Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXVIII

[Amphetryon]

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef XXXVIII. 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, October 20th, 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, November 3rd, 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:
Dragon Magic's Hand of the Winged Master!
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)
Iron Chef XXXVII: Justiciar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13865473)

[Amphetryon]

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.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Interesting choice, I was rooting for Scorpion Heritor (since I have a complete build already XD); but I like Hand of the Winged Master so I'll see if I can come up with something.

[GreenSerpent]

Oooh... I have an interesting idea here already.

[OMG PONIES]

Can't say I saw this one coming, no sir.

[Dumbledore lives]

Sneaky tricksters and such. I might be able to make something for this.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Hmmm does anyone else find weird that Lord of Madness (and thud Darkstalker) was published before Dragon Magic and True Stealth is worse in pretty much all respects?

[OMG PONIES]

Hmmm does anyone else find weird that Lord of Madness (and thud Darkstalker) was published before Dragon Magic and True Stealth is worse in pretty much all respects?

But not every respect? :smallwink: I feel ya, though, this class was a good selection for Iron Chef.

[Amphetryon]

Hmmm does anyone else find weird that Lord of Madness (and thud Darkstalker) was published before Dragon Magic and True Stealth is worse in pretty much all respects?

But Darkstalker costs a Feat!

[Venger]

But Darkstalker costs a Feat!

clearly an unreasonable and extravagant cost
I am in. I had an idea for a different SI, but can likely adapt it to this rather well. I'm going to try hard not to write Ted again. even though he was awesome.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I looooove sneaky classes, I already have several ideas for this competition and by Tiamat! I will submit a build!*


*I hope

[Piggy Knowles]

Hmm... One fairly strong idea, plus a couple others that need some refining. I hope to enter this one, although the next two weeks are pretty busy for me.

[Madara]

Wow, at one of the class features doesn't fuction properly. This should be...interesting.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Which one ,True Stealth ?

[Madara]

Which one ,True Stealth ?

In a way. Also, I mistook Dragonfire Strike for Assult, which uses the power attack feat :smallredface:

Still, for a stealthy class, they don't get many stealth abilities.

[BobVosh]

Darn don't have this book. I guess I'll just lurk.

[Kazyan]

HotWM has so little going for it that I'd rather Zinc Saucier than Iron Chef. As such, I'll judge for this round instead of competing. There are no qualifications, right?

[Amphetryon]

HotWM has so little going for it that I'd rather Zinc Saucier than Iron Chef. As such, I'll judge for this round instead of competing. There are no qualifications, right?

Qualifications are "Access to the Secret Ingredient."

[eggs]

Master's Gift's description of a beneficial spell rules out the majority of the beneficial spells that would make it kind-of-sort-of useful. Frustrating.

[Dusk Eclipse]

:smallcool: Build ready, just need to do the type up (I seriously should stop building on paper and then transcribing) and do some fine tuning on the background.

[Amechra]

Heh, my builds already in. That was quick.

Wonder if I should do another?

[Fable Wright]

Tentatively volunteering myself as a judge, since I can't find any unique class features that I would actually base a build around or justification for taking it over straight Rogue with Darkstalker...

[BobVosh]

Qualifications are "Access to the Secret Ingredient."

And loads of time.

[Venger]

HotWM has so little going for it that I'd rather Zinc Saucier than Iron Chef. As such, I'll judge for this round instead of competing. There are no qualifications, right?

hear hear. I'm having similar problems (why not just xx sneaky class with darkstalker? why the SI?) I'm having a hard time giving a good answer to that question.

if I can't cook anything tasty, I'd be happy to judge. Here are my criteria: let me know if there are any questions about them. I want to be fair and consistent.

scoring overall

Like most of the other judges, I feel the simplest way to judge is to start from 3s in everything and add/subtract from there.

While I greatly enjoy backstory, I know that writing is not everyone's school of specialisation, so while an interesting concept can give you points in originality and a character arc can explain your class choices/transitions for elegance, lack of these things in your backstory can't lose points, so think of it as a "bonus" section.

I am familiar with the rules of the game and know a few tricks and combinations, but I might not be able to fully realise every build's potential for awesomeness by reading its chart alone. if there are any particular tricks/tips that your build can do that are especially important or that you feel would gain you points or lose points if a judge missed them, please explain or mention them in your entry so I don't miss them.

originality

How original is your concept on its own merits? is it a tried and true classic like a diplomancer or a rainbow warsnake or is it something that hasn't been done before? obscurity is not a factor here, just the "I wish I'd thought of that" factor of your build.

Since the builds are submitted simultaneously, I'm not going to deduct for sharing similarities with other contestants. If the idea itself is good enough to throw me, I don't think it's fair for me to deduct from the people who come up later in the order.


power

Having exhaustively examined the capabilities of the SI, my standards for what is a powerful hand of the winged master build will obviously be a little less stringent than what would be a powerful build for another more powerful class, the chefs are starting with a handicap as it were.

Can you overcome some of the inherent flaws of the SI in your build? (ex: the capstone) if so, how do you do so, and how much better is your alternative?

elegance

I do not believe in deductions from elegance due to obscurity or number of sources, so feel free to spread yourselves as thin as you feel appropriate when it comes to number of books.

I don't mind dips in general, some classes are only one or two levels long as far as optimisation is concerned. What I'm interested in is the justification or explanation behind it. This is someplace that your backstory can really help explain transitions from class to class.

A list of books for where you got all your ingredients would also make my fact-checking a lot easier. Please include one so I don't have to go book diving.


use of the secret ingredient

While it may be difficult given the secret ingredient, a good way to score points will definitely be if the build overall feels more like a hand of the winged master than anything else. While more levels in the SI are obviously a good thing, you've got to have a reason behind them and the extra levels have to be a help rather than a hindrance to your build.

[only1doug]

I'm considering Judging, I'll put up some criteria tomorrow.

[Dragrun]

if i can get my friend to lend me his copy ill shoot for it

[Dragrun]

alright i can go for this one guys


GOD THIS THING HURTS MY SANITY GOOD LORD

[Amechra]

I'm actually working on another build for this; what can I say, I feel inspired.

[OMG PONIES]

Mercy me, I'm having enough trouble cooking up one good build. I'm really interested to see what you quick chefs were able to conjure up in such an abbreviated time frame.

[only1doug]

I'm considering Judging, I'll put up some criteria tomorrow.

Here are my criteria:

originality


Points deducted for each other submitted build that uses the same Base classes or tricks.

power

How well do the various builds do what they are designed to do? Each build will be judged on its own merits against a baseline rogue.

elegance

do the class transitions seem smooth? the smoother the transitions the more points

use of the secret ingredient


a divisive factor here, (class levels / 10) will be multiplied by my opinion of how well the class features (of the number of levels you took) are utilised by your build.

[Kelb_Panthera]

alright i can go for this one guys


GOD THIS THING HURTS MY SANITY GOOD LORD

Hurts your sanity and makes your cries of anguish redundant to boot. :smalltongue:

[Menteith]

Oh, the class isn't that hard to work with. Have a rash of exams this week, but I hope to work on something over the weekend.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Is not that bad; but it has the "why are you using this when x is better" factor...which makes it the perfect SI IMO

BTW Mentheith... have I told you how much your avatar freaks me out? Seriously, what the hell it is?

[Amphetryon]

Is not that bad; but it has the "why are you using this when x is better" factor...which makes it the perfect SI IMO

HotWM was chosen for not having a Caster or Fear-based component (of which there had been a large number lately), while also having a potential 'smorgasbord' of bonus Feat options, theoretically allowing for several different build directions.

[Menteith]

Is not that bad; but it has the "why are you using this when x is better" factor...which makes it the perfect SI IMO

BTW Mentheith... have I told you how much your avatar freaks me out? Seriously, what the hell it is?

http://monsters.monstrous.com/Pictures/mentichore.jpg

Old-school Manticore's head. I like to have my own icons for monsters when I'm making dungeon/battle maps, and found this ludicrously horrifying one while preparing for a fight in my current campaign. There are a few similarly absurd/horrible monsters out there, but this one really stuck with me... I don't know whether I should laugh at it or cry. The well-combed hair, the dainty eyelashes, the Dr. Seuss neck, the trollface grin that says "I'm about three seconds away from eating your face"....

I see a really obvious entry point into the class that I'm trying hard to ignore right now....I hope this isn't one of the times where everyone ignores the obvious way.

[Dragrun]

ugh i got school in my way this week but lets see what i can do

[Madara]

I see a really obvious entry point into the class that I'm trying hard to ignore right now....I hope this isn't one of the times where everyone ignores the obvious way.

I have to say, this class is nice in terms of entry requirements. But of course, that means the class features aren't that great.

[Techwarrior]

I saw the secret ingredient, and immediately had an idea. Hopefully original, but it just leaped right at me so it might not be. I'll submit a build for this soon.

[Dragrun]

Sorry guys im going to quit while im behind this thing hurts my brain in more ways than one

[Dusk Eclipse]

Have I told you guys, how much I hate formatting? Because I hate it... a lot.

[only1doug]

Have I told you guys, how much I hate formatting? Because I hate it... a lot.

Oh, the interminable formatting, that all has to be double checked after you make a minor adjustment to the build... makes me glad i'm just judging this one.

[Amphetryon]

Oh, the interminable formatting, that all has to be double checked after you make a minor adjustment to the build... makes me glad i'm just judging this one.

Bah, you guys all send me multiple, edited, copies anyhow. :smalltongue:

[Piggy Knowles]

I have a build skeleton all finished, but I'm having a lot of trouble being particularly inspired by this one. I'll probably pass on submitting it, and maybe toss up some judging criteria instead.

[Cranthis]

I had a decent idea for a build, well, at least an original idea. But instead I'm going to judge, seeing as there are no requirements, and I have a ton of extra time for awhile.

Originality
Based entirely on what you submit. Obviously you won't know what other people are submitting, so I won't be too harsh about that area of originality.
Power
Is your build doing what it is meant to do, and how effectively? Each build will be judged on its own merits, based on various things.
Elegance
How smooth do things flow with your build?
Using the secret ingredient
How well does your use of the secret ingredient fit into the build, and how are you best utilizing the abilities?

[Amphetryon]

Bumpety bump bump. Not much activity in here lately, I assume because of midterms?

[Menteith]

Bumpety bump bump. Not much activity in here lately, I assume because of midterms?

You assume correctly. Hoping to find time for a submission, but I can't save for sure I'll be able to.

[Piggy Knowles]

Hmmm... I actually just now got an idea that can possibly breathe some life into the build I abandoned. I'll see if I have time tomorrow to make it into something real, but maybe I'll be able to scratch together a submission after all.

If not, though, I will definitely judge this time around. Here are my criteria, pretty much cribbed from the last time I judged:

Originality


Let me preface this section by saying that I don't think originality is wholly contingent upon choice of class. Two builds can have the exact same class levels, and yet end up going in completely different directions. I also will not penalize you just because someone else has chosen the same class as you.

So what will gain you points? Use the abilities you have in fresh and interesting ways. Surprise me. Show me new combinations that I've never seen before. Meanwhile, using well-known builds will cause you to lose points.


Power


There are two questions that will define how I rate a build's power. They are...

(1) How good is your build at its intended role?
(2) Will you stay relevant if your main "trick" does not work?

I don't expect every build to have 9th-level casting or manifesting, or to be able to bring the universe to its knees. However, if your build has a specific role or function, I expect you to be at least adequate at it. And if your build is a one-trick pony, it had better be a pretty good trick. I will deduct points if you can't function outside of a very limited set of parameters.

I'll also be looking for obvious ways your build could be improved (other than the most obvious "take fewer levels of the Secret Ingredient"). There's nothing wrong with sacrificing a little power for flavor, but if a choice makes you worse at your role, I will penalize for it. Just hope you make up the points in elegance or originality, I guess...

Finally, I don't plan to grade on a curve. Even if this is a weak ingredient, don't expect full points in Power if you've managed to just barely become adequate. Everyone's got the same ingredient to work with, after all.


Elegance


Obscurity or using multitude of sources doesn't bother me, but for the love of Pelor, please cite your work! I am very familiar with the system, but I like to have the books in front of me when I'm reviewing a build. I also don't like too much mixing of setting-specific material. (Note that just because a class or feat appears in a setting book doesn't mean that I will consider it setting-specific; I'm referring to things like regional feats, feats and classes that involve certain setting-specific orders, etc.)

Now that that's out of the way... I don't mind dips, as long as they are reasonable and make sense. However, I will not ignore the "fluff" requirements of a class. If a prestige class requires you to be a member of the Wizards of the Unseen University and your build glosses over that requirement, expect to see a small deduction.

In any case, while I won't penalize for dips, I do like nice clean builds, where everything works in harmony, so you can pick up extra points that way. I will also give out small bonuses here if everything is written up cleanly, in an engaging manner. Nothing huge - the build is most important. But presentation DOES matter, and if you do a good job with it, I think you should be rewarded. I don't need three pages of backstory, but I do like to see more than a list of abilities.

I'm mildly cheese-tolerant - I don't mind characters being effective or using abilities in new and exciting ways, as long as the rules do indeed back you up. But this should be something you are willing to sit down with other human beings and actually play, so keep the Vieux Boulougne at home. Also, this should go without saying, but if a build element is illegal (failing to qualify for a feat/PrC, for instance), I will deduct for it.


Use of Secret Ingredient


This one's pretty simple. Do you use the secret ingredient's abilities to good effect, or are they more of a footnote? Is there another class that could have done a better job at what you are trying to do? Your goal here is to highlight the secret ingredient, not to mask it. You will gain points by taking advantage of all the abilities provided, by using them in effective ways (an ability that would have been cool at level 6 won't score points with me if you don't pick it up until level 12), and by demonstrating how the SI brings your build together. You will lose points by dropping too many levels, failing to take advantage of the class's core abilities and pre-requisites, etc. You will automatically get minimum points here if you don't actually qualify for the PrC, so double-check those skill points!

[OMG PONIES]

Try as I might, I can't get my idea to work in a way that makes the Secret Ingredient shine. Because of that, I'll be shelving my idea and possibly judging. Kudos in advance to all chefs who were able to answer the question "Why use the S.I.?"

[Dumbledore lives]

With midterms finished I might get a build done tonight.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Bumpety bump bump. Not much activity in here lately, I assume because of midterms?

For me, at least, it's because I'm completely unfamiliar with the ingredient. Can't enter, can't judge, so there's nothing for me to do this time around. :smallfrown:

Still, I look forward to seeing what others are able to come up with.

[BobVosh]

Bumpety bump bump. Not much activity in here lately, I assume because of midterms?

How many submissions have you gotten so far?

[Dusk Eclipse]

I lost my thumbnail with my entry....:sigh: let's see if I can retype it in time for the reveal....

[Venger]

this is the most difficult ingredient I have ever cooked.

Submitted.

I can't wait to see the competition.

[Amechra]

Darn it, I won't have time to finish my second entry, which would have had a really, really, weird entry.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I might just be able to finish my entry in time Woohoooo!

[mattie_p]

Good luck to all competitors, my entry never got off the ground.

[Dusk Eclipse]

YES!!!! I was able to finish my entry and I've just submitted it!!!!

[rockdeworld]

Ditto! I've just submitted my first entry to an ICOC! I hope it turns out to be well-designed :smallsmile:

[Amphetryon]

Now it's time for the reveal! Please refrain from posting in this thread until I give the all-clear. Thanks.

[Amphetryon]

The best assassin is the one who doesn't know it. - Paraphrased from The Naked Gun


Humble beginnings that became a knife in the dark

Phillius was a typical changeling, he robbed, he lied, he did all the things the stereotypical rogue does. He was nothing if not intelligent, able to create a huge number of identities and portray them all as different people due to his innate abilities. He learned a little of the magical arts, and learned to speak Draconic but never thought much of it, using it only to communicate in code with his fellow thieves. Eventually this lifestyle led to him falling in with the wrong people. He learned how to fight true, but he also learned that you can't trust people. In one of the biggest jobs he had ever pulled he was left with the loot and surrounded by the town guard.

The town he was in was lorded over by a great green dragon, and he served as the town's judge, jury, and often executioner. However with Phillius he decided he could use him, as changelings came along so rarely and were too sinewy for a good meal. He had Phillius join up with a few other rogues and scoundrels and they taught him the proper way. There was no point in lying or stealing if you didn't have an eventual goal, if you didn't want to do something with it eventually. Gradually he realized what he had been doing was immoral, and that this dragon's tyrannical rule was in fact beneficial to all involved. He also learned that killing is sometimes a necessity, and that when it comes down to it murder can be justified.

He tries his hardest to justify it all, and in the end he works for a greater good, though his master's motives could be questioned he chooses not to, instead living in the bliss of innocence. At his peak Phillius became the knife in the dark, no one was ever quite sure what he looked like because for every mission, for every journey outside of his sanctuary he changed his face, changed his personality. In truth he has no real face now having changed it so often he has forgotten what he really used to look like. This makes him the perfect assassin.





The build


Phillius Formulus

CN - LN Changeling Rogue 4/Thug Fighter 1/Hand of the Winged Masters 10/Avenger 1/Daggerspell Mage 4

Starting Stats: 10 Str, 16 Dex, 12 Con, 16 Int, 10 Wis, 12 Cha
Improvements: +1 Int 4,8, +1 Dex 12, 16, 20

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

1st|Changeling Rogue 1|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Bluff 4 ranks, Diplomacy 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Escape Artists 4 ranks, Forgery 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 4 ranks, Listen 2 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 4 ranks, Knowledge (Local) 2 ranks, Search 4 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks, Speak Language (Draconic) 2 ranks, Spot 2 ranks|Weapon Finesse|Sneak Attack +1d6, social intuition

2nd|Rogue 2|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Search 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank, Spot 1 rank|-|Evasion

3rd|Changeling Rogue 3|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Forgery 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Knowledge (Local) 1 rank, Search 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank, Spot 1 rank|Dragontouched|Minor lore, sneak attack +2d6

4th|Rogue 4|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Search 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank, Spot 1 rank|-|Uncanny Dodge

5th|Sneak Attack Thug Fighter 4|
+4|
+3|
+4|
+1|Bluff 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 2 ½ ranks, Knowledge (Local) 1 rank, Move Silently 2 ½ ranks|-|Sneak attack +3d6

6th|Hand of the Winged Masters 1|
+4|
+3|
+6|
+3|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank|Weapon Focus (Dagger), Draconic Senses (Bonus)|-

7th|Hand of the Winged Masters 2|
+5|
+3|
+7|
+4|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Spot 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank|-|Sneak attack +4d6

8th|Hand of the Winged Masters 3|
+6/+1|
+4|
+7|
+4|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Spot 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank|Dragonfire Strike (Acid, Bonus)|-

9th|Hand of the Winged Masters 4|
+7/+2|
+4|
+8|
+5|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Forgery 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Spot 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank|Two-Weapon Fighting|-

10th|Hand of the Winged Masters 5|
+7/+2|
+4|
+8|
+5|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Spot 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank|-Sneak Attack +5d6

11th|Hand of the Winged Masters 6|
+8/+3|
+5|
+9|
+6|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Forgery 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Concentration 2 ½ ranks, Sense Motive 1 rank|-|-

12th|Avenger 1|
+9/+4|
+5|
+11|
+6|Bluff 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank, Concentration 4 ½ ranks|Practiced Spellcaster|Sneak attack +6d6, death attack, poison use, spells

13th|Hand of the Winged Master 7|
+9/+4|
+5|
+11|
+6|Concentration 10 ½ Ranks|-|Master's gift

14th|Daggerspell Mage 1|
+9/+4|
+5|
+13|
+8|Bluff 2 ½ ranks, Hide 2 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 2 ranks, Sense Motive 2 ½ ranks|-|Daggercast

15th|Daggerspell Mage 2|
+10/+5|
+5|
+14|
+9|Bluff 2 ½ ranks, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 2 ranks, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Sense Motive 2 ½ ranks, Spot 1 rank|Draconic Heritage (Green)|Invocation of the knife

16th|Daggerspell Mage 3|
+11/+6/+1|
+6|
+14|
+9|Bluff 2 ½ ranks, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 2 ranks, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Sense Motive 2 ½ ranks, Spot 1 rank|New Feats|Sneak attack +7d6

17th|Daggerspell Mage 4|
+12/+7/+2|
+6|
+15|
+10|Bluff 2 ½ ranks, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 2 ranks, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Sense Motive 2 ½ ranks, Spot 1 rank|-|-

18th|Hand of the Winged Masters 8|
+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+16|
+11|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Spot 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank|Draconic Claw|Sneak attack +8d6

19th|Hand of the Winged Masters 9|
+13/+8/+3|
+7|
+16|
+11|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Spot 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank|-|Improved dragonfire strike

20th|Hand of the Winged Masters 10|
+14/+9/+4|
+7|
+17|
+12|Bluff 1 rank, Diplomacy 1 rank, Disguise 1 rank, Gather Information 1 rank, Hide 1 rank, Knowledge (Arcana) 1 rank, Listen 1 rank, Move Silently 1 rank, Spot 1 rank, Sense Motive 1 rank|-|True stealth[/table]


Spells


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|0/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|0/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|0/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|1/3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|2/3|0/2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

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

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

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

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

Suggested Spells Known: 1st : Ebon Eyes, Jump, True Strike, Critical Strike
2nd : Cat's Grace, Fell the Greatest Foe, Invisibility


Level by level breakdown


Level 5
At this point he is a fairly standard social rogue, who is also fairly adept at sneaking. He has slightly more base attack than a straight rogue, and slightly less skills, though with changeling rogue it doesn't make too much of a difference, especially with his high intelligence. His dragontouched feat grants him a few nice little bonuses, so he's a bit better at perception and has one more hit point, though honestly it's not much.


Level 10
Now Phillius is more of a draconic rogue than before. He has the same sneak attack as a straight rogue, again slightly less skills, but now his sneak attacks are on fire and he can see in the dark. With the maxed out hide and move silently skills he should be able to sneak up on just about anyone, especially with magic items. He'll be a decent combatant as well, though will have the typical problems with constructs and undead.


