Villainous Competition, Or Optimize my BBEG!

[Gwachitallemall]

Welcome, everyone, to the first Installation of Optimize my BBEG!

This was brought about by a different thread, saying it would be a good idea to have one of these, so here we are!

The specific quote that brought us about:

Are they allowed to have shows that's not about building cars? Maybe warforged counts?

I was actually thinking more along the lines of "Pimp my ride" or "Queer eye...": "Tonight, our crack team of evil optimization experts meet their toughest challenge yet: a BBEG who just can't get it together!"
"Can the team help this aspiring overlord get back on track? Find out at 8!"
We're a little different than most of the optimization threads.

Contestants: You will need to present a write-up of your build with at least one of the following points: 5th level, 10th level, 15th, 20th, and a "sweet spot" that you feel is the high point of the build, as well as presenting a fully-fleshed out 20-level build in the table below. Feel free to present as many of these as you like, and please give a rundown of the build's abilities and playability at all of the levels you didn't show. The rules are as follows:

32 point-buy is the presumed creation method, but we have generally allowed other levels of point-buy.
If you do use a different point-buy, please make your case for its necessity in your entry. Keep in mind that for using exceptionally large or small point-buys may warrant deductions in elegance and/or power.

Secret Laboratory: 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 or Generic Classes are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Item Familiars and Taint are also banned from the competition. We don’t want to make this too easy, do we?

Plotting Time: Contestants will have until 17:59 CST (23:59 GMT) Monday, February 9th to create their builds and PM them to the Supreme Chancellor, Gwachitallemall. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 17:59 CST (23:59 GMT) Monday, February 23rd to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

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

Concept will be how close the contestants stick to the contest’s concept, based on the judge’s discretion.

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. As the Iron Chef competition states, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
Elegance: Level adjustment buyoff is allowed, but may be docked off Elegance based on the judge’s preference.
Presentation: Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build, as I'm likely to miss it when reviewing the entries!

Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to use the following table for their entry.


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



Speculation: Please don’t post or speculate on possible builds until the “reveal, in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.

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

Concept for this 1st Contest is:
Warlord, Leader of Armies!
For this one, keep your BAB as high as possible! Classes that get 9th level spells are disallowed. This includes 9th level manifesting as well.
This is the Warlord of a horde of warriors, who marches in with his superior forces and tactics, and conquers all.
Leadership is banned for sanity reasons, otherwise it would be perfect for this contest. If you want to, assume that you have an army to lead. You must be deserving of it.
To Clarify:
No Leadership, Draconic Cohort, or Feats that grant a similar ability are allowed. Any PrC you choose with Leadership or a Leadership-analog (Such as Thrallherd) has that ability entirely ignored for this contest, as it may neither be used nor traded away via any means whatsoever.

We will award 1st through 3rd places, as well as a shout-out for honorable mention. The honorable mention prize is given to the most daring or unexpected build. Judges, contestants and guests alike are invited to vote for honorable mention via PM. If there are no votes, Honourable mention will go to the Supreme Chancellor’s favourite build.

Begin your evil plotting.

For this first contest, we'll be going by ECL, not CR. So look for ECL 5, 10, 15, 20 as your building points.

Tips for submitting your entry, provided by Weaselguy:


- Use capitalization and punctuation, correctly.
- Make good use of Spoilers, for cleanliness.
- Don't forget your sources. If it's something that can be found in the contents section, then book title seems to be fine. Obscure stuff, may want to include page number too.
- DeviantArt has about 9 billion pictures that you can reference, I can almost guarantee you can find one there to fit your character.
- Make good use of tables. In addition to the Build table and the Spells table, I like doing on e for my Ability Scores, just to keep it neat.
- Do a build stub at the top of your Build Table, something like Wizard 2/Fighter 3/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 10

[LooseCannoneer]

Is 9th level manifesting allowed?

[Karl Aegis]

Are we supposed to be finding a relationship between conquering and BAB in this contest? There doesn't seem to be any obvious relationship between the two.

[Gwachitallemall]

Is 9th level manifesting allowed? Or is that seen as the equivalent of 9th level spellcasting?

Disallowed. I will edit the original post to include this.


Am I allowed to use classes that can get 9th level spellcasting as long as I don't advance high enough in that class to get 9th level spells?

You may, but judges are free to score this at their discretion.

[Gwachitallemall]

Are we supposed to be finding a relationship between conquering and BAB in this contest? There doesn't seem to be any obvious relationship between the two.

The idea is to be a good warrior, as well as a leader. Perhaps in a future competition we'll have a leader who is not a warrior.

The idea is to take a specific villainous concept (In this case, Warlord of Armies, like Cluny the Scourge.) And Optimize it.

[LooseCannoneer]

Okay, one last clarifying question: Is Thrallherd legal?

[Gwachitallemall]

Okay, one last clarifying question: Is Thrallherd legal?

I'm adopting the Iron Chef's Stance on this:

No Leadership, Draconic Cohort, or Feats that grant a similar ability are allowed. Any PrC you choose with Leadership or a Leadership-analog (Such as Thrallherd) has that ability entirely ignored for this contest, as it may neither be used nor traded away via any means whatsoever.

[Red Fel]

A villain competition? I'll be the judge of that!

... Or one of, anyways. I can't help but feel that this falls somewhat within my area of expertise.

[Elricaltovilla]

I gotta ask for some consideration for those of us who play Pathfinder. I won't even use PoW if you don't want me to (Just going Warlord 20 would be too easy anyway :smalltongue:) although it does make things easier.

[Gwachitallemall]

I gotta ask for some consideration for those of us who play Pathfinder. I won't even use PoW if you don't want me to (Just going Warlord 20 would be too easy anyway :smalltongue:) although it does make things easier.

I don't really know anything about Pathfinder other than the basics (It's like D&D 3.75). I'm not comfortable being the Supreme Chancellor of a Villainous Competition using subject matter I'm not familiar with, sorry.

[Vhaidara]

Personally, I feel that having Leadership or a copycat ability should be required for this particular competition.

Also, this looks like it should be interesting.

[Gwachitallemall]

Personally, I feel that having Leadership or a copycat ability should be required for this particular competition.

Also, this looks like it should be interesting.

It's been a debate of mine. I don't want anyones Sanity to implode, but it's really up the judges.. After all they're going to be the ones having to judge all of those builds the players have written. Really, in your secret lab, we should just be judging your piece d' resistance, not the bunch of little minions you have running around. While the minions themselves are a pretty spectacular feat of engineering, we want to know how you built the rocket to steal the moon.

[Troacctid]

I'd say Leadership goes the way of magic items: it's assumed that your minions are cool, and you can leave out the details.

[Vhaidara]

It's been a debate of mine. I don't want anyones Sanity to implode, but it's really up the judges.. After all they're going to be the ones having to judge all of those builds the players have written. Really, in your secret lab, we should just be judging your piece d' resistance, not the bunch of little minions you have running around. While the minions themselves are a pretty spectacular feat of engineering, we want to know how you built the rocket to steal the moon.

Oh, I didn't mean fully stat out all the followers, or even the cohort. But you should have room for the feat that gets you your army.

[Svata]

Soulmelds, allowed or nay?

[Gwachitallemall]

Oh, I didn't mean fully stat out all the followers, or even the cohort. But you should have room for the feat that gets you your army.

We could go with that. Or it could be implied, like in my original post, that you already have your army, and have no need of a feat that will get you one. You are the BBEG. You are not a player character, you have been given your abilities by the DM, not a player. You just follow the rules of a player character except for where you have an army.


Soulmelds, allowed or nay?

I don't see any reason why not.. Let me get back to you on this one tomorrow after I've slept on it. Optimistic yes, for now.
Edit: Thinking about it, yeah, I'll allow soulmelds.

[LooseCannoneer]

I think contestants should have to describe their army and what it is, as that offers a lot of flavor to the submitted villain.

[Red Fel]

We could go with that. Or it could be implied, like in my original post, that you already have your army, and have no need of a feat that will get you one. You are the BBEG. You are not a player character, you have been given your abilities by the DM, not a player. You just follow the rules of a player character except for where you have an army.

Admittedly, I think that requires a somewhat heavier emphasis on style and usage. As the DM, you're free to make a big bag of stats, and if this is going to be a BBEG, you probably should. NPCs don't require things like Leadership to gain minions; they have them almost by default, as the plot requires. In my mind, it's not just the stats and mechanics themselves, but what you do with them, and how, which makes the difference between a random encounter and a memorable boss battle.

I, for one, want to see just how memorable these things can be. For example, I have absolute confidence that people here can make awesome and intimidating melee combatants. But what does your BBEG do outside of combat? Does he have an entertaining or impressive backstory? A theme song? A sense of style? If he has minions, what's the morale among them?

I don't expect this to be like any other Iron Chef. Yes, I hope to see some excellent, clever, and solid builds; that goes without saying. But I want to see something more than that; I want to see thematics, and flair, and style! Egads, we need more villains with style! Be clever and manipulative, be brutal and cruel, be sneaky and deceptive, be freezing cold or burning hot, but give me something more than just some combat rolls!

Come on, kids. Get on with your bad selves. :smallamused:

[Vhaidara]

Red Fel, you know who else would be perfect for your avatar? Megamind. Because it's all about Presentation!

[Gwachitallemall]

You know.. I had a response,, but Red Fel just said it so much more eloquently than I could.

So yes, Army is good thing, you don't need the feat leadership to dictate that, instead, use the style of your army, write descriptions, maybe they carry you in on a throne of skulls (Sorry if I'm using anyone's idea) and chant "Khorne! Khorne! Khorne! Blood for the Blood God!"

Cause you know, Khorne has the most style.

[AvatarVecna]

Just to clarify, is it more important that our build have full BAB and leader abilities, or that they be a capable combatant with leadership abilities?

EDIT: Also, what's the limit on entries per contestant?

[LooseCannoneer]

I feel that we need some restrictions on wealth. Would it be traditional WBL, or is it anything goes?

And what are the levels of the follower army, are they as granted by Leadership, or are they more than that? How many are there and what levels are they?

[WeaselGuy]

It seems I was beat to the punch, but I feel like this too is an occasion for people to have leadership, in the same vein as "you have a bunch of followers and a cohort or two, but we don't need the stats for them". It opens up a particular PrC that I was planning on using for my entry, but, as the case may be, I feel I can probably develop something without that specific PrC... I plan on entering Iron Chef this cycle too, so if I finish that one in time, I may enter this one too, otherwise I'll judge this one.

[Svata]

Decisions, Decisions. Do I want [REDACTED] or [CLASSIFIED] more? If I go with [REDACTED] I get an extra [SCRUBBED], and +1 to my [LOLNO], but on the other hand, [CLASSIFIED] gets me an extra [HIDDEN], which I already get less of than [SCRUBBED]. Hmmm...

[Sam K]

As the "inventor" of this idea, I want to fully endorse putting more focus on style than the other optimization contests (while still retaining a standard of optimization that makes the laws of physics cry, obviously). After all, BBEGs get relatively little combat time compared to PCs, so being a memorable character requires more than just being able to cause a TPK.

[LooseCannoneer]

No, seriously, what is the wealth limit? Do you want us giving all of our melee minions +5 Vorpal Swords? Do you want us buying everything we could ever want?

[AvatarVecna]

No, seriously, what is the wealth limit? Do you want us giving all of our melee minions +5 Vorpal Swords? Do you want us buying everything we could ever want?

If this works anything like the Iron Chef competition the OP copy-pasta'd, then standard WBL is assumed, but we shouldn't mention specific items unless they're particularly integral to the build (ex: if a build focuses around the interaction between a couple if feats, a class feature, and a particular weapon enchantment, it will be assumed that you have a weapon with said enchantment, especially if the build is pretty crappy without it).

EDIT 1:

Note to self: in the future, keep the contest's premise in mind, and don't even bother picking up BoED.

EDIT 2:

BoEF, on the other hand...

[WhamBamSam]

Well, I have an idea for this which I'm pretty sure will be distinct from the pack. We'll see if I have time to write it up.

[Gwachitallemall]

Man, go to sleep and the thread blows up. Let me see if I can respond to the important queries..

WBL is assumed standard, but don't use it, as it's not really about the wealth. If you want to expand on how most of your wealth was spent equipping your army, that's fine, but it's not really a judging point.

Style is preferred.

As far as leadership, again.. You can consider that you have the feat, but please for the love of all that's unholy don't make the followers/cohorts.

The level of the army is as granted by leadership, but that's all that needs to be said there.

As for leader with capabilities. You're a warlord. You should be able to fight your own battles, some times you get duels and have to fight them. It's important to have both leadership abilties, and combat abilities. Also, you need to be able to do something outside of combat as well.

Limit on entries per contestant.. As many as you want to make. If this bites me this time, I'll cut it back next time, but I don't think on this first attempt there will be that many people wanting to do this, I may be wrong however. If we get too many, I can always extend the judges time.

[Scorponok]

I approve of this and happy that a topic I created led to this exercise.

Please post all of them when the contest ends.

[Gwachitallemall]

I approve of this and happy that a topic I created led to this exercise.

Please post all of them when the contest ends.

I'm going to be posting all of the entries in here, and the judges will be able to judge them, but everyone will be able to see them. However, I'm not going to say who made the entry, until the judges have posted their judging metrics, the contestants have responded via pm to me with any judging questions about scoring that they have, and the judges have responded back as well. Also, once the timeline is up, that's when the scores will be posted.

[AirApparent]

I've got an idea I'm working on.
Just to clarify, if we do not have Leadership we can still be assumed to have an army to lead, right?

[Gwachitallemall]

I've got an idea I'm working on.
Just to clarify, if we do not have Leadership we can still be assumed to have an army to lead, right?

Correct. Don't stat the army, however.

[WhamBamSam]

Correct. Don't stat the army, however.Are general guidelines about the sort of forces the leader commands acceptable?

[Red Fel]

Are general guidelines about the sort of forces the leader commands acceptable?

Given that the challenge is to create some kind of Warlord, it would be abundantly helpful to know that, I'd think. General stuff - rough numbers, morale, dress code, funding, level of loyalty/fear/mind control that keeps them in line, that sort of thing. If you think about it, those are all really reflections on the BBEG anyway - how he commands an army, how they respect/fear/blindly obey him, whether he feeds them, and so forth.

But, it's not my competition, so don't mind me. I'll just sit here. Judging you all.

[Gwachitallemall]

Given that the challenge is to create some kind of Warlord, it would be abundantly helpful to know that, I'd think. General stuff - rough numbers, morale, dress code, funding, level of loyalty/fear/mind control that keeps them in line, that sort of thing. If you think about it, those are all really reflections on the BBEG anyway - how he commands an army, how they respect/fear/blindly obey him, whether he feeds them, and so forth.

But, it's not my competition, so don't mind me. I'll just sit here. Judging you all.

I'll agree here. Generally, whatever the judges think goes, they have far more sway over the competition than the Supreme Chancellor does, he only sets up and receives and delivers the competition to his waiting masses, as he prepares the death of the judg..jedi.

[WhamBamSam]

Given that the challenge is to create some kind of Warlord, it would be abundantly helpful to know that, I'd think. General stuff - rough numbers, morale, dress code, funding, level of loyalty/fear/mind control that keeps them in line, that sort of thing. If you think about it, those are all really reflections on the BBEG anyway - how he commands an army, how they respect/fear/blindly obey him, whether he feeds them, and so forth.

But, it's not my competition, so don't mind me. I'll just sit here. Judging you all.Right, but what about the crunchy part? Say, for example, I really want my army to consist of a bunch of LE Soulborn, or have levels in Dwarven Defender assuming they're a high enough level, or something (trying to avoid speculation, but you get the idea). Is that a reasonable thing to say in my write up?

[Gwachitallemall]

Right, but what about the crunchy part? Say, for example, I really want my army to consist of a bunch of LE Soulborn, or have levels in Dwarven Defender assuming they're a high enough level, or something (trying to avoid speculation, but you get the idea). Is that a reasonable thing to say in my write up?

Just don't cheese it out or make the characters, say, you can say you have a bunch of dwarven defenders as your vanguard, that's reasonable. I'd even consider it reasonable to have how your army is generally set up in battles, if you want to go that far. After all, you're making not just optimized BBEG's, you're making stylish BBEG's, and above all, you're making BBEG's that a person looking at this thread will just go. "Hey. That looks like a great BBEG for me. I'm going to put that guy into my next campaign." That's what we're going for here. Style, power, and above all, fun and playability.

[AirApparent]

I'm going to follow Exemplar's of Evil's lead and have the main villain and two to three minor villains (Not full stats though, maybe just a class level breakdown like fighter2/barbarian 3), and give a general idea of the size and makeup of the army he controls.

[WeaselGuy]

Well, now I have to make a decision. I finished my build for Iron Chef with plenty of time to spare, so do I want to work on the backstory for the character I designed for this competition, or hold back and try my hand at judging for the first time? With regards to the character, I have a pretty cohesive level progression, just need to pick out a few auxiliary feats and assign some skills, pick a few necessary items and similar things, and decide what his army is going to consist of, along with major battle tactics...

[Gwachitallemall]

Well, now I have to make a decision. I finished my build for Iron Chef with plenty of time to spare, so do I want to work on the backstory for the character I designed for this competition, or hold back and try my hand at judging for the first time? With regards to the character, I have a pretty cohesive level progression, just need to pick out a few auxiliary feats and assign some skills, pick a few necessary items and similar things, and decide what his army is going to consist of, along with major battle tactics...

Do whichever you want. :) I only have one judge confirmed so far, I'm sure we'll get more though.

[Troacctid]

I might be in to judge, but I'm not really sure how to deal with Power in the context of a villain. Villains don't have the same expectations as PCs. They're not supposed to tackle CR-appropriate encounters--they're supposed to be an encounter. "More powerful" doesn't mean it's a better build, it just means it's a build better-suited for a high-level adventure. Furthermore, villains aren't constrained by xp totals the way PCs are. Normally, it would be bad for a PC to have 7 levels of Monk on their otherwise single-classed Cleric because those are levels that aren't giving you any casting... but for the BBEG, levels aren't a limited resource, because you're the DM and you can give them as many levels as they need, so just tack those 7 levels on top of all the Cleric casting, leave the CR the same, and cackle maniacally. Similar story for templates and monstrous races--the ECL should matter a lot less than the CR.

The easy answer is to judge Power as if they were a PC. However, that solution leaves a bad taste in my mouth--this isn't supposed to be a contest about building PCs, and I don't want it to feel like one.

Red Fel, you're judging, what do you think?

[WeaselGuy]

My submission is away :smallsmile: best of luck to all the entrants!

[Red Fel]

I might be in to judge, but I'm not really sure how to deal with Power in the context of a villain. Villains don't have the same expectations as PCs. They're not supposed to tackle CR-appropriate encounters--they're supposed to be an encounter. "More powerful" doesn't mean it's a better build, it just means it's a build better-suited for a high-level adventure. Furthermore, villains aren't constrained by xp totals the way PCs are. Normally, it would be bad for a PC to have 7 levels of Monk on their otherwise single-classed Cleric because those are levels that aren't giving you any casting... but for the BBEG, levels aren't a limited resource, because you're the DM and you can give them as many levels as they need, so just tack those 7 levels on top of all the Cleric casting, leave the CR the same, and cackle maniacally. Similar story for templates and monstrous races--the ECL should matter a lot less than the CR.

The easy answer is to judge Power as if they were a PC. However, that solution leaves a bad taste in my mouth--this isn't supposed to be a contest about building PCs, and I don't want it to feel like one.

Red Fel, you're judging, what do you think?

Remember, the criteria are: Originality, Power, Elegance, Concept.

What you seem to be expressing concern about is the intersection of two of them - Power and Elegance. Yes, a submission can involve a level 40, CR 100 titanic mammoth monstrosity, but would it be elegant? The two balance each other nicely. By way of a less hypothetical illustration, a BBEG that has levels of Wizard, Cleric, and Psion, as well as several PrCs progressing them into triple-9 casting, has power, no question. But that mish-mosh of character levels is hideous, and loses points on elegance. A straight Wizard 20 is still powerful, and more elegant, but misses out on originality.

In one sense, you're judging power in a vacuum. For example, if all you have is a Monk with a boatload of templates, it's not going to be all that powerful. A Cleric with one or two choice templates would easily outperform it in terms of power. But remember also that, in 3.X/PF, a BBEG has to be an encounter for a party of multiple PCs. So it should be powerful enough to at least force a group of 4+ PCs to expand a substantial amount of their daily resources. You're not just judging power in a vacuum, although that's part of it. You're also judging, roughly, how powerful this thing would be compared to a party. And for purposes of that, I'd suggest going with the stereotypical (if sub-optimal) beatstick/skillmonkey/healbot/blaster party. That's an easy one to plan for, it's not super-optimized, but it covers bases.

Shorter version, though, is that it's really not unlike a PC building competition. The criteria are similar. We're looking for something strong, something elegant, something original, and something with great concept behind it. That's true whether you're making a PC or a BBEG. The only difference, or the biggest one, in any event, is that a BBEG has the full resources of a DM behind him. And that means more. More firepower, more tricks, more conniving, more manipulation, more everything. And that's what I, for one, want to see - don't just make a PC that happens to be bad. Make him more.

We do need more judges, though. And I think there are people here up to the task.

... I call dibs on being Simon Cowell, though.

[Vhaidara]

We do need more judges, though. And I think there are people here up to the task.

I shall answer to call of my overlord. I throw my hat in the ring to judge.


... I call dibs on being Simon Cowell, though.

Can I be Ryan Seacrest?

[Doctor Awkward]

I'd love to give it a shot. If I want to compete, I should just PM my character to the proper authorities as noted in the first post?

[Gwachitallemall]

I'd love to give it a shot. If I want to compete, I should just PM my character to the proper authorities as noted in the first post?

To me, that's correct.

[fishyfishyfishy]

If I can find the time I will participate in judging. I would compete, but since I work 5 feet from the Supreme Chancellor and gave him the idea to make the first competition about being a Warlord, it might be a little unfair.

That said, I would like to make a suggested edit to the first post: Instead of asking that contestants should present builds at specific levels, they should be presented at equivalent CR. It only makes sense.

[WhamBamSam]

Remember, the criteria are: Originality, Power, Elegance, Concept.

What you seem to be expressing concern about is the intersection of two of them - Power and Elegance. Yes, a submission can involve a level 40, CR 100 titanic mammoth monstrosity, but would it be elegant? The two balance each other nicely. By way of a less hypothetical illustration, a BBEG that has levels of Wizard, Cleric, and Psion, as well as several PrCs progressing them into triple-9 casting, has power, no question. But that mish-mosh of character levels is hideous, and loses points on elegance. A straight Wizard 20 is still powerful, and more elegant, but misses out on originality.

In one sense, you're judging power in a vacuum. For example, if all you have is a Monk with a boatload of templates, it's not going to be all that powerful. A Cleric with one or two choice templates would easily outperform it in terms of power. But remember also that, in 3.X/PF, a BBEG has to be an encounter for a party of multiple PCs. So it should be powerful enough to at least force a group of 4+ PCs to expand a substantial amount of their daily resources. You're not just judging power in a vacuum, although that's part of it. You're also judging, roughly, how powerful this thing would be compared to a party. And for purposes of that, I'd suggest going with the stereotypical (if sub-optimal) beatstick/skillmonkey/healbot/blaster party. That's an easy one to plan for, it's not super-optimized, but it covers bases.

Shorter version, though, is that it's really not unlike a PC building competition. The criteria are similar. We're looking for something strong, something elegant, something original, and something with great concept behind it. That's true whether you're making a PC or a BBEG. The only difference, or the biggest one, in any event, is that a BBEG has the full resources of a DM behind him. And that means more. More firepower, more tricks, more conniving, more manipulation, more everything. And that's what I, for one, want to see - don't just make a PC that happens to be bad. Make him more.

We do need more judges, though. And I think there are people here up to the task.

... I call dibs on being Simon Cowell, though.I think at least part of what Troacctid is suggesting is that it'd make more sense to scale the BBEG up by CR than by ECL. From a DMing standpoint, is it any more elegant for your BBEG to be a Human Sorcerer than a Red Dragon (I could see the argument that a Steel Dragon or a Monstrous Crab is inelegant because their CR is so borked, though)?

The Cleric/Monk might not be the best example, and I certainly think that if we did go by CR, we ought to be obligated to treat all class levels as associated, but I think it might not be a bad idea to at least consider using CR rather than ECL in future competitions, since we're talking exclusively about BBEGs.

DM-side CR-based optimization can get pretty lethal even for optimized characters, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when discussing climactic BBEG encounters.

[Gwachitallemall]

I think at least part of what Troacctid is suggesting is that it'd make more sense to scale the BBEG up by CR than by ECL. From a DMing standpoint, is it any more elegant for your BBEG to be a Human Sorcerer than a Red Dragon (I could see the argument that a Steel Dragon or a Monstrous Crab is inelegant because their CR is so borked, though)?

The Cleric/Monk might not be the best example, and I certainly think that if we did go by CR, we ought to be obligated to treat all class levels as associated, but I think it might not be a bad idea to at least consider using CR rather than ECL in future competitions, since we're talking exclusively about BBEGs.

DM-side CR-based optimization can get pretty lethal even for optimized characters, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when discussing climactic BBEG encounters.

All class levels will be treated as associated.

For this competition, based on the entries I've received so far, everyone is treating the character quite like a PC, but evil. And you know what? That's okay to me.

Because there's a lot less restrictions in this one than in any of the other optimization contests, (We're looking for flavor and memorable villians, not the most powerful build of X Y or Z class.) I've seen very different characters all together in the entries I've received. I like that.

[WhamBamSam]

All class levels will be treated as associated.

For this competition, based on the entries I've received so far, everyone is treating the character quite like a PC, but evil. And you know what? That's okay to me.

Because there's a lot less restrictions in this one than in any of the other optimization contests, (We're looking for flavor and memorable villians, not the most powerful build of X Y or Z class.) I've seen very different characters all together in the entries I've received. I like that.Associated vs. non-associated class levels only have meaning if we're talking CR, and since people are building characters as PCs, we still seem to be going by ECL.

Optimizing by CR is a significantly more powerful than optimizing by ECL (I can think of a handful of monsters off the top of my head that would be worth more than their CR in class levels for my planned entry). I'm fine with using ECL rules for this contest, but I think there is merit in at least considering whether CR might be a more appropriate metric to go by in future rounds, since we're exclusively dealing in BBEGs.

At any rate, we ought to make sure that we're all working on the same playing field, so you should think about imposing some restrictions of this nature.

[Gandariel]

Tip for everyone, have your BBEG be beatable, flawed, or have it be defeatable in an unique way.

it would feel bad if the BBEG you're been battling for years finally confronts you, and you beat him because you punch him a bit harder than he punches you.

(A Lich is the obvious example, but there are surely more.)

[Gwachitallemall]

Associated vs. non-associated class levels only have meaning if we're talking CR, and since people are building characters as PCs, we still seem to be going by ECL.

Optimizing by CR is a significantly more powerful than optimizing by ECL (I can think of a handful of monsters off the top of my head that would be worth more than their CR in class levels for my planned entry). I'm fine with using ECL rules for this contest, but I think there is merit in at least considering whether CR might be a more appropriate metric to go by in future rounds, since we're exclusively dealing in BBEGs.

At any rate, we ought to make sure that we're all working on the same playing field, so you should think about imposing some restrictions of this nature.

I'll definitely consider the CR argument instead of the ECL argument for the next one.

For this one however, keep yourself to ECL, following PC rules for now.

[WhamBamSam]

I'm just now realizing how feat intensive my idea is. I've thrown out a solid half-dozen stubs and written out feat progressions for two only to then realize I'd left out something critical.

[MorgromTheOrc]

Man I have a great idea that I really want to enter but I've never done anything like this so I'm not sure on how to present everything and all that, so maybe I'll try judging instead if you want?

