, whose epithets I will shorten to the recent one of Unspeakable, became a specter of sorts. At first, it desired revenge for the death of its master, but this is not an easy task to perform for a morphing housecat. Understandably, it took those decades to sabotage an entire conjurer's guild. Perhaps the wizards should have spent a little more time with their divinations, but that kind of musing is purely academic. My theory is that the specter's telekinesis ability allowed it to interrupt a delicate teleportation ritual, but the speculation is purely academic.

Whatever the case, Unspeakable should have lost its tie to the world then and there. But Conjurers are all over the world, and the specter took it upon itself to search out and kill more of them, out of a mistaken sense of justice. Perhaps it wanted to make sure that they hadn't simply teleported to safety.

Unspeakable has made travels from Bluepoint to Azt, and every city in between, searching for Conjurers to bring to justice. It's not easy for a cat to do so, however, which is where the graveyard legend comes in. You see, Unspeakable is fundamentally a cat. Even cantrips are enough to kill a cat. They're not enough to kill, say, a leopard. And, as a specter, Unspeakable has the ability to take over a creature's mind.

If you could do so, wouldn't you want to choose the best body you could find?


Sixteentoes "Unspeakable" Componentgaurder

Lawful Evil Old Tibbit Ghost (Partial Savage Progression) LA+4/Ranger 6/Justiciar 10

Introduction
Why Ghost?

The justiciar is pretty good at making things unconscious, but it attempts to do several things at once: to simultaneously be the party watchman, face, grapplemonkey and skillmonkey is a tall order. There aren't a lot of ways to do it all competently.

However, it's possible to be a melee beast without having any positive physical ability score besides CON. Druids do it all the time. However, monsters scale Better Than You in terms of grapple checks, and they sometimes have tons of attacks, too.

The answer to all of these role issues? The Ghost template. Suddenly, the justiciar is good at whatever it wants, through possession.

Why Old?

When possessing things, a ghost's physical stats are independent of its mental ones. Age categories are an efficient way of trading useless physical stats for mental stats. Venerable is not chosen because +3 doesn't do more than +2 and because Dexterity is nice to have.

Why Tibbit?

For stealth, nothing compares with the Whisper Gnome. Usually. But consider this: since ghosts are soundless, only Hide needs to be optimized here. A Whisper Gnome effectively gets +9 Hide (+2 Dex, racial bonus, small). A Tibbit, in cat form, has +10 (+4 Dex, Tiny). Then consider that charisma penalties are a Bad Thing for ghosts, and that the cat would have +3 AC (Dex, size, Cha), is eligible for Multiattack, and has some exclusive and hilarious options (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fools/20030401c) open to it. Tibbit > Whisper Gnome.

{table=head]Ability score|PB|Adjustment|Result
STR|8|-5|3
DEX|14|-1|13
CON|8|--|--
INT|16|2|18
WIS|16|2|18
CHA|14|2|16[/table]
(The four level-up increases go into Charisma. After the levels of Ghost, Charisma is 20.)

Ask about how age modifiers are applied in the case of Ghost. Here, it is assumed that Ghost was applied on a Old creature, instead of a Ghost aging to Old.

The Build
Note: Unspeakable is presented with LA+4, even though the Ghost template is LA+5. This depends on taking only four levels of the savage progression (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040117a). It is also possible to do this by Reducing Level Adjustment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm) of the entire template, at level 15, but the XP drain is enormous, and not worth the +2 ghost skills.

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

1st|Ranger 1|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Gather Information 4, Use Rope 4, Survival 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Listen 4, Hide 4, Handle Humanoid 2, Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 1|TrackB, Toughness|Favored Enemy (Arcanist), Wild Empathy

2nd|Ghost (Level Adjustment)|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Gather Information 4, Use Rope 4, Survival 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Listen 4, Hide 4, Handle Humanoid 2, Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 1||Ethereal, fly, ghostly equipment, ghost skills +2, manifestation, undeath

3rd|Ghost (Level Adjustment)|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Gather Information 4, Use Rope 4, Survival 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Listen 4, Hide 4, Handle Humanoid 2, Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 1||Cha +2, lesser ghost powers (Telekinesis), turn resistance +2

4th|Ghost (Level Adjustment)|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Gather Information 4, Use Rope 4, Survival 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Listen 4, Hide 4, Handle Humanoid 2, Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 1||Ghost skills +4, rejuvenation

5th|Ghost (Level Adjustment)|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Gather Information 4, Use Rope 4, Survival 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Listen 4, Hide 4, Handle Humanoid 2, Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 1||Cha +2, greater ghost powers (Malevolence), ghost skills +6, turn resistance +4

6th|Ranger 2 (Fangshield Substitution Level)|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+0|Gather Information 5, Use Rope 5, Survival 5, Search 5, Spot 5, Listen 5, Hide 5, Handle Humanoid 2.5, Concentration 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 1.5|MultiattackB|Combat Style

7th|Ranger 3|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|Gather Information 6, Use Rope 6, Survival 6, Search 6, Spot 6, Listen 6, Hide 6, Handle Humanoid 3, Concentration 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 2|Ghostly Grasp|Endurance

8th|Ranger 4|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+1|Gather Information 7, Use Rope 7, Survival 7, Search 7, Spot 7, Listen 7, Hide 7, Handle Humanoid 3.5, Concentration 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 2.5||Urban Companion ACF, Blind-FightB (Champion of the Wild ACF)

9th|Ranger 5|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+1|Gather Information 8, Use Rope 8, Survival 8, Search 8, Spot 8, Listen 8, Hide 8, Handle Humanoid 4, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3||Favored Enemy (Evil Outsider)

10th|Master of the Unseen Hand 1|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+3|Gather Information 8, Use Rope 8, Survival 8, Search 8, Spot 9, Listen 9, Hide 9, Handle Humanoid 4.5, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3|Skill Focus (Gather Information)|Improved Caster Level, Verastile Telekineses

11th|Justiciar 1|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+5|Gather Information 9, Use Rope 9, Survival 9, Search 10, Spot 10, Listen 10, Hide 10, Handle Humanoid 5, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3||Bring 'em back alive, Nonlethal strike +1d6

12th|Justiciar 2|
+8/+3|
+4|
+4|
+6|Gather Information 10, Use Rope 11, Survival 10, Search 11, Spot 11, Listen 11, Hide 11, Handle Humanoid 5.5, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3||Improved Grapple, crippling strike

13th|Justiciar 3|
+9/+4|
+5|
+5|
+6|Gather Information 12, Use Rope 12, Survival 11, Search 12, Spot 12, Listen 12, Hide 12, Handle Humanoid 6, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3|Weight Focus|Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Manacles), street savvy +2

14th|Justiciar 4|
+10/+5|
+5|
+5|
+7|Gather Information 13, Use Rope 13, Survival 13, Search 13, Spot 13, Listen 13, Hide 13, Handle Humanoid 6.5, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3||Nonlethal Strike +2d6

15th|Justiciar 5|
+11/+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+7|Gather Information 14, Use Rope 14, Survival 14, Search 14, Spot 14, Listen 14, Hide 14, Handle Humanoid 7, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3||Hog-tie

16th|Justiciar 6|
+12/+7/+2|
+6|
+6|
+8|Gather Information 15, Use Rope 15, Survival 15, Search 15, Spot 15, Listen 15, Hide 15, Handle Humanoid 7.5, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3|Darkstalker|Street savvy +4

17th|Justiciar 7|
+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+6|
+8|Gather Information 16, Use Rope 16, Survival 16, Search 16, Spot 16, Listen 16, Hide 16, Handle Humanoid 8, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3||Nonlethal strike +3d6

18th|Justiciar 8|
+14/+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+9|Gather Information 17, Use Rope 17, Survival 17, Search 17, Spot 17, Listen 17, Hide 17, Handle Humanoid 8.5, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3||Improved hog-tie

19th|Justiciar 9|
+15/+10/+5|
+7|
+7|
+9|Gather Information 18, Use Rope 18, Survival 18, Search 18, Spot 18, Listen 18, Hide 18, Handle Humanoid 9, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3|Defensive Sweep|Street savvy +6

20th|Justiciar 10|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+7|
+7|
+10|Gather Information 19, Use Rope 19, Survival 19, Search 19, Spot 19, Listen 19, Hide 19, Handle Humanoid 9.5, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (History) 3||Intuition, nonlethal strike +4d6[/table]

Early Strategy (ECL 5)
Unspeakable's most important ability is Malevolence, but until she gets that, she functions as the party's scouter. It's a bit like being a Totemist: one must spend a small amount of time being unable to murder everything before that option becomes open. At merely ECL 2, she has a +16 Hide modifier and is soundless due to how incorporeal creatures work. Scouting abilities have +10 to Listen and Search, and +12 to Spot. The latter numbers are achieved with Ghost Skills and a tibbit racial bonus. Attacking as a housecat is a terrible idea, but if you really need to knock off the remaining 3 HP off a monster, I guess you could do that. She is also a bit of a party face, but you will have to ask the DM how to unironically use the "push" function of Handle Humanoid.

Murder becomes available at ECL 3. Pester one of the people with hands to carry a bag of daggers, then Telekinesis twelve of the pointy things into whatever doesn't have enough pointy things in it. She can also pin things down with +17 telegrapple.

At ECL 5, Malevolence opens up, and suddenly Unspeakable can melee it up by taking over an enemy. Malevolence basically a save-or-die in this way, though I actually recommend fighting as an enemy 'acquired' in a past battle; remember that you only have 15 HP and die at 0. This is why you took Toughness. This build isn't exactly feat-tight. Anyway, go indenture a hireling and possess him, so that Unspeakable can speak. Unspeakable never has an excuse to come out of cat form anymore.

Despite Level Adjustment being a pain that leaves her with only 15 HP, Unspeakable is semi-indestructible at low levels because of flight and the incorporeality rules. Physical attacks won't work unless they're magical, and then they have to get through 50% miss chance and some cat AC. If she actually loses some of those HP, de-manifest and flee the scene.

Ranger strategy (ECL 10)
Favored Enemies (Arcanist and Evil Outsider) because fluff and duh. Ranger is a reeeeeally obvious entry for a justiciar; you know why it's there if you spent more than 10 minutes trying to build one, so I'll just talk about the interesting parts.

Skilled City Dweller skill-substition puts Gather Information instead of Handle Animal on the Ranger class skill list. The Fangshield substitution level trades combat styles for Multiattack, which will be necessary as powerful many-attacks monsters such as dire bears and dragons become prominent. Urban Companion is more useful than Animal Companion in a variety of ways; if nothing else, an owl is a second scouter and a free Alertness. It will have more uses later. Champion of the Wild's extra feat is a good pick, since Unspeakable won't get much use out of a single level 1 spell per day.

ECL 10 slows down skill progression, but dipping Master of the Unseen Hand grants a bump to telekinesis. It combos with...

Snapshot of numbers (ECL 13)
Telegrapple check: +27 = +13 (CL) +6 (Cha) +8 (Improved Grapple/Weight Focus)
Monstergrapple check: +9 (BAB) +Str +Size
Hide Check (cat form): +28 = +12 (ranks) +6 (ghost skills) +8 (size) +2 (dex)
Spot: +26 = +12 (ranks) +6 (ghost skills) +4 (Wis) +2 (tibbit racial) +2 (Alertness)
Listen: +24 = +12 (ranks) +6 (ghost skills) +4 (Wis) +2 (Alertness)
Raven Spot and Listen: +16 = +12 (ranks) +2 (Wis) +2 (Alertness)
Search: +24 = +12 (ranks) +6 (ghost skills) +4 (Int) +2 (Raven assisting)
Handle Humanoid: +12 [+15] = +6 (ranks) +6 (Cha) [=3 (Circlet of Persuasion)

That final number is enough to take 10 for minor puppeting of NPCs.

Justiciar strategy (ECL 15)
...the ability to deal nonlethal damage.

Pinned enemies are prone, and denied their Dexterity bonus. By switching the function of Telekinesis on the turn after an enemy is pinned, you can do a violent violent thrust while they're still denied that bonus. By selecting any baker's dozen of melee weapons, this can deal up to +13d6 nonlethal damage, on top of the base. With greatswords, that's 13 attacks for 3d6 each.

Ow. After the opponent is KO'd, they're considered 'willing', forfeiting their save against things like Malevolence. Unspeakable can't go and get them immediately, obviously, unless there's a healer in the group willing to cooperate. After the battle, though, the enemy can be chained to her monster cart. To do this, Malevolence into the monster with the highest Dex and available, provided they have manipulation appendages--this could easily be a party member--and take 20 on Use Rope, probably using adamanite manacles, and assisted by your Urban Companion. Ravens have talons. Even when having to resort to humanoid gohst form (why is Unspeakable not always a cat, again?), this is a DC 32 Escape Artist Check.

The crux of the build is that, after monsters are collected and they heal in their shackles, Unspeakable can possess them. Allow the party to untie Monster-Unspeakable, then go out and kill things. Recall that Malevolence works like Magic Jar, so (Ex), (Su), and (Sp) abilities won't work, but automatic and natural ones do. Interesting forms are war trolls, dragons, or generally anything with high stength and a bunch of attacks*. These forms scale by level almost tautologically, simply due to how the CR system is built. Unspeakable can afford to lose them, too, because that big brick of HP isn't really hers.

Crippling strike is optimized with the same pin-thrust tactic above, or if it's not working, thrust first, count up the Strength damage, then try again. Improved Grapple is making it work more often, though, and puts Unspeakable in the handy position that, if she wants to wade into melee in the form of a collected monster, Grapple Modifier = (highest one so far encountered) + 4. This is kicked up another notch the next level with Weight Focus, which increases effective size category for the purposes of grappling. Excellent. So that's Grapple Modifier = (highest one so far encountered) + 8.

Street savvy points Unspeakable to nicer monsters to collect. If it's tenacious enough that a PC has to do the cleanup job, it must be something really nice, huh? The check is maximized via possessing a wandering half-elf, letting the raven Aid Another the check (like familiar = it can speak), and using that high Charisma score.

Hog-tie will be used basically as intended, with an extra option: with the same pinning tactic, Unspeakable can idly fish out her adamantine manacles as a move action (strapped to belt or in Haversack), stroll over to the enemy that can't do anything, then tie them up while dropping concentration. Do remember to use the raven to help. This can be more useful than the telekinesis trick, as it bascially tells a monster that it has to Escape Artist or lose its turn. Save-or-lose is better than damage, as the optimization wisdom goes.

*Though the text on Magic Jar says you can't get more attacks than you're otherwise capable of, it's clearly meant only to prevent Multiweapon Fighting, and if you use the RAW of it, Unspeakable's cat form can technically get up to 6 attacks at this level by TWFing with unarmed strikes and adding natural weapons as secondaries. Dragon full attacks should be legal no matter the ruling.

Advanced Justiciar strategy (ECL 20)
Gloves of Man (from Savage Species) are now affordable, so tying up monsters can be done even as another monster, if that's your thing. The build isn't particularly item-dependent besides the obvious everyone-has-it equipment--just depend on class features and useful monsters. I'll mention that the pale blue rhomboid Ioun Stone will be particularly useful, since it doesn't care about the size of the monster it orbits, and Unspeakable should have had a Circlet of Persuasion by level 13.

To properly use Improved Hog-tie, get within smacking range of the target and tele-grapple them. Note that caster level (and thus bonus) will increase by one for the last four levels of the build, because of telekinesis's scaling. The target is now basically out of the combat.

If they try to break out, they may suceed. Then they can either 5-foot step, a move action, or not move. If they take a move action, they invoke an attack grapple of opportunity. If they take a five foot step, they've basically done nothing with their turn, and Unspeakable can retry the grapple on her turn. If they don't move, Defensive Sweep means they get a grapple of opportunity. If they fail to break out, they can't do anything with their move action that turn. Devensive Sweep kicks in, and since they're already grappled, the attack action is spent hog-tying them.

If they try to move while grappling, they invoke an attack of opportunity. Since they're grappling, attack action is spent hogtying.

If they try to teleport out, that's a spell-like ability, except in the case of archons or something. Hogtie of opportunity.

If they try to take any in-grapple action, they can't move that round. No movement. Defensive Sweep. Hogtie of opportunity.

Summary of reactions to sucessful telegrapple check:
(Sucessful Escape, 5-foot step): End turn ungrappled, but set up for the same routine.
(Sucessful Escape, move): Recieve physical grapple check before end of turn.
- If opposed check fails, hogtied on Unspeakable's turn. If opposed check suceeds, see (Sucessful Escape, 5-foot step), where Unspeakble moves on her turn.
(Sucessful Escape, don't move): Recieve physical grapple check before end of turn.
- If opposed check fails, hogtied on Unspeakable's turn. If opposed check suceeds, see (Sucessful Escape, 5-foot step).
(Anything but an escape roll): Hogtied

Defensive Sweep will serve Unspeakable well, even when she's doing normal physical grapples. If the monster's opposed check fails, hogtie of opportunity. It's all action-efficient.

As a captone, you get Intution, an upgrade of sorts to the cat form's Scent. Hey, remember that spiffy monster that got away a couple levels ago?

Go find it.

No-jokes compliance
If the Fabulous Cats! content isn't allowed--which is more than reasonable--substitute Handle Humanoid with Bluff and Weight Focus with Improved Multiattack.

Sources outside Core
Tibbits: Dragon Compendium
Skilled City Dweller, Urban Companion ACFs: Cityscape
Champion of the Wild ACF: Complete Champion
Fangshield Substitution levels: Champions of Valor
Master of the Unseen Hand, Justicar: Complete Warrior
Defensive Sweep: Player's Handbook II
Weight Focus, Handle Humanoid: Fabulous Cats! (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fools/20030401c)
Darkstalker: Lords of Madness
Ghostly Grasp: Libris Mortis

[Amphetryon]

Does he cast Fist?


Zaroff

The Build

LN --> LE Human (This alignment shift has no impact on the mechanics of the build, and occurs for non-mechanical reasons)

Strength 16
Dexterity 14
Constitution 16
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 10
Charisma 8

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

1st|Ranger 1|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0| Gather Information +4, Jump +4, Knowledge [Nature] +4, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Search +4, Survival +4, Use Rope +4| Great Fortitude, Lion Tribe Warrior, Track | Favored Enemy [Humanoid: Human], Skilled City Dweller [Handle Animal for Gather Information], Spiritual Connection

2nd|Overwhelming Attack Monk 1|
+1|
+4|
+4|
+2| Knowledge [Religion] +3 Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1| Power Attack| AC Bonus, Bonus Feat, Flurry of Blows -2/-2, Intimidate Bonus, Unarmed Strike

3rd|Overwhelming Attack Monk 2|
+2|
+5|
+5|
+3| Knowledge [Religion] +3 Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1| Flying Kick, Improved Bull Rush | Bonus Feat, Invisible Fist

4th|Ranger 2|
+3|
+6|
+6|
+3| Gather Information +3, Knowledge [Nature] +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Search +1, Survival +1| Two-Weapon Fighting | Combat Style [Two Weapon Fighting]

5th|Ranger 3|
+4|
+6|
+6|
+4| Gather Information +1, Knowledge [Nature] +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Survival +1, Use Rope +3| Endurance | Bonus Feat

6th|Ranger 4|
+5|
+7|
+7|
+4| Gather Information +1, Knowledge [Nature] +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +3, Use Rope +2| Skill Focus [Gather Information]| Spells, Spiritual Guide

7th|Fighter 1|
+6/+1|
+9|
+7|
+4| Handle Animal +4| Shock Trooper | Bonus Feat

8th|Fist of the Forest 1|
+7/+2|
+11|
+9|
+4| Move Silently +2, Survival +2| | AC Bonus, Fast Movement, Feral Trance 1/day, Primal Living, Unarmed Strike Damage Boost

9th|Fist of the Forest 2|
+8/+3|
+12|
+10|
+4| Handle Animal +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Survival +1|Snap Kick| Uncanny Dodge, Untamed Strike

10th|Fist of the Forest 3|
+9/+4|
+12|
+10|
+5| Listen +2, Move Silently +1, Survival +1| | Feral Trance 2/day, Scent, Unarmed Strike Damage Boost

11th|Justiciar 1|
+10/+5|
+12|
+10|
+7| Knowledge [Nature] + 2, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Use Rope +2| | Bring ‘em Back Alive, Nonlethal Strike +1d6

12th|Justiciar 2|
+11/+6/+1|
+12|
+10|
+8| Knowledge [Nature] + 1, Knowledge [Religion] +2, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Use Rope +1| Improved Grapple, Improved Natural Attack [Unarmed Strike]| Bonus Feat, Crippling Strike

13th|Justiciar 3|
+12/+7/+2|
+13|
+11|
+8| Knowledge [Religion] +2, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Use Rope +2| | Exotic Weapon Proficiency [Manacles], Street Savvy +2

14th|Justiciar 4|
+13/+8/+3|
+13|
+11|
+9| Knowledge [Religion] +2, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Use Rope +2| | Nonlethal Strike +2d6

15th|Justiciar 5|
+14/+9/+4|
+13|
+11|
+9| Knowledge [Religion] +2, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Use Rope +2|Scorpion’s Grasp| Hog-Tie

16th|Justiciar 6|
+15/+10/+5|
+14|
+12|
+10| Knowledge [Religion] +2, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Use Rope +2| |Street Savvy +4

17th|Justiciar 7|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+14|
+12|
+10| Knowledge [Religion] +3, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Use Rope +1| |Nonlethal Strike +3d6

18th|Justiciar 8|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+14|
+12|
+11| Knowledge [Religion] +2, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Survival +1, Use Rope +1|Skill Focus [Knowledge: Religion]| Improved Hot-Tie

19th|Justiciar 9|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+15|
+13|
+11|S Knowledge [Religion] +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Survival +2, Use Rope +1| |Street Savvy +6

20th|Justiciar 10|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+15|
+13|
+12| Knowledge [Religion] +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Survival +2, Use Rope +1| | Intuition, Nonlethal Strike 4d6 [/table]

Log
Journal of Leorry Milner
9th of Alturiak
He’s a dead man. The bloodbath in Seamouth was the final straw - the bounty on him is enough for anyone to retire on. Every bounty hunter and mercenary worthy of the name is after him, not to mention the Guard…and no one seems to know anything about him other than “he’s dangerous”. I’m not going to rush into this; I want to know exactly what he’s capable of, know where he might have hidden himself. Problem is, the only people who know anything about him are the Guardians of the Green, and they’re not saying much. Some of the nutjobs still think he’s got the right idea, and the rest are more scared of him than they are of us. One of them gave me the name of the village that found him as a kid. I’m going to start there, see if I can retrace his steps, figure him out.

16th of AlturiakIt wasn’t much to look at, just a sad collection of huts and a sadder collection of people in them. They were reluctant to talk to me at first, but I was able to get them to tell me what they know. Zaroff was found as a child wandering the plains by one of their hunters. After a time, they were able to pierce together an idea of what had happened to him. He had been a member of one of the nomadic tribes which roamed the plains, but something had happened to the rest of his tribe. Zaroff remembered fire and death, and little more than that. He couldn’t even say how long ago it had happened. The villagers took him in, and did their best to raise him. He was an intensely independent and focused lad, pushing himself far more than even the strictest instructor. In truth, none could claim his friendship - it seemed that his only passion was for the natural world. As comfortable outdoors as in, he spent much of his time with the hunters, though in truth he ranged further than even the boldest of them. In time, he learned of and sought out a group that shared his views - the Guardians of the Green.

I need more to go on than this…I’ve tapped a few favors and have the location of where he first worked with them. Hopefully I’ll get some answers this time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Levels 1-5
With Pounce and Flying Kick, Zaroff possesses decent damage, though he’s a bit limited in combat at this point. Invisible Fist gives a powerful defensive and utility as an Immediate Action, and Improved Bull Rush enables a few more tactical options, but he’s best served by throwing out multiple attacks on a charge. With Track, Speak With Plants/Animals 3/day, and good Gather Information & Survival checks, he’ll be able to find and track a person with ease. He has a social skill with a positive check (Intimidate), which is better than nothing on that front. With regard to scouting, he’s very dependent on Invisible Fist, as he has no ranks in Hide (though he has maximum ranks in Move Silently & Listen). All in all, Zaroff can throw out good damage, find people/information in a city or wilderness, and efficiently stealth.

13th of ChesZaroff has still evaded capture, and a number of the other pursuers have gone missing. I hear nasty rumors about what he does to the people he captures…it’s not going to sway me, but I should consider all of my options. Should it prove necessary, I might need to get some backup for this one. Hate splitting profits, but I’ll take every advantage I can get for someone this dangerous. Bah, enough musing, I should put down what I found while the memory’s fresh.

Built into the side of a mountain, the building - cave, really - looked like it had been abandoned for years. The size of it surprised me - it took me hours before a stroke of luck revealed a hidden passage to me. It lead into a room full of records, well preserved in the cool and dry space. Much of it was in a cipher, but I was able to translate enough of it for my purposes. What I found was enlightening, both with regard to my quarry and his organization.

The Guardians of the Green is a militant group, with many different sects which differing in extremism. The group that Zaroff fell in with seems to have been one of the most antagonistic. They believed that the only way to protect their way of life would be violent revolution, with themselves as the new rulers of the nation. The sect refused to recognize a person as a full member unless they underwent an intense, dangerous trial. They forced initiates to survive with no food, clothing, or any tools for a month on the summit of the unforgiving mountain the coven was built into. Those who returned from their ordeal often adapt the lifestyle of an animal, and became easier to control. Zaroff survived his trial with not just body but also mind intact. His unique abilities were recognized, and he began transforming the cult’s vision into reality.There’s no specifics on what he did, but I got the name of his handler. If anyone has answers, they will.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Levels 6-10 (Alignment Change LN---> LE at level 10)
Zaroff significantly improves both in combat and out of combat abilities. Scent and Commune with Nature are decent bonuses to his ability to locate and scout out areas, and the ability to Wand out Ranger Spells is a huge boost to every part of the character. With regard to damage, BAB and Snap Kick grant additional attacks, and Shock Trooper (while not as potent as it is on an Ubercharger) is another source of tactical options and damage. Fist of the Forest not only boosts Unarmed Damage, but grants an additional (natural) attack as icing on the cake. All in all, much of the utility benefits from this level range will come from Ranger Wands, but damage starts to take off, and a few new toys became accessible. Around this time, Zaroff should be between Warden of the Green and Knight of the Green, as there are repeatable ways to boost Affiliation Score he can perform (Exploring a new area and defeating foes destroying nature, respectively), netting him a handful of skill bonuses.


26th Ches
The hunt for Zaroff isn’t going well - actually, that’s a downright lie, it’s going horribly. He seems to take a perverse pleasure in hunting his pursuers. The Guard’s taken an interest in my “research” and has been helping me in the hope that I’ll find something, some weakness we can use against him. It’s not about the reward for him anymore; after learning about the things he’s done, and thinking about what he’s capable of, I believe that he needs to be stopped. I found his handler in prison; the Guard had him in custody, as he’d turned himself in a few years back. I was - eventually - able to persuade him to give me the information that I needed.

Zaroff’s most visible role was as an enforcer. No one was allowed to leave, and he made the futility of escape very clear to the initiates. He’d mastered the ability to inflict pain without lethal damage, and should anyone attempt to leave, he’d beat them within an inch of their lives, leave them to “recover” only to string them up and do it again. And again. And again. It seems that this is when he picked up this particular love of his…..

