Scrap-Iron Chef Challenge; In the Playground III

[Vknight]

Well most Iron Chefs and other Challenges of the sort focus on a prestige class. This Challenge will focus on things like ideas, templates and all those other goodies and incorporating them too make a build.


Contestants: You will need to present a write-up of your build at, the following points: 5th level, 10th level, 15th, 20th, and if you have one 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: The Secret Ingredient will be a template or idea for a character. Which must be empathized in the build.
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.

Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon magazine is allowed[on a case by case basis], 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 agree with Kuulvheysoon.

Cooking Time Ends: Tuesday, August 20th, EST 11:45pm, 2013.

Judging: Judges will be rating on a 1 to 5 scale.
1(Very Poor), 2(Poor), 3(Average), 4(Above Average), 5(Amazing)
On the following categories.
Power; What can the build do, the power of the build in general, and the builds strength in combat. We can handle some cheese but not too much.
A tier one does not immediately win over a tier 4 in power. Because power is not just the classes own strengths but the strengths put into it from the build. Power is nice but make sure it hits the idea of the challenge

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 multi-classing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points. Obscurity does not drop points, not saying what book it, is from does(I.E, site your sources for were you got a feat/class/etc. from), this is to help the judges for ease of reference

Flavor; A certain amount of love is needed for any build. This is that extra spice the characters story. Those that cannot write awesome character stuff or stories, work on maximizing the build idea. This is also the place to rate just how well they pulled off the build. Elegance is does it look good, and Flavor is does it feel right. So a build that works but doesn't really fit the theme scores low here.

A Note on Tier 1 Classes: Without a set you need this class it's easier to give the challenge a Tier 1 Build.
To keep the challenge fair for all of those involved, a build utilizing a tier 1 class to its fullest will only be able to get a maximum of 4.5 in Power, 4 in Elegance, and 4.25 in Flavor

Presentation: Build will be sent too me and then I'll post them. This will keep anonymity and stop bias towards one side or another.
I Took the Codes from Iron Chef because they work well
Judges will judge openly, and hopefully include reasoning on the judging

Basic Code
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]
Spells Code

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), prepared caster include a spell load-out for an ordinary day
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.

Don't Speculate on builds please and thank-you.
Leadership and other such feats/abilities are banned. Natures Cohort[or whatever the feats called] depending on the build and challenge.
In Challenges that call for LA races and/or templates, the LA buyoff rules may be applied. If their is no listed LA buyoff, then it's 0. LA Buyoff for this challenge is 3!

So What is Our Challenge?
Divine Warrior

What The Build Needs(Or the things it needs to qualify)
-Class with flavor for Divine magic/psionics/incarnum(monk does count for this) etc.
-Half-Dragon or Half-Fiend or Half-Celestial

What The Build Wants(Builders you don't need to have these there just extra challenges that the judges will/should reward you for following.)
-Not using a Tier 1 Class
-Cool uses of said Divine Connection
-Some other skill your character can do outside of murder and/or craft magical items, you got to spread the word
-A unexpected combination of Race & God.


No Trophies sorry. Though rewards for if we do/currently have going

1st Place
You get your name attached to the link to this challenge in the next and all proceeding challenges and your build will be included in the first post. Gold Trophy if ever get them
2nd Place
You get your name attached to the link to this challenge in the next and all proceeding challenges. Silver Trophy if we get them
3rd Place
You get your name attached to the link to this challenge in the next and all proceeding challenges

Most Unusual Build
This goes to the build which shows the most ingenuity, creativity, and all around cleverness in the challenge. Congrats your build is posted in the next challenge and all following challenges, like 1st place but you get no Trophy.

So seeing as that is everything all the fun and creativity lets all enjoy yourselves and have fun everyone!

Build *Bites a genome hidden under cloak*

Judges(On the note of judging if we only have 1 judge the Chariman, can also judge. 2 judges the chairman can be asked to join the judging by the judges or contestants otherwise he is to stay out of it. 3 or greater judges the Chairman is no longer allowed to be involved)
Judges you have 1 week to deliberate and give us your results

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Previous Challenges
1: The Battle Lich (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288786)
2: The Master Swordsman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291847)

This challenge was hard to decide because of so many ideas so I rolled a random die.
Not many rules to this challenge outside of that

[Vknight]

Previous Challenge Winners!

The Battle Lich
King Desmond Blackwing
Curst Human Dread Necromancer 8/Crusader 1/Jade Phoenix Mage 10
"His majesty shall rise from every ash."

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs13/i/2007/026/8/3/Skeletal_Phoenix_by_Panicaddict665.jpg
The Tale
No parent wants their child to fall ill, much less royalty. So when King Duncan and Queen Adalia learned their son, rightful heir to the Blackwing line, had fallen ill with a horrible disease, they enlisted the services of the best magicians, most devout clerics, and most studied doctors in the land. One, an old man well beyond his years, had rasped a word of prophecy to them: "His majesty shall rise from every ash." Taking it as a sign of hope, the King and Queen sent their son to the elderly man for healing. But the boy who returned was not quite Desmond.

The young prince never smiled, instead taking to his room which he christened his "labratory." He was convinced that he had received no healing, but instead been cursed with life. His many experiments were brutal and traumatizing to his parents and subjects alike. But still, he had the right of kings. Duncan, afraid that Desmond would be too weak and soft-willed to rule, forced him to enlist in the military along with the common infantry and noble knights.

They hoped Desmond would take to war, but were unprepared with the gusto with which he threw himself into the fray. His reckless abandon inspired fear in his allies and foes alike; he was soon commanding legions with shouted commands and threats of violence. No battle was too daunting, no odds too overwhelming for the young man who had become convinced he could not die.

So advanced was Desmond's hubris that he hatched a plan to usurp the throne from his father--an older man, but still fit and sound of mind. It was a bloodbath, and after that fateful day none questioned if Desmond had what it took to rule with an iron fist.

As soon as he took the crown, he also began to construct his army. Desmond's troops were neither the fit nor the willing; instead, he chose soldiers from the sickly. Strangely, the same disease that had almost claimed him as a boy had started spreading like a plague throughout the land. Each time someone was about to be claimed by the disease, they were whisked to the castle and emerged a few days later, strangely quiet and blanched. They fought with great zeal at Desmond's side, and soon he had developed a military to be feared.

