Zinc Saucier XXIV: live another day

[dysprosium]

Welcome one and all to the twenty fourth Zinc Saucier challenge, where Playgrounders come to test their skill in the art of beautiful and bizarre (and bizarrely beautiful) builds, summoning a savory dish of superb swordplay and sublime sorcery.

The challenge? To come up with a build that has the same abilities and feel as the Secret Ingredient WITHOUT actually using it!

For the twenty fourth challenge, get ready to channel your inner Jack Bauer, from Complete Scoundrel it's the Psibond Agent

Our challengers will have about 2 weeks to build a complete build up to Effective Character Level 20 using a 32 point buy and all official WOTC D&D 3.5 materials (excluding Dragon Magazine, but including any WOTC online enhancements) with the abilities and feel of a Psibond Agent without actually using any levels in it.

Entries must be submitted by Monday, 11:59pm GMT, 19 May, 2014. As usual, please submit your entries via private message to the chairman, so as not to influence the other sauciers.

Judges will then have until Monday, 11:59pm GMT, 2 June, 2014, to post scores for all dishes.

Contestants will be judged and awarded a score out of 5 in each of 4 categories;

* Innovation (Uniqueness in character concept, race, class, etc)
* Power (How powerful and versatile it is compared to the base class)
* Elegance (What can only be described as how well the build "flows", i.e not using lots of 1-2lv dips, sacrificing flavour for power or using flaws)
* Ingredient (How well the build captures the abilities and feel of the base class)

Presentation would be best in the style of how the iron chef does their presentations, however any style is allowed so long as it is clear on how the build was made.

Recommended style:NAME OF ENTRY


Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


20th
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities



Code immediately below (spoiler).

Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


20th
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities


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


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
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


Code immediately below (spoiler)Spells per Day/Spells Known


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
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-



Please do not post details of your build on the board before it is ready, so as not to spoil the surprise for others.

Sauciers may submit as many builds as they want but please don't use Leadership, as we don't want to overfeed the judges.

Previous challenges;
Soulknife (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225187)
Bard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229736)
Monk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233749)
Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239294)
Barbarian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243627)
Warlock (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247169)
Paladin * (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252932)
Warblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=256004)
Pyrokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259654)
Ninja * (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263278)
Druid (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265347)
True Necromancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=276267)
Dervish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280212)
Whisperknife (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285337)
Epic Infiltrator * (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=289233)
Master of Vipers (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=295287)
Ranger * (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298478)
Flayerspawn Psychic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16076729#post16076729)
Totemist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16448992#post16448992)
Walker in the Waste (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=322436)
Drunken Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16879574#post16879574)
Cleric (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=333648)
Duskblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=339182)


* Classes marked with an asterisk have had their original posts updated to reflect the final results.

This competition is inspired by the Playground Iron Chef Competitions and uses mostly identical rules.

Also it comes with double prize money. Why? Because we care!

Allez Sauciers!

[dysprosium]

A few administrative notes:

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.

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, may lose you points. Please note the following: 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.

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.

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). 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. Variant class features and variant character classes are espressly permitted. 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 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 I am 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.

How the heck do I even do this? Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to select a combination of race, templates, classes, alternate class features, prestige classes, skills, and feats, meld them into a single character that progresses from ECL 1 to ECL 20, that is as close as possible to the secret ingredient as possible in look, feel, class features. How you do it is up to you, I recommend you read previous competitions if you are interested in seeing how others have done it before you. Capture the essence!

A thread for your amusement/edification:

Handy Tips for the Iron Chef in the Playground Noob (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287603)

[Sian]

Given the issues surfacing last round I'd like a call from the Chair on using official adaptations, listed under the prestige class, in the same 'subchapter'. IMHO it should be counted as ACF but obviously some people disargee ... Chair opinion?

[Kazudo]

Dahaha I'll be likely passing on this one.

It was IC's 2nd episode, which I read profusely, and I wouldn't want to have any building I could do tainted by that competition. I realize that it's different, but you know.

[Curmudgeon]

I entered last round, so it's time to pay back: I'll judge this one.


Building a viable PC in accordance with the rules (of D&D, and of the contest) is the mission. If you want a good score from me, don't assume anything that's not specifically stated in the written rules. Here's how I'll judge illegal builds: If you fail to follow the rules, you'll be dinged for Elegance each time, and I'll reconsider the character after it's stripped of whatever was illegal. You may well get to a minimum score if significant parts of the character are invalid. (I'm not going to try to redo your build to make the illegal parts right and then judge my version of the character.) Failing to follow the rules may cause your build to fall apart. For instance, if you fail to meet the requirements to enter a prestige class, all the levels of that class you don't qualify for will have to be stripped out and you might be left with a build of just a few levels instead of the 20 you're supposed to have. If you choose to use a race which has no level adjustment listed for PCs you'll automatically receive a minimum score in all categories, with no further consideration of the character.

Dot your Ts and cross your Is, Sauciers! Errors can be embarrassing!


Innovation

Innovation is half (2.5 points) subjective, and half based on what the other competitors come up with. If you suprise me you're good for the subjective part, but if everyone surprises me with similar ingredients you'll all suffer. (It's probably a good idea to avoid dropping hints about your build elements.) Top marks come when you surprise me and also distinguish yourself from the competition.

Power

The challenge is to make the best version of the contest dish. Slightly better in all respects is perfectly acceptable; that's the ideal recipe. Much more powerful in any one aspect will lose you points, just as adding habanero peppers to a dish that calls for a little cayenne will ruin the meal. More powerful in many ways will send your score toward the minimum; you'll have made something quite zesty, but it won't be the right dish for the competition. You'll receive similar deductions if you fall significantly below the power of the target. If you rely on equipment for essential build elements, expect a deduction of up to .5 per item.

Elegance

Your job is to emulate a class. Coming as close as possible in all respects, including exact names and functions of class features and identical levels for those class features, will net you top marks for the execution of your recipe. Beyond that, a clean plating with all the relevant details explained and all sources cited will display your dish to best advantage. (If you've got details like build and hair color for your character, those had better be relevant to the dish; you can lose Elegance points for excess garnish by making me read more than a paragraph of "fluff" with no bearing on the contest criteria.) You'll also be dinged for anything which isn't legal, as noted above. Class dips may cost you in Elegance, but I won't deduct anything for intermixing your class levels to "season" the recipe. Using the provided tables, and tucking everything behind spoiler tags, makes for an elegant presentation. Dumping a wall of text is the equivalent of serving your meal in paper plates and jelly jars. But adding a section which explains how your entry satisfies each of the the Innovation, Power, Elegance, and Ingredient contest criteria will show your culinary skills to maximum effect.

Ingredient

This category is judged by how well you match the class features:

Psibond (forced sense link) .5
Psibond (nudge) .5
Psibond (empathy) .5
Lingering Psibond .5
Psibond (suggestion) .5
Double Psibond .5
Psibond (false sensory input) .5
Psibond (dominate) .5
Sneak Attack .7
BAB, saves, and everything else: .3
... adding up to 5 points.

Best wishes to all the Sauciers. :smallcool:

[Curmudgeon]

Given the issues surfacing last round I'd like a call from the Chair on using official adaptations, listed under the prestige class, in the same 'subchapter'. IMHO it should be counted as ACF but obviously some people disargee ... Chair opinion?
Adaptation
If your campaign doesn’t include psionics, you can readily adapt this prestige class to arcane magic. A group of enchanters can easily take the role of psibond agents, which requires only replacing the power point requirement with the ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells.
Here's my (obviously non-official) opinion.

This adaptation is predicated on a campaign which doesn't use psionics. The ZS contest criteria don't exclude psionics, so there's no reason to assume a non-psionic adaptation as the desired recipe. Naturally, every chef is free to go about emulating the same abilities and feel as the Psibond Agent in any way they see fit, including using magic (arcane, divine, or other) instead of psionics. Of course ZS judges share this freedom, too; they can either embrace or reject a non-psionic dish emulating a psionic Secret Ingredient.

[WhamBamSam]

Here's my (obviously non-official) opinion.

This adaptation is predicated on a campaign which doesn't use psionics. The ZS contest criteria don't exclude psionics, so there's no reason to assume a non-psionic adaptation as the desired recipe. Naturally, every chef is free to go about emulating the same abilities and feel as the Psibond Agent in any way they see fit, including using magic (arcane, divine, or other) instead of psionics. Of course ZS judges share this freedom, too; they can either embrace or reject a non-psionic dish emulating a psionic Secret Ingredient.I think he's referring to the use of adaptations like (just as an example) Unarmed Swordsage, rather than asking if he can emulate an arcane adaptation of the SI instead.

[Sian]

Here's my (obviously non-official) opinion.

This adaptation is predicated on a campaign which doesn't use psionics. The ZS contest criteria don't exclude psionics, so there's no reason to assume a non-psionic adaptation as the desired recipe. Naturally, every chef is free to go about emulating the same abilities and feel as the Psibond Agent in any way they see fit, including using magic (arcane, divine, or other) instead of psionics. Of course ZS judges share this freedom, too; they can either embrace or reject a non-psionic dish emulating a psionic Secret Ingredient.

Actually the question wasn't intended in that way

It was on general use of adapted prestige classes (or even base classes if they have such), in the build. As say as my character in the last one, where i picked Red Knight instead of Hextor/Heironeious, as the adaptation said that it was explicitly allowed if used in Forgotten Realms. Or adaptations saying that you can change this or that up (say, Unarmed Swordsage, even if its not a complete adaption).

Ninja'd ... As Whambamsam said

[Sian]

got 1½ good ideas for a build ... now to see if they even work :smalltongue:

[Svata]

I might make a dish. Nothing popping out atm, but I'm AFB, so I'll check when I get home.


And abilities and feel of a Duskblade? I swear, that copy-paste error happens every time!

[dysprosium]

And abilities and feel of a Duskblade? I swear, that copy-paste error happens every time!

You mean people read past the line with the ingredient?

[Humble Master]

I'll judge this one I think.

[Svata]

You mean people read past the line with the ingredient?

Of course, we have to see when its due.

[relytdan]

I am away from the book atm, I may build

[GreyBlack]

Oh, come on! This would be perfect for the Thrallherd! Ah well.

[Muggins]

Build speculation is bad and you should feel bad. :smallannoyed:

[GreyBlack]

Build speculation is bad and you should feel bad. :smallannoyed:

I'm pretty sure Thrallherd is banned under the Leadership clause. That's why I said it.

[Kazudo]

Thrallherd would be banned under the leadership clause, yes.

Which leads us to the question, is it still speculating if it's illegal to use?

Could I joke about gestalting this and that since gestalt is an alternate rule variant and illegal?

[GreyBlack]

Thrallherd would be banned under the leadership clause, yes.

Which leads us to the question, is it still speculating if it's illegal to use?

Could I joke about gestalting this and that since gestalt is an alternate rule variant and illegal?

Well, to me, speculating is trying to guess what everyone will run. If you can't run it, then it's not speculating. Does that make sense?

[Jurai]

Hurrah! My dish is in!

[Ikeren]

Judging Criterion:

I'll be judging. My explicit goal for judging this competition is to increase peoples enjoyment of this competition. My judging criterion is here. I might make a build anyways, and just not submit it, and spoilerblock it with my judging once I submit my judging. I find while I enjoy the building, the judging generally consistently reduces my enjoyment of the competition, and I suspect the same is true of other competitors, so I'll attempt to change that.


Originality: 5 points: Of these 5 points, approximately half will be in relation to other builds in the competition, and approximately half will be in relation to the canon of optimization. If the build is a gish, and I open the gish handbook, and your gish build is comprised of nothing but the best options from the handbook strung together, that's not a high originality score.

Fighter1/Wizard6/Spellsword1/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 7 is not original: something involving paladin/bard/sublime chord is slightly more original. Something involving suel aranachmech, runescarred berserker and fochlucan lyrist is very original.

But a challenge here is that sometimes original things will be less powerful; sometimes the best known options are best known because they are powerful. Look for balance here, or a way to put in a particularly clever or original twist on a traditional option. If your classic gish (above) goes fighter 2 dungeoncrasher + lockdown feats with a crusader dip and persisting repelling shield at high levels, that's more original.

Power: 5 points, of which, half the score is raw power and half the score is versatility. Raw power more or less follows tiers, with 2.5 = Tier 1, 2.0 = Tier 2, 1.5 = Tier 3, 1.0 = Tier 4, and 0.5 = Tier 5 or lower, with exceptions for things that can clearly remove enemy NPC's at a rate of 1+/round. Versatility applies to in combat options (melee, ranged, casting, defense, offenses) and out of combat (skills, social encounter spells, crafting, transport, movement minigames). A character with a lot of power in one trick (an uber-charger, say) would score high for raw power (2.0) but lower for versatility (0.5 or 1) for a score of 2.5 or 3.0/5.

Resemblence to Secret Ingredient: 5 points:
Gather Information 8 ranks:
Sense motive 4 ranks:
3 languages:
1 power point:
1d6 sneak attack by 10th level for "pre-requisites"
D6 hit dice:
6+ int skills on rogue list:
9.75/13ths BAB:
reflex save:
3d6 more sneak attack by 20th level for the prestige class, totalling +4d6.
Way to gain senses from others without consent, perfect score if as Supernatural Ability
Way to nudge choices without consent, perfect score if as Supernatural Ability
Bonuses to social skills and ways to detect surface emotions, perfect score if as Supernatural Ability
The ability to use suggestion lots as a swift action, perfect score if as Supernatural Ability
The ability to provide people with false sensory input, perfect score if as Supernatural Ability
The ability to use dominate monster, perfect score if as Supernatural Ability

Having all these will result in a perfect score here.