Level 15
Right now he only has first level spells, but his sneak attack is keeping up and he has a few little combat tricks that work because of his spells. Again he is incredibly sneaky and can keep up with any straight rogue of his level, as well as having an easier time with scouting missions because of the longer buff durations on him, definitely a helpful member of any team.


Level 20
Finally he finished the Hand of the Winged Master class and is now a master of stealth, in and out absolutely everywhere, even that dirty place your mind went. He can cast some decent buffs on himself from the avenger spell list and have them last for a decent amount of time, then sneak attack with fire with an extra two attacks because of his claws. He also has the unique little ability to use claws as a swift action after casting a spell which is pretty cool.

Sweet Spot
The build really comes into its own late, once it gets all the spells and they last for a decent amount of time. This is unforunate, but level 18 is when everything really comes together, with the dragon claws giving a relatively unique combat option and allowing even more attacks for those flaming stabs, something which is always appreciated for a rogue.



Use of the Secret Ingredient
The first thing the secret ingredient does is give us a decent skill list which compliments the rogue's, as well as a good will save which is always nice. The first level ability gives low-light vision and later, one Phillus has 3 Draconic feats darkvision which he does not have naturally. This enables much more ambush potential as well as general use for dungeon-crawling.

The dragonfire strike and improved dragonfire strike are unfortunately not modified by the draconic heritage because of the feat prerequisites, but it is still a good amount of fire damage added to sneak attacks, which can be useful for creating a distraction or defeating a number of cold foes. It can also be disabled at any time so he is not useless against fire elementals or the like.

The avenger spell list actually has a decent number of buffs which are harmless, especially in the second level of spells. This allows the master's gift to be used by Phillus alone, though I'm sure the friendly buffing wizard will also appreciate his hour long buffs lasting the whole day, and minutes lasting for multiple encounters. With practiced spellcaster he also has a decent caster level, so his buffs will probably stay for multiple fights.

Finally true stealth is a very useful ability for anyone focused on ambushes like an avenger. The hide and move silently skills are maxed at every level so the -10 shouldn't make too much of a difference and it enables scouting a much larger variety of foes defeating their various vision methods.



Sources
Dragon Magic – Hand of the Winged Master, all bonus feats from the class, Dragontouched
Races of the Dragon- Draconic Claw
Races of Eberron- Changeling, Rogue substitution levels
Unearthed Arcana- Thug and sneak attack fighter variant
Complete Adventurer- Daggerspell Mage
Avenger (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070401a)
Everything else- Player's Handbook

[Amphetryon]

Clearance required beyond this point. Please present papers.


[Image Redacted]

Category: Safe Euclid

Containment Procedures: Subject is to be held inside a Standard Humanoid Containment cell, with all surfaces coated with fire-proofing; access to any potentially sharp objects is strictly forbidden, and food is to be delivered by robot. The subject, however, is allowed access to a small library of novels Access to any books by the subject is not allowed at this time.

Description: SCP --- is a woman of indeterminate race, 153 cm in height who weighs 50 kg. The subject has demonstrated the ability to transform any small, sharp object that she can carry in one hand into a lethal weapon, capable of cutting through body armor with ease. She was apprehended on 01/07/19--, when she went on a killing spree through a shopping mall, screaming that dragons were coming to kill her.

Once taken into custody, she quickly calmed down, and became readily cooperative with the Foundation; her only request was access to her home library of fantasy books, which was granted after an extensive vetting process to prevent a later episode.

Addendum: On 05/07/19--, it was noted that her offensive capabilities have steadily grown more potent, and that her general movements and senses have greatly increased in speed and capability; subject also noted to Dr. ------- that the dragons weren't after her any longer, and that they had recruited her as an assassin. It was suggested that the subject should have access to her library restricted until further notice.

At 10 AM, the subject requested after the next novel in the ---- ---- ---- series, stating that the last one "ended on a hell of a cliffhanger." The requested book was not supplied, and the subject was told that her access to her books was restricted until later notice. Subject was noticeably antagonized; later that day, when her meal was being brought to her, she snapped her spoon into a crude shiv, [redacted] a junior researcher, escaped down a hallway, and was later apprehend with the aid of tranquilizer darts. When brought to review, the guard all reported a feeling of instinctual fear, with similar descriptions to those of [redacted].

Subject was noted to have somehow coated her makeshift knife with plasma, theorized to be from slicing the molecules in the air. Subject was placed into an insulated cell, rated to withstand temperatures up to [redacted] kelvin.

15 hours the above incident, Dr. ------- requested that SCP --- be brought to an interview room. A few seconds after entering the room, she was observed to gesticulate angrily, at which moment Dr. ------- and the guards assigned to her case were observed to be visibly shaken. Upon noticing that, she quickly gutted Dr. ------- with the edge of a piece of paper, killed the guards with the same weapon, and proceeded out of the door.

20 minutes later, she was observed to slice her way through reinforced body armor, and was eventually recovered by Mobile Team Beta 23 "Wild Broncos".

Requesting change of designation to Euclid.

Request granted
-O5

Previous Containment Report

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

1st|Scout|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Intimidate 2, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Sense Motive 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Tumble 4|Lion Tribe Warrior, Able Learner|Skirmish (+1d6), Trapfinding

2nd|Wild-Shape Ranger|
+1|
+2|
+4|
+0|Intimidate 2, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Sense Motive 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Tumble 5, Jump 2|Track|Favored Enemy (Dragons), Fast Movement +10', Wild Empathy

3rd|Wild-Shape Ranger|
+2|
+3|
+5|
+0|Intimidate 3, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Sense Motive 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Tumble 6, Jump 2|Dragontouched|

4th|Scout|
+3|
+3|
+6|
+0|Intimidate 3, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Sense Motive 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 7, Tumble 7, Jump 6||Battle Fortitude +1, Uncanny Dodge

5th|Scout|
+4|
+4|
+6|
+1|Intimidate 4, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Sense Motive 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Tumble 8, Jump 8, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 1||Fast Movement +20', Skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), Trackless Step

6th|Scout|
+5|
+4|
+7|
+1|Intimidate 4, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Sense Motive 9, Knowledge (Arcana) 9, Tumble 9, Jump 9, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4|Swift Hunter, Improved Skirmish|Skirmish (+2d6, +1 AC)

7th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+5|
+4|
+9|
+3|Intimidate 7, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Sense Motive 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 9, Tumble 10, Jump 10, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4|Draconic Senses|

8th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+6/+1|
+4|
+10|
+4|Intimidate 11, Hide 10, Move Silently 9, Sense Motive 11, Knowledge (Arcana) 10, Tumble 10, Jump 11, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4||Skirmish (+3d6, +1 AC)

9th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+7/+2|
+5|
+10|
+4|Intimidate 12, Hide 11, Move Silently 10, Sense Motive 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 11, Tumble 12, Jump 12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4|Dragonfire Strike, Dreadful Presence|

10th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+8/+3|
+5|
+11|
+5|Intimidate 13, Hide 13, Move Silently 12, Sense Motive 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 11, Tumble 13, Jump 13, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4||

11th|Avenging Executioner|
+8/+3|
+5|
+13|
+7|Intimidate 14, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Sense Motive 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 12, Tumble 14, Jump 14, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4||Sudden Strike +1d6, Bloody Blade

12th|Avenging Executioner|
+9/+4|
+5|
+14|
+8|Intimidate 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Sense Motive 15, Knowledge (Arcana) 14, Tumble 15, Jump 15, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4|Craven|Rapid Intimidation

13th|Avenging Executioner|
+10/+5|
+6|
+14|
+8|Intimidate 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Sense Motive 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 16, Tumble 16, Jump 16, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4||Sudden Strike +2d6

14th|Avenging Executioner|
+11/+6/+1|
+6|
+15|
+9|Intimidate 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Sense Motive 17, Knowledge (Arcana) 17, Tumble 17, Jump 17, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5||Dread Blade

15th|Avenging Executioner|
+11/+6/+1|
+6|
+15|
+9|Intimidate 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Sense Motive 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 18, Tumble 18, Jump 18, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 6|Imperious Command|Sudden Strike +3d6, Bloody Murder

16th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+11/+6/+1|
+6|
+15|
+9|Intimidate 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Sense Motive 19, Knowledge (Arcana) 19, Tumble 19, Jump 19, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 7||Sudden Strike +4d6

17th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+12/+7/+2|
+7|
+16|
+10|Intimidate 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Sense Motive 20, Knowledge (Arcana) 20, Tumble 20, Jump 20, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 8||

18th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+13/+8/+3|
+7|
+16|
+10|Intimidate 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Sense Motive 21, Knowledge (Arcana) 21, Tumble 21, Jump 21, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 9|Staggering Strike|Master's Gift

19th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+14/+9/+4|
+7|
+17|
+11|Intimidate 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Sense Motive 22, Knowledge (Arcana) 22, Tumble 22, Jump 22, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 10||Skirmish (+4d6, +1 AC)

20th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+14/+9/+4|
+8|
+17|
+11|Intimidate 23, Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Sense Motive 23, Knowledge (Arcana) 23, Tumble 23, Jump 23, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 11||Improved Dragonfire Strike[/table]

32 Point Buy

TN Human Scout 4/Ranger 2/Hand of the Winged Masters 9/Avenging Executioner.

Str: 12
Dex: 13
Con: 12
Int: 14 (13 PB +1 levels)
Wis: 12
cha: 20 (16 PB +4 levels)

1st level: Nothing much, just your standard scout; Lion Tribe Warrior gives her pounce, which comes in handy... later. Not much to say about this level.

5th level: Now she's much more nicely set up, what with her 50' land speed (comes from Wildshape Ranger and her Scout levels), which is nice if she wants to escape a battle. Still no crazy tricks yet, so you have to be patient.

10th level: Now charcoal is added to the awesome! Seriously, watch out, she's getting +4d6/+1 AC from Skirmish, thanks to Dragonfire Strike, and can get that up to +6d6/+3 AC if she moves at least 20 feet! She can also now use the fact that she has a limited Pounce ability, since she has a 20' fear aura that triggers on a charge (how very... Draconic). Draconic senses is kinda meh as a bonus feat, but hey, at least she's finally getting fear in there, for reasons that will become readily apparent.

15th level: Oh. My. Lord. She gets several sweet abilities from her Avenging Executioner levels, all of which feed towards the general idea of draconic fear. She gets such nice abilities as the ability to Sudden Strike people who are scared (getting her Dragonfire Strike damage on there), which, considering that people have to save against fear whenever she stabs them with a Sudden Strike, means that you are in for a lot of pain if you aren't immune to precision damage or fear (she charges, triggering Dreadful Presence; if you fail, she gets Sudden Strike, which escalated the fear, and which adds Craven damage to her damage output, for a neat little +9d6+15 damage on each attack. Nice.) On top of that, if she's cornered, she can intimidate someone as a Move action, and if she intimidates someone, they Cower for a round, which is excellent for general "people being afraid is awesome", and for the fact that, if all goes well, she could lock a single opponent she's right next to into a Cowering ball while she just stabs away... But yeah.

20th level: Mmm... I'm sorry, she's getting off +11d6+31 damage on a charge, most of the time (she should have items that boost Charisma by now), and she also forces a save against staggering whenever she deals Sudden Strike damage, which has a really high DC.

Sources
PHB, DotU, CAdv, CSc, DM, RoD, CW, one of the Faerun books.

[Amphetryon]

Prepare for a frosty reception.


Name: Dokar Jaggedfang
Race: Frostblood Half-Orc

Starting Attributes: Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 12 (32 point buy)
Increases: Dex 18 (4th), Dex 19 (8th)
Dragonborn of Bahumat: Str 12, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 12 (8th)
Increases: Dex 18 (12th), Dex 19 (16th), Wis 14 (20th)
Final Attributes: Str 12, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 12

Background

Dokar doesn't ask questions. Things are less... painful that way. He already knows why the other orcs pick on him, insult him, or beat him within an inch of his life when the adults aren't looking? An accident of birth, a father that only exists as a whispered secret. Why did Captain Rakzak pick him for the Frost Guard patrols? Why is Captain Rakzak so cruel? Will he live to see another spring?

He doesn't ask these questions. He knows how to get the answers. The other orcs are strong, but they're slow and stupid. Quick to anger, and when they drink they get sloppy. He's faster, so when the swinging fist comes he makes sure he isn't there anymore. He was picked because he's quick, quiet, and knows how to pick his terrain, when to retreat if the odds are against you, and when to strike quickly if the odds are with you. Captain Rakzak is cruel, but he's not a sadist. His cruelty has a purpose. He wants to make sure they can survive in a world that doesn't like orcs, and likes half-orcs even less.

Dokar was getting ready for a patrol when he heard the clanging alarm from the other end of the village. It was just early morning, after the first heavy snowfall of winter. Icegaunts, four of them. Dokar helped take one down, and Captain Rakzak brought down a second, but the other two grabbed two dead villagers, Harnag the blacksmith and his daughter Vigla, and ran off. They will be back after midnight, with fresh Icegaunts. Captain Rakzak orders the village to evacuate to Fort Winterhold, and they spend the rest of the day moving everyone in the village up through Snaptooth Pass. Rakzak selects a dozen of the Frost Guard, Dokar among them, to guard the pass.

Just before dawn the icegaunts attack the pass, but only three of them. Vilga is now one of them, but there's no sign of Harnag. The Frost Guard have chosen the terrain well, a bottleneck blocked by several large boulders on the left and a sheer cliff on the right. But the Icegaunts are relentless and crafty, conjuring ice beasts and numbing spheres behind them. The mystery of Harnag is answered when a fourth icegaunt falls with a bone-shattering thud into the middle of their ranks. Looking up, they can see a fifth icegaunt, the bony remains of Harnag, inching his way along a narrow mountain goat path about a hundred feet above them. Rakzak taps Dokar on the shoulder, points up to Harnag, and barks, "Stop him!"

Dokar knows these mountain goat trails, has climbed all over them as a child. It takes him ten minutes to work his way up. Dokar picks his terrain, a ledge where the path widens enough to give him room to fight. He doesn't have to wait long before Harnag is on him. Dokar dashes forward before Harnag can get to more open ground, but the icegaunt shrugs off his slashes and lumbers forward, slashing with clawlike bony fingers of his own. Dokar falls back, then lunges forward, trying to catch the iceguant off-balance, but Harnag's bony arms slam into him like two massive tree-trunks. He falls back and lunges again, only this time a bony finger slices across his brow, and icecold blackness washes through his head and down his spine, sapping his strength, chilling his bones from the inside. Dokar realizes he can't keep this up, the icegaunt will just wear him down. He falls back towards the edge of the cliff, being careful of the loose shale, but it gives him an idea. As the icegaunt closes on him, he pretends to stumble. Hoping to catch him offguard, the icegaunt lunges in to finish him off, but Dokar pivots, ducks under a slashing arm, and then slams his shoulder into the icegaunt. Harnag slashes wildly, scraping his claws across Dokar's forearm, but the icegaunt is off-balance, slipping, and then he's gone. A couple seconds later, Dokar hears a distant crunch below him.

Dokar collapses. Apparently the claws raking across his forearm caught something, enough that his entire arm goes numb, and then the rest of his body collapses. He can't move. Somewhere above him, he hears the flapping of leathery wings, and then a brilliant flash blinds him, something reflecting the morning sun into his eyes just as it crests over the mountains. He hears flapping again, and then a large dragon, silver scales sparkling in the morning sun, lands lightly on the ledge. There doesn't seem to be enough room for the dragon, but then it's shape shimmers and shrinks, taking the form of a tall woman with ivory-white skin and long, platinum-blonde hair. She approaches Dokar, uttering a few words in the ancient tongue of the tribal elders, and touches him on the shoulder. Warmth spreads throughout his body.

"Stand up, if you can, Dokar Jaggedfang," she tells him in a firm, musical voice.

Dokar finds that his muscles are still a little shaky, but he can stand. The two regard each other quietly for a moment before Dokar finally decides to ask a question.

"Who are you?" he asks.

"My name is Aragenthia. I am your grandmother."

Dokar takes a moment to think this over. Finally, he says, "Your timing could have been better."

If she takes offense at this jibe, she doesn't show it. "Come with me," she tells him. "There is someone you must meet." She strides past him, moving effortlessly down the mountain goat path.

Dokar waits a moment, then decides to risk another question. "Who?"

"Bahumat," she calls out. "You are to become his Hand."


The Build

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

1st|Scout 1|
+0|
+0|
+5|
+1| Balance 4, Bluff(cc) 2, Hide 4, MS 4, Know:Arc(cc) 2, SenseMotive 4, SpeakLang:Draconic 1, Tumble 4, DisableDev 3|Dragontouched|Skirmish 1d6

2nd|Planar Ranger 1|
+1|
+2|
+7|
+1|Know:Planes 5, Survival 1|Track|Favored Enemy:Undead, Wild Empathy -> Spiritual Connection ACF

3rd|Planar Ranger 2|
+2|
+3|
+8|
+1|Know:Planes 6, Listen 2, Spot 2, Survival 2|TWF, Travel Devotion|

4th|Scout 2|
+3|
+3|
+10|
+1|Tumble 7, Balance 5, DisableDev 7||Battle Fortitude +1, Uncanny Dodge

5th|Scout 3|
+4|
+4|
+10|
+2|Bluff(cc) 4, Know:Arc(cc) 4||Fast Movement +10', Trackless Step, Skirmish 1d6AC+1

6th|Planar Ranger 3|
+5|
+4|
+10|
+3|Know:Planes 8, Hide 6, MS 6|Swap Endurance -> Swift Hunter, Planar Touchstone -> Sun Domain (Dragonlance)|Skirmish 2d6AC+1

7th|HotWM 1|
+5|
+4|
+12|
+5|Tumble 10, DisableDev 10|Draconic Senses|

8th|HotWM 2|
+6|
+5|
+12|
+6|Tumble 11, DisableDev 11, Hide 8, MS 8|Swap Draconic Senses -> Dragon Tail (Dragonborn)|Dragonborn of Bahumat(Wings), Skirmish 3d6AC+1

9th|HotWM 3|
+7|
+6|
+12|
+6|Tumble 12, DisableDev 12, Hide 10, MS 10|Draconic Heritage (Silver/Cold), Dragonfire Strike|Skirmish 4d6AC+1

10th|Scout 4|
+8|
+6|
+13|
+6|Tumble 13, DisableDev 13, Listen 4, Spot 4, Survival 4|Improved Skirmish|Skirmish 4d6AC+2/6d6AC+4

11th|Planar Ranger 4|
+9|
+7|
+14|
+6|Concentration 6||Distracting Attack ACF

12th|Planar Ranger 5|
+10|
+7|
+15|
+6|Concentration 10, Listen 5, Spot 5|Extra Turning|Favored Enemy:Constructs, Skirmish 5d6AC+2/7d6AC+4

13th|HotWM 4|
+11|
+7|
+16|
+7|Tumble 15, DisableDev 15, Hide 11, MS 11||

14th|HotWM 5|
+11|
+7|
+16|
+7|Tumble 17, DisableDev 17, Hide 12, MS 12||Skirmish 6d6AC+2/8d6AC+4

15th|HotWM 6|
+12|
+8|
+17|
+8|Tumble 18, DisableDev 18, Hide 13, MS 13, Listen 6, Spot 6|Imp. TWF|

16th|HotWM 7|
+13|
+8|
+17|
+8|Tumble 19, DisableDev 19, Hide 14, MS 14, Survival 6||Master's Gift

17th|HotWM 8|
+14|
+8|
+18|
+9|Tumble 20, DisableDev 20, Hide 15, MS 15, Listen 7, Spot 7||Skirmish 7d6AC+2/9d6AC+4

18th|HotWM 9|
+14|
+9|
+18|
+9|Tumble 21, DisableDev 21, Listen 8, Spot 8, Survival 8|Gr. TWF|Improved Dragonfire Strike, Skirmish 7d6+7AC+2/9d6+9AC+4

19th|Highland Stalker 1|
+15|
+11|
+18|
+9|Tumble(cc) 22, DisableDev(cc) 22||Mountain Stride

20th|Highland Stalker 2|
+16|
+12|
+18|
+9|Tumble(cc) 23, DisableDev(cc) 23||Skirmish 8d6+8AC+2/10d6+10AC+4[/table]


Spells

Spells per day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
1st|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
[/table]
Favorite Spells
1st: entangle, longstrider, conjure ice beast I (Frostburn), instant of power (Forge of War)


Designer Notes

Of the three "special attacks" that Hand of the Winged Masters (HotWM) can advance, skirmish damage progresses the slowest, so I decided to use HotWM to optimize a Swift Hunter build. Normally skirmish damage goes up 1d6 every 4 class levels, but with HotWM, we get 4d6 skirmish damage over 8 levels. With Improved Skirmish, we can get our skirmish damage up to 10d6, and once Improved Dragonfire Strike kicks in with an extra +10 at HotWM9, we're outpacing most TWF Rogues (well, most non-Craven TWF Rogues) on DPS. I opted not to finish HotWM to pick up an additional 1d6 skirmish from Highland Stalker. I wanted this build to focus on TWF, and since skirmishing relies more on movement than sneaking, I didn't think True Stealth really fit in the build. When Dokar cuts out your intestines, he's not going to be sneaky about it. I did give him some points in Hide and Move Silently, but that's mostly to get him into or out of trouble. With mostly d8s for hit points and a mediocre Constitution, Dokar is a little on the fragile side to be a full-time frontline tank.

This build relies on two "tricks" to get the most out of TWF + Skirmish. The first is using Planar Touchstone linked to the Catalogues of Enlightenment to pick up Turn Undead as a cleric via the Sun domain from the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. Since this is a rather obscure sourcebook, here's the relevant text from page 104 of DLCS:

"Sun Domain
Deities: None (mystic only)
Granted Power: Turn or destroy undead as a good cleric. Use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. This is a supernatural ability."