[WeaselGuy]

Man I have a great idea that I really want to enter but I've never done anything like this so I'm not sure on how to present everything and all that, so maybe I'll try judging instead if you want?

I had the same issue with this past Junkyard Wars. I suggest, if you really want to enter, heading over to Iron Chef and just looking up some of the entries for that. Some tips that I've found useful (feel free to take them with a grain of salt, I've only done 3 entries so far):

- Use capitalization and punctuation, correctly.
- Make good use of Spoilers, for cleanliness.
- Don't forget your sources. If it's something that can be found in the contents section, then book title seems to be fine. Obscure stuff, may want to include page number too.
- DeviantArt has about 9 billion pictures that you can reference, I can almost guarantee you can find one there to fit your character.
- Make good use of tables. In addition to the Build table and the Spells table, I like doing on e for my Ability Scores, just to keep it neat.
- Do a build stub at the top of your Build Table, something like Wizard 2/Fighter 3/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 10

[MorgromTheOrc]

I had the same issue with this past Junkyard Wars. I suggest, if you really want to enter, heading over to Iron Chef and just looking up some of the entries for that. Some tips that I've found useful (feel free to take them with a grain of salt, I've only done 3 entries so far):

- Use capitalization and punctuation, correctly.
- Make good use of Spoilers, for cleanliness.
- Don't forget your sources. If it's something that can be found in the contents section, then book title seems to be fine. Obscure stuff, may want to include page number too.
- DeviantArt has about 9 billion pictures that you can reference, I can almost guarantee you can find one there to fit your character.
- Make good use of tables. In addition to the Build table and the Spells table, I like doing on e for my Ability Scores, just to keep it neat.
- Do a build stub at the top of your Build Table, something like Wizard 2/Fighter 3/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 10

Thank you I've also never had to make tables or anything before so noobishly I must ask about using forum code?

[WhamBamSam]

Man I have a great idea that I really want to enter but I've never done anything like this so I'm not sure on how to present everything and all that, so maybe I'll try judging instead if you want?This thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?287603-Handy-Tips-for-the-Iron-Chef-in-the-Playground-Noob&p=15415117&viewfull=1#post15415117) is relevant to your interests, and here's a Google Doc spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/a/umich.edu/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqSiFcfTX4xzdC1MN2F0YlppWXZKR2NIZ1pBTGNDN lE&usp=sharing) that OMG_Ponies maintains with which you can look up some of the most successful Iron Chef builds from the past.

For formatting and code concerns, the table code can be copy-pasted from the OP in this thread or any of the Iron Chef-style competitions that are currently running on these forums.

[Gwachitallemall]

I had the same issue with this past Junkyard Wars. I suggest, if you really want to enter, heading over to Iron Chef and just looking up some of the entries for that. Some tips that I've found useful (feel free to take them with a grain of salt, I've only done 3 entries so far):

- Use capitalization and punctuation, correctly.
- Make good use of Spoilers, for cleanliness.
- Don't forget your sources. If it's something that can be found in the contents section, then book title seems to be fine. Obscure stuff, may want to include page number too.
- DeviantArt has about 9 billion pictures that you can reference, I can almost guarantee you can find one there to fit your character.
- Make good use of tables. In addition to the Build table and the Spells table, I like doing on e for my Ability Scores, just to keep it neat.
- Do a build stub at the top of your Build Table, something like Wizard 2/Fighter 3/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 10

I like all of these. I haven't used the picture before, but all of these tips are good things. I'm going to post them in the original post. :)

[WhamBamSam]

Well, I've got versions of my build that work under various combinations of flaws being allowed, the Dark Chaos shuffle, possessing very specific gear, using fractional BAB, dipping into classes which are banned for this competition, and being able to disqualify yourself from PrCs without losing class features.

Bleh, this build is a pain.

[Gwachitallemall]

Heh.. You know, when you give people more options than they normally have, suddenly they have less options than they would otherwise.

[Sam K]

I'm almost wishing I was good enough at optimizing to enter this. For now, I'll just bask in the glory of having inspired the coolest optimization challenge yet. And drinking to forget that Scorp deserves half the credit :smallbiggrin:

[Wacky89]

Why would you use level adjustment for a BBEG. Unless this isn't for a DM npc.
LA buyoff wouldnt matter since you use the +xCR instead of LA

[Gwachitallemall]

Yeah, we're going by ECL, not CR. An error of copy pasta, but by the time it was noticed, I'd already received a few entries. Since I don't want to have to make those competitors rewrite their entire builds (Likely, they could make something more powerful going by CR instead of ECL), we're staying with a PC styled Villain for this round.

[Gwachitallemall]

I have 3 submissions so far, and we have 3 days left. Anyone else thinking about entering?

[Sam K]

I have a pretty good concept, but because my minmax-fu is weak, I dont really know if I can pull it off in time. I'll try to put it together this weekend, though. Unless I get distracted by playing skyrim...

[AirApparent]

I have the full build constructed , but writing the lore and snapshots has fallen to the wayside because of RL. I'll see if I can get it by this weekend.

[Red Fel]

I have 3 submissions so far, and we have 3 days left. Anyone else thinking about entering?

Let me take a shot at getting a few more submissions... Ahem.

YOU! Yes, you! Sitting there, feeling so smug while reading this thread. "I have some ideas," you think, "but what's the point? I'm not one of the big shots on this board, like Red Fel, or Afroakuma, or Red Fel. Why bother?"

Yes, I can read your mind, and I have this to say in response:

Fool! Did you think that great villainy emerged from nothing? Did you honestly believe that the greatest monsters in TTRPG history were created fully-formed from the skulls of great writers, not unlike a creepy Athena? No! Only I, Red Fel, can concoct such diabolical fiends from whole cloth! Most mundane creatures work at it. It is a talent honed over months, perhaps years of practice. One does not start from nothing.

This is your chance to start from nothing. There are those of you, no doubt, who read this thread and think as I have described above. There are others who feel it isn't worth the effort, those who are intimidated by the challenge, those who are simply disinterested. Do not be! This is an opportunity to indulge your creativity, to hone your skills and practice your art, and quite possibly to horrify yourself with how good you are at making monsters. Also, it is your opportunity to entertain me, Red Fel, with your paltry attempts at villainy. Do not disappoint me!

Perhaps you are a big name on these boards, who has taken a back seat and is simply sitting out to watch the fireworks. Set an example, and show these young'uns how the real monsters are made! Perhaps you are a newcomer, intimidated by those who have proven their proficiency before you. (Understandable; I am quite intimidating.) Do not fear; step up and take your shot! Show us the next generation of Evil!

Come, show me what you can do! Summon up your demons! Hit me, fight me! Give me a hug!

... There. That will either encourage people to submit, or cause them to curl up in the fecal position and cry.

[WeaselGuy]

Let me take a shot at getting a few more submissions... Ahem.

YOU! Yes, you! Sitting there, feeling so smug while reading this thread. "I have some ideas," you think, "but what's the point? I'm not one of the big shots on this board, like Red Fel, or Afroakuma, or Red Fel. Why bother?"

Yes, I can read your mind, and I have this to say in response:

Fool! Did you think that great villainy emerged from nothing? Did you honestly believe that the greatest monsters in TTRPG history were created fully-formed from the skulls of great writers, not unlike a creepy Athena? No! Only I, Red Fel, can concoct such diabolical fiends from whole cloth! Most mundane creatures work at it. It is a talent honed over months, perhaps years of practice. One does not start from nothing.

This is your chance to start from nothing. There are those of you, no doubt, who read this thread and think as I have described above. There are others who feel it isn't worth the effort, those who are intimidated by the challenge, those who are simply disinterested. Do not be! This is an opportunity to indulge your creativity, to hone your skills and practice your art, and quite possibly to horrify yourself with how good you are at making monsters. Also, it is your opportunity to entertain me, Red Fel, with your paltry attempts at villainy. Do not disappoint me!

Perhaps you are a big name on these boards, who has taken a back seat and is simply sitting out to watch the fireworks. Set an example, and show these young'uns how the real monsters are made! Perhaps you are a newcomer, intimidated by those who have proven their proficiency before you. (Understandable; I am quite intimidating.) Do not fear; step up and take your shot! Show us the next generation of Evil!

Come, show me what you can do! Summon up your demons! Hit me, fight me! Give me a hug!

... There. That will either encourage people to submit, or cause them to curl up in the fecal position and cry.

I have never, in my whole life (or at least the last year of it that I have spent on this website), wanted so much for there to be a like button for this.

so, instead, have a cookie.

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/chocolate/images/5/50/Chocolate_chip_cookies.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120618211542

[WhamBamSam]

I have a build tabled out and more or less holding together, though I'm split as to whether some of the individual ideas might be better off as separate builds. I still plan on submitting something, but I think I'm going to fool around with stuff a bit more first.

Also, just to complain for complaining's sake, the inability to dip classes that get 9th level spells, per the strict letter of competition rules, is turning out to be a huge pain in basically every idea I come up with.

[WeaselGuy]

I have a build tabled out and more or less holding together, though I'm split as to whether some of the individual ideas might be better off as separate builds. I still plan on submitting something, but I think I'm going to fool around with stuff a bit more first.

Also, just to complain for complaining's sake, the inability to dip classes that get 9th level spells, per the strict letter of competition rules, is turning out to be a huge pain in basically every idea I come up with.

I'm pretty sure that the issue regarding spells was clarified on the first page.

Am I allowed to use classes that can get 9th level spellcasting as long as I don't advance high enough in that class to get 9th level spells?
to which Gwachitallemall said:

You may, but judges are free to score this at their discretion.

seems like you can dip, just don't end with 9's, or be a super dedicated caster.

[Gwachitallemall]

I was about to respond with the same reply again. I'm not positive, but I imagine the judges would be okay, seeing a build getting 3rd or 4th, or even 6th from sorcerer or wizard, but probably not 8th. Now, this is up to the judges discretion, judges, don't take my words here as law.

I could've instead worded it this way: 9th Level spells and manifesting are disallowed. Higher level spells are discouraged.

But I didn't want to word it that way, because that's not the exact intent I was going for. Judges, if you wish to chime in on how you will rule it, that would be okay.

Also, a scoring guideline may help some people who haven't yet made their builds chime in, like a criteria of what you expect, if you're going to judge. All is possible.

Bring in some new views, let me see some blood flow! Get those creative juices going!

[Vhaidara]

Let me take a shot at getting a few more submissions... Ahem.

YOU! Yes, you! Sitting there, feeling so smug while reading this thread. "I have some ideas," you think, "but what's the point? I'm not one of the big shots on this board, like Red Fel, or Afroakuma, or Red Fel. Why bother?"

Yes, I can read your mind, and I have this to say in response:

Fool! Did you think that great villainy emerged from nothing? Did you honestly believe that the greatest monsters in TTRPG history were created fully-formed from the skulls of great writers, not unlike a creepy Athena? No! Only I, Red Fel, can concoct such diabolical fiends from whole cloth! Most mundane creatures work at it. It is a talent honed over months, perhaps years of practice. One does not start from nothing.

This is your chance to start from nothing. There are those of you, no doubt, who read this thread and think as I have described above. There are others who feel it isn't worth the effort, those who are intimidated by the challenge, those who are simply disinterested. Do not be! This is an opportunity to indulge your creativity, to hone your skills and practice your art, and quite possibly to horrify yourself with how good you are at making monsters. Also, it is your opportunity to entertain me, Red Fel, with your paltry attempts at villainy. Do not disappoint me!

Perhaps you are a big name on these boards, who has taken a back seat and is simply sitting out to watch the fireworks. Set an example, and show these young'uns how the real monsters are made! Perhaps you are a newcomer, intimidated by those who have proven their proficiency before you. (Understandable; I am quite intimidating.) Do not fear; step up and take your shot! Show us the next generation of Evil!


I have never, in my whole life (or at least the last year of it that I have spent on this website), wanted so much for there to be a like button for this.

so, instead, have a cookie.

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/chocolate/images/5/50/Chocolate_chip_cookies.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120618211542

You fool! He wants not your baked goods! Have a sacrificial Goat!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Hausziege_04.jpg



Come, show me what you can do! Summon up your demons! Hit me, fight me! Give me a hug!

It makes me so happy that you referenced this. I make sure to reference it daily.

EDIT: As far as scoring,
Power: I will primarily be looking at how good of a boss fight the character would be, so a description of his lair/arena could be helpful (mechanical obstacles). Otherwise, I am forced to assume the traditional featureless plain. I will be lenient on this, since I know people have already submitted. But for future rounds, this will be a big deal on my judging.

Originality: I'll be taking a leaf out of the book of my high school english teachers. Google random lines of your backstory/build, see if you copied them. Otherwise, it will be based on how much I like what you produce. Remember, look through Red Fel's post history for how I think evil should be done.

Elegance: Again, this is a bit of a by since we aren't using CR, but I will use Iron Chef standards here. More than two "half X" templates? Better explain. Worth noting that if the backstory can explain it, then it actually will become a bonus to elegance (for example, if a half-dragon makes a deal with Asmodeus and gains the half-fiend template, that is a beautiful mixing of fluff and crunch). Also, I do allow for reflavoring of things (Goliaths or half giants can just be really big humans), though that's a personal thing, so you may lose points with other judges on this. I'm okay with it here because, as a BBEG, this is an NPC run by the GM. Who makes these calls.

Concept: Goes hand in hand with originality. Make me swoon.

[Troacctid]

As a judge, I'd be comfortable with spells up to 4th level before I start raising one eyebrow at you. That's what a Ranger or a Paladin would get, and they're quite firmly in the martial category, I think. I don't actually expect anyone to go higher than that; I probably wouldn't penalize you for 6th level spells on a non-fullcasting class, but given the premise of this round, I'd be surprised if anyone went that route.

[WhamBamSam]

That simplifies things for me considerably, and makes it possible for me to submit a build that's less of a mess for my main idea. I probably won't have time for a second, and there's a bit of overlap which might hurt my originality score anyway.

[AvatarVecna]

Ah, screw it. I'll judge; my build just doesn't want to come together.

[Gwachitallemall]

Exactly 1 Day left (I'll be ending it at this time (well, at 6:00, so in 5 more minutes from this post) tomorrow), I still only have 3 entries. Come on, looks like we have 4-5 judges.

[WeaselGuy]

Yeah, ICITP only had 6 entries this go round, with half of them being submitted in the last 12 hours of the competition

[AirApparent]

I'm just not going to finish, so I'll just tell you guys what I wanted to do afterwards.

Can't wait to see the submitted characters though

[WhamBamSam]

I'm mostly done. I'll most likely finish later tonight after I get through running my roll20 game.

[Livius]

I just sent in one entry. I've got another already statted out, and I know what the fluff is, but I'm having a hard time writing it.

[Sam K]

Sorry, the sun was shining this weekend. I prioritized cruising in the Jag over making warlords. Partly because I get confused about putting everything in tables; making up characters is confusing enough, worrying about formats just depresses me! I'm not very lawful.

[AvatarVecna]

Sorry, the sun was shining this weekend. I prioritized cruising in the Jag over making warlords. Partly because I get confused about putting everything in tables; making up characters is confusing enough, worrying about formats just depresses me! I'm not very lawful.

My problem with putting things in tables is that I'm not particularly computer savvy; if there was some sort of software tool that would let me type everything into a visible table (ala Excel/Google Spreadsheet) and would then turn it into the HTML code, I would be so much happier in general. I'm pretty sure such a thing exists, but other than my very first attempt at the Iron Chef Optimization Competition (the Dwarven Defender round), I've never come close enough to finishing an entry for the tedious task of entering everything into the table code to really sink in. Sure, it bothered me the one time I actually managed to complete an entry, but I got over it.

That said, if anyone knows where online I could find a tool like that, and could either mention a site name or provide a link, I'd be most appreciative. Thanks!

[WeaselGuy]

My problem with putting things in tables is that I'm not particularly computer savvy; if there was some sort of software tool that would let me type everything into a visible table (ala Excel/Google Spreadsheet) and would then turn it into the HTML code, I would be so much happier in general. I'm pretty sure such a thing exists, but other than my very first attempt at the Iron Chef Optimization Competition (the Dwarven Defender round), I've never come close enough to finishing an entry for the tedious task of entering everything into the table code to really sink in. Sure, it bothered me the one time I actually managed to complete an entry, but I got over it.

That said, if anyone knows where online I could find a tool like that, and could either mention a site name or provide a link, I'd be most appreciative. Thanks!

Actually, when you enter the table using the table tool, if you look up, there's a button that has a small A with a / and then a larger A... this enables WYSIWYG mode (What You See Is What You Get). There's also an online tool that someone linked in a past competition I worked on, I'll find it in a bit when I have more time.

[AvatarVecna]

Actually, when you enter the table using the table tool, if you look up, there's a button that has a small A with a / and then a larger A... this enables WYSIWYG mode (What You See Is What You Get). There's also an online tool that someone linked in a past competition I worked on, I'll find it in a bit when I have more time.

Thanks for the advice! Of course, I didn't quite believe I'd been that imperceptive until I actually started this reply and saw the button. I'll be sure to make good use of that button in the future :smallbiggrin:.

[WeaselGuy]

Thanks for the advice! Of course, I didn't quite believe I'd been that imperceptive until I actually started this reply and saw the button. I'll be sure to make good use of that button in the future :smallbiggrin:.

Here's that other link (http://www.mediafire.com/download/vtmdmy0fglo0jda/Iron+Chef+Class+Table+Format.html) I promised you, courtesy of sideswipe.

[MorgromTheOrc]

I did really want to enter but I had the same problem with trouble using the table as I've never used anything like that before. But I might make a post about what my idea was after the winners are posted.

[LooseCannoneer]

I was going to enter, but I just noticed my entire build was based around a feat I missed the prereqs for.

[Sam K]

Ok, so the sun wasn't shining this evening. Entry mailed to the supreme chancelor.

I'm such a geek.

[Aka-chan]

I've never done one of these before, but I really like the idea and I had some extra time due to the ongoing snowpocalypse keeping me out of work, so I sent something in.

[Gwachitallemall]

Just an hour and 15 minutes left, got 4 new entries (I think.. will have to make sure.) I've noticed one thing I'll have to specify in the competition notes, though, for the next competition.

[LooseCannoneer]

I'll judge. There's no way I'm going to finish my build in time.

[Sam K]

As a first time contestant, I REALLY felt that the forum code took too much effort. It was really frustrating when you're not super familiar with things like tables or nestled spoiler blocks (although the table we got did help a bunch, thanks!), and I felt I spent so much time worrying about formalia that I neglected some aspects of my build.

I'm sure that if someone more familiar would be willing to put together a template that includes the standard stuff you should have in a contest build, it would make it easier for us noobs to join in. As it was, formalia (and stressing about it) drained some of the fun out of the contest for me. Still happy I entered, though! Looking forward to see what everyone comes up with!

[Gwachitallemall]

Alright. I'm here. My daughter kind of fell asleep on me, so I'll be posting all the entries now. Please withhold any further postings until I say I have all of them, thanks.

[Gwachitallemall]

Dragons? Or just a lizard? Warrior, eitherway!



Muk-Muk & Mya

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj240/TheTygre/Kobolds_zps0e852e4e.jpg



Born with the grand favor of Tiamat as a Dragonwrought Kobold, Muk-Muk was destined from the beginning to do great things for the Muckmarsh Kobold tribe. But life isn’t always fair, especially if you’re 3 feet tall, look like a lizard, and live next door to a family of Black Dragons.

The Black Dragon family decided in their annual tribute to take the young Muk-Muk from his clan, straight out of his sorcerer studies, and use him for the next 80 years to teach their wyrmlings the basics of defensive sorcerery, in an attempt to gain a wing up on the pesky Bronze flight that lived 2 swamps over.

Well, it turns out that the Bronze flight was 2 wings up over the Black flight, and summarily crushed the Blacks in defense of their nest, leaving Muk-Muk alone and free of his captors for the first time in decades. Taking the lone wyrmling with him (along with a few choice items) from that putrid cave, Muk-Muk ventured forth for glory and riches, declaring himself to the Black Hand, Bane.

Falling in with a band of local brigands, Muk-Muk and Myastanaklon (nicknamed Stink) took to sword and spell with an almost carefree abandon, quickly proving that it’s not the size that matters, but the way you swing it. Gaining the notice of the Black Network, Muk-Muk and Stink were invited in by the Zhentarims for formal training. At the end of their training, Muk-Muk was able to proudly proclaim himself an official Zhentarim Skymage, combining the power of spell, lance and flight (the latter with the help of Stink), and striking fear across the greater Moonsea region.

Finishing off his career as a Dragonrider based out of the Zentarim Keep, and commanding an army consisting of Muckmarsh Kobold Trapsmiths (creating havoc on any field they battle on), a tribe of Poison Dusk Lizardfolk Scouts and Rangers (stealthy and swift, armed with shortbows, scimitars and kukris), and Zhentil Keep’s new Auzkovyn Clan Drow allies, comprised mostly of Fighters and Rogues, armed with deadly keen longswords and stealthy poisoned hand crossbows.


Sorcerer 2/Paladin of Tyranny 4/Abjurant Champion 4/Zhentarim Skymage 5/Dragonrider 5




Ability
Base
Racial Modifiers
Level Bonuses
Age Modifiers
Final Score (without Items)


Strength
14
-4
-
-
10


Dexterity
10
+2
-
-
12


Constitution
12
-2
-
-
10


Intelligence
12
-
-
+3
15


Wisdom
8
-
-
+3
11


Charisma
18
-
+5
+3
26




Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features 1st Sorcerer 0 0 0 2 Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Spellcraft 4 Dragonwrought Summon Familiar 2nd Sorcerer 1 0 0 3 Concentration 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Spellcraft 5 3rd Paladin of Tyranny 2 2 0 3 Diplomacy 1, Handle Animal 1, Knowledge (Geography) 1, Ride 1 Mounted Combat Aura of Evil, Detect Good, Smite Good 1/day 4th Paladin of Tyranny 3 3 0 3 Diplomacy 2, Handle Animal 2, Knowledge (Geography) 2, Ride 2 Divine Grace, Deadly Touch 5th Paladin of Tyranny 4 3 1 4 Diplomacy 3, Handle Animal 3, Knowledge (Geography) 3, Ride 3 Aura of Despair, Divine Health 6th Paladin of Tyranny 5 4 1 4 Diplomacy 4, Handle Animal 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Ride 4 Combat Casting Rebuke Undead 7th Abjurant Champion 6 4 1 6 Concentration 6, Handle Animal 5, Ride 5, Spellcraft 6 Abjurant Armor, Extended Abjuration 8th Abjurant Champion 7 4 1 7 Concentration 7, Handle Animal 6, Ride 6, Spellcraft 7 Swift Abjuration 9th Abjurant Champion 8 5 2 7 Concentration 8, Handle Animal 7, Ride 7, Spellcraft 8 Iron Will 10th Abjurant Champion 9 5 2 8 Concentration 9, Handle Animal 8, Ride 8, Spellcraft 9 Arcane Boost 11th Zhentarim Skymage 9 7 2 8 Concentration 10, Handle Animal 9, Ride 9, Spellcraft 10 Bonus Scrolls, Flying Mount 12th Zhentarim Skymage 10 8 2 8 Concentration 11, Handle Animal 10, Ride 10, Spellcraft 11 Ride-by Attack, Tremendous Charge Bonus Scrolls, Flying Feat, Craft Wand 13th Zhentarim Skymage 10 8 3 9 Concentration 12, Handle Animal 11, Ride 11, Spellcraft 12 Spell Focus (Abjuration) Bonus Scrolls, Spell Focus, Share Spells 14th Zhentarim Skymage 11 9 3 9 Concentration 13, Handle Animal 12, Ride 12, Spellcraft 13 Skill Focus (Ride), Spirited Charge Bonus Scrolls, Skill Focus, Flying Feat 15th Zhentarim Skymage 12 9 3 9 Concentration 14, Handle Animal 13, Ride 13, Spellcraft 14 Trample Bonus Scrolls, Enlarge Spell 16th Dragonrider 13 11 3 11 Concentration 15, Diplomacy 6, Handle Animal 14, Ride 14 Dragonriding, Immune to Frightful Presence 17th Dragonrider 14 12 3 12 Concentration 16, Diplomacy 7, Handle Animal 15, Ride 15 Mounted Spellcasting 18th Dragonrider 15 12 4 12 Concentration 17, Diplomacy 8, Handle Animal 16, Ride 16 Cavalry Charger, Weapon Focus (Lance) Bonus Feat 19th Dragonrider 16 12 4 12 Concentration 18, Diplomacy 9, Handle Animal 17, Ride 17 Flyby Attack 20th Dragonrider 17 13 4 13 Concentration 19, Diplomacy 10, Handle Animal 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Ride 18, Spellcraft 14 Spur Mount


Spells per Day


Level
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th


1st
5
3
-
-
-
-


2nd
6
4
-
-
-
-


3rd
6
4
-
-
-
-


4th
6
4
-
-
-
-


5th
6
4
-
-
-
-


6th
6
4
-
-
-
-


7th
6
5
-
-
-
-


8th
6
6
3
-
-
-


9th
6
6
4
-
-
-


10th
6
6
5
3
-
-


11th
6
6
6
4
-
-


12th
6
6
6
5
3
-


13th
6
6
6
6
4
-


14th
6
6
6
6
5
3


15th
6
6
6
6
6
4



Level - (Number) - Spells
0- (9) - Acid Splash, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Ray of Frost, Message, Touch of Fatigue, Disrupt Undead
1- (5) - Nerveskitter, Shield, Shocking Grasp, Ghostly Tail, Instant Diversion
2- (4) - Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Wings of Cover, Protection from Arrows
3- (3) - Fireball, Suggestion, Summon Monster III
4- (2) - Ruin Delver's Fortune, Wings of Flurry
5- (1) - Acid Rain



Muk-Muk starts off as a Dragonwrought Kobold Sorcerer, but before he can progress far in his class, he is abducted and forced to teach the same handful of spells repeatedly for the next 80 years (allowing him to reach Old age, before continuing on). After he leaves the swamp with a newly hatched wyrmling (now aged 93, dragon age 0), he takes on the mantle of Paladin of Tyranny, dedicated to Bane. (Levels 1-5)
Through force of might, and minimal spellcasting, he then proceeds to become and Abjurant Champion, and fortifies his defenses every morning with a Shield spell, while fighting his enemies primarily with a lance from horseback (not a special horse, just one that was stolen from someone who didn’t need it anymore, namely because they were dead). Either way, after subjugating small villages and terrorizing unfortunate merchants for almost 30 years (Muk-Muk age 119 and Stink age 26) became involved with the Zhentarims, who saw something special in this small Kobold, who somehow managed to rule his tiny domain with an iron fist, and thus began his training and career as a Skymage. (Levels 6-10)
5 years later, and Muk-Muk has traded in his horse as a mount for his only true friend, Myastanaklon (who now prefers to be called Mya), and flies at the head of his caravans, clearing out any aggressors that seek to disrupt the Black Hand’s operations in the North. His battle tactics consist mostly of charging in atop his dragon, relying on Mya’s superior strength to lend greater weight to his attacks. He also has quite a few scrolls that he can read to enact useful spells, and has started to craft his own wands, which he can use even while heavily armored.(Levels 11-15)
It is around this time that Muk-Muk finally accepts his true calling as a Dragonrider, and dedicates himself to ruling both the skies and swamps of his former home. He unites all of the Muckmarsh Kobolds under his banner, and even brings in a tribe of small Lizardfolk to act as scouts and pathfinders for his legion. Zhentil Keep has also loaned him the use of a regiment of Drow male soldiers, exiled from their homeland, to use as spies, assassins and elite commandos. (Levels 16-20)


When they take the field of battle in full scale war, Muk-Muk and Myastanaklon circle over their troops, bolstering them with their presence. The Kobold’s prepare the battlefield the night prior by digging pitfall traps across the field, creating fatal funnels and smaller avenues of approach for their enemies. The Poison Dusk Lizardfolk, acting as Scouts and Rangers, prefer to wait near these lanes in ambush, then strike swiftly with their curved blades and sharp arrows, before fading away back into the shadows. At this point, the Auzkovyn Drow strike hard and fast, in a combination of armored strike forces and cavalry charges from atop their signature riding lizards. When in dire need, a small cadre of Banite Clerics holds the very rear, providing healing through their wands to those able enough to carry themselves back to them. Muk-Muk and Mya utilize their combined might in combat, diving down at key locations of the battlefield, spitting acid on large concentrations of enemies in passing, and charging down lieutenants and commanders with his lance. While waiting for Mya’s breath to refresh itself, Muk-Muk assaults the field with wands that he keeps in a holster on his belt. If dismounted while in flight, Muk-Muk’s Dragonrider Armor enacts a feather fall spell automatically, allowing him to reach the ground safely. While on the ground, Muk-Muk will attack from range, if possible, with his wands. When forced into melee, Muk-Muk will resort to stabbing at his foes with his lance, keeping them at reach. If forced even closer than that, Muk-Muk will rely on his enchanted spiked gauntlets until reinforcements can arrive. Hopefully in the form of one really upset Black Dragon.