Elegence: Mostly I'm looking for debated rulings, excessive dipping (2 or 3 dips is expected. 4+, less so), dropping casting progressions part of the way through, dropping prestige classes or base classes at atypical points, using variant rules or systems together (impulse boots to qualify for evasion), and exceptionally common cheese. Expect me to be more lenient in this category than the average judge. You people seem to care excessively much about alignment shifts/refluffing/etcetera, especially for an optimization competition.

[Muggins]

Well, to me, speculating is trying to guess what everyone will run. If you can't run it, then it's not speculating. Does that make sense?
Sounds fair enough to me! I was mostly kidding, anyway. :smallredface:

I've got the fluff and breakdown of my build sorted out, which just leaves making the table. I'd complain about having to wait for the reveal, but I've got university assignments to occupy myself with. Oh, and I guess that everybody else needs time to make their dishes too. Otherwise it wouldn't be a competition!

[relytdan]

Judging Criterion:

I'll be judging. My explicit goal for judging this competition is to increase peoples enjoyment of this competition. My judging criterion is here. I might make a build anyways, and just not submit it, and spoilerblock it with my judging once I submit my judging. I find while I enjoy the building, the judging generally consistently reduces my enjoyment of the competition, and I suspect the same is true of other competitors, so I'll attempt to change that.


Originality: 5 points: Of these 5 points, approximately half will be in relation to other builds in the competition, and approximately half will be in relation to the canon of optimization. If the build is a gish, and I open the gish handbook, and your gish build is comprised of nothing but the best options from the handbook strung together, that's not a high originality score.

Fighter1/Wizard6/Spellsword1/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 7 is not original: something involving paladin/bard/sublime chord is slightly more original. Something involving suel aranachmech, runescarred berserker and fochlucan lyrist is very original.

But a challenge here is that sometimes original things will be less powerful; sometimes the best known options are best known because they are powerful. Look for balance here, or a way to put in a particularly clever or original twist on a traditional option. If your classic gish (above) goes fighter 2 dungeoncrasher + lockdown feats with a crusader dip and persisting repelling shield at high levels, that's more original.

Power: 5 points, of which, half the score is raw power and half the score is versatility. Raw power more or less follows tiers, with 2.5 = Tier 1, 2.0 = Tier 2, 1.5 = Tier 3, 1.0 = Tier 4, and 0.5 = Tier 5 or lower, with exceptions for things that can clearly remove enemy NPC's at a rate of 1+/round. Versatility applies to in combat options (melee, ranged, casting, defense, offenses) and out of combat (skills, social encounter spells, crafting, transport, movement minigames). A character with a lot of power in one trick (an uber-charger, say) would score high for raw power (2.0) but lower for versatility (0.5 or 1) for a score of 2.5 or 3.0/5.

Resemblence to Secret Ingredient: 5 points:
Gather Information 8 ranks:
Sense motive 4 ranks:
3 languages:
1 power point:
1d6 sneak attack:
D6 hit dice:
6+ int skills on rogue list:
7/10ths BAB:
reflex save:
Sneak attack 3d6:
Way to gain senses from others without consent:
Way to nudge choices without consent:
Bonuses to social skills and ways to detect surface emotions:
The ability to use suggestion lots as a swift action:
The ability to provide people with false sensory input:
The ability to use dominate monster:

Having all these will result in a perfect score here.


Elegence: Mostly I'm looking for debated rulings, excessive dipping (2 or 3 dips is expected. 4+, less so), dropping casting progressions part of the way through, dropping prestige classes or base classes at atypical points, using variant rules or systems together (impulse boots to qualify for evasion), and exceptionally common cheese. Expect me to be more lenient in this category than the average judge. You people seem to care excessively much about alignment shifts/refluffing/etcetera, especially for an optimization competition.


just would like to point out a few flaws in the metrics listed:
you list - 1d6 sneak attack: then list Sneak attack 3d6: - which do you want be specific.
7/10ths BAB is really a 15/20ths for a full build
Tier rating system for an SI that is possibly around a T4-5 level , this is something that should never be used as a metric in my opinion...

[Ikeren]

+1d6 is for the prerequisite, then the prestige class grants +3d6. Optimal scores will have 1d6 before 10th (for "entry" to the prestige class) and +4d6 by 20th.

I am equally capable of extrapolating from 3/4ths BAB, correct.

This SI is low powered. Expect low power scores. Do clever things to boost the power/versatility despite the SI you're mimicking? Get higher power scores. Pretty simple.

[Muggins]

1 power point
Huh? :smallconfused:

Edit:

This SI is low powered. Expect low power scores. Do clever things to boost the power/versatility despite the SI you're mimicking? Get higher power scores. Pretty simple.
I might just be a newcomer here, but going by the last contest and a few of the ones before it: don't people usually get penalised for being better than the class they're mimicking?

[Ikeren]

One power point is all the prestige class requires, isn't it? Or have I misread something? Having more than 1 power point might provide a power boost, if you do useful things with them, but having one is sufficient to mimic the prestige class.


don't people usually get penalised for being better than the class they're mimicking?

I perceive that to be silly for an optimization contest, if that is the status quo, it is a silly status quo that I won't be reinforcing in my judging. Other judges may, in which case, hope that they are clear in their judging criterion that they'll be penalizing people who's power level exceeds the SI, then choose who's judging to aim for.

[Muggins]

Well, it's just..

The challenge? To come up with a build that has the same abilities and feel as the Secret Ingredient WITHOUT actually using it!
...
Ingredient (How well the build captures the abilities and feel of the base class)
The point is to capture the abilities and feel of the secret ingredient, not its prerequisites. While I can understand the sneak attack progression, I fail to see why that singular psionic power point matters. The Psibond Agent doesn't even use psionics, it's just a magical diplomancer.

Also, what about all the Psibond abilities being Supernatural? That seems like an important thing. :smalltongue:

[Ikeren]

Any build that includes Psibond agent is going to feel marginally psionic --- indeed, it has "Psi" in it's name. A very similar build that perfectly mimics a Psibond Agent without using levels of it will feel similarly marginally psionic --- perhaps by having at least one power point :smallwink: ?


As for the supernatural abilities; good point. I'll add that in.

[Humble Master]

How I'm going to judge the builds for those entering the contest.


Innovation: This is based on what I would expect to see based on the SI (In the Duskblade round for instance I expected lots of Spellswords, Ordained Champions, Abjurant Champions ect.) and what the other contestants put forth. You also get points in this if you find some cool way to combine abilities (Like Wild Shaping into a monster that's a cloud of super-heated death gas and using Control Wind to blow yourself around at 300 MPH for flight).

Power: I judge this as power in relation to the SI. Basically, how powerful is you character compared to one that took 10 levels of the SI. If your character exceeds the power of the SI you'll get a higher score. A low score would be given to a character that is weaker than the SI. Power is also not limited to combat. An out of combat character that does really well at out of combat tasks is still powerful.

Ingredient: This score is based on two things. First, how many abilities of the SI you emulated. The emulations need not be perfect but they should achieve the same effect. Similar fluff for abilities will also get rewarded. I will be looking for emulation of things such as hit dice and skills as well. Getting the prerequisites of the SI would certainly not hurt either but I won't put a huge emphasis on it. Second, the feel of the SI. In other words, making a character that does similar stuff in a similar way. For Psibond Agent, that would be a character who is adept at subterfuge and spying with their mind-controlling powers.

Elegence: Things that will get you a hit to Elegence are lots of dips, flaws, anything that requires you spend GP to get it (Be it a service or magical items. The exception to the magic item rule is if your character can make the magical item themselves.), high levels of cheese or questionable rules interpretation. Finally, you will be penalized or rewarded based on how well the various class/feat choices work together in terms of flavor.

[Muggins]

Well, that's certainly a contrast. Now I'll have to choose which judge I want to appease.

That's how this works, isn't it?

[Humble Master]

Edit to my Judging Criteria:

Ingredient: I will be looking for emulation of things such as hit dice and skills. Getting the prerequisites of the SI would certainly not hurt but I won't put a huge emphasis on it.

[Curmudgeon]

Well, that's certainly a contrast. Now I'll have to choose which judge I want to appease.

That's how this works, isn't it?
Barring any constraints by the Chairman, that is how it works, I'm afraid. There are standard rules for contestants, but if a judge presents scores in the right range in each category they're really following all the rules which exist for them. Posting judging criteria ahead of time is optional. Changing your mind and ignoring your own posted criteria doesn't break any rules. Scoring every entry subjectively by "feel" is perfectly legal. Explanations for scores are not required. :smallsigh:

[Muggins]

Am I the only person who laughed at the sample character for the Psibond Agent?

Psion? Really? They were released alongside the Thrallherd, who can do everything better than the Agent - with manifesting progression. Geez.

[Virdish]

So looks like I'm submitting again though I'm really curious as to how the judges will rule on x emulating y. I think my write up should present a strong case but who knows. Stayed away from the fondue this time though.

[Ikeren]

Barring any constraints by the Chairman, that is how it works, I'm afraid. There are standard rules for contestants, but if a judge presents scores in the right range in each category they're really following all the rules which exist for them. Posting judging criteria ahead of time is optional. Changing your mind and ignoring your own posted criteria doesn't break any rules. Scoring every entry subjectively by "feel" is perfectly legal. Explanations for scores are not required.

I thought Muggins was being sarcastic, and that was what the blue text was for? Humble Master and I's criterion are basically identical, with the exception of me being marginally more interested in a power point than Humble Master.

[Curmudgeon]

I thought Muggins was being sarcastic, and that was what the blue text was for? Humble Master and I's criterion are basically identical, with the exception of me being marginally more interested in a power point than Humble Master.
You're not the only judges this round.

[Ikeren]

Ah, I got confused and thought you were judging something else --- had to go back and check which thread is which. Now I see what Muggins is referring to where Humble Master and I are judging power differently from the way you are.

[dysprosium]

I know it's been a while.

So how are the Sauciers doing?

[Jurai]

Sent mine in.

[Muggins]

Alright, my build is done and dusted. :smallamused:

[Sian]

Completely forgot to finish by builds, and sad to say, but the new IC is speaking even more to me ... going to post my stubs when the characters are uploaded through.

[dysprosium]

There still is some time left to get entries in for those who are interested.

I have three so far which is not too bad considering the ingredient.

[Muggins]

That's fewer than 7 hours left. The time just flies, huh?

[relytdan]

There still is some time left to get entries in for those who are interested.

I have three so far which is not too bad considering the ingredient.

only 3 huh - and it looks as if time is up - 12:13 AM Tuesday, May 20, 2014

[dysprosium]

I really need a more reliable internet connection for my home . . .

Here is the reveal for this round. You guys know the drill--please don't post until the all clear.

[dysprosium]

It runs in the family.


Amalie Mindcrusher
Lawful Evil Human Telepath 5/Thrallherd 9/ Psionic Mindbender 6
Base: Str 12, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 12
Levels: Str 12, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 21, Wis 14, Cha 12
Items: Str 12, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 27, Wis 14, Cha 12

Born to spies, Amalie was a natural Telepath, with a focus for making think what she wanted them to. So her nation, an ancient and mighty kingdom, sent her out to spy on and influence a court. She became amazingly talented diplomat quickly. Then her nation sent her orders: Bring it down. She 'hired' assassins to attempt to assassinate the king. what they did not know was that this mission was a trap, and when they arrived, they were defeated by the guard. She used this to influence the King to give her emergency powers. With this, she started expanding her powers, and when the king threatened her, used them to execute the king as a traitor to his nation, and she assumed the throne as the Obsidian Regent. Now, she leads her Kingdom for the glory of her homeland.



Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features


1st
Psion 1 (Telepath)
+0
+0
+0
+2
Diplomacy 4 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 4 ranks, Bluff 4 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks
Inquisitor, Martial Study (Clinging Shadow Strike)
Psicrystal (Friendly)


2nd
Psion 2
+1
+0
+0
+3
Diplomacy 5 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 5 ranks, Bluff 5 ranks, Sense Motive 5 ranks, Intimidate 5 ranks
--
--


3rd
Psion 3
+1
+1
+1
+3
Diplomacy 6 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 6 ranks, Bluff 6 ranks, Sense Motive 6 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks
Practiced Manifester (Psion)
--


4th
Psion 4
+2
+1
+1
+4
Diplomacy 7 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 7 ranks, Bluff 7 ranks, Sense Motive 7 ranks, Intimidate 7 ranks
--
--


5th
Psion 5
+2
+1
+1
+4
Diplomacy 8 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 8 ranks, Bluff 8 ranks, Sense Motive 8 ranks, Intimidate 8 ranks
--
Harbinger (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070411a)


6th
Thrallherd 1
+2
+1
+1
+6
Diplomacy 9 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 9 ranks, Bluff 9 ranks, Sense Motive 9 ranks, Intimidate 9 ranks
Psionic Talent
Thrallherd


7th
Thrallherd 2
+3
+1
+1
+7
Diplomacy 10 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 10 ranks, Bluff 10 ranks, Sense Motive 10 ranks, Intimidate 10 ranks
--
--


8th
Thrallherd 3
+3
+2
+2
+7
Diplomacy 11 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 11 ranks, Bluff 11 ranks, Sense Motive 11 ranks, Intimidate 11 ranks
--
Psionic Charm


9th
Thrallherd 4
+4
+2
+2
+8
Diplomacy 12 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 12 ranks, Bluff 12 ranks, Sense Motive 12 ranks, Intimidate 12 ranks
Psionic Talent
--


10th
Thrallherd 5
+4
+2
+2
+8
Diplomacy 13 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 13 ranks, Bluff 13 ranks, Sense Motive 13 ranks, Intimidate 13 ranks
--
Psionic Dominate


11th
Thrallherd 6
+5
+3
+3
+9
Diplomacy 14 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 14 ranks, Bluff 14 ranks, Sense Motive 14 ranks, Intimidate 14 ranks
--
--


12th
Thrallherd 7
+5
+3
+3
+9
Diplomacy 15 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 15 ranks, Bluff 15 ranks, Sense Motive 15 ranks, Intimidate 15 ranks
Martial Stance (Assassin's Stance)
Greater Dominate


13th
Thrallherd 8
+6
+3
+3
+10
Diplomacy 16 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 16 ranks, Bluff 16 ranks, Sense Motive 16 ranks, Intimidate 16 ranks
--
--


14th
Thrallherd 9
+6
+4
+4
+10
Diplomacy 17 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 17 ranks, Bluff 17 ranks, Sense Motive 17 ranks, Intimidate 17 ranks
--
Superior Dominate


15th
Psionic Mindbender 1
+6
+6
+4
+12
Diplomacy 18 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 18 ranks, Bluff 18 ranks, Sense Motive 18 ranks, Intimidate 18 ranks
Mindsight
Telepathy


16th
Psionic Mindbender 2
+7
+7
+4
+13
Diplomacy 19 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 19 ranks, Bluff 19 ranks, Sense Motive 19 ranks, Intimidate 19 ranks
--
Push the Weak Mind 2/d, Skill Boost


17th
Psionic Mindbender 3
+7
+7
+5
+13
Diplomacy 20 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 20 ranks, Bluff 20 ranks, Sense Motive 20 ranks, Intimidate 20 ranks
--
Mindread 2/d


18th
Psionic Mindbender 4
+8
+8
+5
+14
Diplomacy 21 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 21 ranks, Bluff 21 ranks, Sense Motive 21 ranks, Intimidate 21 ranks
Psionic Talent
Eternal Charm (1)


19th
Psionic Mindbender 5
+8
+8
+5
+14
Diplomacy 22 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 22 ranks, Bluff 22 ranks, Sense Motive 22 ranks, Intimidate 22 ranks
--
Push the Weak Mind 4/d


20th
Psionic Mindbender 6
+9
+9
+6
+15
Diplomacy 23 ranks, Knowledge (Psionics) 23 ranks, Bluff 23 ranks, Sense Motive 23 ranks, Intimidate 23 ranks
--
Telepathy Power Endowment +2, Eternal Charm (2)






Level
Power Points


1
2


2
6


3
11


4
17


5
25


6
27


7
37


8
48


9
63


10
77


11
93


12
111


13
131


14
152


15
175


16
175


17
195


18
195


19
221


20
221





Level
Powers Known


1
Psionic Charm Telepath Power, MindlinkTelepath Power, Conceal Thoughts, Sense Link, Inertial Armor, Distract


2
Read ThoughtsTelepath Power, Psionic SuggestionTelepath Power, Ego Whip, Id Insinuation


3
Hostile Empathic TransferTelepath Power, False Sensory InputTelepath Power, Forced Share Pain, Eradicate Invisibility


4
Psionic DominateTelepath PowerPsionic Modify MemoryTelepath Power, SchismTelepath Power, Death Urge, Psychic Reformation


5
MetaconcertTelepath Power, Mind ProbeTelepath Power, Psionic True Seeing, Shatter Mind Blank


6
MindswitchTelepath Power, Mass Cloud Mind, Remote View Trap, Fuse Flesh


7
Crisis of LifeTelepath Power, Decerebrate, Insanity


8
Mind SeedTelepath Power, True Metabolism, Recall Death



1-5: She's a Telepath. Stay in the back, plink with a crossbow, utterly ruin social encounters.
6-10: Thrallherd hits here. Thrall and believers are cheese as is, but it's the enhancements to Psionic Dominate, as well as Psionic Charm, that come into play here.
11-15: Thrallherd ends. Now all you need to do is augment the DCs on Psionic Dominate.
16-20: Psionic Mindbender's actually pretty awesome. Telepathy comes with Mind Sight as an AMAZING rider. Never be snuck up on again! Crisis of Life, Decerebrate, Insanity, those are all mean moves and those come online right here. Make your enemies crazy, vegetables, crazy vegetables, stop their hearts, make them want to kill themselves! BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Schism, PsyRef, and other nastiness is already available!

[dysprosium]

You'll do what she wants you to do.


Cora Starflower
Elf Psychic Rogue 3/ Psion Telepath 7/ Darkwood Stalker 10

Character Background

Background
Cora Starflower a trickster at heart, a thief by night and has never been very good with people, often seeming aloof to those around, she took it upon herself to go out to learn how to control the powers of her mind so that she could use them to get things when she wanted or needed them.


Racial Information
Race: Elf
+2 Dexterity, –2 Constitution
Medium
speed 30ft
low-light vision
Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats
+2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks
Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Orc, Sylvan




Character Abilities
Abilities

32 point buy
Str 14 Dex 11 Con 14 Int 16 Wis 13 cha 10

Racial
Str 14 Dex 13 Con 12 Int 16 Wis 13 cha 10

Lvl 4,8,12: Int +3
Lvl 16,20: Str +2

Lvl 20
Str 16 Dex 13 Con 12 Int 19 Wis 13 cha 10


Build
Build



Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features


1st
Psychic Rogue
0
0
2
0
Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (psionics) 4, Sense Motive 4, Use Psionic Device 4, Hide 4, Listen 4, Spot 4
Extend Power (xph p46)
Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding


2nd
Psychic Rogue
1
0
3
0
Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 5, Knowledge (psionics) 5, Use Psionic Device 5, Hide 5, Listen 5, Spot 5, Use Rope 1
-
Evasion


3rd
Psychic Rogue
2
1
3
1
Concentration 6, Gather Information 6, Move Silently 5, Survival 1cc
Track (PHB p101)
-


4th
Psion Telepath
2
1
3
3
Concentration 7, Gather Information 7, Bluff 1, Survival 2cc
Psicrystal Affinity (xph p49)
Bonus feat, discipline - Telepath


5th
Psion Telepath
3
1
3
4
Concentration 8, Gather Information 8, Bluff 2, Survival 3cc
-
-


6th
Psion Telepath
3
2
4
4
Concentration 9, Knowledge (psionics) 6, Bluff 3, Survival 4cc
Dodge (PHB p93)
-


7th

4
2
4
5
[td]Concentration 10, Knowledge (psionics) 7, Bluff 4, Survival 5cc
-
-


8th
Psion Telepath
4
2
4
5
Concentration 11, Knowledge (psionics) 8, Bluff 5, Diplomacy 3
Improved Psicrystal (xph p47)
Bonus feat


9th
Psion Telepath
5
3
5
6
Concentration 12, Knowledge (psionics) 9, Diplomacy 5, Knowledge (nature) 1
Psionic Meditation (xph p50)
-


10th
Psion Telepath
5
3
5
6
Concentration 13, Knowledge (psionics) 10, Knowledge (nature) 4
-
-


11th
Darkwood Stalker
6
5
7
6
Knowledge (nature) 5, Concentration 14cc, Knowledge (psionics) 12cc
-
Ancient foe +2


12th
Darkwood Stalker
7
6
8
6
Knowledge (nature) 6, Concentration 15cc, Knowledge (psionics) 14cc
Heroic Focus (MoE p48)

Uncanny dodge


13th
Darkwood Stalker
8
6
8
7
Knowledge (nature) 11, Concentration 16cc, Knowledge (psionics) 16cc
-
Sneak attack +1d6


14th
Darkwood Stalker
9
7
9
7
Knowledge (nature) 14, Concentration 17cc, Knowledge (psionics) 17cc
-
Ancient foe +4, darkvision 30 ft


15th
Darkwood Stalker
10
7
9
7
Knowledge (nature) 17, Concentration 18cc, Knowledge (psionics) 18cc
Twin Power (xph p51)
Improved uncanny dodge


16th
Darkwood Stalker
11
8
10
8
Knowledge (nature) 19, Concentration 19cc, Knowledge (psionics) 19cc, Ride 2
-
Sneak attack +2d6


17th
Darkwood Stalker
12
8
10
8
Knowledge (nature) 20, Concentration 20cc, Knowledge (psionics) 20cc, Ride 5
-
Ancient foe +6, darkvision 60 ft


18th
Darkwood Stalker
13
9
11
8
Knowledge (nature) 21, Concentration 21cc, Knowledge (psionics) 21cc, Use Rope 4
Psicrystal Containment (xph p49)
Dodge critical


19th
Darkwood Stalker
14
9
11
9
Knowledge (nature) 22, Concentration 22cc, Knowledge (psionics) 22cc, Use Rope 7
-
Sneak attack +3d6


20th
Darkwood Stalker
15
10
12
9
Knowledge (nature) 23, Concentration 23cc, Knowledge (psionics) 23cc, Use Rope 10
-
Ancient foe +8, death attack




Psychic Powers per day

Bonus Power Points based on High Int. score.
Score 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
16–17 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 15

Psychic Powers


Level
PP/day
Powers Known
Max Level Power Known


1st
0*
1
1st


2nd
1
2
1st


3rd
2
3
1st


4th
4
3
1st


5th
8
5
1st


6th
13
7
2nd


7th
19
9
2nd


8th
27
11
3rd


9th
37
13
3rd


10th
48
15
4th




Powers

Powers

( the powers listed below are not the complete list that could be used, these are listed for the purpose of the SI )

Psychic Rogue Powers

1st
Astral Traveler
Psychoportation
Display: None
Manifesting Time: 1 hour
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Power Resistance: Yes (harmless)
Power Points: 1

Déjà Vu
Telepathy [Mind-Affecting]
Display: Mental
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./ level)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Will negates
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 1

Disable
Telepathy (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Psion/wilder 1
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 20 ft.
Area: Cone-shaped emanation centered on you
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 1


Psion Telepath Powers

Sense Link
Telepathy [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Psion/wilder 1
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./ level)
Target: One willing creature
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 min./level
Power Points: 1

Empathy
Telepathy [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Psion/wilder 1
Display: Mental
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 30 ft.
Area: 30-ft.-radius spread centered on you
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Power Resistance: No
Power Points: 1

Suggestion, Implanted
Telepathy (Compulsion) [Mind- Affecting]
Level: Psion/wilder 4
Display: Mental
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 day/level or until completed
Saving Throw: Will negates
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 7

TELEPATH (TELEPATHY) DISCIPLINE POWERS
1 Charm, Psionic: Makes one person your friend.
Mindlink: You forge a limited mental bond with another creature.

2 Aversion: Subject has aversion you specify.
Brain Lock: Subject cannot move or take any mental actions.
Read Thoughts: Detect surface thoughts of creatures in range.
Suggestion, Psionic: Compels subject to follow stated course of action.

3 Crisis of Breath: Disrupt subject’s breathing.
Empathic Transfer, Hostile: Your touch transfers your hurt to another.
False Sensory Input: Subject sees what isn’t there.

4 Dominate, Psionic: Control target telepathically.
*Eratta - Page 96: Dominate, Psionic Power The following paragraph was omitted from the power’s description: 4. If you spend 1 additional power point, this power’s
duration is 1 hour rather than concentration. If you spend 2 additional power points, this power’s duration is 1 day rather than concentration. If you spend 4
additional power points, this power’s duration is 1 day per manifester level rather than concentration.

Mindlink, Thieving: Borrow knowledge of a subject’s power.
Modify Memory, Psionic: Changes 5 minutes of subject’s memories.
Schism: Your partitioned mind can manifest lowerlevel powers.

5 Metaconcert: Mental concert of two or more increases the total power of the participants.
Mind Probe: You discover the subject’s secret thoughts.