The subjects of the Blackwing Kingdom were once a happy folk, but that was many centuries ago. For thousands of years now, they have lived in fear...waiting for the disease to mark them as the next soldiers in King Desmond's forever-marching army. His kingdom continues unabated and will continue for millenia still, burning brightly but providing no warmth.
The Build:
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1|Curst LA|||||||Undead (augmented humanoid), d12 HDs, +3 Natural Armor, Slam Attack (1d4), Fast Healing 1, Immune to Cold/Fire, SR 12+CL, Turning Immunity, Unkillable (can only be killed by totally destroying the body via disintegrate, undeath to death, etc. or remove curse)
2|Dread Necro 1|+0|+0|+0|+2|Concentration 4, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (arcana) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2|Dreadful Wrath, Mother Cyst|Charnel Touch, Rebuke Undead
3|Dread Necro 2|+1|+0|+0|+3|Concentration 5, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (arcana) 3, Knowledge (religion) 2||Lich Body DR 2
4|Dread Necro 3|+1|+1|+1|+3|Concentration 6, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 3, Knowledge (religion) 3|Battle Caster|Negative Energy Burst 1/day
5|Dread Necro 4|+2|+1|+1|+4|Concentration 7, Intimidate 7, Knowledge (arcana) 4, Knowledge (religion) 3||Advanced Learning (Kelgore's Grave Mist), Mental Bastion +2
6|Dread Necro 5|+2|+1|+1|+4|Concentration 8, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (arcana) 4, Knowledge (religion) 4||Fear Aura
7|Dread Necro 6|+3|+2|+2|+5|Concentration 9, Intimidate 9, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 4|Arcane Strike|Scabrous Touch 1/day
8|Dread Necro 7|+3|+2|+2|+5|Concentration 10, Intimidate 10, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5||Lich Body DR 4, Summon Familiar
9|Crusader 1|+4|+4|+2|+5|Concentration 11, Intimidate 11, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 0.5, Never Outnumbered||Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5
10|JPM 1|+5|+6|+2|+5|Concentration 12, Intimidate 12, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 1, Never Outnumbered|Stone Power|Arcane Wrath, Rite of Waking
11|JPM 2|+6|+7|+2|+5|Concentration 13, Intimidate 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 1.5, Never Outnumbered||Mystic Phoenix Stance
12|JPM 3|+7|+7|+3|+6|Concentration 14, Intimidate 14, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 2, Never Outnumbered||
13|JPM 4|+8|+8|+3|+6|Concentration 15, Intimidate 15, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 2.5, Never Outnumbered|Divine Might|Empowering Strike
14|JPM 5|+9|+8|+3|+6|Concentration 16, Intimidate 16, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 3, Never Outnumbered||
15|JPM 6|+10|+9|+4|+7|Concentration 17, Intimidate 17, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 3.5, Never Outnumbered||Firebird Stance, Jade Phoenix Master
16|JPM 7|+11|+9|+4|+7|Concentration 18, Intimidate 18, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 4, Never Outnumbered|Versatile Spellcaster|
17|JPM 8|+12|+10|+4|+7|Concentration 19, Intimidate 19, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 4.5, Never Outnumbered||Quickening Strike
18|JPM 9|+13|+10|+5|+8|Concentration 20, Intimidate 20, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 5, Never Outnumbered||
19|JPM 10|+14|+11|+5|+8|Concentration 21, Intimidate 21, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 5.5, Never Outnumbered|Practiced Spellcaster|Emerald Immolation
20|Dread Necro 8|+15|+11|+5|+9|Concentration 22, Intimidate 22, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Spellcraft 6, Never Outnumbered||Advanced Learning, Negative Energy Burst 2/day, Undead Mastery[/table]

{table=head]Attribute|Base|Points|Curst|Total
STR|14|6|2|16
DEX|10|2|0|10
CON|8|0|--|--
INT|14|6|-4|10
WIS|10|2|-6|4
CHA|18|16|-2|16[/table]

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

Maneuvers Known
{table=head]Level|IL|Maneuvers & Stances Known
1|0|
2|0|
3|1|
4|1|
5|2|
6|2|
7|3|
8|3.5|
9|4.5|Mountain Hammer, Crusader's Strike, Vanguard Strike, Charging Minotaur, Douse the Flames, Martial Spirit
10|5.5|Burning Blade
11|6.5|
12|7.5|Searing Charge
13|8.5|
14|9.5|Thicket of Blades, Leaping Flame
15|10.5|
16|11.5|Desert Tempest
17|12.5|
18|13.5|Castigating Strike
19|14.5|
20|15.5|[/TABLE]
The Cake:

Casting at least 3rd-level spells: We actually have 8th level spells from Dread Necromancer, with a side of 6th-level maneuvers. We can actually initiate 7th-level maneuvers, but don't learn any at Jade Phoenix Mage's 10th level.
Casting in medium armor or better: Dread Necromancers can cast in light armor, and Battle Caster allows us to up that to medium. We don't really mind if folks actually hit us though, since we're a Bucket of HP in command of an army of Buckets of HP.
Being Undead: The Curst template does that quite nicely, thanks.
Not being a cleric or druid: How about something that both of them revile?
Using some type of weapon: Dread Necromancer grants proficiency in a martial weapon, as does Crusader. Pick your favorite, but I always love me some greatsword.
Mixing magic and swordplay: Not only do we mix them, but we combine them together to strengthen both. Our spell slots can be used to supercharge our attacks, and when we hit with martial strikes we can empower or quicken spells for free. Nothing quite like tossing out Empowered Quickened Enervations while stabbing people to death, is there?
The Icing:

The Fear of the People: between Dreadful Wrath, Fear Aura, Intimidate maxed out, and Never Outnumbered, Desmond is stacking on the fear to make folks flee. Whenever he draws near, they're shaken. Casting a spell, charging, or full attacking activates Dreadful Wrath. If that doesn't work, in the next round he can still intimidate those who think themselves courageous. When they flee, Desmond strikes with an AoO. If a shaken foe thinks they can 5-foot step away, Thicket of Blades tells them they've got another thing coming. There's no escape. Granted, we could have added Imperious Command (and still can if flaws are allowed), but we don't want our subjects to cower...we want them to run.
I've Got Blisters on Me Fingers!: Mother Cyst adds a few flavorful additions to our spell list, including the ability to dominate creatures with ease before a wizard can. The real star of the show, though, is Necrotic Empowerment. It not only buffs up our poorest abilities (which helps our Will saves for things like Undeath to Death if they can actually overcome our SR), but it also provides us with 100 temporary HP. Assuming any enemy can get through those, we can keep using Stone Power (which we can activate alongside Dreadful Wrath) to regain plenty of temporary HP. More on that later.
Bring the Pain: Arcane Strike is pretty standard for gishes, but we want more icing on our damage cake. Divine Might gives us a use for our turn attempts to add CHA to our damage (easily boostable with items), and the Jade Phoenix Mage's Arcane Wrath lets us start off our impressive barrage with one big bang. The good news is that Dread Necromancers have plenty of spell slots to burn, so we can use one as a free action for Arcane Strike, one as a swift action for Arcane Wrath, and a turn attempt as a free action for Divine Might all in the same round...for when you get bored casting 8th-level Dread Necromancer spells. We also have a slew of maneuvers that allow us to drop some serious hurt, and all three of our damage boosters work with them, too.
Can't Touch This: So, we can get 100 temporary HP. But they run out eventually, right? Well, we still have Stone Power to grant more temporary HP while attacking and Dreadful Wrathing. If that's not enough, we've got d12 HDs, fast healing 1 from being Curst alongside DR 4 from Dread Necromancer and 5 points of delayed damage from Crusader. Out of combat, we can use the Dread necromancer's negative energy touch and burst to heal ourselves and undead minions/allies back to full. Assuming that an enemy can chip through all of that, and we soak up enough in our delayed damage pool that we're about to go...hello Emerald Immolation! We go out in a blaze of glory that will probably wipe out the enemy that's still standing in our war of attrition, and we come back all topped off. Did I mention we have minions that can use similar tricks?
Say Hello to my Little Friend: the great thing about the Curst template is that an evil spellcaster [present!] can create them by casting Bestow Curse on a dying subject, followed by create undead or greater create undead. Conveniently, all three spells happen to be on our list, and we've got enough slots to spam it away. So go ahead and create an army of unstoppable killing machines, because why not? Command Undead can be spammed at them, and Practiced Spellcaster along with the CL boost from Jade Phoenix Mage's Mystic Phoenix Stance will allow you to get around their pesky SR. Enjoy your unkillable, unturnable, loyal servants. Even if you need to go bye-bye via Emerald Immolation, the big belch of fire damage you do on your way out won't harm your Curst minions, because they're also immune to fire and cold. Leave them behind to finish the job.
Ask Your DM: If you can create a Curst using Bestow Curse and create undead (or greater create undead), what can you do with GREATER Bestow Curse? We can pick this up at level 20 via advanced learning, and ideally we can use this to make a Greater Curst--I'm picturing an undead with all the attributes of a Curst, but they can only be killed by a Miracle. It's pretty strong, but it had better be.

