Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXXIX

[Amphetryon]

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef XXXIX. 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, November 17th, 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, December 1st, 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:
Magic of Eberron's Renegade Mastermaker!
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)
Iron Chef XXXVIII: Hand of the Winged Master (”http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257723”)

[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.

But, Amph, Renegade Mastermaker can reasonably get 9th level spells! Where's the challenge? If your expectation is that all the presented builds will have 9th level spells, the challenge would appear to lie in choosing the right combination of spells, complementing Classes and Feats, and other abilities to make judges see why your creation is especially awesome, and why it could not have been so with another PrC that also grants that level of spell acquisition. Good luck!

What ruling(s) are we working with for the Battlefist? They're all confusing and stuff. For the purposes of this contest, a Renegade Mastermaker's Battlefist does 1d6 damage, + STR modifier, if you are Small size, and scales up in damage as any other weapon of that size and that base damage. It is always considered a 1-handed, light weapon unless you take Feats or other abilities that would modify this fact. A Renegade Mastermaker's Battlefist is not the same item as the Warforged component of the same name in the ECS, regardless of name and other similarities you may see.

What ruling(s) are we working with for Dragonmarks? There's contradictory information out there on whether changing form keeps or loses Dragonmarks. For the purposes of this contest, we're going to treat the Construct Exemplar transformation as following the rules for Reincarnation (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20051024a) regarding Dragonmarks, rather than following the rules for the Dragonborn's Ritual of Rebirth. There appears to be equal precedence for either; this ruling comes down on the 'permissive' rather than 'restrictive' side.

[Venger]

well, I'm in. I love this class.

[Narsis]

I have the book but never looked at that PrC before...

[Dusk Eclipse]

Already got an idea, I'm in.

[Darrin]

Ugh... of all the rules headaches to walk into a kitchen... Battlefist.

Why did it have to be Battlefist?

And then... they made the rules headaches *worse*...

[Venger]

can we get some rulings on how our battlefists work? they're all confusing and stuff.

[Zaq]

This . . . has the potential to be ugly, just from a rules headache perspective. I hope that this ends up not being the case.

I will say that you'd have to trot out a pretty good-sized check to make me judge this round. Kudos to everyone with the fortitude to do so.

[Amphetryon]

This . . . has the potential to be ugly, just from a rules headache perspective. I hope that this ends up not being the case.

I will say that you'd have to trot out a pretty good-sized check to make me judge this round. Kudos to everyone with the fortitude to do so.

A check? That's easy. . . Oh, you meant a check that's worth the money it claims it is. Never mind. :smallbiggrin:

[Dusk Eclipse]

Umm, maybe I'm not reading correctly; but why is Battlefist a rule's mess? From my reading while named the same it is quite distinct from the Battlefist warforged component.

[Razanir]

Ugh... of all the rules headaches to walk into a kitchen... Battlefist.

Why did it have to be Battlefist?

And then... they made the rules headaches *worse*...

That's what you "ugh" about? I've wanted to enter these for a while, but have a single splatbook (Complete Adventurer, by the way). The only two classes I have access to that have been the ingredient since I joined the Playground are the dragon disciple and shadowdancer. So if my annoyed outburst didn't get the point across, can we pwease have a class from the SRD next? I REALLY want to join one of these, but don't have most splatbooks

[GreenSerpent]

... I actually have an idea. A rather nice one as well. Hopefully.

wwait an see

[OMG PONIES]

Out of all the prestige classes in all the world...I'll have to see if I can drum up an entry.

[Piggy Knowles]

OK, I've got an idea, possibly a pretty good one. I'll have to see if it can pan out...

[Darrin]

Umm, maybe I'm not reading correctly; but why is Battlefist a rule's mess? From my reading while named the same it is quite distinct from the Battlefist warforged component.

If the two battlefists are one in the same, then it actually clarifies some things... I would go into more detail, but rather than risk speculation, that might be better resolved via PM.

Can we get a ruling on whether the Battlefist from ECS and the Battlefist in Renegade Mastermaker are one in the same? That is, does the text from ECS apply to the Battlefist provided by Renegade Mastermaker, or should we treat them as two different types of components?


So if my annoyed outburst didn't get the point across, can we pwease have a class from the SRD next? I REALLY want to join one of these, but don't have most splatbooks

I'd like to see the SRD PrCs finished off as well. I mean, seriously... no one has done Duelist yet?!?

[GreenSerpent]

Wait a second...

WE'VE GOT A DRAGON DISCIPLE OVER HERE, MATES.

Renegade Mastermaker changes your type to Construct with the Living Construct subtype (I presume, as all it states is your type changes to Living Construct). The entry requirements for Renegade Mastermaker include Type:Humanoid.

So you hit level 10, become a living construct and no longer fulfill the requirements for the prestige class (as you are no longer a Humanoid). Which means you lose the benefits from it.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

[Amechra]

I've already got my build in.

[Draz74]

That's what you "ugh" about? I've wanted to enter these for a while, but have a single splatbook (Complete Adventurer, by the way). The only two classes I have access to that have been the ingredient since I joined the Playground are the dragon disciple and shadowdancer. So if my annoyed outburst didn't get the point across, can we pwease have a class from the SRD next? I REALLY want to join one of these, but don't have most splatbooks


I'd like to see the SRD PrCs finished off as well. I mean, seriously... no one has done Duelist yet?!?

Now, now ... if we hurry and do all the SRD PrCs, then someone else will join the Playground afterwards and start complaining that all the SRD PrCs were done before she could participate. :smalltongue:

Besides, Duelist is a rather lame PrC even by Iron Chef standards. Arcane Archer, Blackguard, Dwarven Defender, and Horizon Walker might be ok ingredients, though. Although two of them are racially restrictive.

[rockdeworld]

Actually, I have an idea for this too. I may enter.

I assume from the 8/10 casting progression that this will edition will have high standards for power.

[Madara]

Actually, I have an idea for this too. I may enter.

I assume from the 8/10 casting progression that this will edition will have high standards for power.

Unless of course you decide to roll the dice and go for points in elegance and originality, making the judges suprised that you didn't make it all about the spellcasting. :smallwink:

[Amphetryon]

Added verbiage on Battlefist to the FAQ. Let me know if I just made things worse.

EDIT:

Wait a second...

WE'VE GOT A DRAGON DISCIPLE OVER HERE, MATES.

Renegade Mastermaker changes your type to Construct with the Living Construct subtype (I presume, as all it states is your type changes to Living Construct). The entry requirements for Renegade Mastermaker include Type:Humanoid.

So you hit level 10, become a living construct and no longer fulfill the requirements for the prestige class (as you are no longer a Humanoid). Which means you lose the benefits from it.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?Ignore Schrodinger's Construct. You continue to qualify, because that's just silly.

[Darrin]

What ruling(s) are we working with for the Battlefist? They're all confusing and stuff. For the purposes of this contest, a Renegade Mastermaker's Battlefist does 1d6 damage, + STR modifier, if you are Small size, and scales up in damage as any other weapon of that size and that base damage.


Shouldn't the default size be 1d6 = medium? A small-sized character would have a 1d4 battlefist.


It is always considered a 1-handed, light weapon unless you take Feats or other abilities that would modify this fact.


As a natural weapon, however, you can use Power Attack with it. By my reading, if it's not your primary weapon, you can use it as either a secondary natural attack, or as an offhand attack.



A Renegade Mastermaker's Battlefist is not the same item as the Warforged component of the same name in the ECS, regardless of name and other similarities you may see.

So... once we're considered Warforged (or add the Mighty Arms graft), we can mount the ECS Battlefist in addition to the RM Battlefist? Do we get two 1d8 slams then, or just one? Can we TWF with both battlefists, or just the RM version?



Ignore Schrodinger's Construct. You continue to qualify, because that's just silly.

It's somewhat more silly than just that... Living Construct is actually a subtype, not a type. I'm... not entirely sure what the designer intended here, but I think he wanted the type to change to Construct, with Living Construct as a subtype.

The alternative would be your type remains Humanoid, but you gain the Living Construct subtype. While this may be closer to RAW, I think RAI might be the best way to go here.

[Amphetryon]

Shouldn't the default size be 1d6 = medium? A small-sized character would have a 1d4 battlefist.
By making the default 1d6 for Small size, it falls in line with the ECS Battlefist's damage for Medium, which was the intent of the ruling. Incidentally, the verbiage "shouldn't" comes across with baggage of "no, you're wrong, and here's why," with the rider that the "no you're wrong, and here's why" applies to all commentary to follow in the post. Was that your intent?


As a natural weapon, however, you can use Power Attack with it. By my reading, if it's not your primary weapon, you can use it as either a secondary natural attack, or as an offhand attack. I never (thought I) said otherwise, or created a rules-paradox with what I posted. Did I? If it's your offhand or secondary attack, the damage from the STR modifier would naturally be reduced as normal for such attacks, but I did not think that needed to be explicitly spelled out here, as it's already black-letter RAW.


So... once we're considered Warforged (or add the Mighty Arms graft), we can mount the ECS Battlefist in addition to the RM Battlefist? Do we get two 1d8 slams then, or just one? Can we TWF with both battlefists, or just the RM version?How are you fitting two different gauntlets/magic items onto the same slot, again? That's how "in addition to" reads, from here. Otherwise, what you do for enhancements with your off-hand shouldn't interfere with what you do for enhancements with your primary hand, unless you've got specific rules text that contradicts that.


It's somewhat more silly than just that... Living Construct is actually a subtype, not a type. I'm... not entirely sure what the designer intended here, but I think he wanted the type to change to Construct, with Living Construct as a subtype.

The alternative would be your type remains Humanoid, but you gain the Living Construct subtype. While this may be closer to RAW, I think RAI might be the best way to go here.I cannot tell if you are arguing against or for the commentary regarding Schrodinger's Construct at this point. Please clarify.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Ah, another ingredient I'm not familiar enough with to either cook with or judge. Unfortunate, but them's the breaks. Good luck to all who will still be involved.

[Darrin]

By making the default 1d6 for Small size, it falls in line with the ECS Battlefist's damage for Medium, which was the intent of the ruling. Incidentally, the verbiage "shouldn't" comes across with baggage of "no, you're wrong, and here's why," with the rider that the "no you're wrong, and here's why" applies to all commentary to follow in the post. Was that your intent?


The 1d6 damage is granted as a class feature. Normally, when a natural attack is granted via a class feature, template, or soulmeld, the creature's default size is assumed to be medium. Sometimes whatever grants the natural attack tells you to adjust up/down for size differences, but if it doesn't, then the size adjustment is generally implied.

If I'm a medium-sized character that takes a level in Renegade Mastermaker, I get a battlefist that does 1d6 damage by RAW. But you just said it goes up to 1d8 because I'm one size larger than small. (Which you said is so it matches the ECS battlefist... but you declared they were two different things, so why exactly does the damage have to match if they're two different things?)



I never (thought I) said otherwise, or created a rules-paradox with what I posted. Did I?


Sorry, I was just clarifying. No, you didn't say otherwise. Normally, light weapons can't be used with PA. This battlefist is an exception, because it counts as both a natural weapon and a manufactured weapon.



If it's your offhand or secondary attack, the damage from the STR modifier would naturally be reduced as normal for such attacks, but I did not think that needed to be explicitly spelled out here, as it's already black-letter RAW.


Again, I was just trying to clarify. Normally, a slam attack can't be used as an offhand attack because it's a natural weapon, and those are either treated as primary attacks or secondary attacks by RAW. The text doesn't specify if the slam isn't your primary, do you treat it as a secondary attack, or can it be used as an offhand attack? By my reading of the rules, it can be either, and I just wanted to clarify that.



How are you fitting two different gauntlets/magic items onto the same slot, again?


I have two arms. If I replace one with a Battlefist, I still have another arm. You said the two battlefists were different, so I could mount one as a class feature, then get the mighty arms graft (which is a graft, not a magic item, hence it doesn't take up a "slot"), and then mount the ECS battlefist on my other arm. (The battlefists are enchanted as weapons, not as arm-slot items, so I'm not sure why magic item slots would be an issue.) If this is possible, then the ECS battlefist bumps up the slam damage on my RM battlefist by a size category... and creates some perplexities if I'm considered a Warforged with monk levels.



I cannot tell if you are arguing against or for the commentary regarding Schrodinger's Construct at this point. Please clarify.

By RAW, adding the Living Construct subtype to a humanoid doesn't change the type to Construct. It's a subtype, not a type. In this case, there would be no Schrodinger problem: you're still a humanoid, so you still qualify for the PrC.

I was arguing that RAI makes more sense... the designer intended the type to change to Construct, with the Living Construct subtype. In this case, I'm perfectly happy with your "No Schrodinger" ruling.

[Vknight]

*Clears Throat*
To judge this will be interesting.

Anyways my criteria for when I am judging the various builds


Overall
-I'll be starting with 3 in each. Depending on various factors it will go up or down
-I do enjoy backstories and other things of that nature which adds flesh to stats. They turn some numbers into a NPC in a future campaign.

Originality
How different is it compared to the other entries
How does it use the abilities granted in a unique or interesting way
Is the fluff coherent, does the character make any sort of sense

Power
How does it fair at each 5 level bracket. Is the build valid early. Can it hold its own late in the game.
How effective at buffs, and general combat is the character.
Can he go it alone, and how well would he mesh with a party

Elegance
Does anything feel tacked on. Does it make sense for character progression.
Is there an overuse of multiclassing, strange progression through classes.
How well does it all blend into a build. Does it make a straight line or a curving road

Use of Secret Ingredient
When do you get into the class.
How well incorporated it is into the full build
Is it underused, used poorly, not the major focus, or just not fun.

[Madara]

*Clears Throat*
To judge this will be interesting.

Anyways my criteria for when I am judging the various builds

I don't have any really good ideas, but I'm pretty familiar with the class. Since it doesn't look like it'll be 16+ entries, I'll throw in my hat as well.


Overall
*Like everyone else, you start with a 3 in each catagory
*You don't need to have a backstory element for everything you do, just for the important things, like class or feat chains, or any ACFs
*Eberron has a distinct flavor, but there will be no docking for going somewhere else with the class

Originality
*I realize that you have no idea what other people will do ahead of time, so I'm not going to be comparing it to the rest of the crowd
*Instead, I will compare your character to classic crafter/ RMM builds
*The classes suggested in the PrC itself will not be thought of as original unless you can do something unique with it

Power
*Its a 8/10 casting class, power is a word tossed around. I don't want people to say "It has 9s, its powerful"
* Rather, I will judge the suggested unique combinations and strategies that are possible with just that build, or limited to a certain build group. If your Build has unique abilities that add power to the typical caster, that is what I judge
*Keep in mind that power isn't just in terms of combat. Its the character's overall ability to solve and complete encounters at maximum efficiency

Elegance
*Did you manage to make the most of feat taxes? Or did you just take Human for the bonus feat and call it good?
* Elegance is the flow of the character, are the abilities gained at a level when they matter? Or do they come in too late for me to care.
*Did you meet all prereqs? Does your build use any shady interpretations of RAW? Do you abuse anything like magical traps?

Use of Secret Ingredient
*Are the abilties of the class relevent at the level you gain them?
*Is the character built around the class? Or is the class just there to get the casting?
*How many of the class features do you utilize above their normal benefits?
*Do you take all 10 levels of the PrC? Why(Besides the fact that its the class for this competition?)

[Piggy Knowles]

Dang, original idea already is having trouble. I found a variation that will work but maybe loses some "cool" points, so I'll still probably have an entry... But man, I want to get this first idea to work!

[Venger]

I was arguing that RAI makes more sense... the designer intended the type to change to Construct, with the Living Construct subtype. In this case, I'm perfectly happy with your "No Schrodinger" ruling.

I'm not 100% sure what exactly the designer intended, but the way I've done it in the past (what I understand the rules to mean) is indeed this, you enter as a humanoid, and come out as a humanoid with the living construct subtype.

Is this what the ruling is for the purposes of the contest? despite what MoE says, living construct isn't a type.

[Amphetryon]

which is a graft, not a magic item, hence it doesn't take up a "slot"If you believe that the judges will read this as permissively as that (allowing both a graft and a pair of "battlefists" on the same hand), you are welcome to try it. That's a level of permissiveness I'm not accustomed to, either in IC or with those I've played with.

[Dumbledore lives]

Well it's certainly an interesting class that I haven't used before, let's see what we can do.

[Dusk Eclipse]

If you believe that the judges will read this as permissively as that (allowing both a graft and a pair of "battlefists" on the same hand), you are welcome to try it. That's a level of permissiveness I'm not accustomed to, either in IC or with those I've played with.

From what I'm understanding Darrin means using the Battlefist from RMm in his right hand and then replacing his left arm with a mighty arm graft and then upgrading that slam attack with a Battlwfist from the ECS.

[Amechra]

So, out of curiosity, are we allowing SLAs to supply the CL to qualify for item crafting feats? Because I'm pretty sure they can qualify...

[Amphetryon]

From what I'm understanding Darrin means using the Battlefist from RMm in his right hand and then replacing his left arm with a mighty arm graft and then upgrading that slam attack with a Battlwfist from the ECS.

Which my initial response said would appear to be legal, if Feat/equipment intensive.

[OMG PONIES]

Besides, Duelist is a rather lame PrC even by Iron Chef standards. Arcane Archer, Blackguard, Dwarven Defender, and Horizon Walker might be ok ingredients, though. Although two of them are racially restrictive.

All the more challenging! And we've used racially restrictive ingredients before (Blade Bravo and Shadow Sentinel spring readily to mind).

[GreenSerpent]

I have a query.

If the character possesses a Dragonmark (for an example let us say the Lesser Mark of Storm) before they reach level 10 of Renegade Mastermaker, do they still keep the Dragonmark and the abilities upon turning into a living construct? What about Siberys marks or Aberrant marks?

[Amechra]

Yep; they retain their old race, and are just treated like Warforged in addition.

[Amphetryon]

I have a query.

If the character possesses a Dragonmark (for an example let us say the Lesser Mark of Storm) before they reach level 10 of Renegade Mastermaker, do they still keep the Dragonmark and the abilities upon turning into a living construct? What about Siberys marks or Aberrant marks?

Is there explicit verbiage in any Eberron text to indicate that a Dragonmark can be lost? Honest question.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Becoming a Dragonborn erases your Dragonmark and I think if you reincarnate in a different race you also loose your Dragonmark, I know there was an article in WotC page; but I can't find it.

[Piggy Knowles]

Actually, the article explicitly says that you KEEP your dragonmark if you are reincarnated. I'll see if I can pull it up.

[mattie_p]

Actually, the article explicitly says that you KEEP your dragonmark if you are reincarnated. I'll see if I can pull it up.

Yes it does. Found it (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20051024a).

A character who possesses a dragonmark will keep his dragonmark even in his new form. However, he cannot pass the dragonmark to his descendants. So reincarnation makes it possible to find an orc with the Mark of Storm, but this will not produce an entire dynasty of dragonmarked orcs.

[GreenSerpent]

Ah, okay. So if he has a Dragonmark and changes race he keeps all the benefits of it, but cannot pass it on.

Seems fair.

[Amphetryon]

Ah, okay. So if he has a Dragonmark and changes race he keeps all the benefits of it, but cannot pass it on.

Seems fair.
Unless he's undergone the Ritual of Rebirth for Dragonborn, or another similar ritual where a Dragonmark is expressly called out as removed.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Unless he's undergone the Ritual of Rebirth for Dragonborn, or another similar ritual where a Dragonmark is expressly called out as removed.

Are there any other rituals similar to the Ritual of Rebirth?

Edit: Since the Prestige class is Eberron-based, should we assume Action Points are the norm?

[GreenSerpent]

Good. Otherwise my build would go from "potentially awesome" to "much less awesome".

[Amphetryon]

Are there any other rituals similar to the Ritual of Rebirth?

Edit: Since the Prestige class is Eberron-based, should we assume Action Points are the norm?

I don't recall offhand if there's specific verbiage on Dragonmarks and crucimigration, for one.

I would assume Action Points will be considered normal; I would not assume a judge will/will not consider your explicit usage of Action Points as far as scoring is concerned.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I don't recall offhand if there's specific verbiage on Dragonmarks and crucimigration, for one.

I would assume Action Points will be considered normal; I would not assume a judge will/will not consider your explicit usage of Action Points as far as scoring is concerned.

Fair Enough.

[Amechra]

Would one of the feats that up your number of Action Points per level remove any quibbles about Action Point use? Judges?

[OMG PONIES]

I don't know how this happened, but I wound up with four separate build ideas. Choosing from here is going to be tricky.

[123456789blaaa]

All the more challenging! And we've used racially restrictive ingredients before (Blade Bravo and Shadow Sentinel spring readily to mind).

You have to keep in mind what makes an interesting ingredient though. Duelist ( and Dwarven Defender, and arcane archer) is really really boring (the others are better but they've actually been used in a lot of builds ). I don't think we'd see many interesting or unique builds.

On that note does anyone think we should take the lists of good qualities in an SI from one of the previous threads and put them in future OP's to aid future chairmen?

[Amphetryon]

You have to keep in mind what makes an interesting ingredient though. Duelist ( and Dwarven Defender, and arcane archer) is really really boring (the others are better but they've actually been used in a lot of builds ). I don't think we'd see many interesting or unique builds.

On that note does anyone think we should take the lists of good qualities in an SI from one of the previous threads and put them in future OP's to aid future chairmen?

I think that list will tend to evolve as the folks participating change, and as the number of previous ingredients and entries continues to swell. As such, I'm not convinced it has a whole lot of use going forward other than a marker indicating where the contest was at that time. At one time, contestants using only 4 levels in the PrC that was the focus of the contest could expect to do very well; I doubt that's the case in the current environment, for example.

[Madara]

Would one of the feats that up your number of Action Points per level remove any quibbles about Action Point use? Judges?

I'm going to assume that the stadard Eberron rules for action points are used. So if you have a feat or ability that uses action points, it will be treated like any other feat. But I will say, that because of how limited action points are per level(unless you get a special source), I will be calculating how often you could use the ability at your write-ups and sweet spot, as well as in general. This will be kept in mind when I am scoring on Power.

[Venger]

what is the ruling on the construct exemplar ability, chairman? does it just give you the living construct subtype, or does it also change your type from humanoid to construct?

[Amphetryon]

Given the verbiage about qualifying as a Warforged, you take on the Construct (Living Construct) type, just as they have.

[Venger]

Given the verbiage about qualifying as a Warforged, you take on the Construct (Living Construct) type, just as they have.

type and subtype it is, then. thanks!

[GreenSerpent]

Given the verbiage about qualifying as a Warforged, you take on the Construct (Living Construct) type, just as they have.

I get you are treated as a Warforged once you reach level 10, but are you also treated as a member of your original race or not?

[Venger]

I get you are treated as a Warforged once you reach level 10, but are you also treated as a member of your original race or not?

you mean like if you were human, could you take a human-only class after for example?

interesting question.

[Amphetryon]

I get you are treated as a Warforged once you reach level 10, but are you also treated as a member of your original race or not?

Barring explicit verbiage that says "you are no longer a member if your original race" or "no longer qualify as" or similar, I'd say you are also still a member of your original race.

[Dumbledore lives]

Well I have a concept, I'm not sure how well it works out mechanically but I think it's pretty cool.

[Thurbane]

I'm not a big Eberron fan, but the whole cyborg aspect of the PrC appeals to me. I might get an entry in, spare time permitting, but that's pretty iffy right now...

[Vknight]

I'm excited by this challenge. How many people will go all in with the class how many people will make a partial cyborg.

[Venger]

mechanically

nicely done (http://cache.ohinternet.com/images/2/24/I_see_what_you_did_there_super.jpg)

[Amechra]

I've got an idea for a build (yes, another one), but it would probably make people stab me.

Should I do it anyway?

[Madara]

I've got an idea for a build (yes, another one), but it would probably make people stab me.

Should I do it anyway?

The good news is that people won't know its you, so they can't stab you, at least not until the end of the contest :smallwink:

[Narsis]

The good news is that people won't know its you, so they can't stab you, at least not until the end of the contest :smallwink:

stabbed now or stabbed later is still stabbed. :smalltongue:

[Madara]

stabbed now or stabbed later is still stabbed. :smalltongue:

But the stabbing won't feel as bad after a glorious victory :smallwink:

[Piggy Knowles]

One of my first thoughts was pretty stab-worthy, although I couldn't get it to come together without some pretty stinky cheese. I'll be curious to see if anyone else goes that route, though.

[Draz74]

All the more challenging!
Indeed. However, whether "more challenging" is a good thing is ... controversial.


And we've used racially restrictive ingredients before (Blade Bravo and Shadow Sentinel spring readily to mind).

Yes, and at the end of both of those contests, the current Chairman made some comment about how the next contest would be mercifully less restrictive racially.

[Venger]

Yes, and at the end of both of those contests, the current Chairman made some comment about how the next contest would be mercifully less restrictive racially.

you're going to talk about restrictive ingredients and not mention drow judicator or initiate of pistis sophia? now those were really hard. I didn't do blade bravo so can't comment, but shadow sentinel was a cakewalk compared to the other two

[OMG PONIES]

Yes, and at the end of both of those contests, the current Chairman made some comment about how the next contest would be mercifully less restrictive racially.


you're going to talk about restrictive ingredients and not mention drow judicator or initiate of pistis sophia? now those were really hard. I didn't do blade bravo so can't comment, but shadow sentinel was a cakewalk compared to the other two

True...Blade Bravo didn't even require gnome if you were willing to burn a few levels on Stoneblessed. Those others were bears by comparison.