6 Mind Switch: You switch minds with another.

7 Crisis of Life: Stop subject’s heart.

8 Mind Seed: Subject slowly becomes you.

9 Mind Switch, True: A permanent brain swap.
Psychic Chirurgery: You repair psychic damage or impart knowledge of new powers


Charater Features

Psicrystal, (xph p21, 207)
Psicrystal Special Abilities
Owner Natural Int
Level Armor Adj. Adj. Special
1st–2nd +0 +0 Alertness, improved evasion, personality, self-propulsion, share powers, sighted, telepathic link
3rd–4th +1 +1 Deliver touch powers
5th–6th +2 +2 Telepathic speech
7th–8th +3 +3 —
9th–10th +4 +4 Flight
11th–12th +5 +5 Power resistance
13th–14th +6 +6 Sight link
15th–16th +7 +7 Channel power
17th–18th +8 +8
19th–20th +9 +9

gain the benefits of both psicrystal personalities

Single-minded +3 bonus on Concentration checks
Nimble +2 bonus on Initiative checks

psicrystal can hold a psionic focus


SI- Psibond Agent
Requirements
Skills: Gather Information 8 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks.
* the build has - Gather Information 8 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks

Languages: Any three.
* the build has - Common, Elven, Draconic, Orc, Sylvan

Psionics: Power point reserve of at least 1.
* the build has - 63 power points on base Int + bonus for high Int

Special: Sneak attack +1d6
* the build has - +4d6

Hit Die: d6; Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level):
* the build has - D6+d4+D8 an average of D6; and 2 of the 3 classes have Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level)

Appraise, Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Hide,

Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (local), Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Profession, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Swim, Tumble, Use Psionic

Device, Use Rope
* the build has access to all of the above plus several others & uses roughly half of them.

Psibond (forced sense link)
* the build uses - Sense Link

Psibond (nudge)
* the build uses - Suggestion, Implanted

Psibond (empathy)
* the build uses - Empathy

Lingering psibond
* the build uses - Extend Power

Psibond (suggestion)
* the build uses - Discipline: Suggestion, Psionic

Double psibond
* the build uses - Twin Power — Manifest power twice

Psibond (false sensory input)
* the build uses - Discipline: False Sensory Input

Sneak attack +3d6
* the build uses - Sneak attack +4d6

Psibond (dominate)
* the build uses - Discipline: Dominate, Psionic

* the build has the 7/10 or 15/20 attack progression
* the build has its Reflex save as its best save, while fort and will save are both decent
* the build makes use of a psicrystal for various application of powers and regaining focus
* the build uses Psionic Meditation (XPH p50) You can take a move action to become psionically focused
* the build has - Heroic Focus; As a move action, you can spend an action point to automatically regain your psionic focus. You also gain 1 extra action point each time you attain a level, If you have the Psionic Meditation feat, you can spend an action point to automatically regain your focus as a swift action

Psychic Rogue is a high Tier 3
Psion Telepath is a high Tier 2 low Tier 1
Darkwood stalker helps and should add to the Tier of the build



Sources

Sources
SRD
Psychic Rogue <http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b>
Psion Telepath (xph p19)
Darkwood Stalker (Cwar p23)

[dysprosium]

Makes you look at the Tooth Fairy a little differently now . . .



http://i.imgur.com/FKNPFP9.jpg (http://th04.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/135/5/e/initiation_ritual_by_trishkell-d4zu4bu.jpg)
Isabel, the North Ward Witcher

"Stewart~"

Something crept through the cold stone walls of Stewart's cell. A voice, distant and unnervingly warm, slipped through his barred window and slid through his ears. It made for a deadly music amidst the dank dark of his cell; enchanting, yet bizarrely out of place. Who could wield a voice so serene in a mudpit like Waterdeep?

"Oh, Stewart~"

The voice came again, still cooing his name. He stood from his corner and went to peer from the window, but nobody was there. Not a soul could be seen upon the rainslick streets of Waterdeep. Thus, he turned back to his cell - only to find a peculiar sight.

"Oh, Stewart. Poor, foolish Stewart," the girl cooed, now there before him in the cell. Her locks were a tawny brown, her midriff bare and etched with six agonised faces. Her teeth and tongue were a silky black, and her red eyes glinted with malice. He recognised her now; those smooth lips, childish face and bloody cudgel were reknown amongst the common rabble. Before him stood the North Ward Witcher, and the sight of her sent fear through Stewart's old heart.

"Please, have mercy!" he cried, "I-I didn't mean to! I swear!"

"Hm? But you looked oh-so gleeful, dear Stewart," she chimed back, "it looked like you were having fun, mister Stewart." She spun that cudgel in her hands, the movement deft and quick. Nails and spikes had been plugged into the end of what looked to be an old bar stool, albeit without the seat. They said she never left their faces intact..

"No, not at all! Never would I delight in the slaughter of innocents!" he said, "i-it was the tooth! Yes!"

"Oh? Well, funny you should mention that," she replied, "because Dahlver-Nar called, silly Stewart. He wants his tooth back."

Stewart spluttered. Her eyes spoke the same as her words; she was deathly serious, even with that pitch black grin. "Then take it!" he howled, "take the stupid tooth, take everything! Leave me with my life, please!"

"Oh, don't worry mister Stewart," she said, "I'll be gentle, just as you were to that wench. Because you were ever so gentle with her, weren't you?"

More spluttering from his useless mouth.

"Besides, I'm not just here for the tooth. I'm here to set things right," she said, reaching out with her spare hand. She pointed a single, dainty finger at him, and continued to smirk her twisted smirk. "Don't worry. This won't hurt much," she cooed, "..not that I've ever asked."

She pressed her finger against his foreheard. For the briefest of moments, he felt like he knew everything; from the stars to the streetears, everything became clearer. Then, not even a second later, it all vanished. And it took his mind with it.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isabel admired her handiwork. Before he laid the battered corpse of the one known as Stewart, his tooth retrieved and his face unrecognisable. Truthfully, she held no malice over the man's crimes; they were innocent enough, and had not been wrought by one of Dahlver-Nar's teeth. She'd only killed him for the sake of her collection - and, unfortunately for Stewart, he stood in the way of that goal. Dantalion had told her of great things happening once they had been united, and she believed him wholly.

After all, why would the Star Emperor lie to his herald?

Synoposis
Isabel, the North Ward Witcher
Race: Human
Classes: Binder 10/Knight of the Sacred Seal 5/Scion of Dantalion 5
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Languages: Common, Giant, Elven

Ability Scores: 32 Point Buy
Base: 15/10/14/14/8/16
Levels: +1 Strength, +4 Charisma
Total: 16/10/14/14/8/20

Base Hit Points: 15d8+5d10

Build


Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features


1st
Binder 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
4 Bluff, 4 Diplomacy, 4 Gather Information, 4 Knowledge (Arcana), 4 Sense Motive
Urban Tracking, Power Attack
Soul Binding (1 Vestige)


2nd
Binder 2
+1
+3
+0
+3
5 Bluff, 5 Diplomacy, 5 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 5 Sense Motive

Pact Augmentation (1 Ability), Suppress Sign


3rd
Binder 3
+2
+3
+1
+3
6 Bluff, 6 Diplomacy, 6 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 6 Sense Motive, 0.5 [Cross-Class] Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty)
Weapon Focus (Club)



4th
Binder 4
+3
+4
+1
+4
7 Bluff, 7 Diplomacy, 7 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 7 Sense Motive, 1 [Cross-Class] Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty)

Bonus Feat: Expel Vestige


5th
Binder 5
+3
+4
+1
+4
8 Bluff, 8 Diplomacy, 8 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 8 Sense Motive, 1.5 [Cross-Class] Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty)

Pact Augmentation (2 Abilities)


6th
Binder 6
+4
+5
+2
+5
9 Bluff, 9 Diplomacy, 9 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 9 Sense Motive, 2 [Cross-Class] Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty)
Master Manipulator
Soul Guardian (Immune to Fear)


7th
Binder 7
+5
+5
+2
+5
10 Bluff, 10 Diplomacy, 10 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 2 Knowledge (Local)




8th
Binder 8
+6/+1
+6
+2
+6
11 Bluff, 11 Diplomacy, 11 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 4 Knowledge (Local)

Soul Binding (2 Vestiges)


9th
Binder 9
+6/+1
+6
+3
+6
12 Bluff, 12 Diplomacy, 12 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 6 Knowledge (Local)
Knowledge Devotion (Local)
Soul Guardian (Slippery Mind)


10th
Binder 10
+7/+2
+7
+3
+7
13 Bluff, 13 Diplomacy, 13 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 8 Knowledge (Local)

Pact Augmentation (3 Abilities)


11th
Knight of the Sacred Seal 1
+8/+3
+9
+3
+7
14 Bluff, 14 Diplomacy, 14 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 10 Knowledge (Local)

Aligned Strike, Patron Vestige (Dantalion), Soul Binding +1


12th
Scion of Dantalion 1
+8/+3
+11
+3
+9
15 Bluff, 15 Diplomacy, 15 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 12 Knowledge (Local)
Favoured Vestige (Dantalion)
Favoured of Dantalion, Scholarship of Dantalion (1/Day), Soul Binding +1


13th
Scion of Dantalion 2
+9/+4
+12
+3
+10
16 Bluff, 16 Diplomacy, 16 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 14 Knowledge (Local)

Improved Read Thoughts, Swift Awe of Dantalion, Scholarship of Dantalion (2/Day), Soul Binding +2


14th
Scion of Dantalion 3
+10/+5
+12
+4
+10
17 Bluff, 17 Diplomacy, 17 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 16 Knowledge (Local)

Overwhelming Thoughts, Scholarship of Dantalion (3/Day), Soul Binding +3 (3 Vestiges)


15th
Scion of Dantalion 4
+11/+6/+1
+13
+4
+11
18 Bluff, 18 Diplomacy, 18 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 10 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 18 Knowledge (Local)
Favoured Vestige Focus (Dantalion)
Dantalion's Glare, Improved Thought Travel, Scholarship of Dantalion (4/Day), Soul Binding +4


16th
Scion of Dantalion 5
+11/+6/+1
+13
+4
+11
19 Bluff, 19 Diplomacy, 18 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 11 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 19 Knowledge (Local)

Read Multiple Thoughts, Scholarship of Dantalion (5/Day), Soul Binding +5


17th
Knight of the Sacred Seal 2
+12/+7/+2
+14
+4
+11
20 Bluff, 20 Diplomacy, 18 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 12 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 20 Knowledge (Local)

Vestige's Protection, Soul Binding +2


18th
Knight of the Sacred Seal 3
+13/+8/+3
+14
+5
+12
21 Bluff, 21 Diplomacy, 19 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 13 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 21 Knowledge (Local)
Rapid Recovery (Dantalion)
Vestige's Protection Aura, Soul Binding +3


19th
Knight of the Sacred Seal 4
+14/+9/+4
+15
+5
+12
22 Bluff, 22 Diplomacy, 21 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 14 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 22 Knowledge (Local)

Vestige's Power, Soul Binding +4


20th
Knight of the Sacred Seal 5
+15/+10/+5
+15
+5
+12
23 Bluff, 23 Diplomacy, 23 Gather Information, 5 Knowledge (Arcana), 15 Sense Motive, 2 Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), 23 Knowledge (Local)

Apotheosis, Vestige's Surge, Soul Binding +5 (4 Vestiges)



Level Breakdown
Level 5: Binder 5

"As a child, I would play hide and seek within the sewers of my hometown. I'd learned every nook and cranny of that dark, forgotten place by the age of eight, and my folks knew no better. It wasn't like anybody else cared to go looking for me."
"Of course, all that changed when they kicked the bucket. The butler never told me what happened, but the next thing I know I'm drawing magic circles using sewer gunk. I can dimly remember trying to resurrect my family with the occult, but aside from that? I think it broke me. Hah."

Isabel first vestige is Naberius. His abilities involve manipulation and adaptability, and they are spoken of in detail in the Binding Vestiges section.

By level 5, Isabel is a melee-oriented Binder with some social flair. Urban Tracking lets her find people in smaller villages; a meager ability, but one which will become more important later. Power Attack and Weapon Focus contribute to her effectiveness in combat, and Expel Vestige grants her some flexibility should she need to swap out one vestige for another.

Of the few abilities a straight Binder gets in these levels, Pact Augmentation offers some fantastic flexibility. Whenever she binds to a vestige, Isabel can choose to gain traits like a +2 insight bonus to saving throws or a +4 insight bonus or initiative checks. Not too shabby for a passive ability.

Level 10: Binder 10

"After I picked up my act and pulled things together, making seals and forming pacts wasn't too bad. My earliest ones were so amateur, and I laugh every time I remember binding Aym. Sure came screaming into the mortal plane, that one."
"Still, I was a quick learner. I figured out how to take care of myself alright, come rain or shine ... not that it ever shined in Waterdeep, but you get the point. Things only got better once I found Dantalion."

Isabel learns to bind a second vestige, Malphas. His abilities revolve around improving her perception, staying hidden and striking from the shadows. See the Binding Vestiges section for a deeper look into his abilities.

By level 10, Isabel's more unique traits are becoming obvious. Master Manipulator lets her deceive those she speaks to, obscuring the facts through the use of her wily tongue. Similarly, Knowledge Devotion offers her a use for her growing knowledge skills.

More straight binding levels, but this time she gets class features. Soul Guardian offers her immunity to fear and slippery mind, both of which are highly valuable abilities to have. Furthermore, she gets an additional Pact Augmentation whenever she binds a vestige.

Level 15: Binder 10/Knight of the Sacred Seal 1/Scion of Dantalion 4

"Oh, you know nothing child. You don't know what the embrace of the Star Emperor feels like. You mind, it ... speaks. It tells you things you didn't know, and it reminds you of things you'd forgotten 'til then."
"Even better, he shows me everything. It's like living on high with those deity folks, 'cept I'm down here and looking into your mind. I hear, see and feel anything that goes on, and the result is a euphoria that you can't even begin to imagine."