The Recipe:

Lost Empires of Faerun (Curst template)
Heroes of Horror (Dread Necromancer)
Tome of Battle (Crusader, Stone Power, Jade Phoenix Mage, maneuvers)
Libris Mortis (Mother Cyst)
Player's Guide to Faerun (Dreadful Wrath)
Complete Scoundrel (Never Outnumbered)
Complete Arcane (Battle Caster, Practiced Spellcaster)
Complete Warrior (Arcane Strike, Divine Might)
Races of the Dragon: Versatile Spellcaster


2nd Place: Avalon the Fallen General (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15563481&postcount=97)

The Master Swordsman?
Rednaw

http://digital-art-gallery.com/oid/9/1051x768_3065_Temple_Guard_2d_fantasy_dinosaur_bea st_warrior_picture_image_digital_art.jpg
Race: Half-Ogre Half-Giant Afflicted Giant Crocodile Lycanthrope
Class: Paladin 5/Warmind 7/Animal HD 7
Starting Attributes :
14 str, 14 dex, 14 con, 12 int, 14 wis, 8 cha
Starting Attributes After Racial Modifiers :
30 str, 10 dex, 20 con, 10 int, 14 wis, 6 cha


The life and times of a man at war:
Little is known of Sir Rednaw's childhood. Given his lineage, it can be assumed that he was raised away form civilization, though reconciling that with what appears to be formal schooling is somewhat difficult. However, as the child of a giant and an ogre, Rednaw would likely not have been born into much of a loving family. Both creatures are known for allowing their children for fend for themselves.
It is likely that some learned scholar found the child at a very young age and decided to attempt to raise him, possibly as a form of charity and possibly as an experiment. What precisely happened, we are likely never to know, since Rednaw himself is not forthcoming. Obviously, the life suited him, as he learned quite a bit in those early years about the world and his inborn talents.
What we know about Rednaw starts with his Ordination by the dark priests of Hextor. It is possible that he was raised by these very priests in secret, though if that is the case they taught him remarkably little religion. Regardless, he began his career as a Paladin of the god of Tyranny and War, and the post suited him well enough that he remained in it for many years. During this time, he became acquainted with a wandering swordsmaster of some repute, best known for his view that efficiency in warfare is far more important than method. The strength and size of Redawn drew his notice, and in time he took the dark paladin under his wing and trained him in the ways of the Warmind.
Of course, it was shortly after his indoctrination as a Warmind that his mentor, who he had believed to be a half-dragon, turned out to be a Were-Crocodile. This revelation came when his mentor brought him into the presence of King Croc, a Giant Were-Crocodile. His 'induction' into the tribe was...traumatic. He survived the experience, and even managed to escape before he was magically bound to the group.
It became a tenet of Rednaw's beliefs that whatever does not kill you makes you stronger, and by this point his swordsmanship combined with his incredible size and strength made him nearly invulnerable.
The activities of Rednaw are fairly well documented after this point, at least for the major activities. His conquests, control over numerous city-states and leadership of armies yielded a career that was well documented, but the details are yet obscured. It is known that King Croc's tribe was wiped out, but not when or by whom. It is known that the Warmind that first attempted to control Rednaw is now dead. Many questions remain unanswered, but what we do know is that Rednaw has only started his conquest of the kingdoms.


Build:
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features
1|Half-Giant LA=1|||||||Giant Type, +2 Str, -2 Dex, +2 Con, Medium size, Low-light vision, Fire acclimated, Powerful build, Naturally Psionic, PLA Stomp 1/dy
2|Half-Ogre LA=2|||||||+4 str, +2 con, -2 int, -2 con, +2 nat armor, 60' darkvision, +10' move, Large Size w/ increased ability scores (+8 str, -2 dex, +2 con, +3 nat armor)
3|Paladin 1|+1|+2|+0|+0|Psicraft 2, Know(Psionics) 2, Know(History) 2|Education(History, Psionic)|Aura of evil, detect good, smite good 1/day
4|Paladin 2|+2|+3|+0|+0|Know(Psionics) 4||Divine Grace, Deadly Touch
5|Paladin 3|+3|+3|+1|+1|Know(Psionics) 6|Serenity|Aura of Despair, Divine Health
6|Paladin 4|+4|+4|+1|+1|Know(Psionics) 7, Concentration 1|Power Attack|Rebuke Undead, +1 Str
7|Paladin 5|+5|+4|+1|+1|Know(Psionics) 8, Concentration 2||Smite good 2/day, Stand Fast
8|Warmind 1|+6|+6|+3|+1|Psicraft 4|Awesome Smite|Chain of personal superiority +2
7|LA Buyoff (LA=1)
8|Lycanthrope Template LA=2|||||||+2 Wis,+2 Natural Armor, Alternate form (Giant Crocodile), low-light vision, shapechanger subtype, Lycanthrope feat (Alertness)
9|Lycanthrope Template LA=3|||||||Alternate form (Hybrid), Crocodile empathy, damage reduction (5/silver), Scent, Lycanthrope feat (Iron Will)
10|Crocodile HD 1|+6|+8|+5|+1|Control Shape 2||+2 Str, Swim 30'
11|Crocodile HD 2|+7|+9|+6|+1|Control Shape 4||+2 Str, +2 Con, Hold Breath, +1 Str
12|Crocodile HD 3|+8|+9|+6|+2|Control Shape 8|Practiced Manifester(Warmind)|+2 Str, Lycanthrope Feat(Skill Focus (Hide))
11|LA Buyoff (LA=2)
12|Crocodile HD 4|+9|+10|+7|+2|Control Shape 10||+2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con
13|Crocodile HD 5|+9|+10|+7|+2|Control Shape 12||+2 Str, Improved Grab
14|Crocodile HD 6|+10|+11|+8|+3|Control Shape 14|Destruction Devotion|+2 Str, +2 Con, Lycanthrope Feat(Endurance), +1 Str
15|Crocodile HD 7|+11|+11|+8|+3|Control Shape 16||+4 Str, +2 Con
16|Warmind 2|+12|+12|+9|+3|Psicraft 5, Autohypnosis 1|||Chain of defensive posture +2
17|Warmind 3|+13|+12|+9|+4|Control Shape 18|Cleave|Enduring body (DR 1/—)
16|LA Buyoff (LA=1)
17|Warmind 4|+14|+13|+10|+4|Control Shape 19, Autohypnosis 2||Sweeping strike, +1 Str
18|Warmind 5|+15|+13|+10|+4|Control Shape 20, Autohypnosis 3||
19|Warmind 6|+16|+14|+11|+5|Control Shape 21, Autohypnosis 4|Extra Smiting|Enduring body (DR 2/—)
20|Warmind 7|+17|+14|+11|+5|Control Shape 22, Autohypnosis 5||Chain of personal superiority +4[/table]