It was at this time he started to dabble with sacrifices. He’d had a basic religious education as a child, and now, with the time and drive he’d developed, he saw the potential in it. With his abilities providing an endless stream of warm bodies, he practiced and perfected his depraved craft, ostensibly in the name of protecting nature, but more likely for his own pleasure. What dark powers he fed were unknown, even to my informant.

I was also able to confirm that he was responsible for dozens, if not hundreds, of missing people. Anyone that was seen as a threat to the group he removed. Some of them he brought back to be conditioned, some of them he took to act as collateral and force a decision that he wanted, some of them he took purely for ransom. The exact numbers of his victims may never be known - it’s clear that he took more people that he was required to. I doubt that any of his victims are alive today. He began to unnerve even those who’d planned to use him as a weapon - it’s unclear exactly when it occurred, but we know that it was during this time he took control of his group, and was recognized as a Regent of the Green by other sects. I don’t believe that the true measure of his depravity was known to others of the organization - they only saw how effective he was at stopping any from encroaching on his “protected” lands, and applauded his efforts in stopping the despoilment of nature.

This was when the Guard started to take an earnest interest Zaroff. They eventually staged a raid on his compound, but were unable to capture or kill him. He’s not hiding, not really - he’s openly flaunted his notoriety. He seems to enjoy drawing attention to himself, and takes a personal pleasure in killing those he sees as challenges. But we need to stop him. Both the Guard and those few who will still stand against him are prepared, and informed. We stand the best chance of ending his threat, and will not ignore our duty.

Leorry Milner's tortured body was found by a member of the Guard sent to check on their researcher. The diary was placed neatly on top of the hole where the heart had been removed.

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Levels 11-20 (Highlight level: 15)
Justiciar is used to open up additional tactical options. Nonlethal Strike, combined with Invisible Fist and a high number of attacks, helps keep damage competitive (an unconscious enemy is effectively dead regardless), and Crippling Strike gives another way to disable a target. He’s a reasonably good grappler, and has a maximum rank in Use Rope, letting him make full use of Hog-Tie. For out of combat utility, he gains Control Plants/Transport Via Plants as a Spell Like, can use Intuition to help cover situations Commune with Nature/Scent can’t, and can duplicate the effects of a number of powerful spells via Sacrifices. Divine Power is the low end, with Greater Planar Ally and Lesser Wish at the high end (and all the power such effects can entail). I picked 15th level as the “Sweet Spot” for the build, as this is the point when he has every major ability - he’s now capable of tracking very well, has a goodly bunch of utility spells and effects, has access to self-Teleportation, and still has a wide array of tactical options in combat. His damage is reasonably solid, and he has no problems subduing powerful opponents for the sake of sacrificing them later on.

Sources Used

Alternate Class Features
- Invisible Fist Monk Alternate Class Feature (Exemplars of Evil p20)
- Overwhelming Attack Variant Monk (SRD)
- Skilled City-Dweller Fighter Skill Trade (Cityscape Online Web Enhancement)
- Spiritual Guide Ranger Alternate Class Feature (Complete Champion p50)

Feats
- Endurance (SRD)
- Flying Kick (Complete Warrior p99)
- Great Fortitude (SRD)
- Lion Tribe Warrior (Shining South p20)
- Improved Bull Rush (SRD)
- Improved Natural Attack (Eberron Campaign Setting p55)
- Power Attack (SRD)
- Scorpion’s Grasp (Sandstorm p52)
- Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior p112)
- Skill Focus (SRD)
- Snap Kick (Tome of Battle p32)
- Track (SRD)
- Two-Weapon Fighting (SRD)

Miscellaneous
- Fist of the Forest Prestige Class (Complete Champion p80)
- Guardians of the Green Organization (Complete Champion p68)
- Sacrifice Rules (Book of Vile Darkness p26)

[Amphetryon]

I present Br'er Breagar Bearclaw. Say that 10 times fast.


Sheriff Breagar Bearclaw

Breagar, the half orc justiciar,
once thought that his mark's tale was fishier
Than a whore's alleged prayer,
So he became bear,
And grappled them 'til they were squishier.

http://www.deviantart.com/download/55352262/Bear_Wrestling_by_jameson9101322.jpg

Male LN Half-Orc, Half-Orc Paragon 3 / Human Paragon 3 / Swordsage 2 / Crimson Scourge 1 / Justiciar 10 / Bear Warrior 1

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

1st|Half Orc Paragon 1|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Gather Information 2, Handle Animal 4, Intimidate 3, Search 2, Spot 0.5, Survival 4|Track|Divided ancestry, monstrous mien

2nd|Human Paragon 1|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Gather Information 5, Spot 2.5|N/A|Adaptive learning (Search)

3rd|Human Paragon 2|
+2|
+2|
+0|
+3|Gather Information 6, Handle Animal 5, Search 3, Spot 4.5|Urban Tracking, Skill Focus (Gather Information)|Bonus feat

4th|Half Orc Paragon 2|
+3|
+3|
+0|
+3|Handle Animal 8, Survival 6|N/A|Rage 1/day

5th|Swordsage 1|
+3|
+3|
+2|
+5|Heal 1, Knowledge (local) 5, Spot 5|Weapon focus (Tiger Claw)|Quick to act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus)

6th|Half Orc Paragon 3|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|Search 6, Survival 8|Extra Rage|Ability boost (Str +2)

7th|Human Paragon 3|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+7|Gather Information 8, Spot 6, Survival 10|N/A|Ability boost (Str +2)

8th|Crimson Scourge 1|
+6/+1|
+6|
+6|
+7|Gather Information 10, Search 8, Spot 8, Survival 11|N/A|Kid Gloves, Special Dispensation

9th|Justiciar 1|
+7/+2|
+6|
+6|
+9|Gather Information 11, Search 10, Spot 10|Power Attack|Bring ’em back alive, nonlethal strike +1d6

10th|Bear Warrior 1|
+8/+3|
+8|
+6|
+9|Search 13, Survival 13|N/A|Bear form (black)

11th|Justiciar 2|
+9/+5|
+8|
+6|
+10|Gather Information 13, Spot 12, Survival 14|Improved Grapple (Bonus)|Crippling strike

12th|Justiciar 3|
+10/+5|
+9|
+7|
+10|Gather Information 14, Knowledge (Nature) 2, Search 14, Survival 15|Improved Unarmed Strike, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (manacles) (Bonus)|Street savvy +2

13th|Justiciar 4|
+11/+6/+1|
+9|
+7|
+11|Gather Information 16, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Survival 16|N/A|Nonlethal strike +2d6

14th|Justiciar 5|
+12/+7/+2|
+9|
+7|
+11|Gather Information 17, Knowledge (Nature) 5, Spot 14, Survival 17|N/A|Hog-tie

15th|Justiciar 6|
+13/+8/+3|
+10|
+8|
+12|Gather Information 18, Spot 17, Survival 18|Scorpion's Grasp|Street savvy +4

16th|Swordsage 2|
+14/+9/+4|
+10|
+9|
+13|Search 19, Clarity of Vision skill trick|N/A|AC Bonus

17th|Justiciar 7|
+15/+10/+5|
+10|
+9|
+13|Gather Information 19, Search 20, Spot 18, Survival 20|N/A|Nonlethal strike +3d6

18th|Justiciar 8|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+9|
+14|Gather Information 21, Search 21, Spot 19, Survival 21|Superior Unarmed Strike|Improved hog-tie

19th|Justiciar 9|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+11|
+10|
+14|Gather Information 22, Search 22, Spot 21, Survival 22|N/A|Street savvy +6

20th|Justiciar 10|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+10|
+15|Gather Information 23, Search 23, Spot 23, Survival 23|N/A|Intuition, nonlethal strike +4d6[/table]

Maneuvers and Stances:
{table=head]Levels|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known
5-15|6|4|1

16+|7|4|2[/table]

Maneuvers selected at Sword Sage 1:

Counter Charge (Setting Sun, p71)
Cloak of Deception (Shadow Hand 2, p76) - Greater Invis 1/encounter
Shadow Jaunt (Shadow Hand 2, p79) - standard action teleport 1/encounter
Charging Minotaur (Stone Dragon 1, p81)
Rabid Wolf Strike (Tiger Claw 2, p88)
Wolf Fang Strike (Tiger Claw 1, p90)

Stance:

Hunter's Sense (Tiger Claw 1, p88) - Scent


Maneuvers selected at Sword Sage 2:

Pouncing Charge (Tiger Claw 5, p88) - Pounce 1/encounter

Stance:

Crushing Weight of the Mountain (Stone Dragon 3, p82) - constrict

Ability Scores:
Base: Str 15, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 12
Racial: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10
Levels: Str 22, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10

Raging: Str 30, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10

Recommend Tome +4, Belt Giant Str + 6 for Strength 40

Skill Modifiers:
Gather Information: 23 + 2 (Knowledge synergy) + 3 (Skill Focus) = 28
+6 While in pursuit of a criminal = 34

Handle Animal: 8

Heal: 1 + 1 (Wis) = 2

Intimidate: 3 + 4 (Monstrous mien) = 7

Knowledge Local: 5 + 1 (Int) = 6

Knowledge Nature: 5 + 1 (Int) = 6

Search: 23 + 1 (Int) = 24

Spot: 23 + 1 (Wis) = 24

Survival: 23 + 1 (Wis) = 24
+2 to get along in the wild (knowledge synergy) = 26
+2 to follow tracks (search synergy) = 26


Build Notes/Adaptation:At level 5, Breagar acts like a typical tracker, except he can rage once a day (H/Orc Paragon is one of the few ways to get lawful rage or the equivalent. FotF didn't work in this build). He relies on his brute strength to get through combat. With his low dex he prefers heavier armor for survivability, and also because it does not affect his class abilities. Intimidate is one of the few combat tricks he can play at early levels. Early on having a pet is very useful in combat, and also to help him track by scent. At level 5 he gains scent for himself, enhancing his tracking capabilities. He also gains invisibility 1/encounter, as well as a teleport action to help flank, and some nifty strikes.

(Unarmed swordsage is not well defined and was not considered for this build. If that variant gives IUS as a bonus feat, it could be considered, but actually hinders the RAW damage of superior unarmed strike, although it would free up a feat to play with. Picking up Swordsage at level 5 grants an initiator level of 3, allowing 2nd level maneuvers to be grabbed.)

At level 10, Braegar earns the moniker Bearclaw. Having mastered bear shape while raging, he spends most of his time in combat grappling foes non-lethally with his claws and bite, before bringing them to justice. If necessary, of course, he will kill. He starts doing extra nonlethal damage, sapping strength from his foes with every blow. This is easily triggered with his invisibility from Cloak of Deception.

(Some may wonder why I picked up Crimson Scourge 1. Crimson scourge allows non-lethal from all weapons, not just melee weapons. Natural weapons (from Bear Warrior) are arguably not melee weapons, so do not fall under the Justiciar ability. Why not continue with CS? The non-lethal bonus damage they get is a lot harder to trigger than the Justiciar bonus damage. Bear warrior has absolutely no class features other than "I turn into a bigger badder bear" to pursue, I already have what I want from there. (There is scent, but I already have it from Hunter's Sense). )

At level 15, Braeger has truly mastered his ability to take down foes. Improved unarmed strike gives him iterative attacks while in bear form, in addition to his natural attacks. Of course, without opposable thumbs he has to wait until he subdues his foes before tieing them up, fortunately that is relatively easy for him with his size and strength. He basically has the Improved Grab special ability through Scorpion's Grasp, which is extremely beneficial to grapple his foes into submission.

(I really "wrestled" with this. Being a bear means giving up hogtie and EWP (Manacles). I guess if his rage runs out he could use this. But honestly, bear wrestling. I hope originality and power make up for not using some class features.)

At level 20, Braegar becomes the sheriff, able to keep law and order with ease. He has some of his key skills maxed out, and is able to find nearly anyone, anywhere, and bring them to justice. Superior unarmed strike gives him a large base damage for grapple. He continues to enhance his grapple ability in any way possible, gaining constrict through his new stance and pounce 1/encounter through his new maneuver, enabling him to dominate nearly any encounter. The sole skill trick he picks up enables him to see invisible targets once per encounter.

(Picking up Swordsage 2 at character level 16 gives an initiator level of 9, allowing 5th level maneuvers to be grabbed. Specifically we want to get pounce, and also qualify for the constrict stance.)

At level 20 Braegar's grapple modifier is +18 (BAB) + 4 (Improved Grapple) + 10 (Str while raging) + 5 (Tome+Belt) = 37, size medium. Toss in a potion of enlarge (+4 size) = 41, size large. At this point, 3 times a day he can outgrapple almost any legal target of size huge or smaller from MM1, and is just shy of equal to the largest and oldest (size huge) dragons and the greater stone golem, being only about 10 points away. If he needs to grapple a colossal dragon or Big T, he is doing it wrong.

Adaptations:
Tome of Battle is frequently banned at some tables. One alternative option for the two levels of swordsage could be to grab Monk of the Overwheming Attack 1 (free IUS and Power Attack) and Cleric of Bralm 1 (CDiv p121), grabbing Animal Devotion (Ape's Fury, +8 sacred str bonus from CChamp) and Strength domain (enlarge person as domain spell). You lose +1 BAB but get three extra feats to play with. Another very interesting option for grapplers is two levels of Totemist from Magic of Incarnum. But if ToB is banned, I can't see MoI being permitted. But it opens up some great options, specifically Girallon Arms and Kraken Mantle. Your mileage may vary. Neither of the alternatives invokes multiclass EXP penalties, for those who use that rule.

Recommended magic items: Tome of Str +4 and Belt +6 are almost a given here. What items can a Braegar use while in bear form? It is not really clear. He can probably use a belt, and a necklace of natural attacks or amulet of mighty fists. Other items are questionable.

From the SRD: When the change occurs, your equipment, if any, either remains worn or held by the new form (if it is capable of wearing or holding the item), or melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When you revert to your true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on your body they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items you wore in the assumed form and can’t wear in your normal form fall off and land at your feet; any that you could wear in either form or carry in a body part common to both forms at the time of reversion are still held in the same way. Any part of the body or piece of equipment that is separated from the whole reverts to its true form.

Gloves of Titan's Grip would be real useful, a +8 enhancement to grappling never hurt anyone (except his opponent). Questionable whether gloves remain worn or meld into the form. Probably won't remain worn intact, but they might. Wear them anyway for when you are not a bear. Polymorph is a headache. But... bear wrestling.

Bearskin armor and spare hand give some boosts to grappling, probably while not as a bear, although strap the hand to your belt and it might.

Custom +30 competence items for Gather info and survival help hit epic-level checks fairly consistently.

True seeing, flying, etc, all the necessary magic items. Take your pick. You know you need them.

Grafts might be helpful (particularly grappling tentacle from Fiend Folio), but probably more appropriate on an LE character, not what I was interested in here, but might interest you.

Sources:
Cityscape: Crimson Scourge (p92), Urban Track (p64)
Complete Scoundrel: Clarity of Vision (p85)
Complete Warrior: Bear Warrior (p16), Justiciar (p47), Extra Rage (p98)
Sandstorm: Scorpion's Grasp (p52)
Tome of Battle: Swordsage (p15), Maneuvers/Stances (described above), Superior Unarmed Strike (p33)
Unearthed Arcana/SRD: Half Orc Paragon, Human Paragon


In finest of IC tradition,
I end with this short supposition.
Life's fun as a bear,
And this is my prayer:
That judges enjoy this submission.

[Amphetryon]

Finds clientele in dive bars. Get it?

Bilblibliip
Hunter of the tides,
I will end your life!
"Mourn your fallen brave,
Sleep in a sunken grave."

Feel the deadly fin,
My nets drag you in.
Bloodstained sand, and gore,
All that's left upon the shore!

Empty eyes, never blinking,
Armored scales, but never sinking
Puddle jumper, the Coastal Runner
Call me the Tide Hunter!

Gliding through the depths,
Gliding to your death,
Upon the shore I rise
Hold my flippers to the skies!

Image

http://i.imgur.com/X4SSv.jpg

Bilblibliip
LN Kuo-toan Ranger 5 / Justiciar 10
STR 18 (increments due to level go here) DEX 14 CON 16 INT 14 WIS 14 CHA 8

Background
Since Bilblibliip emerged from the breeding pools he was marked by the Sea Mother, Blibdoolpoolp. He grew stronger than other Kuo-toa, and keep a hold of the madness that lurks in the deeps.

Trained as a Harpooner he specialized on hunting the maddened Kuo-toa who escaped the grasp of the Sea Mother. It didn't take long before Bilblibliip was sent to hunt other creatures in the underdark. Duergars, sliths, svirnerfirs all made fine slaves for the fish men.

Bilblibliip expertise led him further, hunting even above ground, tracking, stalking and searching for its target for days, weeks or even months before finally capturing them and bringing them back to the wet pools of the Underdark and into the claws of Bibdoolpoolp.

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

1st|Kuo-toa RHD|
+1|
+0|
+2|
+2|Knowledge (local) 4, Listen 4, Search 4, Spot 4|Exotic weapon proficiency (kuo-toan harpoon), Alertness (bonus)|Kuo-toa abilities, LA +3

2nd|Kuo-toa RHD|
+2|
+0|
+3|
+3|Knowledge (local) 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Spot 5|-|-

3rd|Ranger 1|
+3|
+2|
+5|
+3|Gather information 2, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 1, Move silently 1, Listen 6, Search 6, Spot 5, Survival 1, Use rope 1|Urban tracking|Favored environment (aquatic) +2, Spiritual connection, Fast movement, Track

4th|Ranger 2|
+4|
+3|
+6|
+3|Gather information 4, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 2, Move silently 2, Listen 7, Search 7, Spot 5, Survival 2, Use rope 2|-|-

5th|Ranger 3|
+5|
+3|
+6|
+4|Gather information 6, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 3, Move silently 3, Listen 8, Search 8, Spot 5, Survival 3, Use rope 3|-|Endurance

6th|Ranger 4|
+6|
+4|
+7|
+4|Gather information 8, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 4, Move silently 4, Listen 9, Search 9, Spot 5, Survival 4, Use rope 4|Skill focus (Gather Information)|Urban companion (Sewerm), Spellcasting

7th|Ranger 5|
+7|
+4|
+7|
+4|Gather information 10, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 5, Listen 10, Search 10, Spot 5, Survival 5, Use rope 5|-|Wildshape 1/day, Favored environment (aquatic) +2, Favored environment (underground) +4

8th|Justiciar 1|
+8|
+4|
+7|
+6|Gather information 11, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 1, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 6, Listen 11, Search 11, Spot 5, Survival 6, Use rope 6|-|Bring 'em back alive, nonlethal strike +1d6

9th|Justiciar 2|
+9|
+4|
+7|
+7|Gather information 12, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 7, Listen 12, Search 12, Spot 5, Survival 7, Use rope 7|Quick reconnoiter|Improved grapple, cripling strike

10th|Justiciar 3|
+10|
+5|
+8|
+7|Gather information 13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 3, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 8, Listen 13, Search 13, Spot 5, Survival 8, Use rope 8|-|Exotic weapon proficiency (manacles), street savy +2

11th|Justiciar 4|
+11|
+5|
+8|
+8|Gather information 14, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 4, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 9, Listen 14, Search 14, Spot 5, Survival 9, Use rope 9|-|Nonlethal strike +2d6

12th|Justiciar 5|
+12|
+5|
+8|
+8|Gather information 15, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 5, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 9, Listen 15, Search 15, Spot 5, Survival 9, Use rope 10|Keen eared scout|Hog-tie

13th|Justiciar 6|
+13|
+6|
+9|
+9|Gather information 16, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 5, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 10, Listen 16, Search 16, Spot 5, Survival 10, Use rope 12|-|Street savy +4

14th|Justiciar 7|
+14|
+6|
+9|
+9|Gather information 17, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 5, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 11, Listen 17, Search 17, Spot 5, Survival 11, Use rope 14|-|Non lethal strike +3d6

15th|Justiciar 8|
+15|
+6|
+9|
+10|Gather information 18, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 5, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 12, Listen 18, Search 18, Spot 5, Survival 12, Use rope 16|Quick draw|Improved hog-tie

16th|Justiciar 9|
+16|
+7|
+10|
+10|Gather information 19, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 5, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 13, Listen 19, Search 19, Spot 5, Survival 13, Use rope 18|-|Street savy +6

17th|Justiciar 10|
+17|
+7|
+10|
+11|Gather information 20, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 5, Knowledge (local) 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Move silently 14, Listen 20, Search 20, Spot 5, Survival 14, Use rope 20|-|Intuition, Nonlethal strike +4d6[/table]


ECL 6
Kuo-toa / Ranger 1

Yes, a Kuo-toa.

Kuo-toa are described as playable races in Underdark but they function perfectly as monsters on the monster's handbook. Interestingly this gives a minor problem, kuo-toa in the monster manual have alertness as a bonus feat while kuo-toa in the Underdark do not. Supplements posterior to Underdark, such as monster manual V, list kuo-toa (some using prestige classes from the Underdark) and they always list them as having alertness as a bonus feat. As I understand the monster manual is the primary source regarding monster races and since the kuo-toa player character doesn't appear in the player's handbook the monster manual takes precended, thus giving kuo-toa alertness as a bonus feat. All the other traits from the description on Underdark fits the monster entry from the monster manual.

Some things on being a kuo-toa.

Adhesive: Fear the grappling power of the kuo-toa! This ability is strong by itself, but when it combines with hog-tie or improved hog-tie from justiciar levels it can become hilarious, just wait till that damned monk attacks you and grapples itself.
Pincer Staff (Underdark): Kuo-toa treat a pincer staff as a martial weapon instead of exotic. The pincer staff allows Bilblibliip to initiate grapples without risking melee nor being grappled back, in addition it deals continuous damage as long as he holds the grapple and... works on creatures up to one size larger (or smaller) so it works perfectly with hog-tie. Pro tip use a dastana (arms and equipment guide) that can be used in conjuction with a two handed weapon, in order to apply adhesive to it.
Kuo-toan Harpoon (MM V): If he uses a sticky buckler in conjunction with the harpoon he gains a +5 on the opposed STR check. That and the option to slam the buckler into the ground (freeing both hands) makes the harpoon a great close range weapon, to use before getting to melee.
Keen sight: Combined with a good number of skill ranks in listen make easy to locate invisible creatures for Bilblibliip.
http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/250x250/24748442.jpg
Immunity to poison (and paralysis): Bilblibliip never risks poisoning himself when applying poison to weapons, well he risks to but he doesn't care. This poison immunity is also useful against several enemies with poison attacks. Kuo-toan known relation to drows, and Bilblibliip great ability for gathering information can give him access to several poisons.
Light blindness: This would be a bad thing, if it weren't for sun lenses on sandstorm, Bilblibliip wears sunglasses like a boss.

But Bilblibliip is not only a kuo-toa he is also a ranger with Favored environment (Aquatic) (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/classFeatureVariants.htm ) ACF that means that he gets bonuses while fighting underwater. The ranger ACF from unearthed arcana that grants bonus speed as a Barbarian and wildshape instead of combat styles, that means that Bilblibliip speed is 30 feet, as most medium creatures. He also has a spiritual conection (ACF from complete champion) allowing him to use speak with animals 3/day this will be specially relevant later on, but atm, it benefits him more than wild empathy due to his low charisma. Track and Urban tracking help Bilblibliip to locate any of the targets that try to escape the rage of Blibdoolpoolp. Note that he even can track things underwater, per stormwrack page 51
Another thing to take into account is that through skilled city dweller (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a ) Bilblibliip gets gather information as a class skill.

ECL 10
Kuo-toa / Ranger 5
At this level Bilblibliip has five levels in ranger, other than his kuo-toa HD. What can he do now?
The simplest addition is favored environment (Underground) that increases Bilblibliip abilities while in the underdark, and he probably will be there most of the time.
Another straigthforward addition is spellcasting, ranger spells have some of the most useful tracking spells in the game and they will help Bilblibliip to tail any fugitive, he can prepare one level 1 spell a day (Marked object, scent, lay of the land or quickswim are good examples of spells)
Wildshape is a bit more difficult to handle but it can give him access to more combat oriented forms, an ape or dire ape that can use weapons are good choices, though the most useful forms are probably going to be uncunsipicous forms, such as taking the form of a dog, that can travel to places without rising the suspicions a kuo-toa might rise.
Bilblibliip's urban companion (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) is a great asset in itself, and it deserves several mentions. The Sewerm has a great grapple check (+16), it has attach, that is slightly better than an improved grab, that can affect enemies of any size, and since it uses Bilblibliip attack bonus (so it has a full attack bonus progression) it is a great grappler. Per the grapple rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/specialAttacks.htm#grapple) if both the Sewerm and Bilblibliip grapple together they can be devastating to their enemies. The Sewerm can choose to aid Bilblibliip in any skill check and he can succeed reliably in any skill in which Bilblibliip has more than 9 ranks, adding 2 to the check. The Sewerm is intelligent and Bilblibliip can use its speak with animal ability to give it instructions if need be. It also offers an anesthetic poison (in order to not deal damage to Bilblibliip targets, the kuo-toa itself is immune). Finally it grants a +2 bonus on saves to resist pain.

ECL 15
Kuo-toa / Ranger 5 / Justiciar 5
Improved grapple aids Bilblibliip when using its Pincer staff making it easier for him to grapple enemies (and hold them with the pincer staff).
Bring 'em back alive + nonlethal strike combined with the Sewerm's poison allow Bilblibliip to deal a good chunck of damage to its targets without them noticing.
Street savy adds to the gather information bonus, specially in conjunction with urban tracking.
Hog-tie, once Bilblibliip is able to hog tie its opponents (from 10 feet away due to its pincer staff) he can bind them pretty well due to high ranks on use rope.
Quick reconnoiter + Keen eared scout combined with its natural keen sight make Bilblibliip great at localizing hidden enemies, listen functions even when a creature can't see, and even if it is negated on a silence area most possible enemies make noise (or rely on making noise, such as spell casters), are sightable or use invisibility.

ECL 20
Kuo-toa / Ranger 5 / Justiciar 10
The cherry on top of the build is improved hog tie. It allows Bilblibliip to hog tie an opponent 10 feet away (due to its pincer staff) as an attack action (so he can do so as part of a full attack) after establishing a grapple (in effect after hitting an opponent with its pincer staff) without need of having manacles in hand (thanks to quick draw). He can even use antimagic shackles (from book of exalted deeds) to create a 5 feet antimagic field arround the hog tied creature (thus not being affected itself, since it is standing 10 feet away). Rendering a creature, bound (with a huge DC to escape or break free) and helpless in an antimagic field.
Finally its capstone combined with enough ranks on survival, the sewerm's aids, and hopefully being on its favored environment (undreground) will make Bilblibliip succeed a good part of the time.

Sweetspots
Bilblibliip build has a couple of levels in which he exceels in power, due to getting major boons.
The sewerm's aid is a great asset, it has strong grappling powers and provides a poison that Bilblibliip can use 24 hours 7 times a day to bring its targets back without dealing pain to them.
The sweetest spot though is ECL 18 when Bilblibliip gets improved hog tie and quick draw, allowing him to bind characters almost at the time of grappling them.