[ThiagoMartell]

Any ingredient that requires elf is not at all restrictive, also. There are so many elven subraces out there!

[Amphetryon]

Any ingredient that requires elf is not at all restrictive, also. There are so many elven subraces out there!

More Dwarves than Elves, by strict count.

[ThiagoMartell]

More Dwarves than Elves, by strict count.

Wow, didn't know that. Can't even begin to imagine where they are hidden. Are you counting half-elves as well? 'cause we're talking prc qualification and elf blood counts there. I think there are more elf prcs out there, so I guess it evens out, doesn't it?

[OMG PONIES]

Any ingredient that requires elf is not at all restrictive, also. There are so many elven subraces out there!

:smallyuk: But then you have to be...an elf. *shudder*

[Madara]

:smallyuk: But then you have to be...an elf. *shudder*

Or Half-Elf. But still, your point stands. :smallamused:

[Dusk Eclipse]

There are some decent elves... Snow elf from frostburn is posibly the best elf sub-race and Fire elves are awesome for Int-based gishes. They also have monopoly to the best Prestige class for Two weapon fighters, the Revenant Blade and one of the strongest ToB Prestige classes, Eternal Blade.

And Eberron's elves (half elves and drow too) have the best fluff ever concerning them! Ancient-mongolian-esque hordes for the Valenar, Creepy not-necromancer Death Obsessed elves in Aerenal, tribal ex-slaves drows who worship a Scorpion-god and aren't chaotic evil to the point of not being a sustainable society. And finally the half-breed (who incidentally became a true-breeding race) are freaking AIR PIRATES!!!!! and some of them can control the climate!

tl:dr: normal elves sucks mechanically; but Eberron Elves are awesome.

[OMG PONIES]

tl:dr: normal elves sucks mechanically; but Eberron Elves are awesome.

Even shorter? "Everything's better in Eberron."

[ThiagoMartell]

Even shorter? "Everything's better in Eberron."

QFT. As usual, Mr Ponies brings us words of wisdom.

[OMG PONIES]

I think I was able to narrow my four concepts down to one! Granted, I don't know if that one will materialize into a build or if I'll ragequit hours before the deadline, but we shall see.

[Piggy Knowles]

Well dang, after several contests where I got my entry in just before the deadline, if at all, I managed to submit my build a full week in advance. Feels nice to not have so much pressure on!

I'm pretty happy with my build. I did break one of my cardinal rules of Iron Chef building with this entry, so I'll be curious to see if it hurts me or not... but hey, for every rule an exception, right?

[Dusk Eclipse]

Lucky you, I have my concept pretty much nailed; but there are some rules question that I need to check before actually building... and this I will make sure my entry isn't a complete mess.

[Amphetryon]

Well dang, after several contests where I got my entry in just before the deadline, if at all, I managed to submit my build a full week in advance. Feels nice to not have so much pressure on!

I'm pretty happy with my build. I did break one of my cardinal rules of Iron Chef building with this entry, so I'll be curious to see if it hurts me or not... but hey, for every rule an exception, right?

*opens PM*

*Blinks, stares*

*closes PM, gets eye drops and applies*

*re-opens PM, just to double-check*

*laughs, shrugs, and closes PM*

[OMG PONIES]

*opens PM*

*Blinks, stares*

*closes PM, gets eye drops and applies*

*re-opens PM, just to double-check*

*laughs, shrugs, and closes PM*

So THAT's how Pun-Pun can become Warforged.

[krackenjack]

So I'm working on a build, if I have time to get it written down. One rules question, if I may (and I think this doesn't give anything away): how does a PrC like this affect spell casting gained from another PrC that has 10 or fewer caster levels? Do you just keep increasing caster level without gaining additional spells per day/known after you max the PrC out?

[Amphetryon]

So I'm working on a build, if I have time to get it written down. One rules question, if I may (and I think this doesn't give anything away): how does a PrC like this affect spell casting gained from another PrC that has 10 or fewer caster levels? Do you just keep increasing caster level without gaining additional spells per day/known after you max the PrC out?

Indeed. Caster level increases, nothing else changes on that particular front.

[Madara]

Just a reminder to contestants, Action Points are assumed, since this is Eberron.

[Amphetryon]

How goes the creation process, folks? You're all suspiciously quiet.

[rockdeworld]

I'm putting the finishing touches on the build, and about to start writing the story. I had hoped to start the story earlier this week, so I'm falling behind schedule a bit :smallsigh:

[Dusk Eclipse]

I'll have to drop out, after some revision my original build is illegal and I don't have the time to build and write a new entry. :smallsigh:

[Thurbane]

I'll have to drop out, after some revision my original build is illegal and I don't have the time to build and write a new entry. :smallsigh:
Same here...well, I didn't get far into the build to be honest, but my original concept turned out not to qualify for the PrC...not without some serious fudging, anyway.

[OMG PONIES]

Now that my entry is finally er, finalized, it's time for the mad dash to see if I can format it and submit it by tomorrow night's deadline!

EDIT: Submitted! :smallbiggrin:

[Amphetryon]

And now, it's time for the reveal! Please avoid posting in this thread until I give the all-clear. Thanks.

[Amphetryon]

Made with genuine Shadowsteel.


http://www.astoriabrown.com/sk019852403x_leonardo-da-vinci_1.jpg

1. Making Plans

I laughed. “Doctor Mallory? The mad chirurgeon? You’re telling me that Mad Mallory is an assassin?”

Charlene scowled at me. “Yes,” she said darkly, “and if you don’t begin taking this job seriously, he’s going to make short work of you.”

“Sorry,” I said, still snickering. “I just - when you told me we were assigned to eliminate our most dangerous threat yet, I thought perhaps you meant perhaps the Blood of Vol. I didn’t expect us to take on a doctor.”

“Antony Mallory is no simple doctor,” she said. “In truth, he worked in a smithy during the Last War, a smithy long thought to be one of Starrin d’Cannith’s secret workshops. We believe he picked up on some of House Cannith’s forbidden artifice. When the Last War ended, he abandoned the forges and opened shop as a chirurgeon, where he could gain an even closer understanding of the human body.”

“Well, that explains his reputation,” I said, chewing my beard. “No wonder he’s such a poor chirurgeon, if he was trained for a hammer and anvil! What was his goal?”

“We believe he is trying to create a hybrid creature - part human, part warforged,” she said, and I shivered. “In fact, if our detective is as good as he claims to be, Mallory has already completed this procedure once - on himself...”

Antony Mallory, a/k/a AM-1468

Human, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Soul Eater 1

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

1st|Sleeping Tiger Monk 1|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+2|Hide 4 ranks, move silently 4 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 4 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 4 ranks, concentration 4 ranks, balance 4 ranks|Improved Unarmed Strike, Weapon Finesse, Master of Poisons, Alertness|Flurry of blows

2nd|Shadowcaster 1|
+0|
+4|
+2|
+4|Hide 5 ranks, move silently 5 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 5 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 5 ranks||Fundamentals of shadow, apprentice mysteries

3rd|Shadowcaster 2|
+1|
+5|
+2|
+5|Hide 6 ranks, move silently 6 ranks, concentration 5 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 6 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 6 ranks|Path Focus (Ebon Whispers), Craft Wondrous Item|

4th|Shadowcaster 3|
+1|
+5|
+3|
+5|Hide 7 ranks, move silently 7 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 7 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 7 ranks||Umbral sight (darkvision 30 ft.)

5th|Sleeping Tiger Monk 2|
+2|
+6|
+4|
+6|Hide 8 ranks, move silently 8 ranks, concentration 7 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 8 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 8 ranks, balance 5 ranks|Improved Initiative|Invisible fist

6th|Shadowcaster 4|
+3|
+7|
+4|
+7|Hide 9 ranks, move silently 9 ranks, concentration 8 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 9 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 9 ranks|Craft Magic Arms and Armor|Bonus fundamental

7th|Renegade Mastermaker 1|
+3|
+9|
+4|
+9|Hide 10 ranks, move silently 10 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 10 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 10 ranks, use magic device 1 rank||Battlefist, craft master

8th|Renegade Mastermaker 2|
+4|
+10|
+4|
+10|Hide 11 ranks, move silently 11 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 11 ranks, use magic device 3 ranks||Battlefist (+1), self-repair

9th|Renegade Mastermaker 3|
+5|
+10|
+5|
+10|Hide 12 ranks, move silently 12 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 12 ranks, use magic device 5 ranks|Sun School|Supporting construction

10th|Renegade Mastermaker 4|
+6/+1|
+11|
+5|
+11|Hide 13 ranks, move silently 13 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 13 ranks, use magic device 7 ranks||Damage reduction 1/adamantine

11th|Renegade Mastermaker 5|
+6/+1|
+11|
+5|
+11|Hide 14 ranks, move silently 14 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 14 ranks, use magic device 9 ranks||Battlefist (+2)

12th|Renegade Mastermaker 6|
+7/+2|
+12|
+6|
+12|Hide 15 ranks, move silently 15 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 11 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 15 ranks, use magic device 10 ranks|Darkstalker|

13th|Renegade Mastermaker 7|
+8/+3|
+12|
+6|
+12|Hide 16 ranks, move silently 16 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 12 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 16 ranks, use magic device 11 ranks||Embed component

14th|Renegade Mastermaker 8|
+9/+4|
+13|
+6|
+13|Hide 17 ranks, move silently 17 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 13 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 17 ranks, use magic device 12 ranks||Damage reduction 2/adamantine

15th|Renegade Mastermaker 9|
+9/+4|
+13|
+7|
+13|Hide 18 ranks, move silently 18 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 14 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 18 ranks, use magic device 13 ranks|Weapon Focus (Battlefist)|Battlefist (+3)

16th|Renegade Mastermaker 10|
+10/+5|
+14|
+7|
+14|Hide 19 ranks, move silently 19 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 15 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 19 ranks, use magic device 14 ranks|Improved Fortification|Construct exemplar

17th|Soul Eater 1|
+11/+6/+1|
+16|
+9|
+16|Hide 20 ranks, move silently 20 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 15 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 20 ranks, use magic device 14.5 ranks||Energy drain 1

18th|Shadowcaster 5|
+11/+6/+1|
+16|
+9|
+16|Hide 21 ranks, move silently 21 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 16 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 21 ranks, use magic device 15 ranks|Extend Mystery, Snap Kick|Sustaining shadow (eat 1 meal/week)

19th|Shadowcaster 6|
+12/+7/+2|
+17|
+10|
+17|Hide 22 ranks, move silently 22 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 18 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 22 ranks||

20th|Shadowcaster 7|
+12/+7/+2|
+17|
+10|
+17|Hide 23 ranks, move silently 23 ranks, craft (blacksmithing) 20 ranks, craft (poisonmaking) 23 ranks||[/table]

Stats:

Starting Stats (32-point buy): Str 8/Dex 16/Con 14/Int 14/Wis 8/Cha 16

Level boosts: All boosts go to Charisma. Craft or purchase a +4 Headband of Intellect before the highest levels to guarantee the ability to cast your Master Path mysteries. If that is not going to be an option in your campaign, consider instead putting your level boosts into Intelligence.


Mysteries:

Fundamentals (at-will): Black Candle, Arrow of Dusk, Sight Obscured, Umbral Hand, Caul of Shadow, Widened Eyes

Supernatural Mysteries (3/day): Life Fades, Voice of Shadow, Steel Shadows, Congress of Shadows, Flicker (x2)

Spell-like Mysteries (2/day): Bolster (x2), Shadow Vision, Curtain of Shadows, Unveil, Step into Shadow

Spell Mysteries (1/day): Truth Revealed, Dark Soul, Soul Puppet

Level by level mystery progression:

2- Black Candle, Arrow of Dusk, Sight Obscured, Life Fades

3- Voice of Shadow

4- Steel Shadows

6- Umbral Hand, Congress of Shadows

8- Flicker

9- Flicker

10- Bolster

11- Caul of Shadow, Shadow Vision

12- Curtain of Shadow

14- Bolster

15- Unveil

16- Widened Eyes, Step into Shadow

18- Dark Soul

19- Truth Revealed

20- Soul Puppet



Suggested Items:

AM-1468 needs few items beyond his own body to succeed. He can provide many enhancements to his physical form himself, such as enhancing his battlefist with the spell-storing enchantment. However, here are a few additional items that might help.

Stat boosters are always appreciated. In particular, AM-1468 would look toward items that boost his Dexterity, Charisma and Intelligence.

Anything that boosts his stealth is also nice. Essence of the Scout (ECS) is especially handy, giving a +15 competence bonus to each with the greater version for a relatively low cost. If available, a Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis would also not go amiss.

Wands can further increase AM-1468's utility, and should be easily activated via UMD. An embedded wand sheath (ECS) is similarly useful.

Finally, augment crystals (MIC) can also be used on his battlefist to provide situational bonuses. For example, the Lesser Truedeath crystal can aid against incorporeal enemies, while the Fiendslayer crystal can add a dimensional anchor effect to prevent targets from escaping.



USER MANUAL

This leather-bound book is old and heavily stained with what appears to be dried blood. The first dozen pages appear to be some sort of diary of progress, written by noted chirurgeon Antony Mallory. As the pages progress, the entries appear more and more sporadic. The last several pages of this “diary” are scratched out, followed by the words “USER MANUAL” in a heavy, mechanical hand.

Combat Maneuvers

SECTION 1: DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS

1.1 (Teleportation Unit)
1.1.1 - It is highly recommended that the short-range teleportation unit be activated prior to any combat maneuvers. This is set to a neural switch, so that it may be activated immediately and in response to any threats. This unit can remain active for intervals of 2.5 minutes; during this time, the same neural switch can be pressed to immediately teleport a short distance (see section 2.1, Attack Sequences, for more details). Studies indicate that activating this neural switch in response to a threat closing to melee range is effective in stopping the majority of short range attacks, and can be combined with the first attack sequence (sec. 2.1).

1.1.2 - If longer range teleportation is necessary, manually activate the unit. This allows for distances of up to 960 feet, and if desired, you may extend its range to cover any allies or hostages present.

1.1.3 - The same teleporation unit can be used for long-range communication. The range on this device is 15 miles when used in this fashion.


(The Flicker mystery, which is useable six times per day as a (Su) ability, allows for teleportation of up to 35’ each round as an immediate action. This is used both defensively to avoid attacks, and offensively via Sun School. As it is an immediate action, it can be used outside of AM-1468’s turn, meaning he can spend his turn moving and casting as normal, then flicker and attack either before his turn starts again or in response to an attack. He also has access to Step into Shadow twice a day, which acts as dimension door. And if he needs to communicate at long range, Congress of Shadows allows him to send and receive a short message up to 15 miles away.)

1.2 (Recovery)
1.2.1 - The modifications made to the nervous system have resulted in a deadening of the sensation of pain, allowing for a minor resistance to damage. As an unintended but welcome side effect, this eliminates many of the “pressure spots” located throughout the body, providing a line of defense against targeted attacks.

1.2.2 - Activating a power surge greatly increases endurance, lasting 2.3 hours increasing your capacity to take damage by approximately 60% with each use. The power stored allows for four of these surges per day.

1.2.3 - If your temporary store of strength via the power surge is depleted, you may direct power from some of the other units to restore the body itself. This will prevent their use, and should only be used in case of emergency. For typical repairs, an auxiliary method is instead recommended.

1.2.4 - If you or an ally is experiencing negative conditions, temporarily overloading the mental circuits is suggested. This will remove the following conditions (listed in A-alpha order): ability damage / blinded / confused / cursed / dazed / dazzled / deafened / diseased / exhausted / fatigued / immobilized / insanity / nauseated / sickened / stunned / poisoned.


(AM-1468 has several powerful methods of recovery. In addition to damage reduction and improved fortification, he may use the Bolster mystery four times per day, each use granting him a whopping 75 temporary hit points, lasting 140 minutes. He can also channel his higher level mysteries to recover his own HP, or activate wands of repair damage. Finally, the Unveil mystery removes a huge suite of negative conditions on himself or an ally.)

1.3 (Defensive Boosters)
1.3.1 - Traditional armor plating is not recommended, as it interferes with offensive functions. Two shadow-based units have instead been developed. These create armor and shields that protect the user without inhibiting them.


(Steel Shadows gives a +3 armor bonus and a +3 shield bonus, while Caul of Shadow provides a +4 deflection bonus. AM-1468 can Steel Shadows up for 14 hours total with a Rod of Extend, and Caul of Shadows is usable at-will and so can be kept up permanently. Neither of these interfere with AM-1468’s monk abilities.)

1.4 (Stealth and Perception Devices)
1.4.1 - Embedding the scouting unit greatly increases stealth capabilities. To augment these abilities, use your shadow mechanisms to adjust the ambient light available and obscure your position.

1.4.2 - Umbral lenses have been installed, allowing your vision to operate under any lighting condition. If facing an unseen enemy, activate your infrared sensors, which will see through any magical interference.

1.4.3 - Infrared sensors can also be focused to reveal additional information on targets, including surface thoughts, magical auras, fears and loved ones. Use this ability to identify weak spots or obtain hidden information.


(By creating and embedding an Essence of the Scout unit, AM-1468 has exceptionally high scores in Hide and Move Silently. He can also use Sight Obscured at will to add an additional +5, and Black Candle to create either darkness or light. On the perception end of things, umbral sight and widened eyes gives AM-1468 the ability to see under any lighting condition, while Truth Revealed grants him true seeing, which can be focused to duplicate any of the detect spells, including detect thoughts, to discern lies, find out someone’s recent actions, or reveal their greatest love and fear.)


SECTION 2: OFFENSIVE MANEUVERS

2.1 (Attack Sequences)
2.1.1 - Most major attack sequences, including the battlefist (sec. 2.2), are keyed in to activate alongside the teleportation unit. This allows for swift, harrying attacks intended to keep the target off-guard.

2.1.2 - All physical attacks, including the battlefist (sec. 2.2), are designed to debilitate rather than outright damage. The body will maintain a charge of shadow energy, which will weaken targets upon contact.

2.1.3 - It is imperative that targets are constantly kept off guard. As the attack sequence can occur at unexpected intervals, time can otherwise be spent finding otherwise to harry and confuse targets (sec. 2.3).


(Sun School combined with Flicker and Step into Shadow means that each round, AM-1468 can hide, buff himself, lay down battlefield control, or otherwise attack. Then, as an immediate action (usually in response to movement or an attack), he can Flicker and make two attacks. These attacks will deal a relatively small amount of damage, but will carry with them a whole suite of negative effects, including level drain from Soul Eater, contact poison, multiple touch spells, and more.)

2.2 (Battlefist)
2.2.1 - The battlefist is the primary offensive unit. It is constructed entirely of inorganic material, making it less vulnerable than many other units. However, it still carries the same charge of shadow energy that the rest of the body has (sec. 2.1.2).

2.2.2 - The battlefist may powered up with other offensive abilities, as circumstances require. Due to the nature of its construction, it may be powered with up to two such effects at once.

2.2.3 - When dealing with targets with vulnerabilities to them, organic poisons can be applied to the battlefist to debilitate them.

2.2.4 - Auxiliary modifications should be kept at hand to further assist the battlefist’s functionality. These modifications are maintained in crystal form, and designed for easy installation and use.


(AM-1468 has enhanced his battlefist with the spell storing enhancement, a +1 enhancement that AM-1468 can create himself at ECL 15, or that he can pay someone else to add earlier. He can use this to charge up his battlefist with targeted mysteries. At a minimum, his at-will Arrow of Dusk can always be used to add some additional damage. Also, he has several touch-range mysteries, which he can cast in advance and hold the charge. Since his battlefist is both a manufactured weapon (and therefore a legal target for spell storing) and also a natural weapon, striking someone with it can hit them with up to four effects - poison, the stored mystery, the held touch spell, and a negative level from Soul Eater. Finally, AM-1468 carries around weapon crystals to apply as needed to his battlefist.)

2.3 (Other Attacks)
2.3.1 - As containing targets is often paramount, a caging unit has been developed that converts shadow energy into a more stable form, which can be used as a barrier. While this barrier is still permeable, it blocks light and can be used to contain or seal off, causing damage to any who attempt to pierce it.

2.3.2 - It is possible to channel energy to directly impair an enemy’s vision. This can either be used at range or channeled through the battlefist (sec. 2.2). As the eyes are a particularly vulnerable spot on most targets, this is an effective way to weaken stronger enemies. It also can function as a quick escape, as it conceals you from your target’s vision.

2.3.3 - Using electrical impulses, it is possible to bypass an enemy’s neural functioning completely, allowing us to control an enemy’s musculature from afar. A limited form of this can be used at range on a number of enemies, although control must be reestablished constantly. A more powerful form can be channeled through the battlefist, which allows complete control over the target for approximately one month.


(There are a number of other powerful attacks AM-1468 has access to, most of which can be channeled through the battlefist. Curtain of Shadows is a shapeable wall, blocking line of sight and dealing 15d6 damage to all who pass through. Shadow Vision gives a -4 penalty to most checks and conceals AM-1468 from his target’s vision. Dark Soul lasts for one round/level and allows AM-1468 to spend a standard action to force an enemy to attack whatever is closest (he prefers to use this from hiding early on). Soul Puppet acts as dominate monster, and can be extended to last for up to a month of complete control.)


2. First Contact

I pushed my way into the chirurgeon’s shop. It was dark, but I could see a low red gleam toward the back. I made my way to it.

“Hello, there,” said a harsh voice. I started. “I apologize for the state of things here. Always so much to do, and so little time to clean up...”

“Where are you?” I was looking all around, but could not see the source of the voice in the dim. “I can’t see anything in here!”

“My apologies,” said the voice. “I work better in the dark, and sometimes it is easy to forget that others do not share my... aptitude... with the shadows. Allow me to remedy the situation.”

With that, the workshop was suddenly illuminated, although I could see no lamp or lantern. The shop was indeed messy, littered with paper and cruel-looking instruments. Jars of specimens lined the back wall. But most gruesome of all was the doctor.

He was wearing a chirurgeon’s frock of a muddy brown color, heavily stained. His face was deeply lined and covered in scars, and his right eye was gone completely, replaced instead with a lens of some sort. The lens glowed a deep red. His right hand had long, spidery fingers, which were currently holding a scalpel over what appeared to be a cat. His left hand was something else entirely - bulky and metallic, and covered in harsh spikes.

“Now, my friend,” he said, still focusing on his cat. “Tell me what ails you, and I will see what I can do.”

“Actually,” I said, “it’s not what, it’s who. I came here because I’d heard you can make people, erm, disappear.”

He looked at me hard, his right eye glinting. “Close the door,” he said, and I did. “Truth be told, I would prefer to never have to take on such work, but my... experiments... can be costly, and a chirurgeon not of House Jorasco is hard pressed to find good, paying work. Now, sit down.”

“Thank you, Doctor Mallory,” I said. I moved a pile of scrolls off a wooden stool and sat.

“I prefer AM-1468 these days. Antony Mallory is so tragically human, don’t you agree? Convential names define a person’s past: ancestry, house, location, religion. I am not who I was ten years ago, and certainly not who I will be in twenty years. The name 1468 reflects my conviction that the year 1468 will be a magical time, a time when such collective identity is no longer necessary.”

“The year 1468?” I was confused. This job was not going at all as planned. “But... that’s ages away! What does that have to do with you?”

“Aye, ages away. Five hundred years after my birth, if you must know. But I fully plan to see that year’s dawn. 1468 is a dream and a goal, a reminder to myself that I shall never die...”
Snapshots

LEVEL 5: Human, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 3

At these levels, AM-1468 plays more like a rogue than anything else. His maxed out stealth skills become even better when combined with Sight Obscured. His primary form of offense is his crossbow, which he uses to deliver poisoned bolts to enemies. He also generally pre-casts Life Fades and holds the charge, so he can strike anyone nearby with an unarmed attack and add on extra damage and fatigue. Steel Shadows and an excellent dexterity keeps his defenses up without compromising his stealth.

LEVEL 10: Human, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 4/Renegade Mastermaker 4

In addition to general utility, including much easier crafting of poisons and several healing abilities, the following five levels completely change AM-1468's tactics.

First of all, his main combo, Flicker + Sun School, comes online. Flicker is like abrupt jaunt on steroids - every round, he can teleport as an immediate action. With Sun School, he can also deliver an attack at the end of that action. The battlefist is also key. Being both a natural and manufactured weapon, he can deliver touch spells with it and also cover use it to deliver poison. So, he holds the charge on a Life Fades, then as an immediate action, he teleports next to someone and strikes them with his battlefist, both poisoning and fatiguing them.

The other big addition here is Bolster. This adds on up to a whopping 50 temporary HP every time he uses it at these levels. That significantly increases his endurance.

LEVEL 15: Human, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 4/Renegade Mastermaker 9

A lot of AM-1468's abilities continue to progress in these levels. He picks up several new defensive abilities, including damage reduction from Renegade Mastermaker and deflection from Caul of Shadow. He can also begin embedding components, including the Essence of the Scout, which he builds himself and uses to boost his stealth potential (alongside Darkstalker, which nabs at level 12). Oh, and he gets more uses of Bolster (which now provides up to 75 temporary HP) and the powerful Unveil, which gets rid of just about any negative effect in the game.

He also gets a couple of new offensive mysteries, but the biggest thing is that he is now a high enough level to enchant his battlefist with the spell-storing enhancement. Now his immediate-action strikes can deliver three effects - poison, a stored mystery, and a held charge from a touch spell.

LEVEL 20: Living Construct, Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Soul Eater 1

Once AM-1468 completes his conversion from human to construct, his power goes up exponentially. His defenses are much better, and he is immune to precision damage and critical hits. He can also coat more than just his battlefist in poison now.