Psionics:
{table=head]Hit Dice|Power Points|Effective Manifester Level|Powers Known
1-5|2|0|
6|4*|1|Expansion
7|4*|1|Expansion
8|4*|1|Expansion
9|4*|5|Expansion
10|4*|5|Expansion
11|4*|5|Expansion
12|4*|5|Expansion
13|4*|5|Expansion
14|7*|6|Expansion, Call Weaponry
15|11*|7|Expansion, Call Weaponry
16|16*|8|Expansion, Call Weaponry, Hustle
17|22*|9|Expansion, Call Weaponry, Hustle
18|30*|10|Expansion, Call Weaponry, Hustle, Vampiric Blade
19|39*|11|Expansion, Call Weaponry, Hustle, Vampiric Blade[/table]
* Not counting bonus PP from Wisdom


Equipment:
In order of priority:
Greatword +5, cold iron ~50k
Platemail +5 ~25k
Cloak of Resistance +5 ~25k
Animated Heavy Shield +3 ~25k
Belt of Giant Strength +6 ~36k
Periapt of Wisdom +6 ~36k
Ring of Protection +5 ~50k
Manual of Gainful Exercise +4 ~110k
Boots of Speed ~10k
Total: 367 k (or about 1/2 standard WBL)


Notes:
There are several interesting pieces to this build.
The Master Swordsman archetype I was aiming for was the guy wielding the ridiculously large sword. After a bit, I decided that making the swordsman ridiculously large was also appropriate, since effectively wielding a weapon that's 2 size categories larger than you literally requires an Epic feat - although getting EFFECTIVE size increases is easier, it's the visual of the actual sword being huge that I was after. To this end, I had to jump through a few specific hoops.

First is the race. Originally, it started out as a Goliath Half-Ogre, and the Half-Ogre was there to turn the Goliath - a monstrous humanoid which cannot get lycanthropy - into a Giant, which can. Once I'd decided to go with Warmind as the main prestige class, it became readily apparent that Half-Giant was a far superior race - not needing to spend a feat or class levels to get that PP pool made it worthwhile right there. However, I'd already decided on Giant Crocodile lycanthropy, which required a large size creature (and Powerful Build woudn't count for that) so I kept the Half-Ogre template, even if I didn't care for its provenance - Dragon Magazine is a legal source, after all. While I think that Half-Giant/Half-Ogre is quite flavorful and interesting, at just +2 LA, it is kind of cheesy. It can be replaced by any race/class combo that leaves you large size and humanoid or giant - though there aren't many of those.

Next, in order to keep to just Paladin (since fighter just didn't seem appropriate and Warblade is overdone) and Warmind (which gets the vital Expansion power and is the only Psionic class with full BAB), I needed some way of making Knowledge(Psionic) a class skill, or else all the character's skill points would be going towards an otherwise useless cross-class skill. Thus, the Education feat, useful in lots of different builds. Since it's published in 3 seperate source books (Player's guide to Faerun as a regional feat, which would change initial skill allocations slightly, Eberron Campaign Setting as a 1st level only feat, and Ghostwalk which only has fluff requirements), it's pretty easily accepted.

There are few other things from somewhat obscure sources, like Stand Fast from the Cityscape web enhancement - a nice ability that trades a paladin's mount for the ability to boost his allies' saving throws and his resist-combat-maneuver rolls by his divine grace modifier (wisdom based, thanks to serenity feat), and the Serenity feat itself which is from the Dragon Magazine Compendium. However, none of these is really key to the character, and the only two vital features from sources outside the SRD are explained above.

Warmind 7 is the last level that gets only 3rd level psionic powers - which is mostly coincidence, since Warmind entry is as early as possible, and all possible levels are taken. However, it works out nicely for this particular build. And since Warmind gets very few psionic powers at all, that really emphasizes the 'sword arts' aspect of the class, generally only needing a single action (or in a crunch a swift action) to buff before a fight.

The Lycanthrope template, and Giant Crocodile progression are adapted from the Werewolf Savage Progression on the WoTC website here. Just replace the Werewolf Lord (Dire Wolf Lycanthrope) with 7 HD of Giant Croc, and change out the feats associated with Werewolf lycanthropy with those you get from Werecroc lycanthropy, and you get the progressions I used. If you prefer, you can just put "+2 LA, 7 animal HD" in place of the progression, with the associated skill points, feats and ability modifiers listed all applied at once - which is effectively unplayable in a game, which is why I wrote it as I did.

Finally, the whole point of the build is to be a Colossal Swordsman, wielding a Gargantuan Sword. And I mean that literally - once he gets Hybrid form, he literally becomes a Huge size Crocodile-Man (as an Ogre/Giant half-breed, this may or may not be uglier than normal) and maintains that form whenever possible. With his Control Shape skill getting maxed out and being wisdom based, he's got a good chance at that. Even in Crocodile form he's extremely dangerous, though, since he becomes a nasty grappling monster. And since he keeps his Powerful Build trait in hybrid form and can use Expansion to grow 2 size categories to Colossal, he gets to wield a Colossal+ (one size category larger than Colossal) Greatsword. Since a two-handed weapon is generally considered to be an item 2 size categories smaller than its wielder, that means the weapon itself is as large as a Gargantuan creature - so it's a sword the size of a Roc or Kraken.

PS: 1 Internet to the first person who figures out Rednaw's name. Here's a hint: Shadow of the...