Magic item support
Some magic items are really valuable for Bilblibliip, other than the mentioned antimagic shackles the shackles of silence (book of exalted deeds pg 116) or the dimensional shackles (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#dimensionalShackles ) might be useful when dealing with spellcasters.
Hog tie relies on Bilblibliip having the shackles or rope or chain on a free hand. Thus a spare hand (magic item compendium pg 137) can be handy (pun intended).
Items that grant a bonus to grapple such as gloves of titan's grip (magic item compendium pg 107) enhance its grappling checks, thus making the combo more deadly.
Bilblibliip relies on substituting attacks for grapple checks, and then hold the opponent, thus items that grant extra free movement or pounce are important for Bilblibliip, belt of battle (magic item compendium pg. 73) can allow Bilblibliip to burn a charge to move and get into melee and then full attack, or a wand of lion's charge (2nd level ranger spell, from spell compendium pg. 133) grants pounce for a round and it can be into a wand chamber (dungeonscape pg. 34) in the pincer staff.
Similarly Bilblibliip uses on track and urban tracking to find its targets when it is convinient for him, and tools that aid him in that manner can be helpful. A wand of bloodhound (spell compendium pg. 34) allows him to reroll survival checks, other spells such as living prints or stalking brand both from spell compendium can help in that direction.
Even if he is most likely able to stalk its prey and get to it without being ambushed itself, Bilblibliip tactics rely on acting first and disabling the enemy as fast as possible, thus, items that grant initiative bonus are also a great addition to the arsenal.
Finally as every character, Bilblibliip benefits from items that increase its ability scores.

Sources

Other than the PHB

Underdark: Kuo-toa (as playable race), Pincer Staff
Monster Manual I: Kuo-toa
Monster Manual V: Kuo-toan Harpoon
Arms and equipment guide: Dastana
Unearthed Arcana: Wildshaping ranger ACF, Urban Tracking feat, favored environment ACF
Complete Champion: Spiritual connection ACF
Cityscape web enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a ) Skilled city dweller, Urban Companion ACF
Serpent kingdoms: Sewerm
Complete adventurer: Quick Reconnoiter
PHB II: Keen Eared Scout
Complete warrior: Justiciar
Book of exalted deeds and DMG: Magic shackles
Magic item compendium: Some referenced magic items
Spell compendium: Some referenced spells

[Amphetryon]

Claw of the Cult of the Dragon Below.



Nocturnal assemblies took place; thereat the conspirators cemented their alliance with the blood of human victims...

-Eliphas Levi, the History of Magic

Since the dawn of civilization - human or otherwise - there have been those who revere the Dragon Below, seeking to placate the forces of darkness through sacrifice and devotion.

-History of Eberron, p230

http://images.community.wizards.com/community.wizards.com/user/wulfgars/eberron/organizations/bd94e854c4e1e9e56f000504e060177d.jpg?v=176000





Prelude

William of the Wolf's Paw ran his hand over his balding pate. "But how was he taken? Did he not have his guards with him?"

Remigio sighed. "Aye," he said. "Six guards, all incapacitated. They claim to have been beset upon by their own shadows, and bound and gagged to watch helplessly as the Marquis was dragged off by this masked one."

"One assailant - one woman - took out six guards? I don't believe it," said William. "She must have had help. Have we questioned the guards? One must have been in her pay."

"We have questioned them," Remigio answered, "but such questioning was pointless. This may be your first time dealing with the Cults of the Dragon Below, but it is not mine. Their agents do not deal in bribery and treachery."

"Question them again," said William. "I will begin collecting gold. Have they contacted anyone for a ransom?"

Remigio shook his head sadly. "You still do not see," he sighed. "There will be no ransom. They do not seek the gold of the marquis, or that of the Wolf's Paw. They will drag him, alive, into the depths of Khyber, and they will hold him there. And when the Qabalrin Wheel turns and shows them a favorable date, they will kill him, so that his blood may feed the bones of their dead god."

William stared at him, aghast. "Surely - surely there must be something we can do. Send someone after him -"

"We can pray," Remigio interrupted. "But I fear it would do little good. Many times have the Cults of the Dragon Below sent a warrior to seize one of our own for their sacrifices, and many times have our people followed them into Khyber to bring them back. And yet none have ever returned..."


Ximen Bao, Claw of the Dragon Below

LE Lesser Drow, Duskblade 3/Cleric 1/Master of Shrouds 6/Justiciar 10

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

1st|Duskblade 1|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Craft (poisonmaking) 2 ranks, know (religion) 4 ranks, spellcraft 4 ranks, concentration 4 ranks, gather information 2 ranks|Master of Poisons|Arcane attunement, armored mage (light)

2nd|Duskblade 2|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Craft (poisonmaking) 3 ranks, know (religion) 5 ranks, spellcraft 5 ranks, concentration 5 ranks, gather information 2.5 ranks|Combat Casting|

3rd|Duskblade 3|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Gather information 3 ranks, survival 2 ranks|Spell Focus (Conjuration)|Arcane channeling

4th|Cleric 1|
+3|
+5|
+1|
+5|Gather information 3.5 ranks, survival 3.5 ranks, search .5 ranks|Augment Summoning|Rebuke undead, divine magician

5th|Master of Shrouds 1|
+3|
+5|
+1|
+7|Gather information 4 ranks, survival 4 ranks, search 2 ranks||Extra rebuking, rebuke undead

6th|Master of Shrouds 2|
+4|
+5|
+1|
+8|Gather information 4.5 ranks, survival 4.5 ranks, search 3.5 ranks|Track|Summon undead (shadow)

7th|Master of Shrouds 3|
+4|
+6|
+2|
+8|Gather information 5 ranks, survival 5 ranks, search 5 ranks||

8th|Master of Shrouds 4|
+5|
+6|
+2|
+9|Craft (poisonmaking) 5 ranks, gather information 5.5 ranks, survival 5.5 ranks, search 5.5 ranks||Summon undead (wraith)

9th|Master of Shrouds 5|
+5|
+6|
+2|
+9|Craft (poisonmaking) 7 ranks, gather information 6 ranks, survival 6 ranks, search 6 ranks|Skill Focus (Gather Information)|Improved summoning

10th|Master of Shrouds 6|
+6/+1|
+7|
+3|
+10|Craft (poisonmaking) 10 ranks, use rope 1 ranks||Summon undead (spectre)

11th|Justiciar 1|
+7/+2|
+7|
+3|
+12|Gather Information 7 ranks, survival 7 ranks, search 7 ranks, use rope 5 ranks||Bring ‘em back alive, nonlethal strike +1d6

12th|Justiciar 2|
+8/+3|
+7|
+3|
+13|Gather information 8 ranks, survival 8 ranks, search 8 ranks, use rope 9 ranks|Lolth’s Caress, Improved Grapple|Crippling strike

13th|Justiciar 3|
+9/+4|
+8|
+4|
+13|Gather information 10 ranks, survival 9 ranks, search 9 ranks, use rope 12 ranks||Exotic Weapon Proficiency (manacles), street savvy +2

14th|Justiciar 4|
+10/+5|
+8|
+4|
+14|Gather information 11 ranks, survival 11 ranks, search 10 ranks, use rope 15 ranks||Nonlethal strike +2d6

15th|Justiciar 5|
+11/+6/+1|
+8|
+4|
+14|Gather information 12 ranks, survival 13 ranks, search 11 ranks, use rope 18 ranks|Practiced Spellcaster (Cleric)|Hog-tie

16th|Justiciar 6|
+12/+7/+2|
+9|
+5|
+15|Gather information 14 ranks, survival 15 ranks, search 13 ranks, use rope 19 ranks||Street savvy +4

17th|Justiciar 7|
+13/+8/+3|
+9|
+5|
+15|Gather information 16 ranks, survival 17 ranks, search 15 ranks, use rope 20 ranks||Nonlethal strike +3d6

18th|Justiciar 8|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+5|
+16|Gather information 18 ranks, survival 19 ranks, search 17 ranks, use rope 21 ranks|Animal Devotion|Improved hog-tie

19th|Justiciar 9|
+15/+10/+5|
+10|
+6|
+16|Gather information 20 ranks, survival 21 ranks, search 19 ranks, use rope 22 ranks||Street savvy +6

20th|Justiciar 10|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+6|
+17|Gather information 22 ranks, survival 23 ranks, search 21 ranks, use rope 23 ranks||Intuition, nonlethal strike +4d6[/table]

Cleric Casting

DOMAINS: Dragon Below, Divine MagicianACF

Divine Magician Spells:
1- Magecraft
2- Escalating Enfeeblement
3- Anticipate Teleportation

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

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

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

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

4th|3|1+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|3|1+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|4|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|4|2+1|1+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|5|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|5|3+1|2+1|1+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|5|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

Typical cleric spells prepared (if battle is expected):
0- No Light, No Light, No Light, Detect Magic, Detect Poison
1- Cause Fear*, Lesser Shivering Touch, Lesser Shivering Touch, Prot/Good, Prot/Good
2- Death Knell*, Divine Insight, Divine Insight, Escalating Enfeeblement, Escalating Enfeeblement
3- Bestow Curse*, Shivering Touch, Shivering Touch, Anticipate Teleportation

*Domain spell


Duskblade Casting

Duskblade spells known:
0- Touch of fatigue, acid splash, disrupt undead, ray of frost
1- Chill touch, swift expeditious retreat, ray of enfeeblement, obscuring mist

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

1st|3|2|-|-|-|-

2nd|4|3|-|-|-|-

3rd|5|4|-|-|-|-
[/table]

(No Duskblade casting is progressed beyond level 3.)


Stats

Starting stats (includes racial adjustments for Lesser Drow):
15/10/12/16/14/10

Level 4 stat boost goes to Strength.

In a low magic campaign where magic items are unavailable, the levels 8 and 12 stat boosts will go to Wisdom, while the remaining go to Strength. However, if magic items are available and a Periapt of Wisdom can be obtained, all stat boosts will go to Strength.



The Way of the Dragon

She has lived in the dark and comforting depths of Khyber, has been nourished by the Dragon Below. It is her sacred duty to feed Him as He has fed her, to bathe His ancient bones and flesh with the blood of those He asks for.

His priests and priestesses give her a name, a face, and she goes. Alone or with others, she goes and she brings that name, that face, back. She has never yet failed in this task. She brings the named one back to Khyber without spilling a drop of blood, for that blood is sacred, and that blood is destined for the Black Pit where Khyber may feed from it.

Ximen is not foolhardy. She always prepares. If she is to bring these sacrifices in alive, she must find a way to incapacitate them first. She is skilled in poisons, which she prepares herself. Her favorite is shadow essence, which initially seems as though it does nothing, then suddenly wracks her target with Strength damage. She has an affinity with shadows, you see. She also uses survival and Detect Poison to find poisonous fungii, plants and vermin to add to her cache of poisons.

Making poisons is a simple matter. Though craft DCs continue to scale throughout the game, the magecraft and divine insight spells make these checks trivial. By level 10, Ximen is looking at +30 to her craft (poisonmaking) check before items are even taken into consideration. This means that, when making shadow essence, she can voluntarily add +20 to the DC of the craft check to craft at an accelerated pace and still auto-succeed by taking 10, again without a single item.

Ximen is also skilled at finding and tracking her enemies. Again divine insight comes into play here - between her street savvy ability, her ranks and divine insight, she can get a +43 to her check before ability scores and items, which is more than enough to research her enemy while also completely avoiding suspicion (a -20 penalty per the epic usage of gather info (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/skills.htm#gatherInformation)). She is also an excellent dedicated tracker, and can use her intuition ability to ensure that no one evades her capture.

In combat, Ximen attempts to overwhelm her foes with ability damage and nonlethal damage until they are paralyzed or knocked out, then bind them to return to Khyber. She often sends her shadows first, for she can summon four at once to sneak through the floor, surround an enemy, and rapidly drain them of strength. Then she closes in and attacks, switching between ray spells for range and full attacks for those close to her.

She moves to flank with one of her shadows and focuses on one target at a time. With her shadows draining strength on one side and her own attacks draining strength on the other (not to mention poison), it is usually a simple matter to drain enemies to nothing. If targeting Strength is unwise, she instead channels a shivering touch spell to drain the enemy's Dexterity, or even a bestow curse for enemies with low Will saves.

She further forces enemies to save against the second effect of her poisons immediately by spending a rebuke attempt.

Once an enemy has been sufficiently drained, she moves to bind them. She begins her grapple, boosting her Strength with Animal Devotion, and she should win handily thanks to her Strength draining. Then she hog-ties her foe. She has maximum ranks in Use Rope, and her divine insight spell gives her another +15 to this check, meaning that she can beat even the most dedicated escape artist.

Bound, gagged and usually paralyzed, most enemies have no way of escaping her. She also has anticipate teleportation up each day, to prevent spellcasters from teleporting away.

If Ximen comes up against undead unexpectedly, she will rebuke them or bind them. If she expects to face undead, she simply memorizes the spell spark of light, which makes them vulnerable to her many forms of physical ability damage.


Interlude

“All life here comes from Khyber,” the priestess intoned. “With Khyber’s sacrifice, He gave us life. The Dragon Below produces our sustenance, which nourishes life. We drink of His blood, we spring from the rock that is His bones and the ground that is His flesh.”

Ximen bowed her head and let it in - that warm otherness that came, not from her own heart, but from the heart of Khyber. The priestess continued.

“Khyber’s sacrifice sustains us, sustains this world. Everything below springs from His flesh-hood - the earth, the people, all is Khyber. All grows from the buried blood, the claws, the teeth, the eyes of Khyber.”

“We owe the Dragon Below a great debt,” Ximen whispered.

The priestess smiled. “Yes, my dear,” she said. “A debt that can only be paid in blood. As He nourishes us, so must we nourish Him.”

Ximen stood then, and pulled the dragon mask down over her face once more. She reached for the rope at her feet and pulled her prey forward, bound and gagged. “Here,” she said to the priestess. “Here is my offering to Khyber. Here is my offering to the Dragon Below. Here is the one you have told me was prophesied to die. I shed no blood in bringing him here, not one drop of the sacred lifeforce."

"Good," said the priestess, her smile widening. She ran her finger down the cheek of the marquis. She could see Ximen was telling it true, could see that, despite his paleness, no blood had been spilled. "You did well, Ximen. He will make a fine feast for the Dragon Below..."


The Justice of the Dragon Below

The justiciar brings many potent abilities to Ximen, allowing her to capture any enemy and bring them to the Black Pit for sacrifice.

The first and most obvious boon is the justiciar's high BAB. Being able to maintain a +16 BAB despite focusing much of her build on casting and summons is crucial, especially since she spends much of her time grappling. However, each ability gives her great power:

Bring 'em back alive: Ximen strives to avoid shedding blood, for only those who are unharmed may be brought down to be sacrificed below the Dragon Below. This allows her to wield a guisarme and armor spikes, her preferred weapon choices, without spilling blood.

Nonlethal strike: Adding +4d6 nonlethal damage to each attack means that Ximen will quickly overwhelm her foes with nonlethal damage and force them into unconsciousness. It also powers her crippling strike ability. This is especially easy for Ximen to trigger, as she can summon more than a dozen shadows each day, so flanking partners will always be available.

Improved grapple: As mentioned in her tactics, Ximen attempts to grapple enemies once their strength has been drained. On her end, she sports a high Strength (further boosted with Animal Devotion), high base attack bonus, and Improved Grapple. Meanwhile, her enemies will be taking huge amounts of Strength damage each round. This allows her to grapple enemies twice her size with ease.

Crippling strike: If it is not apparent, ability damage drives most of Ximen's build. Dealing strength damage with each attack is a tremendous part of what makes Ximen so dangerous. It also gives her an easy way to trigger escalating enfeeblement's bonus strength penalties.

Exotic weapon proficiency (manacles): What kidnapper does not carry a set of manacles close by at all times? In Ximen's case, she always likes to have a set of antimagic shackles hanging from her belt, which can help her temporarily neutralize casters while she moves on to other enemies. Though she prefers to use her guisarme when possible, when she drops her guisarme to focus on grappling, it is nice to have another close range weapon on hand so she does not have to rely on her armor spikes alone.

Street savvy: As mentioned in her tactics section, street savvy gives Ximen the boost she needs to research her targets without arising suspicion, via the epic usage of gather information. With a +43 to gather information, she succeeds on a 2 to gather information on a difficult subject without alerting the subject or arising any suspicion.

Hog-tie: After grappling her enemies, Ximen hog-ties them, making them helpess (Dexterity 0) to easily carry them back into Khyber. As mentioned in tactics, Ximen can get exceptionally high bonuses on her use rope check thanks to divine insight. Also, her Strength-draining tactics means that she can easily make breaking free through brute force impossible, and anticipate teleportation further helps keep enemies in place.

Improved hog-tie: Even better! Now Ximen can hog-tie her enemies almost immediately, rather than waiting until they are pinned.

Intuition: This ability is the equivalent of the circle dance spell, only usable at-will, and as a standard action (as opposed to one minute). You can not hide from the Dragon Below.


Beyond Khyber

Ximen Bao's variety of abilities would make her an effective melee character with some unique methods of fighting and scouting in most campaigns. Here are some notes on adding Ximen Bao to your campaign.

Drow in Eberron? (Possible concerns and adaptations)

Drow explicitly exist in Eberron, and mostly take up residence in Khyber, as Ximen Bao does. Though they primarily worship their own scorpion god, finding one in the service of the Cults of the Dragon Below is not unheard of.

The lesser drow has never been statted up for Eberron, but did exist in 3.5 in the Player's Guide to Faerun. It is these stats that I have used for Ximen Bao. If your DM decides that lesser drow do not exist in Eberron, full drow could be used (look into LA buyoff if you go this route), or even a re-fluffed elf.

Also, the Lolth's Caress feat specifically references Lolth in the name. The feat itself does not require worship of Lolth as long as you are a drow. If you DM rules that this feat does not exist because of its references to Lolth, it is no tremendous loss to the build. Instead, I would recommend bumping Animal Devotion and Practiced Spellcaster up a level, and taking Quick Draw to better take advantage of her improved hog-tie ability.

The build could also work outside of Eberron. In Faerun or Greyhawk, it would be more likely that Ximen was offering sacrifices to Lolth herself. This could be a fun alternative build, with her hog-tie ability being fluffed as the webbing of a spider.

Finally, if fractional BAB is allowed, I highly recommend it. It will allow you to get in to Justiciar a level early, and in general I find it to be a superior system for melee characters.


Sources

The Cults of the Dragon Below are from Eberron Campaign Setting. Lesser drow stats are in Player's Guide to Faerun. Lolth's Caress and Master of Poisons are from Drow of the Underdark. Shivering Touch (and its lesser version) are in Frostburn. The Divine Magician alternate class feature is from Complete Mage. Animal Devotion is from Complete Champion.


Equipping Ximen Bao

Ximen Bao prefers to wear heavy spiked armor covered in dark, oiled cloth that helps her blend into the shadows. She wears a dragon mask over her face when retrieving sacrifices for the Cults, and fights with a guisarme and armor spikes or with her manacles. She also carries the strongest rope available, for her hog-tie ability, as well as antimagic shackles.

Item boosts will definitely not go amiss - a Periapt of Wisdom +2 will give her an additional third level spell per day without requiring her to use her level boosts, and boosting Charisma will help with her gather information checks and also give her more uses of her undead summoning ability and rebuking.

Beyond that, she always seeks to improve her strength and her grappling ability. She also likes to carry items that give penalties to stats, such as tanglefoot bags, as easy ways to debilitate enemies.

In general she relies on her rays or her shadows to attack enemies at range, but carrying a hand crossbow with poisoned bolts is not unwise. However, because she cannot use her "bring 'em back alive" class feature on crossbows, she will mostly use this to incapacitate those who are guarding her main target.


Ximen Bao at All Levels

LEVEL 5 (Duskblade 3/Cleric 1/Master of Shrouds 1): With the ability to channel lesser shivering touch and similar spells and early access to poison, plus excellent rebuking for a non-dedicated cleric, Ximen is a competent melee character with some nice extra effects at the low levels.

LEVEL 10 (Duskblade 3/Cleric 1/Master of Shrouds 6): Now she can channel full shivering touch and bestow curse spells, overwhelm enemies with four shadows at a time, etc. Her summon undead ability is especially potent at levels 5-10, when many enemies simply cannot deal with incorporeal creatures.

LEVEL 15 (Duskblade 3/Cleric 1/MoS 6/Justiciar 5): See the above, but add in excellent grappling capability, improved poison use, better spells, the ability to hog-tie enemies, extra nonlethal damage, and crippling strike. This is perhaps Ximen at her very best.

LEVEL 20 (Duskblade 3/Cleric 1/MoS 6/Justiciar 10): Plays very similar to level 15, but the addition of improved hog-tie and intuition make Ximen especially dangerous.



Fugue

Ximen's heart beat faster still. There was a flash of steel and then red, not the brilliant red of fire but a dun red, a red like rust, spilling from the marquis' throat.

That wed redness seeped down, down, down, slowly making its way into the Black Pit.

Somewhere deep below her feet, she could feel a vague rumbling, as the bones of Khyber began to stir...

[Amphetryon]

Armin Long, long arm of the law.


Armin Long

"With faith, all criminals are within reach of the Law."

Build:

Human, Lawful Neutral Cleric 1/Human Paragon 3/Church Inquisitor 6/ Justicar 10

Armin Long, of the Law
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skill Ranks|Feats|Class Features

1st|Cleric of St. Cuthbert|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|K:Arcana 4, K:Religion 4, Spellcraft 4, Concentration 4|H: Track, 1st: Smiting Spell, D: Spell Focus (Enchantment)|Turn Undead, Domination Domain, Divine Magician ACF

2nd|Human Paragon|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+4|K:Arcana 5, K:Dungeoneering 1, K:Nature 2, Survival 1, Escape Artist 1|--| Adaptive Learning

3rd|Human Paragon2|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+5|K:Dungeoneering 3, K:Nature 3, Survival 3, Escape Artist 2|EWP: Sasumata, Knowledge Devotion|+1 Cleric casting

4th|Human Paragon3|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+5|K:Nature 4, Survival 5, Escape Artist 5|--| +2 Wis, +1 Cleric casting

5th|Church Inquisitor|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+7|Gather Information 1, Search 1, K:Local 1, K: Planes 1, Spot 1, Sense Motive 1|--|Detect Evil, Inquisition Domain, +1 Cleric casting

6th|Church Inquisitor2|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+8|Gather Information 2, Search 2, Listen 2, Spot 2, Concentration 5, Sense Motive 2|Still Spell|Immune to Charms, +1 Cleric casting

7th|Church Inquisitor3|
+4|
+4|
+2|
+8|Gather Information 3, Search 3, Listen 3, Spot 3, K:Planes 2, Sense Motive 3|--|Pierce Illusions, +1 Cleric casting

8th|Chruch Inquisitor4|
+5|
+4|
+2|
+9|Gather Information 4, Search 4, Listen 4, Spot 4, K:Local 2, Sense Motive 4|--|Pierce Disguise, +1 Cleric casting

9th|Church Inquisitor5|
+5|
+4|
+2|
+9|Gather Information 5, Search 5, Listen 5, Spot 5, K:Local 3, Sense Motive 5|Skill Focus (Gather Information)|Immune to Compulsions, +1 Cleric casting

10th|Church Inquisitor6|
+6/1|
+5|
+3|
+10|Listen 7, Spot 7, Spellcraft 5, Concentration 6|--|Force Shapechange, +1 Cleric casting

11th|Justicar|
+7/2|
+5|
+3|
+12|Use Rope 6|--|Bring 'em back alive, Non-lethal strike +1d6

12th|Justicar2|
+8/3|
+5|
+3|
+13|Use Rope 12|Practiced Spellcaster, Improved Grapple|Crippling strike

13th|Justicar3|
+9/4|
+6|
+4|
+13|Survival 11|EWP: Manacles|Street Savy +2

14th|Justicar4|
+10/5|
+6|
+4|
+14|Spot 11|--|Non-lethal strike +2d6

15th|Justicar5|
+11/6/1|
+6|
+4|
+14|K:Local 9|Urban Track|Hogtie

16th|Justicar6|
+12/7/2|
+7|
+5|
+15|Gather Information 11|--|Street Savy +4

17th|Justicar7|
+13/8/3|
+7|
+5|
+15|Survival 17|--|Non-lethal strike +3d6

18th|Justicar8|
+14/9/4|
+7|
+5|
+16|K:Local 15|Quick Draw|Improved Hogtie

19th|Justicar9|
+15/10/5|
+8|
+6|
+16|Gather Information 17|--|Street Savy +6

20th|Justicar10|
+16/11/6/1|
+8|
+6|
+17|K:Local 20|--|Intuiton, Non-lethal strike +4d6[/table]


Spells:

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

1st|3|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|3|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|4|3+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|4|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|5|4+1|3+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|5|4+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|5|4+1|4+1|3+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

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

9th|6|6+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|-|-|-|-|-

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

11th|6|6+1|5+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-

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

13th|6|6+1|5+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-

14th|6|6+1|5+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-

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

16th|6|6+1|5+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-

17th|6|6+1|5+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-

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

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

20th|6|6+1|5+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-[/table]

Divine Magician spells:

Divine Magician spells
1 True Strike
2 Escalating Enfeeblement
3 Unluck
4 Touch of Years
5 Spell Theft









Stat Array:

Level bonuses (in order) Wis, Wis, Str, Str, Str.

Str 14 (+3) = 17
Con 14
Dex 12
Int 12
Wis 16 (+2) (+2) = 20
Cha 10

Tactics and abilities:

Armin Long of St. Cuthbert who seeks justice. He'll certainly improvise to use any thing as a weapon to subdue a criminal, though he prefers tanglefoot bags, nets, or bolas. And, of course, hiss prefered weapon, his sasumata. With it, he grapples from a distance, keeping his foe tied up at bay. He delivers his spells to incapacitate through his sasumata by using his smiting spell feat, prefering non-damaging spells like Hold Person, Rigor Mortis, and, once available, Hibernate.

As he gains experience as a Church Inquisitor, he gets the training he needs to seek out corruption wherever it may be found. The immuntities it offers keep his mind clear, his eyes open to the truth in front of him. The spells he gains help him to divine insights others can't see, to expose clues in a crime scene, and to lead him onward to the criminal he seeks. Knowledge is power and Armin will use it to track down his suspect and bring him (or, of course, her) to justice.

Justicar brings Armin a stronger ability to go toe-to-toe with a villian. Crippling strike weakens his foe, and works well with Armin's Escalating Enfeeblement and Touch of Years spells. That loss of strength combined with an Unluck spell, really has a criminal at a disadvantage. When Armin powers up for the big fights with Divine Power, Righteous Wrath of the Faithful, Righteous Might, Bull's Strength, Stretch Weapon, etc. he can be quite the force to contend with. A strengthened cleric holding a criminal pinned from a distance with a sasumata, channeling stilled spells through the weapon to debuff, control, incapacitate, dispell -- quite the force indeed. The hogtie ability will not be far behind, preferably with anti-magic shackles (from Book of Exalted Deeds).

Story:
I wasn't the first one there. But, then again, I never did pride my reputation on being first.

There were several men there, decked out in the finest of armor, the prettiest uniforms money could buy. Most held crossbows, loaded, ready. The one man who didn't was the one I recognized. He was older than the rest, but still young. His was the shiniest armor with the biggest insignia. He had a shield strapped to one arm, his sword still sheathed at his side. He was a career-oriented man, ambitious, on the hunt for glory. The last thing he would want to see was a grizzled old man like me, a few weeks from retirement, out of his juristiction. But I had saved his life a few years back, and he wasn't the kind to forget it.