But there are two particularly huge power boosts: Soul Eater and the master level mysteries. Soul Eater lets him add a fourth debuff on his strikes, a negative level. His master mysteries give him an improved divination spell that acts as true seeing, detect thoughts, detect magic, detect alignment and more, all rolled together, plus a dominate monster effect (which can be channeled through his battlefist) and a third mystery that lets him force allies to attack each other.


On the Use of Renegade Mastermaker

Renegade Mastermaker seems like a poor choice for a "caster" style build, as it loses two caster levels. However, it provides many powerful options here, making AM-1468 far stronger than the typical shadowcaster.

The biggest boost is the battlefist. It is unique in counting as both a manufactured and natural weapon, allowing it to be enhanced with augment crystals, enchanted with abilities like spell-storing and coated in poison, while still being able to deliver held touch spells. It also counts as a natural weapon for Soul Eater.

The boost to craft is also much appreciated, giving a +10 bonus to two of AM-1468's key skills.

Self-repair and supporting construction both add two healing abilities that the build otherwise lacks, and they combine well with Bolster to make a surprisingly sturdy skirmisher. Similarly, the damage reduction also boosts endurance.

Embedded components are especially nice for AM-1468 because he cannot wear armor, meaning he does not have access to some of the best Hide/Move Silently boosters in the game (Shadow and Silent Moves armor and their hefty +15 bonus). A greater essence of the scout can be embedded for an equivalent bonus to both checks. Other embedded components are useful (see the Items section), but the essence of the scout is particularly handy.

Finally, Construct Exemplar further boosts both offense and defense - those excellent warforged immunities (which can be used to deliver poison with the Snap Kick that follows up the initial Flicker attack) along with the bonus feat for Improved Fortification. And, even more important, it provides access to the Soul Eater prestige class by changing AM-1468's type to construct.

All of these benefits, alongside a stronger chassis (including a better BAB, better skills and access to UMD), make this more than a fair trade for accepting two fewer master mysteries.


3. Failure

“I hate to be gauche,” said Doctor Mallory, “but I would prefer half of my payment up front. Collections is such a sticky matter, and I would much prefer to avoid it.”

“Of course,” I said. I fumbled in my bag, pretending to search for coin. My heart was pounding as I closed my hands around the dagger. If I could get one shot in, one shot to put him off his guard, I knew I could finish him.

I pulled out the dagger and flung it toward the doctor. I had just enough time to see his smile, and then he vanished, flickering out of existence like a candle.

Just as suddenly, I felt a metal fist thud against my head from somewhere behind me, followed by a hard kick to the back of my knees. I staggered - surely two such blows could not debilitate me so quickly? But I felt my lifeforce draining, as though it was being sucked away.

The metal hand closed around my throat, and the terrible feeling of draining increased. “Naughty, naughty,” the doctor whispered into my ear. “Didn’t I tell you? I shall never die. Now,” he went on, and suddenly I could feel a powerful energy flowing through his fist, and hear his voice in my head, commanding me to obey. “Now, perhaps you ought to tell me who sent you...”

Rules Clarifications:

1. How does AM-1468 qualify for Craft Wondrous Item with only two levels in shadowcaster, or Craft Magic Arms & Armor with only four?

Path Focus (Ebon Whispers) not only boosts the DC of the Ebon Whispers line, it also boosts its caster level. This lets AM-1468 qualify for the feats at the appropriate time.

2. How can AM-1468 qualify for Soul Eater, which requires being a non-humanoid?



Does the Renegade Mastermaker capstone "Construct Exemplar" change your type to construct, or do you remain a humanoid?
Given the verbiage about qualifying as a Warforged, you take on the Construct (Living Construct) type, just as they have.

3. Are you sure held touch spells can be delivered with a battlefist and alongside stored spells like that?

Yes. The relevant rules from the SRD are as follows:



Holding the Charge

If you don’t discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the discharge of the spell (hold the charge) indefinitely... Alternatively, you may make a normal unarmed attack (or an attack with a natural weapon) while holding a charge... If the attack hits, you deal normal damage for your unarmed attack or natural weapon and the spell discharges. If the attack misses, you are still holding the charge.


As the battlefist qualifies as a natural weapon, AM-1468 can make an attack with it, activating the stored spell, and also discharging the held touch spell.

4. Can Flicker really avoid attacks as an immediate action?

Yes and no. Flicker provides immediate action teleportation each round. If this is used to avoid an attack, there is a 50% chance of the attack still being successful. This still prevents a full attack, and gives a decent chance of missing that first hit. However, there are ways to make this work even better. The first is to simply flicker in response to an opponent's movement, rather than in response to an attack. If you flicker outside of their range when they move to close, there isn't even a 50% chance of being hit. The second is to stack on more miss chances. Simply activating your Black Candle mystery, which you use at-will, will give you a 20% miss chance due to concealment on top of your 50% chance. Alternatively, the Shadow Vision mystery gives you complete concealment from a single enemy.

5. Does the Soul Eater's negative level require an action?

The verbiage on Soul Eater's level drain simply says that the touch of the Soul Eater causes level drain. As the Soul Eater appears to be modeled after the draining slams of vampires and similar creatures, this makes sense. However, many DMs will instead rule that this is a separate touch attack to drain a level.

If that is the case, the attack sequence still works, but it must be re-ordered. Instead, make a touch attack to drain a level and discharge any held touch spell. Then, in response to an attack or movement, flicker and hit again, discharging your stored mystery and also hitting them with any injury poison. If this is the case, replacing Snap Kick might be a good idea, since it will not be able to deliver an additional negative level.


Sources:

Tome of Magic:
Shadowcaster (class), all its mysteries, Path Focus & Extend Mystery feats

SRD/Unearthed Arcana:
Sleeping Tiger monk variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#sleepingTiger)

Book of Vile Darkness:
Soul Eater (class)

Magic of Eberron:
Renegade Mastermaker (class)

Complete Warrior:
Sun School feat

Lords of Madness:
Darkstalker feat

Drow of the Underdark:
Master of Poisons feat

Eberron Campaign Setting
Improved Fortification feat, essence of the scout

[Amphetryon]

"Thank you very much, o Mr. Roboto, for helping me escape when I needed to" - Styx

"""
d'Cannith, Kilroy
Korvaire
Cyre

Analysis:
1. Problem Restatement: To rebuild myself to retake Cyre, by
- Learning how this darn Dragonmark works (I'll get it eventually.)
- Pestering someone so that I can be trained to train with the scouts
- Rebuilding myself as a Warforged (that mist only works on living things, right?)
- Make some friends (optional)
2. Outputs:
- TO world
- - Kilroy d'Cannith, badass metal man (adv)
3. Inputs:
- FROM parents
- - Marena d'Cannith, mother (aristocrat)
- - Pietr d'Cannith, father (aristocrat)
- FROM sources
- - Surgical Resonance Device (SRD)
- - Master Ovar Estraven (MoE)
- - Dr. Ravan Alcaster (Dra)
- - The expeditious conversion surgery (ECS)
"""

def build(level)


Kilroy d'Cannith
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features|Dragonmark CL
1st|Human Paragon|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Craft (Armorsmithing) 4, Survival 4, Concentration 4, Spellcraft 4, Search 4, Use Magic Device 4, Hide 4|Least Dragonmark (Minor Creation 1/day), Cannith Forgecraft|Adaptive Learning (Craft (Armorsmithing))|1

2nd|Human Paragon|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Craft (Armorsmithing) 5, Survival 5, Concentration 5, Spellcraft 5, Search 5, Use Magic Device 5, Hide 5|Dragonmark Prodigy (Minor Creation 2/day, Stick 2/day)||1

3rd|Human Paragon|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Craft (Armorsmithing) 6, Survival 6, Concentration 6, Spellcraft 6, Search 6, Use Magic Device 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1|Mark of Twelve Moons|+2 Intelligence|1

4th|Cyre Scout|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+5|Knowledge (Arcana) 7, Craft (Armorsmithing) 7, Survival 7, Concentration 7, Spellcraft 7, Search 7, Use Magic Device 7, Hide 7, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1||Direction Sense, Dragonmark Conduit (Preservation), Heir's Mark|2

5th|Cyre Scout|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+6|Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Survival 8, Concentration 8, Spellcraft 8, Search 8, Use Magic Device 8, Hide 8, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1|Blindfight|Shadowfighter|3

6th|Cyre Scout|
+4|
+4|
+2|
+6|Knowledge (Arcana) 9, Craft (Armorsmithing) 9, Survival 9, Concentration 9, Spellcraft 9, Search 9, Use Magic Device 9, Hide 9, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1|Craft Wondrous Item|Detect Magic|4

7th|Cyre Scout|
+5|
+5|
+2|
+7|Knowledge (Arcana) 10, Craft (Armorsmithing) 10, Survival 10, Concentration 10, Spellcraft 10, Search 10, Use Magic Device 10, Hide 10, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1||Improved Direction Sense|5

8th|Cyre Scout|
+5|
+5|
+2|
+7|Knowledge (Arcana) 11, Craft (Armorsmithing) 11, Survival 11, Concentration 11, Spellcraft 11, Search 11, Use Magic Device 11, Hide 11, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1||Dragonmark Conduit (Natural Healing)|6

9th|Cyre Scout|
+6/+1|
+6|
+3|
+8|Knowledge (Arcana) 12, Craft (Armorsmithing) 12, Survival 12, Concentration 12, Spellcraft 12, Search 12, Use Magic Device 12, Hide 12, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1|Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Endurance|Tireless|6

10th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+6/+1|
+8|
+3|
+10|Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Craft (Armorsmithing) 13, Survival 13, Concentration 13, Spellcraft 13, Search 13, Use Magic Device 13, Hide 13, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1||Battlefist, Craft Master|6

11th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+7/+2|
+9|
+3|
+11|Knowledge (Arcana) 14, Craft (Armorsmithing) 14, Survival 14, Concentration 14, Spellcraft 14, Search 14, Use Magic Device 14, Hide 14, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 1||Battlefist (+1), Self-Repair|6

12th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+8/+3|
+9|
+4|
+11|Knowledge (Arcana) 15, Craft (Armorsmithing) 15, Survival 15, Concentration 15, Spellcraft 15, Search 15, Use Magic Device 15, Hide 15, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 2|Lesser Dragonmark (Minor Creation 1/day)|Supporting Construction|12

13th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+9/+4|
+10|
+4|
+12|Knowledge (Arcana) 16, Craft (Armorsmithing) 16, Survival 16, Concentration 16, Spellcraft 16, Search 16, Use Magic Device 16, Hide 16, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 3||Damage Reduction 1/Adamantine|12

14th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+9/+4|
+10|
+4|
+12|Knowledge (Arcana) 17, Craft (Armorsmithing) 17, Survival 17, Concentration 17, Spellcraft 17, Search 17, Use Magic Device 17, Hide 17, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 4||Battlefist (+2)|12

15th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+10/+5|
+11|
+5|
+13|Knowledge (Arcana) 18, Craft (Armorsmithing) 18, Survival 18, Concentration 18, Spellcraft 18, Search 18, Use Magic Device 18, Hide 18, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 5|Dragonmark Adept (Minor Creation 2/Day, Quick Potion 2/day)||12

16th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+11/+6/+1|
+11|
+5|
+13|Knowledge (Arcana) 19, Craft (Armorsmithing) 19, Survival 19, Concentration 19, Spellcraft 19, Search 19, Use Magic Device 19, Hide 19, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 6||Embed Component|12

17th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+12/+7/+2|
+12|
+5|
+14|Knowledge (Arcana) 20, Craft (Armorsmithing) 20, Survival 20, Concentration 20, Spellcraft 20, Search 20, Use Magic Device 20, Hide 20, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 7||Damage Reduction 2/Adamantine|12

18th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+12/+7/+2|
+12|
+6|
+14|Knowledge (Arcana) 21, Craft (Armorsmithing) 21, Survival 21, Concentration 21, Spellcraft 21, Search 21, Use Magic Device 21, Hide 21, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 8|Greater Dragonmark (Fabricate 1/day)|Battlefist (+3)|16

19th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+13/+8/+3|
+13|
+6|
+15|Knowledge (Arcana) 22, Craft (Armorsmithing) 22, Survival 22, Concentration 22, Spellcraft 22, Search 22, Use Magic Device 22, Hide 22, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 9|Adamantine Body|Construct Supremacy|16

20th|Cyre Scout|
+14/+9/+4|
+13|
+6|
+15|Knowledge (Arcana) 23, Craft (Armorsmithing) 23, Survival 23, Concentration 23, Spellcraft 23, Search 23, Use Magic Device 23, Hide 23, Knowledge (Local (Cyre)) 11||Blindsight Mark, Innate Detect Magic|16[/table]

Human Human Paragon 3/Cyre Scout 6/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Cyre Scout +1

Ability Scores (32 PB)

Str: 10 (10 PB)
Dex: 12 (12 PB)
Con: 12 (12 PB)
Int: 26 (18 PB, +5 levels, +1 Mark of the 12 Moons, +2 Human Paragon)
Wis: 12 (12 PB)
Cha: 10 (10 PB)

Return levelContent

def methods(level)
if level == 0

details=
"At this point, our friend is not too tough, though he is truly the paragon of humanity! He has the ability to use Minor Creation as a standard action once per day (dump some Black Lotus Extract on that bully's head, if you would kindly), can heal Warforged with uncanny skill (he has a +10 bonus to his Craft check at this level, before Masterwork tools, and can fix up a Warforged in 2 hours instead of 8, so he can work on healing any Warforged in the party several times, which is nice.)
However, he's none too good in close combat, so it might be a good idea to stay away from people who can hit you around this point."
elif level <= 5

details=
"At this point, he's rocking a 22 Intelligence, a +16 Craft check bonus, a CL 3 for his Minor Creation and Stick SLAs, and can expend uses of his SLAs to forgo food and drink for 12 hours, which is nice if he's got a long project. He also gets Blindfight, perfect for fighting someone while reading your book (not really, but that can only be, what, a 20% concealment chance? Rolling double with that is just peachy.) He still isn't Mr. Tough Guy in a fight, but he gets some nice Infusions, which can really buff up whatever he's using to beat a man up. He also gets a +class level to Survival checks. Still, none too impressive at this point."
elif level <= 10

details=
"At this point, our good friend is just starting to sink bits of metal into his flesh; his bonus to craft checks is going to start ramping soon, but right now it's just +22 without items to ramp that up. Fortunately, he has Craft Wondrous Items now, so he can spend some time crafting some +skill items, which are useful things! He has access to 2nd level Infusions, meaning that he can not only add Personal Weapon Enhancement to his spiffy new BATTLEFIST!, but can also add +4 to any of his ability scores, as well as using the good old skill enhancement to buff his Craft."

He also has some neat stuff from Cyre Scout, namely that he can expend an SLA use before going to bed to only have to sleep for 2 hours to be treated as being fully rested (still needs to relax for the rest of the 8 hours to get back his Infusions, so it ain't too much of a boost), which means that he can spend more time fixin' up his warforged friends! He also gets Detect Magic at his Dragonmark CL 6/day, he automatically knows if he's going the wrong way, and can stop for 1d4 hours to find which way he's going (he obviously has a compass shoved into his skull), and, of course, is immune to the Fatigued condition, and only becomes Fatigued by effects that would Exhaust him. He can keep trucking for days, almost as if he were a machine..."
elif level <= 15

details=
"Hell yeah! Our friend now heals Warforged for his Craft Check -5 instead of -15; might not sound too impressive, compared to his other tinkers on himself, but he has a +33 to his Craft checks buck naked, so that's taking 2 hours to heal his Warforged pals for 29-48 HP, which is enough to top them up on HP (as a back-up, really); other than that, his BATTLEFIST! is now a +2 weapon, and he can use 3rd level Infusions at CL 10 (and can expend daily uses of to heal Infusion level*d6 HP as a full-round action, for some out of combat healing). At this point, he can use some of his neat Infusions, such as Power Surge, to power up a wand, so that he can buff with practically any spell of up to 4th level that he damn well pleases (with a +18 to his UMD checks, he kinda has problems failing to use a wand.), and then wade in and attack with his enchanted BATTLEFIST! (thank you, Craft Magic Arms and Armor!). On top of that, he has DR 1/Adamantine, which is kind of weak, but is a nice sign that his surgeries are starting to pump him up, and the ability to heal from Repair spells (he cries a bit that he didn't gain it through his Dragonmark. Still, there are always wands...)

On the Dragonmark side, he now has the Lesser Dragonmark, so he can use Major Creation as a standard action twice a day, and he can use Quick Potion, which essentially allows him to make Oils and Potions of his different Infusions 2/day, that lasts for 12 hours, meaning that he can load up some potions of, say, Greater Magic Item (you like having a free +3 item? Use this.), or Shield of Faith, or something like that. Simply smashing."
elif level <= 20

details=
"He's are now the modern man, with parts made in JapanKhorvaire. You know his squishy HP? NOT ANYMORE! He crafts Warforged Components, and shoves them into his skin, giving him a +1 to his HP. Yummy. He can't attach anything that would replace his BATTLEFIST!, which, since it is a +3 weapon that probably has all sort of awesomeness thrown on top, is no real loss. He also gets full healing from Repair spells, a Craft modifier of +43 when naked, a Caster level of 14, access to 4th level Infusions (mmm, Legion's Shield of Faith), his DR has increased, and he is generally the badass dude... Oh, and he jumped into a vat of molten adamantine, so he now is coated in the stuff, giving him a permanent +8 to AC and DR 4/Adamantine! NICENESS!

He also now has a Greater Dragonmark, which fetches him 40' of blindsight for 4 hours if he expends his 1/day use of FABRICATE AS A STANDARD ACTION! HIS MACHINE NATURE HAS GRANTED HIM THE ABILITY TO CRAFT ANY ARMOR AS A STANDARD ACTION! Brilliant! And, since Craft isn't Trained Only, he effectively has a +18 mod in every other craft skill, which let's him craft most mundane objects in a Standard action.

Since he now doesn't need to sleep (or eat, and has a nice set of immunities (though not to sneak attacks and crits..., sadly)) anymore, and now heals Warforged for his craft check +5, he's now spending the night healing his Warforged bro between 49-68 HP over the course of two hourse, which is nice "natural healing".

All in all, he's a pretty nice addition to the party, as long as no-one is optimizing out the wazoo."
else:

print("That's not in range, fool!")
Return details

def Main()
level=int(input("Enter the level you want to know about: "))
stuff1=build(level)
stuff2=methods(level)
print(levelContent)
print(details)

Main()

[Amphetryon]

You should see the prototype, Laurel.

Hardy
NG Human, Cloistered Cleric 3/Psychic Warrior 4/Psychic Theurge 3/Renegade Mastermaker 10

Backstory
This backstory is pretty dark and features some graphic violence at the end, so I wanted to put up a warning before reading. I have cleared it with some mods so it should not be in breach of any forum rules, and I have tried to keep it sensible as I wanted it to be powerful but not ridiculous. The aim of this is to raise awareness of mental health issues, and the lengths to which it can drive people when they are ignored or not taken seriously.

Wiping sweat and soot from his brow, Hardy stoked the furnace again, watching the coals start to glow red-hot. His eyes were wet, but not from the smoke that billowed around the ceiling of his stuffy workshop. He pushed the coals aimlessly around some more and left the stoker in the furnace to get hot, turning back to the knife on the bench behind him. The blade shone, the light of the furnace visible in reflection, after he had sharpened it up. It had been a butcher's knife once upon a time, thick and heavy, turned blunt from years of use when it was donated to Hardy in his early smithing days. "You can have this to practice with, young Thomas," the old butcher had said, "it's no good to me anymore." Hardy could still see the expression on the woman's face, the pity for his apparent madness and the hope that his new hobby would make him better. She hadn't used his new name, none of them did. Thomas, they called him, the name his parents had given him. A human name.

"I'm a Valenar!" cried Elizabeth, as they ran around the garden, wrapping her cloak around her face so only her eyes were showing. The other children laughed and ran away as she chased them on her pretend horse that doubled as a broom.
"Well I'm a Karnathi skeleton! Wooooooo!" shouted James, lurching after her in his best undead impression, having never actually witnessed the horrifying speed of the Karnathi legions in action.
"I'm a warforged!" said Thomas from beneath his small wooden helmet. The others rolled their eyes at him.
"You're always a warforged," said Elizabeth, "why don't you try something else for a change."
"Well, you're always a human!" he snapped back. They looked at each other with incomprehension, then carried on running around, ignoring him.
"Thomas!" came a cry from the house. "Come inside, and take that ridiculous helmet off right this minute..."

Hardy's reflection in the knife wobbled and bounced, as it moved in his shaking hand. Tears welled up but he forced them back, forced himself to concentrate. The procedure would be complex and difficult, and he could not afford to be distracted, which was much easier said than done. He took a few deep breaths, waited for his hand to stop shaking, and started sharpening the blade some more. The edge was already much better than it had been when Hardy had been given it, but the sharper it was the less it would hurt. He grinned at that thought, a dark and haunted smile like that of a criminal approaching the executioner's block. As if sharpening the blade a little more would lessen the pain at all - he had twenty-two years of agony to do that for him. What were a few hours of physical pain, compared to a lifetime of mental and emotional torture?

He put the knife back down, his hands steady once more, and turned to the creation on his workbench. It was an intricately built hand, crafted mostly from the black metal adamantium with leather and wooden bindings to hold the different pieces together. Small lengths of steel cable provided the articulation - he had yet to figure out how the magic of the hands of other warforged would work with his current system of muscles and tendons, so for now he would simply connect the metal ones to his own. It was a work of art, the pinnacle of the work he had put into his smithing. His family had been positive at first, encouraging him to take up an apprenticeship to one of the big smithing shops, but as they had feared his work always turned towards the warforged. As minor nobles they would have jumped at any other chance to have a child accepted into a dragonmarked House, but not this time. House Cannith were interested in his talents from a very young age, but they were refused, and Hardy was forbidden from talking to them.

"He's twelve now, for Aureon's sake, he should have grown out of this nonsense."
"He's sick, give him a chance, please."
Thomas sat in the shadows at the top of the stairs, looking down into the entrance hall at his parents arguing. He always had trouble sleeping, but their raised voices had drawn him out of his room.
"We can't just keep ignoring it and pretending everything's fine," his father said, "the Cannith representatives are asking awkward questions, and the other Families already suspect something is wrong."
"We'll get another doctor in, they'll be able to help," his mother replied, "maybe one of the Jorasco healers will have a better idea of what's wrong."
"It has to be soon, and quiet, or we'll be the laughing stock of the Families..."
"This is our son we're talking about! Surely you care about him getting better?"
He liked his mother more than his father. His mother cared, even if she didn't understand. She wanted him to be okay, but she was still caught up in the idea that there was something physically wrong with him.
His father just didn't care.
"What are you doing out of bed? You should be asleep," shouted his mother, spotting him at the top of the stairs.
"Warforged don't need to sleep," he shouted back. His father's reply woke his siblings, and he ran back to his room to hide.

Hardy's grip tightened on his creation, the metal hand forming a fist, mimicking the flesh one around it. He breathed deeply a few more times and put the hand down, checking he had everything he needed. The furnace was nice and hot now, the basin of water bubbling gently on top. His tools, both smithing and surgical, were clean and sharp, laid out ready on the bench. He picked them up one at a time and held them in the furnace for a short time as an extra precaution against infection. This was it, the time was finally here, the moment he'd been working towards for years. He hadn't even had much trouble in recent months, he had been so caught up in his work that people had mostly been leaving him alone or assuming that he was doing okay. He hadn't seen his parents for over a year, for fear that they would somehow learn what he was planning and try to stop him.
Tears hit the furnace and sizzled, turned to steam almost instantly by the heat. Hardy wiped his eyes with the cleaner one of his apron's sleeves - the right one, as it hadn't been rolled up - and picked up the big meat cleaver. He placed the blade on the charcoal line he had drawn across his wrist, feeling the cold blade on his skin. His expression was calm and focused as he lifted the knife, and content as he brought firmly it down again.