The Sweet Spot:
There are a couple of really good points for this build. ECL 7, just after the first LA buyoff is quite nice, since you've got +6 BAB, a ridiculous strength score for your level, Large Size by default, wielding a Huge Greatsword (4d6 base damage), the Expansion power usable 4/day, and Awesome Smite. Between these things, you're a total murder machine - appropriate enough for a Paladin of Tyranny.
At ECL 15, which is just post-lycanthropy (either through progression or with the whole LA/HD package dumped on you), you're just fricken scary. Your default size is now Huge (hybrid form), with a truly ridiculous strength score (~55 at this point, unless you've managed to get an inherent bonus somehow), the Destruction Devotion feat allowing you to basically swing your sword through inconveniently placed trees or walls that get in the way of killing your enemies - which you can use Rebuke attempts to power as well, and of course your +11 BAB is ideal for a 3-power attack-combo of death.
However, I'm going to focus on ECL 19 (18 HD, +1 LA) as the real sweet spot, because at that point you're getting all the goodies.

Rednaw, the Tyrant of Hextor
Size/Type: Huge Giant (Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 7d8+11d10+162 (259 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 39 (10-2 size +1 dex +7 natural +8 armor +5 enhancement +5 deflection +5 shield)
BAB/Grapple: +16/+49
Attack: +46 Greatsword (6d6+42)
Full Attack: +46/+41/+36/+31 Greatsword (6d6+42)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved Grab, Stomp 1/day, Smite Good 4/day, Deadly Touch, Rebuke Undead, Sweeping Strike, Psionics, Chain or Personal Superiority +2, Chain of Defensive Posture +2
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, Darkvision 60 ft, Scent, DR 5/Silver, DR 2/-, Fire Acclimated, Powerful Build, Naturally Psionic, Aura of Evil, Divine Grace, Divine Health, Aura of Despair, Stand Fast, Alternate Form (Giant Crocodile), Alternate Form (Hybrid), Hold Breath, Crocodile Empathy
Saves: Fort +32, Ref +23, Will +24
Abilities: Str 60, Dex 12, Con 28, Int 10, Wis 22, Cha 6
Skills: Autohypnosis +11, Climb +20, Concentration +11, Control Shape +27, Knowledge (Psionics) +9, Knowledge (History) +3, Psicraft +5, Swim +28
Feats: Education, Serenity, Power Attack, Awesome Smite, Practiced Manifester, Destruction Devotion, Cleave, Extra Smiting
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Level Adjustment: +1
Psionics:
Power Points: 48
Powers Known: Expansion, Call Weapon, Hustle, Vampiric Blade
Manifester Level: 10


Sources:
Education feat - Eberron Campaign Setting
Half-Ogre template - Dragon 313
Serenity feat - Dragon Compendium
Awesome Smite feat, Destruction Devotion feat - Complete Champion
Extra Smiting - Complete Divine
Practiced Manifester - Complete Psionic
Stand Fast - Cityscape web enhancement
SRD - Everything else

2nd Place Chiir-tin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15689569&postcount=86)

[geonova]

i might actually enter this one, don't expect much from me though

[Irk]

sorry, I'm new, do we just PM you the build?

[Vknight]

Yes the build is pmed to me before the end of the Cooking Time
And then the judges have 2 weeks to judge on the builds entered

[WhamBamSam]

Argh... I have a build I'd really like to submit, but instead of just being a half-[redacted], the other half is also [redacted]. Well, I'll give it some thought. Are we doing true LA buyoff this time or is it LA-3 like in the past few challenges?

[Vknight]

Same LA as always to be fair to those that take the LA +4 or a race with LA

Also glad too hear it was a toss up between

[Redacted]
[Redacted]
and [Redacted]
for what I wanted to as chairman put up next but still have it be appealing

[Razanir]

One problem– August 20th is a Tuesday, not a Friday. So is the deadline Tuesday August 20th, or Friday August 23rd?

EDIT: Oh, and is Leadership and similar allowed?

[Vknight]

One problem– August 20th is a Tuesday, not a Friday. So is the deadline Tuesday August 20th, or Friday August 23rd?

EDIT: Oh, and is Leadership and similar allowed?

One its 2 weeks and 1 day after I put up the post.
And no no it is not
Please look between

Spell Code
&
So What is Our Challenge

It is banned unless noted for that challenge

[Feilith]

So for the LA buyoff we can have a level 20 build but have an additional ECL +3 on top of it? I'm thinking of a build and i just wanna make sure I understand how it is this rule works

So we could make a lv 20 build with the half dragon template but since its +3 theres no more other templates/racial LA?

[Razanir]

One its 2 weeks and 1 day after I put up the post.
And no no it is not
Please look between

Okay... So it is due by the 20th. In which case you still need to edit the OP, because that's a Tuesday, not a Friday

[WhamBamSam]

Same LA as always to be fair to those that take the LA +4 or a race with LA.If that's going to be a pattern for this challenge you might want to edit the first post accordingly so it doesn't become a question every time. So something like...

In lieu of standard LA buyoff rules, for the purposes of this challenge you may assume that the total LA of your build is reduced by n to a minimum of LA+0.

With n=3 in this particular case.


Anyway, with 3 knocked off of my LA, I guess I could still pull off the same trick or a similar one with a half-[redacted] instead of a full blooded-[redacted]. It would get into some stinky known cheese though.

So yeah. I'm torn between submitting an absolute cheese fondue of a joke build or going back to the drawing board on this one. Maybe I'll end up doing both and make multiple submissions, or maybe I'll judge again. We'll see.

[Deadline]

Looks like I'll have to sit this one out. The inspiration just isn't striking on this concept. Good luck to the Chefs!

[Vknight]

If that's going to be a pattern for this challenge you might want to edit the first post accordingly so it doesn't become a question every time. So something like...

In lieu of standard LA buyoff rules, for the purposes of this challenge you may assume that the total LA of your build is reduced by n to a minimum of LA+0.

With n=3 in this particular case.


Anyway, with 3 knocked off of my LA, I guess I could still pull off the same trick or a similar one with a half-[redacted] instead of a full blooded-[redacted]. It would get into some stinky known cheese though.

So yeah. I'm torn between submitting an absolute cheese fondue of a joke build or going back to the drawing board on this one. Maybe I'll end up doing both and make multiple submissions, or maybe I'll judge again. We'll see.

Yeah I'll edit that in for the next challenge
The basic idea is that instead of normal LA, depending on the challenge players are given N in LA that has been reduced off.
And in every other way your character is a standard 20th level character

Also sad to hear that Deadline

[dysprosium]

An idea is forming for this one.

Now real life is going to have to behave in order for me to get that idea into a workable build . . .

[BornValyrian]

I've got an idea for this one, maybe I'll try it. Just a question: with this divine connection, are we restricted to d&d deities? No real difference just fluff.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Looks like I'll have to sit this one out. The inspiration just isn't striking on this concept. Good luck to the Chefs!