There may be some quibbling about how exactly this gets squared away with the Sun domain in the PHB/SRD, but since there's an argument that DLCS was published after the 3.5 PHB/SRD, the DLCS version may in fact supercede the PHB/SRD version. I'm not really arguing for that, but rather I'd like to imagine that there may be many different versions of the domain powers out in the interplanar cosmology somewhere, and if that were the case, then the Catalogues of Enlightenment would probably be the place that knew something about it. That and I thought it was a neat trick to pick up Turn Undead as a cleric with only one feat, and there might be some optimizers out there who aren't aware of it.

Adding four Turn Undead attempts allows Dokar to activate Travel Devotion up to 3/day, or 30 rounds of swift-action move + full attack. If he needs more, he can pick up a Nightstick for 7500 GP.

The second trick involves some chicancery with Dragonborn of Bahumat. As is widely known, you lose most of your racial features after the Ritual of Rebirth, including racial bonus feats. However, Frostblood Orcs and Half-Orcs have an additional clause to their racial bonus feat: "If a frostblood orc or half-orc would later gain Endurance as a bonus feat, he can select any other feat for which he qualifies." So when Dokar gets to Ranger 3, he takes the Swift Hunter feat instead. Later, when Dokar goes through the Ritual of Rebirth at level 8, he loses Endurance as a bonus feat (which was nearly useless to begin with), but keeps Swift Hunter.

Ah, but you may ask, why would a TWF skirmisher even want to go Dragonborn of Bahumat, why not just start with a human, keep the bonus feat, and not worry about going Dragonborn? If TWF is your primary combat mode, then adding a breath weapon doesn't really help, you can get flying via items/grafts/etc., and HotWM already offers some Draconic Senses. Well, in addition to highlighting another trick some optimizers might not be aware of, I also wanted to use Dragonborn to squeeze another feat into the build. At the bottom of page 10 in Races of the Dragon, there's another frequently overlooked feature to Dragonborn of Bahumat:

"Special: Ordinarily, only a 1st-level character can select certain feats requiring the dragonblood subtype (see Chapter 6). However, upon becoming a dragonborn, you can elect to replace one (and only one) of your existing feats with one of these feats. A character cannot have more than one of these feats."

There are only two 1st-level only dragonblood feats that actually qualify for this: Dragon Tail and Dragon Wings. Normally, I like to use this with a Ranger dip to swap Track for Dragon Wings, which lets me take the Breath Weapon aspect and also puts me only one feat away from taking Improved Dragon Wings and full-fledged flight. I didn't have enough feats available to get a decent archery build off the ground, but Dragon Tail + TWF + Dragonfire Strike seemed like it was worth pursuing. Unfortunately, I needed to keep Track to qualify for Highland Stalker, so I had to put off Dragonborn of Bahumat until 8th level, when HotWM gives Draconic Senses as a bonus feat. It may seem like it goes against the spirit of the Secret Ingredient to get a class feature just so you can trade it away for something else, but I figured that Dragon Tail is still draconic-themed and just as likely to be granted by a Winged Master as Draconic Senses. If Dokar really needs enhanced senses, they can be obtained via other means: Dragonborn Mind aspect, spells, items, grafts, etc.


ECL 5

Dokar is a fairly standard TWF Scout at this point, ready to pick up Swift Hunter next level. Most likely, he's still in a support role as a 2nd-line fighter/flanker, a competent Tracker/Trapfinder, and a typical outdoorsish-skillmonkey type. For weapons, Dokar starts with a pair of shortswords, but upgrades to a greatsword (primary) + armor spikes (offhand) once he has a level of Ranger.


ECL 10

Once Improved Skirmish comes online, damage output may start to overshadow Dokar's trapfinding/skillmonkey roles. He dishes out 6d6 cold damage on each attack, and assuming he managed to find some Gloves of the Balanced Hand somewhere, has 5 attacks on a full-round attack: 2 iteratives, 2 offhand attacks, and a tail slap. Thanks to the DLCS Sun Domain, he can activate Travel Devotion 3/day for up to 30 rounds of swift-action move + full attack. He can fly due to Dragonborn of Bahumat, and can deal skirmish damage to undead via Swift Hunter. By now, Dokar has most likely upgraded his weapons to a feycraft (DMGII) + dragonfang (Draconomicon) shortsword and feycraft + dragonfang armor spikes, which gives him the equivalent of Weapon Finesse with those weapons and allows him to take advantage of his higher Dex bonus on attacks (dragonfang offsets the lower damage die from feycraft by adding +1 cold damage). This leaves a hand free to carry a heavy dragoncraft (Draconomicon) shield for additional protection.


ECL 12 (Sweet Spot)

Dokar's class abilities "peaks" here, as his remaining class abilities don't do much except enhance what he already has. Skirmish damage goes up to 7d6, Extra Turning gives him Travel Devotion up to 5/day, and he can deal skirmish damage to both undead and constructs. He even has a Ranger spell he can cast 1/day, probably entangle, longstrider, or instant of power (Forge of War). Weapons layout would still be feycraft dragonfang shortsword + armor spikes + heavy shield.


ECL 15

Dokar has a third iterative attack, 8d6 skirmish damage, and he picks up Improved TWF because presumably he wants to upgrade his Gloves of the Balanced Hand to something else. Or if he's not concerned about losing the Gloves, he could pick up Greater TWF here and use his 18th level feat for something else. He has maxed out Tumble and Disable Device, and is starting to backfill some of his sneakish/outdoorsish skills.


ECL 20

Dokar should now have 8 attacks on a full-round attack: 4 iteratives, 3 offhand, 1 tail slap. Skirmish is up to 10d6+10, or about 45 cold damage per hit.


Sources:

Frostblood Half-Orc, Dragon Magic
Scout/Highland Stalker, Complete Adventurer
Planar Ranger, Unearthed Arcana/SRD
Spiritual Connection ACF/Travel Devotion, Complete Champion
Distracting Attack ACF, PHBII
Swift Hunter/Improved Skirmish, Complete Scoundrel
Planar Touchstone/Catalogues of Enlightenment , Planar Handbook
Sun Domain, Dragonlance Campaign Setting
Dragonborn of Bahumat/Dragon Tail, Races of the Dragon

[Amphetryon]

This one chose to be chosen. . . or so it seems.

Long Sha: Master of the Flying Dragon Fist
Backstory

Long Sha was born in an ancient monastery in the midst of many might mountains. The monastery is said to every 500 year manifest the spirit of Bahamut within a single person born. Long Sha was chosen… Raised by the venerable elders of the monastery in all sorts of philosophy and in the martial arts. Long Sha eventually left the monastery, becoming a wandering warrior righting the wrongs whenever he saw them. Eventually, after years of adventuring, Long Sha returned to the monastery to assume the position of Head Abbot. While, wandering the vast libraries of the monastery, Long Sha encountered an ancient set of scrolls written by the last person touched by the spirit of Bahamut. Detailed, were instructions so long that when the scroll was completely opened, it stretched the entirety of the library, martial manuals that would only reveal itself to the touched of Bahamut. Slowly but steadily, Long Sha learned all that the scrolls had to offer. Mastering the sacred move of Bahamut, the Flying Dragon Fist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFtw7qW7Vcw

Build
Starts at STR: 14 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 18 WIS: 8 CHA: 8, places all ability boosts into strength
Long Sha
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

1st|Monk|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+2| 4 hide, 4 move silently, 4 knowledge (arcana), 4 jump, 4 sense motive, speak language (draconic),4 spot, 4 tumble, 2 escape artist|Touch of Golden Ice, Stunning Fist, Kung Fu Genius, Improved Unarmed Strike|Bonus feat, flurry of blows, unarmed strike
2nd|Monk|
+1|
+3|
+3|
+3| 5 hide, 5 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 5 jump, 5 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 5 tumble, 3 escape artist,|Combat Reflexes|Bonus feat, evasion

3rd|Factotum|
+1|
+3|
+5|
+3| 6 hide, 6 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 5 jump, 5 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 5 tumble, 3 escape artist,4 bluff, 4 disguise|Power Attack|Inspiration, Cunning Insight, Cunning Knowledge, Trapfinding

4th|Factotum|
+2|
+3|
+6|
+3| 7 hide, 7 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 5 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 5 tumble, 4 escape artist,7 bluff, 4 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap| |Arcane Dilettante (1 Spell)

5th|Factotum|
+3|
+4|
+6|
+4| 8 hide, 8 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 5 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 5 tumble, 4 escape artist,7 bluff, 4 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 8 Iajitsu Focus| |Brains over Brawn, Cunning Defense

6th|Avenger|
+3|
+4|
+8|
+4| 9 hide, 9 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 9 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 5 tumble, 4 escape artist,7 bluff, 4 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 9 Iajitsu Focus|Flying Kick|Sneak attack +1d6, death attack, poison use, spells

7th|Avenger|
+4|
+4|
+9|
+4| 10 hide, 10 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 5 tumble, 7 escape artist,7 bluff, 4 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 10 Iajitsu Focus| |+1 save against poison, uncanny dodge

8th|Avenger|
+5|
+5|
+9|
+5| 11 hide, 11 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 5 tumble, 11 escape artist,7 bluff, 4 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 11 Iajitsu Focus| |Sneak attack +2d6

9th|Avenger|
+6|
+5|
+10|
+5| 12 hide, 12 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 8 tumble, 12 escape artist,7 bluff, 4 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 12 Iajitsu Focus|Dragon Touched|+2 save against poison

10th|Avenger|
+6|
+5|
+10|
+5| 13 hide, 13 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 8 tumble, 12 escape artist,11 bluff, 4 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 13 Iajitsu Focus| |Improved uncanny dodge, sneak attack +3d6

11th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+6|
+5|
+10|
+7| 14 hide, 14 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 8 tumble, 12 escape artist,11 bluff, 10 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 14 Iajitsu Focus|Draconic Senses|Draconic Senses

12th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+7|
+5|
+11|
+8| 15 hide, 15 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 8 tumble, 14 escape artist,14 bluff, 13 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 15 Iajitsu Focus|Font of Inspiration|Sneak Attack +1d6

13th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+8|
+6|
+11|
+8| 16 hide, 16 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 13 tumble, 14 escape artist,14 bluff, 14 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 16 Iajitsu Focus|Dragonfire Strike |Dragonfire Strike

14th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+8|
+6|
+12|
+9| 17 hide, 17 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 13 tumble, 14 escape artist,17 bluff, 17 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 17 Iajitsu Focus| |

15th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+9|
+6|
+12|
+9| 18 hide, 18 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 13 tumble, 16 escape artist,18 bluff, 18 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 18 Iajitsu Focus|Snap Kick|Sneak Attack+2d6

16th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+10|
+7|
+13|
+10| 19 hide, 19 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 10 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 15 tumble, 18 escape artist,18 bluff, 18 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 19 Iajitsu Focus| |

17th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+11|
+7|
+13|
+10| 20 hide, 20 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 16 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 15 tumble, 18 escape artist,18 bluff, 18 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 20 Iajitsu Focus| | Master’s Gift

18th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+12|
+7|
+14|
+11| 21 hide, 21 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 16 sense motive, speak language (draconic),5 spot, 15 tumble, 18 escape artist,21 bluff, 21 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 21 Iajitsu Focus|Sacred Strike|Sneak Attack +3d6

19th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+12|
+8|
+14|
+11| 21 hide, 21 move silently, 5 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 16 sense motive, speak language (draconic),15 spot, 15 tumble, 18 escape artist,21 bluff, 21 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 21 Iajitsu Focus| Improved Dragonfire Strike|Improved Dragonfire Strike

20th|Hand of the Winged Master|
+13|
+8|
+15|
+12| 21 hide, 21 move silently, 13 knowledge (arcana), 7 jump, 16 sense motive, speak language (draconic),15 spot, 15 tumble, 18 escape artist,21 bluff, 21 disguise, Skill Trick: Extreme Leap, 22 Iajitsu Focus| |True Stealth[/table]
Spells per Day
Spells per day
{table=head]Level|1stl|2nd|3rd|4th|4th

1st |-|-|-|-|

2nd |-|-|-|-

3rd |-|-|-|-

4th |-|-|-|-

5th |-|-|-|-

6th|1|-|-|-

7th|2|-|-|-

8th|3|1|-|-

9th|4|2|-|-

10th| |4|3|1|-

11th |4|3|1|-

12th |4|3|1|-

13th |4|3|1|-

14th |4|3|1|-

15th |4|3|1|-

16th |4|3|1|-

17th |4|3|1|-

18th |4|3|1|-

19th |4|3|1|-

20th |4|3|1|-[/table]
Total Sneak Attack Dice = 6d6

18th Level:

STR: 17 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 18 WIS: 8 CHA: 8
At 18th Level, Long Sha reaches a nice peak of power, first he cloaks himself by casting invisibility and then lies in wait, observing his target for three rounds to prep Death Attack. Once he preps those three rounds he charge attacks using Iajitsu Focus activating one use of Stunning Fist as well as spending inspiration points to boost the attack roll. Since Long Sha is trying to fight evil opponents, this will usually activate Sacred Strike and Touch of Golden ice, boosting the sneak attack damage as well as forcing a save against a Ravage. If the opponent is not resistant to fire, activate Dragonfire Strike for extra damage. After the initial assault, Long Sha tries to combines feints with flurries to try and activate both sneak attack damage and Touch of Golden Ice.

20th:
STR: 18 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 18 WIS: 8 CHA: 8
At 20th level, Long Sha gains minor additional damage in the form of Improved Dragonfire Strike. As well as the ability to attempt to secretly attack foes with blindsense and tremor sense by combining True Stealth with Invisibility.
Book List (Source: Material):

Book of Exalted Deeds: Touch of Golden Ice, Sacred Strike
Oriental Adventures: Iajitsu Focus
Dragon Magic: Hand of the Winged Master, Dragontouched
Complete Warrior: Flying Kick

[Amphetryon]

"No, I didn't say he was RAGING. . ."

Abilities
Str 10
Dex 17
Con 12
Int 16: Automatic: Common. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Infernal, Abyssal
Wis 10
Cha 11

skill boosts to int

Build breakdown
LN Human rogue3/samurai2/hotwm3/ronin2/master of masks 1/hotwm10/ronin4

Change to CN at level 6 when gaining the first hotwm level. This represents Raijin's casting off of the samurai way and embracing the culture of the dragon, in addition to following the rules for howling dragon heritage.

The Tale of the Gallant Raijin
Raijin rode back into town on his horse, carrying the banner of his daimyo proudly on his back. The pack jostled with every bit of rough terrain, but it was a small price to pay to spread the glory and renown of his clan across the land.

The morning had been filled with death, but it seemed more like an aspect of the land than something he and his brethren had caused with their own actions. After a defeat, death was the only way to leave a battle honorably, it was simply understood. Returning to one's daimyo in defeat was unthinkable.

Raijin dismounted and fell to his knees, not sitting higher than his daimyo for any longer than he had to.

He gave his report and a familiar smile of pride tinged with what Raijin suspected to be bloodlust danced across the old man's face. It was not there for long before he was wracked with a cough that rattled his whole body and shook the paper doors of the room.

Raijin heard the chatter of the servants throughout the house dim somewhat as his daimyo cleared his throat and did his best to put forward a brave facade. He resumed his smile, and Raijin couldn't help but notice that his teeth were tinged with blood.

He gave the rest of his report without looking at the old man's face. It wasn't hard since he kept his mask down, obscuring his face.

As he was getting ready to leave the house, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. The daimyo's daughter was standing behind the house, looking introspectively into the pond in the back garden.

He looked around and decided to approach her. He raised his mask. She needed the face of a man, not a snarling oni.

When he drew breath to ask her what was wrong, he knew she needed no words from him. She told him what he already knew, that her father was ill, and he nodded.

She then told him something he did not, that there was a tale of a plum tree far away that bore fruit but once every hundred years, and that it was guarded jealously by a fearsome beast. It would cure whoever ate it of anything that ravaged his body, even the mysterious disease that she said was making her father weaker every day.

A warrior of his caliber did not deserve this slow, wasting death. Raijin knew he had to do all in his power to prevent this. He gave a nod and told her not to worry.

He did not tell her where he was going, so he would not be shamed if he failed, only that he would be away.

He came along the hilltop after weeks of travel and saw the tree standing out starkly against the rising sun. There was no sign of the monster. He drew his sword and approached the tree slowly.

One plum hung, swaying gently in the wind. He nudged at it with the tip of his katana and felt a presence behind him. He turned his blade and looked at the reflection in it, seeing a reptilian eye glinting at him.

"This tree is my own.
A stranger approaches it.
His purpose unknown."

It spoke as though it didn't care about sneaking up on him, not viewing him as a threat.

"My lord is sick. This fruit is the only thing that can make him well. You are doing nothing with it. May I take it, or will there be trouble?"

"A plum for nothing.
Logic is not your strong suit.
What shall you give me?"

"My service is taken in this life. What more could I offer?"

"Life is not endless.
After it, you will be mine.
Do we have a deal?"

Raijin nodded. His life was not his own, but his afterlife was his to give.

"Take away the plum.
Feed it to your sick daimyo.
I will be waiting."

Raijin sliced the plum from the tree and caught it in his hand.

He beat as hasty a path to his daimyo's home as he could.

He threw open the door without being announced, knowing time was of the essence, and that any disrespect would be understood.

All that awaited him was his platoon, sitting in pristine white robes, wakizashis in hand.

They turned to him, the implication understood. He was too late, and when the daimyo died, his samurai followed him.

Raijin had encountered death many times before, but it had always seemed kept at a distance.

He was allowed to retire to his room to prepare. As he was ritually purifying himself, he found his hands shaking. Now that death was tying his robe and washing his hair, it seemed like a different force altogether. Something threatening, something that he was not prepared to embrace.

It planted words in his mind. He had to adhere to the promise he had made. Pledging himself to his daimyo now would invalidate his promise to the dragon. He did not wish to invite its wrath on this house. They had no knowledge of his ill-conceived pact, so they should not pay for his folly. His only choice was escape.

His skills for stealth served him well and he was able to slip out of the manor undetected. He went out to the garden to climb over the wall and depart. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the pond and turned away in disgust. He cut off the bun of hair that protruded from his helmet and set it on a lily pad with the plum next to it. His former brethren would need no further explanation. He leapt over the wall and found his way back to that hallowed hill.

The way to it this seemed much easier, as though the beast slumbering in the hill wanted him to return quickly.

he fell before the tree, prostrating himself before it.

"I have returned to you, my master."

The dragon slithered from the corner of his eye to lie coiled in front of him.

"You are still breathing.
And yet you return to me.
Why are you now here?"

Raijin raised his head, his hair blowing about him in the wind, unmoored by his bun.

"My old life is over. I have no way of returning, and now must serve you."

The dragon cackled and poured himself into a human form.

"I will enjoy this.
Exploring this brand new world.
You will guard the tree."

Raijin nodded. He didn't ask how long he would be here, already knowing the answer: until it bore fruit again, in one hundred years.

"What shall I call you?
You are the new guardian.
This hill's new yoma."

Raijin sighed. He no longer struck like the lightning, but ran like a cowardly wind.

"Fujin. The whispering wind."

The dragon tilted his head and took his leave.

Fujin sat down and crosses his legs. He closed his eyes and listened forevermore to the whispering of the wind.