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

1st|Cloistered Cleric 1|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Concentration 4 (+4), Craft (blacksmithing) 4 (+4), Knowledge (arcana) 4 (+4), Knowledge (local) 2 (+2 cc), Knowledge (nature) 4 (+4), Knowledge (religion) 4 (+4), Knowledge (the planes) 4 (+4)|Extend Spell, Persistent Spell, Knowledge Devotion (swapped for domain)|Turn Undead, Lore

2nd|Cloistered Cleric 2|
+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|Concentration 5 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 5 (+1), Knowledge (arcana) 5 (+1), Knowledge (local) 2.5 (+0.5 cc), Knowledge (nature) 5 (+1), Knowledge (religion) 5 (+1), Knowledge (the planes) 5 (+1)||

3rd|Cloistered Cleric 3|
+1|
+3|
+1|
+3|Concentration 6 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 6 (+1), Knowledge (arcana) 6 (+1), Knowledge (local) 3 (+0.5 cc), Knowledge (nature) 6 (+1), Knowledge (religion) 6 (+1), Knowledge (the planes) 6 (+1)|Divine Metamagic|

4th|Psychic Warrior 1|
+1|
+5|
+1|
+3|Knowledge (psionics) 3 (+3)|Psionic Fist|Bonus feat

5th|Psychic Warrior 2|
+2|
+6|
+1|
+3|Concentration 7 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 7 (+1), Knowledge (psionics) 4 (+1)|Psionic Meditation|Bonus feat

6th|Psychic Warrior 3|
+3|
+6|
+2|
+4|Concentration 8 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 8 (+1), Knowledge (psionics) 5 (+1)|Craft Wondrous Item|

7th|Psychic Warrior 4|
+4|
+7|
+2|
+4|Concentration 9 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 9 (+1), Knowledge (psionics) 6 (+1)||

8th|Psychic Theurge 1|
+4|
+7|
+2|
+6|Concentration 10 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 10 (+1), Knowledge (psionics) 7 (+1)||+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class/+1 level of existing manifesting class

9th|Psychic Theurge 2|
+5|
+7|
+2|
+7|Concentration 12 (+2), Craft (blacksmithing) 11 (+1)|Craft Magic Arms & Armor|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class/+1 level of existing manifesting class

10th|Psychic Theurge 3|
+5|
+8|
+3|
+7|Concentration 13 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 13 (+2)||+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class/+1 level of existing manifesting class

11th|Renegade Mastermaker 1|
+5|
+10|
+3|
+9|Concentration 14 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 14 (+1), Knowledge (local) 4.5 (+1.5 cc)||Battlefist, Craft Master

12th|Renegade Mastermaker 2|
+6|
+11|
+3|
+10|Concentration 15 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 15 (+1), Knowledge (local) 6 (+1.5 cc)|Power Attack|Battlefist (+1), Self-repair, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

13th|Renegade Mastermaker 3|
+7|
+11|
+4|
+10|Concentration 16 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 16 (+1), Knowledge (dungeoneering) 1.5 (+1.5 cc)||Supporting Construction, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

14th|Renegade Mastermaker 4|
+8|
+12|
+4|
+11|Concentration 17 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 17 (+1), Knowledge (dungeoneering) 3 (+1.5 cc)||Damage Reduction 1/adamantine, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

15th|Renegade Mastermaker 5|
+8|
+12|
+4|
+11|Concentration 18 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 18 (+1), Knowledge (dungeoneering) 4.5 (+1.5 cc)|Heavy Armor Optimization|Battlefist (+2), +1 level of existing spellcasting class

16th|Renegade Mastermaker 6|
+9|
+13|
+5|
+12|Concentration 19 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 19 (+1), Knowledge (dungeoneering) 6 (+1.5 cc)||+1 level of existing spellcasting class

17th|Renegade Mastermaker 7|
+10|
+13|
+5|
+12|Concentration 20 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 20 (+1), Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 3 (+3)||Embed Component

18th|Renegade Mastermaker 8|
+11|
+14|
+5|
+13|Concentration 21 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 21 (+1), Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 6 (+3)|Deflective Armor|Damage Reduction 2/adamantine, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

19th|Renegade Mastermaker 9|
+11|
+14|
+6|
+13|Concentration 22 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 22 (+1), Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 9 (+3)||Battlefist (+3), +1 level of existing spellcasting class

20th|Renegade Mastermaker 10|
+12|
+15|
+6|
+14|Concentration 23 (+1), Craft (blacksmithing) 23 (+1), Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 12 (+3)|Psiforged Body|Construct Exemplar, +1 level of existing spellcasting class[/table]

Spells & Powers
Base Cleric Spells per Day (excluding domain spell)
{table=head]Level|0 level per Day|1st level per Day|2nd level per Day|3rd level per Day|4th level per Day|5th level per Day|6th level per Day|7th level per Day

1st|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-

4th|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-

5th|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-

6th|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-

7th|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-

8th|5|3|2|-|-|-|-|-

9th|5|3|2|1|-|-|-|-

10th|5|3|3|2|-|-|-|-

11th|5|3|3|2|-|-|-|-

12th|6|4|3|2|1|-|-|-

13th|6|4|3|3|2|-|-|-

14th|6|4|4|3|2|1|-|-

15th|6|4|4|3|3|2|-|-

16th|6|5|4|4|3|2|1|-

17th|6|5|4|4|3|2|1|-

18th|6|5|4|4|3|3|2|-

19th|6|5|5|4|4|3|2|1

20th|6|5|5|4|4|3|3|2[/table]

Key cleric spells to prepare:
1 - Divine Favor (scaling luck bonus to attack & damage and persistable), Shield of Faith (scaling deflection AC bonus)
2 - Eagle's Splendor (two more Turn attempts)
3 - Bestow Curse (nasty if they fail), Dispel Magic (obvious), Magic Vestment (scales and lasts hours, good if you don't want to rely on gear)
4 - Divine Power (full BAB, Str bonus and persistable!), Greater Magic Weapon (as Magic Vestments, but for weapons)
5 - Flame Strike, Slay Living (good offensive spells), Righteous Might (become large, persistable)
6 - Blade Barrier (useful all-rounder), Greater Dispel Magic, Heal (you can't cast it spontaneously as it doesn't have 'Cure' in it)
7 - Destruction (10d6 damage if you fail the save), Holy Word/Dictum (great for crowds of mooks)

Powers & Power Points per Day
{table=head]Level|Base PP per Day|Power learnt

1st|-|

2nd|-|

3rd|-|

4th|0|Conceal Thoughts

5th|1|Burst

6th|3|Vigor

7th|5|Sustenance

8th|7|Psionic Lion's Charge

9th|11|Dissolving Weapon

10th|15|Empathic Transfer (Hostile)

11th|15|

12th|15|

13th|15|

14th|15|

15th|15|

16th|15|

17th|15|

18th|15|

19th|15|

20th|15|[/table]

Additional Information
Attributes:
STR 15 (16 at level 4)
DEX 10
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 16 (20 at level 20)
CHA 14

God = Onatar (from the Sovereign Host)
Domains = Artifice and Warforged (Knowledge domain swapped for devotion feat

Level Highlights
Up to Level 10:
There is no hiding Hardy's weakness early on - before he enters Renegade Mastermaker he can't get to Divine Power, so instead will be relying on spells to damage and persisting lower-level buffs like Divine Favor and Shield of Faith. AC shouldn't be a problem, so touch spells like the Inflicts should be fine to use, and picking up a wand (or Wondrous Item?) of some offensive cleric spell like Sound Burst as a default should work.

Beyond Level 10:
Levels 11 and 12 are where the build comes together. The Battlefist at level 11 works with Psionic Fist to deal plenty of damage, and level 12 brings both Power Attack and Divine Power which Hardy will burn his turn attempts on persisting every morning. Full BAB, a good Strength score, PA and Psionic Lion's Charge turns him into a melee combatant to be feared, and he is still gaining mid-level cleric spells too. More levels bring more damage, attacks and spells, and at level 14 he gets Righteous Might for more Strength and reach.

Level 20:
By level 20 Hardy has enough cleric casting to split his turn attempts between persisting both Divine Power and Righteous Might - something like a Ring of Counterspells set up to protect against Dispel Magic would be very important to keep this up. His new Psiforged Body feat lets him stock up on power points for when he needs them, and now he is a Living Construct he can cast his Warforged domain spell Lesser Construct Essence on himself, granting him construct traits like moderate fortification and immunity to nonlethal damage and stunning. Deflective Armor at level 18 also means his Touch AC should catch up with his regular AC, useful against rays and the like.

Notes
There were a number of decisions in this build I made putting the story above the power of the character, starting with the domains. It made no sense for Hardy to be worshipping anyone other than the god of smiths Onatar (except possibly the Lord of Blades!), so I couldn't pick up the Travel domain but I worked around that instead. The Artifice and Warforged domains still have some nice and useful spells in them, and depending on how lenient your DM is, you might be able to use the Rebuke Construct attempts for more Divine Metamagic.

The trip into psionics was a combination of getting some kind of Pounce ability and Deflective Armor, some more backstory support (Conceal Thoughts and Sustenance are purely fluff choices) and a more unusual use of the free Warforged feat at the cap. Hardy will be restricted in the number of PPs he has, but Psiforged Body should help counter that a little by storing some of them up for later use. Low caster/manifester level for both cleric and psychic warrior is a problem, and the first feats I would recommend for flaws would be Practiced Spellcaster and Practiced Manifester (for more PPs).

Finally, the late entry into Renegade Mastermaker was purely to go with the story too. He put a lot of work into that first step, the addition of the Battlefist (which is obviously the point at which the story is set), so it seemed a little out of character to have that happening as soon as possible. Some sensible re-arranging of the class order would let you get to some of the higher level cleric spells sooner and leave you less weak early on, if you wanted to put power gain ahead of the character development.

Sources
Complete Arcane - Persistent Spell feat
Complete Divine - Divine Metamagic feat
Complete Champion - Knowledge Devotion feat
Races of Stone - Heavy Armor Optimization feat, Deflective Armor feat
Magic of Eberron - Renegade Mastermaker, Psiforged Body feat
Faiths of Eberron - Warforged domain
Unearthed Arcana - Cloistered Cleric variant
The Mind's Eye (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040925b) - Psychic Theurge

[Amphetryon]

You know "From many, one?" He's the reverse.

Hezekiah d'Cannith, Right Hand of the Becoming God
Human Monk 1/Wu Jen 9/Renegade Mastermaker 10
"Bone shall break and flesh may fail, but the 'Forged shall flourish forever!" -Hezekiah 1:25


http://www.earthend-newbeginning.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/best-killer-robot.jpg

The Schematic (Hezekiah 1:1-20)
{table=head]
Level|
Class|
Base Attack Bonus|
Fort Save|
Ref Save|
Will Save|
Skills|
Feats|
Class Features

1|
Monk 1|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+2|
Concentration 4, Craft (armor) 4, Know Arcana 4, Know Dungeoneering 2, Know Local 2, Know Nature 2, Know Religion 4, Know Planes 2|
Dragonmark Fist, Least Mark of Making, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack|
Improved Unarmed Strike, Decisive Strike, Bonus Feat

2|
Wu Jen 1|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+4|
Concentration 4, Craft (armor) 5, Know Arcana 5, Know Dungeoneering 2, Know Local 2, Know Nature 2, Know Religion 5, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories|
Quicken Spell|
Watchful Spirit, bonus metamagic feat

3|
Wu Jen 2|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+5|
Concentration 5, Craft (armor) 6, Know Arcana 5, Know Dungeoneering 3, Know Local 3, Know Nature 3, Know Religion 5, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories|
Knowledge Devotion|


4|
Wu Jen 3|
+1|
+3|
+3|
+5|
Concentration 6, Craft (armor) 7, Know Arcana 6, Know Dungeoneering 4, Know Local 4, Know Nature 4, Know Religion 6, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories||
Spell Secret (Extended Alter Self)

5|
Wu Jen 4|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+6|
Concentration 7, Craft (armor) 8, Know Arcana 7, Know Dungeoneering 5, Know Local 5, Know Nature 5, Know Religion 7, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories||


6|
Wu Jen 5|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+6|
Concentration 8, Craft (armor) 9, Know Arcana 8, Know Dungeoneering 6, Know Local 6, Know Nature 6, Know Religion 8, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories|
Craft Wondrous Item|


7|
Wu Jen 6|
+3|
+4|
+4|
+7|
Concentration 9, Craft (armor) 10, Know Arcana 9, Know Dungeoneering 7, Know Local 7, Know Nature 7, Know Religion 9, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories||
Elemental Mastery

8|
Wu Jen 7|
+3|
+4|
+4|
+7|
Concentration 10, Craft (armor) 11, Know Arcana 10, Know Dungeoneering 8, Know Local 8, Know Nature 8, Know Religion 10, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories||


9|
Wu Jen 8|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+8|
Concentration 11, Craft (armor) 12, Know Arcana 11, Know Dungeoneering 9, Know Local 9, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 11, Know Planes 5, Spellcraft 1, Collector of Stories|
Craft Magic Arms & Armor|


10|
Renegade Mastermaker 1|
+4|
+6|
+4|
+10|
Concentration 12, Craft (armor) 13, Know Arcana 12, Know Dungeoneering 10, Know Local 10, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 11, Know Planes 6, Spellcraft 2, Use Magic Device 1, Collector of Stories||
Battlefist, Craft Master

11|
Renegade Mastermaker 2|
+5|
+7|
+4|
+11|
Concentration 13, Craft (armor) 14, Know Arcana 13, Know Dungeoneering 10, Know Local 11, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 11, Know Planes 9, Spellcraft 3, Use Magic Device 2, Collector of Stories||
Battlefist (+1), Self-Repair

12|
Renegade Mastermaker 3|
+6/+1|
+7|
+5|
+11|
Concentration 14, Craft (armor) 15, Know Arcana 14, Know Dungeoneering 10, Know Local 12, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 12, Know Planes 10, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 3, Collector of Stories|
Practiced Spellcaster|
Supporting Construction

13|
Renegade Mastermaker 4|
+7/+2|
+8|
+5|
+12|
Concentration 15, Craft (armor) 16, Know Arcana 16, Know Dungeoneering 11, Know Local 13, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 12, Know Planes 11, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 4, Collector of Stories||
Damage Reduction 1/adamantine

14|
Renegade Mastermaker 5|
+7/+2|
+8|
+5|
+12|
Concentration 16, Craft (armor) 17, Know Arcana 17, Know Dungeoneering 11, Know Local 14, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 12, Know Planes 15, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 5, Collector of Stories||
Battlefist (+2)


15|
Renegade Mastermaker 6|
+8/+3|
+9|
+6|
+13|
Concentration 17, Craft (armor) 18, Know Arcana 18, Know Dungeoneering 11, Know Local 15, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 13, Know Planes 17, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 6, Collector of Stories|
Arcane Disciple: Warforged|


16|
Renegade Mastermaker 7|
+9/+4|
+9|
+6|
+13|
Concentration 18, Craft (armor) 19, Know Arcana 19, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 16, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 13, Know Planes 19, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 7, Collector of Stories||
Embed Component

17|
Renegade Mastermaker 8|
+10/+5|
+10|
+6|
+14|
Concentration 20, Craft (armor) 20, Know Arcana 20, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 17, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 13, Know Planes 20, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 10, Collector of Stories||
Damage Reduction 2/adamantine

18|
Renegade Mastermaker 9|
+10/+5|
+10|
+7|
+14|
Concentration 21, Craft (armor) 21, Know Arcana 21, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 19, Know Nature 9, Know Religion 14, Know Planes 21, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 11, Collector of Stories|
Cannith Forgecraft|
Battlefist (+3), Construct Exemplar

19|
Renegade Mastermaker 10|
+11/+6/+1|
+11|
+7|
+15|
Concentration 22, Craft (armor) 22, Know Arcana 22, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 21, Know Nature 10, Know Religion 14, Know Planes 22, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 12, Collector of Stories|
Shocking Fist|


20|
Wu Jen 9|
+11/+6/+1|
+12|
+8|
+15|
Concentration 23, Craft (armor) 23, Know Arcana 23, Know Dungeoneering 12, Know Local 23, Know Nature 10, Know Religion 15, Know Planes 23, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 13, Collector of Stories||
Spell Secret (Extended Time Stop)[/table]

{table=head]Stat|Base|Points|Level|Total|Mod
S|13|5|0|13|+1
D|8|0|0|8|-1
C|12|4|0|12|+1
I|17|13|2|19|+4
W|16|10|3|19|+4
C|8|0|0|8|-1[/table]

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

{table=head]Level|Spells Known
1|
2|Dancing Lights, Flare, Ray of Frost, Arcane Mark, Daze, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Resistance, Endure Elements| Charm Person| Magic Missile| Shield| Silent Image, True Strike
3|Obscuring Mist, Comprehend Languages
4|Alter Self, Blur
5|Detect Thoughts, Invisibility
6|Dispel Magic, Haste
7|Magnetism, Rebirth of Iron
8|Minor Creation, Polymorph
9|Creeping Darkness, Scrying
10|
11|Telekinesis, Teleport
12|Summon Monster V, Wall of Force
13|Geas/Quest, True Seeing
14|Dispel Magic (Greater), Globe of Invulnerability
15|Body Outside Body, Giant Size, Repair Light Damage, Construct Essence (Lesser), Stone Construct, Repair Critical Damage, Construct Energy Ward (Greater), Iron Construct, Construct Essence (Mass Lesser)
16|
17|Decapitating Scarf, Limited Wish, Total Repair
18|Mind Blank, Arcane Spellsurge
19|Summon Monster VIII, Polymorph Any Object
20|Time Stop, Shapechange, Summon Warforged Champion[/table]
The Tale of the Hand (Hezekiah 1:21-44)
Hear ye the voice of the Becoming:
"The land had been my home, but now we mourn for it--its name echoes no longer.
The land had housed a Forge, but now we mourn for it--its fire burns no longer.
The land had birthed a people, but now they rust in it--their plating shines no longer."

For seven moons, I sat and mourned. The lingering effects of war clung to my skin, pulling it in all directions. My arm melted from its bones, and they too became brittle. I cursed the Sovereign Host and pleaded for death, but it did not come. Instead, the Becoming God whispered:

"Bone shall break and flesh may fail, but the 'Forged shall flourish forever!"

At that time, some of the warforged Brothers and sisters living in the land took me into their temple. I lived among them and lived as them: I did not sleep except when my body demanded it of me. I did not use my feeble arm, but only touched things with my left hand. I trained with it exclusively, and it became strong. Realizing my potential as a warrior had faded since the Last War, I instead learned the ways of the magicians and their love of metal.

Eventually, I learned that I was nothing more than a Forged in a feeble human frame. I began working to correct what the land had done, and with the help of the Becoming God, I built myself a proper body as the one we strive to build for him. I could never have stopped at the arm, as other parts would soon begin to fail. Instead, I have become as He will become.

Hear ye the voice of the Becoming:
"My servants are those who build,
But he would would build me a frame must fortify his own.
As a creation can not be completed without its Creator,
The Becoming God is built by his servants.
The land is rebuilt by its people,
And they shall be rebuilt in it."
Selah.
The Way of Becoming (Hezekiah 2:1-12)

Levels 1-5: Unarmed Strikes and buff spells trade places back and forth. Alter Self comes into play as needed.
Levels 6-10: We enter the Secret Ingredient and create our Battlefist...Decisive Dragonmark Fist continues to be a decent damage dealer. The Secret Ingredient is superior to wu-jen progression as it provides better HD, increased BAB, a good Fort save along with our good Will save, and some unique class abilities. Most importantly, though, it delays our 9th level spell secret as long as possible...more on that below.
Levels 11-15: Our main schtick is fully fueled at level 15, and our spell list explodes with Warforged spells. We start growing to giant size, hammering folks with Quickened True Strike Decisive Dragonmark Fists. Practiced Spellcaster comes into play to offset the only downside of our Secret Ingredient and monk level: the lost caster levels.
Levels 16-20: We tuck back into wu jen for level 9, which nets us a spell secret at 20th level. Conveniently, we're also picking up 9th level spells at this point. Now every time we cast Time Stop, it's Extended for free. Thanks, Renegade Mastermaker, for allowing my little wu jen to stop time like a BOSS!
The Fruit of the Forge (Hezekiah 2:13-31)

Battlefist: Though the mastermaker is an average BAB class, the enhancements provided to the battlefist make it feel more like a full BAB class by giving you a +10 to hit over its levels (+7 BAB and +3 battlefist). However, the biggest boon is that we can treat the battlefist as either manufactured or natural, much like an unarmed strike. The text specifies that it replaces your hand, so it seems you can make unarmed strikes with your battlefist. This is very good for the monk in us, as Dragonmark Fist allows us to spend an action point to deal maximum damage with an unarmed strike. Furthermore, Decisive Strike allows us to deal DOUBLE damage with an unarmed strike as a full-round action. Coupled together, we can deal double our maximum damage with one big attack. Throw on a Quickened True Strike to make sure your decisive Dragonmark Fist hits, and we're in business. However, our usual damage isn't extraordinary, so we'll pop off Giant size. By the end of the build, we're swinging a Colossal battlefist around. Our damage for that is 6d6 (according to this table (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#weaponSize))+ 3 battlefist+up to 5 Knowledge Devotion + up to 11d4 Shocking Fist + up to 11 Power Attack + 17 STR. When we're talking about doubling and maximizing that damage, it's only one attack per round, but it can deal 232 damage at the cost of one action point. Speaking of that pesky "one attack per round" dilemma...did I mention that we also have Body Outside Body? So there are really FOUR colossal battlefists swinging around the field with impressive reach for a total of 928 damage.
Craft Master: Craft (armormaking) is not only useful for, you know, making armor, but it can be used to repair warforged characters (like we become at level 19). Cannith Forgecraft allows us to make this repair in 2 hours instead of 8, and the +10 bonus from Craft Master means we'll be healing significantly more HP than we would be without it. In addition, we can reroll one Craft check per week if we're really unpleased with the result of one of our checks to repair ourselves or make some swag for folks.
Self-repair: At first, I thought this feature was kind of a stinker. It's a full-round action, it costs you a spell, and the amount healed didn't seem that spectacular. The best I could think of was using it to burn any unused spells at the end of the day for a decent nightcap. However, then I realized that my Body Outside Body clones have my class levels. The text of the spell says they can't cast spells, but doesn't mention anything about burning them to use a Supernatural ability. Not only can my clones use dragonmark abilities on themselves (thus quadrupling my number of uses), but they should be able to burn spells to heal.
Supporting Construction: Getting Repair spells on the list was basically a requirement to use this class feature, since I didn't want to rest on my Mark of Making limited uses. The warforged domain (found in Faiths of Eberron) provides some repair spells as well as a handful of other goodies that only work on Warforged. Once we reach 10th level, this becomes very good news for us.
Damage Reduction: DR 2/adamantine is great, but sometimes you just need more. Luckily, once we become a warforged we have spells on our list like Iron Construct and Stone Construct that can boost this through the roof. However, discerning readers will say that the spells overlap with this feature, instead of adding to it. To them, I float this suggestion: if flaws are allowed by your DM, take Spell Focus (Transmutation) as well as Toughening Transmutation. Voila, scaling DR that functions in addition to this class feature! The wu jen spell list is packed with transmutation spells, and some of them (Time Stop and Giant Size, particularly) become our bread and butter.
Embed Component: So you can make and embed your own warforged components, eh? And they give you extra HP, eh? I've heard a lot of talk around this here Internet about making a bunch of super-cheap items into components for the bonus HP. For Hezekiah, this cheesy tactic could actually save his life, as each Body Outside Body clone that dies deals 10 points of damage...the bonus HP from components is always welcome. Either way you slice it, these items provide some interesting possibilities. The most interesting point is that it specifically calls out docents and artifact items as available to you...ask your DM if this means you can start crafting artifacts.
Construct exemplar: So you become a warforged. Big deal, right? I mean, you get a bonus warforged feat, so that's pretty cool--us and our Body Outside Body clones will be spamming the heck out of Shocking Fist, since it seems like it doubles when we use Decisive Strike and gets maximized with our Dragonmark Fist (after all, it's part of the attack, whereas things like the Duskblade's Arcane Channeling specify that they are factored in after the attack damage is resolved normally). We also get full use of the Craft skill to repair ourselves (boosted by Cannith Forgecraft) and the ability to use our other Warforged domain spells on ourselves). But what do we gain that we wouldn't have from simply starting as a warforged? Well, we get the human bonus feat and extra skill points (which always come in handy when we're fueling Knowledge Devotion). The dragonmark is our big thing, though--without it we can't snag Cannith Forgecraft, so repairing ourself would take all night...no time to rest and regain spells. Also, we wouldn't be able to take Dragonmark Fist for MAX DAMAGE. Basically, being human and warforged at once is necessary to our schtick.

The Canon
PHB
Dragonmarked
Eberron Campaign Setting
Magic of Eberron
Players Guide to Eberron
Complete Divine

[Amphetryon]

This Father is one mean mother.


http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/13269685/images/1293177079397.jpg

Father Aldwin
The Build
LN Human Cleric 3/Church Inquisitor 3/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Contemplative 1/Church Inquisitor +3
Point Buy: Str 10/Dex 8/Con 14/Int 10/Wis 18/Cha 14
Initial Stats: Str 10/Dex 8/Con 14/Int 10/Wis 18/Cha 14
Final Stats: Str 10/Dex 8/Con 14/Int 10/Wis 23/Cha 14

{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1st|Cleric|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Max Know(Arcana), Know(Religion), Spellcraft|(Domain Bonus) Extend Spell, (Human Bonus) Persistent Spell, Divine Metamagic: Persistent Spell|Turn Undead, Planning domain, Warforged domain, Aura
2nd|Cleric|
+1|
+3|
+0|
+3|3x Craft(armorsmithing)|-|-
3rd|Cleric|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+3|3x Craft(armorsmithing)|Craft Wondrous Item|-
4th|Church Inquisitor|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+5|1x Craft(armorsmithing), 1x Know(Religion), 1x Know(Arcana), 0.5x Collector of Stories|-|Detect evil, Inquisition domain
5th|Church Inquisitor|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+6|1x Craft(armorsmithing), 1x Know(Religion), 1x Spellcraft, 0.5x Collector of Stories|-|Immune to charms
6th|Church Inquisitor|
+4|
+4|
+2|
+6|3x Know(Religion), Spellcraft, Know(The Planes)|Craft Magic Arms and Armor|Pierce illusion
7th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+4|
+6|
+2|
+8|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration & Spellcraft|-|Battlefist, Craft Master
8th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+5|
+7|
+2|
+9|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration & Spellcraft|-|Battlefist (+1), Self-repair
9th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+6|
+7|
+3|
+9|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration & Spellcraft|Quicken Spell|Supporting construction
10th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+7|
+8|
+3|
+10|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft, Use Magic Device|-|Damage reduction 1/adamantine
11th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+7|
+8|
+3|
+10|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft, Know(The Planes)|-|Battlefist (+2)
12th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+8|
+9|
+4|
+11|0.5x Know(Religion) & Swift Concentration, 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft|DMM: Quicken Spell|-
13th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+9|
+9|
+4|
+11|0.5x Know(Religion) & Swift Concentration, 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft|-|Embed component
14th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+10|
+10|
+4|
+12|0.5x Know(Religion), 2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft, Know(The Planes)|-|Damage reduction 2/adamantine
15th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+10|
+10|
+5|
+12|2x Concentration, 1x Spellcraft, Know(The Planes), Know(Arcana)|Skill Focus (Know: Religion)|Battlefist (+3)
16th|Renegade Mastermaker|
+11|
+11|
+5|
+13|2x Know(The Planes), 1x Concentration, Spellcraft, Know(Arcana)|(RMM Bonus) Adamantine Body|Construct Exemplar
17th|Contemplative|
+11|
+11|
+5|
+15|Concentration, Know(Religion), Spellcraft|-|Alteration domain, Divine Health
18th|Church Inquisitor|
+12|
+11|
+5|
+16|Concentration, Know(Religion), Spellcraft|Craft Contingent Spell|Pierce disguise
19th|Church Inquisitor|
+12|
+11|
+5|
+16|Concentration, Know(Religion), Spellcraft|-|Immune to compulsions
20th|Church Inquisitor|
+13|
+12|
+6|
+17|Concentration, Know(Religion), Spellcraft|-|Force shapechange[/table]

Spells
Spells per day*
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th
1st|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
2nd|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
3rd|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
4th|5|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
5th|5|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-
6th|5|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-
7th|5|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-
8th|6|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-
9th|6|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-
10th|6|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-
11th|6|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-
12th|6|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-
13th|6|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-
14th|6|5|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-
15th|6|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|-|-
16th|6|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|-|-
17th|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1|-
18th|6|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2|-
19th|6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|2|1
20th|6|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|3|2[/table]
*Add +1 to all spell slots aside from 0lvl to account for domain spells.
Note: Does not account for spells gained from high Wis modifier.