I walked up and gave a polite nod of my head. "Planning to let the clerics resurrect him in time for his execution?"

"What are you doing here, Long?"

"Seems a girl was murdered. My investigation led me here."

"As did ours, Long. And much sooner than yours, I might add. We've got everything under control here."

"You're after the wrong guy, you know. It wasn't the boyfriend."

He looked at me blankly, trying to read my intentions.

"Look, do us both a favor. Let me go in there. You take him afterward. No one gets hurt. Everyone wins."

He didn't argue. I didn't give him the chance.


I walked into the tavern. Everything was quiet. One man sat at the bar, staring into his drink. The bartender stood behind the counter, lazily wiping a few glasses. There was no one else around. The place was empty, quiet. Just the way I liked it.

I slid onto a stool at the end of the bar. I kept telling myself that I wasn't as old as I looked, but my knees told a different story. The dull ache of a long day on my feet ran up my legs, through my body, and forced its way out of my throat as the kind of grunt I remembered hearing my grandfather make whenever he sat down.

The bartender stepped near and nodded. I nodded back. I always asked the same question of a server. It didn't matter where, what the atmosphere was like. It could be a regal party at a duke's castle or a pre-brawl evening in a run-down dive. The question was always the same, and rarely reveived the answer I hoped for. "Do you know how to make Elysian Tea?"

Today, the answer suprised me. The baretender simply nodded. He poured brandy into a skillet, put it on the stove, then headed into the back room while it simmered.

I turned to the other man there. He was still staring into his drink. He was just a kid, couldn't've been more than 20. Smears ran down his face where the tears had been. The puffiness had receded some. His hands tremored a bit.

The bartender came back carrying supplies. A few herbs and spices went into the skillet. Anice, cinnamon, rea, a few yellow petals of the Cinowa flower. He sliced an Elysian orange, barely losing a drip of juice to the cutting board, squeezing it all into the skillet. The cinnamon was expensive, but found easily enough. The orange was certainly a rare find. Most people skipped the Cinowa petals entirely when making Elysian Tea. Few knew enough to want them. They were practically unheard of. Only a true master of his craft would know to use them, or know how to use them delicately enough. Even then, it was quite the oddity to find someone with them in supply.

The bartender, nay, Craftsman, took the skillet from the stove. He strained the liquid slowly out into a short, shallow mug, then set it before me on the bar. I leaned over the mug, took a deep breath, let the scent fill my head. I remembered a frozen winter night, huddled in a cabin, curled in front of a fireplace with a girl I hadn't thought of for years. Such was the beauty of Elysian Tea. But this... I could hear the cold wind whistling outside the cabin. I felt the warm glow of the fire. I knew again the soft press of her flesh against my chest.

I opened my eyes, amazed. "Absolutely perfect."

I curled my hands around the mug again and said a little prayer. I lifted it up, tipped it, poured the warm liquid out onto the floor. The Craftsman looked confused. The poor man didn't even know what hit him when I cracked the mug across his jaw. His eyes went wide in surprise. Then his body went stiff and he simply fell to the floor.

I leaned over the bar and looked down at the body. "Sarn Daniem, you are hereby ordered to stand down. Under the authority of His Lawfulness, you are charged with sale and distribution of an illegal and lethal substance. Please, do not resist." I crawled over the bar, kneeled down, tied him up.

I looked up. The kid at the bar was stunned, his eyes wide, jaw hanging open. I was glad to see that his drink was still untouched. "C'mon, kid. There's someone you should meet. An old friend on mine, right next door."

I couldn't imagine the pain of losing the woman you loved. Especially if she had committed suicide by ingestion. I suppose it might drive me to follow her. It was the kind of pain that couldn't be fixed overnight. But I knew someone who might be able to help him. I put my hand on his shoulder and led him out the door. The paladins wanted him, but I told him their guy was tied up behind the bar. Then I led the kid down the road adn through the archway to the temple of Pelor.

"Yup, kid, there's someone here you should talk to."

As we walked through the temple gardens, I could smell the scent of Cinowa on the air, saw the yellow flowers waving in the breeze. "There's someone here we should both talk to...."



Sources

Divine Magician ACF (Complete Mage)
Sasumata (Oriental Adventures)
Smiting Spell (PHB II)
Human Paragon (SRD)
Church Inquisitor (Complete Divine)
Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion)
Spells mentioned are in the SRD or:
Rigor Moris (Heroes of Horror)
Hibernate (Frostburn)
Escalating Enfeeblement (complete Mage)
Unluck (SpC)
Touch of Years (Complete Mage)
Spell Theft (Complete Scoundral)
Stretch Weapon (PHB II)

[Amphetryon]

"Son," she said. "Have I got a little story for you." - Pearl Jam

Part 1:

Alive

The Build

Abilities
str 14
dex 12
con 16 (increases here)
int 14
wis 14
cha 8
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Shape-changing Ranger 1|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Gather Information 4, Hide 4, Know (nature) 4, Listen 4, Move Silently 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Survival 4, Tumble 4| Able Learner, Skill Focus (Gather Information)|Favored Enemy (Arcanists) +2, Track, Fast Movement +10ft, Voice of the City

2nd|Shape-changing Ranger 2|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+0|Gather Information (1) 5, Hide (1) 5, Know (nature) 1 (5), Move Silently (1) 5, Search (1) 5, Spot (1) 5, Survival (1) 5, Tumble (1) 5, Use Rope 1||

3rd|Shape-changing Ranger 3|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|Gather Information (1) 6, Hide (1) 6, Know (planes) 2, Listen 1 (5), Move Silently (1) 6, Search (1) 6, Spot (1) 6, Survival (1) 6, Use Rope 1 (2)| Stand Still|Endurance

4th|Shape-changing Ranger 4|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+1|Gather Information (1) 7, Hide (1) 7, Listen 2 (7), Know (nature) 2 (7), Ride 1, Survival (1) 7, Use Rope 1 (3)||Animal Companion

5th|Shape-changing Ranger 5|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+1|Gather Information (1) 8, Hide (1) 8, Know (nature) 1 (8), Listen (1) 8, Move Silently (2) 8, Spot (1) 7, Use Rope 1 (4)||Wild Shape 1/day (Small/medium animals), Favored Enemy Arcanists +2 (+4), Favored Enemy Aberrations +2

6th|Nature's Warrior 1|
+6/+1|
+6|
+4|
+1|Diplomacy 5|Natural Bond|Nature's Armament (Serpent's coils), Wilding, Wild Shape 2/day

7th|Justiciar 1|
+7/+2|
+6|
+4|
+3|Bluff 1, Diplomacy 1 (6), Survival 3 (10), Use Rope 2 (6)||Bring ’em back alive, nonlethal strike +1d6

8th|Justiciar 2|
+8/+3|
+6|
+4|
+4|Ride 2 (3), Survival 1 (11), Use Rope 4 (10)||Improved grapple, crippling strike

9th|Justiciar 3|
+9/+4|
+7|
+5|
+4|Disguise 2, Ride 3 (5), Use Rope 2 (12)|Lunging Strike|Exotic Weapon, Proficiency (manacles), street savvy +2

10th|Justiciar 4|
+10/+5|
+8|
+6|
+4|Bluff 2 (3), Disguise 1 (3), Hide 1 (9), Move silently 2 (9), Use Rope 1 (13)||Nonlethal strike +2d6

11th|Exemplar 1|
+10/+5|
+8|
+6|
+6|Bluff 3 (6), Gather Information 5 (13), Survival 2 (13), Use Rope 1 (14)||Skill artistry (+4 to Use Rope), skill mastery (Gather Information, Use Rope, Survival)

12th|Justiciar 5|
+11/+6/+1|
+8|
+6|
+6|Bluff 2 (8), Disguise 2 (5), Survival 2 (15), Use Rope 1 (15)|Combat Reflexes|Hog-tie

13th|Justiciar 6|
+12/+7/+2|
+9|
+7|
+7|Disguise 3 (8), Spot 2 (10), Survival 1 (16), Use Rope 1 (16)||Street savvy +4

14th|Justiciar 7|
+13/+8/+3|
+9|
+7|
+7|Disguise 1 (9), Hide 2 (11), Move Silently 2 (11), Survival 1 (17), Use Rope 1 (17)||Nonlethal strike +3d6

15th|Justiciar 8|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+7|
+8|Disguise 1 (10), Gather Information 2 (15), Hide 1 (12), Move Silently 1 (12), Survival 1 (18), Use Rope 1 (18)|Robilar's Gambit|Improved hog-tie

16th|Justiciar 9|
+15/+10/+5|
+10|
+8|
+8|Hide 1 (13), Move Silently 1 (13), Spot 3 (13), Survival 1 (19), Use Rope 1 (19)||Street savvy +6

17th|Justiciar 10|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+8|
+9| Hide 1 (14), Know (local) 3 (8), Move Silently 1 (14), Survival 1 (20), Use Rope 1 (20) ||Intuition, nonlethal strike +4d6

18th|Nature's Warrior 2|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+11|
+8|
+9|Disguise 3 (13), Use Rope 1 (21), Survival 1 (21)|Scent|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class, Wild Shape 3/day

19th|Nature's Warrior 3|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+9|
+10|Hide 3 (17), Use Rope 1 (22), Survival 1 (22)||Nature's Armament (Wild Growth)

20th|Nature's Warrior 4|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+12|
+9|
+10|Disguise 3 (16), Use Rope 1 (23), Survival 1 (23)||+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class[/table]

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Milestones
Level 5
You are a Ranger, at the moment, and will function accordingly. Your lack of TWF doesn't hurt too much, and more importantly, lets you focus your assets in other areas then dex. This isn't to say that dex isn't important, but wild shape allows you to simply assume the shape of something with a better str or dex. This lets you not put all your eggs in one basket, as it were, and diversify your assets in the form of wisdom.

Your ability score breakdown is what some may call counterintuitive, but it certainly merits mention.

Str: 14. You are indeed melee focused, but due to your wild shape ability, you can turn into an ape as soon as you unlock the ability at 5 and rock a 21 str for 5 hours.

Dex: 12. You don't TWF, and aren't taking any of the chain on your own due to focusing on natural attacks, which benefit less from TWF. a positive modifier ensures you are able to make some use of combat reflexes in the instances you are not wild shaped into something with a good dex.

Con 16. Points are necessary here for your hit points, which, remember do NOT increase if you turn into something with a better con than you have, so this needs to be high due to your melee focus in combat.

Int: 14 while not a traditionally important stat for rangers (due to their limited list despite their large number of points) this is highly important for your eventual absolutely critical level in exemplar. you gain skill mastery with 1+ your int mod in skills when you take the class, so you need to have one. the skills that you are interested in (for skill mastery, and in general) are gather information, survival, and use rope (elaborated on later)

wis:14 most spells are will saves, and while your will saves are not terrible throughout this build, you always want to avoid a penalty here. your spell casting is not a huge part of your general strategy, but the ranger list has a number of nice level 1 buffs that aren't especially dependent on saves/CL.

cha: 8 your dump stat, as tradition dictates for a ranger. While gather information is keyed off of this, a -1 isn't going to kill you, especially between all the ranks you put in it, the DCs not being very high, and skill mastery enabling you to take 10.

As far as combat goes, you will focus on melee due to your wild shape. It gives you better numbers than most characters at your CR and will help put you on par with monsters. you don't need to invest stat points in physical stats as much as a normal ranger, so gain the advantages of good int and wis without having to sacrifice damage.

You've got the points to sneak around, and remember: small size gives you a +4 bonus on hide checks, which can make it much easier to reconnoiter a quarry without being detected.

Speaking of detection, you're no slouch at that either. Ranger is one of the rare classes that has both spot and listen on its list (unlike, say, nature's warrior, which engages in the hideously annoying trend of having listen, but no spot for no discernible reason) and thanks to wild shape freeing up points for int, you have enough points to max ranks. Hooray!

Able learner sets the groundwork to keep you from falling behind in your important skills when you pick up your nature's warrior levels, and also allows you to treat everything as class skills forever once you've got your (once more absolutely vital) exemplar level under your belt

your animal companion at this level is a horse (but anything that you like can work, horse is selected for extra cowboy flavor and large size makes it something of a better flanking buddy) so have him block people off and enjoy that +2 to attacks. it makes all the difference at low levels.

skill focus lets you make really high gather info rolls (since you are still rolling at this point) with relative ease, so between this, maxed ranks in hide/MS, and the ability to fly by assuming bird forms, you're really good at finding enemies, and exceptionally difficult to notice.

remember, if an enemy "sees" you as a hawk or weasel or whatever following him around, you are entitled to a disguise check (with a +10 bonus) to masquerade as an ordinary animal. if someone sees a hawk flying around while they're on the run, they'd need to be exceptionally paranoid (have lots of spot) to expect random animals to be conspiring against them. a +10 to your check is higher than the 8 they can have (maxed spot) at 5, assuming no wis bonus, so your odds of being able to remain unseen until the time to strike arises are pretty darn good.

mundane movement speeds (burrow, swim, fly, and climb) are your friends. When your quarry moves somewhere that he thinks is hard to get to, your job is to find the right animal for the job.

He's in a cave with only one entrance and he's guarding it with a shotgun? badger time. burrow in and pop up behind him to take him in.

he's atop a hill or mountain with only 1 narrow path leading up it, so he'll see anyone who follows him up and can pick them off at leisure with rifle fire? turn into a hawk and fly above him. Make a dive and resume your human form to knock him down. dropping a full grown ma from a height (of your choosing) feet first right down onto a criminal's collarbones isn't going to leave him in much of a condition to put up a fight.

he tries to get lost in the woods? Aspect of the wolf (spell compendium p16) turns you into a wolf and gives you a number of cool abilities, most notably, improved trip, low-light vision, and scent. this is usable as early as level 4, thanks to being able to put points into wis, and remember: if you have the scent ability and the track feat, you can track people down while ignoring almost all of the negative modifiers that normally interfere with tracking (ground hardness, visibility, and light) making it stupidly easy for you to find somebody if you put your mind to it. the duration of 10 minutes/level is especially attractive, even at very low levels, essentially letting you use wild shape deluxe without using up your daily use.

climbing as a monkey or snake (who can also swim) can provide you with a better vantage point or place to hide when flying is not possible (such as inside a barn or loft, where it is difficult or impossible to maintain minimum forward movement for a flying form, as no animal offers perfect maneuverability, which allows hovering

a climb speed is also useful when dealing with enemies on a cliff or wall. you do not lose your dex mod to AC, while they do, and you also gain the ability to take 10 on a climb check with a +8 racial bonus (and a decent str to boot) so you'll usually overtake them with amazing ease) again, the dire ape is an excellent choice for this. your opponent is limited to 1/4 their normal speed, while you can cruise along at 1/2, so you should catch up in a matter of rounds.

a swim speed also comes in especially useful if your quarry assumes you are using dogs and tries to follow the river for a while, it's often useful to assume the form of a snake to keep up with him.

remember that in addition to size bonuses, many animals have racial skill bonuses (such as snakes' bonus to hide)

this is considered, like racial feats, an extraordinary special quality, so you do NOT gain them in addition to the other goodies. note: this does not refer to the bonuses you get from climb/swim, those come with the movement speeds, and are not racial.

this does lead to the rather peculiar problem that animals with camouflage, such as the incredibly versatile leopard, do not pass their hiding ability on to you. despite the fit that you look like one. this is what makes maxing hide/MS even more important throughout your career, and makes able learner even more important.

Stand Still is an oddball little feat that is useful when it comes online, and only gets more useful as your wild shape and feats give you more options, but those will be addressed at later checkpoints.

The upshot is, that when an opponent provokes an AoO by leaving a square you threaten, you can instead whack them with an attack, and they must make a ref save equal to 10 + your damage roll and if they fail, they can't leave. When combined with Robilar's gambit and combat reflexes later on, this will let you do a variety of cool things that'll be explained more later on when those abilities are activated.

The upshot so far is that you're able to have a variety of ways of moving around, and have good str/dex when you need it without having to pay for it essentially, and good mental scores for skills and saves.

MVP forms for lv 5:
Snake: constrict, and imp grab with constrictor, poison with viper, and swim and climb 20 with both, along with pretty good grapples.
leopard: pounce, rake, imp grab
baboon: great speed, climb, and THUMBS! (can use weapons and manipulate objects. this is absolutely vital for later)
hawk: flight
squid/shark: water breathing, swim


Level 10
You're certainly knee-deep in justiciar by now and have its kickass improved grapple and crippling strike ability. Each ability will be explained and why it is useful to the build:

Bring 'em back alive While in theory, the merciful enhancement exists for this purpose, it's problematic to have on everything, and a merciful pair of manacles is just weird. This lets you deal nonlethal damage while wild shaped, which is as useful as it is hilarious. Those shark teeth, black bear claws, or crushing coils are now padded for your target's safety.

Your MVP list looks pretty much the same as it did at level 5 since you've only got 1 more effective druid level for the purpose of wild shaping. While 6HD does in theory unlock brown bear, you do not have wild shape (large) though you do have another use per day, which is pretty nice.

Nonlethal Strike At this level, an extra 2d6 damage isn't really anything to turn up your nose at. It really helps to put a target down more quickly.

Crippling Strike This provides more of an incentive to line up nonlethal strikes. Your animal companion ought to be a big help in this regard, serving as a pretty sweet flanking buddy.

Natural bond is online now, so you've got enough HD for an axebeak. Large size lets him threaten 4 squares and flank from any one of them, so he's great at tying up targets for you to nonlethal strike. Speaking of tying up, keep your eye on the next level.

Str damage also has the happy effect of making it far more difficult for your target to resist your grapple checks (depending on how many crippling strikes you're able to get off against them). Axebeaks also have the absolutely ridiculous movement speed of 65 feet, plus they move 5x their speed when running, just because. This obviously fits with the justiciar theme of chasing down targets, because at low levels, it is problematic for a non-caster to reliably move at that speed for long periods of time.

While ranger's animal companions are entitled to feats, and the 5HD your axebeak has entitle him to 2, the arms and equipment guide oddly has no feats printed for him (the feats section of his stat block is missing entirely) So rather than skirt an elegance penalty assuming feats exist for axebeak, I'll play it safe and assume that for these purposes he does not have any and put suggestions under adaptation.

Improved Grapple Sometimes you'll find a wild shape that has a good str, but no imp grab. improved grapple helps at least a little, and stays with you regardless of what form you take.

EWP manacles Sometimes, you won't have a weapon handy, and/or will be out of wild shapes. Baboon (and later dire ape) both have THUMBS and as a result can use weapons, allowing you to make use of their superior strength score without losing the hogtie ability you acquire soon after.


Street Savvy Oh, come one, I hear you saying. what use could this have? That too will be answered next level, along with the reason he has so many ranks in it. Regardless, there is great profit to be had in making use of this ability.

There is the smallest bit of non-justiciar garnish in this section of the big fat justiciar roast that I'm serving up this month. Why nature's warrior?

It progresses wild shape, as another level of ranger would have done, but it also gives nature's armament. Like some classes, it lets you pick class features from a list in whatever order you want. Serpents coils comes first for this build since grappling is a very useful strategy you have at your disposal, and giving the constrict ability to any form with improved grab really helps ramp up the damage at low levels.

It also provides diplomacy as a class skill for exemplar, which, in tandem with able learner, means that it never costs extra and never holds you back for being CC.

Lunging strike helps improve your reach, letting you threaten more enemies, and keep an eye out for any action that provokes an AoO. High-dex forms aren't as important yet as they will be later on, but it's still good to keep a list handy.

Level 15
Here is the fabled exemplar level. Only one is taken since this build is primarily melee focused, and losing BA is bad. As-is, you finish at 19/20, so get all 4 iteratives with as good as a chance to hit with the last one as any BA20 character is.

But why take it at all?

The answer to this lies in your new class features from justiciar:

Hog tie This ability is a little involved. First, you must pin, then whip out your rope/chain/manacles. Pay particular attention to how you can make a use rope check instead of a grapple check

That's right. The focus on a couple tried and true D&D tricks, such as the wintimidator, lies in keying opposed checks that your opponents have to make a roll against keyed off of skill checks when they normally shouldn't be able to.

Grapple checks are somewhat difficult to get very high, especially for opponents who aren't' specced for it. Being able to use a Use Rope check instead of a normal grapple check means that it's much harder to resist. In theory, your target can oppose with an escape artist check. But very few monsters actually have ranks in EA. Those that do often have some form of racial bonus due to either being snakelike, or being blob-like, like a gibbering mouther, making them ineligible targets for your hogtie anyway, since they have to be vaguely human shaped (this is not defined, but I'm assuming it means 2 arms/legs and a head with maybe a tail or wings)

This does somewhat confusingly mean you can't actually hog-tie a hog or other quadrapedal creature with this ability, which is sort of obnoxious, but talk to your DM and see if common sense can prevail in this instance. There are a lot of simple looking 4 legged creatures and being able to hogtie them would be pretty nice in ending an encounter early.

Improved Hogtie Same as above but you don't need to pin. You are allowed to use one of your attack actions during the grapple to make your tie attempt.

Grapple rules are hard and confusing, so you need to be familiar with them. Rather than balloon play tips with explanations (http://www.d20source.com/2007/08/grappling-for-dummies) of how the hell they work (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/specialAttacks.htm#grapple) allow me to just hit on the point that'll be important for this character:

while your enemy loses dex during a grapple, he doesn't lose it against you, so you do not deal nonlethal strike and crippling strike damage against your opponent during a grapple.

while you can use your multiple attacks from high BA to try to start grapple several times, you cannot attack more than once while engaged in a grapple unless you have rake from your WS form (leopard probably) so there's that.

remember that if you're in a form with improved grab, serpent's coils gives you +4 on grapple checks (untyped! so it stacks with the +4 from imp grapple) and gives you the constrict ability, letting you deal 1d8+str damage automatically when succeeding on a grapple check (you will)

Speaking of +4 bonuses to stuff, Exemplar!

Why take it?

Skill artistry gives +4 with Use rope checks (Yes.) and gives you skill mastery with 1 + int mod of skills. That lets you take 10 on Use Rope checks even when rushed and/or threatened, like in a combat scenario. You've been maxing ranks in it consistently, so at 15, your Use Rope modifier is 18 (from ranks) +4 competence (skill artistry) +10 (if you use skill mastery) +2 circumstance (masterwork manacles) for an absolutely enormous +34 without even touching a die.

Even something much larger than you (hogtie/imp hogtie are capped at 1 size larger, but honestly, you're not going to grapple anything bigger than that) with a ton of strength, like a troll (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/troll.htm) will only equal you on a 20. Picking on someone your own size is even easier. A medium or small (snicker) foe may pull a lucky roll, but it'll be very hard for them to beat a 34 3 times, and that's just what you can do to them. You get multiple grapples in a round if you have a high BA (which you do) so can an enemy roll a 34 grapple/escape artist check? No. Nobody puts ranks in it, and no monster with a good escape artist check is likely to be eligible for hogtie anyway.

While "use a masterwork tool" usually elicits cries of cheese, masterwork manacles are specifically mentioned in justiciar's entry, and it is called out that you are allowed to use them while making a hogtie attempt.

Skill Mastery with survival allows you to track your enemies (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#track) more consistently, removing the chance for to roll poorly, which can sometimes mean the difference between finding and not finding your quarry.

Gather information is another skill that's unfortunately quite subject to pesky variation with something of a binary result: either you find info, or you don't, there are no partial successes. Taking 10 with it, especially since you've been more or less maxing ranks, means that you can learn essentially anything you want to with relative ease; track the target's trail with similar ease, and when it comes to hogtying them: you guessed it. Easy.

Combat reflexes is up and running now, so enjoy it. combine it with forms with reach (like snakes) and surprise your enemies by pulling another 5 feet of reach out of nowhere. Few things are as satisfying as lying in wait as a snake (those points in hide serve a purpose) having your enemy think he's skirting by you, slapping him with a bite, imp grab (+4 from serpent's coils! +4 from improved grapple!) and then reeling them in for constriction.

Justiciar gives disguise, so enjoy it! It's a useful skill and can let you get the drop on targets before they know there's a fight, especially if you are in animal form.

[Amphetryon]

And now, Part 2:

Level 20
Here it is. You're done with Justiciar and have its last unique ability (as opposed to improvements to existing ones which I haven't bothered talking about)

Intuition Your survival check is pretty excellent, especially with skill mastery enabling you to take 10. by the time you get this, you'll have a 30 to the check, so getting away from you, in combo with your other abilities, should be really hard.

Remember your synergy bonuses! Since track is seldom used at all (much less optimized as it is here) the rules are not well known. Relevant info regarding tracking:

bonus to know (nature)
bonus when on other planes (thanks, awkward nature's warrior prerequisites!)
5 ranks in search (thanks awkward justiciar prerequisites! and now we know why we need 5 ranks in search to get in) gives you a bonus when following tracks.

This is especially important due to your level 18 feat. Scent is a pretty nice ability, and burning a wild shape use to get scent for 1 hour/HD (not effective druid level) is pretty awesome indeed. With 3 wild shapes per day, each lasting 9 hours, and gaining scent for 18 hours a day when it comes online, you can be wild shaped all day, and have scent the whole time. it's especially helpful when dealing with invisible opponents since you can detect them when they're within 30 feet of you. Masking your scent is pretty difficult to do in the first place in this game, and fewer individuals still will actually think of it.

But the real reason you're taking this feat is slightly different. if you have track (you do!) then you can track creatures by scent, and you retain this ability regardless of your form, meaning you can enjoy it even when not wild shaped.

Check out the track DC modifier table again. See how they're all about visual input?

tracking with scent works a bit differently (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#scent) and it's a bit harder to pump your check as high as the 30 you have when following mundane tracks, surface conditions and visibility don't slow you down, so, the DC won't be as high. This is also part of the reason for allocating points to wisdom.

As in life, the most common way of shaking an enemy with scent who's following you is to run through a river, but once more, wild shape saves the day. If you shape into something that breathes underwater, you keep right on trucking, and don't need to burn a wild shape for the scent special ability, since tracking with scent persists regardless of current form.

What you're all about is having a very particular set of skills; skills that you have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make you a nightmare for people like your enemies. If they agree to arrest, then that's the end of it. You will not look for them; you will not pursue them. But if they don't, you will look for them. You will find them, and you will kill them.



Bring 'em back, Alive

Or:

The Sheriff and the Succubus

The sheriff didn't have an easy job. There was no right way to say what'd happened. Demons had few indeed who would call them friend, but nonetheless, what had happened to the succubus who now lay weeping in front of him was simply cruel.

He wrapped a blanket around her too-bare flesh. Succubi weren't exactly well known for wearing an abundance of clothes, but he had never seen one without its skin on before.

The sheriff leveled a baleful glare at the cadre of paladins that had brought her in. One of them still gripped the iron chain that dangled lazily from the collar around the succubus's neck, showing no sign of letting go.

"Did you do this?" There was no malice in his tone, just a simple cause and effect. The only language understood by men like the grim-faced paladins that stood, unblinking before him.

The largest of them gave a barely perceptible shake of the head, the motion so slight that the chain in his hand didn't even rattle.

"It was like this when we found it."

"Do you have any idea who or what did this to her?" He placed deliberate emphasis on the last word. Protect and serve didn't have an asterisk attached. It would be far more fitting for those suns proudly emblazoned on the paladins' cuirasses to be asterisks. The groups who they did not consider worthy of their protection were nearly as numerous as their enemies in the first place.