In addition to the combat gear listed above, Muk-Muk also wears a Minor Cloak of Displacement, Riding Boots, Belt of Magnificence, Amulet of Natural Armor, Ring of Protection, Strongarm Bracers and a Ring of Mental Fortitude. He carries a Lance sized for a Medium character (wield-able through use of Strongarm Bracers), enchanted with +1 Charging and Valorous. This lance increases his damage done on a charge by 2d6, and increases the charging multiplier by an additional factor (x5, after Spirited Charge and Riding Boots). Each of his Spiked Gauntlets are also enchanted, one with +1 and Eager, the other with +1 and Warning.
He has also read through a Tome of Leadership and Influence (+5).


Monster Manual 1 – Kobold, Black Dragon
Races of the Dragon – Dragonwrought Kobold, some spells
Player’s Handbook – Sorcerer, Paladin, gear, spells
Unearthed Arcana – Paladin of Tyranny Variant
Complete Mage – Abjurant Champion
Forgotten Realms: Lords of Darkness – Zhentarim Skymage
Draconomicon – Dragonrider, more Black Dragon stuff, Dragonrider Armor
Dragonlance Campaign Setting – Tremendous Charge Feat
Magic Item Compendium – Various magic items
Miniatures Handbook – Belt of Magnificence
Forgotten Realms: Unapproachable East – Valorous Enchant
Dungeon Master’s Guide – Various magic items
Complete Warrior – Cavalry Charger feat
Heroes of Battle - Acid Rain spell

[Gwachitallemall]

Is this one so vain?




Lord Commander Conrad Vayne
"An army is only as strong as their leader. If they are allied to that leader only through money or threats, then removing that leader will disperse them. However, an army united by loyalty will stay united, even beyond its leader's demise."

Neutral Evil Silverbrow Human Bard 4/Warblade 16
Starting stats (32 PB): Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 12
(All level bumps into Dexterity)

Conrad Vayne grew up the only son of the General that served a tyrannical regime. His life of martial tutelage was cut short when the king was overthrown by a group of freedom fighters from a neighboring kingdom. His father was killed, and the entire royal family was put on trial, and executed, but he managed to escape. He spent years fostering a powerful hatred for the adventuring party that displaced him from his home and murdered the one's he loved. Believing the liberators of the kingdom to be unlawful invaders, and believing himself to be the only remaining rightful heir to the throne, he has resolved to gather an army that will allow him to take the kingdom back, by whatever means are necessary, and exact a terrible bloody vengeance on the ones who took everything from him.

This character is designed to be the pinnacle of a field marshal: someone who would not hesitate to direct his troops from the front lines, but still content to let the underlings absorb the brunt of his enemies attacks. He has won countless battles by attacking in highly coordinated groups and using superior tactical planning to gain the advantage. It is mostly a flavor choice, but taking Perform (oratory) allows him to inspire by making well-delivered speeches and constantly calling out slight changes to battle formations, rather than having to sing.

Mechanically, he mainly a support character. The primary focus of the build is buffing the party through Dragonfire Inspiration, adding d6's of fire damage to every attack they make, combined with more buffing maneuvers from the White Raven school, and then give his troops as much extra attacking power he can to take advantage of those buffs. As a last resort, he can utilize the Two-Weapon Fighting chain to take advantage of his own buffs and scoop up handfuls of d6's every round he gets to attack.

One of the things I like the most about this build is that there are no dead levels. Every single level you get something new, be it a new stance, a bonus feat, a skill trick, or a new maneuver. Based on that I would have to say the point this build really "shines" is at max level when you have all your tricks, but it is capable of being effective at almost every level of play. The second thing I like about it is the synergy between the many different abilities, as I will go over below. And finally, I enjoy it for it's flexible power. Putting him in charge of a squad of NPC warrior's turns them all into a credible threat, but placing him in a group with a summoner focused wizard or druid turns him into an absolute nightmare. While he is capable of dishing out impressive amounts of damage on his own at higher levels, and has a number of defensive tools to ward off the PC's attacks, at the end of the day he is really only as strong as his allies, which I think is the hallmark of a good commander.

Level 5:
You can actually introduce him as early as level 3, as the crux of the character is there by that point. But by this point you also have Song of the Heart, which effectively doubles the damage output of Dragonfire Inspiration. You can begin each battle by inspiring as a swift action, and then charging in for an attack, giving your entire party the benefits of both the fire damage and Leading the Charge. Alternately, you can Inspire as a swift, move to set up a flank with an ally, and then spend your standard action Intimidating every enemy around you, possibly setting up to stack fear effects with a friendly caster. This is the level where he is most vulnerable, so he much rely on his allies to shield him from as much damage as possible. The 5 Ranks in Balance prevents any pesky Sneak Attacks due to Grease or Marbles, Sudden Leap allows you to move as a swift action, and Wolf Fang Strike allows for pseudo-pounce, in that you can move and still strike with both weapons as a standard action. A Healing Belt can also be used for emergencies. Anklet of Translocation is also useful for grapple escapes at this level. I highly suggest he familiarize himself with a pair of kukri's, to prepare for Blade Meditation later on.

Level 10:
Things really start to pick up at this point. He gains the Tactics of the Wolf stance which exponentially increases in power with every minion he affects with it (His initiator level at 10 is 8, which is an extra 4 points of damage to every attack he and his allies make on targets he can flank ). He also has the crown jewel of defensive maneuvers in Iron Heart Surge, and White Raven Tactics, which is limited in power only by what his strongest ally can accomplish in a single round. At this point his tactics are likely to inspire as a swift and charge in with his allies, then on his next round switch to Tactics of the Wolf and concentrate on making as many full attacks as he can, continuing to take advantage of Sudden Leap for swift action movement. He will also gain a nice increase in accuracy due to picking up weapon finesse, and also has the option of supporting with bard spells with Melodic Casting (assuming a Charisma increasing item). Thanks to Iron Heart Surge, and Improved Uncanny Dodge, he can afford to stray away from his protection a little more than he could before.
Important Note: It is imperative that he be equipped with Gloves of the Balanced Hands, to grant him the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat, in order for him to qualify for Greater Two-Weapon Fighting at level 12. If you don't want to do this you can simply give him ITWF at level 12 instead. Other recommended equipment by this point is a Badge of Valor and any +1 armor with the Fearsome enchantment on it from Drow of the Underdark, which allows him to Intimidate with Never Outnumbered as a move action.

Level 15:
This level gets you the Clarion Commander. This otherwise unremarkable feat is notable for one simple function: Perpetual Flank. By making a DC 20 Diplomacy check, and then striking that enemy at least once in the next round, he and all his allies can treat it as flanked for 1 minute. This opens that enemy up for the bonus damage from Tactics of the Wolf, which at this point is an extra 6 damage on every attack, as well as any ally of yours that might have sneak attack. Now the fun part is that you can easily interpret the language of this feat as allowing you to treat an enemy as flanked, even if they could not normally be flanked for some reason. I personally feel that interpretation very much justifies this feat. Hearing the Air is the next stance he has picked up, since invisibility is much more common by this point, and it will help prevent ambushes. The other highlight of this level is the Avalanche of Blades maneuver, which allows you to swing at an enemy with a -4 iterative until you miss. He can potentially rack up a lot free damage with his inspiration and Tactics of the Wolf. If he doesn't already have a Vest of Legends by this point he should get one immediately. A Belt of Battle is also highly recommended.

Level 20:
He is now at the pinnacle of his ability. The War Master's Charge maneuver is obscene; stacking with every other buff he has, only gets more powerful with every ally he affects with it, and can easily rack up thousands of points of damage in a single round if used on allies that have pounce. He has a number of options for a swift action move at this point, giving him ample opportunities to utilize Time Stands Still to pile the damage onto an enemy of his choice. Stance of Alacrity is somewhat underwhelming at this level, but it's a superior choice to any other option he has. He can now open an encounter in Leading the Attack by inspiring as a swift action for 7d6 of fire damage on every attack, and then use War Master's Charge. He himself will hit for weapon damage + 68 + 7d6, and each ally he has will hit for 43 + 7d6. And this is all quantitative with every additional person on his side. Then he can switch to Tactics of the Wolf, Intimdate as a move and either cast a Bard spell, or use Diplomacy as a standard to set up for Clarion Commander, and follow-up with Swarming Assault, giving all of his allies a free shot against the now-flanked enemy. He can then full-attack anything else near him, and use White Raven Tactics to give his allies extra turns, or swift move to set up for Time Stands Still. He also presents a tremendous threat to his enemies action economy with his ability to stun without save with War Master's Charge and White Raven Hammer. And he can repeat these processes for as long as the battle lasts, thanks to the Warblade's superior recover mechanic. The Admiral's Bicorn from Stormwrack makes a fine piece of equipment at this point. Note that, according to the PHB, a single use of his Inspire Courage ability affects everyone that can hear the sound of his voice. Now note that the Bicorn amplifies your voice to a 100' radius. Now count how many soldiers you can fit in that single radius. Now imagine your army, including, infantry, cavalry, artillery, and archers, mowing down the field by slinging 7d6 of fire damage onto every attack they all make.
If that's not enough to conquer the world, I don't know what is.



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


1st
Bard 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Balance 4, Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 1, Intimidate 4, Jump 4, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 4
Dragonfire Inspiration, Two-Weapon Fighting
Bardic Music, Bardic Knack (replace Bardic Knowledge), Healing Hymn (replace fascinate), Mimicking Song (replace countersong), Inspire Courage +1


2nd
Bard 2
+1
+0
+3
+3
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 2, Intimidate 5, Jump 5, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 5
-
-


3rd
Warblade 1
+2
+2
+3
+3
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 6, Diplomacy 3, Intimidate 6, Jump 6, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 6
Song of the White Raven
Battle Clarity (reflex saves), Weapon Aptitude, Maneuvers gained: Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Wolf Fang Strike, Stances gained: Leading the Charge


4th
Bard 3
+3
+3
+3
+3
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 6, Intimidate 7, Jump 7, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 7
-
Song of the Heart (replace inspire competence)


5th
Bard 4
+4
+3
+4
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 8, Diplomacy 7, Intimidate 8, Jump 8, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 8, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered
-
-


6th
Warblade 2
+5
+4
+4
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 9, Diplomacy 7, Intimidate 9, Jump 9, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 8, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
Weapon Finesse
Uncanny Dodge, Maneuver gained: Wall of Blades


7th
Warblade 3
+6
+4
+5
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 10, Diplomacy 9, Intimidate 10, Jump 10, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 8, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Battle Ardor (critical confirmation), Maneuver gained: White Raven Tactics


8th
Warblade 4
+7
+5
+5
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 11, Diplomacy 11, Intimidate 11, Jump 11, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 8, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Swap: Wolf Fang Strike -> Iron Heard Surge, Stance gained: Tactics of the Wolf


9th
Warblade 5
+8
+5
+5
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 12, Diplomacy 12, Intimidate 12, Jump 12, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 9, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
Melodic Casting
Maneuver gained: Mind over Body, Bonus Feat: Improved Initiative


10th
Warblade 6
+9
+6
+6
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 13, Diplomacy 13, Intimidate 13, Jump 13, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 10, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Improved Uncanny Dodge, Maneuver Swap: Wall of Blades -> Death from Above


11th
Warblade 7
+10
+6
+6
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 14, Intimidate 14, Jump 14, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 11, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Battle Cunning (damage), Maneuver gained: Pouncing Charge


12th
Warblade 8
+11
+7
+6
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 15, Diplomacy 15, Intimidate 15, Jump 15, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 12, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
Greater Two-Weapon Fighting
Maneuver Swap: Death From Above -> Bounding Assault


13th
Warblade 9
+12
+7
+7
+7
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 16, Diplomacy 16, Intimidate 16, Jump 16, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 13, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Bonus Feat: White Raven Defense, Maneuver gained: Order Forged From Chaos


14th
Warblade 10
+13
+8
+7
+7
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 17, Diplomacy 17, Intimidate 17, Jump 17, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 14, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Stance gained: Hearing the Air


15th
Warblade 11
+14
+8
+7
+7
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 18, Diplomacy 18, Intimidate 18, Jump 18, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 15, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
Clarion Commander
Battle Skill (opposed checks), Maneuver gained: Avalanche of Blades


16th
Warblade 12
+15
+9
+8
+8
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 19, Diplomacy 19, Intimidate 19, Jump 19, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 16, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Maneuver swap: Bounding Assault -> Swarming Assault


17th
Warblade 13
+16
+9
+8
+8
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 20, Diplomacy 20, Intimidate 20, Jump 20, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 17, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Bonus feat: Blade Meditation (Tiger Claw), Maneuver gained: White Raven Hammer


18th
Warblade 14
+17
+10
+8
+8
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 21, Diplomacy 21, Intimidate 21, Jump 21, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 18, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
Martial Study: Quicksilver Motion
-


19th
Warblade 15
+18
+10
+9
+9
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 22, Diplomacy 22, Intimidate 22, Jump 22, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 19, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Battle Mastery (attacks of opportunity), Maneuver gained: War Master's Charge


20th
Warblade 16
+19
+11
+9
+9
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 23, Diplomacy 23, Intimidate 23, Jump 23, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 20, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand
-
Maneuver swap: Avalanche of Blades -> Time Stands Still, Stance gained: Stance of Alacrity

[Gwachitallemall]

Water for everyone!




Name: Anaitis
Species: Merfolk (Mermaid)
Also known as: Tempest, That Mad Siren


http://i1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii499/Mahonri_Violis/Coral_zpsdd1a3108.png





Post-Racial adjustments, level 1
Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 17 (+3) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha: 12 (+1)



Level
Class
Hit points
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features
Spells (not including bonus spells, if any)
Ability bonus


1st
Level Adjustment (Merfolk)
+2 (Con)
+2 (Dex)
+2 (Wis)
-
-
+8 racial bonus on Swim checks to perform special action or avoid a hazard; can take 10 on it always; can use run action
-
Low-light vision
-
Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 17 (+3) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:12 (+1)


2nd
Ranger 1
1d8+3
+1
+5
+5
+2
Climb +2, Handle Animal +3, Knowledge(Nature) +2, Listen +2, Move Silently +2, Ride +3, Spot +2, Swim +3, Use Rope +2, Concentration +2, Craft(weaponsmithing) +2, Hide +2, Heal +1
Rapid Reload (Light Crossbow)
Favored enemy(Humanoid:Human)
Track
Wild Empathy
no new spells
-


3rd
Ranger 1/Bard 1
1d8+1d6+6
+1
+5
+7
+4
Diplomacy +2, Escape Artist +1, Move Silently +1, Perform(Sing) +3, Perform(Oratory) +1
-
Bardic Music
Bardic Knowledge
Countersong
Fascinate
Inspire Courage +1
2 0th level Bard spells per day; 4 known
-


4th
Ranger 2/Bard 1
2d8+1d6+9
+2
+6
+8
+4
Handle Animal +2, Ride +2, Use Rope +1, Craft(weaponsmithing) +1, Listen +1, Spot +1
Weapon Finesse
Combat Style: Archery
2 0th level Bard spells per day; 4 known
-


5th
Ranger 2/Bard 2
2d8+2d6+12
+3
+6
+10
+5
Perform(Oratory) +3, Sense Motive +1, Sleight of Hand +1, Bluff +1, Diplomacy +2
-
-
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 5 known
1 1st level Bard spell per day; 2 known
+1 Dex
Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 18 (+4) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:12 (+1)


6th
Ranger 3/Bard 2
3d8+2d6+15
+4
+6
+10
+6
Knowledge(Nature) +2, Move Silently +2, Ride +2, Handle Animal +1, Use Rope +1
-
Endurance
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 5 known
1 1st level Bard spell per day; 2 known
-


7th
Ranger 3/Bard 3
3d8+3d6+18
+5
+7
+10
+6
Knowledge(Planes) +3, Perform(Oratory) +2, Perform(Sing) +1, Sense Motive +1, Sleight of Hand +1
Quick Draw
Inspire Competence
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
2 1st level Bard spell per day; 3 known



8th
Ranger 4/Bard 3
4d8+3d6+21
+6/+1
+8
+11
+6
Climb +2, Handle Animal +1, Ride +2, Swim +1, Move Silently +2
-
Animal Companion: Squid
1 1st level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
2 1st level Bard spell per day; 3 known
-


9th
Ranger 4/Bard 4
4d8+4d6+24
+7/+2
+8
+12
+7
Perform(Sing) +2, Perform(Oratory) +2, Diplomacy +2, Move Silently +1, Escape Artist +1
-
-
1 1st level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
2 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
+1 Cha
Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 18 (+4) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:13 (+1)


10th
Ranger 5/Bard 4
5d8+4d6+27
+8/+3
+8
+12
+7
Climb +1, Handle Animal +2, Ride +2, Knowledge(Nature) +2, Use Rope +1
Point Blank Shot
Favored Enemy: Humanoid (aquatic)
1 1st level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
2 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
+1 feat


11th
Ranger 5/Bard 5
5d8+5d6+30
+8/+3
+8
+12
+7
Perform(Oratory) +2, Perform(Sing) +1, Bluff +2, Diplomacy +2, Knowledge(Planes) +1
-
-
1 1st level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
1 2nd level Bard spell per day; 3 known
-


12th
Ranger 6/Bard 5
6d8+5d6+33
+9/+4
+9
+13
+8
Climb +2, Move Silently +3, Ride +2, Spot +1
-
Improved Combat Style (archery)
2 1st level Ranger spells
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
1 2nd level Bard spell per day; 3 known
-


13th
Ranger 6/Bard 6
6d8+6d6+36
+10/+5
+10
+14
+9
Perform(Sing) +1, Perform(Oratory) +1, Craft(weaponsmithing) +2, Swim +2, Diplomacy +2
Blind-Fight
Suggestion
2 1st level Ranger spells
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 3 known
+1 Cha
Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 18 (+4) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:14 (+2)


14th
Ranger 7/Bard 6
7d8+6d6+39
+11/+6/+1
+10
+14
+9
Knowledge(Nature) +1, Listen +1, Ride +2, Handle Animal +2, Use Rope +1, Concentration +1
-
Woodland Stride
2 1st level Ranger spells
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 3 known
-


15th
Ranger 7/Bard 7
7d8+7d6+42
+12/+7/+2
+10
+14
+9
Perform(Oratory) +1, Perform(Sing) +1, Bluff +2, Sleight of Hand +1, Knowledge(Planes) +2, Hide +1
-
-
2 1st level Ranger spells
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known
-


16th
Ranger 8/Bard 7
8d8+7d6+45
+13/+8/+3
+11
+15
+9
Ride +3, Handle Animal +3, Craft(weaponsmithing) +1, Swim +1
Combat Expertise
Swift Tracker
2 1st level Ranger spells
1 2nd level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known
-


17th
Ranger 8/Bard 8
8d8+8d6+48
+14/+9/+4
+11
+16
+10
Perform(Sing) +1, Perform(Oratory) +2, Sense Motive +2, Swim +1, Climb +1, Knowledge(Planes) +1
-
Inspire Courage +2
2 1st level Ranger spells
1 2nd level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known
1 3rd level Bard spell per day; 3 known
+1 Str
Str: 13 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 18 (+4) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:14 (+2)


18th
Ranger 9/Bard 8
9d8+8d6+51
+15/+10/+5
+11
+16
+11
Handle Animal +2, Ride +2, Use Rope +2, Climb +1, Swim +1
-
Evasion
2 1st level Ranger spells
1 2nd level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known
1 3rd level Bard spell per day; 3 known
-


19th
Ranger 9/Bard 9
9d8+9d6+54
+15/+10/+5
+12
+16
+11
Perform(Oratory) +2, Perform(Sing) +1, Diplomacy +1, Bluff +3, Knowledge(Planes) +1
Combat Reflexes
Inspire Greatness
2 1st level Ranger spells
1 2nd level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known
2 3rd level Bard spell per day; 3 known
-


20th
Ranger 10/Bard 9
10d8+9d6+57
+16/+11/+6/+1
+13
+17
+11
Handle Animal +3, Ride +2, Use Rope +2, Craft(weaponsmithing) +1
-
Favored Enemy: Outsider(Lawful)
2 1st level Ranger spells
2 2nd level Ranger spell
3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known
3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known
3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known
2 3rd level Bard spell per day; 3 known
-




weapons:
Light Crossbow
Rapier
Trident

Spells:
Ranger 1st level favorite spells: Entangle, Speak with Animals, Summon Nature's Ally I, Magic Fang
Ranger 2nd level favorite spells:Barkskin, Cure Light Wounds, Protection from Energy, Speak with Plants, Snare
Bard spells known are in order learned.
Bard 0th level spells known: Daze, Lullaby, Flare, Ghost Sound, Message, Resistance
Bard 1st level spells known: Animate Rope, Cause Fear, Sleep, Silent Image
Bard 2nd level spells known: Enthrall, Blindness/Deafness, Cure Moderate Wounds, Heroism
Bard 3rd level spells known: Blink, Crushing Despair, Confusion


"That's the seventh ship this week...Hey, you. Adventurers. Get off your lazy butts and do something useful for this town for a change. We could really use your help. As you might notice, things are a little pricy around town. Merchant ships have been attacked over the past couple months by a rogue band of fish-folk. Food is getting scarce, and so are boats for that matter. We'll pay you handsomely if you can escort one of our ships across the Strait and back; it's only a three day round trip, and our city will be in your debt.

"Be careful, though. The band is led by an uncivilized siren who calls herself Tempest. They usually attack in stormy weather and at night. Before they get noticed, they drag as many of the crew to the depths as they can. Then, this Tempest and some of her men distract and attack from the sea while the remainder tear at the bottom of the boats.

"Please be careful. The future of our city depends on you.



"Hey! Have you heard of that crazed siren? I heard her followers took down an entire flotilla. Not a merchant ship could get by unless escorted by warships, but then they started taking down army personnel with those crossbows of theirs. Those fish-men even have sharks doing what they want! When the ships start sinking, the sharks tear all who aren't dragged down. The king of Eblium sent out an armada to attack the fish-men, but that mad siren reduced them all to rubble with the army she has following her. Rumors say she's even conquering and uniting entire undersea kingdoms.

"Survivors are being taken care of over in the temple, if you want to go talk to them. Not that you'll get much out of them. They're so traumatized that they only repeat the same phrases over and over. In fact, I'll tell you what I managed to get out of them: that she'll only stop once the 'blood of the landlocked purifies the waters'. Isn't that weird? How can blood clean the sea?


"What are you doing in the tavern at a time like this? Can't you see we need all the help we can get? The port is under attack! That siren, what's her name! They're attacking. Not just merfolk, but fishmen and Locathahs and all sorts of sea monsters! Hear that lightning? Are you blind? Look out the window! See those massive waves? That army brought a storm with them, and don't ask me how! You're the magic-user, here, not me! That siren's advance guard are those merfolk out there riding the crocodiles! Hurry, get up! No, you can't finish your drink! Make sure to cast a water breathing spell, or her squid will drown you!



"I suppose we're lucky that Tempest's army hasn't left the shores and they're mostly waterbound. Without the full force of her army able to go on land and attack, our citadels and cities can defend themselves well enough. I wish we could say that about our seaside cities, though. They've all been washed away. I've heard she's been looking into ways to advance on land, too. Hey, adventurer. Can I ask another favor of you? There's actually something in Eblium's capital castle that needs to be retrieved. Yes, I know that city is half-sunk and occupied. It's really important. Behind the throne room is a passageway that leads downwards to the dearly departed wizard's room. There's some important books and papers - waterproofed, fortunately - that we could use to fight back. It details some rituals we could maybe use to stop their destruction. Also in that castle are some rare artifacts that we need for the ritual. It would be terrible if any of these were found by her army - or any of the sea creatures, since they are now all under her army's command.

"Just remember: if you see a storm approaching, destroy the papers and run with the objects, as her army never leaves the storm. It's better for the knowledge to be lost than for it to land in her hands.


"Hey, adventurer. Thanks for all the help so far. One last favor. I doubt it's possible, but so long as you try, I can die happy. As you can tell, the sea level has been rising steadily. That mad siren has found a way to advance on land. Her army opens up a portal to the elemental plane of water for every temple and church they arrive in, and now they sieged and flooded even Chardon Citadel. They advance on land thanks to those who joined them, their animals, and their magic. The sea advances just as fast, too, and they won't stop until they cleanse the land with water.

"Honestly? I doubt anybody can stop them. If the gods wanted to, they would have already done it. I think, of anyone, you have the biggest chance. In three days, the army will arrive in Pelor's Great Temple and finish the ritual to flood the world. You have to stop them before then. Please.

[Gwachitallemall]

Conning the rich and stealing from the poor. A nobleman's profession.


Robert Passeris a.k.a. "Sealord" a.k.a. "Jagat's Voice"
NE Human Bard 12 / Blackguard 8

Levels 1-5: Robert starts as a charismatic conman bard face. Most of the time, he gets away with it, but once he angers a powerful mob boss. The boss sends a summoned demonic hitman after him for "plausible deniability", but Fascinate, his high Diplomacy and a good roll let Robert talk it into leaving without a fight. When later asked how he stopped the demon, Robert claims to be "the High Priest of the Primal Sea God Jagat". Although Primal Gods don't have clerics (that's what makes them Primal), he is able to start a small cult with his claim. He finds this much safer and more profitable.

Robert is mostly a pseudo-diplomancer bard at level 5. Diplomacy is at +18 (8 ranks + 6 synergy + 4 base Cha). Bluff is at +12 (8 ranks + 4 base Cha). He also has the "peaceful contact with evil outsider" requirement finished. He's not great in melee combat yet, with a BAB of +3.

Levels 6-10: Robert continues to grow his cult, significantly helped by Glibness at level 7. His growing group of heretics draws the attention of the religious authorities, who exile him. In exile, he vows revenge on Laria, gaining personal fighting ability and uniting pirate bands under the banner of Jagat. He takes the noms de guerre "Sealord" and "Jagat's Mouth" to mark his new power.

Robert starts getting powerful around level 10. Dark blessing and smite good are keyed off Charisma, which makes him mostly SAD. He's got some nice healing and buff spells. Also, Glibness. Diplomacy is up to +23 without items (13 ranks + 6 synergy + 4 base Cha).

Levels 11-20: Robert moves on from raids and piracy to conquest and conversion. He makes new "clerics" of Jagat out of his charismatic Rogue or Bard followers with evil-limited "unholy symbols" of continuous Glibness he crafts himself. That removes any contradictions in the teachings; people are "just remembering it wrong". His social skills and Charisma also make sure he's never alone.