The Story
File C-93: Father Aldwin

The following is the compilation of documents the Foundation possesses concerning the man known as Father Aldwin. It is to be included in all briefing material concerning the Church of the Broken God. Irrelevant information has been omitted from each document.

The following is the earliest available documentation on Father Aldwin. At the time of writing, Aldwin was apparently a lower ranking member in the church hierarchy, since he was a member, rather than the leader, of the team encountered by Agent R███. Moreover, it appears that at this time Father Aldwin was still entirely human, with no traces of 217 infection.

Personal Log of Agent R███

I probably won't survive this. It actually gives me a sense of peace, to write it down like that. I hope this log might help whoever else has to deal with them.

We were attacked by the Church of the Broken God. I recognized them and tried to stop them. I've spent two weeks in this place, and felt kind of attached to the locals, especially B████. Well, I guess I'll see him shortly.

The leader was "D███." Wore a green army jacket. He killed the tribe's warriors with a machete. Ungodly fast. Another was covered in robes, but it looked like he had some metal plating on underneath. I think they called him "Osmon." There was a lucky guy, Aldwin, and two others. They didn't have guns, so they looked like hikers, up until they started attacking. I tried to take them out with the AR, but couldn't get a shot off. Lack of training, I guess.

The warriors were fighting the others, so I tried to take out Aldwin, but I couldn't pull the trigger. The safety was off; I still don't understand it. But while I checked it I got stabbed in the gut. Then more.

They took the skip. Argued about burning the village, Aldwin and D███. Decided not to, so I got to live long enough to activate the [REDACTED] and write this note. Good luck to you.

A man with a green army jacket was found several weeks later, apparently bludgeoned to death, near a known Church of the Broken God dwelling. It is inferred that some sort of division occured in the church that resulted in "D███'s" death.

This build is playable from level 1. Since The Broken God isn't part of the D&D pantheon, Aldwin "selects two domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities," in this case careful prior-planning and support of all things machine, especially warforged, who he sees as beloved images of his god.

Thanks to turning attempts from the Warforged domain and a high charisma score, Aldwin has more than enough turning attempts persist a spell a day (I like Bless, myself, but see if your DM will let you get away with Lesser Vigor). This makes him a supremely good buffer, in addition to a secondary tank.

By level 3, he discovers a corrupt sect within his church, and at level 4 begins working as a Church Inquisitor. This grants the situationally-useful Inquisition domain, and more importantly Immunity to Charms, and later Pierce Illusions. Being able to craft a slew of wondrous items doesn't hurt either. And of course, he's great in a party with warforged.

By level 5, he has 3rd-level spells and picks up Collector of Stories so he can easily identify undead, constructs, dragons, and magical beasts.

Although Father Aldwin was seen observed in several other instances related to the acquisition of anomalous objects, the incident on ██/██/████ distinguished him as a dangerous opponent of the Foundation. Mobile Task Force Beta-4 conducted a raid a location known to house the Church of the Broken God. The following footage is taken from that event, recorded by a hidden camera on Agent L█████'s helmet.

Surveillance Log x███, Date █-██-████

14:57 In a stone hallway, Beta-4 encounters a robed figure, later identified as Aldwin. Agent Ross's gun is leveled at the figure, who raises his hands in surrender. One of the hands appears to have been replaced with a metal gauntlet.

1
Audio Log s███-█ Date: █-██-████

<Aldwin> Who-

<Ross> Get on the ground!

<Aldwin> Ok, don't shoot-

<Ross> Hands behind your head! [Aldwin complies, and is handcuffed by Agents Bradley and L█████. Agent L█████ attempts to remove the gauntlet without success, and barely fits the manacle around it.]

<Ross> Where are the relics?!

<Aldwin> Please don't shoot! I'll tell you, just don't shoot!

<Ross> Tell us!

<Aldwin> At the end of the hall! The room at the end of the hall!

<Ross> Follow us! Bradley, guard him.

1
[REDACTED]

15:01 In the hallway, Aldwin slips out of his manacles and grabs Agent Bradley, who fires point blank. Aldwin is unfazed, and snaps Agent Bradley's neck.

[REDACTED]

1
Someone shouts "Father Aldwin! Are you ok?"

<Aldwin> Yes, I'm fine. Keep the jailors trapped. They must not be allowed to steal the holy pieces of God!

<Darns> There aren't supposed to be this many!

[REDACTED]

<Ross> Conserve ammo, keep them out of this room. Darns, throw a tox!

<Aldwin> Osmond!

1
15:03 Agent Darns lobs a ██ neurotoxin grenade into the hallway. A muscular automaton jumps on the grenade. Approximately 10 church members lie wounded or dead on the floor.

1
[REDACTED]

<Alwin> Collapse the hallway.

<Darns> No!

<Ross> Go!

There is an explosion and the sound of moving earth.

1
[REDACTED]

15:07 At the top of the stairs, Agent L█████ sees three automatic weapons pointed at him, and an unarmed Aldwin.

1
<Aldwin> Do not be afraid. Drop the holy relics and you may leave in peace.

<L█████> Oh yeah? And how's that?

<Aldwin> I have a message for your superiors. You may deliver it, or die here.

<L█████> Talk, I'll listen.

<Aldwin> Our lord has blessed us with extraordinary knowledge. We knew you were coming. Consider that the next time before you decide to attack us in our homes. You will not win. We will restore our god.

<L█████> That it?

<Aldwin> Yes. Keep your gun if you wish. These men are under my protection, and you will not harm-

Another explosion is heard, then gunshots.

1
15:09 Agent L█████ throws a grenade and sprints for the exit.

Father Aldwin displayed numerous anomalous properties during this incident, notably being able to withstand assault rifle bullets and a grenade from point blank range, neither of which can be accounted for with normal body armor.

It takes a level longer than wizards, but at level 7 Aldwin starts the SI; taking a break from being a church inquisitor to make himself more like his god. At level 7, he gets a fist that's useful for both unarmed attacks and Heavy Metal concerts, then at level 8 he puts that Craft Magical Arms feat to good use on his knockin' 1d8+Str (which is high thanks to Divine Power) Battlefist.

Self Repair gives him something to do with his domain slots when he's not planning or buffing/healing his warforged allies.

Supporting Construction synergizes with the Warforged domain, allowing him to heal himself better than with Self Repair once he gets Total Repair at level 17.

At level 9, he picks up Quicken spell and starts cashing in on the action economy, and at level 10, in addition to 5th level spells, he gets the incredibly powerful damage reduction that makes him slightly more resistant to both damage and poison.

Agent J████ was the sole surviving member of Mobile Armed Task Force 12 after a raid conducted by Aldwin and one ally, in which possession of SCP-271 was lost.

Interview Log c████, Date: ██-█-████

<O5-█>: What did the intruders look like?

<Agent J████>: Like something out of a fantasy book. One had green skin with bird wings and a trumpet. One of them looked like he was made of rocks. And one of them was a ghost or something.

<O5-█>: What do you mean by a ghost?

<Agent J████>: It was transparent, couldn't see him clearly. But it looked like he was riding a horse, and he had a huge lance. And he had the [DATA EXPUNGED], so we knew he was with the Church. And Aldwin-

<O5-█>: You confirmed it was the member known as "Father Aldwin"?

<Agent J████>: Yeah, I mean, yes. Visual confirmation. He looked like he was [REDACTED] from 217 infection. It wasn't like the video though, he looked, I don't know, like an angel, but all metal. He got really bright when we put the searchlight on him, hard to see.

<O5-█>: I see. Did you experience any other hallucinatory phenomena?

<Agent J████>: What? No! Everything else looked like normal, like it was supposed to. It was just those four... things.

<O5-█>: I see. What happened next?

<Agent J████>: They attacked. It was insane, the ghost-thing was killing us and we couldn't touch him. The bird guy blew his trumpet and half of us were paralyzed, just like that. The golem was smashing things left and right. And Aldwin was unstoppable. Like bullets didn't even matter to him. I couldn't move, was stuck watching from the tower while they slaughtered the our team. When they finished, he took the skip and disappeared.

At level 12, Aldwin picks up DMM Quicken and starts breaking the action economy over his knee with his extra turning attempts, since by now he can afford nightsticks.

Then at 13 he finishes Swift Concentration to make extra use everything from Bridge of Sound to Implosion, and gets the abusable (see "Extra Cheese") Embed Component.

Finally, at 15 he picks up some awesome 7th level spells, including an extra Dictum from the Inquisition domain. He also takes Practiced Spellcaster for a nice +2 CL on that Dictum.

After the previous incident, it was several months before Father Aldwin reappeared. He did so inside the containment area of SCP-172 in Site-██, before mounting a single-person assault on the rest of the facility. Due to collateral damage during Aldwin's break in, almost all video and audio logs were damaged, leaving only the following, presumably due to his lack of activity in the area.

Audio Log c████-█ Date: █-██-████

<Aldwin> Grandfather, I'm overjoyed to see you.

<SCP-172> You don't have to call me that you know.

[data corrupt]

<Aldwin> I have come to liberate [data corrupt] The unbelievers cannot stop us now. I have finally become powerful enough to [data corrupt]

[data corrupt]

<SCP-172> I will stay. I wish you well.

Father Aldwin apparently left at this point. SCP-172 has proven reluctant to discuss the the exchange, except to say that he did not share Father Aldwin's ideals.

During the attack, Site ██ sustained massive damage, resulting in loss of containment of over ██ SCPs, of which only ██ have been recovered, and the death or disappearance of ███ D-class, ██ researchers, and ██ agents, including █ mobile task forces. It is theorized that Father Aldwin took several of the missing SCPs with him. In addition, he somehow prevented the detonation of the on-site nuclear weapon.

In Review: Father Aldwin is extremely dangerous, and should not be engaged except by highly trained personnel with the proper equipment. Due to his motivation, goals, ability to obtain information, ability to enact complex plans, and growing list of anomalous properties, he has been classified as a P1-level threat.

Level 20 and Persistent 9th level spells! But first we have to get there. Level 16 gives the awesome capstone, Construct Exemplar, which in addition to its other bonuses, allows Aldwin to cast his other Warforged domain spells on himself, like turning himself into a full construct, or better yet an Iron Construct. He also picks up Adamantine Body (take that Wizard-entry RMMs) because he can simply craft fortify his armor later with the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat.

Having completed his desire to turn himself into a machine, Aldwin takes time to meditate on his god, as represented by a level in the contemplative class. Continuing the theme of selecting domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities, Aldwin takes the Alteration domain, which grants him access to some of the most powerful spells in the D&D universe, including, eventually, Shapechange, and a +1 CL when casting them.

After attuning to his god, Aldwin resumes his duties as Church Inquisitor, both seeking out pieces of the Broken God to put back together, and routing heresy from the church. He picks up Craft Contingent Spell to aid him in his mission, because you never know when you're going to need Protection from Sonic Energy, and goes to town.

It took a while, but he finally becomes immune to Dominate Monster at about the same time enemies start casting it. In addition, he snags Time Stop, Shapechange, and the situationally-useful Imprisonment from the Wizard spell list, and even gets Summon Warforged Champion, in case he didn't have enough buddies to buff and sick on enemies.

Finally, at level 20, he gets Force Shapechange, allowing him to win a shapechanging war with another spellcaster, followed by him repairing the Broken God and winning the game. Or unleashing an insane monstrosity on the world, depending how your DM plays it. Either way, he succeeds.

The best spot for this build is probably level 20, when he can cast any number of buffs, both cheesy and non, and then wade into combat with a magic two-handed weapon, shapechanged into a creature with a bunch of powerful attacks, or straight up unarmed with the battlefist. Here are some of the highlights:
Persistent Spells:
Shapechange
Greater Visage of the Deity
Veil of Undeath
Holy Aura
Lion's Roar
Shield of Archons
Holy Transformation
Holy Star
Spiritual Guardian
Vigorous Circle
Anti Life Shell
Iron Construct
Lesser Telepathic Bond
Righteous Wrath of the Faithful
Righteous Might
True Seeing
Greater Construct Energy Ward
Halo of Vengeance
Detect Scrying
Freedom of Movement
Divine Power
Counter Attack
Planar Tolerance
Recitation
Blessing of the Righteous
Death Ward
Detect Thoughts
Vengeful Shield
Divine Retaliation
Footsteps of Divine
Invisibility Purge
Cloud of Knives
Interfaith Blessing
Balor Nimbus
Elation
Lesser Construct Essence
Crystal of Reflection

Deathwatch
Bless
Blessed Aim
Comprehend Languages
Detect Alignment
Strength of Mind
Greater Enhance Magical Flow
Detect Magic
Read Magic

Etc.
Adaptations:
Fractional BAB gives +1 point of BAB, faster Fort and Ref progression, and +1 point of Will.
Cloistered Cleric is superior to straight cleric if starting at level 7 (when you have Divine Power) or later, and, if flaws are allowed, you can take Able Learner and swap Inquisition domain for Knowledge Devotion.
The last four feats (and RMM bonus feat) can be traded for gish feats, if you want to go that route (particularly useful in conjunction with the previous point). Take Power Attack, Battle Jump, Improved Bull Rush and Shock Trooper, and persist a few spells (eg. Miracle-Lion's Charge, Miracle-Bite of the Werebear, and Divine Power) to deal 300 damage per round with the Battlefist alone.
If you want to be more finding-things oriented, you can swap the last 3 levels of Church Inquisitor for Divine Oracle by swapping Practiced Spellcaster for Skill Focus(Know:Religion). It grants Divination and Scrying at a lower level, plus Foresight, in addition to +3 total CL on divinations and the nifty Divination Enhancement.
The RMM class levels can be moved back as far as level 11 if eg. you want immunity to compulsions earlier. Doing so means it takes longer to become a warforged and work that synergy with Warforged domain and, fluffwise, this character ideally wants to become a machine as soon as possible.
If you decide to worship the Sovereign Host for awhile, you can drop the last four levels of Church Inquisitor in favor of Sovereign Speaker. This works especially as an easy way for a gish to get the Animal/Law/Strength/Travel devotion feats.

Extra-Cheese Options:
Add Initiate of Mystra or Extraordinary Spell Aim in place of Practiced Spellcaster or Craft Contingent Spell to walk around casting spells in an AMF.
Change race to Dragonborn Incarnate Construct Saint Warforged (it even fits perfectly well with the theme, except maybe the dragonborn part), or even Dragonborn Saint Human if you can buy off the LA+2. The former requires moving DMM:Persistent Spell to the 9th level feat slot, which may be worth the trade, considering that at level 17 you become immune to most forms of damage.
ECS pg. 268 says that any magic item can be made as a warforged component. Blessed Bandages are 10gp each, ergo you can spend 1/10 of your level 20 WBL for 7,600 HP (or all of it for 76,000).

Sources
Core, Eberron Campaign Setting, Faiths of Eberron, Magic of Eberron, Spell Compendium, Dragonlance Campaign Setting, Complete Divine, Complete Arcane

[Amphetryon]

Nothing to see here, folks; it's just a robot dragon. Wait, what?

Born from the depths of the sea...
Remade in Bahamut's form...
Rebuilt in the forges of Cannith...

...this is KIRYU !

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120512174818/gojirakaijufanon/images/1/19/Kiryu_Neo.jpg

Kiryu, dragonborn (heart aspect) darfellan duskblade 6/suel arcanamach 4/renegade mastermaker 10

Lawful Good
Str 16/Dex 6/Con 16/Int 12/Wis 12/Cha 16 (after racial mods)

All stat boosts go to Charisma

(The Skilled City Dweller ACF is used to swap Ride with Tumble as a duskblade class skill.)

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

1st|Duskblade 1|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Craft (blacksmithing) 4 ranks, spellcraft 4 ranks, concentration 4 ranks|Iron Will|Arcane attunement, armored mage (light)

2nd|Duskblade 2|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Craft (blacksmithing) 5 ranks, spellcraft 5 ranks, tumble 1 rank|Combat Casting|

3rd|Duskblade 3|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Craft (blacksmithing) 6 ranks, tumble 2 ranks, jump 1 rank|Craft Wondrous Item|Arcane channeling

4th|Duskblade 4|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+4|Craft (blacksmithing) 7 ranks, tumble 3 ranks, jump 2 ranks||Armored mage (medium)

5th|Duskblade 5|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Craft (blacksmithing) 8 ranks, tumble 4 ranks, jump 3 ranks||Quick cast 1/day

6th|Duskblade 6|
+6/+1|
+5|
+2|
+5|Craft (blacksmithing) 9 ranks, tumble 5 ranks, jump 4 ranks|Craft Magic Arms and Armor|Spell power +2

7th|Renegade Mastermaker 1|
+6/+1|
+7|
+2|
+7|Craft (blacksmithing) 10 ranks, use magic device 4 ranks||Battlefist, craft master

8th|Suel Arcanamach 1|
+6/+1|
+7|
+4|
+9|Craft (blacksmithing) 11 ranks, spellcraft 6 ranks, concentration 5 ranks, jump 5 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 1 rank||Ignore spell failure chance 5%, tenacious spells

9th|Renegade Mastermaker 2|
+7/+2|
+8|
+4|
+10|Craft (blacksmithing) 12 ranks, use magic device 8 ranks|Entangling Exhalation|Battlefist (+1), self-repair

10th|Renegade Mastermaker 3|
+8/+3|
+8|
+5|
+10|Craft (blacksmithing) 13 ranks, use mage device 12 ranks||Supporting construction

11th|Renegade Mastermaker 4|
+9/+4|
+9|
+5|
+11|Craft (blacksmithing) 14 ranks, use magic device 14 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, concentration 6 ranks||Damage reduction 1/adamantine

12th|Renegade Mastermaker 5|
+9/+4|
+9|
+5|
+11|Craft (blacksmithing) 15 ranks, use magic device 15 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 3 ranks, concentration 7 ranks, spellcraft 7 ranks|Practiced Spellcaster (Suel Arcanamach)|Battlefist (+2)

13th|Renegade Mastermaker 6|
+10/+5|
+10|
+6|
+12|Craft (blacksmithing) 16 ranks, use magic device 16 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, concentration 8 ranks, spellcraft 8 ranks||

14th|Renegade Mastermaker 7|
+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+6|
+12|Craft (blacksmithing) 17 ranks, use magic device 17 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, concentration 9 ranks, spellcraft 9 ranks||Embed component

15th|Renegade Mastermaker 8|
+12/+7/+2|
+11|
+6|
+13|Craft (blacksmithing) 18 ranks, use magic device 18 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, concentration 10 ranks, spellcraft 10 ranks|Minor Shapeshift|Damage reduction 2/adamantine

16th|Renegade Mastermaker 9|
+12/+7/+2|
+11|
+7|
+13|Craft (blacksmithing) 19 ranks, use magic device 19 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 7 ranks, concentration 11 ranks, spellcraft 11 ranks||Battlefist (+3)

17th|Renegade Mastermaker 10|
+13/+8/+3|
+12|
+7|
+14|Craft (blacksmithing) 20 ranks, use magic device 20 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, concentration 12 ranks, spellcraft 12 ranks|Improved Fortification|Construct exemplar

18th|Suel Arcanamach 2|
+14/+9/+4|
+12|
+8|
+15|Craft (blacksmithing) 21 ranks, use magic device 21 ranks, concentration 13 ranks, spellcraft 13 ranks|Versatile Spellcaster|Dispelling strike 1/day

19th|Suel Arcanamach 3|
+15/+10/+5|
+13|
+8|
+15|Craft (blacksmithing) 22 ranks, use magic device 22 ranks, concentration 14 ranks, spellcraft 14 ranks||Extended spellstrength

20th|Suel Arcanamach 4|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+13|
+9|
+16|Craft (blacksmithing) 23 ranks, use magic device 23 ranks, concentration 15 ranks, spellcraft 15 ranks||Ignore spell failure chance 10%[/table]

Duskblade Spells

Duskblade Spells per Day
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th

1st|3|2|-|-|-|-

2nd|4|3|-|-|-|-

3rd|5|4|-|-|-|-

4th|6|5|-|-|-|-

5th|6|5|2|-|-|-

6th|6|6|3|-|-|-

7th|6|6|3|-|-|-

8th|6|6|3|-|-|-

9th|6|6|3|-|-|-

10th|6|6|3|-|-|-

11th|6|6|3|-|-|-

12th|6|6|3|-|-|-

13th|6|6|3|-|-|-

14th|6|6|3|-|-|-

15th|6|6|3|-|-|-

16th|6|6|3|-|-|-

17th|6|6|3|-|-|-

18th|6|6|3|-|-|-

19th|6|6|3|-|-|-

20th|6|6|3|-|-|-[/table]

Duskblade Spells Known:
0: Acid splash, touch of fatigue, ray of frost
1: Shocking grasp, ray of enfeeblement, swift expeditious retreat, resist energy
2: Dimension hop, swift fly


Suel Arcanamach Spells

Suel Arcanamach Spells per Day/Spells Known
{table=head]Level|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8th|1 / 1|-|-|-|-

9th|1 / 2|0 / 1|-|-|-

10th|2 / 2|1 / 2|-|-|-

11th|2 / 2|2 / 2|0 / 1|-|-

12th|3 / 3|2 / 2|1 / 2|-|-

13th|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2|0 / 1|-

14th|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2|0 / 1|-

15th|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2|1 / 2|-

16th|4 / 4|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2|0 / 1

17th|4 / 4|4 / 4|3 / 3|2 / 2|1 / 2

18th|4 / 4|4 / 4|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2

19th|4 / 4|4 / 4|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2

20th|4 / 4|4 / 4|3 / 3|3 / 3|2 / 2[/table]


Suel Arcanamach Spells Known:
1: Nerveskitter, protection from evil, silent image, shield
2: Wraithstrike, heroics, dispelling touch, chain of eyes
3: Haste, greater mighty wallop, girallon’s blessing
4: Greater mirror image, polymorph, blinding breath
5: Lightning leap, dispelling breath



He Came From the Depths: The Rise of Kiryu

The enemy came from the depths of the Bitter Sea to make war on Khorvaire.

The great beast's origins are still shrouded in mystery, but most believe it to be an ancient sea creature from forgotten ages, corrupted by the influence of the Dragon Below. It seemed to be attracted to the Khyber dragonshards that powered the rails and airships of Khorvaire. It rose from the depths, and it laid waste to the small cities dotting the northern coast, robbing them of their Khyber shards. Retaliation proved impossible, as the beast would retreat to deep caverns and trenches hidden far below the Bitter Sea, where none could follow.

It was here that Kiryu Sea-slayer, hunter among the proud darfellan people, came to know the great beast. He watched helplessly, time and time again, as the great beast would murder his people. And he swore to slay it, once and for all.

As the beast seemed to be a creature of the Dragon Below, Kiryu swore himself to the dragon above, the Platinum Dragon. In Bahamut's form he remade himself, so that he may one day slay the great beast.

Kiryu knew that a beast feeding off the shards of Khyber could only be opposed by similar magics. And when he rose in his new dragon-form, he set himself a new task - to collect the dragonshards of Syberis. He constructed a great helm, and used the Syberis shards he found to power his new form.

But he did not stop there. Realizing the strength this new helm gave him, he began rebuilding his form even further. His scales became armor plating. His eyes became piercing lenses. His fists became powerful claws. Soon he grew, more machine than man, into a creature capable of taking on the great beast.

And on that day, he strode into the Bitter Sea...


Kiryu's Arsenal

The Drake-Helm

The first item that Kiryu built was the Drake-Helm, a helmet that allowed him to harness the power of Syberis dragonshards.

The Drake-Helm is found in the Explorer's Handbook. Kiryu crafts his first Drake-Helm at level 4, and upgrades every four levels. This item acts as a receptacle for Syberis dragonshards. He can then attune those Syberis dragonshards to give him additional spells known as a duskblade and suel arcanamach.