The paladin holding the succubus's leash slammed it down on the sheriff's desk and drove an iron nail through the last link, holding it fast with a loud bang from the pommel of his sword.

"She gave us a name after a while."

The sheriff grit his teeth. There shouldn't have been much trouble. He knew of the succubus's ability to speak in tongues. The only reason there would have been trouble is if she had some reason not to want to cooperate with them. Given what he'd seen so far, he didn't exactly wonder why.

"What was it?" the sheriff said. No matter who was getting skinned, he had to put a stop to it.

The paladin knelt on the ground around the shuddering succubus and laid out the circle of powdered silver, a mutter of magic laying out an intricate pattern of shining suns boxing her in.

"Miguel Gustan. Mean anything to you, sheriff?"

The sheriff squinted as the light of Pelor burned brightly before fading to a dull hum, a softly glowing light emanating from the circle. It seemed more blinding than comforting, and he was sure the succubus felt much the same way.

"No. Sounds fake."

"That was my thought as well. Our divinations haven't turned anything up."

"How many have you cast?"

The sheriff noticed a small upwards quirk of the paladin's upper lip. Had he blinked, he would have missed it. Disgraceful. He hoped the paladin hadn't prepared detect thoughts[i] today, but doubted it.

"We've reached our daily limit."

The sheriff bit his tongue.

"Either way. It's your problem now." He cast a dismissive gaze at the succubus on the floor.

"Am I right to assume that I cannot rely on the church's assistance in this endeavor?" he tried to mimic the paladin's stentorian tone and elaborate diction. The words felt cumbersome and uncomfortable in his mouth.

The paladin's contempt was less concealed now as he let out a more overt smirk.

"We wouldn't dream of infringing on your jurisdiction, sheriff."

"Thought so. You know your way out." They certainly used it often enough.

A department of one was hardly an unstoppable army, especially with a rogue demon in his slam.

After another second, it was just the two of them.

The sheriff tried not to stare. It wasn't right to stare at a lady without her clothes on. It could only be truer for one without her skin on.

He tried not to deliberately avert his gaze. The last thing she needed was insult added to her significant injury.

"I could get a fire going. I know it's cold out. I think you might be more comfortable with your skin on. I know you can change 'em. I understand why you didn't wanna do it in fronta them."

"Can't," she hissed, her forked tongue tinging the word with her peppery Abyssal accent.

He backed toward the fireplace and tossed in some wood. He murmured a dirty little magic word and spat out a spark.

"Ma'am, if you wanted to put on a different shape, I could turn away." He knew she couldn't get out of the circle, so he was in no real danger.

"Can't!"

The room shook as the power of her voice boomed through it. Though she may be caged and wounded, the sheriff couldn't afford to forget that she was still dangerous.

"What do you mean?"

"My power lies in my skin. Not something that we like to let get out, but it's not like you wouldn't have figured it out. You seem sharper than those blunt instruments that brought me to your humble abode."

Even through the magic of the silver circle, the sheriff felt his head begin to fog as though he'd had too much whiskey.

"None of that." He tried not to smile. It was only natural to try to escape from a cage: man, beast or demon.

He had seen demon hunters before, of varying degrees of success. The paladins embossed miniature suns on their armor for every fiend they felled. He had seen other hunters from the tribes across the river. They had scalps hanging from their belts, some allegedly fiendish, some discernibly less so. There was often one of their number cooling off in the jail, usually little more than a drunk tank.

He had never heard of a fiend's entire skin being removed, and though he knew it would be tactless to ask, wondered why she had been left alive. He could rule out the tribes across the river. For better or worse, they wasted nothing of their victims. This was the crime of someone from the city. Someone with a hideout, or house, and plenty of time.

Taking the skin off a wolf or a sow took hours, he couldn't imagine it was much easier with a succubus, especially if she was kicking and screaming the whole time.

"Why would he want your skin?"

"Can't say I know. Usually when someone wants the flesh of a succubus, it's in a more metaphorical sense."

Though the succubus's lips were missing, along with the rest of her face, he could still feel the power behind her gaze and her slippery words. He swallowed and knew that even though his intention was to help, he would have to take reasonable precautions with her.

"Is there anything you can tell me about the man who did this to you?"

"Not sure it was a man, myself."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been making the rounds. Wasn't much man left."

The sheriff quirked an eyebrow.

"He looked… stitched together. Badly. I could see why. Neither of the hands attached to his wrists looked like the ones he was born with."

The sheriff's eyes leapt forward. He knew never to let a criminal see the whites of his eyes, but couldn't help himself.

"He was grafting?"

The succubus nodded.

It wasn't so much that it was illegal. It certainly was. Wildly so. But it was so wildly illegal that the possibility had almost left his mind. Success rates were limited to say the least. Due to its illegality, people in the field had to look to less than reputable sources for their parts, many of which didn't come from anything approaching natural causes, fewer still were well-preserved.

In those rare cases when the body didn't reject a graft outright, attacking it as an invader and leading to the subject's death of blood poisoning, they were never the same, mentally as well as physically.

"What did he look like?" the sheriff reached for a stick of charcoal.

"He had a long, segmented tongue with pincers on the end. He got me in the back of the neck with it, and I couldn't move. It kept knocking against a pair of vampire teeth when he tried to talk. I could understand him, [i]tongues and all, but I'm sure you wouldn't be able to."

The sheriff set the charcoal down for a moment after he had finished the teeth. There couldn't be two men that looked like Gustan. Could there?

"What did he say?"

"Just what you'd expect. Telling me to put lotion on my skin, or he'd hose me with holy water."

The sheriff swallowed. "You didn't find that unusual?"

She shrugged. "I didn't think much of it at first. I'm used to being summoned to fulfill the Rite of Friendly Contact with an Evil Outsider, and know some folks like a little foreplay first. 'sides, it wasn't like there was much I could do, I was stuck in a summoning circle. I thought he was just trying to be tough."

"Was there anything else?"
"He had one skeleton arm. I don't know what it was from, it only had three fingers, and his other arm was this huge muscled… thing. Its knuckles dragged on the floor when he walked, so he had to do all his fine motor manipulation with the bony one."

The sheriff kept his hand steady as he ran it across the contour of an imaginary ulna.

"There was a scorpion tail coming out of his back. He kept knocking things over with it, I think it might have been a new addition. It was joined just above the snake tail."

The sheriff blinked and looked at his picture.

"Did you say he had a snake tail and a scorpion tail?"

"Yes."

"Under each other?"

"No. He didn't have any legs, just a snake tail, and the scorpion tail was held on just above it. There were bandages around it, where it must've been attached. I don't know how the hell he did it, but he must've done it himself, like the wings."

"Wings?"

"Yeah. They came from a vrock I went to finishing school with. I recognized the tattoo on the back of one of them."

"What did it say?"

For the first time so far, the succubus looked away, her blasé attitude evaporating for a moment.

"It's not important."

"Ma'am, it could have come up. I don't know how, but maybe he disguised himself. Wore a cloak and let the wings come out the back and pretended to be a vrock or an angel and someone gave him shelter. An inn, a hospital where he was treated for the host of infections he no doubt has by now. Please. I'm trying to help you."

"Just my name."

He waited as long as he could to see if she would answer without him having to ask. The last thing he needed to do was make it worse. When it became clear he would have no choice, he did.

"What is it?"

The succubus, even without a face, looked uncomfortable.

"Lily," she murmured, the word clear even without her lips.

"Short for Lillian?"

She did her best to smile. "Most people assume Lilith."

Though it was against procedure, he returned it. "I'm not most people.

"There was one other thing," she said, pulling him back to the reason for their discourse.

"What?"

"I was able to get a swipe at him, I got him in the neck, but the wound closed itself back up. The blood was-"

"Bright green?"

"How could you have known that?"

"Silthilar. Hard to find. There's only one place nearby that sells it. Is there any reason to believe he'd have gotten far?"

"Not really. Like I said, his wings weren't looking at all functional. I'm sure he had to sleep off the damage taken from the scorpion tail. Whatever he was, he still needed to sleep. He would sleep in the summoning room after he was done with me for the day."

"Did he-"

"Honestly, I'm not even sure if he can anymore. He's crazy. He kept talking about "perfection," and how he was getting closer."

"So he's going to keep doing this?"

"Why shouldn't he? It's not like the LG brigade cares if he's cutting up demons. They think he's doing them a favor, I heard them say it themselves. I appreciate the thoroughness, but I'm not exactly expecting much from you, Sheriff."

"Alive."

"Hm?"

"You told me your name. I might as well tell you mine. And I may be lawful, but I never said I was good."

She gave a laugh, her tongue making a hissing noise as the air whiffled through it.

"That still doesn't mean I'm ever getting out of this cage."

"Who said that?"

She once more dropped her jaded facade, kept up until now ten through the bare muscles of her face and showed genuine surprise.

"You can't be serious."

"Dead serious. Pelorites said it themselves. Case is in my jurisdiction. I can solve it any way I see fit. Way I see it, something was stolen from you, and you oughta get it back. I sure don't have any way of keeping a skin fresh for the ride back with Gustan from whatever spider hole he's hiding in, so it looks like I'll have to bring you with me."

Despite her lack of lips, he could tell by the crinkling around her eyes that she was grinning.

"You said something about bringing him back. Was it dead or alive?"

"When in doubt, I go with alive," her face fell, "but not well," it rose again.

"Hold out your hand."

She did so. He reached into his office drawer for a rubber stamp with an A on it. He used it to sign documents with the sheriff's seal. He tossed it into the circle into her palm.

"Go ahead and put the mark over your heart."

She examined it. "A scarlet letter? How Puritanical. Doesn't seem like you at all."

"More for your benefit than mine. Anyone sees me consorting with a succubus, you're gonna have to be able to display your mark of justice pronto to show that you're being kept on a short leash."

"Then we're keeping this?" She pulled at the collar around her neck.

He tossed in the key. "Couldn't if I wanted to. Captain sunshine made sure I'm not going to be able to get that chain out of my desk, and I don't fancy bringing it along."

She unlocked the collar and a plume of smoke came out, showing a blackened ring around her neck. It did not heal.

"Comes from the skin too," she said before he could ask.

"Bastard."

"What are the terms?"

"Hm?"

"For the mark of justice."

"Just not to try and escape or do me any harm."

"Sounds fine." She pressed the ink to her breast and came away with a crisp, red A.

He spat on the floor, the touch of a mortal disrupting the circle and letting Lily step out.

He gave her his spare uniform.

"Cover up, it'll help us lie low."

"Mind if I cut a hole for my tail? I can't shift it away."

"There's a knife in the boot."

She knelt and retrieved it, making a small slit for her spade-tipped tail to slither out of. It was hidden well enough by the hooded cloak she clasped around her neck, as were her wings, which she wrapped around herself under the arms, like a dress, the two bat-like protrusions on the top clasping together like a brooch .

"You trust me with this?" She spun the knife around her finger.

"How else're we gonna get back what's yours?"

"Alive, I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

He didn't bother hiding his smile. "We'll see."

***

A pair of law enforcement boys in matching uniforms sat down on stools in "The Shaky Gun." Their synchronized movement let the bartender know they'd been working together a while. A fight between these two was unlikely. He could afford to take his eyes off them a moment. Both of their faces were hidden behind hoods. Not particularly unusual, as there was a dust storm outside.

As he turned away, one of them tapped the bar with what he knew from the sound to be a gold piece. He turned on his heel and gave his best cordial smile, pulling up the ends of his moustache and pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Evening, sirs. What'll it be?"

"How about a nice, big, steaming bowl of information?"

The barkeep rolled his eyes. Like he hadn't heard that one before.

"Why can't you people ever just have a drink and leave?" He turned his head both ways like an owl and made sure no one was listening. There wasn't much of a demand for a bar that couldn't keep your secrets.

"I know you have a silthilar blood for sale here. You've got a guy."

"That's illegal, sir. I'm sure I don't know anything about that."

"Relax. I ain't here for that."

"Oh, I gotcha. How much you need?"

The second one slammed a knife into the bar deep enough for it to stand on end. It caught the bartender's attention, though no one else in the noisy bar batted an eye.

He took a step back as he saw the hand wrapped around the knife was missing its skin.

"None. He took something from me. Three guesses what."

He could think of only one person, though he used the term loosely, who would want a woman's skin.

"I… I had no idea. I thought he'd acquired them legitimately, I swear."

"Save it. Where is this thing?" The skinless woman unrolled a scroll with a hideous monstrosity that was all too familiar to him. The blood-spattered giant's cloak he wore did a poor job of hiding the numerous additions to his form. He had paid well for the blood, and had departed quickly, leaving a trail of foul-smelling juices of various colors and viscosities on the dirt floor.

"There's a minin' shaft outside of town. Been closed down more than a coupla years. I ain't seen him in town since he bought the blood. He was bleeding' pretty bad. He couldn't have got far."

"Much obliged," said the man, leaving the coin on the bar. He handed him a drink for those who may have been listening. After all, he couldn't be seen being too cooperative with the law.

As soon as they'd left, he reached under the bar and unrolled a scroll. He read the confusing, jittery writing that a pair of mismatched hands had scribed. The writing evaporated from before his eyes and the inky words slipped between his lips. His mouth felt greasy and thick. He had only 25 words to spare.

"Gustan. There's a pair of local yokels on their way to you. They're heading towards the mine. Get ready for them."

***

Alive found a misshapen track leading to the mine. It looked like a larger version of a sidewinder's hopping gait, to avoid touching the hot sand that lay outside for longer than necessary. It was uneven, due to Gustan's unfamiliarity with the new body and his injured state.

"He's in here. I can feel it."

"Is it normally this easy?" Lily asked.

"For me, it is. Why? You smell something?"

"Metaphorically. If he was able to lie low this long, why would he break cover now? He either ran out of places to run or knows he's cornered. Be careful. Animals are dangerous when they know they're beat."

Lily drew her cloak tightly around herself, the dust clinging painfully to her bare muscle.

"I'm going to do something… different here. Don't be alarmed."

"You're going to change your shape."

"How'd you know?"

"I smell it on you."

He smirked and shrugged off his shape, his cloak sliding wetly into his form, a wolf replacing the man standing next to Lily.

"Stay here," he barked at her, knowing she would understand.

"Will do," she barked back. Pincers maneuver. Alive was so cute.

She played the part of the damsel admirably, even without her skin. She shrugged off her cloak and bared her too-bare skin posing seductively on a rock.

"I do hope nothing happens to me," she purred in Abyssal, since that's what Gustan had summoned her with, she was sure he understood it.

As soon as she'd finished her invocation of misfortune upon herself, there was a rustling of wings. A dirty white feather fell on her lap. She looked up and delivered a well-rehearsed gasp.

Gustan had been hanging from a stalactite, his serpent's tail wrapped around it, his ill-fitting wings doing their best to wrap around him and failing. He dropped down and was able to glide down and land in Lily's lap, his weight greatly increased from his monstrous body parts.

"Hey zhere hot schtuff. Couldn't shtay away?" he slurred with a tongue too big to stay in his mouth, clicking it against four mismatched vampire fangs. A new pair of mandibles were stitched to his cheeks, clicking together and nuzzling at her cheek. She could feel they too were slightly misaligned.

Her skin fit him poorly, as she surmised it would. All the same, seeing her own face purring infantile profanities at her was unsettling, as were her own breasts being pressed up against her skin, sagging halfway down Gustan's stomach.

"You know it," she said with a lipless grin. She pulled him in tight, her fingers winding through her own hair, hanging lank and greasy on the back of Gustan's head. She felt her teeth click against his as she kissed her own lips, waiting.

And then it came.

Alive leapt onto Gustan's back and sank his teeth into his neck. Gustan let out a piercing shriek through Lily's lips and into her mouth.

It was delicious.

Just as soon as he'd struck, the wolf's face dissolved into the cold gaze of a boa constrictor. While Gustan no longer had any legs, he still had arms. Alive wound his body around his wings and arms and began to squeeze. Lily giggled at the snap of his borrowed bones.

"Gotcha."

Alive hissed venomously into Gustan's ear, one of the few things that was still his own.

"He says you're under arrest," Lily said.

Gustan croaked out a word, but even through tongues was indeterminable. His chest, unable to expand, had finally given out, the constrictor's preferred method of dispatch successful.

Alive slipped back into his own shape and took out a pair of manacles, tossing them aside as he saw Gustan's oversized wrist. He lashed his arms, wings, and tails together in a vague approximation of a hogtie.

"Justice is served," Lily purred.

"Not quite yet," Alive said. He tossed his knife into the ground.

"Aren't you going to mark of justice him?" Lily popped the crude seam at the back of Gustan's neck and pulled out the thread. Her skin, no longer held in place, slithered off his body, wriggled through the ropes, and poured itself onto her, sealing wetly closed as her fast healing reactivated. She looked good as new. If Alive didn't know better, he would never know there had been a problem.

"Nah. Rangers can't cast mark of justice. That mark on your chest is just ink."

"I know."

"Then why'd you stay?"

"Why indeed. What're you gonna say?"

Alive shrugged as he tossed Gustan's body over the back of his axebeak outside the mine's entrance.

"Say you outsmarted me. Not exactly far from the truth."

"Fair enough. What're you gonna do with him?"

"Take him back to the clink, tell the Pelorites I used you for bait and you got away. Long as they get something for the chopping block, figure it's all the same.

"Take care," Lily said with a soulful goodbye kiss.

"What was that for?"

"Systems check." She popped her lips. "Making sure everything's in working order."

"See you around." He hopped atop his mount so she couldn't see the redness in his cheek that he couldn't fully attribute to the negative level he'd just gained.

"Alive?" he heard her say behind him.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

He turned around his head to speak, but she had plane shifted away.

"You're welcome."

Sources
SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/): Skill Focus, Stand Still, Combat Reflexes, Shape-changing Ranger
Complete Mage: Favored Enemy (Arcanists)
Complete Warrior: Nature's Warrior, Justiciar
Complete Adventurer: Exemplar, Scent, Natural Bond
Cityscape Web Enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a): Voice of the City, Skilled City-Dweller
Races of Destiny: Able Learner
Player's Handbook II: Lunging Strike, Robilar's Gambit
Arms and Equipment Guide: Axebeak

gather info for handle animal
tumble for ride

[Amphetryon]

That's the last of them, folks. Ready, set, JUDGE!

Incidentally, the weird dangling spoiler bit in Alive's build is now fix'd. Apologies to the author for the fact that the build doesn't precisely match her/his intended appearance; ya wrote more than a mere post could contain. :smalltongue:

[Piggy Knowles]

Awesome!

Things I expected to see a LOT more of: Totemist, Factotum and PsyWar or Ardent. Only one Totemist and no Factotums/Ardents/PsyWars makes me very surprised!

I really, really, really wanted to make a Necrocarnate work. The idea of incapacitating foes and bringing them home to convert into essentia later just seemed too cool.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't make a decent one. Incarnates would be unable to qualify, because of alignment restrictions (Necrocarnate requires evil, Justiciar requires lawful, and Incarnates can be one or the other but not both). Totemist could work, but I worried about originality points for using Totemist, and anyhow there would be a bunch of wasted feats and abilities because Totemists don't get any necrocarnate soulmelds.

I was very close to submitting a Soulborn 8/Necrocarnate 2/Justiciar 10, just because I knew I'd get some cool points for submitting an IC build with 8 levels of Soulborn. The plan was to make it a synad, with the fluff that one of my three minds, the one I considered my soul, had disappeared, and I had to track down enemies, bring them back to my lair, and absorb their soul to try to find the one that was missing.

Crunch was that it used Psycarnum Infusion to max out either Girallon Arms (via Shape Soulmeld) or Sailor's Bracers for high grapple checks or high use rope checks, and.... that was about it. I couldn't even do both at once, since both soulmelds took up the arms slot for me. With only two soulmelds and one bind, there was really not much I could do. Those two soulmelds could be maxed out, sure, but that was where I was left.

It was such a cool concept and had some neat components to it, but in the end, it just wasn't very good.

I also thought about doing a PsyWar 5/Justiciar 10/Flayerspawn Psychic 5, with all of the Illithid Grapple feats, but it didn't really work out. PsyWar 5/Flayerspawn Psychic 5 didn't have sufficient BAB to enter Justiciar. PsyWar 6/Flayerspawn 4 did, just barely, but I had some feat troubles regardless. I did manage to get a PsyWar 10/Justiciar 10 build together that had all four Illithid Grapple feats by level 20, but it lost some oomph without Flayerspawn Psychic (since it lost the free Mind Blast), and I was again worried about getting hammered in originality with PsyWar.

Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with the build I submitted, even though I still kind of wish I'd found a way to make that synad Soulborn more powerful.

[Darkcouch]

Lots of great builds this time around. I was working on a Martial Rogue 4/Warblade or Swordsage 4/Duraakash 2/Justicar 10 TWFer, but didn't have time to write up the fluff.

[OMG PONIES]

Interesting crop this time around, and something I may be able to judge. The build I didn't have time to submit was a Factotum 8/Justiciar 10/Exemplar 2. The main gig was a combination of Martial Study (Sudden Leap), Improved Hogtie, Cunning Surge, and Death Blow. I'd be able to leap in, initiate a grapple, hog tie, and get off two nonlethal attacks against a helpless opponent. Then, Cunning Surge/Death Blow with a Quick Drawn scythe would allow a death attack with a Fort DC of (42+8d4) thanks to the scythe's high crit multiplier and maxed Knowledge Devotion.

Exemplar provided a competence bonus and the ability to take 10 on Knowledge checks as well as Use Rope, so I could consistently hit a 40+ on Use Rope. However, all the attention paid to the above meant my initial grapple checks were lacking, and the "criminal who hunts other criminals" fluff just came across very "Boondock Saints."

[Kuulvheysoon]

Interesting crop this time around, and something I may be able to judge. The build I didn't have time to submit was a Factotum 8/Justiciar 10/Exemplar 2. The main gig was a combination of Martial Study (Sudden Leap), Improved Hogtie, Cunning Surge, and Death Blow. I'd be able to leap in, initiate a grapple, hog tie, and get off two nonlethal attacks against a helpless opponent. Then, Cunning Surge/Death Blow with a Quick Drawn scythe would allow a death attack with a Fort DC of (42+8d4) thanks to the scythe's high crit multiplier and maxed Knowledge Devotion.

Exemplar provided a competence bonus and the ability to take 10 on Knowledge checks as well as Use Rope, so I could consistently hit a 40+ on Use Rope. However, all the attention paid to the above meant my initial grapple checks were lacking, and the "criminal who hunts other criminals" fluff just came across very "Boondock Saints."

Well.... That just blows my idea out of the water.

My idea was a kalashtar Rogue 2/Lurk 8 (tracker archetype)/Justiciar 10 with Able Learner to maximize my Use Rope checks. Taking Deaden Blow as my first level power, he was going to function as a pseudo-Justiciar starting at about 4th level, psychic-reforming out Deaden Blow after I entered Justiciar.

Apparently, I would have gotten decent Originality points - I see no other kalashtar, and I'm really not surprised to not see another Lurk.

Fluff-wise, she specialized in hunting down Inspired Agents (and quori-possessed humans) with her Atavist (soulknife) lover. Work completely swamped me in the last week and a half, however, so I didn't get the chance to refine it as much as I liked, and I never even started formatting the damned thing.

[ThiagoMartell]

I think this is the ideal number of contestants. Pretty cool!

[Narsis]

didnt have time to submit but would you believe i was working on an old west Thri-Kreen Totemist bounty hunter? Dustie is so close to what I was working on it's just scary.

[Venger]

didnt have time to submit but would you believe i was working on an old west Thri-Kreen Totemist bounty hunter? Dustie is so close to what I was working on it's just scary.

after shadow sentinel, it's a matter of public record that two contestants CAN submit the same exact level by level build.

plus ardent dilettante had 2 VoP ghost prostitutes, so that was weird too.

[Kuulvheysoon]

after shadow sentinel, it's a matter of public record that two contestants CAN submit the same exact level by level build.

plus ardent dilettante had 2 VoP ghost prostitutes, so that was weird too.

And if I remember that correctly, 'twas you and I, friend.

Although I had it Duskblade 5/Abjurant champion 5/Shadow Sentinel 10, while the other one was Duskblade 5/Shadow Sentinel 10/Abjurant Champion 5. Mine maintained a full caster level throughout the entire build, while Sue was stuck with CL 5 until 20th level.

[eggs]

Interesting stuff. I was expecting to see Subduing Strike and sneak attack in most of the builds; I'm really surprised not to see it once.

[Amphetryon]

I thought we'd see more Crimson Scourge this time around, myself.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Oh gosh this whole judging thing takes up a lot of time and mental energies. I've judged up to Zaroff, who I'll be starting on later today, after a break. In the meantime, have my judging criteria:

Originality: This is very much a first-impression thing. If I look at your build, or general idea, and think, “yes, that seems fairly obvious,” then you won't be getting a good score. If it's something I never would have guessed, then you'll get a good score. If it's something that I sort of expected, but didn't think was painfully obvious, you'll get an average score. This applies to choices within the build, as well as the race and class combinations, however.

Power: I'm not going to lie, I'm not a very good judge of power. For this competition, I'll be judging this one one of two criteria: does the build have a good deal of strength in a single area; does the build have a wide selection of abilities. If you fit either of those, I'll judge on that; fulfilling both will obviously be better, fulfilling neither is a bad thing.

Elegance: Let me say up front that formatting is going to be a significant part of this category, for me. I don't think anybody will have an absolutely atrocious presentation, but things like frequent misspellings will get you a penalty here; presentation is definitely a factor, so anything that makes it more difficult to read your build will get you penalized. In a similar vein, having abilities that interact with each other in odd ways, and then not properly explaining them, will get you penalized as well; how am I supposed to judge your build if I can't manage to figure out how it works?

Also into this category is using any tricks that I think are executed poorly or not strictly possible without a very permissive DM (though at the same time, doing something may get you points elsewhere; a balancing act). I'm usually a permissive person when it comes to dipping, but if you get a lot of abilities you're not putting to use, then expect a penalty (i.e. dipping cloistered cleric for knowledge devotion and not using the casting, or barbarian for pounce and not using rage). On the flip side, however, sticking to a small selection of classes may get you a bonus. Anything above and beyond a typical entry would also go in here, making this a sort of catch-all for stuff that won't fit into other categories.

Yes, this is a big category.

Use of Secret Ingredient: Out of all the categories, I imagine this will be the most mechanically judged; I'll go through and see if you used each of the class abilities, and how well you've used them. Unlike the other categories (which will start with an average score and add/subtract) I'll start with a high score here and subtract for anything unused. After the tally for which abilities went unused, I'll also consider whether the backstory of the character makes the path embodied by the ingredient a logical choice.

[Piggy Knowles]

Interesting crop this time around, and something I may be able to judge. The build I didn't have time to submit was a Factotum 8/Justiciar 10/Exemplar 2. The main gig was a combination of Martial Study (Sudden Leap), Improved Hogtie, Cunning Surge, and Death Blow. I'd be able to leap in, initiate a grapple, hog tie, and get off two nonlethal attacks against a helpless opponent. Then, Cunning Surge/Death Blow with a Quick Drawn scythe would allow a death attack with a Fort DC of (42+8d4) thanks to the scythe's high crit multiplier and maxed

Huh... Very nice, and that actually gives me another trick to add to a (non-IC) build I've been working on! Too bad it wasn't finished; I would have liked to see it in its entirety.