At Level 15, Robert has most of what he'll ever use. He has 4th level Bard Spells, most of Blackguard's combat power, most Bard buffs and skills, poison use and Craft (poison). He's got enough diplomacy (+28 without items) to make hostiles indifferent in one round on a 7. Although he is capable in solo combat, he prefers to infiltrate (with Disguise +15) and convert people to his cause with Diplomacy and Bluff. This way, he never lacks allies. He fights better as a leader who can buff his allies than a single combatant.

Since Level 15, he hasn't added any new abilities, but just perfected the ones he already had.


Reason
Str
Dex
Con
Int
Wis
Cha


32 pt buy
14
8
13
11
13
17


4th level
14
8
13
11
13
18


8th level
14
8
13
12
13
18


12th level
14
8
13
12
14
18


16th level
14
8
13
12
14
19


20th level
14
8
13
12
14
20




Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills: Added (Total)
Feats
Class Features


1st
Bard 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Bluff 4 (4), Diplomacy 4 (4), Gather Information 4 (4), Hide 4 (4), Knowledge (local) 4 (4), Knowledge (nobility) 4 (4), Perform (oratory) 4 (4)
Power Attack, Improved Sunder
Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +1


2nd
Bard 2
+1
+0
+3
+3
Bluff 1 (5), Diplomacy 1 (5), Gather Information 1 (5), Hide 1 (5), Knowledge (local) 1 (5), Knowledge (nobility) 1 (5), Perform (oratory) 1 (5)




3rd
Bard 3
+2
+1
+3
+3
Bluff 1 (6), Craft (poison) 2 (2), Diplomacy 1 (6), Knowledge (religion) 2 (2), Perform (oratory) 1 (6)
Craft Wondrous Item
Inspire Competence


4th
Bard 4
+3
+1
+4
+4
Bluff 1 (7), Concentration 2 (2), Craft (poison) 2 (4), Diplomacy 1 (7), Perform (oratory) 1 (7)




5th
Bard 5
+3
+1
+4
+4
Bluff 1 (8), Disguise 4 (4), Diplomacy 1 (8), Perform (oratory) 1 (8)




6th
Bard 6
+4
+2
+5
+5
Bluff 1 (9), Disguise 4 (8), Diplomacy 1 (9), Perform (oratory) 1 (9)
Cleave
Suggestion


7th
Bard 7
+5
+2
+5
+5
Bluff 1 (10), Concentration 3 (5), Disguise 1 (9), Diplomacy 1 (10), Perform (oratory) 1 (10)




8th
Bard 8
+6
+2
+6
+6
Bluff 1 (11), Concentration 3 (8), Disguise 2 (11), Diplomacy 1 (11), Perform (oratory) 1 (11)

Inspire Courage +2


9th
Blackguard 1
+7
+4
+6
+6
Diplomacy 1 (12), Intimidate 3 (3)
Blindfight
Aura of Evil, Detect Good, Poison Use


10th
Blackguard 2
+8
+5
+6
+6
Diplomacy 1 (13), Intimidate 3 (6)

Dark Blessing, Smite Good 1/day


11th
Blackguard 3
+9
+5
+7
+7
Diplomacy 1 (14), Intimidate 3 (9)

Command Undead, Aura of Despair


12th
Bard 9
+9
+6
+7
+7
Bluff 4 (15), Diplomacy 1 (15), Perform (oratory) 3 (14)
Extend Spell
Inspire Greatness


13th
Bard 10
+10
+6
+8
+8
Bluff 1 (16), Diplomacy 1 (16), Disguise 4 (15), Perform (oratory) 2 (16)




14th
Blackguard 4
+11
+7
+8
+8
Craft (poison) 1 (5), Diplomacy 1 (17), Intimidate 2 (11)

Sneak Attack (1d6)


15th
Blackguard 5
+12
+7
+8
+8
Craft (poison) 1 (6), Diplomacy 1 (18), Intimidate 2 (13)
Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Fiendish Servant, Smite Good 2/day


16th
Bard 11
+13
+7
+8
+8
Bluff 3 (19), Diplomacy 1 (19), Perform (oratory) 3 (19), Disguise 1 (16)




17th
Bard 12
+14
+8
+9
+9
Bluff 1 (20), Craft (poison) 1 (7), Diplomacy 1 (20), Perform (oratory) 1 (20), Disguise 4 (20)




18th
Blackguard 6
+15
+9
+10
+10
Bluff 1 (21), Craft (poison) 1 (8), Diplomacy 1 (21)
Weapon Specialization (Greatsword)



19th
Blackguard 7
+16
+9
+10
+10
Bluff 1 (22), Craft (poison) 1 (9), Diplomacy 1 (22)

Sneak Attack (2d6)


20th
Blackguard 8
+17
+10
+10
+10
Bluff 1 (23), Craft (poison) 1 (10), Diplomacy 1 (23)





Blackguard Spells per Day+Bonus Spells per Day/Bard Spells per Day+Bonus Spells per Day/Bard Spells Known


Level
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th


1st
- / 2 / 4
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


2nd
- / 3 / 5
- / 0+1 / 2
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


3rd
- / 3 / 6
- / 1+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


4th
- / 3 / 6
- / 2+1 / 3
- / 0+1 / 2
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


5th
- / 3 / 6
- / 3+1 / 4
- / 1+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


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


7th
- / 3 / 6
- / 3+1 / 4
- / 2+1 / 4
- / 0+1 / 2
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


8th
- / 3 / 6
- / 3+1 / 4
- / 3+1 / 4
- / 1+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


9th
- / 3 / 6
0+1 / 3+1 / 4
- / 3+1 / 4
- / 1+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


10th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
- / 3+1 / 4
- / 1+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


11th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
0 / 3+1 / 4
- / 1+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


12th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
0+1 / 3+1 / 4
- / 2+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


13th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
0+1 / 3+1 / 4
- / 2+1 / 4
- / 0+1 / 2
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


14th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
- / 2+1 / 4
- / 0+1 / 2
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


15th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
0 / 2+1 / 4
- / 0+1 / 2
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


16th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
0 / 2+1 / 4
- / 1+1 / 3
- /- / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


17th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
0 / 2+1 / 4
- / 2+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


18th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1 / 2+1 / 4
- / 2+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


19th
- / 3/6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1 / 2+1 / 4
0 / 2+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -

20th
- / 3 / 6
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1+1 / 3+1 / 4
1 / 2+1 / 4
1 / 2+1 / 3
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -
- / - / -


Bard Spells Known:
0th level: Ghost Sound, Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Mage Hand, Mending
1st level: Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds, Expeditious Retreat, Disguise Self
2nd level: Tongues, Glitterdust, Cure Moderate Wounds, Suggestion
3rd level: Glibness, Dispel Magic, Good Hope, Major Image
4th level: Break Enchantment, Freedom of Movement, Greater Invisibility
Masterwork tools for: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate
Cloak of Charisma +x: as high as possible; helps casting (Bard), social skills (Bluff, Diplomacy), all saves (Dark Blessing), To hit & damage (Smite Good, Power Attack)
Belt of Strength +4,+6: helps To Hit and Damage
Necklace of Adaptation: water breathing, no gases.
Robe of the Archmagi (evil): armor, SR, Save bonus
Greatsword +1 Ghost Touch Unholy Humanbane, etc... as affordable after Blackguard gives proficiency
Orb of Storms: Mostly fluff, but helps with the sea cleric emulation.

[Gwachitallemall]

Is his bark worse than his bite? Nope, that's an army of midgets.


Ragna Antonia
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/1d/37/36/1d373652d41e1ae417c59820fec6f041.jpg

"Can't touch this."

LE Arctic Halfling Urban Ranger 3 / Monk 6 / Urban Ranger +3 / Duelist 3 / Urban Ranger +5

Ragna Antonia was born a slave in the human capital. She spent her childhood exploring the city in between delivering messages for her owners and hunting vermin to supplement her family's diet. Wherever she went, delivering invitations, responses, and simple notes, people remarked on her natural grace (17 Dex), insight (16 Wis), and charm (14 Cha). It was almost idyllic, until the Florist Guild decided that her gifts meant she could be profitably trained as a hostess. They made an offer her owners couldn't refuse, and she was sealed inside the Guild walls to learn marketable skills. She didn't accept the confinement happily (+5 ranks Escape Artist, Flurry of Blows), but eventually she started to learn by sheer osmosis (+3 ranks Perform (dance) ). Through experience, she also got better at dodging their blows (Evasion, Combat Reflexes).
As the years rolled by, Ragna, or "Rose" as the Florists renamed her, grew to accept the organized and disciplined life in the Guild. Although she occasionally tried to break free (+1 Escape Artist each level), she was more serene, calm, and comfortable with her life (Still Mind). She even began to interact more with the other trainees, for the first time (+2 ranks Diplomacy). This change in behavior must have been what the Florists were looking for, since soon after she was sold as a servant to a particularly lucrative buyer, the King himself! Life in the Royal Household was starkly different from the Guild compound. Whereas from the Guild one could escape and potentially find a buyer to stand up to the Guildmaster, escape from the Palace could have no such success. Out of routine, Rose continued the exercises taught by the Florists while attempting to make friends in all directions (+3 or 4 ranks Diplomacy each level). The King responded well to her overtures, but their relationship was inherently unbalanced; any favor she had could vanish at his whim. She saw an example of this firsthand after an orc raid hit one of the outlying villages. In the span of an afternoon from hearing the news, the King's orcish bodyguards were banished from the palace, city, and even kingdom, despite their protests that the raiders were from a different tribe. But when he offered her the position of commander of a new halfling Royal Guard, she couldn't resist. Rose, now Ragna again, ran through the streets in jubilation, restablishing contacts from her messenger days (+3 ranks of Gather Information). She was finally free.
Establishing a guard of halflings wasn't as easy as Ragna had imagined in those heady days of newfound freedom. She found herself (+5 ranks Sense Motive) with two kinds of new recruits; broken-spirited current slaves and rebellious new arrivals from halfling lands (Favored Enemy: humanoid (halfling) +2). The only completely competent recruit she found, Ana, had been a great hunter and leader before capture; and now she meant to regain her status at Ragna's expense (Mobility, +4 ranks Hide, +4 ranks Move Silently). What Ragna still had over her was time to establish connections, so she practiced paranoia and reaction time (Improved Initiative, Canny Defense, Improved Reaction) to ensure when Ana finally led a coup, she was able to respond. After Ragna won their duel, there was no longer any dissent among the new guard. It was hers and hers alone.
With the Royal Guard now powerful and firmly behind her, Ragna decided it was time to test the limits of her power. The King soon died of "illness", and she knew it was time to assert herself. The Crown Prince disliked her arrogance, and tried to replace her as Guard Commander before his coronation. A few well-placed arrows (Point-Blank Shot, Improved Precise Shot), and his weak-minded brother took the throne, confined to the Palace for "protection against assassination".
Ragna's army is mostly composed of LN Halfling Rogue and LE Halfling Rogue 5 / Assassin X types. There are a few Barbarians and Rangers, but those are limited because of Strength concerns (her 2nd-in-command, Ana is a TN Jungle Halfling Barbarian 12 / Fighter 2 with Str 16). After level 10, she can draw upon the human Kingdom's specialists as needed. In a fight, Ragna uses her high AC (mid 50's against AoO from moving, upper 30's Touch AC at lvl 20 with items) and speed to move around the battlefield, disarming enemies and setting up flanks. She doesn't need much of a weapon since attack roll is really all that matters to her, although items are important to properly boost AC. She can choose fights wisely with her skills (Gather Information, Sense Motive), and only does so when a threat to her or her army emerges or a valuable opportunity arises. She does have a few low level spells per day, but they're not critical to her strategies.

StrDexConIntWisChaReasons
8151113161432 point buy
61711131614Racial Adjustments
61711141614Level 4
61811141614Level 8
61812141614Level 12
61912141614Level 16
62012141614Level 20


LevelClassBABFortRefWillSkillsFeatsSpecial Abilities
1Urban Ranger 1+1+3+3+1Knowledge (local) 4, Sense Motive 4, Use Rope 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (geography) 4 Weapon FinesseFavored Enemy: Humanoid (human) +2, Urban Tracking, Wild Empathy (1/2 level)
2Urban Ranger 2+2+4+4+1Knowledge (local) +1 (5), Sense Motive +1 (5), Use Rope +1 (5), Hide +1 (5), Move Silently +1 (5), Gather Information +1 (5), Knowledge (geography) +1 (5) Rapidshot
3Urban Ranger 3+3+4+4+2Heal +3 (3), Sense Motive +1 (6), Hide +1 (6), Move Silently +1 (6), Gather Information +1 (6) BlindfightEndurance
4Monk 1 +3+6+6+4Escape Artist +5 (5), Tumble +1 (1)Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike (1d4), Stunning Fist
5Monk 2+4+7+7+5Escape Artist +1 (6), Tumble +2 (3), Perform (dance) +3 (3) Evasion, Combat Reflexes
6Monk 3+5+7+7+5Escape Artist +1 (7), Tumble +3 (6), Diplomacy +2 (2) Deflect ArrowsStill Mind, Speed (+10 ft)
7Monk 4+6+8+8+6Escape Artist +1 (8), Tumble +2 (8), Diplomacy +3 (5) Ki Strike (magic), Unarmed Strike (1d6), Slow fall (20 ft)
8Monk 5+6+8+8+6Escape Artist +1 (9), Tumble +2 (10), Diplomacy +3 (8) Purity of Body
9Monk 6+7+9+9+7Escape Artist +1 (10), Tumble +1 (11), Diplomacy +4 (12) DodgeImproved Disarm, Slow fall (30 ft), Speed (+20 ft)
10Urban Ranger 4+8+10+10+7Tumble +1 (12), Sense Motive +1 (7), Hide +1 (7), Move Silently +1 (7), Gather Information +3 (9) Animal Companion: Eagle
11Urban Ranger 5+9+10+10+7Tumble +1 (13), Sense Motive +5 (12), Gather Information +1 (10) Favored Enemy: Humanoid (halfling) +2, Humanoid (human) +4
12Urban Ranger 6+10+11+11+8Hide +4 (11), Move Silently +4 (11)MobilityManyshot
13Duelist 1 +11+11+13+8Escape Artist +1 (11), Bluff +5 (5)Canny Defence
14Duelist 2+12+11+14+8Escape Artist + 4 (15), Tumble +2 (15) Improved Reaction
15Duelist 3+13+12+14+9Escape Artist +3 (18), Tumble +3 (18) Improved InitiativeEnhanced Mobility
16Urban Ranger 7+14+12+14+9Sense Motive +6 (18), Move Silently +2 (13)
17Urban Ranger 8+15+13+15+9Escape Artist +2 (20), Sense Motive +1 (19), Hide +3 (14)Swift Tracker
18Urban Ranger 9+16+13+15+10Move Silently +4 (17), Hide +4 (18) Point Blank ShotEvasion
19Urban Ranger 10 +17+14+16+10Sense Motive +3 (22), Move Silently +5 (22)Favored Enemy: Humanoid (elf) +2, Humanoid (human) +6
20Urban Ranger 11 +18+14+16+10Escape Artist +3 (23), Sense Motive +1 (23), Move Silently +1 (23)Improved Precise Shot

Ranger Spells per Day+Bonus
Level0 lvl1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
1 ----------
2 ----------
3 ----------
4 ----------
5 ----------
6 ----------
7 ----------
8 ----------
9 ----------
10-0+1--------
11-0+1--------
12-1+1--------
13-1+1--------
14-1+1--------
15-1+1--------
16-1+1--------
17-1+10+1-------
18-1+10+1-------
19-1+11+1-------
20-1+11+10+1------

+x Longbow: Ranged Attack
+x Humanbane Sai: Disarming Melee Attack
Bracers of Armor +x: +x AC, +x Flatfooted AC
Ring of Deflection +x: +x AC, +x Touch AC, +x Flatfooted AC
Gloves of Dexterity +2x: +x AC, +x Touch AC, +x attack rolls
Periapt of Wisdom +2x: +x AC, +x Touch AC, +x Flatfooted AC, more/better spells
Some item with resistance +x: +x to saves
Headband of Intellect +2: Gets full benefit from Duelist (+1 AC)
Brooch of Shielding: Early protection from magic missiles, since nothing else will hit her easily.
Minor Cloak of Displacement: 20% miss chance, always on
Ring of Regeneration: Healing/Regeneration, should she need it.
Vest of Escape: Escape artist +6
Monk's Belt: +1 AC, +1 size of unarmed strike, +1 stunning fist/day
Scarab of Protection: Protection from death effects, energy drain, negative energy, spell resistance 20.
PHB: Monk, Ranger, Duelist, Items
Unearthed Arcana: Urban Variant (Ranger), Arctic Variant Halfling

[Gwachitallemall]

Orphans, the true scourge of D&D.





Orphanicus Undeadicus
The little undead lord of the undead baby orphan horde
Small augumented unded Bard 4/Warblade 16


Concept and design




Fluff:If you know anything about D&D, you know that orphans occupy aspecial position in society, being amplifiers of alignment. Any horror visited upon the commoners is more horrible if it afflicts orphans. Any minor good deed will turn you into a paragon of virtue if it is done for the benefit of orphans. It seems like the murderhobos of the world can stay good just by doing nice things for the countless orphans they themselves create!

I wanted to put a twist on this by making my BBEG (technically a LittleBEG) an orphan. An orphan, undead warlord. Who leads other undead orphans in battle!


I'm trying to combine this with one of the most common stereotypes of modern horror: the creepy undead kid. Orphanicus can emulate many ofthe tricks of scary undead children by using stealth, invisibilityand disguises to appear where you least expect him! As a necropolitan (and a master of disguise) he can also appear almost human – even battle hardened adventurers may hesitate to strike a killing blow when their opponent looks up at them and says “Please sir, I'm just a little kid...” As a bard, Orphanicus uses song to work his magic. Obviously, this is the creepy nursery rhymes of spooky horror movie kids. "One, two, Freddy's comming for you..."


It should be said right now that Orphanicus is not intended to be an unstoppable juggernaut of death. In my mind, a good BBEG causes some serious damage to the party and then escapes or dies in a memorable fashion! A TPK doesn't leave the characters many chances to rememberthe villain, while an ALMOST fatal encounter can leave them thirsty for revenge.


Crunch: Orphanicus is a basic bard blade, built to be efficient for a small melee fighter and a commander. He could easily be made more deadly in combat by being turned into an ubercharger, or just optimizing his fighting style. He makes some use of bardic knack/jack of alltrades/knowledge devotion, which really isn't an optimal feat investment, but it does work well with his ability to infiltrate (see modus operandi, below). Also, I feel it works well for what is essentially a curious little kid (curious about all the possible ways he can make things die, that is). Esentially, I wanted him to have a distinct fighting style, and be a memorable enemy that could be ran in several ways depending on his minions and gear, but still give a clever party a fair chance to beat him.

Because of his UMD skill, he can easily be outfitted with any scroll or wand that will allow him to make a better challenge for a party. Or, if the party is on the weak side, he can rely on his natural fighting abilities.

Also, this is my first entry ever, and I'm doing it with hours to the deadline. No time for field testing! I picked maneuvers and stances that go with the concept of leading a horde, and a couple to make up for some of his weaknesses (like fort save), but they are far from optimized. If you want to use him as a solo antagonist (creepy child killer rather than creepy child warlord) it can easily be done by changing his maneuvers.

Orphanicus is best suited as a BBEG for a mid-op party. A low optimized party may have trouble dealing with hordes of buffed minions, led by a cleverly ran ToB fighter. A high-OP party is hard to challenge with a melee character, even if his mobility may help a bit. This is NOT Tippy proof (but then again, neither are the laws of physics).

Apperance and Background: Orphanicus appears to be a thin, pale boy aged around 11. He is dressed in some, oversized armor (usually leather or discarded chain) and carries some rusty daggers. He seems twitchy and nervous, unable to focus on any one thing for more than a moment. If undisturbed, he sings quietly to himself. The words are... quite distirbing.

Orphanicus family was killed by orcs (creative, isn't it). Who were also followers of Nerull. And Vecna. Oh, and undead. Possibly ninjas too, or so he will tell you. They took him prisoner because his singing amused them, and somewhere along the line, they killed him/had him bitten by a vampire/turned into a ghoul/made him eat his parents corpses. If you are unlucky enough to speak to him more than once, the story likely changes. What can be gleaned from it is that he was likely taken capture by someone powerful enough to turn him into a Necropolitan. Likely someone unplesant, as most spellcasters would balk at turning such a young child, even a gifted bard, into an undead. It is not known if the band he currently travels with has any connections to the band that killed his parents, if in fact, they were ever killed. He may have killed them himself for all you know.

Minions: Orphanicus minions are made up mostly of children (all orphans, but he will kill parents to make candidates "eligible" for recruitment. Many are undead, but those with useful skills (class levels) are sometimes kept alive. Because of his personal power and leadership skills, Orphanicus can keep quite a few of them in line. At lower levels, his minions will mostly be children and low level rogues. At higher levels, he may be accompanied by advanced undead children; while small, those who remain in his company for any time tend to become fairly powerful.

Orphanicus also tend to have some adults around to act as patsies and decoys. Mostly they are weak minded and easily manipulated, but sometimes a powerful, free willed adult will tag along with Orphanicus band for a while out of perverse curiosity.

Because he has limited spellcasting powers himself, Orphanicus relies mostly on scrolls for creating more powerful undead. Much of his time can be spent securing resources to keep his band up to strength.
Modus Operandi: Orphanicus is driven by a combination of childlike curiosity and a bucket full of crazy bloody murder, with extra sprinkles. His mind is well and truly shattered. He feels betrayed by the adult world and trusts noone over age 12, although he will make short time alliances with adults if he has to. He may create undead children in order to have some form of playmates. Or he may just enjoy forcing adults to fight this mockery of innocense. Bonkers, I tell you. Totally bonkers!

Orphanicus prefers to let an adult minion act as leader for the band. If he expects trouble, or is just bored, he will disguise himself as a harmless target such as a captured child. If the adventurers focus on the decoy leader, Orphanicus will lead a charge of undead children, using white raven charges and dragonfire inspiration to great effect. If forced into an extended fight, he uses his two weapon fighting and static bonuses to cause damage to the most vulnerable target. However, Orphanicus has no great loyalty to his band and will withdraw if things look to go against him. He prefers to fight at locations where his small size gives him many escape options. Against a prepared party, he tries to use hit and run tactics, buffing minions to let them cause damage, but then quickly withdrawing before he risks injury himself. His ideal lair is a goblin or kobold warren, with tunnels suited for small-sized fighters and no room to fly out of reach. He may be able to do some Tuckers Kobolds tricks in a lair like that.

If he lacks a band of followers (perhaps because of the PCs) he will use his disguise and bluff skills to infiltrate a family or a guild. He can appear as a cabin boy on a ship, as a servant in a guild hall, or some other position unlikely to attract attention. Because he can copy almost every skill in the game, he's quite capable of of faking it as an apprentice of some kind if need be, and his knowledge skills let him know a tiny bit about most subjects. He's just so very USEFUL, and all he wants is a place to stay... One of his favorite tricks is to kill a child in a family, replace it, and see how long it takes before he gets found out. Because of his fighting abilities, a family of commoners are unlikely to live long after he is revealed.


Build

Race: Necropolitan (young silverbrow human (Dragon magic 6) base creature)
Young template from pathfinder SRD (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/simple-template-young-cr-1)

Stats

Str: 16 (-4 young) 12 (Str added every 4 levels)
Dex: 16 (+4 size) 20
Con: 8 (-4 young, set to 0 by necropolitan) 0
Int: 16 16
Wis: 10 10
Cha: 16 16

Flaws: Shaky, Inattentive (UA 91)




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


1st
Bard
+0
+0
+2
+2
Balance 4, Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Disguise 4, Knowledge (local) 4, Move silently 4, Perform (sing) 4, UMD 4
Extra music (1st), Dragonfire inspiration (h), Able learner (flaw), Two weapon fighting (flaw)
Bardic music, bardic knack (PBH2 35), countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1


2nd
Bard
+1
+0
+3
+3
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 5, Diplomancy 5, Disguise 5, Knowledge (local) 5, Move silently 5, Perform (sing) 5, UMD 5
n/a
New Class Abilities


3rd
Bard
+2
+1
+3
+3
Balance 5, Bluff 6, Concentration 6, Diplomancy 6, Disguise 6, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 2, Move silently 6, Perform (sing) 6, UMD 6
Song of the heart
Inspire competence


4th
Bard
+3
+1
+4
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 7, Concentration 7, Diplomancy 7, Disguise 7, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 4, Move silently 7, Perform (sing) 7, UMD 7
n/a
n/a


5th
Warblade
+4
+3
+4
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 8, Concentration 8, Diplomancy 8, Disguise 8, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 5, Move silently 7, Perform (sing) 8, UMD 8
n/a
Battle Clarity (reflex saves), weapon aptitude


6th
Warblade
+5
+4
+4
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 9, Concentration 9, Diplomancy 9, Disguise 9, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 6, Move silently 7, Perform (sing) 9, UMD 9
Song of the white raven
Uncanny dodge


7th
Warblade
+6
+4
+5
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 10, Concentration 10, Diplomancy 10, Disguise 10, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 7, Move silently 7, Perform (sing) 10, UMD 10
n/a
Battle ardor (crit confirm)


8th
Warblade
+7
+5
+5
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 11, Concentration 11, Diplomancy 11, Disguise 11, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 7, Move silently 8, Perform (sing) 11, UMD 11
n/a
n/a


9th
Warblade
+8
+5
+5
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 12, Concentration 12, Diplomancy 12, Disguise 12, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 8, Move silently 8, Perform (sing) 12, UMD 12
Martial study (shadow jaunt)
Bonus feat (Improved initiative)


10th
Warblade
+9
+6
+6
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 13, Concentration 13, Diplomancy 13, Disguise 13, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 9, Move silently 8, Perform (sing) 13, UMD 13
n/a
Improved uncanny dodge


11th
Warblade
+10
+6
+6
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 14, Concentration 14, Diplomancy 14, Disguise 14, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 9, Move silently 9, Perform (sing) 14, UMD 14
n/a
Battle cunning (damage)


12th
Warblade
+11
+7
+6
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 15, Concentration 15, Diplomancy 15, Disguise 15, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 10, Move silently 9, Perform (sing) 15, UMD 15
Shadow blade
n/a


13th
Warblade
+12
+7
+7
+7
Balance 5, Bluff 16, Concentration 16, Diplomancy 16, Disguise 16, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 10, Move silently 10, Perform (sing) 16, UMD 16
n/a
Bonus feat (combat reflexes)


14th
Warblade
+13
+8
+7
+7
Balance 5, Bluff 17, Concentration 17, Diplomancy 17, Disguise 17, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 11, Move silently 10, Perform (sing) 17, UMD 17
n/a
n/a


15th
Warblade
+14
+8
+7
+7
Balance 5, Bluff 18, Concentration 18, Diplomancy 18, Disguise 18, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 11, Move silently 11, Perform (sing) 18, UMD 18
Knowledge devotion
Battle skill (opposed checks)


16th
Warblade
+15
+9
+8
+8
Balance 5, Bluff 19, Concentration 19, Diplomancy 19, Disguise 19, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 11, Move silently 12, Perform (sing) 19, UMD 19
n/a
n/a


17th
Warblade
+16
+9
+8
+8
Balance 5, Bluff 20, Concentration 20, Diplomancy 20, Disguise 20, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 12, Move silently 12, Perform (sing) 20, UMD 20
n/a
Bonus feat (blind fight)


18th
Warblade
+17
+10
+8
+8
Balance 5, Bluff 21, Concentration 21, Diplomancy 21, Disguise 21, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 12, Move silently 13, Perform (sing) 21, UMD 21
Jack of all trades
n/a


19th
New Class Level
+18
+10
+9
+9
Balance 5, Bluff 22, Concentration 22, Diplomancy 22, Disguise 22, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 13, Move silently 13, Perform (sing) 22, UMD 22
n/a
Battle mastery (attacks of opportunity)


20th
New Class Level
+19
+11
+9
+9
Balance 5, Bluff 23, Concentration 23, Diplomancy 23, Disguise 23, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 14, Move silently 13, Perform (sing) 23, UMD 23
n/a
n/a





Lvl 5: At this point, orphanicus isn't a very powerful melee fighter. He will generally remain in his disguise as a minor enemy or a prisoner. The party may end up rescuing him, not realizing his true nature! If forced to fight, he will mostly act act as a buffer/debuffer, rather than go on the front lines.