He is constantly traveling and looking for new Syberis dragonshards to attune. These significantly expand his spell list. He can power up duskblade spells to add to his suel arcanamach spell list, allowing him to use his increased caster level and extended spellstrength on them. He can also add spells from other spell lists, either via scroll or by having the spell provided by another caster.

The Battlefist

Like the Drake-Helm, Kiryu has built his battlefist himself, and enchants it as early as possible. His renegade mastermaker levels provide it with an excellent enhancement bonus on their own, so he simply adds on extra properties.

Kiryu has a couple of advantages when adding enhancements to his battlefist - the heroics spell, and his Drake-Helm. His Drake-Helm gives him access to spells he ordinarily would not have, so that he can add enhancements like holy (which ordinarily requires the holy smite spell). Heroics gives him feats that he needs to add in additional effects, such as the Martial Study feat so that he may create martial discipline weapons.

Breath of the Dragon

The mighty breath of Bahamut rains down destruction on the enemies of the Platinum Dragon. In addition to being area effect damage of whatever type is necessary, Kiryu adds a number of rider effects to his breath. Entangling Exhalation is a powerful debuff, and Blinding Breath and Dispelling Breath both give him ways to further augment his breath as a swift action. Dispelling Breath in particular is a powerful debuff, with a higher cap than dispel magic and effecting a huge area.


Snapshot

LEVEL 15: Duskblade 6/suel arcanamach 1/renegade mastermaker 8

At this level, Kiryu has a base attack just three points below a full fighter, second level duskblade spells and fourth level suel arcanamach spells. He has a breath weapon that can do energy damage of any major type for 6d8 damage, which also entangles and can blind. He can channel spells such as dispelling touch, chain of eyes and dimension hop.

In melee, his greater mighty wallop'd battlefist is his primary offense. He buffs himself with haste and wraithstrike and goes to town. His defenses are excellent, with damage reduction and Minor Shapeshift allowing him to absorb 17 hit points of damage every round without even touching his HP total.


Sources

Duskblade: PHB2
Suel Arcanamach, Practiced Spellcaster: Complete Arcane
Dragonborn of Bahamut, Versatile Spellcaster, Entangling Exhalation: Races of the Dragon
Darfellan: Stormwrack
Drake-Helm: Explorer's Handbook
Martial Discipline Weapons: Tome of Battle
Minor Shapeshift: Complete Mage

For spell sources, see the Spell Compendium, Races of the Dragon, Player's Handbook 2 and Complete Mage.

[Amphetryon]

Look out! It's a. . . I have no idea, really.

Abilities
str 8 you're a shapechanger, dump this
dex 12 so you don't go last during the low levels when you don't have alter self up.
con 14 shape changing magic doesn't give you more health, and you have d4s for much of your career. you need all the help you can get
int 18 you're a wizard, get spells. put points here.
wis 14 prereq for assume supernatural ability, and if you have 13, may as well go for 14
cha 8 dump. beholder's AMF doesn't have a save, so you don't care

Class breakdown
CN Changeling wizard 5/renegade mastermaker 3/ master transmogrifist 2/ RM 10/ archmage 3

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


1st|Changeling Wizard 1|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Craft (sculpting) 4, Disguise 4,Know (arcana) 4, Know (nature) 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 4, | Eschew Materials|Scribe Scroll, Sudden Shift, Dual Specialization (Illusion/Transmutation) Banned Schools: Evocation, Necromancy, Enchantment

2nd|Wizard 2|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Bluff 1 (5), Concentration 1 (5), Craft (sculpting) 5, Disguise 1 (5)||

3rd|Wizard 3|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|Concentration 1 (6), Craft (sculpting) 1 (6), Know (arcana) 2 (6), Spellcraft 6,|Craft Wondrous Item|

4th|Wizard 4|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Concentration 1 (7) Craft (sculpting) 1 (7), Know (arcana) 1 (7), Know (nature) 2 (6) Spellcraft 1 (7)||

5th|Wizard 5|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Concentration 1 (8) Craft (sculpting) 1 (8), Know (arcana) 1 (8), Know (dungeoneering) 1, Know (nature) 1 (7), Spellcraft 1 (8)||Bonus Feat: (Craft Magic Arms and Armor)

6th|Renegade Mastermaker 1|
+2|
+3|
+1|
+6|Concentration 1 (9), Know (arcana) 1 (9), Know (planes) 1, Spellcraft 1 (9), UMD 4|Spell focus: Illusion|Battlefist, craft master

7th|Renegade Mastermaker 2|
+3|
+4|
+1|
+7|Concentration 1 (10), Know (arcana) 1 (10), Know (planes) 1, Spellcraft 1 (10), UMD 4 (8)||Battlefist +1, self-repair

8th|Renegade Mastermaker 3|
+4|
+4|
+2|
+7|Concentration 1 (11), Know (arcana) 1 (11), Know (planes) 3 (4), Spellcraft 1 (11), UMD 3 (11)||Supporting construction

9th|Master Transmogrifist 1|
+4|
+4|
+2|
+9|Bluff 2 (8), Concentration 1 (11), Disguise 2 (7), Know (arcana) 1 (12), Spellcraft 1 (12)|Spell Focus: Transmutation|Extended change, favored shapes: (Beholder, Spellweaver, Kuo-toa Leviathan)

10th|Master Transmogrifist 2|
+5|
+4|
+2|
+10|Bluff 2 (10), Concentration 1 (13), Disguise 2 (9), Know (arcana) 1 (13), Spellcraft 1 (13)||Manifest senses

11th|Renegade Mastermaker 4|
+6/+1|
+5|
+2|
+11|Concentration 1 (14), Know (arcana) 1 (14), Know (planes) 5 (7), Spellcraft 1 (14), UMD 1 (12)||Damage reduction 1/adamantine

12th|Renegade Mastermaker 5|
+6/+1|
+5|
+2|
+11|Concentration 1 (15), Know (arcana) 1 (15), Know (planes) 5 (12), Spellcraft 1 (15), UMD 1 (13)| SF: spellcraft|Battlefist +2

13th|Renegade Mastermaker 6|
+7/+2|
+6|
+3|
+12|Concentration 1 (16), Know (arcana) 1 (16), Know (planes) 4 (16), Spellcraft 1 (16), UMD 2 (15)||

14th|Renegade Mastermaker 7|
+8/+3|
+6|
+3|
+12|Concentration 1 (17), Know (arcana) 1 (17), Know (architecture and engineering) 3, Know (planes) 1 (17), Spellcraft 1 (17), UMD 2 (17)||Embed component

15th|Renegade Mastermaker 8|
+9/+4|
+7|
+3|
+13|Concentration 1 (18), Know (arcana) 1 (18), Know (architecture and engineering) 4 (7), Know (planes) 1 (18), Spellcraft 1 (18), UMD 1 (18)| Assume Supernatural Ability: Beholder's Antimagic Field|Damage reduction 2/adamantine

16th|Renegade Mastermaker 9|
+9/+4|
+7|
+4|
+13|Concentration 1 (19), Know (arcana) 1 (19), Know (architecture and engineering) 5 (12), Know (planes) 1 (19), Spellcraft 1 (19), UMD 1 (19)||Battlefist 3

17th|Renegade Mastermaker 10|
+10/+5|
+8|
+4|
+14|Concentration 1 (20), Know (arcana) 1 (20), Know (architecture and engineering) 5 (17), Know (planes) 1 (20), Spellcraft 1 (20), UMD 1(20)||Construct Exemplar

18th|Archmage 1|
+10/+5|
+8|
+4|
+16|Concentration 1 (21), Know (arcana) 1 (21), Know (nature) 4 (11), Know (planes) 1 (21), Spellcraft 1 (21)|Supernatural Transformation (Polymorph)|High Arcana: Spell-like ability: Polymorph 4/day 7th lvl slot)

19th|Archmage 2|
+11/+6/+1|
+8|
+4|
+17|Concentration 1 (22), Know (arcana) 1 (22), Know (nature) 4 (15), Know (planes) 1 (22), Spellcraft 1 (22)||High Arcana: Mastery of the Elements 8th lvl slot, 5th lvl slot

20th|Archmage 3|
+11/+6/+1|
+9|
+5|
+17|Concentration 1 (23), Know (arcana) 1 (23), Know (nature) 4 (19), Know (planes) 1 (23), Spellcraft 1 (23)||High Arcana: Mastery of Shaping 6th lvl slot [/table]

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

1st|3+1|1+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|4+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|4+1|2+1|1+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|4+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|4+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|4+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1|-|-|-|-|-

9th|4+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1|-|-|-|-|-

10th|4+1|4+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-|-

11th|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1|-|-|-|-

12th|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-

13th|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-

14th|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1|-|-|-

15th|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|3+1|1+1|-|-|-

16th|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1|-|-

17th|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-

18th|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1|-

19th|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|-

20th|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|2+1|1+1[/table]

The Transformation
Gregor Samsa was no stranger to strange and unpleasant dreams. He had an enviable position at Morgrave university, and knew there were those who coveted his job as head of the literature department.

He knew that competition in the academic world was cutthroat, but never expected how much so until the morning of November the seventeenth.

He awoke at his desk, as he did many mornings, his face lifting a few lines of ink from a book that lay sprawled in front of him. Samsa felt the sticky residue of the ink on his face and went into his adjoined washroom to clean himself before his first class of the day.

Samsa didn't give it much thought when he saw a strange gray figure staring him back in the mirror. Perhaps a rorrim had taken down a few of the protective seals he surrounded his living quarters with. No matter, it would be a simple thing to recast the spells that kept his morning ablutions a private affair.

As he took the wand from the small holder on the sink, nestled close to his toothbrush, he was taken as the thing in the mirror moved to match him. He knew on some level, that he was looking at his own reflection now, but couldn't fully comprehend it.

The doughy, indistinct features were those of a changeling, no doubt, but he had not been a changeling when he had laid himself down to bed the night before. Changelings were not allowed to teach at Morgrave anymore, not after what had happened with the last professor to hold Samsa's position. Supposedly it made the temptation to abuse their power too great, allowed them to blend into crowds of students too easily. Samsa hadn't agreed with this racist claptrap, of course, but he'd kept his mouth shut. After all, if the professor before him hadn't been excised, he wouldn't have his current position.

He took a deep swallow and held his breath, staring at himself in the mirror. How did changelings do this, again? He knew it was some form of muscular action. He flexed his forehead, the calming furrow his brow usually took when he was deep in thought (which was much of the time) etching itself back onto his face. This provoked him to smile, his teeth growing more defined, the crinkles in the corners of his eyes becoming more apparent as he remembered every last sag, fold, and crease of his weathered face. Before long, he was back to looking like himself.

He donned his cap to cover his bald spot, no longer able to be hidden by a combover and came to a realization.

"Why should I look like myself? Why can't I look better?" He looked at the motions of his mouth in the mirror, thin lips flapping around crooked, yellowed teeth. He gave a dazzling smile to the mirror and watched as his teeth fell into rank and file like a company of karnathi soldiers, rapidly fading to the bleached-bone white of their armor as he conjured the image in his mind.

"Fascinating," he mused to himself. If anyone asked, he'd say he treated himself to a minor bit of cosmetic polymorphing. It was common enough, though in the past he hadn't really gone for it due to the cost.

He arrived in class on time, having corrected the stoop in his back that came with age, and repairing the rubbery cartilage in his knee from an old injury from his time in the war. Quite the contrary from his usual, shuffling self, he was walking now with a distinct spring in his step.

"Good morning, class!" he boomed, the rasp in his voice from years of smoking too much fine, imported tobacco noticeably absent. The students looked at him with a somewhat renewed fervor. It was so nice to see them paying attention.

As his lesson went on, he felt inspired by the youth around him, finding more and more energy as the lecture continued, giving an impassioned filibuster towards the end and wishing them the happiest of weekends with a joy he couldn't remember having felt in quite some time.

The students began to file out as the alarm spell went off, right on schedule. Samsa began to pack his things when an attractive young elf tapped him on the shoulder.

"Professor Samsa?" It was Nayra, one of his best students. Though even with that in mind, she was more invested than he'd ever seen her before.

"What can I do for you, miss Gossamer?"

"Well, forgive me if this sounds too forward, but I was wondering if you were going to the lecture later on at the planetarium."

Samsa had been twice that week, and had seen Nayra there both times, but had an inkling that she wasn't asking because she wanted to hear the lecture again.

"I don't believe so," he said, the lies slipping off his moist, youthful tongue with an ease he had never known.

"Do you think you'll be there tonight? I wanted to go with someone, but my friends aren't interested."

"Their loss, I'm sure. Shall we meet there?"

"I was thinking you could pick me up before. We could go to that new restaurant, the Empty Plate. I hear the chef manifests false sensory input and makes you taste whatever you like, no calories at all."

"It's a date," he said. He swallowed as soon as he had. It was only an expression. Yes, that's all it was.

Nayra nodded and left without another word. He could swear he'd seen a rosy tinge in her cheek. Samsa couldn't remember the last time he'd inspired a blush. He wasn't sure he had.

He walked back through the halls to his office. There was time for a little more work before his next class. He sat down and heard the alarm chime. It was noon, and thus socially acceptable to steel his nerves with a little elven goldenwine. He would need it if he were to remain calm with Nayra later. As he set the glass down, he caught a glimmer of something he was sure could not be in the still surface. It was his face, yes, but it was his face as he'd been when he was still a young man. Samsa felt sick and quaffed the glass quickly. He went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, and it was as he feared. The exuberance he had inspired with a more youthful demeanor had made him reflexively become more youthful It was creating a feedback loop. How long had he looked like this? He hoped not long enough to get anyone asking questions.

The chime of a sending rang in his head.

"You have a collect call from (Gossamer, Nayra) Do you wish to accept?
"Yes, I'll accept the charges."
"Professor, do you think it would be possible to meet at the restaurant? I'm not sure you should come by my house in your present condition. My father may not approve."
Councilman Gossamer was an angry man, and had provided the bulk of the steam to get changelings out of the university in the first place. It wouldn't do to have him nosing around.
"Yes, that would be fine, but please, call me Gregor."
"I'll see you at eight then. Gregor."

Gregor stood and looked in the closet for something presentable to wear, but found nothing but tweed. He would have to buy some new clothes. He checked his watch and saw that he was a bit short on time. There was a wand for the purpose in his desk drawer.

"Fashion district," he murmured with a wave. He took a step forward as soon as he was there, in case he materialized in someone else. It was a simple matter of finding a shop likely to impress Nayra, and a simpler one still to find everything was quite out of his pay grade. He went to the cloakroom and shrugged his cloak back on to be on his way.

A gentleman grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. Samsa's breath caught in his throat.

"Can I help you, sir?"
"You've just been given my cloak. understandable, we are the same size."

Samsa looked him up and down. They were at that. He gave a polite nod and stood outside the entrance of the shop, eavesdropping with careful precision.

His new acquaintance was returning "shortly" to pick up some clothes. As soon as he'd departed the shop with a doff of his cap, Samsa whirled around and reentered, wearing the man's face. Keeping his cloak drawn around him, no one would notice his clothes had changed.

He barely said anything to the clerk and walked out with a new suit of clothes. People were slow to find what they weren't looking for.

He met Nayra at the restaurant, finding plenty of time to change, and they shared a sinfully large imaginary meal together, sharing the dream of buttercream frosting and thick beef gravy and everything in between. The lecture was the same as last time, but Samsa barely heard a word of it, preoccupied on the feel of Nayra's slender hand resting in his.

He couldn't see her home, of course, but it didn't matter, things were still looking up. He couldn't imagine why an enemy would want to do this to him, make him a changeling, but he was making it his own.

He got back to his office and saw a letter on his desk. He opened it with a flick of his wrist, growing a shifter's bestial claw on a whim rather than drag a letter opener out of a drawer.

It was a notice of termination, on the grounds of racial impurity. It bore Councilman's seal at the bottom, and Samsa knew he didn't have much time. He grabbed a valise and began jamming it with wands. He didn't have anything to hurt anyone in here, just a few spells to clean clothes and hop to town.

he was about to say the word to spirit himself away when Councilman Gossamer appeared in front of him, a gnarled, reddish wand in his hand.

"goodbye, changeling." Fire sprayed from it and tore Samsa to bits.

The next time he woke, he felt cold, metallic. He moved a hand and found it was war forged in nature. His colleague in the engineering department looked in at him through a set of iron bars.

"We managed to save you, but I couldn't do much for your sentence. it's still life, though I don't know how long that will be exactly. There is another changeling in your block. I'm sorry, Samsa."

Samsa couldn't make his steel throat talk.

The changeling in the next cell looked over with a sneer.

"Samsa. Do you know how it feels? Do you feel there is justice in the world?"

Samsa turned to his side and saw his predecessor. He could not speak, just shake his head.

"Then it is as it should be."


lvl advice



5: you are wizard, use alter self to taste

10: manifest senses lets you see invisibility, make use of it

15: abuse AMF, there is no save.

20: use supernatural transformation to beat dispellers
Sources
PHB2:immediate magic
core: Wizard, archmage, skill focus, spell focus, eschew materials, CWI, craft arms and armor, beholder
underdark: kuo-toa leviathan
MM2: spellweaver
Complete arcane: master transmogrifist
magic of eberron: renegade master maker
savage species: assume supernatural ability, supernatural transformation

[Amphetryon]

That's the last of them, folks! On your mark, get set, JUDGE!

[Piggy Knowles]

Wow, I'm surprised there weren't more entries! A lot of fun things here.

I had a couple of build thoughts involving the artificer, but I thought it would mean too much of a hit to originality, being the most obvious lead-in. My favorite was an artificer/renegade mastermaker/fleshwarper, but even though I got as far as a build write-up, I ended up abandoning the build... I was having a lot of trouble getting the pre-reqs down, and I knew I'd get hammered both in originality (for artificer) and in elegance (because of some fairly cheesy graft options).

I'm also super surprised no one decided to do a ranged battlefist option, which was my very first thought. I don't know why, but I sort of expected to see at least one of those... I'm sort of sad that I didn't go that route now!

[OMG PONIES]

Interesting builds all around. Amusingly enough, one of the other entries this round was almost identical to one of my earlier ideas.

[Venger]

Wow, I'm surprised there weren't more entries! A lot of fun things here.

I had a couple of build thoughts involving the artificer, but I thought it would mean too much of a hit to originality, being the most obvious lead-in. My favorite was an artificer/renegade mastermaker/fleshwarper, but even though I got as far as a build write-up, I ended up abandoning the build... I was having a lot of trouble getting the pre-reqs down, and I knew I'd get hammered both in originality (for artificer) and in elegance (because of some fairly cheesy graft options).

I'm also super surprised no one decided to do a ranged battlefist option, which was my very first thought. I don't know why, but I sort of expected to see at least one of those... I'm sort of sad that I didn't go that route now!
I was sure that this competition would be littered with fleshwarpers, so I didn't do one either.

it's part of the process for iron chef I do every time that I just call vizzinniing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_eZmEiyTo0) for obvious reasons. I often go through this exercise when it comes to "obvious" spices to compliment the SI.

I was sure there'd be no artificers though, too obvious and too much bookkeeping, plus dependent on items, which is never good for scores.

[ThiagoMartell]

I gave up when I noticed Artificer is actually good with his class, being able to use his construct-only infusions on himself (and they come fairly late, too), while all other classes simply had better options elsewhere.

[Piggy Knowles]

...and, for fun, here are the entries:

{table=head]#|Entry|Race|Class

1|Antony Mallory|Human|Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Shadowcaster 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Soul Eater 1
2|Kilroy|Human|Human Paragon 3/Cyre Scout 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10
3|Hardy|Human|Cloistered Cleric 3/Psychic Warrior 4/Psychic Theurge 3/Renegade Mastermaker 10
4|Hezekiah d'Cannith|Human|Monk 1/Wu Jen 9/Renegade Mastermaker 10
5|Father Aldwin|Human|Cleric 3/Church Inquisitor 6/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Contemplative 1
6|Kiryu|Dragonborn Darfellan|Duskblade 6/Suel Arcanamach 4/Renegade Mastermaker 10
7|Gregor Samsa|Changeling|Wizard 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Master Transmogrifist 2/Archmage 3[/table]

(And again I am reminded that I spend way too much time reading Iron Chef entries... at this point I'm pretty sure who the authors of five out of seven builds are, just because the style of certain contestants has grown so familiar to me...)

EDIT: And, since my brain is still riffing on RMM build ideas...

Gold Dwarf, Incarnate 2/Artificer 3/Ironsoul Forgemaster 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10

Crafts weapons and armor (including enhancing the battlefist) at a caster level of 28. Gets fifth-level infusions (including all of the tasty construct-only fourth level infusions) and at least two chakra binds, or more with feats.

[Amechra]

I try to not read that hard into them, for that reason exactly.

Oh, and my planned build that would make you hurt me?

Phrenic Incarnate Warforged Swashbuckler (Arcane Stunt) 7/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Reforged 3

I literally have no reason to take the SI, and the last 3 levels actually remove all the benefits of the class except for battlefist, DR 2/-, and that ability to sacrifice spell-slots (that I don't have) to heal myself.

I have no casting to advance, I'm not good at anything, and... yeah.

I was aiming at the minimum possible UoSI score possible.

My feats would have included something to give me Detect Magic 1/Day, so I could take Sense Quintessence.

Because Thoon is Thoon!

[Amphetryon]

Note from Hardy:

I'd used italics to indicate that the 2nd and 5th blocks in the backstory were flashbacks, forgetting that they would be lost in the quoteblock. Would you be able to add some extra lines or something to try and show that they are meant to be separate to the rest, so people don't get confused?

[Madara]

Can I get specification on which source is used for what on Kilroy?
I can't figure out what the dragon is used for....(I'm assuming its dragon compendium?)

I'll worry about getting started later. For now, a general overview is interesting. I think there aren't any really similar builds.

[Amechra]

I think Dra stands for Dragonmarked...

[Vknight]

Well lets Judge

AM-1468

Originality: 4.5 turning a normally caster or what many would assume a caster class into a teleporting martial artist that eats souls.

Power: 3.5 Not that powerful but does his job well and makes for a interesting character

Elegance: 4, It blends well, not to much multi-classing

Secret Ingredient: 4.25, all part of the flavor in this case so well used with the character and adds to his combo

Kilroy

Originality: 1.75, I didn't see anything that was clever or well original

Power: 3.9, Great use of Craft checks and other uses for it

Elegance: 3.5, Not the best but not bad by any stretch

Secret Ingredient: 2, I don't know what you were with Kilroy and he doesn't seem fun

Hardy

Originality: 4.25, Psionic + Divine into a guy becoming a warforged slowly

Power: 3.25, Right not very powerful. He is a good contender and decent work

Elegance: 3, the very same reason you have such a great originality is why you only get a 3 here.

Secret Ingredient: 3.75, Late entry is made up for with working in abilities from the class and other classes into the full character

Hezekiah

Originality: 4, I had something clever to say here but the point is Terminator

Power: 3.5, Free extended time stop along with other benefits

Elegance: 2.25, grabbing that last level of Wu Jen for said Time Stop and monk for free Improved Unarmed Strike

Secret Ingredient: 4.25 Great use of the class with said Unarmed Strike to make a character whose punches pack a little extra

Father Aldwin

Originality: 3.75, Techno priest so awesome, and loving the theme. Guns are meh

Power: 4, This makes a terror of a man-machine thing

Elegance: 4.5, great use of a religious theme as a techno priest.

Secret Ingredient: 4.5, TECHNO PRIEST! This is one of the things I wanted to see in this challenge.

Kiryu

Originality: 4.75, Mecha Godzilla + Iron Man + Eberron Win

Power: 4.5, Various ways to fight foes and more skill towards versatility

Elegnace: 4.1, Duskblade has a great versatility and casting which works well with this class and the other choices.

Secret Ingredient: 4.25, Mecha Godzilla along with great reasons to take the class for the character

Gregor Samsa

Originality: 3.75, Interesting choice a non-rouge changeling

Power: 3, Disappointing but better then expected

Elegance: 2, The classes don't fit well

Secret Ingredient: 1.75, Secret Ingredient seems stale and just thrown it

[Kelb_Panthera]

I honestly kinda half-expected at least one entry to try to get into the SI asap so they could finish up with warforged juggernaut; going for the from a fleshy into a full-on robot schtick. Ah well.

[Thurbane]

I was going to try for a Mechanatrix build, but then I realized it wouldn't be legal, since they are Outsiders, not humanoids. Then I thought about a Lesser Planetouched Mechanatrix, but that would involve mixing FR and Eberron material...

[Amphetryon]

Note from Gregor Samsa:

part of my features for RM 10 got clipped. being an arcane spellcaster, I took unarmored body as my bonus warforged feat. no real effect, just doesn't take away what I have

[God Imperror]

I considered building an artificer 8 / Renegade Mastermaker 10 / Cannith Wand Adept 2

Going with load of wand feats, and using the warforged turning to get wand bonding (which is a [warforged] feat).

At the end I didn't take that route because artificer was the obvious entry for the renegade, I feared it was going to be quite unoriginal and it wouldn't be able to compete with 9th level spells.

[Darrin]

I honestly kinda half-expected at least one entry to try to get into the SI asap so they could finish up with warforged juggernaut; going for the from a fleshy into a full-on robot schtick. Ah well.

I had several build ideas which did exactly that:

Wizard 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Warforged Charger 5 was the simplest, but wound up being way too weak as a wizard (only 7th level spells), way too fragile to use a battlefist in melee, and too lousy of a charger/bull rusher to justify Warforged Charger. That and there was no easy way to reduce the 35% Arcane Spell Failure from Adamantine Body.