But, but... who will get 4th place?:smalltongue:

I've got an idea or two for this one - what was the consensus on multiple applications, again?

[Deadline]

But, but... who will get 4th place?:smalltongue:

:smalltongue:

Maybe there will only be three entries?

[Vknight]

Both not allowed and allowed.
Simplest way of putting it.

Long way of putting it
You can make multiple builds. Then decide which gets judged and your other build get posted up and noted as a secondary build.
The second build can win most unexpected build but can't win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place on the rest of the challenge
Judges are free to grade both builds but only need to grade the primary build and nothing else

Just as long as its a deity and a connection then it works.

[Razanir]

Am I allowed to use arcane magic, but fluff it as divine? I have a creative idea, but if I actually used divine magic, it'd take a hit to power.

[Vknight]

Am I allowed to use arcane magic, but fluff it as divine? I have a creative idea, but if I actually used divine magic, it'd take a hit to power.

Nope!
It is a class that uses divine power.
So divine casting, monk, divine mind and other similar things

That defeats the purpose of the challenge

[Kuulvheysoon]

Am I allowed to use arcane magic, but fluff it as divine? I have a creative idea, but if I actually used divine magic, it'd take a hit to power.


Nope!
It is a class that uses divine power.
So divine casting, monk, divine mind and other similar things

That defeats the purpose of the challenge

Southern Magic/Alternate Spell Source abuse time?:smallwink:

[Razanir]

Southern Magic/Alternate Spell Source abuse time?:smallwink:

Nope. Need to rethink my feat selection. One of them hinged on arcane magic.

[nedz]

Builds usually depend on timing for things like feat acquisition etc. which begs the question: when do we apply the LA buy off ?

[Razanir]

Builds usually depend on timing for things like feat acquisition etc. which begs the question: when do we apply the LA buy off ?

I've been under the impression that we just completely ignore 3 points of LA. It's not bought off; it just doesn't exist.

[Vknight]

Basically that is how I've been saying and people have been treating it the last few challenges

[kestrel404]

I prefer a slightly more realistic approach to LA Buyoff (see Rednaw above), but that's just personal preference. Unless you've got an applied template that your character gains part-way through the build (again, see Rednaw), you're probably just going to have some amount of LA to start with, reduced by the LA buyoff noted above.

Of course, this seems like a good competition to use the Saint template, even if it is ridiculously powerful.

[WhamBamSam]

Guh. Having some serious trouble with this one. All of my ideas have wound up either being too cheesy to seriously go through with, or untenable due to a creature which I thought had LA+4 actually having LA--. I'm probably going to judge again.

[Feilith]

Just curious here. Half celestial is one of the requirements but its LA is +4 which is already over the buyoff for this challenge. Was that intentional or do you mean something other than the half celestial template when you said half celeatial?

[kestrel404]

Just curious here. Half celestial is one of the requirements but its LA is +4 which is already over the buyoff for this challenge. Was that intentional or do you mean something other than the half celestial template when you said half celeatial?

Well the options are Half-Fiend (LA +4), Half-Celestial (LA +4) and Half-Dragon (LA +3).

If the LA Buyoff for the competition was 4, then anyone taking the Half-Dragon template with no additional LA from other templates or races (not inconceivable, since most of those would entail an elegance penalty from some judges, and could hurt the flavor of the build otherwise), then the Half-Dragon would be the 'weak' option.

This way, all the options are relatively balanced - Half-Fiend and Half-Celestial are (supposedly) better templates, and as such they cost 1 more LA than half-dragon.

But that's just the way I see it.

[Feilith]

Makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up

[Vknight]

We have one week until everything closes up for builds. Anyone else interested in judging, or joining up on the Scrap-Iron circuit?

[dysprosium]

Any updates?

[Vknight]

Any updates?

No no updates.
Just the one build,

Kuulvheysoon's build wins. I'll post it in a bit just, it was only 1 build...:smallsigh::smallfrown:

[Kuulvheysoon]

No no updates.
Just the one build,

Kuulvheysoon's build wins. I'll post it in a bit just, it was only 1 build...:smallsigh::smallfrown:

...Wait, I win by default? Is it right to feel... cheated?

[kestrel404]

I might have submitted a build if I'd had more free time, but this one just didn't seem as interesting as the last.

You can get a LOT of variation out of the Lycanthrope template.

[dysprosium]

I had less free time than I thought as well or I would have entered too.

I feel bad know that I didn't enter.

Congrats Kuul!

[WhamBamSam]

No no updates.
Just the one build,

Kuulvheysoon's build wins. I'll post it in a bit just, it was only 1 build...:smallsigh::smallfrown:

...Wait, I win by default? Is it right to feel... cheated?Now I feel bad about not submitting my cheese build. I can still score your submission for you if you'd like, since I said I'd judge.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Now I feel bad about not submitting my cheese build. I can still score your submission for you if you'd like, since I said I'd judge.

That'd be awesome of you.

[Vknight]

That'd be awesome of you.

And you can see why I just just mood whiplash.
I'll post it or you can post it up in the next few minutes

[Kuulvheysoon]

And you can see why I just just mood whiplash.
I'll post it or you can post it up in the next few minutes

You might as well do it - give it some semblance of officialism.

[Vknight]

Zolis Sepret

BackgroundZolis was born to an High Priest serving Anhur by an Eladrin Lord. Early in her education, she was apprioached by one of her father's vassals and offered the chance to channel Anhur's ba, his raw divine power, in addition to being granted mere spells. After she agreed, she found that she could channel blasts of pure energy, and shatter objects with but a mere utterance.

As her power developed, so did her faith. She eventually swore an oath in front of the gathered clergy to forsake material wealth, and would donate all accumulated wealth to a fund helping Mulhorandi war-orphans.
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

|LA +1|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+0|N/A|N/A|N/A

1st|Cloistered Cleric 1|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+2|Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (arcana) 4, Knowledge (history) 4, Knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (the planes) 4, Spellcraft 4|Knowledge DevotionB, Magic in the Blood, Sacred Vow|Divine restoration, lore, spontaneous domain casting (War), turn undead

2nd|Warlock 1|
+0|
+2|
+0|
+4|Concentration 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Spellcraft 5||Eldritch blast 1d6, invocations (least)

3rd|Warlock 2|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+5|Concentration 6, Knowledge (religion) 6, Knowledge (the planes) 6, Spellcraft 5|Worldly Focus|Detect magic

4th|Cloistered Cleric 2|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+7|Concentration 7, Knowledge (arcana) 6, Knowledge (religion) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 7, Spellcraft 7, Collector of StoriesSK||

5th|Cloistered Cleric 3|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+8|Concentration 8, Diplomacy 5, Heal 5, Knowledge (arcana) 8, Knowledge (religion) 8, Knowledge (the planes) 8, Spellcraft 8||