Lvl 10: Lvl 10 Orphanicus has enough martial skills that he can join in with his minions. He will use white raven skills to position his minions where they can do the most damage with dragonfire inspiration, and if he has a powerful ally he will use white raven tactics to let that ally appear even more dangerous, drawing attention away from himself. He will save his shadow jaunt for emergencies, using it to escape.

Lvl 12: With shadow blade, DFI and dancing mongoose, Orphanicus is putting out ok damage himself, as well as buffing his minions. Also, at this point he should have some fairly powerful minions to command. His tactics will have to change more at these levels because he may have to customize his magic items more to face a particular enemy. Knowing that he is vulnerable to magic (who isn't...), he will try to get his minions to gang up on squishy targets.

Lvl 15-20:Not that much changes for Orphanicus at these levels. His style will become more centered around the minions he has than his personal actions. His white raven maneuvers can still make a big difference in a fight, especially if he can lead an all-out attack on the party. However, because of the dominance of magic at these levels, he will most likely find himself playing a supporting role again.




Bard spells:


0 lvl: Ghost sound, mage hand, prestidigitation
1st lvl: Grease, silent image
2nd lvl: Alter self, invisibility

Maneuvers:


1st: Leading the charge, moment of the perfect mind, hunters sense
2nd: Wall of blades, Mountain hammer, rabid wolf strike
3rd: Tactics of the wolf, white raven tactics, mind over body, wolverine stance
4th: White raven strike
5th: Dancing mongoose
6th: Order forged from chaos
7th: Swarming assault, clarion call
8th: White raven hammer, raging mongoose
9th: War masters charge

[Gwachitallemall]

Our last contestant was a little.. verbose.



Naal Longshadow
LE Human Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Martial Focused Conjurer 1/Hit-and-Run Fighter 2/Warblade 8/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Crusader 2

Born of Madness
Ability Scores
32 Point Buy: 14 Str, 16 Dex, 15 Con, 14 Int, 8 Wis, 10 Cha

All stat increases go to Dex.

Level Progression


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


1st
Sleeping Tiger Monk 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
Concentration 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 2, Handle Animal 2
Kung Fu Genius, Darkstalker, Improved Unarmed StrikeB, Weapon FinesseB, Willing DeformityV
Flurry of Blows, AC Bonus


2nd
Hit-and-Run Fighter 1
+1
+4
+2
+2
Concentration 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 5, Handle Animal 4
Mounted CombatB
Hit-and-Run Tactics


3rd
Warblade 1
+2
+6
+2
+2
Concentration 5, Hide 4, Move Silently 6, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 6, Handle Animal 4
Stealthy
Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitutde


4th
Monk 2
+3
+7
+3
+3
Concentration 6, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 7, Handle Animal 4
Combat ReflexesB
Evasion


5th
Martial Focused Conjurer 1
+3
+7
+3
+5
Concentration 6, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 8, Handle Animal 4
Martial Study (Shadow Jaunt)B, Deformity (Tall) V
Abrupt Jaunt, Ban Necromancy, Evocation, and Abjuration


6th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1
+3
+7
+5
+5
Concentration 6, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 2, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5
Evasive Reflexes
Shadow Ride


7th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+4
+7
+6
+5
Concentration 6, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 1.5
-
Sudden Strike 1d6


8th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 3
+5
+8
+6
+6
Concentration 6, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 1.5
Ride-by AttackB
-


9th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 4
+6
+8
+7
+6
Concentration 6, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 3
Sun School
Sudden Strike 2d6


10th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
+6
+8
+7
+6
Concentration 7, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 4.5
Chosen of EvilV
Shadow Pounce


11th
Warblade 2
+7
+9
+7
+6
Concentration 11, Hide 14, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 5.5
-
Uncanny Dodge


12th
Warblade 3
+8
+9
+8
+7
Concentration 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 6.5 13
Truename Training[td]
[td]Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)


13th
Warblade 4
+9
+10
+8
+7
Concentration 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 2 Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 16
-
-


14th
Fighter 2
+10
+11
+8
+7
Concentration 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 17
Martial Study (Shadow Stride)
-


15th
Warblade 5
+11
+11
+8
+7
Concentration 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 18
Ironheart AuraB, Stormguard Warrior, Evil BrandV
-


16th
Warblade 6
+12
+12
+9
+8
Concentration 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 15, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 19
-
Improved Uncanny Dodge


17th
Warblade 7
+13
+12
+9
+8
Concentration 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 17, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 20
-
Battle Cunning (Damage)


18th
Warblade 8
+14
+13
+9
+8
Concentration 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 19, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 21
Robilar’s Gambit*
Steely Resolve 5, Furious Counterstrike


19th
Crusader 1
+15
+15
+9
+8
Concentration 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 21, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 22
-
Steely Resolve 5, Furious Counterstrike


20th
Crusader 2
+16
+16
+9
+8
Concentration 23, Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 23
Master’s WillV
-

B denotes a bonus feat from a class.
V denotes a bonus vile feat from being dedicated to the Leviathan.
*Skill Focus (Truespeak) is also an option here, what with how horribly the checks scale, but I think Robilar’s Gambit is the better choice. If you don’t want to equip Naal with metamagic rods for whatever reason, Sudden Widen is a decent choice as well.


Maneuvers

Effective Character Level
Maneuvers Known
Stances Known
Maneuvers Readied


3
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade
Punishing Stance
3


5
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt
Punishing Stance
3


11
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics
Punishing Stance
3


12
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Covering Strike
Punishing Stance
3


13
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge
Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf
4


14
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride
Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf
4


15
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver
Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf
4


16
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity
Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf
4


17
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity, Order Forged From Chaos,
Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf
4


18
Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity, Order Forged From Chaos, Clarion Call

Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf
4/5 (2)


19
Warblade: Moment of the Perfect Mind, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity, Order Forged From Chaos, Clarion Call
Crusader: Crusader’s Strike, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike, Tactical Strike, Lion’s Roar

Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf, Iron Guard’s Glare
4/5 (2)


20
Warblade: Moment of the Perfect Mind, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity, Order Forged From Chaos, Clarion Call
Crusader: Crusader’s Strike, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike, Tactical Strike, Lion’s Roar

Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf, Iron Guard’s Glare, Press the Advantage
4/5 (2)


SpellsNaal gets 2 cantrips of any non-banned school, 3 Conjuration cantrips, 0 1st level spells of any school, and 3 1st level Conjuration spells before bonus spells for a high Int score.
Casting a ShadowThe First Encounter (ECL 5-6)Four figures trudged through a dusty old library of some civilization whose name perhaps one of them could remember on a good day, in search of some musty ancient document the significance of which beyond the fact that some old museum curator would pay a large sum gold for it they could only guess at.

“I don’t like this,” the frontmost of them grumbled, eyes peering into the gloom and hand at his sword hilt. “It feels like there’s someone else here. I could’ve sworn I heard something just now.”

“Quit your bellyaching,” was the reply from the robed figure behind him, “You just don’t like being around books. Come on. If I’m reading these runes right, it looks like the section we’re looking for should be in this room.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get this over with.” The door was pushed ajar and the party walked into the shadowy chamber within, the warrior still trying to penetrate the dark shadows behind the moldy bookshelves, though he saw nothing within them until suddenly he caught a flicker of movement to his right. Turning towards it, he saw a figure in a dark cloak trying to hide in a corner behind a bookcase. Drawing his sword and shouting to his allies, he stepped toward the figure only to feel a blow to the back of his head. Wheeling round he saw another shadowy figure, at least a head taller than he, despite his stealth and more stepping out from the shadows around them to attack. The tall one who had delivered the blow, seemingly with his foot, stepped back toward the cover of a bookshelf, spinning some bizarre manner of weapon as if to dissuade advance in one hand, though clearly inexpertly, and clutching a tome in the other. Unperturbed by the weapon, and suspecting that his paycheck would suffer if the interloper were allowed to leave with the book, rushed forward preparing himself to duck a wild swing, but instead seeing his adversary sidestep behind the shelf and out of his blade’s reach. At a word from the back of the room, and a mass of seaweed ensnared the strange man’s lank form, but just as quickly the plants fell limply around thin air as their captive vanished, reappearing slightly out of the warrior’s reach and sneaking another kick under his guard, then darting away to a corner of the room, from whence he vanished again when the warrior tried to corner him with another charge. “We’ve got to find him! He took one of the books!” shouted the swordsman, but he soon realized that there were other enemies who had not fled and who would prevent pursuit.

At this level, our BBEG in training is really only designed for one thing, entering Crinti Shadow Marauder, but as a consequence, he also ends up alright at not dying and running away (especially if you run him at 6th level instead of 5th when he’ll have Evasive Reflexes to work with and Shadow Ride as an extra means of teleportation for himself and any ally he can ride as a mount). If you want to introduce him early, it should probably be a situation like the one above where he just tries to get a hit or two in at most against flatfooted PCs via stealth and perhaps Sapphire Nightmare Blade or Grease, before escaping.

Naal does his hitting with unarmed strikes, but once you have Evasive Reflexes, you should give him a reach weapon to expand his threatened area. Since he doesn’t need to be proficient, I recommend a kusuri-gama or spinning sword so he has a hand free to hold things. They also have the advantage of making him stick out to your PCs more than a polearm or a spiked chain would.

The Black Rider (ECL 10)The one raider in the library who they had managed to capture alive hadn’t told them much. He kept babbling some nonsense about the chaos that birthed the world, and about the shadow of that chaos (whatever that meant). But they had found currency from Dambrath on several of the corpses, and many of them were Drow or Half-Drow, so the group set out for Dambrath, suspecting that whoever the mystery man was, he could only be up to no good with the forbidden lore of dead civilizations.

Fortunately, regardless of one’s skill at stealth, it’s difficult to keep a low profile as an unnaturally tall human in a position of prestige among a country ruled by Half-Drow, especially when that position is earned through an unusual fighting style. Despite the initial reticence of the Crinti, they eventually discovered the man to be Naal Longshadow, now a member of the elite Shadow Riders of Dambrath, and also holding strong ties to the Paragnostic Assembly, for whom he would often work as a treasure hunter or hired muscle. He was on one such treasure hunt at that time, and supposedly rode only with his own men. Without the risk of facing magical backup or the potential concern of harming innocents, it seemed the perfect opportunity to stop whatever nefarious plan Longshadow was up to.

So it was that they attempted to ambush Naal Longshadow upon the road, though they could hardly be said to have been successful, at least at gaining the element of surprise and at killing Longshadow, though they did manage to bring down a number of his men.

Some scout or informant had tipped their quarry off and Longshadow had gotten to make the first move. He had not ridden a horse, but rather swung his long legs into the stirrups of a strange saddle that had been fitted to the slumped shoulders of a hulking subordinate, before the pair of them vanished and stepped out from the shadow of one of the party casters with a torrent of blows, knocking him back a pace before the steed disappeared once more, materializing before the warrior to deliver a kick to the gut and impede the path to his commander. The fight that ensued was brutal and disorientating, and in the end they were unable to prevent another escape by the shadow rider, their plan to prevent his extra-dimensional escape having failed as the wizard could not land his Dimensional Anchor upon the elusive target.

In the end, Longshadow vanished from the confrontation, clutching a gruesome, but non-fatal wound at his side and saying how they would be branded as outlaws, brigands whose lust for treasure impeded the spread of knowledge. “But no matter,” he said with a wicked grimace, “the shadow is looming over all. Even in the brightest sunlight, there is no escape.”

Shadow Pouncing is go. Crinti Shadow Marauder is the less sexy of the Shadow Pounce PrCs, which one settles for due to its easier prereqs. And yes, that is to a certain extent what’s going on here. The more relaxed requirements for Shadow Marauder make things easier on both Naal himself and on his subordinates, who will eventually be members of the PrC as well (and who should belong to the same one, rather than forcing you to abandon established fluff or write in a team up between Shadowlords and the Crinti). However, Shadow Riding does also have a slight advantage for a leader type, who can use Shadow Ride to teleport an ally (so long as they’re a suitable size for a medium rider and wear an exotic saddle). An ally’s teleportation ability won’t trigger Shadow Pounce without a relatively liberal reading of what it means to “use” the ability in question, but the language mini-Shadow Pounce from Sun School is much less restrictive, and as your lackeys will presumably be a lower level than you, that’s not a huge concern just yet. Sun School also comes in handy for its mini-bull rush effect, allowing you to push the PCs around a bit (assuming you can hit with the first two attacks in a Flurry, Naal’s BAB is still a bit low) and help set up Evasive Reflexes a bit more or just generally do a small bit of BFC. Pack some Benign Transposition and Stand spells in the slots from your wizard dip for a bit more variety and potential party support.

Tash Monk/PsyWars (say Monk 2/Psychic Warrior 4-5 or Monk 1/PsyWar 7 for one that can Dimension Slide out from under Naal, leaving him free to do his Evasive Reflexes thing without needing to first dismount or Abrupt Jaunt off himself (for instance when unable to take actions immediately after a Shadow Ride, which references Dimension Door)) with Expansion and Sun School are my choice of minions for this level, as diptastic Shadow Marauder entry bases won’t really be online yet.

Lord of War and Shadow (ECL 15)“I do like the Paragnostic Apostles, don’t get me wrong, but too many of them are concerned with mere trivia, where I am more concerned with grander truths. And here is one such truth. All existence is born of chaos and destruction. The foundations of our civilizations are rested upon the merest shadows of the chaos beasts out of whose essence reality is stitched. The true order is in our ability to ride through the shadows of madness. You think that laws are the purview of kings or gods? Ha! The dictates of the Crinti are just a path that the shadows of the Leviathan have fallen upon for a few short moments. Long enough for my riders to pass through, but we shall continue on to greater roads beyond. True order and true understanding can only be found in chaos, and this world now hastens toward Truth and Oblivion. You cannot bar the way. It is too late.”

This is where everything really comes together. Naal is rocking two Shadow Pounces per round, or three if he’s willing to burn an immediate action on Abrupt Jaunt, but the real kicker is that he’s getting better at bringing the rest of team Shadow Pounce along. After Shadow Stride Shadow Pouncing himself into position with his move action, he’ll use his standard action, he’ll often cast Scramble True Position out of his Wizard slots making the Truespeak check via pretty standard means (you can’t pump your Int as much as you normally could, but Chosen of Evil can help out in a pinch). Affiliation with the Paragnostic Assembly is a little shaky, but the nice thing about him being a BBEG is that the DM has a little more freedom to get him access to the bonuses to affiliation that would be harder for a player to count on (length of membership, risking life and limb to uncover knowledge by constantly getting into fights with the PCs over ancient forbidden lore about an Elder Evil, that sort of thing). He should be able to make the check to teleport himself for a Shadow Pounce, and as his minions all have lower CR than he does, a 10ft radius area of them will get teleported 10 ft in a random direction. Since they’ll all have 10ft reach from either large size or Deformity (Tall), they’ll get off a Sun School attack (though probably not a Shadow Pounce, as explained earlier) so long as they started out next to an enemy. Naal’s swift action will generally go to refreshing maneuvers (easily done with all the full attacks you’re making) though he does have other options and can vary things up if he finds himself without Shadow Stride or a swift action to recover it by initiating Order Forged From Chaos (which, sadly, doesn’t allow for move action teleportation, but is still decent). You also have Stormguard Warrior and Tactics of the Wolf to pump up your damage (especially as taking 5 ft steps with Evasive Reflexes probably counts as forgoing AoOs for the purposes of Channel the Storm). Moreover, the Combat Rhythm touch attacks work for the purposes of hitting on the first two attacks of a flurry and triggering Sun School’s Inexorable Progress of Dawn.

You’re now open to a wider variety of Shadow Marauder minions, but do try to get a level or two of Monk and Sun School on everyone for the biggest oomph out of the Scramble True Position castings.
Old Sins Cast Long Shadows (ECL 20)“They stalked through the undersea cave, knowing that above them the storms of ruin were tearing the world apart. It was up to them to stop the waking of the beast, and if they failed, the world would end. Yet, as they looked into the shadows of the dank cavern, they weren’t sure whether they more feared to see the serpentine monstrosity, or the humanoid ones that they knew must be there as well.”

Sadly, Order Forged From Chaos doesn’t allow for move action teleportation. I had really thought this build was sunk when I realized that (see those references to it in the fluff, yeah, realizing it didn’t work panicked me for a second), but then I noticed that Clarion Call has no such stipulation (though the swift action activation is a little inconvenient). That means that all Naal has to do is kill someone (if the PCs have minions, then one of them might make for an easy kill, but you could also simply have “sacrifices” designated as opponents tied up throughout the boss fight area so as to always be conveniently within reach and kill them with a later iterative in your full attack if necessary), and all of his own minions will get to teleport up to someone on the PCs’ side and full attack. Other options for your swift action, assuming you haven’t burned it with an Abrupt Jaunt and don’t need to refresh maneuvers, include Defensive Rebuke to help charge up the Evasive Reflexes/Stormguard Warrior combo, Covering Strike to be generally inconvenient to the PCs’ resident AoO user. Also relevant here are Robilar’s Gambit to make every attack against Naal provoke an Evasive Reflexes 5ft step, and Press the Advantage to make two 5ft steps at each such opportunity.

The army should consist of any Shadow Pounce builds capable of a move action teleport, whether that means Shadow Stride, Dimension Slide, the Blink Shirt Totem Bind, or any other similar means of pulling it off.

Suggested Gear The biggest item that kicks Naal into high gear is a Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis. As a BBEG, the limit on time per day doesn’t affect him as much as it would a PC, and Evasive Reflexes and Fast Mount free action movements get a whole lot nastier when you can use them to hide in plain sight.

Metamagic Rods are cool and you only need the lesser versions. As mentioned earlier, using a one handed reach weapon (which you don’t need proficiency for) allows you to keep a hand free. Repeat Scramble True Position is hilarious, and Widen is handy as well.

Make sure you have things to deal with the likes of Dimensional Anchor and Anticipate Teleportation. Some sort of spell immunity keyed to those spells or minion who can deal with them or something, and spread it around to as many of your minions as you can. This is a BBEG fight. Don’t let it get trivialized by a single spell if you can help it.

+10 Item of Truespeak, Paragnostic Assembly dues, you know the drill.

Stat boosts to Dex, Str, Con, and Int are all welcome.

Other gear beyond that should be pretty standard. Belt of Battle, masterwork tools for important skills (including exotic saddles for any minions you might want to ride), Necklace of Natural Attacks, maybe a few Wizard wands, etc.


The Chaos of CreationComplete Mage: Focused Specialist
Dragon Compendium: Kung Fu Genius
Drow of the Underdark: Hit-and-Run Fighter ACF
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
PHB II: Abrupt Jaunt ACF, Stand, Robilar’s Gambit
Shining South: Crinti Shadow Marauder
Spell Compendium: Benign Transposition
Tome of Battle: Warblade, Crusader, Evasive Reflexes, Ironheart Aura, Martial Study, Stormguard Warrior, Maneuvers
Tome of Magic: Scramble True Position, Truename Training, Truespeak, Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis
Everything else should be in the SRD.

[Gwachitallemall]

I miscounted. This is the last one. Rage has consumed me.





Olarys Jurgensdottir, human female Barbarian 7/Spirit Shaman 5/Disciple of Thrym 8

"But if I had to perish twice, I should say that ice is also good, and should suffice."--A human bard of Icewind Dale

Olarys was born Olarys Temeny, the daughter of a human silversmith and a human merchant. Her parents linked a loving marriage to a profitable business partnership, with her father crafting fine silver items and her mother selling them. When Olarys was three, her parents joined a group of other craftsmen and merchants journeying to a rising city-state in the far north, hoping to find even more lucrative business opportunities there. Unfortunately, it was not to be. One of the fierce blizzards that periodically scours the Frostfell arose, and between the cold and the snow blindness that caused many to lose their way, the entire caravan was wiped out.

Except for Olarys.

A tribe of frost giants came upon the ruined caravan, and were astonished to find that one of the humans--a child, no less!--had survived. Their tribe's Spiritspeaker, a spirit shaman named Jurgen, declared that the child had been blessed by Thrym, lord of winter. He raised Olarys among the tribe, and while at first some of the giants laughed at the little girl struggling with a greataxe as big as she was, the harsh environment in time honed her into a powerful warrior.

At first, Olarys focused purely on her martial strength, channeling the fury of that long-ago blizzard to fell her foes. She ran as fast as the wind, and her skin hardened as if covered by a crust of ice. But she did listen to her adoptive father's teachings of the ways of Thrym, and about how she had been blessed by the king of all frost giants. As a young woman, she underwent a meditation ritual to meet her spirit guide, a polar bear, and began to commune with the spirits of the Frostfell as Jurgen did. Already a great warrior, she became a leader as well, warding the tribe against malign spirits, guiding them across the harsh terrain, and strengthening them in battle.

When Jurgen died, he passed on his title as Spiritspeaker to his daughter, and Thrym accepted her as his true disciple. Frost giants from other tribes began to arrive, seeking to test--and if she was found worthy, to follow--this human girl whom their lord had marked as one of his own. She bested each challenger, and now leads a great alliance of tribes across the Frostfell, seeking to expand its borders until the whole world shivers in the grip of the legendary Fimbulwinter, when her lord will reign supreme.

Str: 27 (increased at 12th, 16th, 20th; Belt of Giant Strength +6)
Dex: 10
Con: 14 (increased at 4th)
Int: 8
Wis: 16 (increased at 8th, Tome of Understanding +2)
Cha: 10

HP: 227



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


1st
Barbarian
+1
+3
+0
+1
Intimidate +4, Survival +5, Climb +8, Jump +8
Cold Endurance, Frozen Berserker (both from Frostburn)
Fast Movement, Illiteracy, Rage 1/day


2nd
Barbarian
+2
+4
+0
+1
Intimidate +5, Survival +6, Climb +9, Jump +9
Feats
Uncanny Dodge


3rd
Barbarian
+3
+4
+1
+2
Intimidate +6, Survival +7, Climb +9, Jump +9
Extend Rage (Comp Warrior)
Trap Sense +1


4th
Barbarian
+4
+6
+1
+2
Intimidate +7, Survival +8, Climb +9, Jump +9
Feats
Rage 2/day


5th
Barbarian
+5
+6
+1
+2
Intimidate +8, Survival +9, Climb +10, Jump +10
Feats
Improved Uncanny Dodge


6th
Barbarian
+6/+1
+7
+2
+3
Intimidate +9, Survival +10, Climb +11, Jump +11
Weapon Focus: Greataxe
Trap Sense +2


7th
Barbarian
+7/+2
+7
+2
+3
Intimidate +10, Survival +11, Climb +12, Jump +12
Feats
DR 1/-


8th
Spirit Shaman
+7/+2
+9
+2
+6
Intimidate +10, Survival +13, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +2
Feats
Spirit Guide, Wild Empathy, Spells


9th
Spirit Shaman
+8/+2
+10
+2
+7
Intimidate +10, Survival +13, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +2, Concentration +6
Greater Resiliency (Comp Warrior)
Chastise Spirits, Spells


10th
Spirit Shaman
+9/+2
+10
+3
+7
Intimidate +10, Survival +13, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +2, Concentration +10
Feats
Detect Spirits, Spells


11th
Spirit Shaman
+10/+2
+11
+3
+8
Intimidate +10, Survival +14, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +2, Concentration +10, Knowledge Geography +2
Feats
Blessing of the Spirits, Spells


12th
Spirit Shaman
+10/+2
+11
+3
+8
Intimidate +10, Survival +14, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +10, Knowledge Geography +4
Instantaneous Rage
Follow the Guide, Spells


13th
Disciple of Thrym (Frostburn)
+11/+2
+11
+3
+10
Intimidate +10, Survival +15, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +11, Knowledge Geography +4
Feats
Detect Fire, Protection of Winter, Spells


14th
Disciple of Thrym
+12/+2
+11
+3
+11
Intimidate +10, Survival +16, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +12, Knowledge Geography +4
Feats
Fire Resist 5, Spells


15th
Disciple of Thrym
+13/+2
+12
+4
+11
Intimidate +10, Survival +17, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +13, Knowledge Geography +4
Piercing Cold (Frostburn)
Powerful Grip, Spells


16th
Disciple of Thrym
+14/+2
+12
+4
+12
Intimidate +10, Survival +18, Climb +13, Jump +13, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +14, Knowledge Geography +4
Feats
Frost Greataxe, Spells


17th
Disciple of Thrym
+15/+2
+12
+4
+12
Intimidate +10, Survival +19, Climb +14, Jump +14, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +14, Knowledge Geography +4
Feats
Agonizing Strike 1/day, Spells


18th
Disciple of Thrym
+16/+2
+13
+5
+13
Intimidate +10, Survival +20, Climb +14, Jump +14, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +15, Knowledge Geography +4
Endurance
Fire Resist 10, Spells


19th
Disciple of Thrym
+17/+2
+13
+5
+13
Intimidate +10, Survival +21, Climb +14, Jump +14, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +16, Knowledge Geography +4
Feats
Dispel Fire, Spells


20th
Disciple of Thrym
+18/+2
+13
+5
+15
Intimidate +10, Survival +23, Climb +17, Jump +17, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +17, Knowledge Geography +4
Feats
Icy Greataxe



Typical Spirit Shaman Spells Retrieved
0: Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Read Magic
1: Cure Light Wounds, Ice Skate (Frostburn), Snowsight (Frostburn)
2: Numbing Sphere (Frostburn)
3: Winter's Embrace (Frostburn)

Typical Disciple of Thrym Memorizations
1: Divine Favor, Lesser Frostburn (Frostburn), Protection from Good x2, Lesser Shivering Touch (Frostburn)
2: Blood Snow (Frostburn), Bull's Strength, Chill Weapon, Zone of Glacial Cold (Frostburn)
3: Meld Into Ice (Frostburn), Shivering Touch (Frostburn), Lesser Aura of Cold (Frostburn), Sleet Storm
4: Frostburn (...Guess which book it's from?), Summon Giants (Frostburn)

[Gwachitallemall]

Alright. now that -is- everyone. 8 entries. Pretty good for a first try.

[AirApparent]

These are so cool!


My build was going to be Harmonious Knight Paladin of Slaughter 4/Warchanter 10/Warrior Skald 6. Planned to make great use of inspire recklessness and Inspire legion, Had fascinate and Otherworldly Countenance(Beauty) to give him time to diplomance enemies to his side using perform(oratory) so he can diplomacy at the same time.

The story was going to be he was in the Harmonious Knight's vaults (as a regular paladin of level 1-4), where he finds and puts on a Helmet of Opposite Alignment not realizing the danger. It went a bit unnoticed for a time since Harmonious knights can't detect evil, until a conflict broke out and he realized he could smite paladins. Not realizing his turn to evil and chaos, he believes the paladins to be the truly evil and upon escaping builds an army to crush them, including a few barbarian tribes and a werewolf pack.

I just realized that I had no idea what to do with story after those two initial things.