Duskblade 2/Ranger 3/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Warforged Charger 5 (using the Frostblood Half-Orc trick to get Craft Arms & Armor at ECL 5, and Practiced Spellcaster to qualify for the caster level) was a bit stronger, better BAB and better HP, 3rd level Duskblade spells, and Battle Caster x2 solves the ASF problem. But there weren't enough feat slots left to do anything interesting with the battlefist, and I wasn't sure I wanted to push the judges on TWFing greatsword + offhand battlefist.

Duskblade 3/Human Paragon 2/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Warforged Charger 5 was a bit more promising, +2 caster levels and one more bonus feat than the last build, and I had the inklings of a backstory, but I couldn't figure out how to get any decent damage output with the battlefist on a charge.

The most promising build:

Warlock 3/Human Paragon 2/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Warforged Charger 5.

I even had a name for him: Tohoni Stahark, A.K.A. "Iron Man". 6d6 eldritch blast, flying, and one greater invocation. I even thought I might have a trick with getting iterative slams with the battlefist, but then I reread Hideous Blow, and it was indeed a Hideous Blow to my build (good gawd, has any invocation destroyed so much hope and joy in the world?). I tried to salvage it with Eldritch Glaive, but by my reading, that didn't allow offhand attacks, so the battlefist became nearly useless... and most of the class features of Renegade Mastermaker revolve around it, so why would I take 10 levels of that over 10 more levels of Warlock?

Ah well. I may throw my hat in as a judge, although I've never done it before, and I'm worried I'd make a mess of it.

I'm a bit astounded there were no Ur-Priest 2's in there somewhere. But then I myself discarded that idea as "too easy".

[rockdeworld]

at this point I'm pretty sure who the authors of five out of seven builds are, just because the style of certain contestants has grown so familiar to me...
*cue new standards for submission guidelines*

I've got ideas for 2 of the 7 myself, just based on reading the questions earlier in the thread. For that reason, I was thinking we ought to PM questions to the chairman, rather than post them here.


Oh, and my planned build that would make you hurt me?

<snip>

I was aiming at the minimum possible UoSI score possible.
That, sir, is classy. Anyone can make a bad PrC entry. You have done it with some style.


Ah well. I may throw my hat in as a judge, although I've never done it before, and I'm worried I'd make a mess of it.

I'm a bit astounded there were no Ur-Priest 2's in there somewhere. But then I myself discarded that idea as "too easy".
Good, so now we have 3 judges, is that right?

Mmm, and now you're making me think Able Learner Factotum 1/Warblade 5/RMM 1/Ur-Priest 2/RMM +9/something, and I just finished putting all that work into the build I submitted!

[Piggy Knowles]

I honestly kinda half-expected at least one entry to try to get into the SI asap so they could finish up with warforged juggernaut; going for the from a fleshy into a full-on robot schtick. Ah well.

I thought about it, and also about Spellcarved Soldier, but abandoned both pretty quickly because I was sure someone else would go that route. Anyhow, I didn't have a full build idea for either...

And Amechra, that build does hurt... but I love it! Can there be a "shooting the moon" option in IC contests?

[Dusk Eclipse]

The build I was planning to enter was Lesser Aasimar Ranger 1/Duskblade 2/Paladin 2/ Cyran Avenger 1/Suel Arcanamach 1/ Renegade Mastermaker 10/ Cyran Avenger +3. But in the end I couldn't make all the pre-requisites work and I didn't had time to start from scratch, though I did toy with an artificer 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10/ Cyran Avenger 5.

[Amechra]

Just out of curiosity, did Vknight post his judging criteria?

Because it looks to me like he scored everything on just how he felt about the fluff.

[Venger]

Just out of curiosity, did Vknight post his judging criteria?

Because it looks to me like he scored everything on just how he felt about the fluff.

to avoid another green star adept, let's go ahead and resolve disputes about judging through PMs. here are his criteria, so you can compare them to the end result:


*snip*

Overall
-I'll be starting with 3 in each. Depending on various factors it will go up or down
-I do enjoy backstories and other things of that nature which adds flesh to stats. They turn some numbers into a NPC in a future campaign.

Originality
How different is it compared to the other entries
How does it use the abilities granted in a unique or interesting way
Is the fluff coherent, does the character make any sort of sense

Power
How does it fair at each 5 level bracket. Is the build valid early. Can it hold its own late in the game.
How effective at buffs, and general combat is the character.
Can he go it alone, and how well would he mesh with a party

Elegance
Does anything feel tacked on. Does it make sense for character progression.
Is there an overuse of multiclassing, strange progression through classes.
How well does it all blend into a build. Does it make a straight line or a curving road

Use of Secret Ingredient
When do you get into the class.
How well incorporated it is into the full build
Is it underused, used poorly, not the major focus, or just not fun.

[Amechra]

Ah, I missed that.

I might complain through PMs in a bit, just cause I disagree on some of those counts (some of those criteria are a bit arbitrary), but I won't say anything more on this thread.

[123456789blaaa]

Is artificer really that great for RMM? Losing your craft reserve is a far bigger penalty than anything you gain by going into RMM (IMO).

[Dusk Eclipse]

As long as you get the drain essense class feature you can spend some downtime to re-stock your craft reserve.

[Venger]

Is artificer really that great for RMM? Losing your craft reserve is a far bigger penalty than anything you gain by going into RMM (IMO).

you still keep retain essence! who cares about your craft reserve? you have all the xp you want for crafting now. and you don't pay either of the darn feat taxes to get into the class, getting them both as bonus feats. plus, you get trapfinding, so you can actually use the otherwise worthless search and DD that the SI gives you as class skills.

but if you're using your party's 8/10 casting prc as a trapmonkey, you're just plain doing it wrong. a wand of summon monster 1 only costs 750gp. put the monkey back in trapmonkey

[rockdeworld]

Can there be a "shooting the moon" option in IC contests?
It probably shouldn't be, or else there'll be 6 more builds to be judged in each competition, all trying to duplicate the psionic sandwich.

[Venger]

It probably shouldn't be, or else there'll be 6 more builds to be judged in each competition, all trying to duplicate the psionic sandwich.

there could be a separate contest for it though, kinda like how zinc saucier says "build an x with no levels in x" this could be the "build x with no reason to have levels in x"

the question: what to call it?

rusty roundsman?
beryllium butcher?

[rockdeworld]

<snip> to avoid another green star adept <snip>
This made me go back and read GSA. It opened my eyes, since I originally thought ICOC was about being given a terrible class and making the most powerful build possible with it, and had only slightly started to overcome that. It also confirmed everything I thought during character creation:
-make the judges think you want the SI
-answer the question "why am I playing this instead of a warforged"
-providing interesting fluff makes it a your build more attractive to the judges and makes them more likely to score your build higher
-go back and read what previous winners' builds looked like in order to get an idea for what yours should look like.
-even if you use the SI really well, the judges will probably grade Power on an absolute scale from tier-5 fighter to tier-0 Batman.
-different judges will probably give different ratings and use different criteria for getting those ratings.

Edit: And a few things I didn't:
-to quote Schneeky (and paraphrase the rest of the judges in that round), "this is, at the heart, a Practical Optimization challenge." To quote The_Humanity, "the concept is to make a playable character that if you brought to a playing table, everyone would think it was a fresh, unique, flavorful, powerful character." Ergo it can't/shouldn't use so much cheese/power that it can't be played in a regular game.
-Similar to how fluff makes a judge predisposed to like your build, making them figure out the crunch rather than showing them (eg. how you get the stats/save DCs that you do) will probably make them predisposed to dislike it.
-if you do something unoriginal, don't emphasize it. Emphasize the original parts, and just mention the unoriginal parts that add power.

I recommend the last 5 pages of that thread (minus the last one) to any other newcomers to ICOC, as it goes into a lot of things that aren't fully addressed in the OP. I think I myself didn't completely do all of that, and I think it's already reflected in my first score, so I'll be interested to see how my build does with the other judges.

Edit: Grammar. And:

the question: what to call it?
How about "The Iron Chef Sandwich Challenge"? :smallbiggrin:

[Piggy Knowles]

there could be a separate contest for it though, kinda like how zinc saucier says "build an x with no levels in x" this could be the "build x with no reason to have levels in x"

the question: what to call it?

rusty roundsman?
beryllium butcher?

I was being tongue in cheek - it's a neat idea, but I don't know that it would actually be that fun if it was a whole contest just dedicated to that. Still, I like the idea of shooting the moon with a build like that, and Amechra's idea was a fun one. It's the kind of thing I might submit out of pure cheekiness.

Anyhow... scoring table!

Final(?) Tallies after One Judge Before Disputes
{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Average
Kiryu|GOLD|17.6|4.4
Father Aldwin|SILVER|16.75|4.19
AM-1468|BRONZE|16.25|4.06
Hardy|Fourth|14.25|3.56
Hezekiah|Fifth|14|3.5
Kilroy|Sixth|11.15|2.79
Gregor Samsa|Seventh|10.5|2.63[/table]

[Amphetryon]

Questions from Samsa:

Originality: 3.75, Interesting choice a non-rouge changeling

Power: 3, Disappointing but better then expected

Elegance: 2, The classes don't fit well

Secret Ingredient: 1.75, Secret Ingredient seems stale and just thrown it

Power:
Why did Samsa receive a 3 in power despite being one of only 3 dishes to attain 9th level spells? Extend change doubles the duration on polymorph spells, including shapechange if used to assume one of his favored shapes.

Elegance:
Why does a changeling wizard, with dual focus on trans/illus specializing in polymorph spells taking master transmogrifist and then renegade mastermaker to change his shape further and archmage to bolster earlier abilities not fit together?

SI:
Being of the construct type allows Samsa to alter self, polymorph, and shapechange into monsters of the construct type, impossible to do for non-construct casters. The extraordinary and supernatural abilities of inevitables or golems are far from negligible.

And from Hezekiah:

Just a few quick questions/comments for our first judge:

-Monk wasn't just tacked on for Improved Unarmed Strike, but also the Decisive Strike ACF. These two coupled with Dragonmark Fist comprise Hezekiah's main schtick.
-The ninth level of Wu Jen was delayed particularly to snag Spell Secret for Extended Time Stops, instead of squandering it on a fifth-level spell. It seemed a very elegant use of an otherwise lackluster class feature, at least to this chef.
-Extended Time Stop earns some power points, but really serves as the capstone of the build. There is no commentary about the build's primary ability to mix spellcasting with melee in ways that a straight wu-jen could not, especially once the main trick of Giant Size+Body Outside Body+Decisive Strike+Dragonmark Fist comes online at level 15. This is particularly interesting because the criteria calls out buffing and combat prowess in Vknight's power criteria.

[Mishkov]

I didn't really get around to going through the builds until today, but wow there are some cool gish style builds here. I'm impressed with AM-1468 for making use of the shadowcaster effectively in a gish build and use of wu jen on Hezekiah. I though that Samsa was awesome too but I have a soft spot for changelings.

[Piggy Knowles]

Is artificer really that great for RMM? Losing your craft reserve is a far bigger penalty than anything you gain by going into RMM (IMO).

You get all the qualifying feats, and once Construct Exemplar kicks in you can use all of those incredible construct-only infusions. And, as has been mentioned, Craft Reserve is way less of a big deal than Retain Essence.

[123456789blaaa]

You get all the qualifying feats, and once Construct Exemplar kicks in you can use all of those incredible construct-only infusions. And, as has been mentioned, Craft Reserve is way less of a big deal than Retain Essence.

I accept defeat.

[OMG PONIES]

I'm thankful for the speed of our first judge [topical!] but I'm also curious to see if any other judges are preparing to weigh in.

[123456789blaaa]

AM-1468's entry states that:


Self-repair and supporting construction both add two healing abilities that the build otherwise lacks,

But Self-repair requires spells or infusions, not mysteries. Am I missing something?

[Piggy Knowles]

Mysteries count as either spells, SLAs or supernatural abilities, depending on the mystery and the shadowcaster's level. Typically the "highest" paths are all considered spells, barring things like Favored Mystery.

Mysteries are weird.

[123456789blaaa]

Mysteries count as either spells, SLAs or supernatural abilities, depending on the mystery and the shadowcaster's level. Typically the "highest" paths are all considered spells, barring things like Favored Mystery.

Mysteries are weird.

My copy of TOM says :


you cast them as though they were arcane spells


later the books says:


Your master mysteries now function as arcane spells

They're still mysteries though aren't they?

[Piggy Knowles]

Sure, they're still mysteries, but they function as spells (and even have a spell level). I guess it's a DM call, but I'd personally allow it - just like I'd allow the Quicken Spell-like Ability feat to work on a mystery when it functions as an SLA.

[Piggy Knowles]

Hate to double post but... man, all the way down to page four! Any judges still working? And any clues on the next ingredient?

[Amphetryon]

Hate to double post but... man, all the way down to page four! Any judges still working? And any clues on the next ingredient?
It's from a Complete, and does not advance spellcasting.

[Kelb_Panthera]

It's from a Complete, and does not advance spellcasting.

Gee, that narrows it down. :smallamused:

[Amphetryon]

Gee, that narrows it down. :smallamused:

Sorry, TMI? :smalltongue:

[Kelb_Panthera]

Sorry, TMI? :smalltongue:

Nah, I'm just bitter that you obviously didn't take my suggestion, since its from MotP. :smalltongue:

[Piggy Knowles]

It doesn't advance casting? I always get paranoid when you use overly precise phrasing, Amph - it makes me assume shenanigans! Now I am expecting either a psionic class, or a class that grants casting but doesn't advance it. Which is a shame, because neither of those are Eye of Gruumsh.

[Venger]

It's from a Complete, and does not advance spellcasting.

awwww yeah

we're gonna be postin' in a mountebank thread next week.

[Amechra]

How the judges coming along?

Seriously, this contest might need to get extended...

[OMG PONIES]

It's been mighty quiet around these parts; thinking we may have a one-judger on our hands.

[Amphetryon]

It's been mighty quiet around these parts; thinking we may have a one-judger on our hands.

Could be, but they've still got a little time. Holiday season and the looming end of the fall semester (for a lot of folks) make this time of year fairly crazy.

[Darrin]

It's been mighty quiet around these parts; thinking we may have a one-judger on our hands.

Not quite.

Judging criteria: I've never done this before, so I don't have any yet. I expect I will probably screw some things up, and odds are good you'll disagree with me. I'm kinda going with "Start at 3.0, and then add/subtract from there", but there's probably going to be a bit of eyeballing and pulling-things-out-of-my-*bleep*.


AM-1468: 17

Originality: 4.5
Shadowcaster was unexpected (+1.0). Soul Eater was expected... in fact, I'm surprised no one else used it. Pairing up Flicker with Sun School is brilliant (+0.5), I hadn't seen that before.

Power: 4.5
While this build does get Master Mysteries, this isn't the same as 9th level spells. Of the three Master Mysteries you chose, two are [mind-affecting], which limits their usefulness, and the third (Truth Revealed) is the equivalent of a spell that can be cast by a 9th level cleric. I'm not sure Soul Puppet (dominate monster) was worth passing up Shadow Time (time stop), but then again, the duration on Soul Puppet essentially turns you into a minionmancer. Overall, I'd say your Master Mysteries are worth half a point (+0.5). Soul Eater gives you negative levels on an iterative attack, which is *nasty* (+1.0). Unfortunately, your BAB falls somewhere between wizard/rogue, which is somewhat disappointing in what appears to be a shadowcaster-gish build (-0.5). Snap Kick helps here, but you've got some issues with feats/abilities that require unarmed strikes but don't work with your battle fist (Flurry, Snap Kick, two-thirds of Sun School). Poisonmaking I'm ambivalent on, since it usually relies on WBL and a lot of DM interpretation to keep it balanced. You listed the Invisible Fist ACF in the build but never mention how it's used in the User Manual. However, it meshes nicely with your stealth abilities, you've got Darkstalker in there, and for your defensive/offensive abilities, I'll give you another half-point (+0.5).

Elegance: 3.5
Interesting backstory (+0.5), although it doesn't explain the Sleeping Tiger Monk or the Soul Eater. Soul Eater is a bit of a blatant dip, you go in for the Energy Drain and aren't interested in anything else there. But it's something I would do, so I don't feel like penalizing you for it. Overall, I like how you've made a shadowcaster gish here, and although it may be a little weak in melee, you make up for it with how you integrate your mysteries with the rest of your class abilities.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 4.5
You use the spellcasting progression to get Master Mysteries, which isn't quite the same as 9th level spells but still the best a Shadowcaster can hope for (+0.5). The Battlefist is an integral part of your build, and adding Spell Storing lets you combine it with your mysteries/poisonmaking/etc. (+0.5). I'm not entirely sure how your SLAs and SUs work with Self-Repair, but at least some of your mysteries count as arcane spells. You don't have repair spells for Supporting Construction, but you do mention UMDing wands of repair. Everything else, you use: Damage Reduction, Embed Component for Essense of the Scout, Construct Exemplar for Soul Eater (+0.5).


Kilroy: 11

Originality: 2.5
A Human Paragon that wants to become... a non-human? I can see you're building on a crafting theme, which sort of works with Renegade Mastermaker, but I'm not sure the Cyre Scout really fits. I have the feeling you might have been better off with Artificer 7/Human Paragon 3.While I certainly wasn't expecting Human Paragon 3/Cyre Scout 7, it's a bit klunky (-0.5).

Power: 2.5
You spend most of your career buffing Int and crafting stuff, hoping and praying nothing stronger than a housecat decides to attack you. Your Int score and crafting bonus are truly impressive (+1.0), but the focus on crafting makes your usefulness in melee somewhat questionable. Your spellcasting is disappointing... you waste two +1 Caster Levels from Human Paragon before you get any spellcasting, and four of your eight +1 Caster Levels from Renegade Mastermaker go to waste because there's no spell progression beyond Cyre Scout 10, leaving you with a hodgepodge of mediocre infusions (-0.5). You eventually get some very neat crafting tricks, such as standard-action fabricate and major creation, but outside of that I'm not sure the rest of the party is going to enjoy waiting around while you craft things. Unless Kilroy was in a party of Warforged wandering around the Mournland, then I'm tempted to imagine the party would spend most of their time ignoring him or trying to get him killed in the hopes that he'd be replaced with a new character that could contribute more to the party (-1.0).

Elegance: 2.0
The coding theme is cute, but doesn't provide any meaningful backstory or explain much about the character (-0.5). You take Human Paragon before you can cast anything, and I don't see why Cyre Scout is preferable to Artificer (-0.5). You finish off with Cyre Scout 7, but unless I missed something, your Blindsense Mark only gives you blindsense, not blindsight.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 4.0
You do wind up using pretty much all of the Renegade Mastermaker class features (+1.0), particularly Craft Master (+0.5), which is a bit unexpected. My only gripe, mentioned previously, is four of your +1 Caster Levels go to waste (-0.5).


Hardy: 14

Originality: 3
Hmm... a cleric/psywar dual caster? Okay, that's a little unusual (+0.5), but Renegade Mastermaker comes in pretty late, so he spends most of his career as a rather weak psychic theurge (-0.5). I'll call it a wash.

Power: 3.5
You succumbed to the Urge to Theurge, and spend your first 10 levels as a weak Cleric and an even weaker PsyWar (-1.0). You said the reason you went into psionics was to get some form of Pounce... but then didn't get dimension hop (Mantled PsyWar can get the Freedom Mantle) or hustle. However... you've already started as a Cleric, so Travel Devotion is kind of low-hanging fruit right there. And there's even a suitable Eberron deity with both Artifice and Travel domains: The Traveler aspect of the Dark Six. A Cleric 10/Renegade Mastermaker 10 might have been a much stronger build (and even gets 9th level spells). That being said... when the build finally starts to come together around level 11 and 12, yes, you're more of a force to be reckoned with in melee (+0.5). DMM Persisted Divine Powah! and Righteous Might come in late, but kick things up a few notches (+1.0).

Elegance: 3.5

You've got a solid backstory that ties well into the build, and makes the reasons to go into Renegade Mastermaker compelling (+1.0). Theurge is a bit clunky, and then you abandon your manifester development almost entirely for the last half of the build (-0.5).

Use of Secret Ingredient: 4

You make use of *most* the secret ingredient. I was going to say you didn't make use of Supporting Construction, but you get a few repair spells from the Warforged domain. So you don't mention them, but they are there to be used if need be. No mention is made of Embed Component or what components/grafts you would add, but that's more of a "suggested equipment" thing. Overall, I'll give you a full point here. (+1.0).


Hezekiah: 14

Originality: 3.5
Wu-Jen entry, with a dash of Monk... not entirely expected (+0.5). Another entry selected the Mark of Making, but I don't feel like that's really worth a penalty.

Power: 4.5
9th level spells, giant size + body outside body abuse, as well as extended time stop abuse... impressive, so let's just call that max score and work down from there (+2.0). Rules nitpick: although you are allowed to treat your battlefist as both a manufactured and natural attack, it still counts as a "slam" attack, not an "unarmed strike". Thus, you can't use it in with Dragonmark Fist or Decisive Strike (-0.5). Granted, I know most DMs would handwave that and let you use it as an unarmed strike, but that would still be a houserule. The other rules nitpick I have is your contention that your duplicates from body outside body can use their spells to fuel Self Repair... I find this extremely dubious, although by RAW I can't find anything that explicitly says they don't have spells, just that they can't cast/complete/trigger them. Duplicating dragonmarks I think you may be in the clear, and it's a minor class feature, so instead of a penalty I'm just going to glare at you menacingly (+/- 0.0).

Elegance: 1.5
You don't mention where Power Attack came from, I assume from the Overwhelming Attack variant fighting style in UA, but that wasn't mentioned in your sources (-0.5). There's several feats/class features that depend on a DM houseruling your battlefist counts as an unarmed strike rather than a slam, which appears to be a good chunk of the 232 damage you're claiming (-1.0).

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4.5
You use *everything* in the class description (+1.0), and most of it is legal. I'm not quite sure you've got a compelling argument that going this route is better than Wu Jen 20, but you finish off very nicely with a team of colossal magic megazords dishing out megadamage with their fists (+0.5).


Father Aldwin: 14

Originality: 2.5
Human cleric, the second easiest entry (-1.0), although Church Inquisitor is a bit of a twist to give it a unique flavor. (+0.5).

Power: 5
9th level Clericzilla spells + DMM Persist + DMM Quicken = Tier 1, no crying, no apologies. Adding the Church Inquisitor levels adds even more bells and whistles than a standard Cleric 20 chassis. Just... here, take 'em: max points (+2.0).

Elegance: 3.5
The backstory was compelling, but I was disappointed that it didn't mesh well with a traditional D&D setting. I'm a little disappointed you said the "Sweet Spot" is level 20, which sounds like a cop-out. The dip into Contemplative to add shapechange (from a *Dragonlance* domain, no less) is begging for a deduction for outright cheese... but it's something I would do, so no penalty. I love the notes on Adaptations and Extra-Cheese Options, and you get an entire point (+1.0) for the balls-out audacity to suggest something as awesometastic as "Dragonborn Incarnate Construct Saint Warforged", but I'm taking half of it away for not using it in the actual build (-0.5).

Use of Secret Ingredient: 3
You're a little thin on explaining how you integrate the Renegate Mastermaker's class abilities into your Mecha-Clericzilla (particularly how the battle fist is supposed to work with shapechange), but it looks like you can use most of it, and finish off with Adamantine Body (+0.5). You don't mention how you use your battle fist or combine it with your spells, and no mention of any embedded component(s), other than the rather dodgy Blessed Bandages in the Extra-Cheese section (-0.5).


Kiryu: 10.5

Originality: 3.5
*Two* gishes in one! (Sorta.) And Darfellen, the bitey whale-people! We don't see them too often (+0.5). And not just bitey, but a firebreathing whale! Presumably, the bite attack was going to be part of your build, but then you... never... really... mention it.

Power: 3.0
I am not so comfortable with the reliance on the Drake Helm. This assumes the DM will allow you to craft it, and will be nice enough to make sure Syberis shards are plentiful enough that you'll get the spells you want/need (-0.5). You do get BAB +16 on a gish (+1.0), but 5th level Suel Arcanamach casting is no substitute for 9th level spells (-0.5).

Elegance: 2
Your backstory is nice enough, but finding the Drake Helm appears to be more important than getting into Renegade Mastermaker (-0.5). The gishing is a bit klunky, as you start out with Duskblade 6 and abandon it for Suel Arcanamach... but then, I guess that's how Suel Arcanamach is supposed to work. My biggest concern is the strongest parts of your build (Drake Helm, Breath Weapon) don't have much to do with Renegade Mastermaker (-0.5).

Use of Secret Ingredient: 2
The only class feature you mention directly is the battle fist. Suel Arcanamachs can get the repair damage spells, but you didn't take them, so no love for "Supporting Construction" other than scrolls/wands. Nothing mentioned about embedded component(s). Overall, I would have liked to see Renegade Mastermaker be a little more integral to the build (-1.0).


Gregor Samsa: 8.5

Originality: 2.5
Easiest entry (-1.0), but not human (+0.5). But not... changeling? I'm confused.

Power: 4.5
You get 9th level spells, so Tier 1 casting, a little detour into Master Transmogrifist, and then topping off with Archmage, which is all standard "Wizards Win D&D" stuff (+2.0). Dual Specialization, so, okay, that still leaves shadow evocations, and transmutation is pretty good and ripping heads off, and then... WTF, we're changing into a beholder?!? I thought we were trying to turn into a robot? Well, at least it's a Beholder with a robot arm, I suppose, although you don't really discuss how the battle fist works in any of your non-humanoid forms (-0.5). If we're going to cheese out with Assume Supernatural Ability, I think I'd take the 10 different Eye Rays (Su) than the Antimagic Cone (Su), but... diff'rent strokes, I suppose.