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

1st|Rogue 1|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Balance 4, Bluff 4, Disguise 4, Hide 4, Intimidate 4, Know (arcana) 2, Listen 4, Move Silently 4, Perform (acting) 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Tumble 4, UMD 2 | Able Learner, Dragontouched|Sneak attack +1d6, Mimic

2nd|Rogue 2|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|Balance 1 (5), Bluff 1 (5), Disguise 1 (5), Hide 1 (5), Intimidate 1 (5), Listen 1 (5), Move Silently 1 (5), Perform (acting) 1 (5), Sense Motive 1 (5), Spot 1 (5), Tumble 1 (5), UMD 1 (3)| |Evasion

3rd|Rogue 3|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1| Bluff 1 (6), Disguise 1 (6), Hide 1 (6), Intimidate 1 (6), Know (arcana) 3, Listen 1 (6), Move Silently 1 (6), Perform (acting) 1 (6), Spot 1 (6), UMD 1 (4)|Craven |Sneak attack 2d6, penetrating strike

4th|Samurai 1|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|Bluff 1 (7), Disguise 1 (7), Hide 1 (7), Intimidate 1 (7), Move Silently 1 (7), Perform (acting) 1 (7)| |Daisho proficiency

5th|Samurai 2|
+4|
+4|
+3|
+1|Bluff 1 (8), Intimidate 1 (8), Know (arcana) 1 (4) , Perform (acting) 1 (8), Never Outnumbered| |Two swords as one

6th|Hand of the Winged Master 1|
+4|
+4|
+5|
+3|Bluff 1 (9), Disguise 1 (8), Forgery 1, Hide 1 (8), Iaijutsu focus 1 (1), Listen 1 (7), Move Silently 1 (8), Perform (acting) 1 (9), Spot 1 (7), UMD 1 (5)| Draconic heritage (Howling dragon: sonic damage)|Draconic Senses: (+3 Listen, Search, Spot, low-light vision, dark vision 60)

7th|Hand of the Winged Master 2|
+5|
+4|
+6|
+4|Bluff 1 (10), Disguise 1 (9), Hide 1 (9), Iaijutsu focus 1 (2), Listen 2 (9), Move Silently 1 (9), Spot 2 (9)| |Special attack +1d6 (Sneak attack 3d6)

8th|Hand of the Winged Master 3|
+6/+1|
+5|
+6|
+4|Bluff 1 (11), Disguise 1 (10), Hide 1 (10), Iaijutsu focus 2 (4), Listen 2 (11), Move Silently 1 (10), Spot 2 (11), UMD 1 (6)| |Dragonfire Strike (+4 Listen, Search, Spot, low-light vision, dark vision 60, blindsense 20)

9th|Ronin 1|
+7/+2|
+7|
+6|
+4|Bluff 1 (12), Disguise 1 (11), Hide 1 (11), Iaijutsu focus 1 (5), Listen 1 (12), Move Silently 1 (11), Spot 1 (12)| Two-weapon pounce|Infamy, sneak attack +1d6 (4d6)

10th|Ronin 2|
+8/+3|
+8|
+6|
+4|Bluff 1 (13), Disguise 1 (12), Hide 1 (12), Iaijutsu focus 1 (6), Listen 1 (13), Move Silently 1 (12), Spot 1 (13)| |Banzai charge

11th|Master of Masks|
+8/+3|
+8|
+8|
+6|Bluff 1 (14), Disguise 1 (13), Hide 1 (13), Iaijutsu focus 1 (7), Listen 1 (14), Move Silently 1 (13), Spot 1 (14), UMD 2 (8)| |Persona masks: Assassin's mask: +1d6 sneak attack (5d6 sneak attack), Faceless mask: +5 competence vs mind-affecting, nondetection (CL 16)

12th|Hand of the Winged Master 4|
+9/+4|
+8|
+9|
+7|Bluff 1 (14), Disguise 1 (15), Hide 2 (15), Intimidate 1 (9), Listen 1 (15), Move Silently 2 (15), Spot 1 (15), UMD 2 (10)| Improved Two-weapon fighting|

13th|Hand of the Winged Master 5|
+9/+4|
+8|
+9|
+7|Bluff 1 (16), Disguise 1 (15), Hide 1 (16), Iaijutsu focus 1 (8), Listen 1 (16), Move Silently 1 (16), Spot 1 (16), UMD 4 (14)| |Special attack +2d6 (sneak attack 6d6)

14th|Hand of the Winged Master 6|
+10/+5|
+9|
+10|
+8|Bluff 1 (17), Disguise 1 (16), Hide 1 (17), Intimidate 5 (14), Listen 1 (17), Move Silently 1 (17), Spot 1 (17)| |

15th|Hand of the Winged Master 7|
+11/+6/+1|
+9|
+10|
+8|Bluff 1 (18), Disguise 1 (17), Hide 1 (18), Iaijutsu Focus 1 (9), Intimidate 4 (18), Listen 1 (18), Move Silently 1 (18), Spot 1 (18)| Arterial Strike|Master's gift

16th|Hand of the Winged Master 8|
+12/+7/+2|
+9|
+11|
+9|Bluff 1 (19), Disguise 2 (19), Hide 1 (19), Intimidate 1 (19), Listen 1 (19), Move Silently 1 (19), Sense Motive 4 (9), Spot 1 (19)| |Special attack +3d6 (sneak attack +7d6)

17th|Hand of the Winged Master 9|
+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+11|
+9|Bluff 1 (20), Disguise 1 (20), Hide 1 (20), Iaijutsu Focus 1 (10), Intimidate 1 (20), Listen 1 (20), Move Silently 1 (20), Sense Motive 6 (15) Spot 1 (20)| |Improved dragonfire strike

18th|Hand of the Winged Master 10|
+13/+8/+3|
+10|
+12|
+10|Bluff 1 (21), Disguise 1 (21), Hide 1 (21), Intimidate 1 (21), Listen 1 (21), Move Silently 1 (21), Sense Motive 5 (20) Spot 1 (21)| Deafening Strike|True stealth

19th|Ronin 3|
+14/+9/+4|
+10|
+13|
+11|Bluff 1 (22) Hide 1 (22),Iaijutsu focus 1 (11), Intimidate 1 (22), Listen 1 (22), Move Silently 1 (22), Sense Motive 1 (21) Spot 1 (22)| |

20th|Ronin 4|
+15/+10/+5|
+11|
+13|
+11|Bluff 1 (23), Disguise 1 (22), Hide 1 (23), Intimidate 1 (23), Listen 1 (23), Move Silently 1 (23), Sense Motive 1 (21) Spot 1 (23)| |Sneak attack +1d6 (+8d6)[/table]

Play tips
Level 5
Samurai? In my iron chef? Your eyes do not deceive you, samurai does indeed sit before you for your tasting pleasure. The complete warrior version, too. Why? Free TWF! Sure, it's only with 2 specific weapons, but it's free! TWF is a boon to any character with sneak attack, and you're no exception. Your BA is higher than a normal rogue, so you get extra attacks more quickly.

Craven helps with damage, which is good. Able learner also helps with skills for now and for later, making the prereqs for your prcs less painful.

Mimic allows you to disguise yourself, which'll help you infiltrate and skulk around at low levels, since a disguise check with that kind of bonus will be very difficult to circumvent with normal resources allocated to spot.

Dragontouched allows you to take other draconic feats like you were a sorcerer(and counts itself) along with being a prereq for the SI. The boost to spot and listen is appreciated and sleep still affects you at low levels.

Penetrating strike is better than your worthless trap sense ability and lets you beat on things normally immune to SA.

Daisho proficiency gives you EWP with the bastard sword/katana (a prereq for ronin) and lets you TWF from the start, usually difficult due to feats being tight at low levels.

As far as combat goes, play it like a rogue. Sneak around. Able learner lets you keep maxing sneaky skills even at levels when they're not class skills without paying extra, so you can put the hurt on your enemies with extra BA without sacrificing what you're good at.

Level 10
Congratulations! you're in the SI! the game wants you to take 6 levels of rogue, but you've beefed up your BA early and entered at 6 instead of 7. Sweet deal.

What does the SI actually give you? Well! It gives you your skill points back. What's on its list? Nothing much you didn't already have as a rogue, but having points back to buy ranks in good skills (sorry samurai, you don't know how to skills) certainly helps you excel at your chosen field of speciality (sneaking up on suckers and stabbing them in the neck)

Draconic heritage is up and running now, and draconic senses is kicking into overdrive as soon as it comes online. Remember, it gives you bonuses the more draconic feats you have. It's not only giving you 3 to spot/search/listen, but also low-light vision, and since you've got 3, dark vision 60. Not too shabby for your first level in the class.

Dealing sonic damage via dragon fire strike with your SAs is also pretty cool, so make use of it whenever possible. Unless you run into a lot of destruchans (in which case, you are playing in a weird game) then it's almost always a good bet. Plus, this is your 4th draconic feat! that means blind sense 20 at level 8. Not only are you an exceptional sneak (thanks to consistent maxing of disguise and hide/MS), but you're a great anti-sneak too (max spot/listen, plus +4 bonuses to them) along with lowlight, dark vision, and now blind sense too. It's very difficult for anything to get past you.

You have turned your back on the bushido way and have now become ronin. Disguise, once used to infiltrate in times of conflict, is now used to hide your true identity to try to escape your shame. Your infamy disability is cool and flavorful, but explicitly doesn't apply when you're in disguise, so make use of that.

You're back to not having very many skill points, but able learner saves the day and makes you still able to sneak around (ronin, despite giving SA, grants neither hide nor MS. What the hell? Fortunately you've planned for this) you get yet more SA, as you did from the SI, and at level 10 are only 1 die behind a straight rogue as far as SA goes, which isn't too shabby looking at all the interesting class features you have, plus having a BA one point higher.

Ronin's banzai charge ability, like craven, helps to beef up your damage. Tank your AC as much as you like and charge the bejeezus out of your enemies. Two-weapon pounce is online now, so:
Hide
Get a bead on your enemies using all your super-senses
Banzai charge! destroy your AC and deal up to 8 more damage on each of your attacks
Charge at him, draw a weapon, make a iaijutsu focus roll for bonus damage
Hit once with each weapon, deal SA with each as normal, use draconic strike to get more damage and make it sonic.

this routine should be able to deal ruinous damage to CR-appropriate adversaries and if not kill them outright, at least hurt them very badly.


Iaijutsu focus? On an actual samurai? Yep. The skill's specific, but not very complicated. It's keyed off cha, and if you hit an enemy that's flatfooted (shouldn't be too hard with your elite sneaking skills) immediately after drawing your weapons, then you'll be entitled to make a check. You deal 1d6 extra damage for hitting 10 with the check, and another d6 for every 5 above that (2d6 for 15, 3d6 for 20, etc, capping at 50 for 9d6, which isn't likely for you)

You'll probably only be able to get it off once per combat. Once per enemy perhaps if you've got stuff to hide behind and can do it without being directly observed. You're not going to be dishing out pandemonic gnomish quick razor levels of damage with it, but it's a nice little boost that'll come up in the situations that you like to engineer anyway, so it's no real extra effort.

Ronin is where it is because that's the earliest you can qualify, and 2 is a good break point for right now since that's its only unique class feature and can help with damage at mid-levels.

Level 15
Master of masks! It provides more SA via the assassin's mask in addition to a +2 to hide/ms (just keep getting better at what you're best at!) and the very cool faceless mask for a +5 bonus against mind-affecting things and continuous non detection at CL 16. Best to wear them in and out of combat respectively, but feel free to mix it up if you want to.

MoM was a largely thematic choice, because samurai wore masks of oni and dragons and animals to practice deindividuation, as many military outfits do, so finding an in-game way to represent this for Raijin really excited me, as these masks represent his loss of his sense of what was once his identity as he loses his honor. The faceless mask represents his questioning state of his own identity, and the assassin's mask represents him finding more and more familiarity with the role of the killer than the warrior of virtue.

this isn't to say it's useless stats wise, it boosts SA and gives non detection, which are useful for a stealthy, SA focused character, as shown. the SI gives more SA, which is nice, and gies the master's gift ability, which you can make good use of thanks to having plenty of ranks in UMD. buy wands and stuff and have fun with them. greater invisibility is likely a good investment, and the duration booster will certainly be enjoyed. regular invisibility, or even the less-used swift invisibility could also be useful. swift invis usually only lasts a round, but this'd make it 2, which can make all the difference for making a quick getaway, or being able to go invisible and get off a gigantic iaijutsu two weapon pounce banzai charge sonic SA as delineated earlier, since you can have the actions for it thanks to master's gift.

Arterial strike may seem an odd choice, but it's intended to help represent both in and out of game the sort of hit and run tactics (out of game term, not the actual "hit and run tactics" ability) that you are built around. Hide, hit, reposition, repeat. If you can space out your attacks and pick when the time is best while dealing damage the whole time, then that's all the better. Depending on the method the enemy uses to stop the bleeding wound inflicted by arterial strike, they may well provoke AoOs. Since you only sacrifice 1d6 SA (the same amount you're gaining each time you use dragon fire strike) so it doesn't hurt you too much to use this, especially if you can layer them, since bleed damage does stack.

Inflicting an arterial strike (or three) and then using a wand of swift invisibility to "flee" (actually staying put) so your enemy treats their wound can give you an AoO, which may make them lose their spell or outright put them in the ground. You can also tail them if they attempt to flee and monitor them bleeding out. Deathwatch wands (which are dirt cheap) may also be handy for tracking how hard the bleed damage is hitting your enemies.

Level 20
More SA from the SI. Cool. You've finished with it now, gotten improved dragon fire strike (more damage. thanks), and gotten the capstone. What is deafening strike doing there?

Many of the creatures that you'll be using true stealth against are blind and will observe their environment through hearing (such as a destruchan, pictured in that feat that this class pretends does not exist)

If you deafen them, they're defenseless against you, and you can land a meaty complicated SA (above) routine against them, dealing a lot more damage than you'd be able to deal without it.

even against enemies that are not using sonar to track you, you can go ahead and punch them in the ear like ed norton and then go invisible (hi swift invisibility!) due to your stupid mod to hide along with invisibility's boost, spot will be prohibitively difficult. most people prefer to listen for invisible foes, but automatically fail this check if deafened. 3 rounds is plenty of time for you to SA, which is possible thanks to deafening strike working in tandem with true stealth.

Ronin comes back to say hi and gives more SA after the SI's done giving out goodies. When you're finished at level 20, you've got 8 dice of SA, only 2 less than a straight rogue or other SA build. Your BA is also better than a rogue assassin, scorpion heritor, assassin, avenging executioner, etc. finishing out with a nice 15 (BANZAAAAI!) 2 dice of SA for all the class features and tricks you get seem like a pretty good tradeoff.

Sources
champions of ruin- craven
complete scoundrel- master of masks, deafening strike, never outnumbered
Core- rogue, improved two weapon fighting
complete warrior- samurai, ronin, arterial strike
dragon magic- dragon touched, draconic heritage
dungeonscape- penetrating strike
exemplars of evil- mimic
oriental adventures-iaijutsu focus
PHB2- two weapon pounce
Races of destiny- able learner
races of the dragon-draconic heritage (howling dragon)

[Amphetryon]

"The target's a Wizard." 'I don't think that will be a problem.'


Ssejternocki the Atrum Gix
Deep in the jungles of Q’barra, in the mighty volcanic city of Haka’thorvak, the mighty wyrm Rhashaak guards the lands from fiend with the help of his chosen warriors, the Blackscales; but he knows that sometimes you need a subtler tool, since the end of the Age of Demons the guardian of the Throne of the Holy dragons has chosen a single member of his subjects to act as his hand and his talon on the world, his Atrum gix.
Chosen from the ranks of the Poison Dusk Lizardfolk, this hand pledges his life and soul to be the fang in the shadows that will strike his master’s enemies.
It is said that Rhashaak chooses his hand as soon as it is hatched and at least for this incarnation it was that way. Hatched during one of Poison Dusk Lizardfolks’ pilgrimage to the Throne of the holy dragons, Ssejternocki was immediately chosen by the black dragon, what did he saw on the newly hatched lizardfolk? Apparently Rhashaak detected the blood of the dragons.
As he proved himself time and again Ssejternocki was eventually recognized as his master’s hand and talon, he was the blade used to track and destroy his enemies, particularly the rogue dragons who put the Chamber ant it’s secrets in Jeopardy.

Build Overview
Poisondusk Lizardfolk LA+1/ Rogue 3/Wildshape Ranger 1/SAThug Fighter 1/HotWM 10/Dragonstalker 4
Stats
32 point buy
{table=head] -|Strength |Dexterity |Constitution |Intelligence |Wisdom | Charisma
Pre-racial| 18 |12 | 14 |12 |10 |8
Post-racial |18 | 14 |16 |12 | 10 |6 [/table]


{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1st|Level Adjustment +1 |
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|-|-|-

2nd|Rogue |
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Bluff +4, Gather Info +4, Hide+4, K: Arcana +2 (4sp), Listen +4, Sense Motive +4, Search +4, Move Silently +4, Spot +4|Dragontouched|Trapfinding, +1d6 Sneak Attack

3rd|Rogue|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|Bluff +1, Gather Info +1, Hide +1, K: Arcana +.5 (1 sp), Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Search +1, Move silently +1, Spot +1|-|Evasion

4th|Rogue|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|Bluff +1, Gather Info +1, Hide +1, K: Arcana +.5 (1 sp), Listen +1, Sense Motive +1, Search +1, Move silently +1, Spot +1|Draconic Heritage (Howling)| +1d6 Sneak attack (2d6), Penetrating Strike

5th|Wildshape Ranger|
+3|
+3|
+5|
+2|Hide +1, K:Arcana +.5 (1 cc), Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Listen +1, Spellcraft +1 (2 cc)|Track|Fast Movement (as Barbarian), Favoured Enemy +2 (Arcanists)

6th|Sneak Attack Thug Fighter|
+4|
+5|
+5|
+1|Move Silently +1 (2 cc), Hide +1 (2 cc ), Spellcraft +.5 (1 cc)|Multiattack|+1d6 Sneak Attack (3d6)

7th|Hand of the Winged Masters |
+4|
+5|
+7|
+3| Bluff +1, Hide+1, Spellcraft +-5 (1 cc), Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1 Draconic Senses(b) |-
8th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+4|
+5|
+7|
+4|Bluff +1, Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1 |-|+1d6 Special Attack (+4d6)

9th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+6/+1|
+6|
+8|
+4| Bluff +1, Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1 |Dragonfire Strike* (b), Staggering Strike|Dragonfire Strike +5d6

10th|Hand of the Winged Masters |
+7/+2|
+6|
+9|
+5|Bluff +1, Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1|-|-

11th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+7/+2|
+6|
+9|
+5|Bluff +1, Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1|N-|+2d6 Special Attack (+5d6 Sneak Attack) (+6d6 Dragonfire Strike)

12th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+8/+3|
+7|
+10|
+6| Bluff+1, Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1 |Blind fight|-

13th|Hand of the winged Masters|
+9/+4|
+7|
+10|
+6|Bluff+1, Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1 |-|Master’s Gift

14th|Hand of the Winged Mastersl|
+10/+5|
+7|
+11|
+7|Bluff +1 Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1|-| Special Attack +3d6 ( +6d6 Sneak Attack) (+8d6 Dragonfire Strike)

15th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+10/+5|
+8|
+11|
+7|Bluff +1, Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1|Mage Slayer| Improved Dragonfire Strike

16th|Hand of the Winged Masters|
+11/+6/+1|
+8|
+12|
+8| Bluff+1, Hide+1, K:Arcana +1, Move Silently +1, Sense Motive +1, Listen+1, Spot+1|-|True Stealth

17th|Dragonstalker|
+12/+7/+2|
+8|
+14|+10
+10|Hide+1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Listen +1, K:Arcana +1|-|Hunting Bonus
18th|Dragonstalker|
+13/+8/+3|
+8|
+15|
+11| Hide+1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Listen +1, K:Arcana +1|Pierce Magical Concealment|Sneak Attack (Dragon) +2d6 (6d6 (8d6 vs. Dragons) Sneak Attack), (7d6 Dragonfire Strike(+9d6 vs Dragons) )

19th|Dragonstalker|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+15|
+11| Hide+1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Listen +1, K:Arcana +1|-|Ignore Natural Armour (1/day)

20th|Dragonstalker |
+15/+10/+5|
+9|
+16|
+12| Hide+1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Listen +1, K:Arcana +1|-| Sneak Attack (Dragon) +4d6 (6d6 (10d6 vs. Dragons) Sneak Attack), (7d6 Dragonfire Strike (+11d6 vs. Dragon)) [/table]

Variants and possible tricks:
*Important Note
Depending on your DM’s reading, Dragonfire Strike completely converts your Sneak attack damage into energy damage, thus bypassing the Sneak attack immunity. RAW is unclear and many DM’s won’t rule like this; but in either case you have other ways to bypass said immunities.


]If Level adjustment buy off is in play, do so and take an extra dragonstalker or any full BAB class, that will give you the awesomeness of 4 iterative attacks.
In order to maximize you attacks per round, getting a moutpick weapon is also an extremely good option since it will allow you to combine your iterative attack routine with your claw attacks, which in turn will dramatically increase your damage output.
If fractional BAB is in play and you don’t mind to delay your entry into the secret ingredient yand loosing the 4th iterative you can also drop the fighter level and add two monk levels which will bum your saves, give you some interesting options such as getting two bonus feats, and also one of the best sneak attack enables in the game, Invisble fist (ex) Invisibility condition every other round as early as level 3 depending on how you level up.
If flaws are in play you can switch up the order of your feats ( getting Dragon touched and Draconic Heritage at first level) and at level 3 getting Sickening Strike (Drow of the Underdark) to add a debuff to your sneak attacks or if you are using your racial Poison Use and get cheap source of Poison (friendly caster, druid, etc) you can take Venomous Strike to improve your venom’s DC. The other flaw can be used to get Craven.
Darkstalker can be take with a flaw ; but it will rend Hand of the Winged Masters’ capstone redundant; but in that case you can skip that level and take any other class (I suggest combining this with the invisible fist monk suggestion)
DM dependantIf your DM is really nice and allows you to “chain” variants and ACF, you could trade the wildshape ranger’s fast movement for the Spirit Lion Totem in order to get pounce; but as I’ve said it you need a really nice DM. I mostly mention this, for the sake of completeness

Build Snapshots

Build Sweetspot ECL 10 or 9 (with LA buy off) At this point in the game you have your main shtick pretty much set, get into a flanking position (or enable Sneak attack in other way) and murder them by turning yourself into a sonic-powered blender. Your sneaking and scouting skills will also allow you to get a surprise round in pretty much every fight, you will have trouble dealing with traps and the like; but you aren’t a trap-finder, you are a combat focused sneak attacking machine. Staggering Strike will help you against brute-type creatures which rely on their full attack routine. It is debatable if your immunity bypassing tricks (Penetrating strike or Dragonfire Strike) also apply to the Staggering Strike’s clause that mentions that SA immune creatures are also immune to the feat’s benefit, so check with your DM.

1 st level At first level you act as a normal if slightly sturdier rouge, your small size and natural armour will help you. Your strength will allow you to deal decent damage even when not sneak attacking and since you are proficient with the Shortspear, you should grab one and use its reach to keep enemies at bay.. Your skills are most suited as a scout; but you can hold yourself in battle alone (note: if you are in flanking position you can drop your shortspear and full attack with you natural attack routine, which will most likely deal heavy damage to everything that isn’t immune, as always be wary of constructs and undead).
5 th Level You play mostly the same at this levels; but should be slightly sturdier and have more options, your ranger level will give you access to some useful wands (Entangle, Form of the Wolf and Cure light wounds are particular good) and also opens new venues for you to attack. Since you are now proficient in martial weapons you can now wield a better reach option such as a Guisarme (for tripping) or glaive for more damage, in addition you can now use nets and bolas which work pretty nicely for a first round debuff. Penetrating strike also allows you to deal sneak attack damage to previously immune foes; but since this requires flanking you should still be very careful. You will stick to act as your party scout; at these levels you might be able to afford some items to help you in case the feces hit the fan, so grab anklets of translocation and maybe an amber vermin amulet (which doubles as flanking partners) to escape and re-group with your party.
10 th Level You are starting to hit your stride, due your Draconic Heritage your sneak attack becomes Sonic Damage (which is virtually un-resisted, only very few creatures like Slaadi resist is) when you use your Dragonfire strike feat also depending on your DM’s reading Dragonfire Strike may bypass sneak attack immunity as it is now Energy Damage, and even if he your DM doesn’t read it that way thanks t Penetrating strike you can still contribute against Sneak Attack immune enemies.