[mattie_p]

I guess it is table time for the entries, hyperlinked for ease of judging:

{table=head]Name|Race|Build

Doril Shadowbane (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941108&postcount=150)|Centaur|Paladin 1/Shadow Striker 3/Justiciar 10

Dustie (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941118&postcount=151)|Thri-Kreen|Totemist 4/Swordsage 2/Justiciar 10

Sixteentoes "Unspeakable" Componentgaurder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941134&postcount=152)|Ghost Tibbit|Ranger 6/Justiciar 10

Zaroff (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941142&postcount=153)|Human|Ranger 4/Monk 2/Fighter 1/Fist of the Forest 3/Justiciar 10

Sheriff Breagar Bearclaw (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941154&postcount=154)|Half Orc|Half-Orc Paragon 3/Human Paragon 3/Swordsage 2/Crimson Scourge 1/Justiciar 10/Bear Warrior 1

Bilblibliip (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941162&postcount=155)|Kuo-toan|Ranger 5/Justiciar 10

Ximen Bao (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941177&postcount=156)|Lesser Drow|Duskblade 3/Cleric 1/Master of Shrouds 6/Justiciar 10

Armin Long (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941180&postcount=157)|Human|Cleric 1/Human Paragon 3/Church Inquisitor 6/Justiciar 10

Alive (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13941230&postcount=158)|Human?|Wildshape Ranger 5/Nature's Warrior 4/Justiciar 10/Exemplar 1[/table]

[eggs]

My own terrible idea that I'm kind of relieved not to see was a pair of Dvati twins with Tracker Lurk 8/Monk 2 entry to mix one's Expanded, Grip of Ironed, Yuan-Ti-grafted grapple with the other's Nonlethal+Sneak Attack shredding. I was kind of surprised when I couldn't think of a single Spaghetti Western with a brother/twin-based conceit to nod heavily toward.

[Piggy Knowles]

Because I can't stop myself from toying around with new builds, even though the contest is closed, here's one I was thinking about while doing cleaning the house...

Warforged, Ardent 3/Totemist 2/Landforged Walker 5/Justiciar 10

Use Skilled City Dweller to make Gather Info a class skill for the Totemist.

FEATS:
1. Totemist1- Ironwood Body
2. Ardent1-
3. Totemist2- Practiced Manifester (Ardent)
4. Ardent2-
5. Ardent3-
6. Landforged Walker1- Track
7. Landforged Walker2-
8. Landforged Walker3-
9. Landforged Walker4- Skill Focus (Gather Information)
10. Landforged Walker5-
11. Justiciar1-
12. Justiciar2- Improved Grapple, Psycarnum Infusion
13. Justiciar3-
14. Justiciar4-
15. Justiciar5- Psionic Meditation
16. Justiciar6-
17. Justiciar7-
18. Justiciar8- Shape Soulmeld (Sailor's Bracers)
19. Justiciar9-
20. Justiciar10-

MANTLES: Law, Natural World, Freedom

Landforged Walker would give me all sorts of fun plant forms. Octopus tree in particular sounds fun, with crazy grappling and a ton of attacks to deal crippling strike damage from. That said, treant might be the more reasonable option, since a treant should still have most necessary body slots for shaping soulmelds.

Bind Girallon Arms to the totem chakra. Shape Sailor's Bracers to arms, and Sphinx Claws to hands.

Turn into a huge treant to smash things with (or octopus tree, if for some insane reason your DM decides that an octopus tree can shape soulmelds to the arms and hands chakras). Keep your essentia in Sphinx Claws for the boost to Strength checks. Manifest grip of iron (Law mantle), expend focus to max out Girallon Arms' grapple check via Psycarnum Infusion, and have a truly ridiculous grapple modifier. Next round, use a move action to refocus, use Psycarnum Infusion again to max out Sailor's Bracers, and hog-tie them.

A little too similar to Jael Filius from the Pistis Sophia round for me to be willing to submit, but it could be a fun option.

[mattie_p]

Because I can't stop myself from toying around with new builds, even though the contest is closed, here's one I was thinking about while doing cleaning the house...

Warforged, Ardent 3/Totemist 2/Landforged Walker 5/Justiciar 10

A little too similar to Jael Filius from the Pistis Sophia round for me to be willing to submit, but it could be a fun option.

Interesting idea, but as you say, the hint of plagiarization in these contests is enough to turn off some judges. Honestly I thought I'd see more totemist in this round, since they make such fine grapplers. And really surprised at no expansion focused psionic characters.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Brain hurts. Tired. No more reading.

Judgings
Doril Shadowbane
Originality: A paladin isn't exactly unexpected, but I did expect people to stay away from the class for various reasons, so neutral points there. Centaur and Shadowstriker were certainly unexpected, and you also get points for not just treating the Centaur as a mounted warrior who is always mounted. Your backstory, however, is pretty standard fair. Score: 3.5/5

Power: You do fairly well here, with a simple and obvious focus. Your large size gives you a sizable boost to your grappling capabilities, and your end-game tactics of hitting with your greatsword before starting the grapple with Snap Kick is useful and clever. You're good at grappling, and could do decent outside of that with your greatsword and high strength, and while Shadowstriker doesn't give you as much as you might hope, it's still a little extra damage, and noteworthy. Score: 4/5

Elegance: Nothing really stands out here to penalize you, aside from a few grammar errors early in the entry and failing to completely update the statblock for the latter levels you present (your javelin is certainly not +8 at level 20). You don't use any questionable tricks, and use a fairly simple progression. As I mention elsewhere, your backstory, however, is fairly simple and if anything is a bit lacking. Score: 3.5/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: Although you don't specifically mention making use of a few of the abilities (biggest offender here is Nonlethal Strike and Crippling Strike, since you have no real way to get the drop on enemies), it's fairly obvious how you're using almost all of the abilities. Score: 4/5

Total score: 15/20
Average: 3.75/5


Dustie
Originality: I don't really know what to say. Looking at this, I should have expected a cowboy, I really should have, but I didn't. Totemist and Swordsage are also a bit of a surprise, so good on ya. And, of course, there's Thri-Kreen. It's original, but surprisingly so... Score: 4.5/5

Power: You grapple, and you tear people to shreds with your many attacks. Your grappling isn't quite as good as Doril's in straight up number-comparison, but your use of Crippling Strike and other damage boosters with your large number of attacks gives you a very respectable damage output. Your frailty early on is a bit of a black mark, however. Score: 4.5/5

Elegance: I like the backstory, I really do. At first, I thought it was going to be a fairly standard “born for greater things” story, but your surprised me, and it's written quite well, as well. The little bit at the beginning of your entry was a short, fun read, too. That's a plus. However, there's a few issues with your build. The first problem, and the one I feel strongest about, is that your tactic of grappling people and THEN tearing them apart with your natural attacks doesn't really work, because the rules for grappling state that “If your base attack bonus allows you multiple attacks, you can attempt one of these actions in place of each of your attacks,” and you're attempting to use extra attacks from other sources. Additionally, my source doesn't give Thri-Kreen players the +30 racial modifier on jump checks, though that may have been an error (in which case I will gladly amend this score). Taking a feat and outright stating “you need a rainbow ioun stone” is a bit on the non-kosher side of equipment reliance. I'm not so certain on your suggestion of delaying to initiative 100 after the surprise round, since you'd need a triggering action, but even if you can't do that it doesn't really change your tactics that much. Power Attack at level 20 seems a bit late, and relatively pointless too. You can't actually use Crippling Strike in a grapple, because you don't lose your Dexterity against those you're grappling with. Lastly, I have a slight problem with how you dance between Swordsage and Totemist levels; it seems a bit unnecessarily convoluted. It's mostly a bunch of small problems I have, but they do add up. Score: 2/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: You use everything in the secret ingredient quite well, and it fits excellently into your build. The only thing I'm not too hot on is how exactly watching hunters taught Dusty non-lethal methods of combat since, you know, you usually kill things you hunt. Score: 4.25/5

Total score: 15.5/20
Average: 3.875/5



Unspeakable
Originality: Ranger was obvious, but other than that? Damn. A Tibbit Ghost using the Fabulous Cats! rules? Consider me impressed. It takes something extreme to make me want to give absolute scores, in either direction, but you've done that, despite the ranger entry. Score: 5/5

Power: I really don't know what to say, here. Telekinesis is hilariously good, you're really difficult to take out, you possess other creatures, and you grapple amazingly well. If you're not grappling, then you're using Telekinesis to kill them, or at least knock them out. I want to note here that using Nonlethal and Crippling Strike with Telekinesis is a nasty bit of rule manipulation, since they require a melee weapon, but not specifically a melee attack. Score: 5/5

Elegance: You don't have the 1 rank of Knowledge (Religion) necessary to take Fangshield Ranger. If you're using Weight Focus to boost your Telekinetic Grapple, then you're going to have acknowledge that size modifiers apply, which give you a not-so-tasty -8 from being tiny, which is canceled out by Improved Grapple and Weight Focus. Funnily enough, this actually helps you out when you're possessing a larger creature. You rely on some questionable rules-reading, a metric ton of ACFs, and a set of joke rules. Your backstory took me a moment or two of contemplation to grog; could've been written a bit better. Score: 1.5/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: Well, I'm a bit torn here. You use every ability the Secret Ingredient has to offer, that much is obvious, but it doesn't feel like a Justiciar. It feels like a Telekinetic Ghost Cat That Possesses Monsters (featuring Justiciar). The non-lethal fighting style of Justiciar doesn't really match well with Unspeakable's revenge-filled motivation, either. Score: 2.5/5

Total score: 14/20
Average: 2.8/5

This is my favorite build of this competition, and is my vote for Honorable Mention, as well, if it doesn't win. It has some issues, to be sure, but it's fun. I wish I could've given you a better Elegance score for that. Despite the questionable rules-reading, I would definitely let you play this build in a game I was running, because it is unique, it is original, and it is fun.


Zaroff
Originality: Okay, Ranger was an obvious entry, and neither Monk nor Human were particularly inspired, but Fist of the Forest was quite unexpected for what is essentially an urban PrC, and using the sacrifice rules was an interesting twist as well. Score: 3.5/5

Power: Unlike the other entries I've judged so far, you don't really have anything in your build that boosts your grappling, so you're not really that good in that respect. Your psuedo-pounce and not-quite-Ubercharge is interesting, though, getting you 1d10+1d12 base damage. Snap Kick gives you another attack, but at this point (with Flurry of Blows, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Snap Kick) you're eating a lot of penalties. Good thing you have Shock Trooper to take care of that on a charge, and invisibility to help with that otherwise. Like Dustie, you want to make as many attacks as possible to deal Nonlethal Strike and Crippling Strike damage as frequently as possible, and that's okay. Your triggering of them, however, trades a bit of versatility for reliability (invisibility every three rounds, whereas Dustie can nova his). I'm comparing you to Dustie a lot because your fighting style and his seem very similar, but he took it that extra bit further, in my mind. Score: 4/4.5

Elegance: Honestly, using Justiciar's non-lethal attacks for the sinister purpose of procuring sacrificial victims and punishing those who stand against your group is an interesting twist in what I expected be a competition full of Batman-wannabes. The way your presented your build was interesting as well; for a moment or two, I almost thought that maybe your build was actually the person tracking Zaroff. The only problem I really had was plopping your monk levels in the middle of your ranger levels for seemingly no reason, but that's a pretty minor thing, all things considered. You're lucky I'm attentive enough to notice that you're getting your SLAs from your organization, though, else you would have lost points for not explaining that better. You've failed to do anything with the spellcasting you gained from Ranger, though; you could've at least ACF'd it away. Score: 4.254/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: There isn't really anything that stands out with your use of Justiciar, but at the same time there isn't anything that feels wrong, here. You use all of the abilities and I can see exactly why you took the time to learn the fighting style in the first place. It may not be the standard Justiciar, but dammit you make it work. Score: 4.5/5

Total score: 16/20
Average: 4/5


Sheriff Breagar Bearclaw
Originality: Hmph, bears. I never thought I'd say this, but the internet is making me tired of bears. Still, I definitely didn't expect it, so I'll set aside my ursine fatigue and give you some points there. Your race is nothing special (whoo, humans, I see them every day), but you've used a bunch of classes I never expected. Score: 4.5/5

Power: You can grapple, and that's about it. You do it well, I'll admit, but only when you're raging... still, you shouldn't run out of uses during a typical day. Still, once you're in a grapple you don't really have anything particularly exciting to do, beyond what Justiciar gives you (and everybody has). Score: 3.5/5

Elegance: You were right, I did wonder why you picked up Crimson Scourge. I don't find your reasoning solid, though, because natural attacks are absolutely melee attacks. As is, there's no reason for the level, which could have gone to something else. You dance around with your non-ingredient levels, taking them in seemingly random configurations. Intimidate, Heal, and Handle Animal feel tacked on, just to get entry into CS; I could probably let it go for one skill, but this is three skills you pick up and then ignore completely, for a class you didn't even need. Maybe if you'd given a story reason for picking them up, I could let you go, but... well, there's no story. I don't know how the other judges will feel, but that's just not right, as far as I'm concerned. Even something basic would have sufficed, but as is, I have no idea who Breagar Bearclaw is, except that he's sheriff of some place and can somehow turn into a bear. Score: 1.51.75/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: The problem with bear builds is that they always feel like they're more about the bear than anything else. Maybe you could have solved this with a bit of a story, but without it, as I said above, all I know is that your entry is a Justiciar who turns into a bear. There's also the problem that he doesn't use Hogtie, Improved Hogtie, or Manacle Proficiency, which you comment on but make no attempt to fix. He also have difficulty making use of Nonlethal and Crippling Strike, with Cloak of Deception being the only real way to trigger it. Score: 2/5
Total Score: 11.75/20
Average: 2.9375/5


Bilplipliip
Originality: I'm tempted to take points of for having a name that's impossible to pronounce, but I'll be nice and let that go. :smalltounge:

Kuo-Toa is something I would never have expected, even more than the other races present in this competition, and you get mad points for it. However, Ranger was painfully obvious (you're the third one I've judged by this point), and your backstory is pretty basic. There's potential here. Score: 3.5/5

Power: I don't know what the Sewerm is, I don't have the book its from, and none of my other sources tell me what it is, so I have to hope that you were being honest about its capabilities. That said, its grapple and your grapple, while working well together, aren't exactly that exciting. The pincer staff you have (which seems to be a mancatcher in all but name) is a boost, and you've got some poison stuff going on, but you just don't seem that strong to me. However, your Sewerm does allow you to land Crippling Strike more often if it grapples a foe. Score: 2.53/5

Elegance: A fairly simple build, and I can't really find anything wrong with it. Gotta give you some points for sticking with Ranger, and nothing else, before entering the ingredient. At the same time, there's nothing too amazing about your build, and your backstory leaves a lot to be desired. Decidedly average, here. You've failed to do anything with the spellcasting you gained from Ranger, though; you could've at least ACF'd it away. Score: 2.75/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: You use the abilities. Improved Hog-Tie is the one you use best, but you DO, in fact, use the others. You have the stealth to make Nonlethal and Crippling Strike useful in the surprise round, at the very least, and the grapple bonuses help with your pincer staff. Score: 4.5/5

Total score: 13.75/20
Average: 3.4375/5


Ximen Bao
Originality: Okay, so it turns out that the idea of using Justiciar to seize sacrificial victims, which was Zaroff's deal as well, wasn't all that unique, but I really and honestly didn't expect it, so you get points here. Duskblade, Cleric, and Master of Shrouds were not things I was expecting, so more points there. Score: 4.25/5

Power: You do well, here. Whereas most of the other entries focuses on the grappling with Crippling Strike as a bonus, you focus on it. With your shadows, your poisons, your spells, and Crippling Strike, you can drain and enemy quite quickly. Your spells also give you tremendous boosts to your skills, which is good. You're not quite as good of a grappler as some other builds, though. Still, you do well. Score: 4/5

Elegance: Thank you for giving sources! The thing you forgot to source, though, was the Master of Shrouds, which is kinda a thing since I have no idea where it's from (remember how I said I didn't expect it? I didn't know it existed until now). I can piece together what the class does, though, which is good for you. The story for Ximen was quite nice, and I enjoyed reading it. I was about to take points off for taking Duskblade and doing almost nothing with the casting, but you managed to stick to spells that, although hurt by the lack of the caster level, are still beneficial. Good job. Score: 4/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: It's at this point I start feeling like I'm repeating myself in this section. Still, you used all of the abilities, and even provided an explanation for each one, which was very nice of you. Your use of the class was obvious, and your build is a wonderful blend of the ingredient with your other classes. Score: 5/5

Total score: 17.25/20
Average: 4.3125/5


Armin Long
Originality: Man, so many classes being used in this competition I don't have access to. What a shame. Anyway, human is no surprise, but at the same time not something to penalize. Human Paragon, meanwhile, is a surprise, as are Cleric and Church Inquisitor. There've been two religiously motivated entries before this, but you're the first on the good side of the spectrum. Score: 4/5

Power: You just barely make your fourth iterative, but you've got some cleric spells to back yourself up. You go for a bit of a similar thing as Ximen, with the channeling spells (well, Smiting Spells, in this case). Your draining relies a bit more on saves, making it a bit more possible for your foes to resist you, and you don't quite have the oomph in your grapple as other characters do, but you make do. Score: 3/5

Elegance: There's nothing too out of the ordinary here, in either direction, other than your story. It's nice and short... but it leaves me wanting more, so much more. Why's Long at the bar? What'd the barkeep do? Who's the woman he remembers, the other kid, why's he taking him to a temple of Pelor if he worships Cuthbert? Score: 3/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: You use the abilities, and you use 'em well. You don't really have a consistent way to get Nonlethal and Crippling Strike active, but other than that, you use 'em all. Score: 4.25/5

Total score: 14.25/20
Average: 3.5625/5


Alive
Originality: I've already commented on the use of Ranger nearly half a dozen times this competition, but you're saved by Exemplar and Nature's Warrior. Human, I guess, because of the two feats at first level? Score: 3/5

Power: Good stuff, here. You're hurt a bit by the fact that you're not able to take forms bigger than medium with your wild shape, but you still get some very useful forms, and your grapple is pretty decent. Nice job catching the Use Rope thing; the implication is that when you Hog Tie with Use Rope you, well, use rope, but hey, that's not this category. You're not quite able to dish out the damage some of the other characters are, nor do you get as many attacks to use Nonlethal and Crippling Strike, but you make decent use of them. Score: 4/5

Elegance: I love that story. At first, the fact that your entry took up two posts scared me off, but I soldiered through and I'm glad I did. You sort of jumble the levels together, your Ranger spells don't really add much, and you get Scent a bit late, but things aren't too bad. Score: 3.5/5

Use of Secret Ingredient: Yup, you use the secret ingredient. You could get a bit more out of Nonlethal Strike and Crippling Strike, but other than that, it's all good. Score: 4.25/5

Total score: 14.75/20
Average: 3.6875/5


I have a feeling that I'll need to come back and fix something, but I'll do that if and when it becomes necessary. Here's hoping that I didn't get too rambly near the end of it.

[Kelb_Panthera]

If I was going to guess, and I am, I'd say that the kuo-toa's name is probably pronounced blip - plip - plé - ip. :smallbiggrin:

[Fable Wright]

Brain hurts. Tired. No more reading.

Judgings

Dustie
Elegance: I like the backstory, I really do. At first, I thought it was going to be a fairly standard “born for greater things” story, but your surprised me, and it's written quite well, as well. The little bit at the beginning of your entry was a short, fun read, too. That's a plus. However, there's a few issues with your build. The first problem, and the one I feel strongest about, is that your tactic of grappling people and THEN tearing them apart with your natural attacks doesn't really work, because the rules for grappling state that “If your base attack bonus allows you multiple attacks, you can attempt one of these actions in place of each of your attacks,” and you're attempting to use extra attacks from other sources. Additionally, my source doesn't give Thri-Kreen players the +30 racial modifier on jump checks, though that may have been an error (in which case I will gladly amend this score). Taking a feat and outright stating “you need a rainbow ioun stone” is a bit on the non-kosher side of equipment reliance. I'm not so certain on your suggestion of delaying to initiative 100 after the surprise round, since you'd need a triggering action, but even if you can't do that it doesn't really change your tactics that much. Power Attack at level 20 seems a bit late, and relatively pointless too. You can't actually use Crippling Strike in a grapple, because you don't lose your Dexterity against those you're grappling with. Lastly, I have a slight problem with how you dance between Swordsage and Totemist levels; it seems a bit unnecessarily convoluted. It's mostly a bunch of small problems I have, but they do add up. Score: 2/5

IIRC, the Psionic Thri-Kreen from the XPH (The version with 2 LA, unlike the 1 LA version in the MM3) had a +30 racial bonus to jump. For some reason, though, they're not in the SRD...

[EDIT]Odd question: Maneuvers (obviously) aren't listed in the special actions you can use in a grapple. Can you still perform them in a grapple? And can you still sneak attack someone in a grapple if someone is flanking your opponent? :smallconfused:

[Piggy Knowles]

Expanded Psionics Handbook, p214, under Special Qualities.



Leap (Ex): A thri-kreen is a natural jumper. It has a +30 racial bonus on Jump checks.

Why this is in the Special Qualities section, rather than in the Racial Skills section (where they put, for instance, the +4 bonus to Hide checks in sandy settings), is anybody's guess.

[Dusk Eclipse]

IIRC, the Psionic Thri-Kreen from the XPH (The version with 2 LA, unlike the 1 LA version in the MM3) had a +30 racial bonus to jump. For some reason, though, they're not in the SRD...

Thri-kreen are product identity an therefore weren't released in the SRD, similar to Illithid Squidly-things.

[The Dark Fiddler]

If I was going to guess, and I am, I'd say that the kuo-toa's name is probably pronounced blip - plip - plé - ip. :smallbiggrin:

Having to guess at how something is pronounced isn't a good sign towards its being pronouncable :smalltongue:


IIRC, the Psionic Thri-Kreen from the XPH (The version with 2 LA, unlike the 1 LA version in the MM3) had a +30 racial bonus to jump. For some reason, though, they're not in the SRD...



Expanded Psionics Handbook, p214, under Special Qualities.

Why this is in the Special Qualities section, rather than in the Racial Skills section (where they put, for instance, the +4 bonus to Hide checks in sandy settings, is anybody's guess.

Judgment updated.


[EDIT]Odd question: Maneuvers (obviously) aren't listed in the special actions you can use in a grapple. Can you still perform them in a grapple? And can you still sneak attack someone in a grapple if someone is flanking your opponent? :smallconfused:

I don't think you'd be able to use the maneuver, no. As for the flanking, I think that the relevant rules here would be:


When in doubt about whether two friendly characters flank an opponent in the middle, trace an imaginary line between the two friendly characters’ centers. If the line passes through opposite borders of the opponent’s space (including corners of those borders), then the opponent is flanked.

[...]

Creatures with a reach of 0 feet can’t flank an opponent.

Since you occupy the same square as somebody you're grappling, under usual circumstances at least (fun fact: two builds explicitly used weapons allowing grappling at a range, but neither used the one included in Complete Warrior, the source of the Secret Ingredient), you won't be flanking them. The rule about creatures with no reach is listed because that's sort of what it's like when you're grappling.

[Kazyan]

(fun fact: two builds explicitly used weapons allowing grappling at a range, but neither used the one included in Complete Warrior, the source of the Secret Ingredient)

I considered a build involving Mancatcher TWF (there are ways), thereby double-grappling, but couldn't figure out how to make it work. Not enough room for tricks with the rest of Justiciar.

[Piggy Knowles]

The thing you forgot to source, though, was the Master of Shrouds, which is kinda a thing since I have no idea where it's from (remember how I said I didn't expect it? I didn't know it existed until now).

In case you still haven't found a source for Master of Shrouds, it's from Libris Mortis. It also was released as a preview online:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20041015b

[Venger]

master of shrouds is on page 47 of libris mortis.

EDIT: ninjaed by like a second. ridiculous. :smalltongue:

there's a lot of monsters in this round. that's a bit odd.

[Fable Wright]

I don't think you'd be able to use the maneuver, no. As for the flanking, I think that the relevant rules here would be:



Since you occupy the same square as somebody you're grappling, under usual circumstances at least (fun fact: two builds explicitly used weapons allowing grappling at a range, but neither used the one included in Complete Warrior, the source of the Secret Ingredient), you won't be flanking them. The rule about creatures with no reach is listed because that's sort of what it's like when you're grappling.
Huh. Grappling is odd. It just limits you to those actions? You can't reallocate essentia, change stances, use Swift action discharge spells, activate the contingency you based on doing an odd hand sign, or activate Anklets of Translocation? :smalleek:

Now I understand why people always use Grapplers to take down Wizards...

[EDIT] Also, on Bilblibliip's entry: The Sewerm is from Serpent Kingdoms, page 86, and does have a +16 Grapple check modifier. They also have 17 Strength, despite being small size. Does that strike anyone else as wrong?

[DemonRoach]

there's a lot of monsters in this round. that's a bit odd.


TBH, I'm always expecting more weird racial types, if only to nab Originality points. Considering that many tricks and nearly all classes are reasonably known, the easiest way to get a "The hell?!" reaction from a judge is surely to be some variety of 4 headed mini-tarrasque heritage hydra or equivalent thereof.

Curse my home computer melting! My entry easily would've one worst build award! I hadn't Established much beyond being a leap attacking rip off of Randy Savae :smalltongue:

[Venger]

TBH, I'm always expecting more weird racial types, if only to nab Originality points. Considering that many tricks and nearly all classes are reasonably known, the easiest way to get a "The hell?!" reaction from a judge is surely to be some variety of 4 headed mini-tarrasque heritage hydra or equivalent thereof.

Curse my home computer melting! My entry easily would've one worst build award! I hadn't Established much beyond being a leap attacking rip off of Randy Savae :smalltongue:

randy savage would've gotten HM from me.

As stands, I'm calling out sheriff bearclaw as honorable mention.

[mattie_p]

Weird races are always fun. I never seem to end up playing one on in a game due to the almost mandatory LA, and the fact that at low levels (IMO), the savage progression really hinders low level characters. In IC, theoretical survivability vs survivability in a game can be handwaved, to an extent. Also, depending on RP, can really cause problems.

Of course, the tibbet in this competition stood that on its ear.

[OMG PONIES]

I thought we'd see more Crimson Scourge this time around, myself.

As did I. Originally, I thought of that and Bloodhound (which seems to be a favorite amongst some IC regulars). However, in reading overthe abilities, both PrCs seemed more redundant with the SI than synergistic.


Curse my home computer melting! My entry easily would've one worst build award! I hadn't Established much beyond being a leap attacking rip off of Randy Savae :smalltongue:

All it would have taken to nab my HM nomination would have been Favored Enemy: Hulk Hogan.

[Amphetryon]

Responses from contestants and observers to The Dark Fiddler's judgments follow. The Chairman makes no comment on these responses, except as specifically noted.


Sheriff Brearger Bearclaw:
Sheriff Breager Bearclaw requests clarification on The Dark Fiddler's judging, specifically elegance:

Per the glossary, Melee weapons are defined as: A handheld weapon designed for close combat. Natural weapons are not held in hands. This distinction was enough for me to warrant picking up CS, for fear of a harsh ruling by judges that natural weapons were not melee weapons. While natural weapons are defined as used in melee, they are not explicitly called out, RAW, as melee weapons. Chairman's note: Any judge that was that literal on natural weapons would probably get concerns voiced from the Chair.