Isabel learns to bind a third vestige; in this case it's Dantalion, the Star Emperor. He offers a slew of abilities, all of which are further improved by the [human]-exclusive Scion of Dantalion prestige class. Both Dantalion's abilities and those of the Scion are discussed in the Binding Vestiges section.

By level 15, Isabel has devoted herself to Dantalion while honing her plethora of social and combat skills. She has an average modifier of +25 for Urban Tracking. Among other things, this lets her reliably track down any group or individual in even a Metropolis-sized city within a mere few hours. If someone has something that she wants, such as the various teeth of Cahlver-Nar, then she can - and will - find them. Meanwhile, Favoured Vestige and Favoured Vestige Focus will help to enhance her growing number of Dantalion-specific abilities.

A 1 level "dip" in Knight of the Sacred Seal offers her an evil-aligned strike and, more importantly, proficiency with all armours, all shields and all martial weapons. Isabel will return to this after completing the Scion of Dantalion.

Level 20: Binder 10/Knight of the Sacred Seal 5/Scion of Dantalion 5

"He granted me a lot of things, Dantalion. Some of them were lies, but I saw through them and found the real deal underneath. After all, he's practically handed me immortality on a star-spangled platter with which to do his deeds. Which brings things, quite nicely, back to us."
"Again; I'm only doing this, mister Rogers, because you have something I want. No - it's something we want. So if you want to die painlessly, dear Rogers, I'd suggest that you hand over that tooth now."

Isabel learns to bind a final, fourth vestige, Haures. His abilities toy with the mind, offering her mental fortifications while at the same time altering the perceptions of others. The Binding Vestiges section goes into further depth about his abilities.

By level 20, Isabel has achieved transcendance - thanks to Dantalion, anyway. Rapid Recovery lets her use his cooldown-based abilities a little more often, rounding out the build quite nicely.

After finishing off the Scion of Dantalion prestige class, Isabel returns to the Knight of the Sacred Seal. Vestige's protection lets her add her Charisma bonus to her armour class and reflex saves, if only for a round. Vestige's Power offers another temporary boost of power, granting bonuses to Strength, Constitution, speed and Will saves. Vestige's Surge lets her use her cooldown-based vestige abilities slightly more often, and Apotheosis grants her the Outsider type with DR 10/Magic. If nothing else, it marks a significant growth in her abilities.

Binding Vestiges
Over the course of her career, Isabel learns to bind a number of vestiges. By default, she relies on the abilities of four primary vestiges: Dantalion, Haures, Malphas and Naberius. Each is explained in greater detail below.

Naberius, the Grinning Hound
Disguise Self: As per the spell. Why take the disguise skill when a vestige can do it for you?
Faster Ability Healing: Healing 1 point of ability damage per round is nothing to scoff at. Even if it's not always relevant, it's a superb ability.
Naberius' Skills: Every time Naberius is bound, you gain the use of a number of trained-only skills equal to your constitution modifier. If you want to open a door, you can. If you face an enemy who requires a new Knowledge type, you can now use it. Works great in conjunction with Dantalion's knowledge and Knowledge Devotion.
Persuasive Words: Starts off as Command 1/5 rounds, then later becomes Suggestion 1/5 rounds. Still a Supernatural ability, still awesome for a diplomancer. Speaking of which..
Silver Tongue: You can always take 10 on Diplomacy and Bluff checks, and you can make rushed Diplomacy checks at no penalty. Congratulations! With Isabel's ranks in Diplomacy, she can stop any fight before it begins; likewise, her ranks in Bluff allow for even more far-fetched lies than usual.

Malphas, the Turnfeather
Bird's Eye Viewing: At-will, summon a bird through which you can see and hear. There's no limit on the range of this, and if the bird can see an area then so can Isabel. Good for collecting information, but even more useful when used in conjunction with Dantalion's sight-reliant abilities.
Invisibility: As per the spell, lasting for a numer of rounds equal to your binder level. Starts as a full-round action to activate, later becoming a standard, move and swift action. This removes any need for the Hide skill and is generally a better ability to have anyway.
Poison Use: Removes any risk of poisoning yourself when handling, using or applying poison. Decidedly less useful, but can be situationally useful if Isabel wants to, say, poison someone's meal.
Sudden Strike: As per the class feature, with 1d6 base damage +1d6 per 4 binder levels. Totals to about 6d6 Sudden Strike damage at level 30, which is roughly equivalent to the 7d6 Sneak Attack of a Psychic Rogue (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b) 10/Psibond Agent 10 (Which seems like the most reasonable entry path).

Haures, the Dreaming Duke
Inaccessible Mind: A passive Mind Blank ability which also offers some elements of Nondetection. Good for moving unseen and remaining uninfluenced by others.
Incorporeal Movement: A passive semi-incorporeal effect, but it only kicks in when moving and doesn't let you move through walls. Not bad, and the 50% concealment can be occasionally useful.
Major Image: As the spell, but only one at a time. Illusions can be incredible with a little bit of imagination, and they're even better as a Supernatural ability.
Phantasmal Killer: As the spell, except within a range of 10 feet per binder level. An at-will save-or-die as a Supernatural ability is nothing to laugh at, even if it Phantasmal Killer does allow for two saves.

Dantalion, the Star Emperor (with Scion of Dantalion)
Awe of Dantalion: Renders you untargetable by enemies for 1 round. Originally a move action, but Scion levels make it a swift action instead. This lets you take actions without provoking attacks of opportunity, and
Dantalion Knows: Passively grants a +8 bonus to all knowledge checks. Gets ridiculous when combined with Naberius' skills and Scholarship of Dantalion, but still pretty good just with Knowledge Devotion.
Read Thoughts: Read the thoughts of a nearby, visible enemy if they fail a Will save. With a well-placed crow from Bird's Eye Viewing, this can be practically anywhere within that distance. There's no cooldown either.
Thought Travel: Teleport to a nearby, visible location. Starts off as a standard action, with Scion lowering it to a move action. If either Isabel or her crow from Bird's Eye Viewing can see past a wall, she can get there.
Scholarship of Dantalion: Reroll any knowledge check a number of times per day per binder level. If Isabel rolls poorly when using Knowledge Devotion, this can put her back in the game.
Overwhelming Thoughts: Daze everybody whose mind you're reading, with a Will save to resist. This doesn't have a cooldown like most other vestige abilities, thus allowing Isabel to chain-daze enemies while beating them down with her club. If Isabel gets to act first, she can even keep her enemies perpetually flat-footed.
Dantalion's Glare: Blind everyone in a small cone, with a Fortitude save to resist. Blinded characters lose their dexterity bonus to AC, thus opening them up to Malphas' Sudden Strike damage on the following turn. Requires that Isabel bares her midriff, but that's okay.

Other Vestiges
Thanks to the fly, Isabel is able to change some of her abilities during the day. If she ever encounters a situation in which some skills are required over others, she can exchange one vestige - usually Haures - for another. A couple of examples are:
Otiax, the Key to the Gate: Aside from his concealment, Otiax offers the ability to open and unlock anything with ease. If Naberius' Skills are insufficient, then this puts her back in the game.
Marchosias, King of Killers: For one thing, he offers hefty bonuses to Hide and Move Silently. Of greater note is the Charisma-based death attack and at-will gaseous form.
Karsus, Hubris in the Blood: If Isabel wants to find and tear apart active spells, be they Mind Blanks or summoned monsters, this is how she does it. It also gives her the ability to use spell trigger items as a wizard of her binder level, allowing UMD shenanigans - after all, she has the Outsider type and a wand of Alter Self doesn't cost much.

Emulating the Psibond Agent
These assume a build of Psychic Rogue 10/Psibond Agent 10, which I believe to be the logical progression.

Hit Points: 20d6
Isabel has 8d15+5d10 instead.

Skills: 6+Int, Roguey List
Isabel gets 5 skill points per level, and she can use Naberius' skills to gain extra skills on a temporary basis. By swapping out Haures, she can emulate Open Lock (Otiax) and Use Magic Device (Karsus) or simply gain a bonus to her sneaking (Marchosias). She also has high ranks in both Sense Motive and Gather Information, the latter of which is used to greater effect via Urban Tracking.

Sneak Attack: ~7d6
Isabel achieves 6d6 Sudden Strike damage while bound to Malphas the Turnfeather, one of her usual vestiges.

BAB: 3/4
Isabel achieves +15 BAB, as per any other class with 3/4 BAB.

Saves: +6/+14/+6
Isabel's saves are a complete contrast, instead being +15/+5/+12. However, Vestige's Protection lets her add her Charisma bonus to her reflex saving throws and armour class; with some items, she can easily reach the +14 reflex modifier of a Psychic Rogue/Psibond Agent.

Psibond, Double Psibond, Lingering Psibond
These are all emulated by Dantalion's Read Thoughts ability and its various improvements. She can read the minds of as many people as her charisma modifier, and she can maintain this ability indefinitely as a move action each round.

Psibond: Forced Sense Link
Malphas' Bird's Eye Viewing allows her to simulate this ability, and she even uses the bird's skill modifiers rather than her own. In contrast, it doesn't cost her an action to use and she doesn't lose her dexterity bonus to AC while concentrating. Dantalion's Read Thoughts ability may also simulate this ability rather well, reading the mind of her target in order to gather details of their surroundings.

Psibond: Nudge
Emulated by a simple, no-risk diplomacy or Bluff check as a standard action. This is as close as I could get to the original feel of the ability, and it is sadly not an immediate ability.

Psibond: Empathy
Read Thoughts lets Isabel detect thoughts in the first round of concentration; since Read Thoughts is already mimicking the Psibond ability, this use is a given. As for the bonuses to Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate and Sense Motive, Naberius grants bonuses to the former two skills in the form of risk-free checks and no-penalty rushed diplomancy.

Psibond: Suggestion
This is Naberius' Persuasive words ability. It's a standard action rather than a swift action, but it has no limit on the number of times it can be used (although it does have a cooldown).

Psibond: False Sensory Input
Emulated via Major Image and use of the Master Manipulator feat. Also emulated, in part, by ridiculously high modifers on a Bluff check (which, of course, she can take 10 on).

3 Lanugages
Isabel possesses three languages: Common, Giant and Elven.

Resources
Tome of Magic: Pact Magic rules. Binder, Knight of the Sacred Seal, Scion of Dantalion, Expel Vestige, Favoured Vestige, Favoured Vestige Focus, Rapid Recovery, vestiges (Dantalion, Malphas, Haures, Naberius, Otiax, Marchosias, Karsus).
Cityscape: Urban Tracking
Player's Handbook II: Master Manipulator
Complete Champion: Knowledge Devotion

[dysprosium]

And that's the three of them!

We'll leave it to our esteemed judges now.

[Sian]

The build i had in mind were

Fluffy white Tibbit Lurk 6 / Shadowmind (Celebral Infiltrator ACF) 9 / Psionic Mindbender 1 / Cognition Thief 4, playing up a right-hand cat being in command with the appearent leader being a charmed or dominated person

[Virdish]

I was working on a daelkyr halfblood lurk 3/wilder 9 (educated acf)/void mind 8. Wish I would have finished it

[Humble Master]

Interesting, all of them. School just got out so I'll have plenty of time to judge.

[Curmudgeon]

Amalie Mindcrusher 7.25
Opening note: With no explanation of how any of this build's elements are supposed to emulate the Psibond Agent, or what levels are supposed to be associated with the 10-level PrC, I may have missed something. If that's the case, please send a rejoinder to the Chairman.

Build Errors:
@1: Martial Study (Clinging Shadow Strike)

Select any maneuver from the chosen discipline for which you meet the prerequisite. ... If you do not have martial adept levels, you can use this maneuver once per encounter as a martial adept with an initiator level equal to 1/2 your character level.
Your initiator level is 0, and you thus do not qualify for a Swordsage 1 maneuver.
Intimidate is not a class skill for either Psion (Telepath) or Thrallherd, nor is it a class skill which would be added by Martial Study (Shadow Hand). Total ranks at level 14 should be 8½, not 17.
@12: Martial Stance (Assassin's Stance)
You do not satisfy the prerequisite of 1 martial maneuver due to failure to qualify for Clinging Shadow Strike.
@15: Mindsight
Following the LEVEL ADVANCEMENT order (Player's Handbook, pages 58-59) note that step 7. Feats comes before step 9. Class Features. You do not have the Telepathy prerequisite of Mindsight at the time the feat is selected.
Push the Weak Mind uses per day listed do not match Mindbender class table.
The Psionic Talent feat's "gain" term is ambiguous. It could be linear (n IPs increased; synonymous with "attain") rather than quadratic ((n2 + n)/2 IPs increased; synonymous with "add"). (The linear interpretation total is increased by 2 PPs the first time you take it, but that total is increased by just 1 additional PP each subsequent time.) The build does not take this ambiguity into account.
Skill points at levels 1-7 are 6/level (Human, 16-17 INT). Skill points at levels 8-15 are 7/level (Human, 18-19 INT). Skill points at levels 16-20 are 8/level (Human, 20-21 INT). Only 5 skills points spent are reflected at each level of the build; the remaining skill allocations are not shown.