15 th Level Improved Dragonfire Strike will give you even more damage and probably increase your Staggering Strike DC to “hope for a Nat 20” against most enemies. Master’s Gift will means that you will receive double duration on most Arcane buffs, so be sure to be a good friend of your party’s arcane caster, other than that you will play pretty much as you have played till this point. (Mage Slayer will help you a bit to deal with spellcasters, though be aware that at this point of the game it will be night impossible to reliably deal with them so exercise caution)
20 th level You are now one of the biggest bad-est sneak attacker in the world and you are specially prepared to take on the biggest, bad-est creatures on the world, Dragons,You deal a pretty good amount of damage with your sneak attacks and against dragons (and dragonblooded creatures for the matter too) you will murder them with 7 attacks (assuming a mouthpick weapon) which average to 357.5 points of Sonic Damage, without taking into account other damage bonus such as spells, weapon enhancements and the like. In addition it is far more difficult to negate your sneak attack since you can ignore Sneak Attack immunity (Penetrating Strike) and its second most common counter, concealment, thanks to Pierce Magical Concealment. In addition True Stealth will help you to foil most detection methods (at a steep penalty so be sure to grab some sneaking bonuses such as a Silent armour or the like) and you can ignore Natural Armour bonus 1/day (not really stellar; but I found amusing you can reduce the “mighty” Tarrasque’s (or other high natural armour creatures such as dragons) to low numbers.

Recommended Items

A mouthpick weapon, add enhancement such as Deadly Precision (CAdv version is better), blurstrike and the like.
A necklace of natural attacks linked to your claws, use the same enhancement as in your moutpick weapon; but try to add the benefits of a Sword of Subtlety (+4 attack/damage on sneak attacks)
Any item that increases your Sneak attacks such as Braces of the Hunter, rogue’s Vest and the like.
Getting some maneuvers via Crown of the White Raven-like items is a pretty good idea, Cloak of Deception, Wall of Blades and Baffling defense are pretty good.
Common items such cloaks of resistance, rings of protection and the like

Sources

SRD: Rogue, Wilshape Ranger, Sneak Attack Fighter, thug Fighter, Multiattack, Blindfight
Dungeonscape: Penetrating Strike ACF
Complete Arcane: Mage Slayer, Pierce Magical Concealment
Complete Mage: Arcane Hunter ACF
Dragon Magic: Dragontouched, Draconic Heritage, Hand of the Winged Masters, Dragonfire Strike, Draconic Senses.
Draconomicon: Dragonstalker
Monster Manual III: Poison Dusk Lizard Folk.
[/QUOTE]

[Amphetryon]

I'd love to change the world. . . .

Fergal, Death on Dark Wings
[center]Fergal, Death on Dark Wings
http://static.desktopnexus.com/thumbnails/530551-bigthumbnail.jpg

Build:
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1st|Rogue 1|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Max ranks Bluff, Disguise, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Spot, Sense Motive, Tumble, Use Magic Device; 2 ranks (4 points) Knowledge: Arcana|Skill Knowledge (Knowledge: Arcana)|Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding, (note: gain Draconic as a bonus language due to high Int)
2nd|Rogue 2|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|Max ranks Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Spot, Sense Motive, Tumble, Use Magic Device; 4 ranks Knowledge: Arcana| |Evasion
3rd|Rogue 3|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|Max ranks Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Spot, Sense Motive, Tumble, Use Magic Device; 6 ranks Knowledge: Arcana|Craven|Sneak Attack +2d6, Trap Sense +1
4th|Swashbuckler 1|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|7 ranks Hide and Move Silently (2 points each), 7 ranks Bluff, Sense Motive, Tumble|Weapon Finesse (bonus)|
5th|Swashbuckler 2|
+4|
+4|
+3|
+1|8 ranks Hide and Move Silently (2 points each), 8 ranks Bluff, Sense Motive, Tumble| |Grace +1
6th|Swashbuckler 3|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+2|9 ranks Hide and Move Silently (2 points each), 9 ranks Bluff, Sense Motive, Tumble|Dragontouched|Insightful Strike
7th|Assassin 1|
+5|
+4|
+6|
+2|10 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 7 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Use Magic Device| |Sneak attack +3d6, death attack, poison use, spells
8th|Assassin 2|
+6|
+4|
+7|
+2|11 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 8 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Use Magic Device| |+1 save against poison, uncanny dodge
9th|Assassin 3|
+7|
+5|
+7|
+3|12 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 9 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Use Magic Device|Obtain Familiar (Swapped with Animal Companion as UA Wizard variant)|Sneak attack +4d6
10th|Hand of the Winged Masters 1|
+7|
+5|
+9|
+5|13 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 10 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 7 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 1 rank Knowledge: Local|Draconic Senses (bonus)|
11th|Hand of the Winged Masters 2|
+8|
+5|
+10|
+6|14 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 11 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 8 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 2 rank Knowledge: Local| |Sneak Attack +5d6
12th|Hand of the Winged Masters 3|
+9|
+6|
+10|
+6|15 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 12 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 9 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 3 rank Knowledge: Local|Two Weapon Fighting, Dragonfire Strike (bonus)|
13th|Hand of the Winged Masters 4|
+10|
+6|
+11|
+7|16 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 13 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 10 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 4 rank Knowledge: Local| |
14th|Hand of the Winged Masters 5|
+10|
+6|
+11|
+7|17 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 14 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 11 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 5 rank Knowledge: Local| |Sneak Attack +6d6
15th|Hand of the Winged Masters 6|
+11|
+7|
+12|
+8|18 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 15 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 12 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 6 rank Knowledge: Local|Improved Two Weapon Fighting|
16th|Hand of the Winged Masters 7|
+12|
+7|
+12|
+8|19 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 16 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 13 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 7 rank Knowledge: Local| |Master's Gift
17th|Hand of the Winged Masters 8|
+13|
+7|
+13|
+9|20 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 17 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 14 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 8 rank Knowledge: Local| |Sneak Attack +7d6
18th|Hand of the Winged Masters 9|
+13|
+8|
+13|
+9|21 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 18 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 15 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 9 rank Knowledge: Local|Greater Two Weapon Fighting|Improved Dragonfire Strike
19th|Hand of the Winged Masters 10|
+14|
+8|
+14|
+10|22 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 19 ranks Listen, Search, Spot, Sense Motive; 16 ranks Knowledge: Arcana, 10 rank Knowledge: Local| |True Stealth
20th|Rogue 4|
+15|
+8|
+15|
+10|23 ranks Bluff, Hide, Move Silently; 17 ranks Use Magic Device| |Improved Uncanny Dodge[/table]

Base Stats 11/16/12/16/8/13
With race: 9/18/14/16/8/11
With level 10/22/14/16/8/11
With items 16/32/14/26/8/11

HP: 118
6+3.5(x2)+5.5(x2) +10 CON= 34 @L5
+5.5+3.5(x3)+4.5 +10 CON= 54.5 = 54 @L10
+4.5(x5) +10 CON= 87 @L15
+4.5(x4)+3.5 +10 CON= 118.5 = 118 @L20

The distribution of skills, feats and abilities is such that this build is playable at pretty much every level. At low levels, it's a standard rogue with melee SA focus. At mid levels it starts getting into DPS territory. At high levels (i.e. 15 onward), when you can afford eg. an umbral collar, it becomes an absolutely insane scout and damage dealer. I think it gains the most power at levels 9, when it gets a animal companion that can double as a flanker, and 19, when the True Stealth capstone allows it to hide from everyone, plus it has the TWF line to boot.

But obviously it becomes the most powerful at level 20, when it gets the incredible capstone Improved Uncanny Dodge :smallbiggrin:

Spells:
SLAs: 1/day: Silence, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Message
Spells Known: (1st) Disguise Self, Obscuring Mist, True Strike, (2nd) Fox's Cunning (since it adds damage at low levels), Invisibility

Spells per day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
6th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
7th|-|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
8th|-|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
9th|-|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
10th|-|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
11th|-|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
12th|-|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
13th|-|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
14th|-|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
15th|-|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
16th|-|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
17th|-|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
18th|-|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
19th|-|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
20th|-|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]
Note: table accounts for bonus spells from high int, incl. Headband of Intellect at level 15

Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
1st|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
2nd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
3rd|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
4th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
5th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
6th|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
7th|-|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
8th|-|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
9th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
10th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
11th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
12th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
13th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
14th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
15th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
16th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
17th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
18th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
19th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
20th|-|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

Animal Compantion:
Yama the small viper
Size/Type: Diminutive Animal
Hit Dice: 1d8 (4 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 20 ft (4 squares), climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Armor Class: 17 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-6
Attack: Bite +4 melee (1d2-2 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Qualities: Scent, see list
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1
Abilities: Str 6, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Balance +11, Climb +11, Hide +13, Listen +6, Spot +6, Swim +6, Survival +1
Feats: Skill Focus (Hide), Track
Special Abilities: Link, share spells

Tactics:
With the collar and a tattoo activated, Fergal has the following skill modifiers:
Hide: 23 (ranks) + 11 (Dex) + 15 (Greater Shadow) + 4 (size) + 12 (racial) + 10 (Chameleon tattoo) = +75, with Hide In Plain Sight
Move Silently: 23 (ranks) + 11 (Dex) + 15 (Greater Silent Moves) + 10 (racial) = +59...before casting Silence.

With such a high Hide modifier, Fergal can afford to use True Stealth pretty much all the time. Not even a Great Wyrm Black Dragon, with +45 Spot, can pierce his +65 Hide modifier (unless it's very lucky).

Yama has his own collar, and when it is activated his skill modifiers are as follows:
Hide: 11 (ranks) + 3 (Dex) + 4 (size) + 8 (racial) +3 (SF) = +29, with HIPS
Move Silently: 3 (Dex) + 6 (racial) = +9

Since they're nowhere near Fergal's, Fergal usually shares Invisibility and Silence with Yama to make him harder to detect before venturing into combat or scouting.

The Gnome/snake pair are exceptional scouts, and almost always have the drop on the enemy.
Before engaging, Fergal's tactics depend on his enemy:
* If facing a dragon or otherwise spellcasting enemy, Fergal will activate a scroll of Anti-Magic Field.
* Otherwise, Fergal will activate the pair's collars, activate a tattoo, cast silence on himself, and share Invisibility and Silence with Yama.
The pair will fly in (with Yama hiding under Fergal's cloak to benefit from his True Stealth).
Yama will take up a flanking position. Every round, Fergal's wings allow him to make a bluff check for +2 to hit before an attack. He will do so, then unleash the wrath of the dragons on his target.
Melee: +35/+30/+25/+35/+30/+25 (1d3 + 13d6 fire SA + 20 Craven + 13 Dragonfire Strike + 8 Int + 5 Magic), Avg. 561

As long as Yama remains undetected, Fergal can continue Sneak Attacking his target, assuming they survive the first attack.

Level 9 write-up
Stats: 10/19 (21 Gloves +2)/14/16/8/11
HP 82
AC 18 (10 + 4 Dex + 4 Mithril Chain Shirt), Touch 14, Flat-Footed 14
Saves +7/+12/+2
Skills: Bluff +12, Hide +17 (+27 with tattoo), Move Silently +17
Items: Umbral Awn, 5x Psionic Tattoo of Chameleon, Deathstrike Bracers
Special: Animal Companion (see stats above), Spells (see above).
Melee: +7/+2 (1d3 + 6d6 SA + 9 craven + 5 Int), Avg. 74
Possibly drop Solid Fog on the field. Cast Fox's Int on self.
Share invisibility with animal companion and have it flank.
Cast True Strike. Sic 'em.

Story
"But mom, I don't want to go to school today!"

"Fergal, don't say such things or the masters will eat you!"

For as long as anyone could remember, the whisper gnomes had been the slaves of the black dragons. Being famous for stealth gets you a lot of allies, but when an entire race of powerful spellcasters decides they want you to run their errands for them, all the stealth in the world isn't enough to stay hidden. And when "the masters" took over, life got a lot harder.

Black dragons live on secrecy the way most people live on bread. Most people except the gnomes, who were forced to live on water and anything they could scavenge while acting as scouts, spies, and assassins for the dragons. Adult whisper gnomes are usually hard to find, but now they simply weren't around. The masters had them performing jobs for them constantly. Only children and mothers were allowed to stay in one place. The elderly were simply eaten.

Not that the children were much better off. The masters taught them to eat raw meat from fresh kills, in order to sharpen them for living in the wild. Their education consisted of training for the various tasks that could serve the dragons. The best a gnome could hope for was to be picked to serve a dragon who didn't give them too much work. No one wanted to graduate without being picked.

Thus Fergal was born bound for suffering. He even turned out to be an excellent dragon's servant, partly due to his speed and cunning, and partly from his mother's constant advice.

"Don't cause trouble, Fergal! You'll be eaten!"

"Always look for a way out, Fergal."

"Remember: silence is golden."

She repeated the last one the most. When Fergal asked about anything, the answer was always to be silent.

Then one day an adult came to their village. He looked haggard, but he had fire in his eyes. He told people about a way out, a place the dragons could never find them. He visited home after home, talking about how they could rally, escape the masters, never be found again.

Fergal's mother ignored him, and whenever Fergal tried to talk to him she would shush him and send him inside. Then the masters came, and the adult left. Fergal never heard from him again, or even learned his name.

"Why didn't we go with him?" He asked his mother, a few days afterward. "We could have escaped! Lived off of real food, instead of mouse guts and leaves! Why?"

A tear ran down his mother's cheek. Fergal saw the tear and his arguments crumpled. He knew there had to be a good reason, or she would have carried him off long ago. He hugged her and she returned it fiercly.

"We can't trust people like that Fergal." She said. "People who talk have to be strong, but whisper gnomes aren't. People who talk start to change things, and the masters don't want things to change. So they'll kill anyone who talks and anyone with them. Remember: for a whisper gnome, silence is golden."

Fergal guessed what he meant, and buried his plans. But they never left.

As he continued his education, anger built up in Fergal. The masters liked how he ran quickly and quietly, how he broke things by accident. He was picked early and put through the training: the program to turn a whisper gnome into the most lethal combination of spy and killer his master could conceive. He had to fight for his life several times, and survive the deadliest traps, and even kill a fellow gnome, just to prove his obedience to his master. When the dragon was convinced Fergal was ready, he was initiated into the ranks of the Hands.

Fergal was sent on missions, which he executed brutally, when possible. More than once he would have been sacrificed as punishment for killing a target if his master hadn't liked his attitude.

Slowly, Fergal was taught the secrets of the black dragons. Creating fire. Magic. And eventually, a whole new level of stealth beyond what even a whisper gnome is capable of. The secrets made Fergal more powerful, but also bonded him to his master, as a student bonds to a teacher.

But it couldn't last. The rage inside Fergal, built up over years, exploded like the acid mist from a master's lungs. On one of his missions he found an wizard, capable of creating a place the dragons couldn't find - an anti-magic zone, and Fergal remembered the adult he had never seen again. The temptation was too strong. Fergal took a scroll, and tested it on his master. It turned out that dragons really are soft on their belly.

After that, Fergal made it his mission to end the masters' domination of his race, one dragon at a time. The words of his mother burned into his heart. "People who talk start to change things. Silence is golden."

Well, I'm going to change things too.


Sources
DMG, PHB, XPH (Psychic Reformation, Psionic Tattoo), Unearthed Arcana (Skill Knowledge), Complete Warrior (Swashbuckler), Complete Arcane (Obtain Familiar), Tome of Magic, Dragon Magic (special ingredient), Complete Adventurer (Deadly Precision), Tome of Battle (Rogue's Vest), Magic Item Compendium (Deathstrike Bracers)[/spoiler][/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

[Amphetryon]

That should be the last of them, folks. Seven entries in total, assuming I can still count. Ready, set, JUDGE!

EDIT: You folks did realize that when I made the (joking) comment about people sending in multiple, edited copies, I was referring to the period before the builds are revealed, right?

[123456789blaaa]

That should be the last of them, folks. Seven entries in total, assuming I can still count. Ready, set, JUDGE!

EDIT: You folks did realize that when I made the (joking) comment about people sending in multiple, edited copies, I was referring to the period before the builds are revealed, right?

Don't you already know the answer?

[Amphetryon]

Don't you already know the answer?

You'd think so. . . and yet. . . .


Sorry, I screwed up the spells table. 0lvl should be "-" and 1st should be "1". And "Level" should list which character level he gets them at (Ranger 4 and 5, at ECL 12-13). Cutting corners... I didn't want to fill out that entire table just for 1 spell per day.

[Piggy Knowles]

Some very nice builds!

My plan, which did not come together, was a synad scout/totemist/dragon devotee, using the Manticore Belt soulmeld to fire off a flurry of spines as a standard action:


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

1st|Scout 1|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Skills|Hidden Talent (Chameleon)|Skirmish (+1d6), trapfinding

2nd|Totemist 1|
+0|
+2|
+4|
+0|Skills||Wild empathy

3rd|Totemist 2|
+1|
+3|
+5|
+0|Skills|Dragontouched|Totem chakra bind (+1 capacity)

4th|Scout 2|
+2|
+3|
+6|
+0|Skills||Battle fortitude +1, uncanny dodge

5th|Scout 3|
+3|
+4|
+6|
+1|Skills||Fast movement +10 ft., skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), trackless step

6th|Scout 4|
+4|
+4|
+7|
+1|Skills|Psionic Meditation, Improved Initiative|

7th|Scout 5|
+4|
+4|
+7|
+1|Skills||Evasion, skirmish (+2d6, +1 AC)

8th|Hand of the Winged Masters 1|
+4|
+4|
+9|
+3|Skills|Draconic Senses|

9th|Hand of the Winged Masters 2|
+5|
+4|
+10|
+4|Skills|Psycarnum Infusion|Skirmish (+3d6, +1 AC)

10th|Hand of the Winged Masters 3|
+6/+1|
+5|
+10|
+4|Skills|Dragonfire Strike|

11th|Dragon Devotee 1|
+6/+1|
+7|
+10|
+4|Skills||Ability increase (+2 Cha), natural armor

12th|Dragon Devotee 2|
+7/+2|
+8|
+10|
+4|Skills|Psicrystal Affinity|Skirmish (+4d6, +1 AC), draconic resistance

13th|Dragon Devotee 3|
+8/+3|
+8|
+11|
+5|Skills||Ability increase (+2 Con), spellcasting, ignore spell failure

14th|Hand of the Winged Masters 4|
+9/+4|
+8|
+12|
+6|Skills||

15th|Hand of the Winged Masters 5|
+9/+4|
+8|
+12|
+6|Skills|Psicrystal Containment|Skirmish (+5d6, +1 AC)

16th|Hand of the Winged Masters 6|
+10/+5|
+9|
+13|
+7|Skills||

17th|Hand of the Winged Masters 7|
+11/+6/+1|
+9|
+13|
+7|Skills||Master's gift

18th|Hand of the Winged Masters 8|
+12/+7/+2|
+9|
+14|
+8|Skills|Improved Skirmish|Skirmish (+6d6, +1 AC)

19th|Hand of the Winged Masters 9|
+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+14|
+8|Skills||Improved dragonfire strike

20th|Hand of the Winged Masters 10|
+13/+8/+3|
+10|
+15|
+9|Skills||True stealth[/table]


The basic deal was to use psycarnum infusion to max out essentia in the Manticore Belt, making five ranged attacks that each dealt 10d6+10+1/2 strength damage as a standard action. Between synad multitask and psicrystal containment, the idea was to be able to use psycarnum infusion several rounds in a row to keep the Manticore Belt maxed out.

But most of the build's tricks relied on scout, psycarnum infusion and totemist levels. The only parts of the SI the build really utilized were the damage boosts from the special attack and dragonfire strike/improved dragonfire strike. I tried to half-heartedly pull in benefits from master's gift via the single level of sorcerer casting Dragon Devotee gave me, but it was a pretty poor attempt. And I kept running into stumbling blocks with the actual backstory, so I decided not to submit.

And I'm glad I didn't - several of these builds are way more interesting than what I was planning! I can't wait to read them all over in more detail!

[mattie_p]

Unfortunately way to much RL interfered with my ability to build, but it was something like Rogue/Wizard -> Unseen Seer 2 / Daggerspell Mage X -> Hand of the Winged Master. Guy would have picked up Mineral Warrior after the first level of HotWM, reducing CHA below 11, but still qualifying because he had the feat even if he couldn't use it, but still getting draconic feats, and confusing the dragonblooded subtype all up. Casting harmless buffs on himself with free extend.

[eggs]

My plan, which did not come together, was a synad scout/totemist/dragon devotee, using the Manticore Belt soulmeld to fire off a flurry of spines as a standard action:
Since you bring this up, and I've been puzzling over this recently, is there a way around the Rules Compendium volley limit*?

*"A form of attack that enables an attacker to make multiple attacks during an action other than a full-round action, such as the Manyshot feat (standard action) or a quickened scorching ray (swift action), allows precision damage to be applied only to the first attack in the group"

[Piggy Knowles]

Hmm, that's a good question. I was under the impression that, since you make separate attack rolls for each spine, it doesn't count as a volley in the same way that Manyshot (which makes one attack roll) does. But that Rules Comp quote seems to imply that ANYTHING that makes multiple attacks and isn't a full round action can't benefit from precision damage.

[ThiagoMartell]

Wish I was on land so I could have submitted a build. My idea was to run a (lesser) tiefling incarnate/umbral disciple/hand of the winged masters, dipping Swordsage for assassin's stance and getting Draconic Heritage with one of the lung dragons.
Well, it wasn't meant to be. My judgings.

Phillius Formulus
Originality: 3
Nothing special. Changeling is expected for any stealth class, the backstory is a pile of clichés.
Power: 2.5
Pretty much what's expected from the class. Buckets of d6 damage, a few spells here and there. Your choice of Changeling Rogue makes you versatile, but you lose on Penetrating Strike. Since don't have a way of ignoring fire (or acid) immunity, between enemies immune to criticals and immune to fire (or acid), your fistful of d6 is going to remain unused during several battles. I don't see why Ebon Eyes is there without Darkness or Deeper Darkness to compliment it, you could have chosen a better spell. With so few caster levels, Practiced Spellcaster feels like a waste.
Elegance: 2.5
Avenger plus Daggerspell Mage seems like it was just tacked onto to build to fill out space. No consideration is given to refluffing Daggerspell Mage, normally part of a guild.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3
It is the focus of the build alright, but you don't do much with it.