Regarding non-ingredient levels, specifically swordsage, seems to be called out as "jumping around" in random configurations. The rationale for the swordsage levels, at those specific levels, are to meet initiator level requirements, as specifically called out in the build notes.

I plead guilty in that I did not clarify rationale for the order of paragon levels, but Human 1 is picked up at ECL 2 in order to get search as a class skill, which saves me quite a few cross-class skill points throughout.

Regardless of your decision, thank you for your judging.

Dustie:
Dark Fiddler made a tiny hiccup in his judgement of dustie. He's mixed up the ready and delay actions.

I doubt it will affect his score, but it should probably be pointed out nonetheless.

Bilblibliip:

I feel like I am being punished for using an obscure source, although I don't consider Serpent Kingdom an obscure source. In fact, writing Sewerm d&d in google results on a scribd link to the Serpent Kingdom book (if need be I'll provide the link myself). Similarly the grapple of the Sewerm might be undervalued, since if the Sewerm is grappling an enemy that enemy looses its dexterity bonus against Bilblibliip thus enabling full use of Nonlethal strike (and crippling strike too).

On the name thing, I pronounce it as Bil - Bli - Bli - Ip but my Kuo-toan is a bit rusty :smalltongue:

Unspeakable:
Oops about misrepresenting Unspeakable's build under the big text. My bad. I was in the middle of doing...everything...at the time.

So no one else gets confused, the build is Ghost Tibbit Ranger 5/Master of the Unseen Hand 1/Justiciar 10. Not Ghost Tibbit Ranger 6/Justiciar 10.

Doril Shadowbane:

Originality: A paladin isn't exactly unexpected, but I did expect people to stay away from the class for various reasons, so neutral points there. Centaur and Shadowstriker were certainly unexpected, and you also get points for not just treating the Centaur as a mounted warrior who is always mounted. Your backstory, however, is pretty standard fair. Score: 3.5/5

Marked down for backstory, I thought this was a cooking contest not a writing contest.

Elegance:
As I mention elsewhere, your backstory, however, is fairly simple and if anything is a bit lacking. Score: 3.5/5

Oops, I mean marked down twice for backstory.

In addition, the Chairman would appreciate a citation for this rule, quoted from The Dark Fiddler, above:

Since you occupy the same square as somebody you're grappling, under usual circumstances at least (fun fact: two builds explicitly used weapons allowing grappling at a range, but neither used the one included in Complete Warrior, the source of the Secret Ingredient), you won't be flanking them. The rule about creatures with no reach is listed because that's sort of what it's like when you're grappling.

[OMG PONIES]

Final(?) Tallies After One Judge

{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Average
Ximen Bao|Gold|17.25|4.3125
Zaroff|Silver|16.25|4.0625
Dustie|Bronze|15.25|3.8125
Doril Shadowbane|Fourth|15|3.75
Alive|Fifth|14.75|3.6875
Armin Long|Sixth|14.25|3.5625
Sixteentoes Componentguarder|Seventh|14|3.5
Bilblibliip|Eighth|13.5|3.375
Sheriff Breagar Bearclaw|Ninth|11.5|2.875[/table]


Bilblibliip:

I feel like I am being punished for using an obscure source, although I don't consider Serpent Kingdom an obscure source. In fact, writing Sewerm d&d in google results on a scribd link to the Serpent Kingdom book (if need be I'll provide the link myself). Similarly the grapple of the Sewerm might be undervalued, since if the Sewerm is grappling an enemy that enemy looses its dexterity bonus against Bilblibliip thus enabling full use of Nonlethal strike (and crippling strike too).

On the name thing, I pronounce it as Bil - Bli - Bli - Ip but my Kuo-toan is a bit rusty :smalltongue:

Please refrain from posting the link to material that violates copyright violations. It is against forum rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/announcement.php?a=1), and I don't want any of our chefs getting in trouble with the Law :smallbiggrin:.


In addition, the Chairman would appreciate a citation for this rule, quoted from The Dark Fiddler, above:

Are these citations helpful? They're from the SRD sections dealing with grappling and flanking, respectively.


To maintain the grapple for later rounds, you must move into the target’s space. (This movement is free and doesn’t count as part of your movement in the round.) Moving, as normal, provokes attacks of opportunity from threatening opponents, but not from your target.
If you can’t move into your target’s space, you can’t maintain the grapple and must immediately let go of the target. To grapple again, you must begin at Step 1.


When making a melee attack, you get a +2 flanking bonus if your opponent is threatened by a character or creature friendly to you on the opponent’s opposite border or opposite corner.

When you move into your opponent's square, you no longer have a point of reference from which to determine opposite borders or opposite corners. Therefore, it seems that you are flanking in the round you initiate a grapple, but not in subsequent rounds if you choose to maintain a grapple.

[Garwain]

no anthropomorphic squids... I'm shocked delighted! When I was planning a build, I tried:


Deadly Hunter Druid 5/Thug or Hit and Run Fighter 2/Dark Hunter 4/Justiciar 8/Exotic Weapon Master 1

with:
- TWF to get more out of crippling
- vow of peace feat (shatter weapons with your chest con !)
- flanking/grappling companion. (Join the grapple when he's down)
- stone shape spell + dark hunter = HiPS
- druid acf for skills (skilled city dweller, urban tracking, etc.)
- exotic weapon master (qualifies through the proficiency with manacles) to reduce TWF penalties.

But in all regards, I think Ximen does what I wanted to do and does it better.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Responses from contestants and observers to The Dark Fiddler's judgments follow. The Chairman makes no comment on these responses, except as specifically noted.

And I'm happy to give responses and clarifications.



Sheriff Brearger Bearclaw:
Sheriff Breager Bearclaw requests clarification on The Dark Fiddler's judging, specifically elegance:

Per the glossary, Melee weapons are defined as: A handheld weapon designed for close combat. Natural weapons are not held in hands. This distinction was enough for me to warrant picking up CS, for fear of a harsh ruling by judges that natural weapons were not melee weapons. While natural weapons are defined as used in melee, they are not explicitly called out, RAW, as melee weapons. Chairman's note: Any judge that was that literal on natural weapons would probably get concerns voiced from the Chair.

Regarding non-ingredient levels, specifically swordsage, seems to be called out as "jumping around" in random configurations. The rationale for the swordsage levels, at those specific levels, are to meet initiator level requirements, as specifically called out in the build notes.

I plead guilty in that I did not clarify rationale for the order of paragon levels, but Human 1 is picked up at ECL 2 in order to get search as a class skill, which saves me quite a few cross-class skill points throughout.

Regardless of your decision, thank you for your judging.

The Crimson Scourge level is kind of a black mark, and while I'm sorry that you felt as though you needed to take the level to avoid penalties, I can't just let it go. I'm terribly sorry.

In regards to the configuration of your Swordsage levels, I will amend my judging. It's only .25 points, but every bit helps, no? (And besides, that's all I penalized you for that, anyway.)


Dustie:
Dark Fiddler made a tiny hiccup in his judgement of dustie. He's mixed up the ready and delay actions.

I doubt it will affect his score, but it should probably be pointed out nonetheless.

Noted. Since I didn't actually dock you for the delay/ready thing (which, I'll admit, may not have been clear since I listed it in a long list of things I did dock you slightly for), there's nothing to amend.


Bilblibliip:

I feel like I am being punished for using an obscure source, although I don't consider Serpent Kingdom an obscure source. In fact, writing Sewerm d&d in google results on a scribd link to the Serpent Kingdom book (if need be I'll provide the link myself). Similarly the grapple of the Sewerm might be undervalued, since if the Sewerm is grappling an enemy that enemy looses its dexterity bonus against Bilblibliip thus enabling full use of Nonlethal strike (and crippling strike too).

On the name thing, I pronounce it as Bil - Bli - Bli - Ip but my Kuo-toan is a bit rusty :smalltongue:

Your concern about being published for using an obscure source would be valid, if I'd penalized you for it. Closest thing to that is that I had to go off of what you told me, so if you undervalued the Sewerm you lost points. Your point about the grappling is valid, but limited by the fact that your Sewerm's grappling falls off a bit at later levels.

And thank you for your suggested pronunciation. :smallsmile:



Doril Shadowbane:
Marked down for backstory, I thought this was a cooking contest not a writing contest.

Really? If this is a cooking contest I'd like my food, then.

I'm sorry if you feel wronged, here, but... well, to continue the metaphor and the reference to Iron Chef, what does it matter if you make the best meal I've ever eaten, but your presentation makes me not want to touch it? A bit extreme (trust me: your presentation did not, in fact, do that), but I personally consider the story a big part of the competition, and an entry.

Look back at my entry for Acolyte of the Skin; the story there is one of the best things I've written, and I'm quite proud of it. Without the story, it's just a Sorcerer/Malconvoker/Acolyte of the Skin. The story makes it The Sacred Demon.

Regardless, I didn't actually penalize you for your backstory, I was merely mentioning it because it kept you from gaining points, like Alive did.


In addition, the Chairman would appreciate a citation for this rule, quoted from The Dark Fiddler, above:

OMG_PONIES said what I would have, did he answer your questions satisfactorily?

[Xodion]

I toyed around with a few ideas, but the genius one I didn't have time to finish in the end started with 'what cool fictional characters (other than Batman) would this class suit?', to which my response was Rorschach. Rogue/Master of Masks/Justiciar - it would have been awesome, if not actually very powerful.

I also tried looking at Mortal Hunter, but there were too many junk feats involved in that build.

[Piggy Knowles]

Deadly Hunter Druid 5/Thug or Hit and Run Fighter 2/Dark Hunter 4/Justiciar 8/Exotic Weapon Master 1

with:
- TWF to get more out of crippling
- vow of peace feat (shatter weapons with your chest con !)
- flanking/grappling companion. (Join the grapple when he's down)
- stone shape spell + dark hunter = HiPS
- druid acf for skills (skilled city dweller, urban tracking, etc.)
- exotic weapon master (qualifies through the proficiency with manacles) to reduce TWF penalties.


I thought about Vow of Peace, and one of the first ideas I had involved it... but unfortunately, both Vow of Peace and Vow of Nonviolence specifically prohibit dealing ability damage to sentient beings...

I do like the use of Dark Hunter, though. It's an always underused PrC, in my opinion!

[The Dark Fiddler]

Having checked over my judgments, I've realized that I penalized Alive, but not Zaroff or Bilblibiip for failing to utilize Ranger spellcasting. As such, I've updated the scores of the latter two.

Gosh, I sure need to do a lot of amendments. This judging thing is tough.

[ThiagoMartell]

I will have my judging up soon-ish.

[Kazyan]

I had a lot of ideas for this one that weren't finished. One of them was an Anthropomorphic Tiger Totemist 4/Umbral Disciple 3/Justiciar 10. Umbral Disciples get a boost to Gather Information from their sept and have a nice skill list, and the Totemist's Girallon Arms would not only improve grapple, but more claws = more Improved Grab chances.

For another, I would have prepared fondue: TO involving Anthropomorphic Tiger, Spirit Bear Totem Barbarian, Bloodstorm Blade, Improved Trip and Cleave could let a Justiciar hogtie everything within throwing distance as a standard action. Throw manacles, trip, get free attack, Improved Grab, rake into hogtie, Cleave out of the free attack from trip to hit the next thing down the line. I'm entirely sure there's a better way to do it.

[Garwain]

I thought about Vow of Peace, and one of the first ideas I had involved it... but unfortunately, both Vow of Peace and Vow of Nonviolence specifically prohibit dealing ability damage to sentient beings...
Yes, fluff-wise a nice fit, but also not really an option since the vow of nonviolence (prereq) adds +4 to the DC of non-damaging spells, but also special abilities. At first I thought it would also increase the hog-tie special, but that ability states the 'grapple check' as the source for the DC, not the hog-tie itself.

[GreenSerpent]

I had a Monk/Binder/Justicar idea bumping around, somewhat about a monk who was chucked out of his temple from binding spirits to himself and was told if he brought one thousand criminals to justice he could rejoin them.

Involved using Dance of Death (Paimon vestige) and the Justicar's Nonlethal Strike to essentially whirl through a group and kick each of them, doing plenty of nonlethal damage.

Sadly stuff took up my time and I wasn't able to submit it.

EDIT: Perhaps though as everyone seems to require a backstory in the judging Amph should edit that into the initial post, something saying that builds must include a backstory.

[Piggy Knowles]

I was wondering, where does everyone usually look for the images they use with their posts?

I usually think about what I want and then spend a while sifting through either Google Image Search or the WotC website for something that matches, but every now and then I see a really great image used in IC, and it makes me wonder if people drew them on their own or just have some really awesome sources for images.

Also, as a question for the chairman, would you have a problem with two people working on a build together and submitting it as a team?

[Venger]

I was wondering, where does everyone usually look for the images they use with their posts?

I usually think about what I want and then spend a while sifting through either Google Image Search or the WotC website for something that matches, but every now and then I see a really great image used in IC, and it makes me wonder if people drew them on their own or just have some really awesome sources for images.

Also, as a question for the chairman, would you have a problem with two people working on a build together and submitting it as a team?

dustie's picture came from a drawthread on /tg/ last january, those are a pretty excellent place to start, since drawfriends are rather plentiful and will draw free art to your specifications in order to receive honest peer review from people if you happen to be on the board when a thread is active (at least one usually is) people on them are familiar with D&D terminology and know what characters/races look like, and it's much cheaper and faster than commissioning something.

another popular source is deviantart. D&D and other fantasy things are quite popular there, and you can often find stuff there that's pretty close to the picture you have in mind.

cooking in pairs sounds cool. if the chairman's okay with it, I think it sounds like fun.

[mattie_p]

In the past, when I've submitted a build with an image, I just grab it off a google image search. My bad if breaking the law or whatever, but if it is public, I'll link it.

I am not an artist, so I definitely can't draw my own images, which apparently are almost mandatory, these days.

[Amphetryon]

I was wondering, where does everyone usually look for the images they use with their posts?

I usually think about what I want and then spend a while sifting through either Google Image Search or the WotC website for something that matches, but every now and then I see a really great image used in IC, and it makes me wonder if people drew them on their own or just have some really awesome sources for images.

Also, as a question for the chairman, would you have a problem with two people working on a build together and submitting it as a team?
Creative Commons is good for images, in my experience.

My concern with 2 contestants sharing a build is the notion of an extra set of eyes giving an unfair advantage, though if a majority supports the idea, I can be persuaded.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Creative Commons is good for images, in my experience.

My concern with 2 contestants sharing a build is the notion of an extra set of eyes giving an unfair advantage, though if a majority supports the idea, I can be persuaded.

I've found dA to have some good inspirational stuff.

I'm personally going to vote a big N O on the doubling up of ICO chefs. As in the TV show, there's only room for one chef per kitchen.

[GreenSerpent]

I vote NO as well, same reason as above.

[Garwain]

I vote YES. At this moment, nothing stops you from letting your build being reviewed by peers. In fact, I think I read somewhere that it's recommended.

So if you want to be the sous-chef and for example want the write the backstory or help with the formatting or even put some editorial input in the build mechanics itself, why not?

But do limit the credit to the submitter only (the head chef) and list the others merely as sous-chefs. And ofcourse the sous-chefs should not receive the bragging rights of the trophees.

[Mishkov]

I absolutely loved the cat!

I'm sort of surprised no one went wildshape ranger into master of many forms for the grappling.

Also you can deal nonlethal damage with vow of nonviolence or vow of peace which melds well with justicar, so that could have been an option if people wanted to go the vow of poverty route.

[Piggy Knowles]

Also you can deal nonlethal damage with vow of nonviolence or vow of peace which melds well with justicar, so that could have been an option if people wanted to go the vow of poverty route.

I mentioned this earlier, but the problem is that dealing ability damage breaks your vow with Vow of Nonviolence/Peace, meaning you wouldn't be able to use one of the Justiciar's best abilities (Crippling Strike).

[Menteith]

I mentioned this earlier, but the problem is that dealing ability damage breaks your vow with Vow of Nonviolence/Peace, meaning you wouldn't be able to use one of the Justiciar's best abilities (Crippling Strike).

This is basically why I abandoned my original concept. That and a mutually exclusive alignment restriction caused me to dramatically revise my build. I think my original idea was better overall, but I just couldn't find a way to make it work. I'll post it after judging is over, as it has elements in it that made their way into my submission.

[Venger]

I absolutely loved the cat!

I'm sort of surprised no one went wildshape ranger into master of many forms for the grappling.

Also you can deal nonlethal damage with vow of nonviolence or vow of peace which melds well with justicar, so that could have been an option if people wanted to go the vow of poverty route.

MoMF is much better than the SI, making it a poor choice for inclusion. you don't want a spice that overpowers the SI. WS ranger 5/momf1/justiciar10/momf5 will make judges say "justiciar is just slowing down momf" which is kind of true

[mattie_p]

I'm of mixed opinions on having more than one chef. On one hand, it seems unfair to solo chefs. On the other hand, the entries might be enhanced by another eye, or have "too many chefs" syndrome, so it might be a wash. On the gripping hand, there's nothing stopping anyone now from doing it.

[Amphetryon]

I'm of mixed opinions on having more than one chef. On one hand, it seems unfair to solo chefs. On the other hand, the entries might be enhanced by another eye, or have "too many chefs" syndrome, so it might be a wash. On the gripping hand, there's nothing stopping anyone now from doing it.

The "helpers" don't currently get any acknowledgement in the annals of the IC, or similar, though.

[eggs]

If somebody wants to build a character by committee, I'm all for it. (Not for doing it myself; that sounds miserable. But if somebody else is into it, I have no objections.)

The biggest advantages I'd expect it to give would be a couple fewer people having to drop out due to less trivial time commitments or better entries. Both of those sound more like benefits than detriments to the competition.

Plus, drawing the lines between "asking people build-related questions," "getting a buddy to edit/give feedback" and "submitting a joint entry" seems problematic and subjective at best. And a blanket ban on that sort of consulting seems inappropriate - I doubt anyone would be opposed to some actions in that continuum (eg. getting a second opinion on whether Sneak attack's limitation on nonlethal attacks overrides Bring 'em Back Alive's permission for nonlethal attacks).

[Kaje]

I considered submitting a build this round. The justiciar's abilities reminded me of a bouncer, so I tried combining that with an idea I had a while back of a badass tavern owner with levels in Dungeon Lord (obviously leaving off the last level). I had trouble making it work though.

[eggs]

Cool. Ratings done. Link to rubric (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13867261&postcount=9) earlier in the thread.

Quick note on ratings, I rate low. That's not to rain on anyone's parade; it's just to widen the scale.

And as a note on power, I typically compared numbers to those of a straight human elite array Fighter with as many of the same feats as are legitimate, using its class features to go up the Weapon Supremacy feat line.

Doril
Originality:

Centaur Shadowstriker was a surprise, and the combination of class and racial features does seem to work for low-mid level damage output, so I'll award a point there, and for Centaur as an unexpected but effective choice for a grappling class with a sizable damage bonus.

I said I'd be easy on fluff, but it's still a point for creativity; even if I'll be satisfied with a modicum of effort on its part, there'd need to be at least something there for me to award that point. Total 2/5

Power:

It does compare favorably to my fighter yardstick (especially against evil, nonlethal-vulnerable targets), but its damage relies on full attacks that it can't assure and the one tactic available is basically "beat something up and try to wrestle it." The snap kick + scorpion's grasp combination isn't a bad way of getting that off without sacrificing damage, but unless this guy's equipment is cranking his grapple much higher, it doesn't scale well against monster grapple scores. The build does gain more from its Justicar levels than it probably would otherwise, so I'll award the extra point. 2/5 total.

Elegance:

Two prestige classes taken to completion, both fitting different angles of the base class's fluff. As far as a narrative explanation, getting this into even groups that take fluff straight out of the book would be cake, so I'll give that its 2 points.

Mechanically, you are making good use of the Paladin's smite, even with just one level, and that's neat enough that I'll award half a point. Shadow Striker kind of addresses the problem with damage v. nonlethal-immune creatures, but it does it in an awkward way that seems to leave more loose ends like Good Devotion 1/day and the undead-blast ability than it ties together. I'll give 1.5/2.

My overall impression is that this build's abilities are a bit of a hodgepodge, so I won't award the bonus point. 3.5/5 total.

Secret Ingredient:

As mentioned in the note, this build does best by ignoring one of the Justicar's big features in the Use Rope check. Snap Kick and the hoof attacks look like they could work well with Crippling strike and Nonlethal Strike. My biggest concern with the use of the secret ingredient is that the build doesn't use enough resources outside the SI to cover its deficiencies (the overall low PC grapple scores and the difficulty of keeping targets grappled at high levels, the general melee full attack problem, ways of forcing flanks/dex-denial). 2/5 total.

Total: 9.5
 
Dustie
Originality:

On the fluff point, Dustie's a western insect bounty hunter. I love it. 1/1.

On the rest of the build, Totemist and swordsage aren't unexpected, most of the feats are basically locked options and even thri-kreen isn't completely out of the blue. But Psychic Renewal and the psionic Thri-Kreen are an interesting spin to throw on a Swordsage build that uses a level 1 maneuver so heavily. 3/5 total.

Power:

First, this compares very favorably to the fighter yardstick for damage, but it doesn't keep up well enough with the insane high-level monster grapples to treat that as a central combat schtick, or have abilities like dispel or Dimension Anchor to grapple magical targets and keep them there.
In terms of power, I think the Psychic Renewal+Sudden Leap+Psionic Thri-Kreen's gimmickry comes back to bite the build a little bit – all of those put a heavy burden on the build's swift actions, especially considering that it's toggling stealth and grapple soulmelds at the same time.
This build looks like it has some issues with tactical versatility, as its biggest bonus damage source is situational and often ignored, and because it's largely built to only be able to target one defense.

I'm seeing two clunky mechanics interactions – the first is Hogtie competing for actions with Grapple+Constrict, rather than complementing them; the second is Assassin's Stance taking the Rogue's sneak attack for a model, which forbids nonlethal attacks like those involved with Bring 'em Back Alive (and associated Nonlethal Strike/Crippling strike).

Between the grapples, strength damage and nonlethal strike, Justicar levels do look like they contribute meaningfully to this character's effectiveness, so I'll award the point I'd set aside for that. 3/5 total.

Elegance:

Mechanically, Totemist and Thri-Kreen make swordsage better, which makes Thri-Kreen better, which makes Justicar better. It's tight. I'd give that 2 points.

Narratively, Totemist is a match and Justicar takes it well. But looking at the fluff involved, Swordsage is a bit awkward, especially playing up the fire maneuvers. I'd give 1/2 points there.

On the last subjectivity point, the build crosses 3 different splatbook subsystems for its basic tricks, and manages not to leave any useless loose ends; I think that's worth something. But crossing 3 different splatbook subsystems for its tricks is the kind of thing that makes a build hard to pitch, so I'd give another half point, for 3/5 total.

Secret Ingredient:

The build makes very good use of crippling strike and nonlethal strike and patches some of the Justicar's default weaknesses (namely mobility), but the rule issues mentioned in the Power section are each synergistic problems, so I'm going to dock a point; after the point I'd withheld for ridiculous builds that manage to use every part of the class (including its silly manacle proficiency), I'll give another 3/5.

Total: 12
 
Unspeakable
Originality:

Tibbit Ghost is not something I expected, but between the hide check, Fangshield Ranger and Master of the Unseen Hand, I'm seeing it. Weight focus is a clever inclusion, as is grappling + Defensive Sweep. Flavorwise, the housecat hunting down wizards is also a fun spin on an old joke. I'll give 5/5 total.

Power:

There are a couple rules issues I'm seeing: the first is that as far as I'm aware, as soon as you stop pinning/grappling a creature, it stops being pinned/grappled, so the Pin+ranged attack combination doesn't work until Improved Hogtie comes online; the second is that Telekinesis, as a spell that deals damage with multiple attack rolls in the same round, only applies the extra damage from Nonlethal strike once, per the rules compendium.

And after that Toughness is cute and ghost is good enough that it doesn't really matter, but 3 HP is still a terrible feat (its terribleness is more a function of monster and NPC damage than its proportion of a character's total HP). I really don't think I can avoid docking that.

The last thing I'm going to hold against it is the campaign-reliance on monsters. There's a good chance that past a certain point, you could just teleport somewhere and find an Elephant to possess or something, but it puts enough up to chance that I'm not going to go for a full award on this (even though there is a good chance it can go very well).

But beside that, ghost cranks the power level pretty high – at worst, Telekinesis essentially ignores Justicars' frequent mobility problems, malevolence allows it to target a separate defense or to steal monster abilities and incorporeality alone allows more versatility than most powers available to creatures beside full casters.

I'm not sure Justicar is the best way to spec the concept, but the tactical discussion has me close enough to sold on it feasibly contributing to award a point.
Altogether, I'd give 3.5/5 total.

Elegance:

Mechanically, one or two ranger levels make sense for skills and bonus feats. The last 3 levels seem interchangeable with anything else with full BA and decent skill points. But it's very minimalistic as far as the splatbook rulesets involved, so 1/2.

Flavor-wise, it fits nicely; the build mostly flows out of a quick "Ghost cat" pitch, and being a ghost, the timeframe is flexible enough that the backstory's broad-scope setting history probably won't be intrusive.

And looking at the build, I liked seeing things like the Tibbit race choice crop up with Weight Focus and the initial Monstrous Humanoid type echoed with Fangshield Ranger (maybe that wasn't a goal, but it was clever). So I'll give the reserve point for 4/5 total.

Secret Ingredient:

I'm seeing how the grapple bonus can be used, I'm seeing ways for the Nonlethal Strike to be used effectively (though this is kind of campaign/DM-reliant), I'm seeing how the Bring 'em Back Alive/Hogtie abilities can be justified. I'm not seeing Manacle proficiency doing anything useful, so I won't give the point for using every part of the SI, but I'll give 3.5/5 total.

Total: 16
 
Zaroff
I need to preface this by saying that the Sacrifice rules put me in a bit of a bind. They're a clever way to apply the Justicar's features, and they do ramp up the character's power, but they come from a very high-powered and very DM-reliant variant rule which – if in effect in a permissive manner – wouldn't particularly favor the Justicar over other builds that get Know: Religion earlier and at higher benefit.

I decided to treat the power entry as if the Sacrifice variant rules were in effect, but not brought up or used by other players (which seems likely, as they're pretty obscure), but by penalizing Elegance for using the variant for high-level versatility.

Originality:

Flavor-wise, it doesn't sound much different than the canned Fist of the Forest/Evil Guardians of the Green description, but flipping the Bounty-Hunter schtick on itself is clever. I'll give a point for that.

On the mechanics, the sacrifice mechanics are an inventive way to use the Bring em' back alive feature, so I'll give another point there, but they come in late enough that I'm not going to call them central to the character build.

The rest of the framework isn't especially surprising as a charger build, but it does use some combinations we don't see much (I don't think I've seen Lion Tribe Warrior once since complete champion, but with Flying kick and invisible fist, that's a pretty vicious setup at low levels). I'll give 4/5.