Innovation 2.5:
Human race was expected and a choice in common with another entry. Psion (Telepath) was both expected by me and used by another competitor, while prestige class choices were unique and surprising. You merit a bit more than half (1.5/2.5) for each aspect. However, Martial Stance (Assassin's Stance) was expected but then bungled, for a deduction of -.5.

Power 1:
You've got all sorts of power here, but little of the type associated with the Secret Ingredient. You don't have any sneak attack. You don't have any Gather Information ranks, whereas 8 are required for Secret Ingredient entry. The SI also requires 3 languages, yet the build specifies none. You're one iterative attack below par, and way behind on skills. Both the Secret Ingredient and your Psionic Charm power rely on Charisma, yet you only have +1 CHA modifier. (The reduced PP costs to apply Psionic Charm to many different creature types aren't going to matter if you can't win an opposed Charisma check.) Minimum score.

Elegance 2:
-.5 illegal build element: Martial Study feat (missed the bowl)
-.5 illegal build element: Martial Stance feat (missed the bowl)
-.5 illegal build element: Mindsight feat (missed the bowl)
-.25 illegal ranks in cross-class Intimidate (missed the bowl)
-.25 skills listed don't match skill points available (inaccurate menu)
-.25 Push the Weak Mind uses per day listed do not match Mindbender class table (inaccurate menu)
-.25 sources not cited except Harbinger (poor ingredient list)
-.5 no explanation for how recipe satisfies Innovation, Power, Elegance, and Ingredient criteria (poor plating)

Ingredient 1.75:
Psibond (forced sense link) .1/.5; you know Sense Link but not Forced Sense Link.
Psibond (nudge) .3/.5; you can use Psionic Suggestion to achieve this, though at a later level.
Psibond (empathy) 0/.5.
Lingering Psibond 0/.5.
Psibond (suggestion) .4/.5; deduction of .1 because level at which Psionic Suggestion was selected not specified.
Double Psibond 0/.5.
Psibond (false sensory input) .4/.5; deduction of .1 because level of False Sensory Input not specified.
Psibond (dominate) .5/.5.
Sneak Attack 0/.7.
BAB, saves, and everything else: .05/.3; you should be at about BAB +15, Reflex save +14, and have many more skill ranks.


Cora Starflower 12.2
Build Errors:
Multiclassing XP penalties were not taken into account. See "Uneven Levels" under XP FOR MULTICLASS CHARACTERS (Player's Handbook, page 60). This ZS competition is predicated on 190,000 XP, the amount necessary to build an ECL 20 character. (Previous competitions under Chairman matti_p had a higher budget of 209,999 XP.)
Your multiclass character suffers a –20% penalty to XP for each class that is not within one level of his or her highest-level class. These penalties apply from the moment the character adds a class or raises a class’s level too high. The favored class for Elf characters is Wizard. At level 4 you have uneven levels (Psychic Rogue 3/Psion Telepath 1); this costs an extra 1,000 XP with the 20% multiclassing penalty to reach level 5. You have uneven levels again starting at level 8 (Psychic Rogue 3/Psion Telepath 5) throughout the rest of the build. Normally progressing from levels 8-20 requires 162,000 more XP; for Cora Starflower the cost with 20% multiclassing penalty is 202,500 more XP. The total "overage" if the character could reach level 20 is 1,000 XP + 40,500 XP = 41,500 XP (231,500 XP minimum instead of 190,000). Unfortunately an ECL budget of 190,000 XP with the uneven levels penalty means the character falls short of level 18; it ends up being only a 17 level build instead of 20. If you had chosen Half-Elf instead of Elf you still would have qualified for entry to Darkwood Stalker and avoided this problem.

Innovation 3.5:
Elf was a novel racial choice for this contest. Psion (Telepath) was both expected by me and used by another competitor. Psychic Rogue was expected as the most likely way of satisfying the Psibond Agent entry requirements but as the SI is a prestige class rather than base class, elements leading up to the PrC entry point don't merit any deduction. Darkwood Stalker was unique and surprising; however, the execution was flawed as multiclassing XP penalties meant you could not attain the last 3 levels.

Power 2.5:
In many ways this build is on target for power comparable to Psibond Agent; however, sneak attack and other aspects came up short because the build came up short at only 17 valid levels. You're a bit short on skills, but again the largest shortfall is because of 3 missing levels. The combination of Psionic Meditation and Heroic Focus work nicely to approximate Psibond's independence of psionic focus; that's a better solution than relying on an item (psicrystal). More time and attention to detail would have helped the build. For one example, the Secret Ingredient and the Psionic Charm power are dependent on Charisma, yet Cora Starflower only has 10 CHA. Having that power won't mean much if you can't win an opposed Charisma check.

Elegance 2.9:
-.5 illegal build element: Darkwood Stalker 8 (insufficient XP)
-.5 illegal build element: Darkwood Stalker 9 (insufficient XP)
-.5 illegal build element: Darkwood Stalker 10 (insufficient XP)
-.5 walls of text, text references rather than links, no class levels listed, plus formatting error in the build table @7 (poor plating)
-.1 sources only partially cited (poor ingredient list)

Ingredient 3.3:
Psibond (forced sense link) .1/.5; you know Sense Link but not Forced Sense Link.
Psibond (nudge) .5/.5; you can use Suggestion, Implanted to this end.
Psibond (empathy) .5/.5.
Lingering Psibond 0/.5. Extend Power does not help here.
Your psibond remains in place for 1 round after you cease concentrating.
A power with a duration of concentration, instantaneous, or permanent is not affected by this feat.
Psibond (suggestion) .5/.5.
Double Psibond 0/.5. Twin Power does not help here.
Each psibond must be established separately against a different subject
Manifesting a power altered by this feat causes the power to take effect twice on the area or target, as if you were simultaneously manifesting the same power two times on the same location or target.
Psibond (false sensory input) .5/.5.
Psibond (dominate) .5/.5.
Sneak Attack .5/.7; you have +3d6 whereas the minimum through Psibond Agent 10 is +4d6.
BAB, saves, and everything else: .2/.3; losing 3 levels hurt you here.


Isabel 15.1
Opening note: This was a fairly clean build, with no illegal elements that caught my attention.

Innovation 4.75:
Human race was expected and a choice in common with another entry. All classes were unique, and nothing like what I was expecting. Excellent showing here.

Power 3.75:
Your vestige abilities are Supernatural, just as the SI's Psibond class features are. However, your sudden strike ability is also Supernatural; compared to the SI's sneak attack not only does it not work when flanking a target, it also fails in an Antimagic Field. Isabel has a a considerable deficit in skills compared to Psychic Rogue 10/Psibond Agent 10 (your specified comparison, which I think is well chosen); that forces specialization on a small subset of what the Secret Ingredient could use. You've got some additional flexibility by having Expel Vestige, but I think Rapid Pact Making would have been a good companion feet to allow you to bind a new vestige when you need it (combat selection if necessary rather than only out of combat). Overall the level of power is reasonably comparable to the SI, and fairly similar in nature if a bit off the actual target's capabilities.

Elegance 4.65:
-.25 fluff (excess garnish)
-.1 sloppy attention to details, such as "8d15+5d10" HP; "Thanks to the fly, Isabel is able to change ..."; and "about 6d6 Sudden Strike damage at level 30". (messy menu)

Ingredient 1.95:
Psibond (forced sense link) .2/.5; you can only perceive half the necessary senses (sight/sound but not smell/taste), never directly from the subject, and only blatantly via a dove/raven (which would be killed as an obvious pest/spy indoors/underground/other places where it would be unnatural).
Psibond (nudge) .1/.5; you can only daze a target, not nudge them, via Overwhelming Thoughts, and Diplomacy is blatant, so the only option is the more powerful Persuasive Words (mostly only from level 14, double that of a Psychic Rogue 5/Psibond Agent 2).
Psibond (empathy) .3/.5; Read Thoughts only gives you a clue about the subject's emotional state if they fail their saving throw; otherwise you get surface thoughts alone (no surface emotions).
Lingering Psibond 0/.5.
Psibond (suggestion) .4/.5; you're limited to speaking out loud within 30' rather than a mental suggestion within 100'.
Double Psibond .2/.5. Read Multiple Thoughts gives you a small portion of this, but you can't have multiple birds spying on multiple targets.
Psibond (false sensory input) .1/.5; this is an awkward emulation.
You have a limited ability to falsify one of the subject’s senses. The subject thinks she sees, hears, smells, tastes, or feels something other than what her senses actually report. You can’t create a sensation where none exists, nor make the subject completely oblivious to a sensation, but you can replace the specifics of one sensation with different specifics.
This spell functions like silent image, except that sound, smell, and thermal illusions are included in the spell effect.
This spell creates the visual illusion of an object, creature, or force, as visualized by you. Master Manipulator's Captivating Speech can distract from an incongruous sight or sound, but not smell, taste, or feel.
Psibond (dominate) .1/.5; you're attempting to simulate the effect of telepathic Dominate Monster (good for 1 hour) using Diplomacy where a result of "fanatic" is the minimum adequate state for reasonable emulation. Without a guaranteed way of making DC 150 this isn't very good.
Sneak Attack .4/.7; Supernatural sudden strike isn't as good as sneak attack.
BAB, saves, and everything else: .25/.3; your Reflex save is a bit low, but mostly you're way behind on skills.

[dysprosium]

Thanks for judging Curmudgeon!

[Muggins]

Thanks for judging, Curmudgeon.

I wonder if we'll get another judge or two before the second of June?

[Ikeren]

Yep! I didn't put together a build for this competition, though I intended to. I couldn't come up with anything I liked.



Overall: I like the build a lot. I'd consider playing the build. I think you mix in some clever things; especially the extra Mindbender levels. That one really threw me, as I had to look up what levels past 1 of Mindbender did. My one critique is that it doesn't feel like a psibond agent build; a roguey-psychic-manipulator, but instead just a traditional mind-based caster.

Originality: There are two Psion (Telepaths) here, and Mindbender is a classic. Taking more than one level of Mindbender, however, is crazily unique. And Thrallherd is probably pretty rare given this line 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.” and you fairly ignored thrallheards thrall abilities, rather than writing extensively about them...so thank you. You're a human, which people generally mark down for...but it's not unoriginal, it's classic. I'll give the elf an extra half point instead for using a mediocre race.

4 out of 5.

Power: You get to 8th level powers with standard psionics high powered options and mindsight. You can probably be the parties primary caster or face, though you are missing out on 9ths, you do have options to cut the knot or ruin the game. I'm going to say not full tier 1 power here, but close. 2/ 2.5

Your out of combat abilities are face based and caster based. It's a solid run of things and ends up feeling like a pretty standard mind-based caster. 2/2.5

4 out of 5.

Elegance:

1 base class, two prestige classes, and pretty standard breakpoints. Using feats to grab things that are irrelevant to your build but relevant to the Psi-Bond Agent you're trying to mimic (Assassin's Stance) is odd --- you never mention it in your write up and as far as I can tell never intend to melee or range anyone --- which a Psi-Bond Agent would likely end up doing.

You can't take the feats in the order you present them due to initiator level and feats being gained prior to class features, but reordering them is trivial since most of your feats have no pre-requisites. -0.25 points. You also seem to not have intimidate as a class skill and to have mixed up your intelligence based skill points a bit, so -0.25 for that.

3.5 out of 5.


Resemblance to Secret Ingredient:

You have some of the skills expected (Gather info and sense motive) but miss the rogue list and the 6+int skills. Your hit dice is lower in the end, and you have half the sneak attack a psibond agent with minimal sneak attack will have --- with no intention to use it. You're reflex save is your bad save and your BAB is terrible --- in the end, you're nowhere near the chasis of the class.

On the other hand, you have a slew of charms, telepathy, ways to detect emotions and bonuses to social skills and bonuses to charms. But it's not enough to make you feel like a psibond agent --- you feel like a social focused telepath, instead.

I'll give you a 2 out of 5 here for the spells to mimic class features, the languages, and the power point, but ultimately the way your build plays and the way I expect a psibond agent build to play are very different.

2 out of 5.

Total score: 13.5/20.





Overall: Cool build. I like the Darkwood Stalker usage, and think that it was straight forward and did a reasonable job of looking like a psibond agent. The build is nowhere near as powerful as it could be, and I'd really have liked to see practised manifester end up in there --- without it, your metapsionic feats aren't super useful.

Originality: Rogue is the expected entry, but nobody else used it. Psion (telepath), however, showed up in another build, for almost the same number of levels. Darkwood stalker is a very original addition, as is using an elf.

4 out of 5.


Power: With base attack 15 and 4d6 sneak attack, backed by 4th level telepath powers and a decent range of skills, you're probably mid-low tier 3, high tier 4. You don't have any abilities to truly ruin or break the game, but you should be able to consistently perform and interact. You lack combat feats to make the best use of your BAB and Sneak Attack dice, but you have powers for backup and some metapsionic feats, which I'm sometimes less than certain what you plan to do with.

1.5/2.5 for the tier, 1.5/2.5 for the versatility.

3 out of 5.

Elegance:
2 base classes and one prestige class taken to completion --- but you have multiclass exp penalties, which are, to be fair, dumb rules which I've never heard of implemented before. I'd love a deeper explanation of the feat choice, because I end up looking up a bunch of things to figure out why you took the feats you did. You can only augment to 7 points, because that's your manifester level, which takes off some of the utility of the augment you point out in errata, and your metapsionic feats. It also ends up unclear why you bother mixing in psionic rogue, aside from for evasion and the sneak attack die.