SCP
Originality: 3.5
I did not like the fluff about her not being in a fantasy world, but I have to admit it's original. Intimidate shenanigans are a bit overdone on IC, though.

Power: 3.5
All usual sneak attack tricks, crammed into a single build. She deals a load of damage. Debuffs between Staggering Strike and intimidation. Lion Tribe Warrior allows skirmish to trigger reliably. Low Str and Dex hurt the build considerably, since she deals a lot of damage, but can't hit reliably. Never Outnumbered skill trick would have been a good addition, I think.

Elegance: 2.5
Fluff clashes all around. She is not from a fantasy world, but has tribal feats. Dragons only get a passing reference in the backstory. The progression feels a bit stunted at times, but I like the idea of the 'pain train' caused by forcing them into panicking then charging behind. Your crunch focuses on draconic fear, your fluff focuses on her being a crazy person that's not on fantasyland.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 4
You managed to make the SI really the core of your build. Other resources increase upon what you can do, but you can clearly tell it's a Hand of the Winged Masters build.


Dokar
Originality: 4
I had forgotten Frostblood Half-orcs even existed. It's Bahamut, not Bahumat. Also, being the hand of Bahamut himself is almost refuge in audacity. You use a few tricks that though questioned in their legality were unexpected (see Elegance below)

Elegance: 2.5
You use the hooks in the class itself, integrating it well with the fluff, very good. There is a disconnection between fluff and crunch, with all those unexplained Knowledge (the planes) levels and Planar Ranger. The Sun Domain trick is debatable at best. The 'bait and switch' trick with Endurance is also debatable. On the other hand, I like the trick swapping Track out. I doubt it was intended you could swap bonus feats this way, but the RAW is clear here (unlike the other tricks).

Power: 3.5
Reliable damage output, lots of attacks, respectable base attack bonus with the Dex to back it up. Depending on feycraft weapons is a big letdown, though. The character has little versatility compared to other contestants, even though he's better at damage dealing.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 3.5
The SI is necessary for your build, but you don't do anything spectacular with it.

Long Sha
Originality: 4
Monk/Factotum with Power Attack? Did not see that coming. Kudos for picking Touch of Golden Ice as a feat without VoP, that's the first time I've ever seen this.

Power: 3
Snap Kick allows you to get multiple attacks even while moving.

Elegance: 1.5
As a whole, the build is fairly synergistic, however... Iaijutsu Focus with unarmed strikes?! No, just no. Unless you're only breaking boards instead of fighting creatures.
The whole 'wait, then attack' tactic does not work very well with a party.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 3
Vanilla. You get some damage bonuses from the SI.

Raijin
Originality: 4
Mindblow Number 1: CW samurai?!
Mindblow Number 2: Master of Masks?!

Power: 4.5
Finally Penetrating Strike! Finally sonic damage (btw, slaadi are also immune to sonic)! Yeah, I like what I see. Two Weapon Pounce is more useful than I remembered, so no bonus nor deduction here. You deal a ton of damage and you have debuffing covered and utility from skills and masks.

Elegance: 2
The last few Ronin levels feel tacked on. Changing alignment midway through is kinda bad.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 4
I like how you add snippets from other classes but the SI remains the core of your build.

Ssejternock
Originality: 3.5
Poison Dusk lizardfolk, good surprise.

Power: 4
Dragonstalker is a pretty weak class. Your stealth is pretty good, though. Sonic damage is a plus. Some debuffing.

Elegance: 1
You don't qualify for Dragontouched, making the build illegal. :smallfrown:

Use of Secret Ingredient: 3
Vanilla, vanilla.

Fergal
Originality: 2
Rogue/Swashbuckler was very telegraphed, as was whisper gnome.

Power: 3
I don't see anything specially interesting, but nothing specially sucky as well.

Elegance: 1.5
Weird, weird progression. A wizard variant is a wizard variant. You can't use it without levels in wizard and specially, you can't use it without gaining a familiar as a class feature. A shame, since you could have used Wild Cohort for basically the same effect and no deduction. I only learned he was a whisper gnome in the backstory, presentation is awkward.

Use of Secreting Ingredient: 3
I'm repeating myself, but - vanilla, vanilla.

[Snowbear22]

ThiagoMartell, it looks like you forgot to paste in the judging on SCP's Use of the Secret Ingredient.

[ThiagoMartell]

ThiagoMartell, it looks like you forgot to paste in the judging on SCP's Use of the Secret Ingredient.

Ooops. Thanks for the heads up, edited it in.

[Amechra]

Wow, you're fast.

I did better than I thought I would!

[Piggy Knowles]

Four down, three to go. I'm going to take a break from judging for a while to give my eyes a rest, but hopefully I'll have these finished by Tuesday night.

[Ikeren]

I really like this idea, and I really like the implementation...but when I went back through the old threads, very few had builds linked into first posts...instead I was faced with the prospect of wading through 5-10 pages to try to find them, which made me very sad. Even some recent ones didn't have it done. Can I generally expect to find builds on pages 2-3 of each thread if I try to go back and find them all? Also, is this a regular monthly thing? Weekly?

[Venger]

I really like this idea, and I really like the implementation...but when I went back through the old threads, very few had builds linked into first posts...instead I was faced with the prospect of wading through 5-10 pages to try to find them, which made me very sad. Even some recent ones didn't have it done. Can I generally expect to find builds on pages 2-3 of each thread if I try to go back and find them all? Also, is this a regular monthly thing? Weekly?

best advice I can give is to use the ''search this thread" tool for "the reveal" since the builds are all posted after the chairman says it's time for the reveal.

if that doesn't work, just open every page as a new tab, you'll find 'em eventually. builds usually are around page 5 or 6. there's usually a lot more chatter before the builds than there was this time around (then again the SIs usually give us more to talk about)

iron chef usually takes place roughly every month with extensions being made usually for the december/january one since people have family stuff.

[Ikeren]

The Reveal, eh? I'll give that a shot. Thanks for the tip.

Edit: I don't use this forum much -- can't seem to search this thread. It's not under thread tools, where I'd expect it to be; I only have
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[Venger]

The Reveal, eh? I'll give that a shot. Thanks for the tip.

Edit: I don't use this forum much -- can't seem to search this thread. It's not under thread tools, where I'd expect it to be; I only have
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well, that's just where it used to be. maybe it got taken out after the site's most recent revamp a week or two ago. do any mods on the technical side know if that's the case?

[ThiagoMartell]

I believe search is off.

[RFLS]

Damn it. I got super excited for this, had a great idea for a build AND a character to go with that build, pulled an all nighter specifically to get it together....and then thought to check the due date. I am just so incredibly smart >.> maybe next time.

[OMG PONIES]

My failed idea was a Rogue 2/Bard 3/Unseen Seer 2/Nightsong Infiltrator 4/Hand of the Winged Master 9 with Darkstalker to replace the capstone. The idea was to be the ultimate ally buffer, capable of handing out sneak attack or sonic damage to all allies thanks to Dragonfire Inspiration, Teamwork Sneak Attack, and Dragonfire Strike. However, it didn't make sense to take HotWM...even for 16d6 sonic damage to all flanking allies' attacks.

[Kelb_Panthera]

The site's search function is currently down. The administrator Rawhide made a thread explaining the 3 day down-time a few weeks ago, that also addressed this, in the board issues subforum. It's not currently known when or if the search function will be turned back on.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Kelb, I think you posted on the wrong thread..

[RFLS]

The Reveal, eh? I'll give that a shot. Thanks for the tip.

Edit: I don't use this forum much -- can't seem to search this thread. It's not under thread tools, where I'd expect it to be; I only have
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well, that's just where it used to be. maybe it got taken out after the site's most recent revamp a week or two ago. do any mods on the technical side know if that's the case?


I believe search is off.


The site's search function is currently down. The administrator Rawhide made a thread explaining the 3 day down-time a few weeks ago, that also addressed this, in the board issues subforum. It's not currently known when or if the search function will be turned back on.


Kelb, I think you posted on the wrong thread..

Pretty sure he didn't :smalltongue:

[Dusk Eclipse]

... and that's what happen when I just skim posts.:smallredface:

[RFLS]

... and that's what happen when I just skim posts.:smallredface:

No worries, see my first post in this thread a half dozen or so up. I'm not taking any smart person cookies today.

[Piggy Knowles]

Two more to go plus proofreading, and I'll have my scores up.

[OMG PONIES]

Final(?) Tallies after One Judge
{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Avg
Raijin|Gold|14.5|3.625
SCP|Silver|13.5|3.375
Dokar|Silver|13.5|3.375
Long Sha|Fourth|11.5|2.875
Ssejternock|Fourth|11.5|2.875
Phillius|Sixth|11|2.75
Fergal|Seventh|9.5|2.375[/table]

And, for ease of reference:
Phillius (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14083568&postcount=60): Changeling Rogue 4/Thug Fighter 1/Hand of the Winged Masters 10/Avenger 1/Daggerspell Mage 4
SCP (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14083582&postcount=61): Human Scout 4/Ranger 2/Hand of the Winged Masters 9/Avenging Executioner 5
Dokar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14083601&postcount=62): Frostblood Half-Orc Scout 4/Planar Ranger 5/Hand of the Winged Masters 9/Highland Stalker 2
Long Sha (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14083616&postcount=63): Human(?) Monk 2/Factotum 3/Avenger 5/Hand of the Winged Masters 10
Raijin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14083630&postcount=64): Human Rogue 3/Samurai 2/Hand of the Winged Masters 10/Ronin 4/Master of Masks 1
Ssejternock (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14083651&postcount=65): Poisondusk Lizardfolk Rogue 3/Wildshape Ranger 1/Thug Fighter 1/Hand of the Winged Masters 10/Dragonstalker 4
Fergal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14083662&postcount=66): Whisper Gnome(?) Rogue 4/Swashbuckler 3/Assassin 3/Hand of the Winged Masters 10

I'll definitely be judging this round. In terms of criteria, I'm trying something a little different.

My Criteria

Each entry will start at a base score of 12 (3 in each category), with deductions or bonuses awarded based on the following questions:

Originality:
Does the entry present a compelling backstory/concept?
Does the entry enter the Secret Ingredient through a method unique from the sample character in the source as well as other entries in this round?
Does the entry make use of any unique mechanical tricks/feat chains?
Does the entry avoid known cheese/suggestions that closely mirror optimization handbook build suggestions?
Power:
Does the entry surpass a hypothetical build that continues in the base class used for qualification (e.g. additional rogue or scout levels)?
Does the entry function at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on "nova" powers?
Does the entry place an undue emphasis on items, templates, or other "add-ons" for its power?
Does the entry lag significantly in terms of either offense, defense, or utility?
Elegance:
Does the entry qualify for all classes taken?
Does the entry qualify for all feats taken?
Does the entry rely on any questionable rules interpretations, cross-setting material, or material specifically disallowed from this competition?
Does the entry receive any multi-class penalties or suffer from excessive base class dipping*?
UoSI:
Does the entry qualify for the Secret Ingredient and make use of entry requirements?
Does the entry complete the Secret Ingredient or present a compelling reason why not doing so is actually a better use of the Secret Ingredient?
Does the entry synergize the mechanical unique abilities of the Secret Ingredient with the rest of the build?
Does the entry complement the concept of its chassis through use of the Secret Ingredient?

*Where "dipping" is defined as taking two or fewer levels in a base class and "excessive" is defined as three or more instances of dipping.
Each of the questions above can be answered in one of three ways. A straight "yes" will earn a +0.5 bonus to the category in question. A straight "no" will suffer a -0.5 penalty to the category, and an ambivalent "yes and no" will wash out with no adjustment to the category. If there are any questions about the clarity of my criteria, please post them openly so I can address. If there are any disagreements about them, please PM me so we can discuss.

[Amphetryon]

Next ingredient gives a better than reasonable chance at 9th level spells. I'm just sayin'. :smallwink:

[Dusk Eclipse]

Ohhh caster class, sounds interesting.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Could be a red herring.

As I recall one or two of the entries in Dragon Disciple cheesed their way into 9ths. The next ingredient could be eunuch warlock, with no more to go on than that.

Gods I hope it's not eunuch warlock.

[Dusk Eclipse]

..... bull carp, didn't thought of that.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Next ingredient gives a better than reasonable chance at 9th level spells. I'm just sayin'. :smallwink:

Is it Ur-Priest? :smalltongue:

[Venger]

is it shapeshifter?

[RFLS]

Is it Ur-Priest? :smalltongue:

That one is so hard to use. You have to give up divine casting and take a really stupid feat to get in.

[Menteith]

Come on, Blighter!

[Fable Wright]

There's only one class (after Divine Crusader, of course) that grants 9th level spells that could possibly wind up in this competition...

Blighter.

(Wait, you don't change the Secret Ingredient if anyone guesses it, right? Either way, that class is going to wind up here sooner or later...)

EDIT:
Wow. Ninja'd by 10 minutes. Just... wow.

[Menteith]

There's only one class (after Divine Crusader, of course) that grants 9th level spells that could possibly wind up in this competition...

Blighter.

I actually hadn't considered Divine Crusader....that would also be a really neat SI.

[Fable Wright]

I actually hadn't considered Divine Crusader....that would also be a really neat SI.

Indeed it would (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210071).

[Dusk Eclipse]

It could be a casting class that has more then 5/10 advancement...

[eggs]

That cinches it. Yathrinshee it is. :smalltongue:

[Menteith]

Indeed it would (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210071).

>.<

Well I feel smart.

[Venger]

There's only one class (after Divine Crusader, of course) that grants 9th level spells that could possibly wind up in this competition...

Blighter.

(Wait, you don't change the Secret Ingredient if anyone guesses it, right? Either way, that class is going to wind up here sooner or later...)

EDIT:
Wow. Ninja'd by 10 minutes. Just... wow.

no, he does not change the SI if someone guesses it.

I really don't think it's blighter. there's only 2 ways to enter, so there'd be little variance in the dishes.

since 9ths are possible, it must be a progression of 7/10 or better, which really stumps me, since ardent dilettante was already done. that rules out all the casting progressing ones from bovd, which would've been my guess.

shapeshifter's out, since it's impossible to get 9ths and complete it.

candlecaster?

[Xodion]

Where is Candlecaster from?

I was wondering if we would head back to the SRD, something like Eldritch Knight or Mystic Theurge, but they don't actually have any class features other than spellcasting... :smallconfused:

[ThiagoMartell]

That one is so hard to use. You have to give up divine casting and take a really stupid feat to get in.

Surprisingly, a few weeks ago a dude showed up at the forums saying Ur-Priesty was underpowered. :smallbiggrin:

Where is Candlecaster from?
Tome and Blood.

[Xodion]

Tome and Blood.

Ah, that's 3.0e isn't it - explains why I don't know it.

There must be plenty more PrCs we haven't used from the Completes that have lots of spellcasting. I don't see Wild Mage, for example, which looks like a hilarious class to play (no idea how over- or underpowered it is, though).

[Venger]

Ah, that's 3.0e isn't it - explains why I don't know it.

There must be plenty more PrCs we haven't used from the Completes that have lots of spellcasting. I don't see Wild Mage, for example, which looks like a hilarious class to play (no idea how over- or underpowered it is, though).

wild mage's class features are pretty ok. the reason it's not seen more is due to wild magic, which has the potential to gimp your caster level a fair portion of the time. it's often mitigated with practiced spellcaster, but some people do not view this as a legal tactic. without this in place, you're randomly slapped with a penalty to your CL 33% of the time.

I think that since it's full casting it's not likely to be seen in IC, but I could always be wrong.

[Piggy Knowles]

OK, scores are done. Please note that, as I mentioned in my judging criteria, I'm not grading on a curve. In other words, I'm not going to give everyone a bump in UotSI or Power because it's a less than stellar ingredient to work with. As a result, the average scores here are a little lower than they'd normally be. It's not an attack on anyone's build, it's just how my scoring system works!

Phillius

ORIGINALITY: 3
Nothing really new or exciting here. It's pretty much a stock character. Daggerspell Mage seems like it might be interesting, but you don't go far enough into the class to get any interesting abilities out of it.


POWER: 2.5
OK, your intended role is infiltrator/assassin. You're decent at it, if not spectacular. Changeling rogue is always nice, giving you some nice social skill boosts. You also max out your stealth skills, although they on the other hand are solely propped up by ranks until very late in the game (you don't get reliable access to Invisibility until level 16, and the only other stealth feature you have is True Stealth at level 20).

As far as your intended role as assassin, you're a low Strength TWFing rogue, except that a rogue has more SA damage than you do. Your damage isn't high enough to one-shot most enemies, and you don't have any real way to evade attacks or stay alive. A lot of the build elements that may have helped you - the assassin avenger spells, poison use, etc. - don't come until fairly late in the game. You also don't have any way of dealing with enemies immune to sneak attack.

ELEGANCE: 1.5
Not a ton going on here that cries out elegance to me.

On the mechanical side of things, you don't qualify for Weapon Finesse at level one, which requires a +1 BAB.

On class choice, you're using Avenger as a class, when it was an April Fools web release by WotC. A lot of tables allow it, but a lot don't. You've also dipped Thug Fighter for what appears to be solely in order to qualify for HotWM. I don't mind dips in general, but going Rogue 4/Thug Fighter 1 instead of Rogue 5 is pretty transparently a dip designed to get up to the necessary +4 BAB to qualify for the SI, made especially painful because Rogue 5 is in all other ways a superior class choice.

Finally, you're an assassin for an evil dragon, but you're also a member of the Daggerspell Guardians, an order dedicated to rooting out evil? That's a pretty big stretch to me. If it was addressed in the story for the character I could let it pass, but it wasn't.

USE OF THE SECRET INGREDIENT: 3
On the good side of things, you do use most of the SI's abilities, so good on you there.

On the bad side of things, though, you don't really do anything all that interesting with the build. You're taking a slower sneak attack progression and worse skills than a straight rogue, and the only thing you really get in return are a couple of bonus feats. The build feels like it would be able to keep the same flavor, abilities and feel as a rogue/avenger/daggerspell mage with a couple of draconic feats.

TOTAL: 10


SCP

NOTE: I could not find the feat Dreadful Presence, so I'm going to assume that you meant Dreadful Wrath. If there's a Dreadful Presence feat somewhere that I'm just overlooking, please point me in that direction and I'll amend this accordingly.

ORIGINALITY: 4
First off, I enjoyed the character presentation, taking it in a different direction for these contests.

As for the build itself, it doesn't necessarily break any new ground, but it doesn't feel like a stock build, either. Avenging Executioner was a nice touch here, although everything else was fairly standard. You kept to a theme with the build, though, which is always a plus.

POWER: 3
You've got a two nice things going on here - nice debuffing with fear stacking and Staggering Strike, and decent damage thanks to Craven/skirmish/sudden strike/dragonfire strike. Lion Tribe Warrior is an oft-overlooked way of gaining pounce, which is especially nice for your build.

That being said, you've got a stealth focus but no real way to keep your stealth up - no Darkstalker or True Stealth, no spells to augment your ranks, etc. You also have no real way to deal with enemies immune to fear or enemies immune to precision damage - and worst of all, enemies that are immune to one are often immune to the other. That means she's going to be more or less useful against undead, constructs, etc. You actually could have at least somewhat reduced this with your favored enemy choice, allowing you to skirmish enemies normally immune via Swift Hunter, but you didn't.

Also, I don't see why you are advancing sudden strike at level 16 instead of skirmish - even with Avenging Executioner, sudden strike is harder to trigger (since it won't go off if they make their save against frightful presence), whereas skirmish will go off every time you pounce.

ELEGANCE: 2.5
The build overall flows well, with a logical progression of abilities.

You've got a couple of legality issues, though, mostly with your use of regional feats.

First off, Lion Tribe Warrior requires you to be a member of the Lion tribe of the Shaar, while Dreadful Wrath requires you to be a human from Rashemen. Also, Dreadful Wrath can only be taken at first level. And, just to REALLY top things off, they're both regional feats, and you're only allowed one regional feat. Since both of these feats are pretty key to your build, that's a fairly large mistake to make.

USE OF THE SECRET INGREDIENT: 2
I... honestly can't tell why you're taking the secret ingredient at all.

OK, that's not entirely true. Dragonfire Strike and its improved cousin certainly don't hurt. But you don't make use of most of its abilities (Draconic Senses is an afterthought, master's gift isn't used at all, and you don't even take true stealth). You use the damage boosts, sure, but you'd get those from more ranger levels, or from something like Dread Commando. All of the tricks you provide with the build come from Avenging Executioner and your base levels, rather than the SI.

Between that and the fact that you only took 9 levels, I just don't see how this is highlighting the SI for you at all.

TOTAL: 11.5


Dokar Jaggedfang

ORIGINALITY: 3.5
The dragonborn frostblood half-orc was unexpected but works. Beyond that you've got a fairly standard Swift Hunter build with a couple of minor twists.

I will give a small bonus for some of the tricks involving the dragonborn feat shuffling, though - it's the first I've seen some of them.

POWER: 2.5
Using HotWM to up your skirmish damage at an accelerated rate is rather nice, giving you some decent damage. You're also one of the few builds that can actually handle constructs and undead enemies, thanks to your favored enemy choices, so kudos on that one. +16 BAB and Travel Devotion certainly helps you in this regard.

Your main issue is that you're fragile. Low HD, mediocre Con score, no real evasive abilities to make up for it - you're not going to last long in a fight.

You're also a bit of a one trick pony... you're a decent skirmisher, but you don't really do anything else. No real tracking or scouting skills to speak of, decent Disable Device but no Search, no abilities that work out of combat, etc. If you can't run up to something and stab it, you're sitting on the sidelines.

ELEGANCE: 2
By a strict reading of RotD, you're technically correct about swapping Endurance, but I can see a lot of tables not allowing it. While it's doable by RAW, because your racial Endurance isn't a pre-requisite for the feat you swapped it for, I can see a lot of DMs taking issue with that one.