6th|Eldritch Disciple 1|
+2|
+5|
+1|
+8|Concentration 9, Knowledge (arcana) 9, Knowledge (religion) 9, Knowledge (the planes) 9, Spellcraft 9|Nymph's KissE, Vow of Poverty|Eldritch blast 2d6, gift of the divine patron (healing blast), turn undead stacking

7th|Eldritch Disciple 2|
+3|
+6|
+1|
+9|Concentration 10, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (religion) 10, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Spellcraft 10||

8th|Eldritch Disciple 3|
+4|
+6|
+1|
+9|Concentration 11, Knowledge (arcana) 11, Knowledge (religion) 11, Knowledge (the planes) 11, Spellcraft 11|Exalted SRE|Eldritch blast 3d6

9th|Eldritch Disciple 4|
+5|
+7|
+2|
+10|Concentration 12, Knowledge (arcana) 12, Knowledge (religion) 12, Knowledge (the planes) 12, Spellcraft 12|Power Attack|Gift of the divine patron (Wild frenzy), invocations (least or lesser)

10th|Eldritch Disciple 5|
+5|
+7|
+2|
+10|Concentration 13, Knowledge (arcana) 13, Knowledge (religion) 13, Knowledge (the planes) 13, Spellcraft 13|Nimbus of LightE|Eldritch blast 4d6, eldritch spellweave

11th|Eldritch Disciple 6|
+6/+1|
+8|
+2|
+11|Concentration 14, Knowledge (arcana) 14, Knowledge (religion) 14, Knowledge (the planes) 14, Spellcraft 14||

12th|Eldritch Disciple 7|
+7/+2|
+8|
+3|
+11|Concentration 15, Knowledge (arcana) 15, Knowledge (religion) 15, Knowledge (the planes) 15, Spellcraft 15|Holy RadianceE, Holy Warrior|Eldritch blast 5d6, gift of the divine patron (damage reduction)

13th|Eldritch Disciple 8|
+8/+3|
+9|
+3|
+12|Concentration 16, Knowledge (arcana) 16, Knowledge (religion) 16, Knowledge (the planes) 16, Spellcraft 16||

14th|Eldritch Disciple 9|
+8/+3|
+9|
+3|
+12|Concentration 17, Knowledge (arcana) 17, Knowledge (religion) 17, Knowledge (the planes) 17, Spellcraft 17|Sanctify WeaponE|Eldritch blast 6d6, invocations (least, lesser or greater)

15th|Eldritch Disciple 10|
+9/+4|
+10|
+4|
+13|Concentration 18, Knowledge (arcana) 18, Knowledge (religion) 18, Knowledge (the planes) 18, Spellcraft 18|Ability Focus (Eldritch blast)|Gift of the divine patron (corrupting blast), timeless body

16th|Warlock 3|
+10/+5|
+11|
+5|
+13|Concentration 19, Knowledge (arcana) 19, Knowledge (religion) 19, Knowledge (the planes) 19, Spellcraft 19|Knight of StarsE|Damage reduction 1/cold iron

17th|Warlock 4|
+11/+6/+1|
+11|
+5|
+14|Concentration 20, Knowledge (arcana) 20, Knowledge (religion) 20, Knowledge (the planes) 20, Spellcraft 20||Deceive item, eldritch blast 7d6

18th|Warlock 5|
+11/+6/+1|
+11|
+5|
+14|Concentration 21, Knowledge (arcana) 21, Knowledge (religion) 21, Knowledge (the planes) 21, Spellcraft 21|Practiced Spellcaster (Cleric), Touch of Golden IceE|

19th|Contemplative 1|
+11/+6/+1|
+11|
+5|
+16|Concentration 22, Knowledge (religion) 22, Knowledge (the planes) 22, Spellcraft 22||Bonus domain (Strength), divine health[/table]*Note: the E tag stands for Bonus Exalted Feat.
**Note: the SK tag stands for Skill Trick

General InformationCG female half-celestial human (Mulhorandi) Cloistered Cleric 3/Warlock 5/Eldritch Disciple 10/Contemplative 1

Ability Scores -
Point-buy (32): STR 12, DEX 9, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 15, CHA 16

After Racial Modifiers (Half-Celestial): STR 16, DEX 11, CON 16, INT 12, WIS 19, CHA 20

After VoP Ability boosts (enhancement) and level-up (inherent): STR 18, DEX 11, CON 20, INT 12, WIS 28, CHA 30

SpellsSpells per day (Domains: War [able to cast spontaneously] and Storm, as well as Strength [@ ECL20])
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th

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

2nd|3|1+d|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|3|1+d|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|4|2+d|-|-|-|-|-|-

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

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

7th|5|3+d|2+d|-|-|-|-|-

8th|5|3+d|2+d|1+d|-|-|-|-

9th|5|3+d|3+d|2+d|-|-|-|-

10th|6|4+d|3+d|2+d|1+d|-|-|-

11th|6|4+d|3+d|3+d|2+d|-|-|-

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

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

14th|6|5+d|4+d|4+d|3+d|2+d|1+d|-

15th|6|5+d|4+d|4+d|3+d|3+d|2+d|-

16th|6|5+d|4+d|4+d|3+d|3+d|2+d|-

17th|6|5+d|4+d|4+d|3+d|3+d|2+d|-

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

19th|6|5+d|5+d|4+d|4+d|3+d|2+d|1+d[/table]*Note: Not accounting for bonus spells due to a high Wisdom score
**Note: You give up the War domain's granted ability (proficiency and WF in Anhur's favored weapon for the divine restoration ACF)

Invocations knownLeast, Lesser and Greater
Baleful Utterance Eldritch Glaive Dark One's Own Luck
Eldritch Chain Voracious Dispelling Voidsense
Chilling Tentacles Incarnum Blast Vitrolic Blast

Playing ZolisYes, you read that right. Vow of Poverty. She can mitigate some of the worst parts about it - she's already got as pretty decent fly speed for mobility, eldritch glaive gives her a fairly solid weapon, and 13th level cleric casting helps patch up the rest. It's mainly a flavor choice - the image of the (holy) divine warrior forsaking material possessions to trust fully in her god.