[Troacctid]

Interesting that one of the builds is core-only and another is SRD-only. Also, two instances of Bard 4/Warblade 16--I guess that was kind of the low-hanging fruit.

[LooseCannoneer]

I was going with Factotum 10 / Order of the Bow initiate going for arrow volley shenanigans, since those depend on INT only for the leader.

[WeaselGuy]

I see a few issues with a couple of the builds, but don't want to comment, since I have an entry as well. Suffice it to say that 1 seems to be fluff related, another is crunch, and a 3rd is lack of detail. But we shall see how the judges look on it, I'm sure they will be far more attentive than I, and probably have a better grasp of the rules. I've never judged before, I just like building :smallsmile:

[Gwachitallemall]

Can't wait to see what the judges think of these builds. They all seem pretty interesting.

[Sam K]

I had a thought (possibly something for future contests): since the original idea for this was about a bunch of experts "pimping" the BBEG, perhaps the judges could add an element of that to the scoring process? Might make the judges work harder though, so probably not something we should add mid-scoring.

Also, I too look forward to seeing the scores! But considering that we let the evil overlord of evil overlords be a judge, he will probably wait for the last minute. It WOULD be the evil thing to do!

[Red Fel]

I can assure you, I'm not delaying simply to be Evil. Being tardy isn't Evil, it's just rude. Punctuality is a virtue anyone can respect.

Rather, since this is my first time judging one of these competitions, I'm holding off until I see how some of the other judges handle it. I tend to be hypercritical, and I don't want to discourage anyone from future competitions by exploding into a frothing fury at a competitor's woeful inadequacies. By the same token, I don't want to gush too hard over the fiendish magnificence before me. So I'm holding off until I can measure my responses against those of the other judges.

But if it makes you feel any better, know that I've already considered the submissions, and reached a few decisions of my own. I'm merely letting them... Brew, a bit. Percolate, if you will. Seethe, if you prefer.

[Vhaidara]

I'm in the same boat as Red Fel.

Wait, do we have any experienced judges?

[Gwachitallemall]

Usually, judges tend to post their own views, and not let any other judge's views influence them. They're supposed to be as impartial as possible (As evidenced by me taking the submissions and then posting them without forum names attached.)

[WeaselGuy]

I'd really like to see unfettered reviews of the builds, but I'm also biased and want to see how well I did lol :smallbiggrin:

[Red Fel]

Usually, judges tend to post their own views, and not let any other judge's views influence them. They're supposed to be as impartial as possible (As evidenced by me taking the submissions and then posting them without forum names attached.)

Oh, don't worry. I had no intention of letting the other judges influence my views, or my scoring decisions. Rather, I was going to temper my tone (i.e. in my comments) to be more suitable, based on what I observed.

Although, if nobody starts soon, I may end up having to take the leap first after all.

[AvatarVecna]

Oh, don't worry. I had no intention of letting the other judges influence my views, or my scoring decisions. Rather, I was going to temper my tone (i.e. in my comments) to be more suitable, based on what I observed.

Although, if nobody starts soon, I may end up having to take the leap first after all.

I'm hoping to have my judgement and comments up within the next couple of days.

[LooseCannoneer]

I'm in the same boat as Red Fel.

Wait, do we have any experienced judges?

I'm not experienced.

[Sam K]

I can assure you, I'm not delaying simply to be Evil. Being tardy isn't Evil, it's just rude. Punctuality is a virtue anyone can respect.

Rather, since this is my first time judging one of these competitions, I'm holding off until I see how some of the other judges handle it. I tend to be hypercritical, and I don't want to discourage anyone from future competitions by exploding into a frothing fury at a competitor's woeful inadequacies. By the same token, I don't want to gush too hard over the fiendish magnificence before me. So I'm holding off until I can measure my responses against those of the other judges.

But if it makes you feel any better, know that I've already considered the submissions, and reached a few decisions of my own. I'm merely letting them... Brew, a bit. Percolate, if you will. Seethe, if you prefer.

Well, as a contestant, all I can say is please remember them theme of the contest :) We're here to make memorable villains of the "warlord" type. I wont mind a bit of criticism if I screwed up that and made a character that's not memorable, wicked or a warlord type. But I think you can go a bit easier on the nitpicking of build details, as long as it does it's job (while still measuring the power, obviously). Atleast the way I interpreted the contest, it wasn't about making the best build for a warlord (if so I'm toast) but rather finding a build that makes the best BBEG warlord in a game. But I will, ofcourse, defer to the supreme Gwachitallemall in these matters.

As for gushing, I do think I speak for everyone when I say "Gush away!" We could all do with a good gushing every now and then. Even though I'm not sure what that means.

[Gwachitallemall]

We are looking for the best BBEG Warlord, not the best Warlord period.

I don't think we have any experienced judges, or judges that have judged more than 1 or 2 competitions at most.

[WhamBamSam]

Oh, don't worry. I had no intention of letting the other judges influence my views, or my scoring decisions. Rather, I was going to temper my tone (i.e. in my comments) to be more suitable, based on what I observed.

Although, if nobody starts soon, I may end up having to take the leap first after all.If you want to get a feel for the tone of judging posts, you might look at some judgings in old Iron Chef threads, as the judging style should be pretty similar.

Don't worry too much about tone. I think we all know that you're a generally friendly person and part of the benefit of anonymity is that we know that judgings aren't personal attacks. I've had Iron Chef builds do really well and get comments that really made me feel pleased with myself, and I've had some that were justifiably smacked down. Such is the nature of things.

[dysprosium]

I've been following this thread contest and certain things have peaked my interest. A villain competition is a novel idea and I was interested in seeing what was going to be made. (I do not have an entry in this by the way.)

I've always wanted Red Fel to give some kind of analysis or judging in one of the optimization contests before. From the posts of his that I have read, it appears that he has both system knowledge and understands what makes a good character. It makes him qualified to judge in my opinion.

If people are wanting to have an "experienced" judge, I believe that I can try to find time to give these a judging. I've judged rounds of Iron Chef, Zinc Saucier, Scrap Iron Chef, and Junkyard Wars before and have received positive reviews. I would have offered before but there seemed to be a good amount of volunteers early on in thread. I also was unsure of my available of time.

[Gwachitallemall]

Ooh, I've judged with Dysprosium before. And contested. They're definitely experienced. I'd be glad to have you judge with the rest of our judges!

[Red Fel]

Alright, alright. I hate to keep an audience waiting. Frankly, I'm getting a little antsy myself. Give me a moment to put on my scathing judge mask. (I call it my Simon Cowl.)

Here we go.

I remind you, these were the criteria listed in the original post. Next to each, I've shared how I grade them. Each is scored on a scale of 1-5, for a total of 20 possible points overall. Originality: This is my fluff metric. How fascinating is this BBEG? How clearly explained is it? How can I fit it into a campaign? Power: Simple enough. How bad is this dude (or dudette)? This isn't just combat ability, for me - it's also effective skill use. Elegance: How few classes? How few templates? How do they all mesh together? Concept: How closely did this build fit the concept? Remember, the goal was to make a Warlord, Leader of Armies, with high BAB and reduced spell reliance.
And on to the scores!

Originality: 3- A Kobold rider with dashes of spellcasting, melee, mounted combat. Nice idea, decent background. Power: 2- Nothing about this build screams almighty power. Capable, but not overly powerful. Elegance: 2- We've got five different and very diverse classes in there, often with little justification other than a power boost (e.g. Paladin of Tyranny). It’s messy. Concept: 2- it's not a warlord, it's not a leader of armies. Further, it's a spellcaster with melee and a mount, not a melee with spells. Total: 9/20
Comments: Myuk-Myuk feels like a battle Sorcerer, not a melee combatant with a few spells. A lot of his spells are a substitute for melee combat, not an augmentation for it. To be fair, his combination of abilities does make him very versatile, and reasonably capable in multiple ways, and I can respect that.

All that said, I'm not seeing the "leader of armies" aspect, apart from the fact that he rides in the vanguard or something. I mean, you tell me that he’s a leader of armies, but there’s nothing in there that explains why or how from a mechanical perspective. Anyone can slap an army on his BBEG and call him a leader; I need you to show me what makes him an effective one.

Lastly, this is a stylistic thing: While the table formatting is good, the descriptive formatting suffers from wall of text syndrome. It also does a poor job of telling us who and what Mya is. I get the impression that Mya is a dragon, although the text doesn’t make that explicit (and the picture, while cute, doesn’t help either).

Originality: 2- Great and effective mechanically, but where's the fluff? Power: 4- I know how strong Warblades are. I know how effective a Bard is as a force multiplier. Great combination. Elegance: 5- Two classes, and the Bardblade is known to be an effective combo. Concept: 5- It's melee, it's a leader, it's support. Hits every note. Total: 16/20
Comments: I love the presentation. The adventure hook, the level-by-level advice on how to introduce and use the character, it's all very smooth. You present Vayne very well, making it easily usable by any interested DM.

My biggest regret is that there's very little character there. You give us a pile of highly effective numbers, and ways to use him at each level, but the person behind them is almost completely obscured, aside from a sadly brief hook stub. That’s where I had to dock you – I don’t know this character from Adam, here.

Originality: 1- There's no character background there. No history, no pointers on use, no explanations of anything. There's a table and a picture, and then flavor text at each level. The flavor texts tells us nothing about the character, either, which is a shame. Power: 2- BAB is so-so for a competition that requires bringing the pain. The spells aren't potent, either. Elegance: 3- Two classes (plus LA) is nice, but the blend isn't seamless. I appreciate the simplicity, but they don’t mesh well for me. Concept: 2- It’s not a warlord, nor a leader of armies. Bard helps, but not enough. Total: 8/20
Comments: Sanjaya, why are you in this competition? All teasing aside, I really felt you could have given me more. My biggest complaint is the total lack of context – a table is not a character. Also, you say this PC has an army, but you don't explain who, or how many, or why anyone would follow her. It's a character, maybe a PC, but not a BBEG.

Originality: 5- I really like him. Cult leader, tough guy, fiend bargainer. Great execution. Power: 4- Although not particularly optimal or tough, his abilities and spell selection enable him to put up a fight, survive, and escape to fight another day. Elegance: 4- Two classes, and a deceptively clever blend. It’s simple and works well as a whole. Concept: 4- Good BAB, great Diplomacy, fluff explaining both combat readiness and leadership. Total: 17/20
Comments: This makes me happy. Here's a tough guy who's charming as the day is long, and impossible to pin down. A truly fantastic recurring villain. What you really want in a BBEG is something memorable, and this guy delivers - he's manipulative, he has a great network, capacity for excellent minions; he's also capable in solo combat. Most importantly, he has recurrence - he is designed to be able to escape, which means he can keep coming back to haunt the PCs.

Originality: 4- A nasty little guerilla warrior. I like the feel of it. Power: 3- She's capable, if not amazing, at unarmed combat. She's capable with a bow. And she's untouchable. Elegance: 2- It's messy. Yes, there are only three classes, but they don't mesh well. Particularly Duelist, which appears to be stuck in there purely for a trio of class features. Concept: 3- Is it a warlord? In some ways. Adept at unarmed or ranged combat, although I'd rather you had more specialization. But nothing in the build itself says "leader of armies." Total: 12/20
Comments: My biggest compliment is for the concept. She's an untouchable guerilla. She can ping away with a bow or get up close with her fists, then dart away into the underbrush. I think regular Ranger would fit more than Urban Ranger for that purpose, however. Point is, it’s a really clever character concept.

That said, I see her as a minion, not a warlord - she's tough, but she's neither a master planner nor a great commander. Nothing here says great leader. Nothing says leading the vanguard, calling the shots, or commanding the loyalty of followers. If I were a BBEG, I’d love to have someone like this in my employ, but if I were a minion, I probably wouldn’t apply for a job with her.

Originality: 4- Creepy undead kid with minions. It’s cute, and morbid. I like it. Power: 4- I know how strong Warblades are. I know how effective a Bard is as a force multiplier. Great combination. Elegance: 3- Two classes, and the Bardblade is known to be an effective combo. But you lose points for over-templating, particularly using PF's Young template, banned by the rules. Concept: 3- I have to dock you points for the Young template. Also, he's a good commander, but I just can't see him as a warlord. Total: 14/20
Comments: Creepy undead kids are a bit overdone, but I like what you've got here. The problem I have is that it's so hard to see a creepy undead kid as a warlord. Sure, he has his cultlike undead minions, but that's being a creepy minionmancer, not a creepy general. As an additional point of flavor, while it’s easy to see a creepy undead kid as a villain, it’s a bit harder to see one as the villain, the terrible and intimidating antagonist behind everything. He’s a bit too… cute… to be that kind of intimidating.

Originality: 2- I have no idea what's going on here. There’s just so much stuff going on, and so little explanation of what it is, why it is, or who it is. I’m too lost in the forest to appreciate the trees. Power: 3- Warblade power plus Shadow teleportation. Warblades are potent, and the added mobility is a valuable plus. Elegance: 1- So many classes! This build is all over the map! To quote Mr. Banks, “In short you have a ghastly mess!” Concept: 3- He's a tough combatant, alright, but he's neither a warlord nor a leader of armies. It’s hard to see a lone shadow-striker as a commander, particularly how you’ve described him. Total: 9/20
Comments: I'll say it again; I have no idea what's going on here. You haven’t told me anything about the character himself, despite the abundant flavor text. I don’t know who he is, or why he does what he does. I need to know him as a character, as a person; right now, he might as well be a mook for all that I know of him. The background is sorely lacking.

He's a tough guy who can shadowport (poorly). You'd probably have been better off taking levels of Swordsage. You lean too heavily on Crinti. More importantly, he's a ghostly hit-and-run combatant, not a glorious champion of combat. Nothing in his build says commander apart from a few maneuvers.

Originality: 3- A human raised as a giant, who becomes a tribal warrior. A nice spin on the “adopted by alien culture and must prove her worth.” I can dig it. Power: 3- She’s tough melee combatant, you get points for that, but the spells don't add much. Elegance: 3- It's only three classes, which is nice, but Spirit Shaman feels completely out of place. Concept: 3- I can certainly see her as a warlord, a tribal champion who earned the respect of her people. But I question just how much she is a leader of armies. Sure, she can charge into combat, but what about her build makes her an effective leader? Total: 12/20
Comments: I love the Barbarian and DoT aspects. I think Barbarian builds make awesome warlords, and she’s definitely got some muscle behind her. The problem for me is Spirit Shaman. You can't use most spells while raging. It hurts your BAB and doesn't add much to a Barb build. I get the flavor angle, but it hurts too much.

Aside from the flavor of DoT and your Summon spell, nothing much convinces me that she's a leader - particularly with that mediocre Cha. You tell me she leads an alliance of giants to expand their territory, but you don't tell me anything about long-term goals, combat style, or who she has become as a person. I'd really love more to work with, to sink my teeth into.

It's worth noting that two of my three highest scores went to Bardblades. As others have mentioned, Bardblades and Bardsaders are low-hanging fruit in a competition like this - frightening melees, great force multipliers, and glorious paragons on the battlefield. It's also worth noting, however, that my highest score did not go to a Bardblade. Robert Passeris gives you precisely what you need in a capable BBEG - a little bit of everything, and a little something memorable.

The best BBEGs don't have to be the most optimized, although it helps. They don't have to be the creepiest, although it helps. They just need to be someone memorable - someone your players will love to hate, someone whose appearances will make them alternately cringe and rage, someone who'll make the campaign the sort of thing they'll talk about for years.

[Gwachitallemall]

Our first two disputes are in.



Originality: 2- I have no idea what's going on here. There’s just so much stuff going on, and so little explanation of what it is, why it is, or who it is. I’m too lost in the forest to appreciate the trees. Power: 3- Warblade power plus Shadow teleportation. Warblades are potent, and the added mobility is a valuable plus. Elegance: 1- So many classes! This build is all over the map! To quote Mr. Banks, “In short you have a ghastly mess!” Concept: 3- He's a tough combatant, alright, but he's neither a warlord nor a leader of armies. It’s hard to see a lone shadow-striker as a commander, particularly how you’ve described him. Total: 9/20
Comments: I'll say it again; I have no idea what's going on here. You haven’t told me anything about the character himself, despite the abundant flavor text. I don’t know who he is, or why he does what he does. I need to know him as a character, as a person; right now, he might as well be a mook for all that I know of him. The background is sorely lacking.

He's a tough guy who can shadowport (poorly). You'd probably have been better off taking levels of Swordsage. You lean too heavily on Crinti. More importantly, he's a ghostly hit-and-run combatant, not a glorious champion of combat. Nothing in his build says commander apart from a few maneuvers.Under and within those bits of flavor text I make an effort to explain what's going on, but I'll repeat myself here in hopes of being more clear.

Who is Naal Longshadow? He's a murderous psychopath who leads a group of the worst and most twisted recruited from within the Shadow Riders of Dambrath. He also has ties to the Paragnostic Assembly, due to a perverse fascination in deep truths. He believes that the forces of creation are ultimately chaotic, as evidenced by the residual chaos beasts left behind, such as the Leviathan. Order is, as he would put it, merely the shadow cast upon reality by such monsters which the disciplined can ride through to some small degree. Yet he's lawful to the nth degree and ultimately craves order beyond that which he describes, so in his madness, he seeks to release the Leviathan and so ride through the shadow of oblivion it casts upon the world into what he sees as real order and ultimate Truth.

What does he do? He leads Shadow Pouncers. Using Scramble True Position and Shadow Ride he grants allies extra teleports while teleporting himself to do his own Shadow-portation thing, and at high levels, he uses Clarion Call to give them all move actions with which they can teleport themselves if they have Shadow Stride, Dimesnion Slide, the Blink Shirt Totem Bind or a similar ability. Apart from Clarion Call, these things probably don't grant extra Shadow Pounces, though they do trigger Sun School's mini-Shadow Pounce. Clarion Call is therefore the big one, and to ensure that he can reliably use it, he'll keep "sacrifices" tied up throughout his evil lair who can easily be snuffed with a later iterative in one of his multiple full attacks each round. Beyond that, he moves around the battlefield with Evasive Reflexes (with a 20ft reach with a spinning sword or kusari-gama he wields without proficiency he's got a big threatened area), or Abrupt Jaunt, if necessary, to keep his position on the battlefield to his liking, all the while charging up Stormguard Warrior, since he's refraining from making attacks of opportunity by taking 5ft steps instead. I wouldn't say that Naal is a hit and run type, more that he's that guy in anime who's stepping just out of reach of the hero's swings and laughing at him. I would also say this is a necessary thing for a melee BBEG in a relatively optimized environment, because there's really no amount of HP that optimized PCs can't turn into a splat on the wall relatively quickly.

If you read the entry carefully, this is all mentioned in the level write-ups, but if you have anything more that you'd like clarified, I'm only too happy to assist you.



First, let me state, it's an honor to be judged by you, dear supreme leader. In fact, it should be an honor to all of us aspiring evil overlords to be judged, period. If it weren't for the judges, we wouldn't have much of a competition, now would we?

Now, on to the nitty-gritty. Might be I'll get a little defensive, but hey, it's my build, I can defend it, yeah?


I remind you, these were the criteria listed in the original post. Next to each, I've shared how I grade them. Each is scored on a scale of 1-5, for a total of 20 possible points overall. Originality: This is my fluff metric. How fascinating is this BBEG? How clearly explained is it? How can I fit it into a campaign? Power: Simple enough. How bad is this dude (or dudette)? This isn't just combat ability, for me - it's also effective skill use. Elegance: How few classes? How few templates? How do they all mesh together? Concept: How closely did this build fit the concept? Remember, the goal was to make a Warlord, Leader of Armies, with high BAB and reduced spell reliance.
And on to the scores!

Originality: 3- A Kobold rider with dashes of spellcasting, melee, mounted combat. Nice idea, decent background. Power: 2- Nothing about this build screams almighty power. Capable, but not overly powerful. Elegance: 2- We've got five different and very diverse classes in there, often with little justification other than a power boost (e.g. Paladin of Tyranny). It’s messy. Concept: 2- it's not a warlord, it's not a leader of armies. Further, it's a spellcaster with melee and a mount, not a melee with spells. Total: 9/20
Comments: Myuk-Myuk feels like a battle Sorcerer, not a melee combatant with a few spells. A lot of his spells are a substitute for melee combat, not an augmentation for it. To be fair, his combination of abilities does make him very versatile, and reasonably capable in multiple ways, and I can respect that.

All that said, I'm not seeing the "leader of armies" aspect, apart from the fact that he rides in the vanguard or something. I mean, you tell me that he’s a leader of armies, but there’s nothing in there that explains why or how from a mechanical perspective. Anyone can slap an army on his BBEG and call him a leader; I need you to show me what makes him an effective one.

Lastly, this is a stylistic thing: While the table formatting is good, the descriptive formatting suffers from wall of text syndrome. It also does a poor job of telling us who and what Mya is. I get the impression that Mya is a dragon, although the text doesn’t make that explicit (and the picture, while cute, doesn’t help either).

We'll start from the top and work our way down.

First, thank you for the compliment on Originality and my backstory, personally I thought it was a little weak.
For Power, I don't think I missed the mark. It's a gish riding a dragon. I'm pulling off mounted charges at (1d8+4)x5 +2d6, plus trampling the enemy forces underneath my dragon. I also have scrolls of Fireball and Summon Monster III to level the playing field, on top of Acid Rain, which I can cast 4 times per day, dealing 7d6 acid damage to every creature in a 20 foot radius, and limiting movement in the area for 11 rounds.
With regards to Elegance, I thought my background did a decent job explaining the class choices, but I can see where you're coming from, I suppose. I do say that I dedicate my life to Bane, but maybe I should have mentioned that after 80 years of casting cantrips and shield spells, a change of course was in order. I'll keep this in mind for future competitions, when writing backgrounds.
On to Concept. The goal here was to make a Warlord with a high BAB and spells no higher than 5th level (as loosely interpreted. I think it was only ever stated not to have 9th level spells). The point is, I have a 17 BAB. That's pretty high, in my book at least. Do I use spells? Yes, some, the majority of which are cast from scrolls though, since I wear armor with ASF. Above it all, I focus on charging my foes with a lance, from atop a freaking dragon, and if I'm separated from my dragon, I use my spiked gauntlets to keep fighting.


On to the comments. Ok, so you say I'm a battle sorcerer. I get it. I'm not disputing it. Let's put the emphasis on Battle though, eh? Muk-Muk is designed to fight with and against armies. I detail his rise to power, and how he leads his troops. Just short of being another BardBlade/BardSader, or taking Leadership and going into Legendary Leader (my first idea, but nixed due to Leadership ban), I don't really see this guy getting much better. I mean, who are you gonna follow into battle, a guy with a harp or a guy riding a freaking dragon?

Which reminds me, I do point out that he has a dragon, more than just in passing I might add. In his background I talk about setting out with the lone wyrmling after the defeat of the black dragon flight. I mention flying into combat with Mya, and later talk about becoming a Dragonrider. Kind of need a dragon for that part...

In my level breakdown, in the 11-15 section, I also talk about "charging in atop his dragon" and again at 16-20, talking about "accepting his true calling as a Dragonrider". So yeah, I did mention having a dragon. Also, thanks for commenting on the cute picture. I thought it was nice. It's also very hard to find a picture of a Kobold riding a Dragon. Should say something about the uniqueness involved, eh?

Lets talk about the breakdown too, since you mentioned. Yeah, it was sloppy. I wrote it up in notepad, and when I pasted it into this tiny little message box, missed the fact that there weren't any line breaks between the entries. I'll be fixing that in future competitions, but hey, at least I have proper punctuation, spelling, and capitalization, which is more than some I've seen...

Ok, I'm done now. Again, thank you for taking the time to judge, and I hope this didn't come off as too "whiney".

Oh, and just so you know, Red Fel, fractions are okay if you want to use them, I'd just stick to nothing smaller than .25 (so .25, .5, and .75 would be the three fractions I would use.) Same to all other judges.

[Gwachitallemall]

And with our first judge, and no disputes, here is our current rankings.

Excuse my ugly table, I'm really bad at the table formatting on my own.



Entries
Red Fel's Scores


Robert Passeris
17


Lord Commander Conrad Vayne
16


Orphanicus Undeadicus

14


Olarys Jurgensdottir

12


Ragna Antonia
12

Muk Muk and Mya
9



Naal Longshadow
9


Anaitis
8

[Red Fel]

I'll address the disputes presently:

I appreciate your clarifications, but I have to judge the entry on its own merits, rather than any subsequent explanations. In the level writeups, you give me a lot of flavor text about his appearance, which is nice, and some basic battle tactics, which are helpful. You mention the Shadow Riders and Paragnostic Assembly, but apart from his membership in the former there isn't much clear about his involvement with either. And only now, when you explained it to me, did I realize that the "deeper truths" quote was actually him talking - this is what I mean when I say putting things into context.

You do give some minions at each level, but it's not clear why he even has minions. Okay, so no Leadership, I get that. But his Cha, first off, is nothing to write home about. And apart from being a member of the Shadow Riders and Paragnostic Assembly, you've not made it clear that he is or should be a leader in either. He can teleport, and teleport others, which is nice. But apart from you telling me that he has minions, I see nothing that says they should naturally gravitate towards him, or that he controls them, or that they are loyal - nothing that says he should have them. Further, when I think warlord - and this is my personal baggage on the term - I see someone who can stand at the front of an army and fight. Naal Longshadow is a sneaky bugger - he doesn't stand in one place to command his armies, he poofs around the battlefield like a boss. I can respect that, but it hurts the overall image in my mind.

It's okay to feel defensive. Take pride in your work! First off, I agree that the backstory was a little weak - that's why I only gave it a 3 - but Originality also looks at how clever and novel the concept is. And it does bring a lot of things together.

Now, with respect to Power, I admit, I was minimizing the impact of blasting spells on the overall score. Why? Because the goal was to build a warlord. Buffing or battlefield control, I can see, but blasting distracts from that lance in which you take such pride. And I admit, the lance gives some power. I could probably be more flexible on that point. I wouldn't be opposed to increasing it from a 2 to a 3, frankly. If you like, we can take the extra point out of Originality. But still, what bothers me is the fact that your build relies a bit too much for my liking on its spellcasting abilities. That was my point - you emphasized battle sorcerer, but I saw battle sorcerer; I would have preferred a combatant with spells over a spellcaster with combat skills.

With respect to Elegance, I'm not saying you didn't explain your choices. Rather, I'm saying that there are many of them. In builds, I like to see purposes accomplished with as few elements as possible, working well together. You had five classes in there - five. I seriously wonder whether you could have done without the Paladin bit, for instance, or whether you could even have narrowed your classes to three or less. That's where the points went.

With respect to Concept... I guess I was a bit harsh with you. Concept is a very subjective area. My problem with him was, I suppose, the same as my problem with Orphanicus - I have a hard time seeing a kobold on a puppy (that picture was confusing me!) as a terrifying and imposing figure. And while you give detailed explanations of what your followers do to prepare a battlefield - I noticed that, I appreciated it - there isn't much in the build proper, other than a Cha score, that explains how he functions as a leader. He can fly above the battlefield and give orders, that's true. But it struck me that most of his spells and tricks involved blasting or making things easier for him, not working with a team. That's what I was looking for - something that tells me he can work with people, rather than just barking orders.

Yes, you mention that Mya is a dragon in a few places. (Again, that picture was confusing me!) But you don't explain how that came about, at all - suddenly, Myuk-Myuk and Mya are just together and taking up the sword. And then nothing, and then Dragonrider, and then nothing. It's jarring how Mya seems to pop in and out of the narrative. A few sentences about, say, befriending a dragon named Mya, would be very helpful.