Planar Touchstone to pick up an obscure domain to grant turning is also an issue. Yes, it's technically legal, but it's not something that will fly at most games. If nothing else, gaining access to a valuable object native to the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus by level 6 is only going to happen by DM fiat. If you were a plane-hopping character and the DCLS Sun domain was granted by Bahamut, I might let it fly, but I don't like it here.

My final complaint is that Highland Stalker seems more or less tacked on to bring you up to +16 BAB and also boost skirmish. It doesn't really flow with the rest of the build at all.


USE OF THE SECRET INGREDIENT: 3.5
You do get dinged a bit for not taking all 10 levels. But your quick progression of skirmish is a nice use of the bonus damage provided by HotWM. Swapping the bonus feat it provided for another draconic feat more useful to you was also a nice touch. This also just feels like a Hand of the Winged Master to me. It's one of the few builds where, looking at it, I don't wonder why you didn't just take more levels in ranger.

TOTAL: 11.5

Dokar also gets my vote for Honorable Mention.


Long Sha

ORIGINALITY: 4
Monk was not expected as a lead-in for HotWM, so you get some points there. You take the abilities in a direction I did not expect, and make some interesting choices overall.

Backstory was a bit sparse, and if it had been expanded you could have gotten some bonus points here, but overall this build was not what I expected.

POWER: 1.5
You're bringing in Iajutsu Focus, but you're powering it with a low charisma and unarmed strikes. There... are a lot of issues with that. Your only real way of getting sneak attack off is via invisibility - you mention combining feints with flurries, but as feints are a standard action and flurries are a full round, that's not going to really work.

Touch of Golden Ice is nice at the lower levels, but the DC does not scale well, and it will fade out of usefulness fairly quickly. Power Attack is of limited use for you with your unarmed strikes, made even worse by the middlin' Strength score and below average BAB. You mention focusing on Death Attack, but your DC there is also fairly low and you haven't dedicated any resources to that, either. Snap Kick is nice but would be better if you had a way of boosting your unarmed damage.

The character is just sort of all over the place as far as abilities go, and could benefit from a little focus.

ELEGANCE: 2.5
The build flows fairly well, even if the abilities are a bit disparate (but I dinged you for that in Power, so I'm not going to hit you again in Elegance). You fail to qualify for Dragontouched, but I'm going to focus on that in the next section. You're using Avenger as a class, when it was an April Fools web release by WotC. A lot of tables allow it, but a lot don't. You did not list what spells you were selecting as spells known for Avenger.

USE OF THE SECRET INGREDIENT: 1
You fail to qualify for the secret ingredient (you don't have the required Charisma to take Dragontouched), so I am giving you a minimum score here.

TOTAL: 9

Raijin

ORIGINALITY: 4.5
Samurai, Ronin and Master of Masks - there’s a lot here that was unexpected, but works well with the build. Ronin in particular is a nice touch, progressing sneak attack and BAB while also giving you some other nice abilities, such as Banzai Charge. I also really liked the Master of Masks subbing in for the traditional oni masks of the samurai (although your mask choice didn’t necessarily reflect that).

The backstory and explanation was also well done, and worth a small bonus.

POWER: 3
Let’s start off with the good. You’ve got reasonable sneak attack and some ways of adding on a little bit of extra damage, such as Banzai Charge. You can turn the damage sonic, which is always nice, and you are again one of the few builds with a way of applying SA against normally immune enemies. You’ve got a few decent debuffs, most notably Deafening Strike, although Intimidate + Never Outnumbered certainly doesn’t hurt. You’ve got decent social skills to use out of combat as well.

On the less good side, your stats don’t support a lot of what you want to do. You’re a melee character with a 10 Strength and no real way to boost it. Even charging doesn’t help, since Two-Weapon Pounce takes away the bonus you’d get from charging. You’re planning to mostly mix it up in melee with a 12 Con and an AC that will be destroyed by Banzai Charge. Several important skills are keyed to your Charisma (Iajutsu Focus, UMD, Intimidate, Bluff) - but you’re starting with a Charisma of 11. This is especially bad for UMD and IF, where you don’t have max ranks.

Also, your primary way of dealing with SA immune enemies is penetrating strike, but that only works on a flank, which doesn’t fit in well with your character’s modus operandi. Deafening Strike comes online very late, and Arterial Strike’s bleed damage is barely noticeable at level 15. (Besides, at that level, most enemies will just take magical healing to stop the bleeding, eliminating the AoO option).

Re: Draconic Senses, you seem to be implying that Dragontouched is a draconic feat, but according to my copy of Dragon Magic, it is NOT. That’s actually a pretty big deal, since it means you don’t ever gain blindsense.

Finally, the build seems to imply that you get a full two-weapon attack at the end of your charge via Two-Weapon Pounce, but you only get one attack with each weapon. Not a deduction, but it is enough to keep me from adding on a big bonus for it.

ELEGANCE: 3.5
The build absolutely sticks to a theme - the masked samurai, the howling dragon tying in with sonic damage and Deafening Strike, etc. Well done on that end.

That said, the mid-build alignment shift doesn’t sit too well with me. I know it can happen, but lawful to chaotic is a big (and sudden) jump.

USE OF THE SECRET INGREDIENT: 3.5
You make better use of Dragonfire Strike and its improved cousin than most builds here, thanks to your draconic heritage and your build tactics. You seem to be benefiting a fair bit from Draconic Senses - except that Dragontouched is not a draconic feat, meaning that you don’t actually get the full benefit, so I can't give you points on that one.

No great benefit from Master’s Gift, and your tactics make True Stealth rely on invisibility, which you can’t reliably supply yourself. Still, having True Stealth doesn’t hurt, and you do have a decent Hide/MS. Also, you get a small bonus because the flavor of your build really ties in well with the SI.

TOTAL: 14.5

Ssejternocki

ORIGINALITY: 3.5
Dragonstalker was unexpected, and I like the idea of a Hand of the Winged Master being used to hunt down other dragons. Poison dusk lizardfolk is interesting but under-utilized here. Everything else is mostly standard fare.

POWER: 3.5
OK, to start we’ve got the choice of race. I love poison dusk lizardfolk, but the only way you end up utilizing them is by the natural attacks, which could be garnered from races without LA, or could be picked up via feats, templates, etc. It doesn’t even seem like it’s that strongly tied to the flavor of the build. I’ll call it a wash and not penalize you for it, since you DO use the natural weapons, but I really feel like this could be better.

Penetrating strike is always appreciated, as that gives you something useful to do against normally SA-immune enemies, so you definitely get a bump there. I’m also happy to see Pierce Magical Concealment make an appearance, and Staggering Strike is always a wonderful debuff. And if you can get your hands on a mouthpick weapon (see Elegance), you can throw around quite a few attacks.

On the other hand, you’re dealing significantly less SA damage than you would as a straight rogue. Even against dragons, where you’ve got your accelerated SA progression from Dragonstalker, you’re just barely keeping up and need Dragonfire Strike (which any rogue could take) to keep pace.

ELEGANCE: 1.5
You dip a single level of thug fighter in a rogue build solely to enter the SI at an earlier level. I don’t ordinarily penalize dips out of hand, but that’s a bit excessive. Your build really relies on a rare and, at many tables, disallowed weapon enhancement to keep pace with damage (mouthpick), and you also look to get the effects of a Sword of Subtlety applied to a necklace of natural attacks.

You’ve also got a write-up that’s full of typos, and several errors on your table (you’re missing Draconic Senses, you have your feats at the wrong levels). I’m basing the majority of my scoring on the actual content of your build, but as I mentioned in my judging criteria, presentation DOES matter.

Finally, you fail to qualify for Dragontouched due to your low Charisma. Not only does this prevent you from even entering the SI (which I will not penalize for you here, since I’ll address that in UotSI), it also means you don’t qualify for Draconic Heritage, which is another key part of your build.

USE OF THE SECRET INGREDIENT: 1
You fail to qualify for the SI (did not have the minimum Charisma required for Dragontouched), and therefore receive a minimum score here.

TOTAL: 9.5

Fergal
OK, before I start... how exactly are you flying? I’ve read over the build several times and can’t figure it out! You call yourself “Death on Dark Wings” and mention flying in your tactics, but unless I’m blind, there’s nothing here that gives you flight! It doesn't influence your score at all, but it leaves me wondering if I'm just missing something...

ORIGINALITY: 2
You’re a whisper gnome rogue/swashbuckler assassin. That’s pretty well-trodden territory.

POWER: 2.5
At the very lowest levels, before you take your first level of swashbuckler, you’re really not going to be doing much of anything with a Strength of 9 and no weapon finesse. You also wait until oddly late in the game (level 12) to even begin picking up the TWF tree.

Other than that, you’re a fairly standard roguish character, except with lower SA. Your assassin spells help some in the mid-game, although more levels in assassin for better spells and SA damage would really add a lot of zing to this build. Your stealth is above average, though, mostly thanks to your race - the small size and racial bonuses, alongside your silence SLA, really make you stand out as far as stealthy characters go.

Swapping out your familiar for an AC is not allowed by the rules of the game (see Elegance), but even if your DM did allow it, you’d have a pretty poor companion/flanking partner. Obtain Familiar grants a familiar based on your arcane caster level (a measly 3), and the ACF you referenced would further reduce your effective druid level by half, leaving you with a level 1 animal companion.

And, of course, there’s the ever present issue that you don’t really have anything to do against SA-immune enemies.

ELEGANCE: 1.5
On the good side of things, the build does flow fairly well, other than the bumpy start that is so common among rogues. Rogue/swashbuckler/assassin is well-worn territory, but it’s so common for a reason - it simply works, both thematically and from a play perspective.

On the bad side of things, you use the feat Skill Knowledge to gain access to knowledge (arcana). Skill Knowledge is actually a part of UA’s variant skill system, and is designed around a skill system where you only have access to a small fraction of “known” skills. Mixing it in with the standard skill system as a way to add a new class skill is iffy at best.

You try to swap out your familiar for an animal companion to give you a flanking partner, but unfortunately that’s not feasible - what you are describing is an alternate class feature of the wizard and sorcerer class. It isn’t an option available to anyone who picks up a familiar.

You also show your snake with different feats than a stock snake comes with. I also see Psychic Reformation listed on your sources. Are you using Psychic Reformation to swap out its feats? If so, that’s treading territory that isn’t well accepted at many tables. Furthermore, it wouldn’t allow you to swap out weapon finesse, which is a racial bonus feat and not eligible for PsyRef.

Finally, the build seems very item-dependent (including rare items such as legacy items) - collars of umbral metamorphosis for you and your pet, tattoos of chameleon power, scrolls of AMF and Solid Fog, Deathstrike Bracers, an Umbral Awn, etc.

USE OF THE SECRET INGREDIENT: 3
You’re one of the few builds here that natively makes use of Master’s Gift (ie, without requiring items or a friendly caster). You also make better use of True Stealth than most, since you can easily eat the penalty it gives you to your Hide and Move Silently.

Of course, most of what you can do comes from your other classes, your race and your items. Heck, the build you chose for a snapshot was a build without a single level of the secret ingredient! So, the above abilities augment at best, rather than taking center stage.

TOTAL: 9

[ThiagoMartell]

Quick tally before Mr Ponies updates his table:
1st Raijin 29
2nd SCP 25
2nd Dokar 25
4th Ssejternocki 21
4th Phillius 21
6th Long Sha 20.5
7th Fergal 18.5

Looks like Raijin is getting quite ahead of the competition.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I'm actually doing better that I expected, that makes me quite happy :smallcool:

[OMG PONIES]

Quick tally before Mr Ponies updates his table:.

Ty sir, a gentleman and a scholar! Those are the totals I had as well.

{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Average
Raijin|Gold|29|3.625
SCP|Silver|25|3.125
Dokar|Silver|25|3.125
Ssejternock|Fourth|21|2.625
Phillius|Fourth|21|2.625
Long Sha|Sixth|20.5|2.5625
Fergal|Seventh|18.5|2.3125[/table]

My judging is underway. Hopefully I can break some of these ties.

[Piggy Knowles]

It's funny, I made a point of not reading Thiago's judging until I finished mine, and yet somehow we came up with eerily similar scores...

[Darkcouch]

I was trying to put together a Scout/Warblade using Press the Advantage to keep every melee attack skirmish, but it came on to late in the build to be relevant.

[Madara]

Completely off topic. I was thinking back to the spontanious forum maintanance, and wondering if there should be something added to the official rules that if the forum is shut down for more than X time, that the Challenge be extended by Y or something. In other news, I'll have an extra long weekend coming up, so I'm hoping to hop into the next challenge. :smallsmile:

[only1doug]

I haven't read anyones scoring yet, but have yet to start my own scoring, I should do that...

[Analytica]

SCP's backstory would be even more awesome if the entry had been dual-submitted to the SCP site as well, so that it would have a well-defined SCP number. It could be the hand of SCP-682, perhaps. :smallbiggrin:

[Amphetryon]

All hail Savannah (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14123802#post14123802)!

[Thurbane]

Hey guys, just thought I'd check in to let you know I haven't disappeared yet. Work and social commitments are keeping me insanely busy at the moment.

Also, no search function makes me a sad panda. :smallfrown:

[Piggy Knowles]

Any updates, judges? I know we still have a few days left, I just haven't seen much activity in a while.

(Also, hurrah for Savannah! Definitely looking forward to seeing trophies again.)

[OMG PONIES]

A pesky little rainstorm knocked out my internet for a spell (but not my power). Thanks, Sandy!

[Venger]

A pesky little rainstorm knocked out my internet for a spell (but not my power). Thanks, Sandy!

hope you're all right! I'll be out burning anthills so I can level up and cast control weather.


(Also, hurrah for Savannah! Definitely looking forward to seeing trophies again.)

likewise! I'm sure they'll be great. he's already done with them.

[OMG PONIES]

hope you're all right! I'll be out burning anthills so I can level up and cast control weather.

My wife and I were blessed; first hurricane in a new house and only one branch snapped off a tree. Others weren't as fortunate, so I feel a little bad that we escaped unscathed.

[mattie_p]

My wife and I were blessed; first hurricane in a new house and only one branch snapped off a tree. Others weren't as fortunate, so I feel a little bad that we escaped unscathed.

Speaking as one with experience with a small number of hurricanes, please do not feel bad at all for escaping unscathed. Weather plays no favorites, and those who experience it should not feel guilty (or gloat) in any way for the results.

[only1doug]

Unfortunately I haven't had the time to go through each of the builds in enough detail to fairly judge them so I'll have to withdraw from the judging. Sorry about that, been a bit busy at work.

[ThiagoMartell]

My wife and I were blessed; first hurricane in a new house and only one branch snapped off a tree. Others weren't as fortunate, so I feel a little bad that we escaped unscathed.

Man, I'm glad to know you are okay.

[OMG PONIES]

For fun, I've decided to indicate when a build was the best in each of the four categories as well as providing scores. Unfortunately, "Best in Category" is worth nothing but bragging rights...and on the Internet, even those aren't worth much.