3.5 out of 5.

Resemblance to the Secret Ingredient:

Your chasis is very close to being perfect (hit dice, skills, BAB, reflex save). You have the right minimum amount of sneak attack, and languages, and some power points.

Unfortunately, you can't use twin power on much (since it costs 6 power points), and your power usage is much more limited (based on power points) than a psi-bond agents. But you have most of the abilities in the right sort of way.

3.5 out of 5.

Total: 14/20




Originality: Well, I 100% wasn't suspecting a binder here. You're a human, but I still don't really care. You use standard binder choices, but binder choices are pretty limited. Knowledge Devotion is the only thing I look at in the build and say “Oh yeah, everyone uses that.”

4.5 out of 5

Power:

Binders are tier 3; your versatility is excellent (totally phenomenal), but your ability to excel or break the game (tier1-2) is missing. 3.5 out of 5. Your combat feat choices also make me a bit confused; you're looking at power attack, knowledge devotion, and weapon focus: club. I understand weapon focus is necessary for your prestige class...but why is club in there? Do one of the vestiges require it? I skimmed through them all, but can't find it. You're (at the point) only proficient with simple weapons, but how about morning stars or spears or quarter staffs?

Good inclusion of master manipulator, though.

3.5 out of 5.

Elegance:

One base class, two prestige classes taken to completion. Short book list, which is very nice. You don't do anything bizarre/rely on any debate rulings, and you've got full binder casting. The only slight messy bits are putting a single level of Knight of the Sacred Seal early, and choosing a club + power attack+knowledge devotion as your primary weapon when you are ostensibly something of a melee character.

4.5 out of 5.

Resemblance to Secret Ingredient:
Chasis: Inverting the saves is a minor problem, and the skills I like mildly less than you do, even with vestige swapping and Naebrius' bonuses --- and the sudden strike isn't quite sneak attack. Otherwise, you're good.

Your mimicking the psi-bond based class features is very much of mix of skills and supernatural abilities, rather than just purely supernatural abilities – though good job on a way of finding them. Force sense-link is limited to your pet bird, which is a pretty dramatic limit. I'm not sure read thoughts can get you visuals --- just surface thoughts. Maybe if your bird-targeted creature's surface thoughts were thinking about a description of the exact surrounding...?

You don't feel psionic at all, which is a minor problem for me, given that the title of the class you're attempting to mimic is psi-bond agent. Despite this, I expect the play style between you and the psychic rogue 10/psi-bond agent 10 sitting next to you will be very similar.

3 out of 5

Total: 15.5/20

[dysprosium]

Thanks for judging Ikeren!

And now a dispute for the Man.

curmudgeon dispute
Build Errors: XP penalty Uneven Levels: If any two of your multiclass character’s classes are two or more levels apart, the strain of developing and maintaining different skills at different levels takes its toll. Your multiclass character suffers a –20% penalty to XP for each class that is not within one level of his or her highest-level class

**note not limited to base class but applies also to PRC's

Based on your statment then you should either remove the penatly given to the build or assign penalty to the other builds for the same factor as everyone has them

Psychic Rogue 3/ Psion Telepath 7/ Darkwood Stalker 10
Telepath 5/Thrallherd 9/ Psionic Mindbender 6
Binder 10/Knight of the Sacred Seal 5/Scion of Dantalion 5


Innovation 3.5
execution was flawed as multiclassing XP penalties meant you could not attain the last 3 levels.
*See above XP dispute

Power 2.5:
In many ways this build is on target for power comparable to Psibond Agent; however, sneak attack and other aspects came up short because the build came up short at only 17 valid levels
*see above XP dispute

Elegance 2.9:
-.5 illegal build element: Darkwood Stalker 8 (insufficient XP)
-.5 illegal build element: Darkwood Stalker 9 (insufficient XP)
-.5 illegal build element: Darkwood Stalker 10 (insufficient XP)
*see above XP dispute

-.5 walls of text, text references rather than links
*not required to provide a link to references and this deduction is not appropriate

no class levels listed
*all cless levels are listed in the build and refenced= Psychic Rogue <http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b>, Psion Telepath (xph p19), Darkwood Stalker (Cwar p23)

plus formatting error in the build table @7 (poor plating)
*Yep only human here actuall managed to miss that one

-.1 sources only partially cited (poor ingredient list)
*all sources are cited classes in soures, feats with each feat, skills are associated to the classes, race is in the SRD, so this deduction is also not warented

So what ingredients are the Sauciers clamoring for upcoming rounds?

[Muggins]

So what ingredients are the Sauciers clamoring for upcoming rounds?
Serpent Slayer, from Serpent Kingdoms! :smallwink:

[Curmudgeon]

curmudgeon dispute
**note not limited to base class but applies also to PRC's

Based on your statment then you should either remove the penatly given to the build or assign penalty to the other builds for the same factor as everyone has them
I'm afraid that's not correct. The Dungeon Master's Guide is the primary source for prestige classes, not the Player's Handbook.
Errata Rule: Primary Sources

When you find a disagreement between two D&D® rules sources, unless an official errata file says otherwise, the primary source is correct. One example of a primary/secondary source is text taking precedence over a table entry. An individual spell description takes precedence when the short description in the beginning of the spells chapter disagrees.

Another example of primary vs. secondary sources involves book and topic precedence. The Player's Handbook, for example, gives all the rules for playing the game, for playing PC races, and for using base class descriptions. If you find something on one of those topics from the Dungeon Master's Guide or the Monster Manual that disagrees with the Player's Handbook, you should assume the Player's Handbook is the primary source. The Dungeon Master's Guide is the primary source for topics such as magic item descriptions, special material construction rules, and so on. The Monster Manual is the primary source for monster descriptions, templates, and supernatural, extraordinary, and spell-like abilities. Only base classes fall under jurisdiction of the "Uneven Levels" Player's Handbook multiclassing rule.

-.5 walls of text, text references rather than links
*not required to provide a link to references and this deduction is not appropriate
See my judging criteria post here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=17430666&postcount=5). You're not required to enter at all, but putting your build together skillfully is how you get top marks for Elegance. Any style of entry is allowed so long as it is clear on how the build was made; your style was not clear. As an example, the following excerpt:
Psicrystal Special Abilities
Owner Natural Int
Level Armor Adj. Adj. Special
This should have been a table to get the columns to line up and be readable, rather than a wall of text in a proportional font.

no class levels listed
*all cless levels are listed in the build and refenced= Psychic Rogue <http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b>, Psion Telepath (xph p19), Darkwood Stalker (Cwar p23)
In the build table you've got "Darkwood Stalker", "Darkwood Stalker", "Darkwood Stalker", & c. instead of "Darkwood Stalker 1", "Darkwood Stalker 2", "Darkwood Stalker 3", & c. Not listing the class levels made the build unclear and required extra work on my part to make sure I was judging correctly.

-.1 sources only partially cited (poor ingredient list)
*all sources are cited classes in soures, feats with each feat, skills are associated to the classes, race is in the SRD, so this deduction is also not warented
Your build references the power Suggestion, Implanted, from Complete Psionic (pages 102-103) under both Powers and Charater Features [sic]. No mention of Complete Psionic appears in your build. You cited some, but not all, of the sources you used.

[Ikeren]

I'd just like to note that Curmudgeon and I produced the same rankings, but I consider his style very Curmudgeonly :smalltongue:

I don't like the triple penalization of single errors: You take points off in Power, Elegance, and Use of Secret Ingredient all for the same error. You act like missing multiclass experience penalties is fatal to the build, taking off somewhere around 3 points --- the difference between 2nd and 1st place --- while noting that the error could be solved by merely trivially altering the race. There seems to be a judging paradigm here based around over-penalizing errors that definitely reduces my enjoyment in competing, and I'd hypothesize others, as well.

[Curmudgeon]

There seems to be a judging paradigm here based around over-penalizing errors that definitely reduces my enjoyment in competing, and I'd hypothesize others, as well.
What makes you think I'm over-penalizing as opposed to properly penalizing builds with illegal elements? Would a dessert that used a cup of salt where a cup of sugar was needed meet with your approval, because it was only a single, simple mistake? Most people would spit it out in disgust and consider the dish completely ruined because of that one error. In an Iron Chef competition the judges never hand-wave errors by the chefs and try to imagine how the dish would taste if it had been prepared properly; they judge what was actually cooked, including all the mistakes. So why shouldn't your approach to judging, where you gloss over execution errors, be considered slap-dash rather than responsible? You've awarded fairly close scores to builds which I thought differed markedly in their resemblance to the SI. If you did a better, more thorough job so that all dishes got proper consideration, the best would stand out from the competition. Aren't you depriving the top entrant of the fun of rising well above all the rest, as opposed to barely pulling ahead?

There are different ways of looking at things. Other than coming up with scores in the proper range, there really aren't any rules for ZS judges. I reject any assertion that your way of judging is superior. A judging paradigm that rewards all entrants as winners definitely reduces my enjoyment in the competition, and I'd hypothesize others, as well.

[Kazudo]

Judges are supposed to be critical, they're supposed to be as rough as they feel like they want to be, and they're supposed to be nigh uncontrolled. Some groups (like Junkyard Wars) will occasionally put up a bumper or flag a specific subject, but otherwise the judges really have the final say. They volunteered, they take their time to do this, and we're supposed to be getting as many points of view as possible, no matter how much they differ.

There is no one way to judge an entry, and there is no unifying judging criteria aside from the guidelines each competition sets forth. If one person has a preconceived notion of how the competition(s) should go, and that preconceived notion is different than the rest, typically that one person needs to shift their notion or find a new competition.

HOWEVER. In these competitions, those notions are warmly appreciated. If you undervalue fluff, don't judge based on fluff. If fluff is the most important thing to you, MAKE IT IMPORTANT. Varying judging styles transform these from "insert build receive score" to the competitions that they are.

[Ikeren]

I haven't actually watched the TV show you're referring to. That being said, in my eye, it isn't a dessert that substituted a cup of sugar for a cup of salt, but a dessert that missed a pinch of cinnamon that was supposedly required but still tastes lovely anyways.

But I think the entire thing falls apart because this is the internet, and about having fun.

And the best stands out by a margin of 7.5% above 2nd place and 10% above 3rd place. I feel pretty confident about that. I did penalize errors, just with less dramaticism. All the builds are good and none of them are terrible. Sure, Amalie Mindcrusher put the flour in before the eggs and made left a bit of a mess on the table...and it's justifiably the last placed character in both our score tables. I don't think everyone is a winner, and I think there are noticeably better builds and noticeably worse...but I think there is a way to judge them positively and a way to judge them negatively, and I think I'm choosing the former.


Amalgamated Scores:
Amalie Mindcrusher: 7.25+13.5 = 20.25/40
Cora Starflower: 12.2+14 = 26.2/40
Isabel, the North Ward Witcher: 15.1+15.5 = 30.6/40

[Muggins]

Addendum: Is there anything wrong with a judge's scoring method as long as it's consistent? In most cases, I believe not.

[Kazudo]

My understanding is that JW is the only one of these three that has criteria as a mandatory requirement for judging. Judges need not submit criteria, they need not even announce their rubric or categorize their scoring, just submit scores and wait for the flamewar and the inevitable flood of disputes that such a thing will usually generate.

There ARE some unspoken rules for judging that have become almost items of courtesy. Submit your judging rubric ASAP, receive criticism on your rubric. Submit scores following that rubric and judge completely consistently the entire time. Receive criticism on your scores and, if you're particularly unlucky, even your judging method. Receive disputes on the correction of your judging and, again, if you're unlucky, your willingness (or lack thereof) to change your judging method.

It gets messy if you ignore the courtesy of the competitions. I've made a few efforts with JW's judging to sort of put a few of these conventions into the realm of rules, but I still hold true that the judges' actual rubric or criteria should be entirely up to them. If a judge wants to rule that a build without 9th level spells is incredibly weak in the Power category regardless of the requirements of the competition, then that's their opinion, which we are actively asking them for. To tell someone you want their opinion on the matter and then hamstring their ability to do so is unfair.

[dysprosium]

I think that consistency is the most important part of a judge's scoring.

Not everyone is going to agree with how certain judges score the entries--not even other judges. That's part of the reason why having more judges are considered to be optimal. The more eyes that take the time to see everything the better and more often than not the best rise to the top.

Judges are supposed to give a critique of the builds--that's what we asked them to do!

[dysprosium]

In reference to somthing said earlier (and my apologies to those who have mentioned it to me):

Prestige classes do not incur multiclass penalties.

From the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/prestigeClasses.htm).

[relytdan]

I must be blind because in the refered srd - Prestige Classes

Prestige classes offer a new form of multiclassing. Unlike the basic classes, characters must meet Requirements before they can take their first level of a prestige class. The rules for level advancement apply to this system, meaning the first step of advancement is always choosing a class. If a character does not meet the Requirements for a prestige class before that first step, that character cannot take the first level of that prestige class. Taking a prestige class does not incur the experience point penalties normally associated with multiclassing.

Definitions Of Terms

Here are definitions of some terms used in this section.

Base Class

One of the standard eleven classes.