Oh, and with respect to pictures, I found this one on a Google image search. It's not pretty, but it gets the point across; you probably could find more.http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RRKBhA-2I4w/S3vXVN_qouI/AAAAAAAACN8/x-D-foIjrUs/s1600/goblin%2Bdragon%2Brider.jpg

[Gwachitallemall]

One more dispute for you so far, Red Fel. I'm posting them as I get them. If it becomes too much of a hassle, I'll probably start posting them in batches once a day.


While I would never question the judges judgment (except I'm obviously about to do that), I do feel that the point deductions regarding my template usage is a bit harsh, considering how they are tied in to the concept. Undeadicus has two templates. Both are pretty much essential to the concept of "undead kid".

Young: There's no age group for pre-teens (at least that I could find), so the other option for making a 10 year old human would have been to arbitrarily lower his ability scores and size. I think that would have made for a far more clunky, less elegant build. The template is, in my mind, the easiest way to realize the concept in a mechanically sound way. It also makes it more “moddable”, since it's easier to just remove a template than to try to keep track of a bunch of homebrewed stat changes.

Necropolitan: unless I were to base Undeadicus on an undead monster, I would have to add a template to a living race. Using a monster comes with it's own set of problems. Many races would require a savage progression class to be viable at lvl 5, and I feel that making (for example) a “young wight” would go against the concept as well. Undeadicus isn't a wight that was made out of a kid, he's a kid that happens to be undead. I feel a monster class would have drawn focus from the human side of him.

I don't really see how I could have made the concept work as well without two templates, and the templates fit with the history of the character. It's not an unexplained half-minotaur, half ogre human or anything. I suppose you could consider silverbrow human over the top though, but it IS a race, not a template.

As for young being a PF template and thus forbidden, I can't argue with that judgment call. I will say, though, that it's essentially a nerf to the character. Undeadicus doesn't greatly benefit from being small (though I did write some tactics for how he could use it), and he's not stacking his dex super-high. Because he's undead, I suppose it's a break-even template (he suffers from the loss of str but not con). If I had made a d2 crusader based on the young template, I think it would have been more questionable, but as it stands, it doesn't add any unfair advantages or confusing mechanics. Also, using a template for young adds the opportunity of eventually removing it: Orphanicus convinces the party that he's a victim, they raise him, and he grows up...

In conclusion, while I don't dispute a deduction of points for template usage and using a PF template, I do feel that losing full points in both elegance and concept is overly hard. The templates support the concept in a relatively elegant way and they are not obstructive, overpowered or unfair. I would ask that Red consider lowering the point deductions, based on the above mentioned arguments.

Also, on the comment
Creepy undead kid with minions. It’s cute, and morbid. I like it. Orphanicus says ”Wow, thank you mister, you're my best friend!” and gives a creepy, undead kid hug!

[Red Fel]

To address:

Well, over-templating may have been the wrong term. You were using a (1) Young (2) Necropolitan (3) Silverbrow Human. In other words, you were using a Human subrace, plus Necropolitan, plus the Young template. Other than DFI (which is admittedly a smart choice), Silverbrow doesn't add a lot to this particular build. Necropolitan I understand, and if you'd stopped there, I probably wouldn't have had much complaint. For me, it wasn't so much a sliding scale as it was a saturation point - a template and a subrace, sure, but once you got in the two templates, it started to feel a bit much. What particularly irked me was the use of the PF template - it was almost a double penalty, because you were not only bringing in templates, you were bringing in excluded templates.

I understand that the templates were integral to the concept of the character. I can respect that. In a vacuum, it's a great way to build a creepy undead kid; the two do exactly what you need, and they don't make him overpowered. But you weren't building in a vacuum, you were building in accordance with a grading rubric, and I felt that I had to dock you accordingly.

Again, I admit that my scoring was harsh. You're not the only one to have felt that, I'm sure. But even so, you had a great concept and solid execution. My creepy undead hat is off to you.

[Vhaidara]

LET THE JUDGING COMMENCE!

So, we have the 5 criteria Red Fel mentioned, and I'll be judging in a similar vein. I didn't actually read his judgments before I write this, aside from glancing for formatting. I am reading his comments after I write my reviews, then checking existing disputes

As far as any differences between me and Red Fel
Originality: Trope avoidance, appeal of the fluff, ability to translate into any campaign, have I seen a similar character before.
Power: Effectiveness of the character. Are you a threat at any given level? How easily can you be disabled? How effective are you at winning before the fight starts?
Elegance: How well do you mesh your classes? Did you break any rules (competition or standard)? How cleanly did you mix your classes, races, and fluff? Were you splat dipping? The most important aspect of this is that I do not mark off for splat until it passes 3 books outside of the SRD. 3.5 is about options. Use them.
Concept: Are you a Warlord? Do you focus on fighting your enemy toe-to-toe in combat, be it melee or ranged? Do you explain how you got the army you have? Is your army going to be useable? Can you support/enhance your army?


Originality: 3.75. A kobold Zhent is, I believe, fairly original. And a kobold mounted on a dragon is surprisingly uncommon (usually the dragon is the dominant one). And, with the Zhent association, it isn't too hard to fit them into a campaign.
Power: 2. Well, you get up to 5th level spells while maintaining a +17 BAB. About as good of a gish as can be expected, given the rules of the competition. However, I think I'm missing the part where your years are mentioned. Based off of size categories, you are dependent on either a Young or a Juvenile Black Dragon. CR 5 or 7. So, a thing that is going to get brutally slaughtered is your cavalry. I was unable to track down the benefits of Zhent Skymage, so I may have missed something, but as it stands, that's what cost you the most points here.
Elegance: 2.5. So, two base classes and three Prestige, one of which isn't finished (understandably though). Honestly, this is the limit, and it only goes that far because it is a gish build. The bigger problem for me is the fact that you use Venerable Dragonwrought Kobold. That is something that is beyond my comfort zone on cheese. You were saved because of the nice fluff synergy you found between Kobold, Skymage, and Dragon Rider. You were significantly impacted by the fact that you had 10 books outside of SRD, though it was a lesser penalty since I didn't state my limit and you were pulling small things (like a single spell) that could be easily changed
Concept: 1.5. Well, you have good BAB. But you also have no Str mod, no Dex mod, no Con mod, and relatively little Cha to X (Smite Good 1/day?) Without his spells, he is entirely reliant on charging for (as was said in the dispute) (1d8+4)x5+2d6 damage . That's between 27 and 72. Fireball does 10-60 in an area. The party Wizard, an Elf who started with an 8 Con and has gotten a +6 amulet, has 19d4+64. He's out of one shot range. You aren't a warrior if you can't one shot the party wizard on a charge, given the chance (yes, your Smite adds 20 damage. Let's hope he rolled minimum)
Further, You just kind of took an army and stapled it on. Like the Zhents were all "Hey, this dude's got a dragon that he raised from an egg, and it likes him. Let's give him some elite soldiers." There was no real organic acquisition.

Final Grade: 9.75

Reading the disputes, I think the problem is a different vision of the challenge. Yes, you might be a Battle Sorcerer, but the emphasis feels more on the Sorcerer, not the Battle. Your spells are almost ALWAYS a better option than using your brawn, because you have no brawn to use. You don't even end up compensating for that with magic items or spells.


Originality: 3.5. I like him. The background is good and can pretty easily be fit into a campaign that has a period of downtime establishing a new kingdom. My biggest problem is that I get a stronger LE vibe from him. I know the reason you didn't go LE is because Bard, and that is probably something I would GM fiat away (alignment restrictions are dumb). However, it does trope quite a bit
Power: 4.5 A standard Bardblade build, almost surprised we only had two of these. Well put together, and very much better as the head of an army instead of a solo encounter
Elegance: 4.75. Bardblade is straight forward, good synergy, simple, easy to manage, relatively unreliant on gear to be competent (though it does magnify his strength). Silverbrow human is a little unusual given the villain role (also, I dislike giving perfect scores).
Concept: 4. You have a leader. Yes, he has spellcasting, but it is extremely minor and, honestly, incidental. This is someone I could see actually recruiting an army of his own and leading a campaign against the PCs. He's the terrifying force that NEEDS to be eliminated before the opposing army an be defeated because he is such a massive force multiplier. The use of Oratory is a major plus
Final Score: 16.75

Excellent entry. I might steal this to use for my campaign, actually.


Originality: 2. I wanted to give you more, you have solid hooks, but you have nothing about why the villain is. And honestly, your crunch does not back up being able to become a terror like that
Power: 1. This is, to be completely honest, a fish out of water. You barely pull out a +16 BAB, and you don't even have decent magic to compensate. Your combat style is extremely meh, you do almost no damage, and have low hit points. If I told my players this was a boss, they would probably think I was kidding.
Elegance: 2.5. I feel you were really trying for this one, but to me, a pure Core Bard/Ranger (even mix) on a Level Adjusted race is trying too hard. The only reason I would ever use this would be if non-SRD sources were all banned
Concept: 1.5. Again, without any fluff on the actual villain, it's hard to judge them directly, which forces me to give low marks. Further, you have nothing but a +2 Inspire Courage to work with for making you a better leader.
Final Score: 7

Try leaving Core. Elegance penalties, in my mind, start coming in when you are referencing more than 3 sources outside of SRD. 3.5's biggest strength is the amount of material. Not taking advantage of that is wasteful


Originality: 3. Nothing springs out at me, though the Blackbard isn't actually one that I've seen before, which got you half a point up from the middle ground.
Power: 2. Very meh. Runs into pretty much the same problems as Anaitis. Your character is very weak. Your damage output is at 2d6+10 against non-good non-humans. Admittedly, once you can Smite Good it gets better, but you are still highly underwhelming. Also, the fact that you gain effectively nothing from your last 5 levels is bad.
Elegance: 1.5. Again, you seem to have been aiming for a Core only build, which will never gain points with me. Additionally, you took Weapon Specialization without 4 levels of Fighter.
Concept: 2. It could be worse, but it's still pretty barebones. You diplomance your way into an army that you state is primarily Rogues and Bards, but at these levels, and from a Blackguard, I'm expecting more an army of Fiends and Undead. You know, scary things. And, again, the only thing you have to buff your army with is a +2 Inspire Courage
Final Score: 8.5

Try leaving Core. Elegance penalties, in my mind, start coming in when you are referencing more than 3 sources outside of SRD. 3.5's biggest strength is the amount of material. Not taking advantage of that is wasteful


Originality: 4.5. I like this backstory. Its as usable as Conrad, and sounds VERY LE to me (I do admit a bias towards LE). The fact that it also sounds like story of a hero, right up to level 15-20, when suddenly she takes the villain route.
Power: 2.5. She isn't too strong, but she is a tactical fighter. Disarms are great when you have support from Rogues. While this is another SRD only build using weaker classes, I feel this is one that I could turn into a proper boss fight. Skirmishing through city streets with Rogues and Assassins around every corner? Yes please.
Elegance: 4. Urban Ranger into Monk is an unusual path, but you seem to have refluffed Monk, which I both like and consider a + to Elegance. Duelist mixed into Monk is another interesting idea I haven't seen before, but the synergy is great. All said, you made a good, synergistic build out of SRD only material. I would like to see what you could do branching out.
Concept: 3. I kind of question the role as a Warlord, but it can fill that role. I just get more of a Spymaster vibe out of it. However, like I said before, you have a good force under her command that synergizes nicely with her own abilities. The fluff fills that of a warlord. The biggest thing she lacks is a mass method of making her allies scarier.

Final Score: 14

An excellent build using SRD only materials. Would love to see a rebuild mixing in some splats. Said rebuild could see use in one of my games.


Originality: 5. This is EVIL in the extreme. You were very much right, orphans are taboo. And you messed with the taboo. And it works.
Power: 3.5. You missed an opportunity with Grabbing the Requiem feat from Libris Mortis that would have let you use any of you bardic music on your undead minions. This is the main reason you got scored lower than Conrad. You have a good mix of maneuvers and supplemental magic. And you didn't leave room for Weapon Finesse, so you (hypothetically) have room for Dex to damage, but are still using Str to hit.
Elegance: 1. Unfortunately, this is where you run into problems. First, you lose for the illegal PF template. Second, you took Shadow Blade without qualifying. Shadow Blade requires a Shadow Hand stances, not maneuver. So you would need to take Martial Stance at 12 and Shadow Blade at 15.
Concept: 4. Not what you expect from a Warlord, but he does fit the bill. The combat ability, the creepy singing, the pretending to be something innocent and pure. If the build were more fully functional, this would probably have gotten bumped up to your second 5.

Final Score: 13.5

You lost a lot on Elegance. If those were fixed (you could have just made the villain younger with no stat changes, age is fluff, fluff is mutable) then you would have had a real shot at getting over a 15.


Originality: 2.5. Okay, so we have a shadow pouncer. Sadly, while you have scenarios set up for him, you again are lacking anything about what made him a villain. Same problem I had with the merfolk: You have given us a villain with no soul (and not in the acceptable, sold it to fiends kind of way).
Power: 3.5. On the one hand, he can definitely dish out the punishment. On the other, gibbing PCs with multiple shadow pounces each round isn't good form in my opinion. No one wants to be killed without a chance to retaliate. And from what I can tell, his minions are just clones of him that he uses for extra mobility.
Elegance: 1. 5 base classes, one of which is blatantly just for a special ability (Conjurer) is not elegant. Further, you pulled from 9 sources outside of SRD, for classes, variants, and vital feats. Oh, 11, actually. You didn't list Elder Evils or Complete Champion (Paragnostic Assembly) in your sources. Even further, his minions would need to be Large sized for your plan of quick mounting to work, and having an army of large sized shadow pouncers running around with exotic saddles does not sound elegant to me.
Concept: 1.5. You have no real leadership ability (token White Raven abilities that are not a focus). Yes, you have a good BAB, but you minions effectiveness is fundamentally limited by their level (which is copying you) and serving as your mount.

Final Score: 9

Honestly, I feel this would not make a fun fight. Each turn that he can double shadow pounce, someone will likely die. And I'm a little confused what you're doing with the mounting shenanigans, but it just sounds silly to me. Not the kind of thing I would include in a good boss fight.


Originality: 4. Not bad. A bit brief, but functional. Could be worse, could have more. And buildwise, it's not something I've seen before.
Power: 2. Strong enough to be a threat, not enough to be a TPK. That's actually part of the problem: She poses no real threat of a TPK.
Elegance: 5. The classes combine well fluffwise. And you restricted it to 3 non-SRD sources (Frostburn, Complete Warrior, Complete Divine)
Concept: 2. I wanted to give you more, but the problem is that you don't have much available to you to enhance your force of giants. If you were able to pull in something like that, I think it would be better.

Final Score: 13

Another villain who I would use in my games. Actually, I could even see using her as a normal NPC as opposed to a villain, after modifying the personality a bit.

Okay, the judgment is complete. I think I was fair.

[Gwachitallemall]

Alright, now that we have two judges, I have one dispute.. (Well more like comment on the judging) waiting in the wings, I'll hold onto it until I get a few more showing up.

[Gwachitallemall]

Another judge, another ugly table.



Entries
Red Fel's Scores
Keledrath's Scores
Total
Average


Lord Commander Conrad Vayne
16
16.75
32.75
16.375


Orphanicus Undeadicus
14
13.5
27.5
13.75


Ragna Antonia
12
14
26
13


Robert Passeris
17
8.5
25.5
12.75


Olarys Jurgensdottir
12
13
25
12.5


Muk Muk and Mya
9
9.75
18.75
9.375


Naal Longshadow
9
9
18
9


Anaitis
8
7
15
7.5

[Gwachitallemall]

Okay, here's the comment, followed by a dispute for Keledrath.


I actually wasn't aware that disputing judgments was a thing. I've never participated in a GiantITP contest before, so I'm not super clear on the rules.

I want to start by saying I don't actually want to dispute anything, I just wanted to thank you for your compliments regarding the build. It's actually a character I put together last year for a game that I never got to play, so it was nice to put it to "good" use for something.

As far as him not having much fluff behind him, that was a result of me not understanding the goal of the competition. I was under the impression that the idea was to come up with a mechanical build that a DM could take an apply to their game as they saw fit.
But that was my mistake, not yours, so I'm more than happy to let the judgment stand. I just wanted to mention that, if anyone is interested, I'd be more than happy put together some stories and encounters based on the character arc I had wanted to do for him with the game.






Originality: 2.5. Okay, so we have a shadow pouncer. Sadly, while you have scenarios set up for him, you again are lacking anything about what made him a villain. Same problem I had with the merfolk: You have given us a villain with no soul (and not in the acceptable, sold it to fiends kind of way).
Okay, people seem to really not have liked what I was trying to do with the fluff. That's fair enough, I guess. I did rush it a bit and perhaps should have tried to make it more straightforward. If you want a more to the point version, here's the explanation I gave Red Fel in response to a similar comment.

"Who is Naal Longshadow? He's a murderous psychopath who leads a group of the worst and most twisted recruited from within the Shadow Riders of Dambrath. He also has ties to the Paragnostic Assembly, due to a perverse fascination in deep truths. He believes that the forces of creation are ultimately chaotic, as evidenced by the residual chaos beasts left behind, such as the Leviathan. Order is, as he would put it, merely the shadow cast upon reality by such monsters which the disciplined can ride through to some small degree. Yet he's lawful to the nth degree and ultimately craves order beyond that which he describes, so in his madness, he seeks to release the Leviathan and so ride through the shadow of oblivion it casts upon the world into what he sees as real order and ultimate Truth."


Power: 3.5. On the one hand, he can definitely dish out the punishment. On the other, gibbing PCs with multiple shadow pounces each round isn't good form in my opinion. No one wants to be killed without a chance to retaliate. And from what I can tell, his minions are just clones of him that he uses for extra mobility.His minions are not clones of him, though they do share a PrC and may use some of the same dips that he does in his early levels, as they're all good dips for Shadow Pouncers to take, but none of them will share his exact build at any point.


Elegance: 1. 5 base classes, one of which is blatantly just for a special ability (Conjurer) is not elegant.Conjurer is not just for Abrupt Jaunt. It serves at least 2 other purposes.

First, he uses Scramble True Position to teleport multiple minions at once along with himself to get them extra mileage out of Sun School.

Second, I need the fighter feat from the Martial Wizard variant. Apart from anything else I might do with Shadow Jaunt as a Shadow Pouncer, I need Hide as a class skill in the levels prior to picking up Martial Study (Shadow Stride).


Further, you pulled from 9 sources outside of SRD, for classes, variants, and vital feats. Oh, 11, actually. You didn't list Elder Evils or Complete Champion (Paragnostic Assembly) in your sources. Even further, his minions would need to be Large sized for your plan of quick mounting to work, and having an army of large sized shadow pouncers running around with exotic saddles does not sound elegant to me.I mention Psychic Warriors in my write up as minions that can achieve large size and make for a decent Shadow Pouncer base (also, one that makes it entirely possible to have appropriately sized minions while still pulling from the humans and half-drow that one would expect among the Shadow Riders). The mounting thing is mostly an afterthought compared to other means of feeding teleports to allies like Scramble True Position and Clarion Call, as most of the time Naal won't want to be mounted, because it prevents him from making use of Evasive Reflexes. Of the levels I wrote up, it's really only significant at level 10, when he can't yet make the Truespeak Checks for Scramble True Position, and at that level, all it amounts to is a way to move himself and a minion to attack the same opponent (compared to his other multiple person teleport at that level, Benign Transposition, which sends him and the ally in question to opposite positions). The ally being ridden will likely teleport out from under Naal on its turn, because, as I said, he prefers the mobility granted by Evasive Reflexes.

Sorry about missing Complete Champion and Elder Evils. I was running up against the deadline and had to leave the house and forgot them when I was doing my sources. I don't understand why a wide variety of sources is an issue, but whatever.


Concept: 1.5. You have no real leadership ability (token White Raven abilities that are not a focus). Yes, you have a good BAB, but you minions effectiveness is fundamentally limited by their level (which is copying you) and serving as your mount.This is not the case. The most important thing about Naal - the thing that makes him a leader of Shadow Pouncers and not just a Shadow Pouncer - is Clarion Call's ability to grant full attacks to allied Shadow Pouncers with move action teleports. I mention several ways to achieve move action teleports which would fit on a relatively low level Crinti Shadow Marauder build (level 10 would be sufficient, maybe 13-14 at the most extravagant), which is 4-8 levels below Naal at the time he gets Clarion Call.

[AvatarVecna]

Here's where I'll just how original (or unoriginal) the crunch and fluff are. This is not specifically in regards to a warlord build or character, but just as a build/character in general.How powerful is your submission, both on its own merits and with followers? Would they be a significant threat to the PCs, or would they be little more than a speed bump in the road to 20th lvl?This section highlights the difference between adjusting your build to match your idea and adjusting your idea to match your build. Excessive dipping, choices that are thematically odd, and all other disagreements between fluff and crunch will be notes here.Here, and only here, is where I judge your character as an "Evil Warlord". It comes in two parts: in the first part, I'll analyze your mechanical build, and see what makes you a team player and a leader; in the second part, I'll see how infamous they would come across as in a world where they existed. To be clear: if, in the middle of a royal party, a army scout burst into the room, delivering a message of your warlord's coming, what kind of reaction would they inspire?

You're supposed to be warlords! If your enemies reaction to hearing that your army is on the march is to say "Who?" or to chuckle to themselves, you have failed as a Warlord BBEG.Mechanically speaking, some of the build pieces here are either expected, typical, or boring (Dragonwrought Kobold, for instance), while some are out-of-the-box enough to bring it all back around to average. In terms of fluff, a kobold riding a dragon and leading an army isn't incredibly unexpected, but it's hardly stereotypical.A decently powerful spellcaster is riding a dragon and leading an army of warriors, scouts, and spellcasters of varying specialties. I think it's safe to say that, not only is Muk-Muk a credible thread (especially in conjunction with Mya), but having the army as back-up will keep the PCs from steamrolling the lot of them. If, however, this was to be used as-is in a real game, I cannot stress this enough: Muk-Muk, Mya, and the army's spellcasters have to be played intelligently and optimally, or the PCs will be able to use high-level spells to make a mockery of any attempt they make. Muk-Muk is a spellcaster, and a Zhentarim paragon to boot. Play him intelligently. Mya is a freaking dragon. Play her intelligently.Your build takes some interesting twists and turns, but ultimately I find the path to be a bit too windy for my tastes. The Sorcerer dip, while necessary for the spellcasting part of the build, detracts from the contest goal (at least in my eyes) and sets the build off-balance from the get-go. Still, I like that you didn't just dip Paladin for the "Cha to saves", as so many Cha-based builds do, and I like that you picked the Tyranny Paladin and tied it together with the Zhentarim faction, so that lessens the penalty a bit.Mechanically, I'm just not seeing a warlord. I'm seeing a dragonrider, certainly, and a fairly (but not exceptionally) capable mounted gish. But a warlord? No, I'm seeing a guy who was handed an army on a platter and doesn't really do anything but bark orders. Unfortunately, the fluff doesn't do much to disagree with this assessment; hell, part of his army was literally just given to him. The one redeeming point is that, if a kingdom received word that an army is heading their way, lead by a kobold who has conquered a dragon, the kingdom's leadership would be suitably impressed and concerned.http://dailyencounter.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/dragon_rider_by_m_hugo-d3cfo3l.jpgMechanically boring: Human Bardblade is a predictable build in general, and specifically for the Warlord archetype. I mean, it's mostly boring and predictable because it's a fairly effective and optimized build without going completely off the TO-deep end. Fluff-wise, I have nothing to say, because you had nothing to say; there's no character here, just a pile of numbers with a name at the top. What saves this character from completely bombing this category is that they combine some interesting ACFs.As much as I harp on the originality of the combo, Bard/Warblade is wonderful build, with plenty of personal capability, force multiplication, and versatile skill. With a decent army behind them, a Bard/Warblade is a force to be reckoned with. Your spellcasting isn't too good, but 9th lvl maneuvers (including the beloved "Time Stands Still" makes this a wonderfully threatening character.No templates, two classes, one race; a simple idea wonderfully executed. My only nitpick on the mechanics in this regard is that you've got more than a few class variants you're combining. I don't mind that, but it makes it harder to make this build fly at a table with more banning than normal (sure, I might be DM, but if I forbid DFI Bard to a player and then used it, dice and books might be thrown).Capable combatant in their own right? Check. Force multiplication? Check. Spells or spell-like abilities of some kind? Double check. Perform (Oratory)? Check. Obviously fits as a leader? CHECK.

Still, even if all of the above was true, I'd still put this at a 4.5 if not for one more thing: the generic nature of this build's fluff means you can change up to fit into just about any game. Considering that it's a human with limited spellcasting, you could stick this in a modern-day campaign and they wouldn't be too out-of-place. The fact that this build is flexible enough for a good DM to alter them as needed for their specific game is what clinches it for me.Conrad's generic character was at least standard enough to a "one size fits all" warlord. A merfolk with an aquatic army trying to flood the land, not only is it not generic enough to by tailored for specific games, it's not incredibly interesting: it's every sea-based warlord in fiction, some person trying to punish the surface dwellers by expanding the sea enough to drown them. Beyond that, I've got no fluff to go on whatsoever; your snapshots provide little identity for the character, while trying (and failing) to establish what the build can do through monologue.Your martial skill is nothing to write home about, your magic is worse, and you're not even much of a force-multiplier. You're the classical bard, in that you're trying to be good at everything and ended up being good at nothing. Your fluff talks about using tons of summons and opening gates to the Elemental Plane of Water, but I'm not seeing anything about this character that says you could use either tactic effectively (unless you have a Druid 19 as your follower). This BBEG would get trounced in the mid-late levels, and the only reason it would take that long is because low-level characters just barely can't hold their breath long enough to kick your ass.Think of a character build as a slide at a water park: if it's too curvy and too slippery, it might throw someone out of the slide, which would significantly injure them. You compensate by building a slide that's only 10 ft long, has no curves at all, and leads straight to a pile of pillows placed so as to ensure a soft landing. To be clear, your slide was built to ensure that nobody got hurt riding, and nobody will...because nobody will use your slide. This build is ineffective and boring; while it avoids anything that would hurt your Elegance, it also avoids anything that would actually increase it as well.If someone had told me they were putting together an aquatic entry for this contest, I would've expected, at best, Davy Jones (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0eCBVkWFVA), and at worst, Aquaman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE8C1WWixgc). I thought Aquaman would've been bad, and then I saw this: you gave me a mermaid Jack Sparrow who seems to think they're Tia Dalma (aka Calypso, Goddess of the Sea).

You're not a good warrior, you're not a good leader, you're not a powerful caster. You're a mermaid who got too big for their britches. Being a Bard helps slightly, but nowhere near enough to make up for how terrible this is in every other aspect.Bard con-man starts a cult based on one of taller tales, actually convinces enough people to start gaining divine spellcasting as a result. From start to finish, I love this idea; it starts with a normal bard, and goes in a perfectly reasonable direction with it, in a way that could allow a good DM to build the BBEG alongside the characters, with the "church" growing more powerful every time the PCs come into contact with it. Cha-SAD builds aren't unexpected, but going full-out Blackguard rather than just dipping the appropriate Paladin isn't something I've even heard of anybody doing before. I love it!A while back, somebody came up with the idea of building a Joker-Bard to oppose the Batman-Wizard; the idea was that Bard spellcasting and Diplomancy were enough to make a villain capable of opposing, escaping from, and eventually (and memorably) losing to the Batman-Wizard. This is, at its core, proof positive that the Joker-Bard is a legitimate and scary BBEG. The combination of skills (particularly social skills), martial aptitude, and spellcasting is extremely potent.