Elegance: 1
It looks like a lot of work went into the backstory... but it only covers the first 5 levels of the build, and then completely fails to explain why Samsa would go into Renegade Mastermaker. Ok, I sorta get the revenge angle... but not why Renegade Mastermaker would be taken over any other wizard PrC. No "sweet spot" mentioned, advice is minimal and doesn't involve anything from the secret ingredient.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 0.5
You never even mention any of the Renegade Mastermaker class abilities outside of the build levels, not even the battle fist. Even more troubling, when you get Construct Exemplar, you get a bonus Warforged feat, but either didn't take it or forgot to specify what it was. Your primary battle tactic appears to be turn into a beholder to shut down hostiles with an AMF, but... none of that really involves Renegade Mastermaker.

[TerrickTerran]

Cool, more judging. For your first time, Darrin, I think you did really well.

[Piggy Knowles]

Awesome, more judges! I was pretty worried this would be a one-judger. Darrin, I think you did a great job - I always look for concrete feedback on builds, and you gave that in spades.

Re: Hardy, I assume his UoSI score was 4? You didn't give a final tally, but the only +/- was a +1 at the end. I've gone ahead and assumed it was a 4 for the tally:

Final(?) Tallies after Two Judges Before Disputes
{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Average
AM-1468|GOLD|33.25|4.16
Father Aldwin|SILVER|30.75|3.84
Hardy|BRONZE|28.25|3.53
Kiryu|Fourth|28.1|3.51
Hezekiah|Fifth|28|3.5
Kilroy|Sixth|22.15|2.77
Gregor Samsa|Seventh|19|2.38[/table]

By the way, re: eyeballing - I've never seen a judge who doesn't eyeball at least a little bit, myself included. It's just too hard to neatly encapsulate everything into tidy little increments of +/- 0.5. That said, OMG PONIES' scoring he did for Hand of the Winged Master came the closest to an objective metric that I've seen any judge use.

[Darrin]

Re: Hardy, I assume his UoSI score was 4? You didn't give a final tally, but the only +/- was a +1 at the end. I've gone ahead and assumed it was a 4 for the tally:


Yes, 4. Thanks.

Oh, and I forgot! Honorable Mention goes to Hezekiah, for creating an entire team of five colossal-sized giant robot megazords smashing everything to bits with their lightning fists. "It's Morphin' Time!"

[Darrin]

Aaaugh! Double post.

Yeesh. Server has been twitchy today.

[Amphetryon]

Final Tally and Chef Reveal time! As has happened in the past, I was half-convinced that we'd wind up with multiple ties for 1st Place this round, prior to any judges weighing in. Good show.

Final Tally
{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Average
AM-1468, by Piggy Knowles|GOLD|33.25|4.16
Father Aldwin, by rockdeworld|SILVER|30.75|3.84
Hardy, by Xodion|BRONZE|28.25|3.53
Kiryu, by Piggy Knowles|Fourth|28.1|3.51
HM: Hezekiah, by OMG Ponies|Fifth|28|3.5
Kilroy, by Amechra|Sixth|22.15|2.77
Gregor Samsa, by Venger|Seventh|10.5|2.38[/table]

Savannah has indicated there WILL be trophies (all hail Savannah), but asks for a couple of weeks' indulgence, as the end of the semester is at hand.

Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XL will be up shortly, connectivity permitting.

[Darrin]

{table=head]Entry|Place|Total|Average
Gregor Samsa|Seventh|10.5|2.38[/table]


Nitpick: Gregor Samsa's total should be 10.5 + 8.5 = 19.0. Average appears to be correct.

Also, Samsa(Venger) did state through the Chairman that "Unarmored Body" got clipped (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14243091&postcount=113) from his build, which I missed (it was late and the last couple of entries may have been a wee bit rushed). In another post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14245271&postcount=129), he also mentioned using Construct Exemplar to change into golems and inevitables but... I really needed to see that mentioned somewhere in the original build.

[rockdeworld]

I got second place! That's a huge improvement over my first entry in the previous competition, and it's in an actual optimization competition. Wow! Can I call myself an optimizer now? :smallbiggrin:

And now, since I couldn't do this before to keep anonymity, I dedicate my build to Amechra, whose SCP in the previous round inspired me to make this build.

I have a few closing thoughts:
Amphetryon:
Can you add a question like "Is power everything?" to the FAQ's? I don't know how often this is really asked, but I always thought it was the case, and it might be helpful to new contestants (like myself), who haven't read the 20-odd previous rounds. I imagine the answer would like this:
No. It would be more correct to say that "making the secret ingredient look good" is everything. This is essentially a Practical Optimization contest, and the goal is to turn the secret ingredient into a PC that you could bring to a table and everyone would think it was an original, interesting, and powerful example of that ingredient.

Also, could we get a more specific rubric for the "elegance" category? You wrote "how skillfully your build is put together" in the OP, but based on what I've seen, it seems to have turned into something more like a "miscellaneous" category. Should it be that way, or is there a single, defining aspect of "elegance" that warrants it being a separate category? I'm sorry if this has been answered already in a previous contest. I haven't read them all, and missed it if so.

Vknight:
Thanks for the good scores! I'm curious as to how you got them, since you didn't list much in the explanation section (which I'll definitely grant you, since you had to do a lot of work with all these entries!)

Darrin:
I'm glad the backstory was compelling! I thought it might be droll and scattered.

Edit: And Piggy Knowles entered twice? I thought we could only enter once :smallconfused:

[Piggy Knowles]

Edit: And Piggy Knowles entered twice? I thought we could only enter once :smallconfused:

Nope, no such restriction. In fact, I believe there was one contest where someone entered three times.

I've done four double entries - Shadowdancer, Mindbender, Shadow Sentinel and now this one. In fact, in the Shadowdancer contest I managed to pull both second and third place.

In this case, I am actually pretty surprised Kiryu placed as high as it did. I entered it more because the idea was bouncing around in my head, to combine Renegade Mastermaker and dragonborn to make a mecha-godzilla themed build, and it was pretty hastily done. I managed to finish AM-1468 pretty early on, and thought it would be fun to throw together the godzilla one. I was originally planning on Duskblade 6/Suel Arcanamach 1/RMM 10/Spellcarved Soldier 3, but I found that the build actually worked out much better by sticking to Suel Arcanamach.

Then I tossed together the Eberron version of a godzilla story, and found that I liked it enough to send it along. I figured it might get some novelty points, although I suspected it would get tanked in power and UoSI when compared to potential 9th-level spells, etc. But luckily, I guess VKnight was a mecha-godzilla fan?

(Oh, and Darrin: the darfellan's bite attack wasn't mentioned because he loses it when he goes dragonborn. Darfellan was mostly there for thematic reasons - I wanted an aquatic race, so that it could come from the seas, and darfellan are by far the coolest aquatic race with no LA.)

AM-1468 was a lot of fun, though. I'm pretty happy with the way the build turned out, even if the entry was a bit longer than I usually like.

I will say I was a little disappointed to see Kilroy place so low, as that was one of my favorites. I really like the way infusions mesh with the secret ingredient, and Kilroy was the only infusion-user here. I'm also a sucker for most of the Dragonmarked PrCs (that book is actually one of my favorite supplements in general), so the inclusion of Cyre Scout was pretty fun.

And kudos to Venger/Samsa on the Metamorphosis reference, although with all the tricks up that build's sleeve, it probably looks a lot more like this version of the story (http://threewordphrase.com/gregor.htm) :smallcool:

[Amechra]

I kinda dropped the ball in the fluff for this one, huh?

I kinda just wanted to do a quick one, since I didn't have many ideas, except of course for Mr. NEGATIVE USE OF SECRET INGREDIENT!

Good jobs, everyone else!

[Venger]

Nope, no such restriction. In fact, I believe there was one contest where someone entered three times.
that was death delver. I forget who the chef was, but someone entered 3 dishes.[/quote]


And kudos to Venger/Samsa on the Metamorphosis reference, although with all the tricks up that build's sleeve, it probably looks a lot more like this version of the story (http://threewordphrase.com/gregor.htm) :smallcool:
thanks for the kind words, as always. I love that webcomic

[rockdeworld]

Nope, no such restriction. In fact, I believe there was one contest where someone entered three times.
Well color me surprised :smallsmile:

If it helps, I was afraid of Kiryu :smallsmile:

Edit: I'm also curious what Madara would have rated Father Aldwin.

Edit: And also, if anyone cares, would you critique Father Aldwin for how he could be better? Of course, I could have done his spells more efficiently, rather than simply finding persistent spells to stick on him in every spell slot.

I felt that giving him warforged domain was one of the best ways I could synergize with the RMM class. Currently, he's basically a backup tank and primary buffer, so little more than a regular cleric.

[Amphetryon]

Amphetryon:
Can you add a question like "Is power everything?" to the FAQ's? I don't know how often this is really asked, but I always thought it was the case, and it might be helpful to new contestants (like myself), who haven't read the 20-odd previous rounds. I imagine the answer would like this:
No. It would be more correct to say that "making the secret ingredient look good" is everything. This is essentially a Practical Optimization contest, and the goal is to turn the secret ingredient into a PC that you could bring to a table and everyone would think it was an original, interesting, and powerful example of that ingredient.

Also, could we get a more specific rubric for the "elegance" category? You wrote "how skillfully your build is put together" in the OP, but based on what I've seen, it seems to have turned into something more like a "miscellaneous" category. Should it be that way, or is there a single, defining aspect of "elegance" that warrants it being a separate category? I'm sorry if this has been answered already in a previous contest. I haven't read them all, and missed it if so. To the first: Any comment made from the Chair on the expectation of Power's importance would seem, to me, to be a restriction on how the judges may score its importance, and I am loathe to make such restrictions. Most judges historically have considered Power to merely be a piece of the puzzle, but some weigh it more heavily than others. I think this is as it should be.

To the second: Elegance has always been a 'catch-all' category for the various parts that make a build work or fall apart and aren't covered elsewhere. We've gone round and round in the past on trying to codify it, but the consensus has been that any attempts at a clearer definition would leave out parts that some judges may wish to consider, with the end result of either an "Elegance loophole" that judges feel proscribed from addressing, or bad feelings from contestants with "the rules don't say this is inelegant!" being the outcry. The best advice, at this point in the game, is to read past contests, particularly those where current judges were also judging, to get an idea of how Elegance is likely to be scored.

[rockdeworld]

To the first: Any comment made from the Chair on the expectation of Power's importance would seem, to me, to be a restriction on how the judges may score its importance, and I am loathe to make such restrictions. Most judges historically have considered Power to merely be a piece of the puzzle, but some weigh it more heavily than others. I think this is as it should be.

To the second: Elegance has always been a 'catch-all' category for the various parts that make a build work or fall apart and aren't covered elsewhere. We've gone round and round in the past on trying to codify it, but the consensus has been that any attempts at a clearer definition would leave out parts that some judges may wish to consider, with the end result of either an "Elegance loophole" that judges feel proscribed from addressing, or bad feelings from contestants with "the rules don't say this is inelegant!" being the outcry. The best advice, at this point in the game, is to read past contests, particularly those where current judges were also judging, to get an idea of how Elegance is likely to be scored.
I hadn't thought of it like that. Thanks for the response Amph :smallsmile:

[Xodion]

I didn't want to say anything after Ponies said he recognised a bunch of entries - I had to rush mine and ended up copy-pasting a previous entry format, so it looked absolutely identical.

I completely agree with all the criticisms of Hardy, as the entire build was based around that backstory - there were at least a dozen things I could have changed to make the character better which didn't seem to fit the situation. I hope people found it interesting, anyway :smallsmile:

Congrats to the other entrants, there were some great builds in there, with some really nasty combos. Also, how close was that scoring for Bronze!

[rockdeworld]

Congrats to you to too Xodion. The similarity between our builds (at level 1 at least) is uncanny! Both human clerics, both took Warforged domain and got Persistent Spell. I even talked about Cloistered Cleric in my adaptations section!

And I almost forgot: I wrote out the entirety of the raid that took place in Father Aldwin's backstory. I just cut it down (a lot) to save space. If anyone's interested in reading it, I'll post it here:
The full story of the raid:
Although Father Aldwin was seen observed in several other instances related to the acquisition of anomalous objects, the incident on 01/12/2006 distinguished him as a dangerous opponent of the Foundation. Mobile Task Force Beta-4 (aka "The Brothers") were commissioned to raid a sect of the Church of the Broken God, secure any anomalous objects in their possession, and eliminate any threats. At the time, Beta-4 consisted of 5 members. The building was a combination church and soup kitchen, rendering it vulnerable to both intelligence gathering and attack, but at the risk of involving civilians. For this reason, Beta-4 chose a time when few civilians would be present. The following footage is taken from that event, recorded by a hidden camera on Agent Ross's helmet.

Surveillance Log xC76, Date 1-12-2006

14:55 MTF Beta-4 enters the kitchen. Three apparently homeless civilians sit at tables, the room is otherwise empty. Beta-4 ignores the civilians and proceeds to a rear door.

14:56 Beta-4 moves through a sanctuary, chancel, and down a staircase without incident.

14:57 At the bottom of the stairs, Beta-4 encounters a robed figure, later identified as Aldwin, who speaks to them. Agent Ross's gun is leveled at the figure, who raises his hands in surrender. One of the hands appears to have been replaced with a metal gauntlet.

1
Audio Log sC76-1 Date: 1-12-2006

<Aldwin> Who-

<Ross> Get on the ground!

<Aldwin> Ok, don't shoot-

<Ross> Hands behind your head! [Aldwin complies, and is handcuffed by Agents Bradley and Lanson. Agent Lanson attempts to remove the gauntlet without success, and barely fits the manacle around it.]

<Ross> Where are the relics?!

<Aldwin> Please don't shoot! I'll tell you, just don't shoot!

<Ross> Tell us!

<Aldwin> At the end of the hall! The room at the end of the hall!

<Ross> Follow us! Bradley, guard him.

1
14:59 Beta-4 proceeds to a wooden door at the end of the hall with the figure in tow. Inside is a torchlit room with three objects on an altar. There are no other doors, and no one is inside. Beta-4 clears the room.

15:00 Agent Scott examines the objects, then begins securing the objects in individual containers.

15:01 In the hallway, Aldwin slips out of his manacles and grabs Agent Bradley, who fires point blank. Aldwin is unfazed, and snaps Agent Bradley's neck.

1
<Darns> There aren't supposed to be this many!

<Ross> So drop 'em!

Someone shouts "Father Aldwin! Are you ok?"

<Aldwin> Yes, I'm fine. Keep the jailors trapped. They must not be allowed to steal the holy pieces of God!

<Lanson> They saw us coming.

<Ross> Yup. Scott, are you done yet?

<Scott> Almost.

<Ross> Good. Conserve ammo, keep them out of this room. Darns, throw a tox!

<Aldwin> Osmond!

1
15:03 Agent Darns lobs a VX neurotoxin grenade into the hallway. Agent Lanson emerges from cover and shoots one man in the head, then a muscular automaton jumps on the grenade. Approximately 10 church members lie wounded or dead on the floor. The camera turns to reveal Agent Ross wounded in the left arm.

1
<Ross> Augh!

<Lanson> Commander!

<Aldwin> Retreat! Lest the jailors' gas weapon fell you. Brother Osmond has only stopped the initial discharge.

<Ross> Here's our chance, get ready.

<Scott> Skips secure.

<Alwin> Collapse the hallway.

<Darns> No!

<Ross> Go!

There is an explosion and the sound of moving earth.

1
15:05 Beta-4 sprints into the hallway, but Agents Ross and Darns are captured by the collapsing tunnel. Agent Lanson levels his gun at the stairway.

Noises indicate Agent Scott attempts to dig out Agents Ross and Darns.

15:05 Six Church members rush down the stairs while firing assault weapons. Agent Lanson returns fire and the Church members fall.

15:06 Agent Scott falls, revealed to be shot by one of the descending church members. Agents Ross and Darns cannot be seen. Agent Lanson reaches down and takes the anomalous object containers. Then he progresses slowly up the stairs.

15:07 At the top of the stairs, Agent Lanson sees an unarmed Aldwin and three Church members with automatic weapons leveled.

1
<Aldwin> Do not be afraid. Drop the sacred relics and you may leave in peace.

<Lanson> Oh yeah? And how's that?

<Aldwin> I have a message for your superiors. You may deliver it, or die here.

<Lanson> Talk, I'll listen.

<Aldwin> Our lord has blessed us with extraordinary knowledge. We knew you were coming. Consider that the next time before you decide to attack us in our homes. You will not win.

<Lanson> That it?

<Aldwin> Yes. Keep your gun if you wish. These men are under my protection, and you will not harm-

Another explosion is heard.

1
15:09 Agent Lanson throws a grenade and sprints for the exit. The camera jerks, but continues to rendezvous point C11 before being shut off.

For completing his mission despite being shot in the back, Agent Lanson was promoted to team leader of MTF Beta-4. Father Aldwin himself displayed numerous anomalous properties during the incident, most notably being able to withstand point blank assault rifle bullets and a grenade, neither of which can be accounted for with normal body armor.

[OMG PONIES]

Congrats to everyone!


Rules nitpick: although you are allowed to treat your battlefist as both a manufactured and natural attack, it still counts as a "slam" attack, not an "unarmed strike". Thus, you can't use it in with Dragonmark Fist or Decisive Strike (-0.5). Granted, I know most DMs would handwave that and let you use it as an unarmed strike, but that would still be a houserule...You don't mention where Power Attack came from, I assume from the Overwhelming Attack variant fighting style in UA, but that wasn't mentioned in your sources (-0.5). There's several feats/class features that depend on a DM houseruling your battlefist counts as an unarmed strike rather than a slam, which appears to be a good chunk of the 232 damage you're claiming (-1.0).

I feared a judge would nick me on the whole "battlefist = unarmed" angle I had going on. I relied heavily on the section of the battlefist's text that reads "Your battlefist functions like your hand formerly did, and it does not inconvenience you in the least." It definitely felt a little dubious while cooking, so I thought it might come back to bite me. Also, good catch on the Power Attack; it was indeed from the Overwhelming Attack variant which I forgot to list. That's what I get for procrastinating on my entry formatting :smallredface:.


By the way, re: eyeballing - I've never seen a judge who doesn't eyeball at least a little bit, myself included. It's just too hard to neatly encapsulate everything into tidy little increments of +/- 0.5. That said, OMG PONIES' scoring he did for Hand of the Winged Master came the closest to an objective metric that I've seen any judge use.

Aw shucks, thanks. I tried to go with a bunch of yes/no questions that I could answer easily after thoroughly reading the entry through twice. It seemed to work pretty well (not to mention that it sped up my judging process), so I'll continue to use that rubric for future rounds...granted, I may tweak it a little here and there.


Oh, and I forgot! Honorable Mention goes to Hezekiah, for creating an entire team of five colossal-sized giant robot megazords smashing everything to bits with their lightning fists. "It's Morphin' Time!"

Aw shucks again! I figured that Giant Size and Body Outside Body were pretty standard wu jen-only tricks, so once I realized it could work with this chassis I just went with it. The ability to sync it up so I snag a spell secret at the same time as 9th-level spells was fun, too, but I wish the wu jen's "metal" spells had more on the list that actually fit the Secret Ingredient. Spell Compendium suggests some additions, but I didn't want to open that can of Elegance worms.


Nope, no such restriction. In fact, I believe there was one contest where someone entered three times.

Indeed. That was Lestroisrois in Round XXXV (Death Delver), who submitted Cado Norl, TK-421, and Reach. Besides that, there is a long and storied past of multiple submissions in Iron Chef dating back to Round XI. I don't know who that individual was, but legend holds that he was devastatingly handsome and loved small horses :smalltongue:.


I will say I was a little disappointed to see Kilroy place so low, as that was one of my favorites. I really like the way infusions mesh with the secret ingredient, and Kilroy was the only infusion-user here. I'm also a sucker for most of the Dragonmarked PrCs (that book is actually one of my favorite supplements in general), so the inclusion of Cyre Scout was pretty fun.

Agreed; I was toying around with someone who really went whole hog with the House Cannith stuff before I settled on Hezekiah. Glad I scrapped it, because we would have had some similarities: he was a Human Factotum 3/Cyre Scout 2/Dragonmark Heir 5/Renegade Mastermaker 10. I would have missed out on a lot of cool Cyre Scout features, but then RMM would have progressed the infusions exactly to their max without going over. Flavor-wise, he was going to be someone stuck in the Mournland whose body was wasting away from lingering radiation from the Day of Mourning (caused by his own House), so he needed to build himself a new body faster than the cancer could take his natural one away.


And kudos to Venger/Samsa on the Metamorphosis reference, although with all the tricks up that build's sleeve, it probably looks a lot more like this version of the story (http://threewordphrase.com/gregor.htm) :smallcool:

The former literature buff in me is kicking myself for missing the reference. Well-played! I really liked Gregor, and toyed around w/ a Changeling Wizard 6/Renegade Mastermaker 10/Recaster 4 to allow me the same tricks Hezekiah had, but on a wizard chassis with some transmutation tricks (namely Toughening Transmutation to stack with RMM's DR and Minor Shapeshift for a decent source of temp HP). I'm glad I didn't pursue it, because you presented it much better than I would have in the backstory department. Also, I kept trying to work in cheesy puns about changeling RMMs being more than meets the eye :smalltongue:.


Edit: And also, if anyone cares, would you critique Father Aldwin for how he could be better? Of course, I could have done his spells more efficiently, rather than simply finding persistent spells to stick on him in every spell slot.

I felt that giving him warforged domain was one of the best ways I could synergize with the RMM class. Currently, he's basically a backup tank and primary buffer, so little more than a regular cleric.

I, too, thought the Warforged domain would be a great snag for complementing the Secret Ingredient, what with all of its "only works on constructs" spells. When it comes to Father Aldwin, your problem is that, without nightsticks, you'll run out of turn attempts fast...and you only get 5 per day, which isn't enough to fuel either of your DDM selections. Extra Turning is your friend, especially since you can take it multiple times. The problem is that the cleric's healing skills make Self-Repair a useless feature. If you had taken a bonus warforged feat that makes you immune to healing (like Improved Fortification, I think), then mentioned using self-repair extensively, that would have snagged style points from me if I was judging.

I'll echo the sentiments of another poster who said that embracing some of your "extra cheese" options might have bumped you up for sheer chutzpah. It's always a gamble, and sometimes the judges slap you on the wrist, but it's always good to see someone swinging for the fences.


I didn't want to say anything after Ponies said he recognised a bunch of entries - I had to rush mine and ended up copy-pasting a previous entry format, so it looked absolutely identical.

Was that me? I thought it might have been Piggy or someone else...my attention to detail is lacking, to say the least.

[rockdeworld]

When it comes to Father Aldwin, your problem is that, without nightsticks, you'll run out of turn attempts fast...and you only get 5 per day, which isn't enough to fuel either of your DDM selections. Extra Turning is your friend, especially since you can take it multiple times. The problem is that the cleric's healing skills make Self-Repair a useless feature. If you had taken a bonus warforged feat that makes you immune to healing (like Improved Fortification, I think), then mentioned using self-repair extensively, that would have snagged style points from me if I was judging.

I'll echo the sentiments of another poster who said that embracing some of your "extra cheese" options might have bumped you up for sheer chutzpah. It's always a gamble, and sometimes the judges slap you on the wrist, but it's always good to see someone swinging for the fences.
Well hey-ho! Maybe I should've added it in and showcased it as a TO build then :smalltongue:

I didn't this time because I was worried about losing style/originality points on a build that I worked very hard on (I kid you not when I say I spent almost every day of the two weeks on it) and was my second entry to this competition. In the future, I won't be so worried about it and will take the chance if it comes up again :smallsmile:

I knew that using Warforged turning as an extra source of fuel for DMM was based on DM interpretation and is not RAW, and am actually a bit surprised none of the other judges marked me off for it. I had a version I didn't submit that basically had Extra Turning as the last 4 feats, and was looking for a 3rd domain that granted turning to get about 63 turning attempts, or enough for 9 Persistent spells. I decided to go for versatility rather than straight power though, and besides wanted something that would fit the RMM flavor better, because I couldn't see how that build wouldn't be better as a straight cleric.

I also had a version that got Fortification for the exact reason you mention, but scrapped it because I thought Adamantine Body was straight better. Perhaps flavor would have been better than power though :smallsigh:

Anyway, thanks Ponies!

[Piggy Knowles]

I didn't want to say anything after Ponies said he recognised a bunch of entries - I had to rush mine and ended up copy-pasting a previous entry format, so it looked absolutely identical.

That was me who said that, not Ponies - and it turned out I was right on all counts! Which, er, probably means I spend way more time than is healthy reading old entries.

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Wonder: A bit of a wake-up.

[Savannah]

And now, the trophies!

http://imageshack.us/a/img854/8731/39first.pnghttp://imageshack.us/a/img801/2482/39second.pnghttp://imageshack.us/a/img703/444/39third.pnghttp://imageshack.us/a/img266/844/39honorablemention.png

And the judges:
http://imageshack.us/a/img593/4941/39chair.pnghttp://imageshack.us/a/img15/8238/39judge1.pnghttp://imageshack.us/a/img689/3144/39judge2.png

[Piggy Knowles]

Excellent! Savannah, your trophies have all been wonderful thus far, but I think these are my favorites. Thanks as always!

[rockdeworld]

Looks awesome, thanks Savannah!