Caster Level

Generally equal to the number of class levels (see below) in a spellcasting class. Some prestige classes add caster levels to an existing class.

Character Level

The total level of the character, which is the sum of all class levels held by that character.

Class Level

The level of a character in a particular class. For a character with levels in only one class, class level and character level are the same.

- I do not see a reference to experience penalties ect....and dmg references phb for multi-class which explicitly covers the subject

[Muggins]

I must be blind because in the refered srd - Prestige Classes

Prestige classes offer a new form of multiclassing. Unlike the basic classes, characters must meet Requirements before they can take their first level of a prestige class. The rules for level advancement apply to this system, meaning the first step of advancement is always choosing a class. If a character does not meet the Requirements for a prestige class before that first step, that character cannot take the first level of that prestige class. Taking a prestige class does not incur the experience point penalties normally associated with multiclassing.

Definitions Of Terms

Here are definitions of some terms used in this section.

Base Class

One of the standard eleven classes.

Caster Level

Generally equal to the number of class levels (see below) in a spellcasting class. Some prestige classes add caster levels to an existing class.

Character Level

The total level of the character, which is the sum of all class levels held by that character.

Class Level

The level of a character in a particular class. For a character with levels in only one class, class level and character level are the same.

- I do not see a reference to experience penalties ect....and dmg references phb for multi-class which explicitly covers the subject

There it is.

[Curmudgeon]

It's worth pointing out that that highlighted sentence was added to the SRD by WotC; it's not in the original core text from page 176 of Dungeon Master's Guide. Just one of the many instances of stealth errata that Wizards of the Coast is so fond of. :smallamused:

[relytdan]

duely noted - I missed that one.

[Humble Master]

My judging. Feel free to comment, criticize and dispute, I'm still kind of new to this.

Amalie Mindcrusher

Innovation (2) I definitely expected Mindbender and Psion Telepath. None of your feats were really innovative either and Human is pretty much the standard race. Thrallherd was maybe a little less expected however.
Power (4) You manage 8th level Psionic Powers which is certainly better than a Psionic Rouge 10/Psibond Adgent 10. Not much else though and your power lists isn’t the best.
Elegance (1.5) There are some build errors which Crumudgeon outlined. I won't explain them here but they do constitute a penalty to elegance. Also, there are no sources listed, nor is there a place where you explain how the build emulates Psibond Adgent. You take no dips however and the classes you chose all fit together perfectly in terms of flavor.
Ingredient (2.5) Hit Dice, BAB, Saves, Skills: You have on average worse Hit Dice, BAB and Skills than the Psibond Agent as well as a different Good Save.
-Psibond-
Forced Sense Link: You have Sense Link but not Forced Sense Link.
Nudge: Psionic Suggestion and/or Push the Weak Mind.
Empathy: Read Thoughts and/or Mindread though you get surface thoughts not surface emotions.
Suggestion: Psionic Suggestion and/or Push the Weak Mind.
False Sensory Input: You can manifest False Sensory Input as a power.
Dominate: Psionic Dominate.
Sneak Attack: Even if you qualified for Assasin's Stance it would only give you 2d6 Sneak Attack.
Lingering Psibond: You don't have anything that lets you maintain your telepathic powers without concentration.
Double Psibond: You can just manifest multiple Psionic Dominates and Schism lets you Concentrate on two Read Thoughts/Sense Links.


Total (10)The build errors, lack of sources and no explanation of emulations was my biggest problem with this build. You could have been more innovative but that wasn’t a huge issue. Still, you made a powerful character that emulated some of the aspects of the Psibond Adgent. Over all, a decent entry.

Cora Starflower

Innovation (3) Psion Telepath was probably to be expected as was Psychic Rouge; certainly not Darkstalker or Elf however.
Power (3) This build is on roughly the same power level as a Psychic Rouge 10/Psibond Adgent 10 though this character would probably fill a different roll.
Elegance (4) I am going to ignore the XP penalty that Curmudgeon pointed out because I find it to be a silly rule and thus never consider it. Your build has no dips in it and has no other rule errors though Darkwood Stalker feels a little out of place flavor wise.
Ingredient (3.5) Hit Dice, BAB, Saves, Skills: You get on average the same Hit Dice and BAB as well as have around the same bonus to Ref save. You don’t have as many skill points however.
-Psibond-
Forced Sense Link: You have Sense Link and not Force Sense Link.
Nudge: Psionic Suggestion.
Empathy: Empathy power.
Suggestion: Psionic Suggestion.
False Sensory Input: False Sensory Input power.
Dominate: Psionic Dominate.
Sneak Attack: You get 4d6 Sneak Attack dice.
Lingering Psibond: You don't have anything that lets you maintain your telepathic powers without concentration.
Double Psibond: You don't have anything that lets you maintain two concentration powers at once.


Total (13.5)Barring the XP error (which I'm not counting) there are no serious problems with the build. The two biggest hits were the power which was brought down heavily by Darkwood Stalker and Innovation which was brought down by Psionic Rouge and Psion. All in all, a very nice and respectable entry.

Isabel, the North Ward Witcher

I'd like to be forward and say I am very unfamiliar with Binding so take this judging with a grain of salt.

Innovation (4.5) I didn't expect any of these classes and nobody else used them. Human is standard but really that's all.
Power (3.5) Isabel is quite the Diplomancer and has a ton of options for social encounters as well as some other abilities for when talking isn't appropriate.
Elegance (5) As I said above, I'm not well versed in Binding so I don't know all the fluff. Still, you took all Binding classes so that probably syncs fluff wise. No dips and no cheese made for an extremely Elegant entry.
Ingredient (1) Hit Dice, BAB, Saves, Skills: You get better Hit Dice and the same BAB. Your skills aren't exactly the same but you have some Vestiges to help with that.
-Psibond-
Forced Sense Link: Bird's Eye Viewing is a poor emulation as it only lets you see through the bird and not say the guard going to check on the secret vault.
Nudge: A Diplomacy or Bluff check really doesn't cut it for the ability to psionically nudge someone to make a specific choice.
Empathy: Read Thoughts ability though it lets you detect surface thoughts instead of emotions.
Suggestion: Persuasive Words ability.
False Sensory Input: Major and Silent Image are Figments. They specifically create a new false sensation and cannot make something appear to be something else. Meanwhile, False Sensory Input stipulates that it cannot create a sensation were none exist. This isn't a very good emulation.
Dominate: This wasn't emulated.
Sneak Attack: You get 6d6 Sudden Strike which is close enough to Sneak Attack
Lingering Psibond: You don't have anything that lets you maintain your telepathic powers without concentration.
Double Psibond: You have this but only for your Read Thoughts ability.


Total (14) If nothing else, this build is Innovative and Elegant. You used a class I, and probably a lot of others, were surprised by and there is honestly nothing I can mark you down Elegance wise (Nice fluff by the way). Sadly, you didn't manage to really emulate Psibond Adgent that much which is kind of the whole point of the contest. Despite this, the rest of the build is top notch so keep at it and congradulations.

[Kazudo]

My brain doesn't work sideways enough to compete or judge effectively in this one, methinks. I will however volunteer for position of cheerleader.

[Ikeren]

Amalgamated Scores:
Amalie Mindcrusher: 7.25+13.5+10 = 30.25/60
Cora Starflower: 12.2+14+13.5 = 39.7/60
Isabel, the North Ward Witcher: 15.1+15.5+14 = 44.6/60

Also, all 3 judges agree about the ranking of 1st/2nd/3rd, which I find kinda neat.

[Curmudgeon]

So what ingredients are the Sauciers clamoring for upcoming rounds?
For a base class, Spirit Shaman (Complete Divine, pages 14-18).
For a prestige class, either Arboreal Guardian (Ghostwalk, pages 19-20) or Bloodhound (Complete Adventurer, pages 28-31).

[dysprosium]

Thanks for judging Humble Master!

Just one more rebuttal for the Man:


Rebuttle:

the current chairman has not said that the hard limit is at 190,000 exp for 20th level
nor has the current chairman set a limit at any amount over as a bonus either

the judge is presuming the exp top end of experience to be at the very begining of level 20 at 190,000 exp
and not givin consideration that any build could have 209,999 exp
therefore any build entry could have 190,000 to 209,999 exp and be level 20


190,000 - 20% exp penalty 38,000 exp = 152,000 exp a level 17 just 1,000 exp shy of level 18 - where the judge has decided cora's experience ended

209,999 - 20% exp penatly 41,998.8 exp = 168,000.2 exp a level 18, just 3,000 exp shy of level 19 - where cora could have ended experience


In reviewing the judges criteria on the subject of exp penalties..
- none stated

On the bright side, I have the next ingredient chosen for the silver competition.

[Sian]

just to get a bit anal, Cora would only have XP penalty at level 4 and from 8'th onwards so its probably even less

[Curmudgeon]

the current chairman has not said that the hard limit is at 190,000 exp for 20th level
nor has the current chairman set a limit at any amount over as a bonus either
Here's what has been written on this topic:

Zinc Saucier XVII: This one has favored enemies

Competitors will receive a total of 209,999 experience points, expressly permitting LA buy-off or other tricks.

Are we using the rule from the last few competitions that you get 1exp less than it'd take to get to level 21, or going back to the usual IC way of handling LA buyoff and such?

Yeah, I took out that part. It seemed like it was a leftover from the Epic Infiltrator competition.

I wanted this go around to go back to what was done here before (like in IC).
Basically, the exact XP figure is unstated and left to each judge's discretion. IC judges have often taken off half a point from scores because competitors used LA buyoff, assuming 3,000 more XP than the minimum needed for level 20; that's a whole lot less than the 19,999 XP overage which you're requesting (and which has been explicitly removed from the ZS rules). If the Chairman provides a hard XP number I'll be glad to revisit my judgment of this character, and I'd welcome greater clarity for future competitions. Frankly, though, the difference in ending prematurely 2 levels early vs. ending prematurely 3 levels early is not significant in this case; the character still wouldn't acquire the minimum matching sneak attack figure of the SI, for instance.



just to get a bit anal, Cora would only have XP penalty at level 4 and from 8'th onwards so its probably even less
Even less than what, might I ask?

Cora Starflower 12.2

Multiclassing XP penalties were not taken into account. See "Uneven Levels" under XP FOR MULTICLASS CHARACTERS (Player's Handbook, page 60). This ZS competition is predicated on 190,000 XP, the amount necessary to build an ECL 20 character. (Previous competitions under Chairman matti_p had a higher budget of 209,999 XP.) The favored class for Elf characters is Wizard. At level 4 you have uneven levels (Psychic Rogue 3/Psion Telepath 1); this costs an extra 1,000 XP with the 20% multiclassing penalty to reach level 5. You have uneven levels again starting at level 8 (Psychic Rogue 3/Psion Telepath 5) throughout the rest of the build.

[relytdan]

just to get a bit anal, Cora would only have XP penalty at level 4 and from 8'th onwards so its probably even less

Lets explore the exp penatlties based on levels
at 4th cora starflower has 3 psychic rogue and 1 psion telepath

level 4 20%
4th 6,000 - lose 1,200 exp

level 5 20%
5th 10,000 - lose 2,000 exp

level 6 0
level 7 0

level 8 20%
8th 28,000 - lose 5,600 exp

level 9 20%
9th 36,000 - lose 7,200 exp

level 10 20%
10th 45,000 - lose 9,000 exp

level 11 -20 are all PRC and do not count for exp penalties

this would put the build loseing a grand total of 25,000 EXP for a total of 165,000 EXP

which could put the build between 18th at 153,000 exp and 19th at 171,000 exp and as the way it is written the exp penalties seem to be based on each uneven level so maybe there is a point as to where the penalties put the build level wise

[Muggins]

Don't you receive experience penalties regardless of whether the class taken each level is a base class? Prestige classes aren't included when determining multiclass penalties, but you'd still be taking the experience penalty from your uneven base class levels.

[Curmudgeon]

Don't you receive experience penalties regardless of whether the class taken each level is a base class? Prestige classes aren't included when determining multiclass penalties, but you'd still be taking the experience penalty from your uneven base class levels.
That's exactly what the rule says.
Uneven Levels: If any two of your multiclass character’s classes are two or more levels apart, the strain of developing and maintaining different skills at different levels takes its toll. Your multiclass character suffers a –20% penalty to XP for each class that is not within one level of his or her highest-level class. These penalties apply from the moment the character adds a class or raises a class’s level too high. Prestige classes don't factor into the "Uneven Levels" computation, but taking PrC levels doesn't keep that rule from applying when your base class levels are uneven. It's an XP penalty, not an "I'm getting XP in a base class" penalty.

[dysprosium]

Well this round seems to be over so let's call it.



Place
Entry
Saucier
Judge 1
Judge 2
Judge 3
Total


1st
Isabel the North Ward Witcher
Muggins
15.1
15.5
14
44.6


2nd
Cora Starflower
relytdan
12.2
14
13.5
39.7


3rd
Amalie Mindcrusher
Jurai
7.25
13.5
10
30.75



Congratulations to our Sauciers!
Thank you to the judges Curmudgeon, Ikeren, and Humble Master!

The Silver Anniversary Edition is up now (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?353923-Zinc-Saucier-XXV-Silver-Anniversary-Edition)!

[Muggins]

Gosh, how did I miss this?

Thanks for judging, judges!