Phillius: 14.5
Originality: 3.5
It's original that the character entered the SI to serve the green dragon leading the town, but seems like it was added simply to justify entry into the SI so it's a wash (0).
You follow the sample character almost exactly, including the fighter dip. Another entry chose to go with Rogue 4, and Avenger was the most popular PrC of the round (-0.5).
Draconic Claw is one of my favorite little boosts for a caster who will find themselves in melee frequently, and I'm surprised that nobody else put it to use (+0.5).
Known cheese and handbook builds were generally avoided (+0.5).
Power: 2.5
You lose out on 2d6 of sneak attack and rogue special abilities, but wind up with a very small handful of spells. Overall, it's a loss in power (-0.5).
Since you only have four spells per day, it's going to be difficult to contribute at the same level throughout the day (-0.5).
You don't list any items or use any templates, so there's no over-reliance on gear or WBL here (+0.5).
Sneak attack keeps the character relevant in combat and the skills provide a decent amount of utility, but there's nothing really helping the character defensively (0).
Elegance: 4
The entry qualifies for all classes taken (+0.5)...
But not all feats. Weapon Finesse requires a BAB of at least +1, so you can't take it at first level. Additionally, without any ranks in Spellcraft you don't qualify for Practiced Spellcaster (-0.5).
The entry does not rely on any questionable rules interpretations, cross-setting material, or material specifically disallowed from this competition (+0.5).
The entry does not receive any multi-class penalties or suffer from excessive base class dipping (+0.5).
UoSI: 4.5
The entry qualifies for the Secret Ingredient and makes use of entry requirements to assist qualification for other PrCs (+0.5).
All ten levels are taken (+0.5).
Improved Dragonfire Strike is changed to acid damage by Draconic Heritage (though you say it's not) and the avenger spell list partners nicely with Master's Gift. However, there's nothing being done to avoid the -10 penalty from True Stealth, so I have to call it a wash (0).
The secret ingredient complements the concept of the build's chassis (+0.5).
SCP: 12
Originality: 3.5
The presentation and backstory is definitely interesting, though I fear I've missed a pop culture reference with the SCP (+0.5).
Scout/Ranger with Swift Hunter was a chassis used by another entry in this round, though wild shape variant and Avenging Executioner provide a unique spin that makes it a wash (0).
Lion Tribe Warrior, Skirmish, Craven, and Staggering Strike provide a nice little combo that inflicts multiple difficult saves vs staggering (+0.5)...
...but this unique gem is presented alongside the same old fear optimization tricks. Imperious Command and Dreadful Wrath are powerful, but not original (-0.5).
Power: 4.5 (Best in Category)**
HotWM actually progresses skirmish damage faster than usual (at the cost of the AC boost), and sudden strike is added to the mix as well for additional damage potential. Add in fear tactics you don't usually see on a scout, and you've outclassed your usual swift hunter (+0.5).
The great thing about fear optimization is that it can be spammed, as can Staggering Strike and your other abilities (+0.5).
The entry doesn't show any reliance on wealth (+0.5).
The bonus damage dice and "Pounce Lite" contribute to offense, the fear optimization is powerful for both offense and utility, and the other skills are very useful for utility. However, the entry lacks solid options in the way of defense (0).
Elegance: 3
Without any ranks in Bluff, the build fails to qualify for the Secret Ingredient, which also receives a deduction below (-0.5).
You cannot take both Lion Tribe Warrior and Dreadful Wrath, since each of them are regional feats, of which you're restricted to only one (-0.5).
The entry doesn't rely on anything too questionable (+0.5).
No multiclass penalties thanks to being human (+0.5).
UoSI: 1
The entry fails to qualify for the Secret Ingredient since it has no ranks in Bluff (-0.5).
The entry fails to complete the Secret Ingredient, and does not present a compelling reason for doing so (-0.5).
There's no real synergy of unique class features here; the Secret Ingredient is used solely to boost Skirmish and Sudden Strike damage (-0.5).
The concept doesn't seem to be complemented by the Secret Ingredient; the entry goes from being chased by dragons to recruited by them in the blink of an unexplained eye (-0.5).
Dokar: 13.5
Originality: 3.5
The backstory was an excellent read, and presents the character nicely (+0.5).
Scout/Ranger with Swift Hunter was a chassis used by another entry in this round, though planar variant and Highland Stalker provide a unique spin that makes it a wash (0).
The feat-shuffling tricks haven't seen much use (mainly due to Elegance concerns, below), but they are a clever application of some rules that are usually little more than footnotes (+0.5).
TWF feat chain along w/ Travel Devotion and a way to get turning is pretty standard handbook fare for skirmishing builds (-0.5).
Power: 2.5
The entry provides much stronger skirmish abilities than a straight Swift Hunter, to be sure (+0.5).
After you've burnt through your turning attempts, you won't be able to activate travel devotion. However, Extra Turning was (as always) a great snag in terms of power, as it ensures that this point comes far later in the day. Because of that, it's a wash (0).
The entry relies heavily on items, including using Gloves of the Balanced Hand to provide one of the feats for its main schtick. Also, feycraft weapons eliminate the need for Weapon Finesse. Without the gloves or feycraft, feats become a bit tighter (-0.5).
While the build does fairly well in offense, the heavy investment in cross-class skills makes this entry a little less useful for utility purposes. While the AC bonus of skirmish is there a bit, it lags behind where it could be and, without other defensive options, this entry becomes a bit of a glass cannon (-0.5).
Elegance: 4
The entry qualifies for all classes taken (+0.5).
However, you seem to have forgotten that becoming dragonborn comes with a -2 DEX. Therefore, you lack the DEX required for Improved Two-Weapon Fighting at level 15 or Greater Two-Weapon Fighting at level 18 (-0.5). This judge would like to apologize for his inability to read. The entry qualifies for all feats taken (+0.5).
When it comes to the Frostblood Half-Orc feat shuffle, the dragonborn feat shuffle, and using the Dragonlance version of a domain instead of the PHB version, you're asking a DM to be pretty lenient on rules interpretations (-0.5).
The entry doesn't suffer any multiclass penalties or excessive dipping (+0.5).
UoSI: 3.5
The entry qualifies for the Secret Ingredient, but doesn't really make use of the requirements beyond qualification (0).
Only nine levels were taken, but it was wise to point out that your entry doesn't rely on stealth and as such Highland Stalker was a better fit (+0.5).
Improved Dragonfire Strike is switched to cold damage via Draconic Heritage, but Master's Gift is useless with Ranger spells and true stealth is not obtained (-0.5).
The entry's concept is complemented by entry in the Secret Ingredient, and is highlighted nicely in the backstory (+0.5).
Long Sha: 13
Originality: 2.5
The backstory provided the concept of "Chosen One," but that has become a staple of fantasy characters (0).
Monk/factotum caught me by surprise. While avenger/assassin were popular this round, the chassis was fresh enough that it was still unique (+0.5).
Sadly, there are no truly unique mechanical tricks/feat chains in use here (-0.5).
Font of Inspiration and Iajitsu Focus are no surprise on a factotum, even though Font of Inspiration is only taken once (-0.5).
Power: 3.5
This one's a wash; the entry is more powerful thank monk [cue audience cries of "what isn't?!"] while it is less powerful than continuing in factotum--at least for five more levels (0).
You've got a middling number of spells, but the thing that saves you here is the fact that the factotum's inspiration points reset every encounter so you'll be useful all day...at least at the start of each encounter (+0.5).
There are no items listed, so nobody can say you rely too heavily on them (+0.5).
The entry is decent defensively, but lags a bit in terms of offense once the inspiration points for the encounter are gone. Also, while the skills provide some utility, the middling ranks in some of them make them less than useful (-0.5).
Elegance: 3.5
Since you don't qualify for Dragontouched (see below), you fail to qualify for the Secret Ingredient. This will also receive a deduction in Use of Secret Ingredient (-0.5).
With only 8 CHA, you fail to qualify for Dragontouched (-0.5).
No questionable rules interpretations or the like are in play here (+0.5).
The entry does not receive multiclass penalties or suffer from excessive dipping (+0.5).
Judge's math error (+0.5).
UoSI: 3.5
As mentioned above, the entry fails to qualify for the Secret Ingredient (-0.5).
All ten levels of the Secret Ingredient were taken (+0.5).
Improved Dragonfire Strike is boosted via Sacred Strike, Master's Gift works on Avenger spells, and True Stealth's penalty to Hide is mitigated by Invisibility (+0.5).
While it's there in the backstory, Hand of the Winged Masters seems like more of a lackey than a chosen one. It's not enough to warrant a deduction, but I don't feel like I can give a bonus for it (0).
Raijin: 17.5
Originality: 4 (Best in Category)*
Your backstory was both compelling and engrossing. Everything fits superbly with your samurai theme (even Master of Masks), and the dragon speaking in haiku was a classy touch (+0.5).
Rogue entry is fairly standard (and rogue 3 was used by another entry), but the inclusion of samurai and the PrCs selected were mechanically and conceptually refreshing enough to make it a wash (0).
I'm glad to see that somebody coupled the increased sneak attack damage of Dragonfire Strike with ambush feats (+0.5).
Iajitsu Focus sees frequent use for a reason, but it's a bit cheesy. However, it fits conceptually enough with this entry that it's a wash (0).
Power: 4.5
While you lack behind a traditional rogue in sneak attack, you make up for it with Iajitsu Focus. It goes without saying, but you're also more powerful than a samurai [cue audience cries once more of "what isn't?!"] (+0.5).
Most of the entry's abilities are functional all day long (+0.5).
There's no emphasis on optimization via wealth here (+0.5).
Offensively, Raijin does fairly well for himself. In terms of utility, we've got social skills as well as scouting skills. Defense is the only arena in which this entry is a bit lacking (0).
Elegance: 4.5 (Best in Category)
The entry qualifies for all classes taken (+0.5).
The entry qualifies for all feats taken (+0.5).
Some more conservative DMs may have problems with using the samurai's faux Two-Weapon Fighting to qualify for other feats, but it seems fairly straightforward. Additionally, some may furrow an eyebrow at alignment shifts, though this one is pretty by-the-book (0).
The entry does not receive any multiclass penalties or suffer from excessive dipping (+0.5).
UoSI: 4.5
The entry qualifies for the Secret Ingredient and uses the prerequisites to qualify for other prestige classes and feats (+0.5).
All ten levels of the Secret Ingredient were taken (+0.5).
Improved Dragonfire Strike is switched to sonic damage (and using it to counteract the penalties from ambush feats was a classy touch). True stealth works nicely with swift invisibility and deafening strike, but I can't ignore the fact that the entry has no native use for Master's Gift (0).
I didn't think Hand of the Winged Masters would work with an ex-samurai concept, but the backstory really sold me on the segue (+0.5).
Ssejternock: 11
Originality: 4
The backstory provided the concept of "Chosen One," but that has become a staple of fantasy characters (0).
Rogue entry is fairly standard (and rogue 3 was used by another entry), but I'm glad someone included Dragonstalker (0).
Mage Slayer and Pierce Magical Concealment were unique, though I'm sad that Pierce Magical Protection wasn't included (+0.5).
Known cheese and handbook copypasta are generally avoided (+0.5).
Power: 2.5
Your sneak attack is on par with a regular rogue, but only against dragons. Unfortunately, you lose out on a healthy helping of skill points from your levels in Dragonstalker. The unique abilities you gain make up for it, but only enough to make this a wash (0).
Most of the entry's abilities function throughout the day, with Ignore Natural Armor as the only nova power due to its handiness (+0.5).
Between the choice of race, mouthpick weapons, and wands, there's a steady reliance on items and add-ons going on here, especially once we suggest items like a crown of White Raven Tactics that simply benefit any character (-0.5).
The Mage Slayer tree and Staggering Strike help when it comes to offense, but the build is lacking in defensive options and the utility wanes as you lose out on skill points (-0.5).
Elegance: 2.5
With only 3.5 ranks in Knowledge: Arcana and issues qualifying for Dragontouched (below), you fail to qualify for Hand of the Winged Masters. This will also receive a deduction in Use of the Secret Ingredient, below (-0.5).
With a CHA of 8, you fail to qualify for Dragontouched. Also, with only 1.5 ranks in Spellcraft, you fail to qualify for Mage Slayer (-0.5).
The inclusion of a DM-dependent section was a nice touch, as it allows for rules some may find questionable without relying on them (+0.5).
The entry does not receive multiclass penalties (since Ranger is a favored class) or suffer from excessive dipping, though it's close with two different dips (0).
UoSI: 2
The entry fails to qualify for the Secret Ingredient, as mentioned under Elegance above (-0.5).
All ten levels were taken (+0.5).
Improved Dragonfire Strike is switched to sonic damage, but the entry has no innate ways to synergize Master's Gift or True Strike apart from items (-0.5).
The concept of the Secret Ingredient was presented in the backstory, but it seemed as though it was added in solely for purposes of this competition (-0.5).
Fergal: 14
Originality: 2.5
The concept presented an interesting glimpse of a slave tasting liberation for the first time (+0.5).
Rogue 4 was used by the sample build in the text as well as another entry in this round, but swashbuckler and assassin instead of avenger add unique hints of flavor (0).
There's nothing really mechanically unique at play here (-0.5).
Between Whisper Gnome, Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis, Craven, Obtain Familiar, and some of the stealth items selected, this entry is packed with known cheese and handbook suggestions (-0.5).
Power: 2.5
You lag in sneak attack dice, but Insightful Strike helps slightly to even things out (0).
Aside from items (discussed below), most of the entry's abilities function all day (+0.5).
Between the collar, stat boosters, the mysterious wings that get one mention, and all the consumable items mentioned, Fergal is the Swag King. Take away the swag, though, and the king is off his throne (-0.5).
I'm confused at how we arrive at some of the numbers provided in your write-up. The main one is this: how does your sneak attack get to 13d6+13? From what I can see, you've got 7d6, which becomes 8d6+8 with Improved Dragonfire Strike. Am I missing an extra 5d6 somewhere? The devil, as they say, is in the details. Your Hide and Move Silently modifiers seem spot on, but with only that going for you the entry lags a bit in utility. You've focused on hiding as a method of defense, and you're able to do quite nicely with that...assuming the proper items and buff time. Without that, munching on you becomes a bit easier. In terms of offense, you're definitely hitting a lot. You've got some bonus damage going for you, but it's far from the figure you've presented (-0.5).
Elegance: 4
The entry qualifies for all classes taken (+0.5).
The entry qualifies for all feats taken (+0.5).
Skill Knowledge is questionable, as it exists as part of a variant skill system. Additionally, it's questionable whether you can take the Obtain Familiar feat and then swap that familiar out for an animal companion as per the variant used here, since that is a class variant and you don't obtain the familiar as a class feature (-0.5).
The entry does not receive any multiclass penalties or suffer from excessive dipping (+0.5).
UoSI: 5 (Best in Category)
The entry qualifies for the Secret Ingredient and makes maximum use of the Hide and Move silently skills (+0.5).
All ten levels were taken (+0.5).
Improved Dragonfire Strike is boosted by the TWF feat tree and Craven, Master's Gift makes use of the assassin's spellcasting ability, and Hide/Move Silently are maximized in attempts to make True Stealth's penalties a non-issue. In addition, True Stealth is shared with another creature (+0.5).
The concept of the class is complemented by entry in the Secret Ingredient, though I don't know how much longer this little revolutionary will serve a winged master (+0.5).
*While Raijin and Ssejternock tied in Originality, Best in Category was awarded to Raijin for adherence to a theme. The entry felt like the D&D equivalent of a concept album. Top to bottom, every choice (including odd ones like Master of Masks) was explained as a service to the concept.
**While Raijin and SCP tied in Power, Best in Category was awarded to SCP for the sheer lockdown potential of fear abilities. They're cheesy and overused for a reason!

And with that, the ties were broken.

Final(?) Tallies After Three Judges
{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Average
Raijin|Gold|46.5|3.88
Dokar|Silver|38.5|3.21
SCP|Bronze|37|3.08
Phillius|Fourth|35.5|2.96
Long Sha|Fifth|33.5|2.79
Fergal|Sixth|32.5|2.71
Ssejternock|Seventh|32|2.67[/table]

I found that my new rubric led to higher scores in general this round, with way higher scores in Elegance. Deducting once for not qualifying for feats or classes seems way more forgiving than deducting separately for each one missed. Also, the elimination of judging the overall "flow" of the build made Elegance a far more objective section. I like the result, but I'd love to hear any PMs about the new judging method. Naturally, if you disagree with particular scores, please follow the normal dispute process.

[ThiagoMartell]

Wow, Raijin sure is ahead.

[GreenSerpent]

As I mentioned a few contests back, perhaps Amph should amend the opening post so that it states a character backstory is required. Seeing as everyone seems to write walls of text for theirs...

[Piggy Knowles]

By my count, Long Sha should have a 3 in elegance (two bonuses and two deductions). Anything I'm missing?

EDIT: Regarding backstories, a backstory really isn't required... It's more like extra credit. You're more than welcome to submit without a backstory.

I personally didn't penalize anyone for lack of a backstory, but I did give a couple of entries a small bonus if it was well done. Also, two of my second-place entries were won without any sort of backstory. One had a few character quotes, but another didn't really reference the character at all. So it's still possible to place well without one.

[RFLS]

Is the next one up yet...? I always miss them when they go up, and miss out on submitting =/

[Venger]

very thorough judgings as always, ponies!

were you the last judge? I think so, but I could always be wrong.


Is the next one up yet...? I always miss them when they go up, and miss out on submitting =/

no, not yet. the new one is only ever put up after the "reveal" for the current one (who cooked what dish)

plus trophies! savvanah's done with them already, I bet they'll look great.

I wonder what we're doing next time. my gut says mountebank

[God Imperror]

mountebank

mountebank 20

mountebank 10/ mountebank 10

[Venger]

mountebank 20

mountebank 10/ mountebank 10

lol. I was talking about the 10 level prestige class from complete scoundrel. darn clases with the same name. I should've been more clear.

it's a watered down spymaster with less abilities over 10 levels instead of 7.

sideslip isn't that useful, only gives 2d6 SA, requires the Deceitful feat, your capstone of using dimdoor 1 or less times a day is staggeringly lackluster

however

your alter ego ability is very cool, its prerequisites aren't especially difficult to fulfill other than the feat tax.

tongue of the devil is a badass ability, it's got a decent skill list

so I think we'd see a decent spread of entries and it doesn't really restrict you too much.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Doubt it, Amphetryon already said it is possible to get 9ths with the next SI.

[Venger]

Doubt it, Amphetryon already said it is possible to get 9ths with the next SI.

whoops!

I'm really quite stumped then. all the ones I can think of that are 7/10ths plus seem too good for IC.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Sorcerer+Bloodline feat/Necrotic Cyst feat+Versatile Spellcaster=9th level spells even with 5/5 prestige class (assuming you didn't loose any other CL)

[Piggy Knowles]

Hmm... Apostle of Peace? Seems like a bit of a stretch, but it could be interesting.

[OMG PONIES]

As I mentioned a few contests back, perhaps Amph should amend the opening post so that it states a character backstory is required. Seeing as everyone seems to write walls of text for theirs...

As always, there's a difference between quality and quantity. The best backstories don't have to be a novel. Sometimes, if they get too long it causes me to lose interest. More than once I've had to insert intermissions into backstories.


By my count, Long Sha should have a 3 in elegance (two bonuses and two deductions). Anything I'm missing?

Just my inability to perform basic arithmetic. Added in a +0.5 bonus for the error so it's correct now; I don't want a contestant to be penalized simply because I couldn't add.


EDIT: Regarding backstories, a backstory really isn't required... It's more like extra credit. You're more than welcome to submit without a backstory.

I personally didn't penalize anyone for lack of a backstory, but I did give a couple of entries a small bonus if it was well done.

Same here. If you can't write worth a lick, I'm cool with it as long as the concept you present is still interesting. I'll never penalize you for who your character is, but I'll only award points if they're unique and/or the story is extremely well-written. If you choose the most boring fantasy trope but write it well, you'll get points from me. On the other hand, if you're not a master wordsmith but at least have an interesting angle on your character, you could see a bonus no matter which pretty words you do or don't use.

[Amechra]

Out of curiosity, are stuff like athas.org allowed materials for the "recipes?" It's under a license that says that it is 100% official content, even though it wasn't written by WotC themselves...

Same thing for birthright.orgnet and the like.

[Amphetryon]

Out of curiosity, are stuff like athas.org allowed materials for the "recipes?" It's under a license that says that it is 100% official content, even though it wasn't written by WotC themselves...

Same thing for birthright.orgnet and the like.

No, they fall under the same "official but not" umbrella as Kingdoms of Kalamar and most of Dragonlance.

Comment for Ponies, from Dokar:

I did account for the -2 Dex from Dragonborn of Bahumat. Dokar's Dex starts 17, and his 4th and 8th level ability score increases are both Dex. This gives him a Dex of 19 at 8th level, after which he undergoes the Ritual of Rebirth. This brings his Dex down to 17 (noted in the build), but still high enough to qualify for Improved TWF. His 12th and 16th level ability score increases are both Dex, bringing him up to Dex 19 and allowing him to take Greater TWF at 18th level.

I tried to list the effects of Dragonborn of Bahumat in the section on ability scores, but I wasn't sure of the format, so I apologize if I confused anyone

[Kelb_Panthera]

Is the next one up yet...? I always miss them when they go up, and miss out on submitting =/

Barring unusual circumstances (like the recent frankenstorm in the northeast US) Each new iron chef thread is posted exactly 4 weeks after the one before it. 2 weeks for cooking, 2 weeks for judging.

[OMG PONIES]

I did account for the -2 Dex from Dragonborn of Bahumat. Dokar's Dex starts 17, and his 4th and 8th level ability score increases are both Dex. This gives him a Dex of 19 at 8th level, after which he undergoes the Ritual of Rebirth. This brings his Dex down to 17 (noted in the build), but still high enough to qualify for Improved TWF. His 12th and 16th level ability score increases are both Dex, bringing him up to Dex 19 and allowing him to take Greater TWF at 18th level.

I tried to list the effects of Dragonborn of Bahumat in the section on ability scores, but I wasn't sure of the format, so I apologize if I confused anyone

First my 'rithmetic, now my readin'? I apologize, I somehow missed the stat boosts at levels 4 and 8, later counteracted by the ritual of rebirth to bring us back to a DEX of 17. My scoring has been adjusted.

[Venger]

reveal's almost here! excitement's in the air.

[Amphetryon]

And, now, we've come to the final reveal. Well done to all contestants and judges.

Final Tallies After Three Judges
{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Average
Venger’s Raijin|Gold|46.5|3.88
Darrin’s Dokar|Silver|38.5|3.21
Amechra’s SCP|Bronze|37|3.08
HM Dumbledore lives’ Phillius|Fourth|35.5|2.96
smasher0404’s Long Sha|Fifth|33.5|2.79
Rockdeworld’s Fergal|Sixth|32.5|2.71
Dusk Eclipse’s Ssejternock|Seventh|32|2.67[/table]

Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX will be up shortly.

[Venger]

outstanding. I'm looking forward to the new trophies.

[Narsis]

congratz to the winners.

also can't wait to see what the next ingredient is...

[Dusk Eclipse]

mmm I am a little disappointed I did so badly; but I did rush my entry and it shows. oh well. Congratz to the winners, they deserve it.

[Savannah]

And here's your trophies -- hope you like them! (They're legal to go in a signature in a spoiler -- if you want a smaller one to be unspoilered, let me know and I'll see what I can do.)

First place:
http://imageshack.us/a/img17/193/38firstplace.png

Second place:
http://imageshack.us/a/img856/1104/38secondplace.png

Third place:
http://imageshack.us/a/img829/8377/38thirdplace.png

And the judges (I believe I found everyone; if I missed you, let me know).
http://imageshack.us/a/img171/3812/38judge1.png http://imageshack.us/a/img266/1722/38judge2.png http://imageshack.us/a/img16/7728/38judge3.png

And last but not least:
http://imageshack.us/a/img705/2750/38chair.png

[Amphetryon]

Those are amazing, Savannah.

[Darrin]

And here's your trophies -- hope you like them!

Fantastic! Thank you!


It occurred to me when I was working out my skill ranks that if Bluff and Knowledge: Arcana were class skills, I would be able to qualify for HotWM after only a single level of Scout... if you take Dragonfire Strike at 1st level, you have 2d6 skirmish damage. Not enough feats, though... Human Rogue 1 gets a little closer, but you'd need Dragontouched, Dragonfire Strike, and Knowledge Devotion or Education.

Kudos to Amechra for noticing that Dragonfire Strike adds +1d6 damage to skirmish, sneak attack, and sudden strike *individually*. I think SCP only gets two out of the three, though... can we get all three on the same build for +3d6 fire damage? Hmm...

Scout 1/Rogue 4/HotWM 10/Avenging Executioner 5

Since Sneak Attack and Sudden Strike have a similar trigger, stacking those two together for +2d6 would probably be better than trying to add in Scout.

Then again, replace one of those Rogue levels with the Halfling Monk sub level that gets +1d6 skirmish on unarmed strikes... that's 2d6 skirmish so we could go:

Scout 1/Halfling Skirmish Monk 2/Rogue 2/HotWM 10/Avenging Executioner 5

Swap the Monk's evasion for Invisible Fist, and we can attack while invisible every 3 rounds, and we still have evasion from Rogue if we need it. Interesting... although BAB is nightmarishly low.

[Venger]

whoa! those trophies are beautiful! thanks a lot, savannah, they look great.

EDIT: in the signature it goes.

[OMG PONIES]

And here's your trophies -- hope you like them!

Above and beyond, Savannah. You win all of my internets.


It occurred to me when I was working out my skill ranks that if Bluff and Knowledge: Arcana were class skills, I would be able to qualify for HotWM after only a single level of Scout... if you take Dragonfire Strike at 1st level, you have 2d6 skirmish damage. Not enough feats, though... Human Rogue 1 gets a little closer, but you'd need Dragontouched, Dragonfire Strike, and Knowledge Devotion or Education.

Kudos to Amechra for noticing that Dragonfire Strike adds +1d6 damage to skirmish, sneak attack, and sudden strike *individually*. I think SCP only gets two out of the three, though... can we get all three on the same build for +3d6 fire damage? Hmm...

Scout 1/Rogue 4/HotWM 10/Avenging Executioner 5

Since Sneak Attack and Sudden Strike have a similar trigger, stacking those two together for +2d6 would probably be better than trying to add in Scout.

Then again, replace one of those Rogue levels with the Halfling Monk sub level that gets +1d6 skirmish on unarmed strikes... that's 2d6 skirmish so we could go:

Scout 1/Halfling Skirmish Monk 2/Rogue 2/HotWM 10/Avenging Executioner 5

Swap the Monk's evasion for Invisible Fist, and we can attack while invisible every 3 rounds, and we still have evasion from Rogue if we need it. Interesting... although BAB is nightmarishly low.

I'm loving the post-game brainstorming, but Hand of the Winged Master has a +4 BAB prerequisite. Anyway, see you all in the next round. Savannah's amazing trophies really make me want to compete :smallbiggrin:.

[Amechra]

I... got 3rd place?

Much better than my build deserved.

I resolve to submit something amazing and badass to the next challenge, though.

[Venger]

I... got 3rd place?

Much better than my build deserved.

I resolve to submit something amazing and badass to the next challenge, though.

hey, I loved your SCP references, I always like reading (and writing) backstories that aren't the fantasy types that you'd expect. it usually doesn't work out well for me (like with ted back in temple raider of olidimmara) but that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. I'm sure that the next SI can give you some more fun sci-fi inspired flavor, so good luck with it!

[rockdeworld]

Ditto about the SCP reference. I'm familiar with the SCP site, and in addition to being interesting to read, it caught my attention and held it through each of the judgings.

Congratz Venger on 1st place!

For myself, I'm glad I was able to submit a build to this at all, let alone score. I feel like I have personally come a long way just to make the build I did. Of course, I made several mistakes that I would correct if I enter another contest.
-I didn't realize that builds should be item-less (I thought everyone would submit a build with full WBL) until after the reveal. The "Winged Death" idea came into my head because that any servant of a dragon should be able to fly, and I got the Fiendish Wings graft for that reason.
-All the judges commented on how my build came basically out of a handbook, and it mostly did. I looked at the rogue and swashbuckler handbooks for tips, and sacrificed originality for power.
-The Obtain Familiar/UA swap was a mistake that came out of realizing that familiars don't have 5' reach (and so can't flank) after finishing the build with a Bat familiar. I panicked and didn't even see the Wild Companion feat, which would obviously have been the better choice.

Overall, it was fun, I feel proud of myself for finishing it, and I'm not sure I can devote this much time to a build again, since it took over 5 solid hours. Thanks judges for treating me like an equal contender!

[Dumbledore lives]

I'm pretty happy with fourth and honorable mention, I submitted a perfectly adequate build I thought, nothing particularly unique but still a decent enough build. Upon re-evaluation after submitting it was worse than I expected, but you know that's how it goes most times, especially after judging. Still I'm excited for the next one.

[ThiagoMartell]

Wow, amazing trophies! And judge badges! Wow! Excellent work, Savannah!