Low levels (ECL 2-7)You're a Cloistered Cleric/Warlock multi-class. these are the levels in which you've got to be most careful. Using flight+eldritch blast is a very good idea here, as you don't have the pure buffing ability to make yourself able to stand to-to-toe in melee. You can still use items, so abuse the hell out of scrolls and potions - you're going to have to do without pretty damned soon. Magic in the blood was actually one of the bases for this build - every racial SLA that you could use 1/day now gets changed to 3/day. Oh yeah, I think that you can see where I'm going with this.
Mid levels (ECL 8-15)Now we're getting somewhere. You retroactively pick up the lower level VoP benefits (minus the bonus feats), and you finally start getting some offensive racial SLAs (holy smite, dispel evil, holy word) and you've got enough caster levels tucked under your non-valuable cloth belt to start buffing yourself and jumping into combat with eldritch glaive. she's best against the stereotypical foes of the holy - undead, demons and evil spellcasters (and their golem minions) thanks to Knowledge Devotion/Collector of Stories. You're also a minor healer with healing blast and eldritch glaive.
Late levels (ECL 16-20)You've hit your full potential. You'll miss out on Exalted Strike +5, energy resistance 15 and a final exalted feat due to her Half-Celestial LA, but you're happy regardless, as your eldritch glaive has a +16 bonus to base damage: +5 (insight, assuming average rolls and facing something that Knowledge Devotion is applicable to) +7 (unnamed, Holy Warrior feat assuming you have at least 1 7th level slot remaining) +4 (enhancement from Exalted Strike), in addition to double your PA penalty (which should be pretty significant most of the time, as all of your attacks are touch attacks). Divine Power will be getting you to a BAB of 17 (with Practiced Spellcaster), giving you 4 attacks per round with it. You pick up your last SLA as a capstone - resurrection 3/day.

Sources UsedPlayer's Handbook
Unearthed Arcana
Complete Arcane
Complete Champion
Player's Guide to Faerun
Book of Exalted Deeds
Faiths of Eberron
Complete Mage
Dungeonscape
Player's Handbook 2
Magic of Incarnum
Monster Manual
Complete Divine

[dysprosium]

Wow! That's a great build.

The one I was working on was in the very beginning planning stages.

It was going to be a half oriental dragon spirit shaman taking its cues from the Celestial Emperor.

I just never got the time to get it off the ground. :smallmad:

[Deadline]

That is a pretty sweet build Kuulvheysoon.

I'd be happy to accept an honorary 4th place for this competition, if the chairman would allow it. :smallwink:

[Vknight]

That is a pretty sweet build Kuulvheysoon.

I'd be happy to accept an honorary 4th place for this competition, if the chairman would allow it. :smallwink:

Please it would make me feel better. Just have had a draining week

[WhamBamSam]

I'm keeping my cheese build mostly under wraps, but I will say that it involved being a LG half-dragon Phaerimm Hatchling. Yeah...

I also tried to make a build around the racial SLAs, but didn't know about the Magic in the Blood feat. If I had, Kuulvheysoon would have gotten a competitor to go up against, and possibly an evil opposite BBEG for Zolis to face in-campaign to boot.

Anyhow, judging. This is harder without anonymity or other builds to measure against, but on the other hand, I only had to do one.

Flavor: 4.25
Vow of Poverty and Cleric are thematically spot on. Warlock is a bit less so on its own, but the little backstory justifies it, so sure, this is a Divine Warrior through and through. (+1)

I'm really happy to see you going for synergy with the template SLAs. I'm a little disappointed that it really doesn't go much further than taking Magic in the Blood (as good a find as the feat is), but I'll go into that more in Power. A Warlock type is also a bit predictable in a SLA focused build. So some cool factor, but not as much as you could have earned (+0.5), and a slight deduction for being somewhat expected (-0.25).

Power: 4.25
You do indeed get around most of VoP's shortcomings, though you're probably still a touch short of where WBL could get you. You can move around effectively, and between your spells and SLAs you can do everything from melee, to blasting, to healing, to battlefield control. Your versatility is solid. (+0.5)

You're pretty good at what you do. You reach 7th level spells, can keep your racial SLAs going through the adventuring day, some invocations on top of that, and your Eldritch Glaive attacks are indeed solid. If you'd reached 9th level spells, could persist your buffs this would be higher. Another thing that could've improved your score here is Boost Spell-Like Ability. It's a 3/day Ability Focus for all of your SLAs, and with all the stuff Half-Celestial is giving you, it'd be a no-brainer except it's from BoVD and you're exalted good. Still, you're pretty powerful. (+0.75)

Elegance: 3.85
Your point buy is 29, not 32, but you seem to have gotten the stats you need even with the minor mistake (getting Half-Celestial for LA +1 will do that for you), so no penalty (0).

It's a dumb, dumb prerequisite, but Worldly Focus does need you to worship the Sovereign Host, and by your fluff and the fact that you're from Faerun, you don't. (-0.5)

The Contemplative dip feels tacked on. It's something I'd have done, but then again, I seriously considered submitting a Phaerimm to this competition, so yeah... Your progression is squeaky clean up to that point though, so do come out a little ahead. (+0.15)

You do use a T1 class. (0)

As I said, Magic in the Blood to get your Half-Celestial SLAs up to 3/day is really cool. You make the most of the divine connection. (+0.1)

You can heal the sick and thrice per day, you can raise the dead for free. That's doing something beyond standard murder-hoboing. (+0.1)

Human's aren't exactly unexpected for any god. (0)

{table=head]Build | Score | Chef | Place

Zolis Sepret | 12.35 | Kuulvheysoon | 1st
N/A |
- | N/A | 2nd
N/A |
- | N/A | 3rd
N/A |
- | Deadline | 4th[/table]

[Vknight]

The Next Scrap Iron will probably go up monday I need to think. Lots of Challenge ideas.... far too many. Hmmmm I almost want to do a poll and only release the Challenges name's and see what catches peoples eye

[Kuulvheysoon]

You're awesome, WhamBamSam.

And the reason I chose Human was the prerequisites for Magic in the Blood - it's pretty limited on who qualifies, and I needed a Chaotic deity for Eldritch Disciple. Anhur was the only god who was CG, geopolitically appropriate, and granted the War domain.

I was really, really tempted to pick up DMM: Persist and go around persisting summon holy symbol, but I couldn't quite fit the feats in. Worldly Focus was the back-up plan. I had the choice of either ignoring the fluff for that or Magic in the Blood.

...I can't believe I only used 29 points. My shame, she is great.

I'll have to keep that Boost SLA feat in mind - does it have an alignment prerequisite?

[Amphetryon]

Congratulations to Deadline, on another 4th place finish!

[WhamBamSam]

You're awesome, WhamBamSam.I try.


And the reason I chose Human was the prerequisites for Magic in the Blood - it's pretty limited on who qualifies, and I needed a Chaotic deity for Eldritch Disciple. Anhur was the only god who was CG, geopolitically appropriate, and granted the War domain.Nothing against humans. I just couldn't give you the bonus for the "unexpected combination of race and deity" secondary challenge.


I was really, really tempted to pick up DMM: Persist and go around persisting summon holy symbol, but I couldn't quite fit the feats in. Worldly Focus was the back-up plan. I had the choice of either ignoring the fluff for that or Magic in the Blood.I'd allow Worldly Focus without the fluff requirement, but the same can't be said of some DMs or strict RAW, so it warranted a ding in elegance.


...I can't believe I only used 29 points. My shame, she is great.Heh. This is why I always, always use a point buy calculator. It's the one thing on which I'm unwilling to trust my own math.


I'll have to keep that Boost SLA feat in mind - does it have an alignment prerequisite?Nope. It's sort of weird that it'd show up in BoVD and nowhere else, but there you go.