Power:

It's a charge build with two-handed power attack traded for additional attacks, ability damage and a few dice of sneak attack-like damage output, using rules that allow the numbers to be cranked higher as compensation. So it's at least going to outpace yardstick characters and splatter monsters it can affect. The downside is that without sacrifices, that's the one form of offense it can provide. With its scout skills, I doubt the build will be useless anywhere.
Sacrifices are a powerful mechanic, but they come into play late, and the build doesn't look like it's going to be clinching the highest DCs without outside help or custom items.
I'm going to give it a 4/5 total.

Elegance:

Most of the versatility and Justicar justifications stem from a poorly-defined set of variant rules, which don't become usable until very late in the build and there are loose ends like Two Weapon Fighting and Endurance that don't do very much or work very well with the build's charging schtick, so I'm not going to award elegance points.

Flavor-wise, the Ranger, Monk and Fist of the Forest levels and ACFs do fit well together, and Justicar isn't much of a stretch. I'll give the two points for an easy pitch and cohesion. 2/5 total.

Secret Ingredient:

The main resources this build seems to be using are crippling and nonlethal strikes. Its Grapple and Use Rope modifiers are each on the low end (and they basically need to be crazy to work as a reliable combat tactic). I'll give it 2/4 for using half the class's features effectively with all the extra Flurry/Snap Kick/Trance attacks, and I'm going to keep the point I'd reserved for ridiculous builds using every class feature reserved. Total 2/5.

Total: 12

Breagar
Originality

Mechanically, Half-Orc Paragon for Lawful Bear Warrior entry is a bit different, as is Human Paragon (though I'm not sold on the latter's contributions), but raging bear warrior grapplers are pretty well-known, and not many of the feats or build choices break expectations. I'll give a point for the Paragon rage.

Fluff-wise, I was going to get ornery about a without explanation, but then I realized you changed the class's spelling and pronunciation to fit into a limerick, and I was sold. That's ridiculous and excellent. So 2/5 total.

Power

I keep looking at all the locked feats and class features that boil down to +numbers, thinking low-level utility was going to be a problem, then seeing at all the powers coming out of that swordsage dip and biting my tongue. That one level is pulling a lot of weight.
I am concerned about mobility at upper and high levels (even with Pouncing Charge, that's only one move+full attack per fight) and with tactical combat versatility (the build is very reliant on melee range and targets that can be hit/damaged/disabled with melee attacks and grapples).

These are normal problems for melee builds, and partially addressed with pounce/snap kick and teleportation, respectively.

The entry's notes seem to underestimate monster grapple scores: +37 only matches or exceeds around 19% of monsters in the CR 16 to 22 range, and even with Snap Kick, improved grapple, the graft and the titan gloves, there's a very good chance (a little over 22%) that a random monster in that CR range will resist grappling after a move.

But having said that, between high BA+unarmed strike, snap kick and three natural weapons, the build looks like it can manage high damage output with nonlethal strike, and its grapple isn't costing any actions, so it could be useful when it lands. I'm seeing some out of combat utility with Swordsage teleports and skills. I'd give 3/5 total.

Elegance

Mechanically, I'm seeing a lot of feats and levels that just don't do much. Crimson Scourge is useless and Human Paragon isn't much better (there's no reason to waste resources on the off-chance that a group plays with unfavorable houserules), and I'm not seeing any mechanical tricks that make me stop and say "that's neat."

Fluff-wise, there's a lot of dipping around and conceptual incongruence. Even if some of the dips like crimson scourge could be justified easily enough in a fluff-bound group and some of the levels like the paragons are vanilla enough to scrape by, Bear Warrior and Swordsage level-dips seem kind of out of the blue.

So I'm not going to give any points on those two sets of criteria.

I do get a kick out of the idea that a paragon of humanity would have a defining ability of turning into a bear, but it seems like a tough sell. 1/5 total.

Secret Ingredient

The build mostly works as a cookie-cutter grappling build despiteJusticar levels (Justicar's main contribution to the build's central schtick, Improved Grapple, could have been picked up more easily without also buying Justicar's prerequisites). Bear-morphing ignores most of the Justicar's manacle and knot features. Extra attacks and snap kick do put the Justicar's nonlethal strike to good use, though. 2/5 total.

Total 8
 
Bilblibliip
Originality

The Kuo-Toa's creative. I'm not sure it's the best use of 5 levels, but that's more for the power discussion; I can see its abilities engrained in the build as more than a gimmick (pincer staff and keen sight especially). Sewerm Urban Companion is an excellent choice that doesn't get much attention. Between those, I'll give 3/4 for mechanics (class progression is otherwise not unexpected, and most of the feats are either prereqs or expected options).

On the fluff point, a slaver and wrangler for the crazed kuo-toa is a slightly different take on the Justicar's flavor text. Sure. 4/5 total.

Power

LA is steep and there are a lot of filler feats here without numbers to back them up. Compared to the yardstick fighter, the kuo-toa gets handily trounced for attack, damage and grapple, especially if the Fighter gets a mancatcher for parity. Compared to monsters, the Kuo-toa's grapple is really low, even with the titan gloves. Adhesive seems to be the central schtick, but it has a low DC, relies on monsters having a reason to attack the justicar, and isn't particularly advantageous, considering the build's low grapple modifier.

Throughout the build, I'm seeing lots of fun-looking tricks that could be neat to mix in, but nothing beside magic items backing them up. Cute tricks like keen vision + quick reconnoiter could be neat, but not if they come at the cost of resources needed to establish basic competence. 1/5 total.

Elegance

Mechanically, I can see how almost all of the build choices are contributing, even if they don't contribute much. Fluff-wise, it's very simple, very thematic. It even breaks down in nice 5-level chunks.

Given the build's simplicity and focus, 3.5/5 points.

Secret Ingredient

The abilities that define this build seem to work parallel to the Justicar, rather than working with it: the pincer staff and sticky shield each keep the Kuo-toa's hands occupied with hog-tie-ineligible tools and keeps the justicar out of a range to exploit Nonlethal Strike with its extra attacks; the harpoon doesn't work with bring 'em back alive. With the strategies and items described (essentially shelling out gp to emulate ranger features), I'm not convinced Justicar is playing a major role here. The bits on various manacles and gathering information from wildlife, I'll give 1.5/5.

Total 9
 
Ximen Bao
Originality

Master of Shrouds was something I did not expect, but it's hard to miss the advantage 4d6 strength damage as a standard action would give a grappler. The unexpected angles relating to the build are tied into the build's core functions closely enough that I can see what most of it is for. I'll give 4/4.

And on the fluff point, the sacrifices to the Dragon Below is a twist on the , so I'll give the extra point. 5/5 total.

Power

First of all, considering the ability damage/penalties this build spews, its numbers look good. I can see how it deals with mobile enemies and threats that aren't vulnerable to melee combat. I can see how it puts the grappling/hogtie features to good use, and how it contributes meaningfully out of combat, so for the straightforward power of the build, I'll give a 4/4.

On the last point I had reserved for Justicar improving or increasing that power, I don't think I can give the point. I'm not sold on Justicar (or Duskblade, for that matter) giving anything that more Cleric or Master of Shrouds and Improved Grapple wouldn't. Total 4/5.

Elegance

Mechanically, between Duskblade, Cleric, Master of Shrouds and a melee combat schtick, stat requirements are all over the place. I'm left wondering what the Duskblade dip is doing that Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Grapple wouldn't. Caster levels aren't supported, and most of the build's resources look like they're dedicated to the Justicar abilities, which are largely just playing clean-up for things the build can already do by ECL 10.

Fluff-wise, the build's dipping around into a list of disparate classes and picking up a variety of abilities that aren't really incorporated with one another (investing feats to boost summoning, but never getting level-appropriate summons that can make use of those feats; putting levels into channeling, but spreading CL and ability requirements around to minimize its efficiency; investing some resources in poisons without getting a poison source; getting some bonus damage without the extra attacks or move+full attack options to make good use of it). 1/5 total.

Secret Ingredient

This build is good at the things a Justicar does (grappling, tracking targets down, incapacitating them without killing them), but that doesn't have much to do with actual Justicar levels – the build itself is getting most of its power out of Master of Shrouds, whose progression is cut short to make way for the secret ingredient. Without Justicar, it could be even better at most of what it does.

But since this does make very good use of Hog-Tie, does stack its hard-hitting abilities with crippling strike and focuses on the same abilities as the Justicar, I'm going to give the build a 2/5 total.

Total 12
 
Armin Long
Looking at the build's write-up, I want to call it out on its use of Smiting Spell, which it grabs earlier than it can qualify for, and which seems to be treated as more open-ended with its applicable spells than the feat actually is (it's only Touch spells, so things like Escalating Enfeeblement and Hold Person don't work). Fixing it is trivial enough that I don't think it would affect scores anywhere, but I wanted to point it out.

Originality

The channeling angle is inventive. I would have expected it with Duskblade/AbjChamp for that tactic, but this looks like it could work. The application of the channeling/ranged grappling scthick does look deeply engrained in the build.

Fluffwise, it goes pretty straight with the class descriptions, but there looks to be some characterization in the writeup and religious angle. Total, I'll give it 2.5/5.
Power

The Sasumata has a pretty serious size limitation, and its 2-hand requirements could be problematic with hog-tie (tough not unsurmountable). I see how the Smiting Spell+Still Spell combination is supposed to work with grapples, but it sets Channeled spell DCs stagnate at, what – 20 with a 5th level spell slot at ECL 10+? – That's not too bad at first, but referencing Dictum Mortuum's save progression chart (http://www.dandwiki.com/w/images/4/45/Savesatvariouscrs.jpg), that's either an auto-success for most monsters or close to one as normal CRs near epic.

Just from the Cleric levels, I can see how the build would be able to deal with a variety of situations, and I can see how the build could get some decent buffs to squeeze some +numbers effects from Cleric levels without sacrificing its actions, but Justicar levels, fluff feats, the chosen combat modus operandi and the feats dedicated to achieving that MO are all going to hurt. 3.5/5 total.

Elegance

Mechanically, I'm not sure what Domination domain is for – it doesn't work with the build's main schtick, resistances are common and once Justicar levels kick in, the DCs plummet compared to target saves. A lot of feats and levels (like basically all of Justicar itself) seem to be tagged on for fluff, but not efficiency, and spin the build off in a bunch of partially-supported directions (a couple disjointed resources thrown at enchanting, a couple at grappling, a couple at channeling, etc.)

Flavorwise, Church Inquisitor and Justicar make a very good fit, and seem like a very easy pitch 2/2.

Since there's not much synergy between the various components, casting leaves some serious unsupported loose ends and the secret ingredient is just kind of shoved on top of what might have otherwise been a fluent and workable Cleric build, I'm going to with 2/5 total

Secret Ingredient

Levels in Justicar are visibly hurting the build, as it gets progressively worse at its schtick with its unsupported casting and resources sapped by prereqs and CL-patches. With the described tactic of channeling save-or-loses, Justicar isn't adding much beside improved grapple (and, with Justicar's 2-feat prerequisite cost, that doesn't amount to much). The build doesn't look like it does anything to make particularly good use of the Justicar's bonus damage, and the reach weapon makes the narrative behind hog-tie wonky enough to be potentially problematic. 1/5

Total 9
 
Alive
Originality

Wild Shape Ranger isn't exactly out of the blue, but between it, Scent and Exemplar, there's probably enough to give the build itself a 2/4.

On the flavor, I'll be honest: I skimmed. Looks like there's characterization and concept support, so I'll give it the point. 3/5 total.

Power

Wild Shape does give ways to capitalize on nonlethal strike for damage output, so I can see this working as a striker, and it similarly does give some flexibility for out-of-combat roles and, to a lesser extent, a variety of combat environments.

But I am not convinced on this build's ability to keep up with monster grapples, which scale much faster than most opposed skill and ability rolls. To use your level 15 cross-section, the median grapple modifier of CR 15 monsters is +38: 5 points higher than it needs for an auto-success against this build's Hogtie; without custom items, the "absolutely enormous" Use Rope score is not nearly enormous enough to be relevant. Grapples are similarly limited – I think the highest modifier this build can get through shapeshifting is the Sewerm for +33/+38 grapple at levels 15/20, which is lower than most monsters in those CR ranges.

And I am not seeing many offensive modes beyond direct physical attacks, so for magical, incorporeal or otherwise difficult-to-physically engage enemies, there will likely be problems, and for nonlethal- or sneak attack-immune targets, damage output looks middling at best. I'll give 2/5 total.

Elegance

I see how most elements of wild shape ranger/nature's warrior complement Justicar in one way or another (granting constrict, adding attacks, covering for an otherwise mundane build's versatility). I do have a nitpick that Hog-tie competes with Constrict for the build's actions, which looks somewhat problematic. I am seeing some elements that either don't do much work (Natural Bond) or that I''m not sure I understand (Nature's Warrior 4 versus Ranger 6). I'll give 1/2.

Fluff-wise, this looks as straightforward as wild shape or urban ranger. The only thing that might be problematic is the Exemplar dip. I'll give 1.5/2 there.

I really like how Exemplar ties a useless prerequisite into an ability greatly supporting one of the SI's features. I'm not sold on its execution, but I'd give the last point for it, as it would be a neat cohesive trick for the build if the numbers were adequately cranked up. 3.5 total.

Secret Ingredient

I see how Wild Shape ranger can make good use of Justicar's grapple bonuses, nonlethal strike and hogtie, and how this build has the daily uses/duration to pull that off throughout the adventuring day. I see how wild shape ranger can patch some of the vulnerabilities Justicar faces as a mundane class by adding various mobility options, sensory tools and stealth tricks, though I'm not convinced it has the daily uses to afford that kind of trick in the adventuring day – especially before near-epic levels.

So I see that the build puts all these abilities to use; my one concern is that it doesn't look like it has the numbers to use them well, as mentioned in the Power section.
3.5/5 total.
Total 12

{table=head]Name|Originality|Power|Elegance|SI|Total
Doril|2.5|2.0|2.5|2.0|09.5
Dustie|3.0|3.0|3.0|3.0|12.0
Unspeakable|5.0|3.5|4.0|3.5|16.0
Zaroff|4.0|4.0|2.0|2.0|12.0
Breagar|2.0|3.0|1.0|2.0|08.0
Bilblibliip|4.0|1.0|3.5|1.5|09.0
Ximen|5.0|4.0|1.0|2.0|12.0
Armin|2.5|3.5|2.0|1.0|09.0
Alive|3.0|2.0|3.5|3.5|12.0[/table]

[cd4]

Flavor-wise, the Ranger, Monk and Fist of the Forest levels and ACFs do fit well together, and Justicar isn't much of a stretch. I'll give the two points for an easy pitch and cohesion. 1/5 total.


You state that you give 2 points to Zaroff in Elegance but then the final total only has one. Which is right?

[eggs]

You state that you give 2 points to Zaroff in Elegance but then the final total only has one. Which is right?
Good catch. I messed that up when trying to figure out what to do with the Sacrifice thing, should have been 2. Fixed.

[Amphetryon]

Good catch. I messed that up when trying to figure out what to do with the Sacrifice thing, should have been 2. Fixed.

And here I'd been poring over the rubric trying to figure out how the numbers added up to 1. :smallwink:

[eggs]

The mysteries of erroneous math make even abstract math look quaint and simple. :smalltongue:

[Venger]

Final(?) Tallies After Two Judges

{table=head]Entry|Place|Judge 1|Judge 2|Total|Average
Sixteentoes Componentguarder|Gold|14.0|16.0|30.0|3.75

Ximen Bao|Silver|17.25|12.0|29.25|3.65625

Zaroff|Bronze|16.0|12.0|28.0|3.5

Dustie|Fourth|15.25|12|27.25|3.40625

Alive|Fifth|14.75|12.0|26.75|3.34375

Doril Shadowbane|Sixth|15|9.5|24.5|3.0625

Armin Long|Seventh|14.25|9.0|23.25|2.91875

Bilblibliip|Eighth|13.5|9.0|22.5|2.8125

Sheriff Breagar Bearclaw|Ninth|11.5|8.0|19.5|2.4375[/table]



There's the numbers as of the moment. Did you end up changing Zaroff's numbers? If he gets another, he'll edge out Dustie for bronze.

EDIT: changed zaroff's numbers

[Menteith]

There's the numbers as of the moment. Did you end up changing Zaroff's numbers? If he gets another, he'll edge out Dustie for bronze.

Zaroff lost .25 points from the first judge for not making effective use of Ranger spellcasting (beyond turning on wands) and gained another point from the second judge - the total should be at 28 points iirc.

[Venger]

Zaroff lost .25 points from the first judge for not making effective use of Ranger spellcasting (beyond turning on wands) and gained another point from the second judge - the total should be at 28 points iirc.

I'll amend accordingly, that's enough to snag him bronze for the moment.

are there any other judges yet to post besides thiago martell?

[123456789blaaa]

I'm sort of suprised that we didn't see any Black blood cultist builds. Both the justicar and the BBC forcus on grappling and they both have track as a prequisite feat. Then again, to get the best abilities of BBC you need 8 levels which would probably overshadow justicar.

aaaand I just answered my own question :smalltongue:.

Out of curiosity was anyone planning to enter a BBC build?

[The Dark Fiddler]

I'm kind of against co-chefs for the competition, for two main reasons. The first is that is sort of opens the door to a whole host of potential problems that, while not strictly likely, are still possible. Stuff like conflicts and chefs splitting, only to submit all but the same build.

The other is purely selfish in that I plan to work by myself no matter what, and don't want anybody to have a potential advantage over me. :smalltongue:

[Amphetryon]

The next Secret Ingredient has been chosen, FYI. :smallamused:

[Dusk Eclipse]

So... hint time?

[Garwain]

The SI is chosen? Oh, I get the hint. Yes I do...

Death's Chosen from Libris Mortis

[Amphetryon]

More queries:

Hi,

Just had a couple of queries re: the judging of Ximen Bao, specifically her elegance score:

eggs mentioned a couple of abilities that aren't incorporated with each other, and I had a couple of questions about some of this:

1. "investing some resources in poisons without getting a poison source"

As mentioned in Ximen's build, her primary source for poison is from her shadows - they are the source for Shadow Essence, the poison she favors. The write-up also mentions use of the survival skill and detect poison to scavenge poisons. In addition, she can harvest the poison that she herself creates via Animal Devotion.

2. "putting levels into channeling, but spreading CL and ability requirements around to minimize its efficiency"

Ximen included a proposed spell selection, most of which revolves around touch spells to be channeled that have powerful effects that do not rely on CL or saving throws - shivering touch and its lesser version being the most common, since their only CL-based aspect is their duration, which is still more than enough time for Ximen to drain and hog-tie an enemy. Similarly, the duskblade spells are also spells that are not dependent upon ability scores and CL.

3. "getting some bonus damage without the extra attacks or move+full attack options to make good use of it"

My only concern here isn't with the criticism (which is valid) but rather the fact that it seems somewhat inconsistently applied - the same is true of several builds in this contest, but Ximen is the only one that appears to have been penalized for it. (If this was merely a comment on the build, and not an actual score drop, then I withdraw this last one.)

[Venger]

The next Secret Ingredient has been chosen, FYI. :smallamused:

cool! is it thief of life?

[Kuulvheysoon]

cool! is it thief of life?

Well, we've had one ingredient straight from the Realms (Drow Judicator, Underdark), so I suppose that it's Eberron's turn at the wheel, eh?

[eggs]

As mentioned in Ximen's build, her primary source for poison is from her shadows - they are the source for Shadow Essence, the poison she favors. The write-up also mentions use of the survival skill and detect poison to scavenge poisons. In addition, she can harvest the poison that she herself creates via Animal Devotion.That's fair, but I want to maintain the rating because the larger situation is still there - the build has piles of partially-supported abilities which aren't complementary and often need more investment to be put to reliable or efficient use (like the Augment Summoning investments or the CL bit mentioned below).

Ximen included a proposed spell selection, most of which revolves around touch spells to be channeled that have powerful effects that do not rely on CL or saving throws - shivering touch and its lesser version being the most common, since their only CL-based aspect is their duration, which is still more than enough time for Ximen to drain and hog-tie an enemy. Similarly, the duskblade spells are also spells that are not dependent upon ability scores and CL.

Just taking the level 15 and 20 cutaways, median SRD monster spell resistance in the SRD are 22 and 26 at those levels, respectively. Without supporting CL further than Practiced Spellcaster, channeled spells usually aren't sticking, regardless of whether their effects swing with CL. Humanoid enemies vary further, but I don't consider it a reliable tactic without more support.

My only concern here isn't with the criticism (which is valid) but rather the fact that it seems somewhat inconsistently applied - the same is true of several builds in this contest, but Ximen is the only one that appears to have been penalized for it. (If this was merely a comment on the build, and not an actual score drop, then I withdraw this last one.)
I'm pretty sure I mentioned effective or ineffective use of Nonlethal strike in just about every entry. That wasn't something I was docking points for specifically, but it was something that would have shown the Secret Ingredient put to more clear use. My contention was that I could see Crippling strike being applied, and stacking slowly with Shadow strength-blasting, but that the other Justicar features just being tacked on as far as strategy is concerned, and finding some way of or incorporating grabs or extra attacks would have changed that.

EDIT:
After Magic of Eberron's Elemental Scion came up in another thread, I'd be intrigued to see it come up, along with its weird mix of potentially-powerful abilities and really painful limitations.

[Piggy Knowles]

My concern with 2 contestants sharing a build is the notion of an extra set of eyes giving an unfair advantage, though if a majority supports the idea, I can be persuaded.

I guess since I brought it up, I should probably drop in my thoughts on the subject.

I mostly brought this up because I think a creative process involving two people could come up with some really fun builds. I know that I'd like to see what could be done with two people working together, bouncing ideas off of each other and then refining them into one finished project.

As it stands, that can already happen - except only one person can take credit for the build at the end. I like the idea of two people working together and submitting a joint build, and doing so also reduces the chances that something improper will happen, like being a judge after you've helped someone work on their build.

Yeah, there's a risk that you could coordinate a build with someone, and then something might happen where you aren't working together anymore and now someone else has all your ideas (and vice versa). But eh, there are always risks. Heck, sometimes I even get paranoid about posting questions in the RAW thread for potential builds because I'm afraid it will give away my idea.

Just my two cents. I won't be devastated if the forum overall would prefer one chef per entry. I just think it might be fun.

[Venger]

I'm for it as well for pretty much the same reasons.

asking questions here around iron chef time is hard, but it does avoid losing points later on

[Madara]

I guess since I brought it up, I should probably drop in my thoughts on the subject.

I mostly brought this up because I think a creative process involving two people could come up with some really fun builds. I know that I'd like to see what could be done with two people working together, bouncing ideas off of each other and then refining them into one finished project.

As it stands, that can already happen - except only one person can take credit for the build at the end. I like the idea of two people working together and submitting a joint build, and doing so also reduces the chances that something improper will happen, like being a judge after you've helped someone work on their build.

Yeah, there's a risk that you could coordinate a build with someone, and then something might happen where you aren't working together anymore and now someone else has all your ideas (and vice versa). But eh, there are always risks. Heck, sometimes I even get paranoid about posting questions in the RAW thread for potential builds because I'm afraid it will give away my idea.

Just my two cents. I won't be devastated if the forum overall would prefer one chef per entry. I just think it might be fun.

A "Special Edition" Team Challenge would certainly be entertaining.

But I think that teams would have to register together that they are working on something together, at least to the judge.

[Venger]

A "Special Edition" Team Challenge would certainly be entertaining.

But I think that teams would have to register together that they are working on something together, at least to the judge.

that sounds like a great idea.

[Piggy Knowles]

Team Challenge sounds like a blast! I would love that one.

It sort of moves beyond the scope of IC, but it could even be a lot of fun for something like optimizing a party, rather than a single character. Probably too much work to pull off more than once, but it could be pretty awesome....

[Amphetryon]

A "Special Edition" Team Challenge would certainly be entertaining.

But I think that teams would have to register together that they are working on something together, at least to the judge.

"Special Edition" would address one of the potential concerns, of a paradigm shift.

Hypothetically, how would folks feel if - for example - Madara registered as the second chef with 6 of 10 different teams? That would appear, to me, to be a separate concern from having a solo chef enter multiple entrants, because Madara's (or any other contestant's) amount of input could be as minimal as he and the other contestant(s) are willing to accept, all while maximizing his odds at "winning."

[Madara]

"Special Edition" would address one of the potential concerns, of a paradigm shift.

Hypothetically, how would folks feel if - for example - Madara registered as the second chef with 6 of 10 different teams? That would appear, to me, to be a separate concern from having a solo chef enter multiple entrants, because Madara's (or any other contestant's) amount of input could be as minimal as he and the other contestant(s) are willing to accept, all while maximizing his odds at "winning."

That's why I suggested the preregistration, which would limit you to participation in one team.(Which I do realize is different from the normal contest in which we have multiple submissions)

[OMG PONIES]

Or the team round becomes an exhibition round, perhaps.

[Piggy Knowles]

"Special Edition" would address one of the potential concerns, of a paradigm shift.

Hypothetically, how would folks feel if - for example - Madara registered as the second chef with 6 of 10 different teams? That would appear, to me, to be a separate concern from having a solo chef enter multiple entrants, because Madara's (or any other contestant's) amount of input could be as minimal as he and the other contestant(s) are willing to accept, all while maximizing his odds at "winning."

If teams were made public before the competition, I think that would minimize that a bit... Madara could theoretically join multiple teams, but how many teams would have him when they see he's already a member of several others?

I know that if I were choosing someone to work with, I'd worry that someone involved with multiple other teams would not be able to commit properly to my own, and would probably keep looking.

[Madara]

If teams were made public before the competition, I think that would minimize that a bit... Madara could theoretically join multiple teams, but how many teams would have him when they see he's already a member of several others?

I know that if I were choosing someone to work with, I'd worry that someone involved with multiple other teams would not be able to commit properly to my own, and would probably keep looking.

Or we could just set a limit on how many teams you can be in.

[Venger]

Or we could just set a limit on how many teams you can be in.

I think only being allowed to be in one team would take care of that.

[Draz74]

I think only being allowed to be in one team would take care of that.

Or two, if one of them is just you.

[Dragrun]

hey
sorry for lurking but i personally believe that a team working on a single character and a single person/group working on a group of characters would be fine on the condition that a person could only be on 1 team per challenge (to prevent people from hedging their bets so to speak)

[Dragrun]

while I'm thinking about it how would anyone feel about doing a short diversion and do some more often-than-not forgotten and to some terrible base classes(ex. the abominable snowman{read truenamer})

[eggs]

Truenamer's possibilities have basically been played out. I'd think we'd pretty much just expect some a bunch of nearly-straightleveled TNs, with essentially the same utterances known, punctuated by the occasional 1-level drop into Factotum, Marshal or Exemplar.

Something like Acolyte of the Ego might be interesting, though.

[ThiagoMartell]

Truenamer's possibilities have basically been played out. I'd think we'd pretty much just expect some a bunch of nearly-straightleveled TNs, with essentially the same utterances known, punctuated by the occasional 1-level drop into Factotum, Marshal or Exemplar.
But it's a base class.


Something like Acolyte of the Ego might be interesting, though.
Yeah, that would be cool.

[Piggy Knowles]

So, I guess the million dollar question is.... will the close of this contest be delayed due to boards being down, or will it still end tonight?

Personally I'm fine with this contest still closing on time, as we've gotten two judgings already (which is about standard these days), and I don't think anyone has said they're currently working on also judging. But if there IS a judge who has been working on scores but won't be able to complete them on time because of board maintenance, an extension wouldn't be crazy.