Unfortunately, you have the usual problems faced by a Bard: you're spread too thin to be incredibly good at anything in particular, other than Diplomancy. While that may be the point of a build like this (not a lot of raw power, but wonderfully versatile in applying said power), this is where you get dinged for being directly powerful than other characters.Human Bard going into Blackguard, with a Bard-level specialization in Diplomancy; simple, and effective. It doesn't get much more elegant than that. Your avoidance of splatbook ACFs, races, and options is a slight plus, in my book, because it makes your build less likely to use things that I would forbid my players from using.To be clear, I think this is a wonderful BBEG: it's a decent threat at all tiers of play; it's decently optimized, but not to the point that opposing them is pointless; it's got exit strategies, so that it can return at a later point in the campaign. No, my problem with this build is that while it's a wonderful BBEG, it's only a passable Warlord. Fighting from the shadows using guile, wit, and charm is wonderfully effective, but it doesn't exactly scream "Warlord" to me. Still, it can work decently as a warlord, especially if leading the "church" on a "crusade". Ultimately, it's not particularly impressive in this regard.I love that you've refluffed the classes to suit your needs. I love that you're an untouchable bad-ass. I love the monk-duelist combo (although it's not particularly original in my eyes). I love the monk-urban ranger combo, which is incredibly, interestingly unique. You know what I don't love? The "Punished Slave becomes Cruel Master" trope; it's a boring backstory IMO, and makes for an uninteresting villain.

Ultimately, the mechanics and fluff balance out in this category for me.This build is just as capable mechanically as the previous one...that is, while they're martial skill is nothing to write home about, their skills back it up in such a way as to make it fairly effective. Of course, being essentially untouchable is a plus.You took ingredients that don't normally mix well and combined them in an unexpected way that worked out fairly effectively. It's not exceptional, but it's still fairly impressive; nice job.Unfortunately, while this build feels fairly effective, it doesn't feel like a Warlord. Corrupt captain of the guard? Sure! But warlord? No. No, no, no...

To be clear, it's going in the right direction, but it's not quite there yet. It just needs some nudges in new directions to get there, at least in my opinion. To me, this seems to be more in line of the second-in-command, rather than the BBEG themselves.Heh. Hehe. Oh wow. I love this. Everything about this concept is just absolutely wonderful. The only downside for this category is that Bard/Warblade, while a wonderfully effective combo, is a pretty common one...to the point that you're not the first one in this build. Still, they didn't have anywhere near as interesting a premise as you do. Full marks.The Bard/Warblade combo is effective, and you've added in some awesome skill support. Your combat skill is good, your maneuvers are good, your spells are good, your music is good...it's all good. My only complaint is that, the way your build is set up, high level spells are likely to tell you to "get rekt"; with the right minion support, this isn't an issue, but depending on minions to deal with the biggest threat isn't very impressive.Illegal template; template-stacking; not meeting prereqs...none of this is looking good. Still, it's mostly minor issues that could be easily solved by a quick rebuilding, and other than that your build is particularly elegant, so you'll still get some credit.This build can make a pretty good warlord, but not an exceptional one. Still, it's definitely going in the right direction; hell, if their "forces of darkness" weren't dead children, they'd probably score higher, but dead children don't rate too high on the "threatening to high-lvl PC" scale, so I've dinged you a bit for that.I'm seeing quite a bit of vaguely interesting mechanics, but not really anything particularly out there. Unfortunately reading though gave me a strong feeling of "Meh, whatever"; not exactly the most inspiring feeling. Your build, while complex, seems a bit boring to me; it doesn't help that the "villain's" motivations aren't stated anywhere in your original write-up. No, I don't care what you added near the end; if you'd had it ready on time, I'd take it into account, but you didn't.Congratulations, you can destroy non-casters of your level with extreme ease.[/sarcastic clapping] Unfortunately, you have nothing to help you against powerful casters, even those played non-optimally. You will be crushed soon enough, and hard, and I will laugh. The shadow-pounce optimization stuff is neat, but it avoids any method of dealing with actual threats (namely, powerful casters). So long as the PCs aren't all dead by the time they've heard of this BBEG, they'll find a way to trounce him easily and safely.

I'd give you more credit for your maneuvers if kept them decently leveled, but you don't.Tons of classes, tons of dipping, tons of ACFs, nothing really fitting together thematically...it's almost like you picked everything based on making a mechanically optimal character with confusing fluff.

Also, I know this is a response to your disagreement with Keledrath's thoughts on the Wizard dip, but since I don't like that dip either, I'll give my thoughts on it anyway: just because you dipped Conjurer for 3 cheap tricks instead of 1 cheap trick doesn't change the fact that you only dipped Conjurer for cheap tricks.I said it before, and I'll say it again: your "villain" has no story, no background, and no personality. I would never inflict such a boring villain on my players; even my hack-and-slasher friends want some kind of story. You (originally) presented a pile of numbers with a name at the top, and I hate, hate, HATE that.

Furthermore, even on its own merits, it's not much of a Warlord, so much as an assassin who happens to lead other assassins. They don't have a reason to follow him, he doesn't have a reason to lead, he doesn't have a reason to harm anybody, he doesn't a have any kind of stated motivation whatsoever. Trying to puzzle out this villains motivations (which, from what I can understand, are what inspired the build) should not be the judge's job.

You get bottom-of-the-barrel marks for having a few abilities that actually help your minions in some way, but that's it.On the one hand, it's a Barbarian Warlord; not exactly anything new. On the other hand...a human leading giants, by virtue of their martial capability? That's awesome, and it's just off-the-wall enough to get some points. The PrC is just gravy, at this point.Unfortunately, this is where you lose out: the complete lack of spellcasting means that, at the higher levels, a spellcaster will kick your butt six ways to Sunday; while martials will be decently challenged, they'll never really be in danger.Almost full marks, and I think you know why: Spirit Shaman. It's the only part of the build that doesn't seem to mesh well, and it costs you some points. Other than that, everything flows together wonderfully to bring this concept together.You don't really have any leader abilities: no healing, no buffing, and no teamwork feats. I could definitely see this character in an army of characters, or serving as the BBEG's right hand woman, but this isn't a warlord, or a BBEG in its own right.

[Gwachitallemall]

Remember everyone, there's still an honorable mention spot. You can PM in me entries for that, or judges are welcome to include them in their judging scores.

As far as the table.. Here we go.



Entries
Red Fel's Scores
Keledrath's Scores
AvatarVecna's Scores
Total
Average


Lord Commander Conrad Vayne
16
16.75
15.5
48.25
16.08


Orphanicus Undeadicus
14
13.5
14.5
42
14


Robert Passeris
17
8.5
14.5
40
13.33


Ragna Antonia
12
14
12.5
38.5
12.83


Olarys Jurgensdottir
12
13
12
37
12.33


Muk Muk and Mya
9
9.75
12
30.75
10.25


Naal Longshadow
9
9
6.5
24.5
8.17


Anaitis
8
7
7
22
7.33

[Gwachitallemall]

Few new disputes, here we go.


I want to thank the judges for their work; I'm learning a lot from their suggestions/critiques. That said, I do have quibbles with a few scores.

-Power: Yes, Robert is mainly spec'd against good humans (like those religious authorities who shut down his little apocalyptic cult the first time). Against them, however, he's got 2d6 (greatsword) + 3/2*(Str bonus) (Str) + 1 (weapon enhancement) + 2d6 (unholy) + 2+2d6 (humanbane) + 2*(Cha bonus) + (Blackguard level) (smite good with power attack). At level 20, with a Str of 24 (14 + 4 (tome) + 6(item) ) and Cha of 30 (20 + 4 (tome) + 6 (item)), against an AC <= 20, he gets 6d6 + 9 (Str bonus) + 34 (full Power attack) + 3 (enhancement) + 8 (blackguard) damage (not adding 2d6 Sneak Attack) and 100% chance of hit (ignoring miss chance). He also has poisons, which he can make himself to some extent. Additionally, a large part of his power comes from Fascinate, Diplomacy, and Bluff. He can get an army of bystanders whenever he needs just by opening his mouth. Finally, he does get extra power in the last 5 levels. More 4th level spells/day (Bard and Blackguard), more Charisma, more Sneak Attack, full BAB (which is low otherwise), better saves, more skills. He just doesn't get anything completely new that he didn't have in any form at level 15.

-Elegance: I'm confused why Core-only gives a penalty here, but SRD-only doesn't give a penalty for someone like Ragna. Am I misinterpreting something about those scores?

-Concept: First, a quick correction. His army isn't mostly higher-Cha Bards and Rogues. Those are just the members he wants to use as recruiters with the unholy Glibness items, since they have Bluff and Diplomacy as class skills, and have other benefits from Charisma. His army is mostly whatever mind-affectable creatures he or his recruiters run across and can convert to his cult. Second, as for Fiends and Undead minions, they're not that easy for him to get, other than the Fiendish Servant. He has the summon monsters through 4 from blackguard, but those are tactical-use only. Mindless undead are troublesome, since he'd have to rely on a weak Command Undead to use them, instead of the more potent Diplomacy, Bluff, Fascinate combo. He'd like a better army, but relying on one is not practical. Third, he has several ways to buff his minions. Inspire Courage +2, Inspire Greatness for bardic music; Good Hope, Cure X Wounds for spells; more newly-converted minions for Fascinate, Diplomacy, and Bluff.
-Concept: While he might not be much of a Warlord from his build, to an outside observer he'd definitely look like one. From your criteria:
I'll see how infamous they would come across as in a world where they existed. To be clear: if, in the middle of a royal party, a army scout burst into the room, delivering a message of your warlord's coming, what kind of reaction would they inspire? As long as this kingdom isn't one of the first few targets he hits, knowing that the heretical warrior-priest who somehow easily conquered a few large and powerful cities with what looked like an army barely adequate to raid a small village is now coming for you with an actually legitimate army would be absolutely terrifying. You may have a hunch that something odd is going on, but you wouldn't know what. Stories (from ludicrously high Bluff) that their faith makes them immune to all forms of harm could no longer be simply discounted.


This is my first time entering one of these competitions. I don't have lots of practice building, so the comments are very useful. Thanks to the judges! I did notice that everyone seems to be interpreting Ragna's story in a different way than I intended, so I'm offering some clarification below. It should be meta-textual; I'm not trying to add any facts or information, just an alternate way of looking at the facts already presented in the entry. There are also a few score disputes below it.

General response to the comments that Ragna seemed like a minion or top enforcer for a real BBEG:
I think this interpretation comes from the "Villains Act, Heroes React" trope. She doesn't have an obvious goal with a plan that the PCs could interrupt. However, the thing about Ragna is: she already won, sometime between levels 10 and 15. From level 16-20, wasting the Royals, is very perfunctory because she's making a statement, not facing a challenge. ("A few arrows", well-placed or not, wouldn't take down an appropriately leveled PC; she's not that good at archery, she's not an Assassin. The conclusion therefore is that this "Crown Prince" is some kind of low/mid-level Aristocrat.) Her goal was to be safe, powerful, and unfettered; she's already succeeded at that.
But, you may ask, how could that work for a campaign-leading BBEG? Well, here's a short list:

Things the PCs could do that would set Ragna off:
Wanting to see the King
Trying to enter the Palace
Questioning if the King is still alive
Questioning why Ragna is still in charge of a bodyguard unit after the last two guardees died under mysterious circumstances
Hurting any of her minions (she can do that herself, because they are HERS)
Wanting to help the slaves
Wanting to free the slaves
Wanting to lead a slave revolt against the humans
Trying to get Ragna to help with any of these slave-related ventures
Trying to invade the Kingdom
Trying to assassinate the King
Trying to defend halfling lands from human slaving parties
Etc ...

This also makes her a more personal BBEG. She's going after the PCs not because they tried to stop one of her plans, but because she had it MADE before they started causing trouble.

@Elegance
Duelist has class features every level, so any number of levels would "appear to be stuck in there purely for a [number] of class features."
The benefits of Duelist are: Full BAB, extra Int boost to AC, Good reflex save, initiative boost, Bluff as class skill (synergy boost to Diplomacy), Escape Artist + Tumble class skills.
The drawbacks of Duelist are: No armor or shield (Monk), need to be armed with melee weapon (Unarmed Strike, Monk), Weapon Finesse (Str penalty, Dex bonus), Dodge and Mobility (which aren't great, but do add dodge to AC in some circumstances).
I would have liked to add more Duelist, but Ranger 11 and Monk 6 were more important.

@Concept
The parts of the build that screams "leader of armies" are the Diplomacy ranks + skill synergy + Cha, and the low DPS. She can win a duel, but it's probably going to be a 10-min fight where she steals their stuff (holy symbols, weapons, MC pouches, etc...), slowly wears them down (the speed depends on the quality of the enemy weapons and whether or not they're exotic), and laughs at them missing 96% of their attacks. She's going to need help (aka an army) putting people down quickly, but she can help with flanks and disarms.
There's also the alternate story interpretation above.

@Originality
I'm not sure exactly where the "Cruel Master" is coming from. She's not starting a "Halfling Power" crusade; she doesn't care about freeing slaves; she doesn't even want revenge on the Florist Guild, even after they took her off the streets, imprisoned her for years, beat her, and sold her. She was pretty happy as the Royal Guard captain; the only problem was having to take orders from some chump Aristocrat. Then one day, she realized she didn't have to anymore. The Royal family would have been "disinclined to acquiesce" to her change of heart, so she had to "handle" the situation. There's also the alternate story interpretation above.

@Concept
Please see the alternate story interpretation.

[Vhaidara]

Power: I understand that against humans he is terrifying. But my point was that he loses a significant amount of effectiveness against non-good-humans. What if the beatstick (the guy with the HP pool) is a N Half Oc Barbarian? Or a Fighter, which would have a higher AC? Also, why oh why would you compare his level 20 damage against someone with a sub 20 AC? Everyone at that level has a good AC or miss chance.

Elegance: I didn't actually take any points off here. I started everyone at 2.5. You lost a point for taking Weapon Spec without meeting prereqs. Ragna, meanwhile, had an interesting combination of classes that I didn't expect to see and that had a surprising degree of synergy. Honestly, I look at AvatarVecna's water slide analogy from Anaitis' judgment, except that, for me, Core only is a short, straight water slide. You need a few bends to make it exciting to me.

Concept: Are you telling me that at 20th level you can't get your hands on a couple high level wizards or clerics to summon up fiends/undead?
Fascinate/Diplomacy/Bluff aren't buffs. Good Hope doesn't stack with Inspire Courage (morale bonuses, man), and Inspire Greatness affects a total of 2 people. And Cure spells are not making your minions better. Did you actually suggest having the BBEG stop murdering the PCs to heal a minion?

[Red Fel]

With respect to Duelist, let me explain my position. First, let's look at Monk and Urban Ranger. You have six levels of Monk; that gets you your 1d8 unarmed, positive Flurry bonus, AC and movement bonus, three bonus feats, evasion, and so forth. I get that. You have eleven levels of Urban Ranger. That swaps out some Ranger features, but the most notable bits are gaining Hide in Plain Sight and Favored Enemy (organization). You also max out your combat style, and gain Evasion again.

Here's the thing. Both Monk and Ranger have Wis functions. Ranger uses Wis for his scouting and spells, Monk gets Wis to AC, and so forth. They can both contribute to your combat methods in a reasonable way, and they both have reasonable synergy. They blend reasonably well. And then there's Duelist. Duelist is an Int-based PrC. Your three Duelist levels get you, on top of BAB, Int to AC, +2 to Initiative, and +4 to AC when moving out of a threatened square. That's it, that's all you're getting for your dip. It's clear why you picked those features. Int to AC, you clearly picked to give her more armor. I get that. A bonus to Initiative is always a good thing, I get that. The +4 AC when moving out of a threatened square boosts her mobility. I get that too. But it still rankles me, because they were clearly cherry-picked abilities; there was no justification for this class other than "I need BAB and I want those specific boosts." And I understand that this is a build competition; you pick the classes you want that give you the features you need to make the build function. I get it. But, subjectively, it bothers me - three levels in a PrC slapped in there with no regard to flavor or flow.

With respect to "leader of armies," I want someone who can command, who can bark orders and direct tactics. Yes, she has 14 Cha, that's above average, and I respect that. Yes, she has Diplomacy, although that's not what I'd generally consider to be a defining element of a leader of armies. Contributing, but not defining. I look for something more - what can she do for her team on the battlefield? Can she do battlefield control? Set up combinations or maneuvers? Buff or motivate? I don't see that. You're also correct that her DPS is not amazing. But I don't see that as an asset for a leader; I see that as "Why are we following this weakling?" Which goes to the other element - I don't see her as a warlord, either. The two kind of flow together. I can sort of accept her as a combatant, maybe even a major one, but I don't see her as a battlefield commander. And that's what I was looking for.

[Gwachitallemall]

Just under a week left. Anyone else still looking at judging? Want to see what we have in terms of who is still scoring the builds they see.

[Sam K]

I just want to say, I'm really glad I entered this (and, for that matter, inspired it!) Even though I'm not doing as well as I had wanted (then again, I suppose crowning me ultimate emperor and president of the universe is a bit beyond even the playground), it's a blast, and I've learned alot about how to build and what mistakes not to make. Even though there are a few of this, I really think there's room for further villainous competitions: the focus on a concept instead of a class or build means it's much easier even for relatively inexperienced optimizers to join in and actually be competitive.

Thanks everyone for participating, judging and supreme-chanceling. Cant wait to see how this one turns out, and hope we'll see another one soon. Is the supreme chancelor taking suggestions for the next concept? :)

[Gwachitallemall]

I just want to say, I'm really glad I entered this (and, for that matter, inspired it!) Even though I'm not doing as well as I had wanted (then again, I suppose crowning me ultimate emperor and president of the universe is a bit beyond even the playground), it's a blast, and I've learned alot about how to build and what mistakes not to make. Even though there are a few of this, I really think there's room for further villainous competitions: the focus on a concept instead of a class or build means it's much easier even for relatively inexperienced optimizers to join in and actually be competitive.

Thanks everyone for participating, judging and supreme-chanceling. Cant wait to see how this one turns out, and hope we'll see another one soon. Is the supreme chancelor taking suggestions for the next concept? :)

I already have an idea what the next concept will be, which I can't say much about, only that it should be a lot easier to get something grandiose out of it. But I'll still accept suggestions for concepts, if anyone has them.

[Vhaidara]

I was going to suggest a Mastermind. The opposite of a Warlord, the Mastermind is all about manipulating things from behind the scenes. If you ever actually get to fighting him, then he has failed. Now, you might fight clones, possessed minions, Astral Projections, but you would never actually fight the Mastermind himself.

So the challenge would be to create someone who can completely mess with a party without ever letting them know who he is.

The other option was making a double agent. Someone who could pretend to be on the party's side, right up until he sticks a knife in their backs.

[Troacctid]

Villains designed around a theme rather than a role could also be interesting. Pyromaniac (fire-themed villain), and the cold equivalent, seem like obvious places we could go.

Another idea could be to build around a mission statement that sums up the villain's evil plan, a la Magic: The Gathering's Archenemy decks: "Assemble the Doomsday Machine," "Bring About the Undead Apocalypse," "Trample Civilization Underfoot," and "Scorch the World with Dragonfire". (All of these seem like they'd make great rounds.)

[Vhaidara]

I think we may have the next year planned out :smalltongue:

[Doctor Awkward]

Villains designed around a theme rather than a role could also be interesting. Pyromaniac (fire-themed villain),
Ooh, I got one of those.


...and the cold equivalent...
Got one of those too.


"Assemble the Doomsday Machine,"
Wrote a campaign around one of those.


"Bring About the Undead Apocalypse,"
Did that! First TPK in my group actually...


"Trample Civilization Underfoot,"
I actually just started building this on Friday...


"Scorch the World with Dragonfire".
This is going to be the best year ever. :smallbiggrin:

[Gwachitallemall]

Looking at what we have, with a few ideas of my own, it'll definitely be an interesting setup. Make it easy enough for me to just change everything around.

As for this round, does anyone have any suggestions on stuff to improve they saw in this round that needed improving?

I already see that I need to tell everyone to include sources, it's just courtesy, really.

We were talking earlier about CR instead of ECL, anyone still wanting to go with that?

Finally, is there anything I should include in what to expect otherwise?

I'm going to have limitations like the "can't get 9th level spellcasting or manifesting" in each one, I think they spice up the flavor a bit.

Obviously, they won't be the same limitations, they'll be something different each time.

[JW86]

Looking forward to the next one, will join as a participant if it's not too overwhelming (not as experienced as many on this board!)

[Sam K]

Looking forward to the next one, will join as a participant if it's not too overwhelming (not as experienced as many on this board!)

This is a great first build contest because the focus is on concept rather than mechanics. Some of the other build contests can feel a bit overwhelming because you they ask you to use some PRC you've never heard of, or mechanics you're not familiar with. It can be a bit daunting (though I enjoy watching the results of them). But if you look at the current top three builds for this competition, one is a fairly simple core-only and two are versions of a very well known standard build. You can package a rather simple build to really fit a concept, and it can score quite well.

Ofcourse, you can do that in the other build contests as well, but you usually still need to include some mechanic that you may or may not fully understand, or a class from a book you may not own. In the VC, all you need is core books and a way to make it nasty!

[AvatarVecna]

We were talking earlier about CR instead of ECL, anyone still wanting to go with that?

CR is a very broken system, which is why I don't think we should make it the basis of our competition. Basing our competition on ECL allows for character building rather than monster building; if we want the monster aspect, we can tack that on.

Also, I believe I have some disputes to respond to!

Robert Passeris

That's only the response in a world with mostly low-level characters. Forgotten Realms is (in)famous for being filled with mid-/high-level ex-adventurers, while in Eberron, all but the most powerful individuals in the world haven't escaped the single digit levels. Depending on how common magic items are, anyone selling them (and the people rich enough to buy them) will probably have some way of discerning lies. Sure, the common folk will be quite convinced, but the adventurers? Between divinations and Sense Motive checks, they'll find a way to the truth.

Even in a low-magic, low-level world, the local rulers are powerful enough that them having items giving huge Sense Motive bonuses isn't just understandable, it's almost necessary; if anyone with a good enough Bluff/Diplomacy bonus could overrun the kingdom, the kingdom would've been overrun a long time ago.

Still, I can see your point; I wasn't quite giving Robert enough credit in this regard, even if I'm not totally convinced.

Concept Score changed to 3.0

Ragna Antonia

My problem with Ragna as a BBEG is that they aren't one until the mid-high levels, and that's only because they've finally reached their goal. Let's compare:

Robert started his career as a con-man, stealing from the poor with a ruse of false divinity. He took this con to a whole new level when he actually talked down a demon.

Muk-Muk started their career as a dragon's teacher; by the high end of the low-level tier, he was riding said dragon into battle and ruling the local area with an iron fist.

Anaitis may be terrible, but they started their career already burning and pillaging ships.

Ragna started their career. AS. A. SLAVE.

That's my problem with Ragna: not only are they only a BBEG at the mid-high levels, they're not even a real villain before then. They're just a slave, a servant, a low-level guard; a MINION.

Any time before they take over, Ragna is a servant too big for their britches. Any time after that, they've already won. And I find that boring.

No change in score.

[Troacctid]

I strongly support using CR instead of ECL, with the caveat that all class levels are associated and all monsters with enough Int can advance by class level (so Curmudgeon doesn't get on our case). That sort of thing is what makes this competition different--the characters we're designing aren't PCs. They don't have to follow the PC rules. There's a lot of content in 3.5 that isn't intended to be used by players, and this should be a chance to make use of that content.

[WhamBamSam]

I strongly support using CR instead of ECL, with the caveat that all class levels are associated and all monsters with enough Int can advance by class level (so Curmudgeon doesn't get on our case). That sort of thing is what makes this competition different--the characters we're designing aren't PCs. They don't have to follow the PC rules. There's a lot of content in 3.5 that isn't intended to be used by players, and this should be a chance to make use of that content.Yeah, I'm seconding this. If you want to restrict the base monsters, or the templates we have access to, then fair enough I guess, but CR really is the appropriate system to be working with, borked as it can sometimes be.

Some CR is broken, but there are also plenty of things that really shouldn't go by ECL when we're talking about BBEGs specifically. Take vampires for instance. A 12th level Vampire is not an appropriate fight for a 20th level party. It's pretty appropriately CRed at 14. Vampire BBEGs are a perfectly valid thing for DMs to want, but going by ECL, the PCs will win easily if they ever meet one face to face.

[Vhaidara]

Thirding the idea of CR over ECL, and making all class levels associated. So no CR 5 Kobold Wizard 9s or whatever that stupid interaction comes out to.

The vampire example is actually pretty much exactly why this should be the case.

[Gwachitallemall]

I do like the CR over ECL, especially with all class levels associated. Feel like it's better that way. I just need to find out if there's any other limitations I'm going to put on it. (Besides the INT limitation.)

[Gwachitallemall]

Alright, I have concepts set up for the next 5 months. I think that should be good for now. :)

[Gwachitallemall]

Any other judges looking at joining? You have 2 days to finish judging, I'll be posting the top 3 (I haven't gotten a single pm or post for honorable mention, so I won't be doing that) on Monday, at 6 PM.

[dysprosium]

Well after my post about being a judge, real life took over again and prevented me from doing so.

But it appeared that after I made my post, you got three judges posting their scores. Maybe I'm a trend setter?

[Gwachitallemall]

BBEG

AVG Score
Forum Member


1st Place: Lord Commander Conrad Vayne
16.08
Tonymitsu


2nd Place: Orphanicus Undeadicus

14
Sam K


3rd Place: Robert Passeris

13.5
Livius


Ragna Antonia
12.83
Livius


Olayrs Jurgensdottir
12.33
Aka-Chan



Muk Muk and Mya
10.25
Weasel Guy


Naal Longshadow
8.17
Whambamsam


Anaitis
7.33
Mahonri Violist




Alright. And that's everyone. Right on time, too. The next thread should be up tomorrow, I don't have my notes on what the contest was going to be.

We can go ahead and take suggestions now, I can say that it will be CR based instead of ECL, is there anything else people think could be changed?

[Sam K]

Well, that went better than expected! Cheers everyone, and looking forward for the next round!

Now, I think it's about time I get a creepy undead avatar kid made!

[Gwachitallemall]

New thread is up Here! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400517-Villainous-Competition-Round-2-Or-Give-me-something-evil!&p=18868986#post18868986)

[Doctor Awkward]

That was fun.

Thanks all. :smallbiggrin:

Rather than a suggestion, I have a question:

With regards to future competitions, are they going to be about recurring villains that dog the party throughout their whole career? Or are they going to be about overwhelming forces that the party has no real hope of defeating until their later levels?

I ask mostly because of the Elder Evils book. I like that book, and I reference it a lot when coming up with baddies and campaign ideas. But a monster created with Elder Evils has no real ECL progression, and no "sweet spot" other than the level they are statted at. Very few encounter descriptions for ECL 5/10/15 would involved anything other than, "You lose."

In the same vein, the idea of recurring villains is a difficult thing to pull off in a D&D game. Players (at least in my group) are very good at being un-cinematic about that kind of thing. When a bad guy goes down, they make sure he stays down.

Baddie progression through monster hit dice is also generally not a concept that's dealt with in a typical campaign. Say the party makes an enemy of a dragon when he's a juvenile, you are talking hundreds and hundreds of years until it ages into an adult. Most of the party could be dead from old age by then. They even lampshade this in Baldur's Gate 2 with Firkraag. He's a vicious red dragon that never ever lets go of a grudge, and is known to target the descendants of people who piss him off because he spends so long considering the perfect form of revenge that the object of the plans will die before he can carry it out.
So what we could wind up with is a lot of baddies that are advanced to fight the party by taking class levels, which would put us right back where we were with this competition, except with monsters instead of normal races and templates players would take.

[Gwachitallemall]

They're going to be recurring villians. As noted, you only need to post one of those 4 levels (Level 5, level 10, level 15, level 20) and a sweet spot.

[Aka-chan]

Congrats to the winners! I think I did pretty well for never having done one of these before, and I'm definitely looking forward to the continuation of this series. You've really got a great contest concept here, Gwachitallemall.