Iron Chef Home Cooking in the Playground II

[Heliomance]

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef Home Cooking Edition. Here in Optimization Colosseum, contestants will endeavor to create an optimized and flavorful character using a specified D&D3.5 prestige class as a "Secret Ingredient". As this is a special Home Cooking edition, the Secret Ingredient for this contest will be homebrew drawn from our very own homebrew forums!

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

Menu: The "special ingredient" for this offshoot competition is a homebrew prestige class, drawn from the homebrew forums on this very site.

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

Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon magazine is disallowed, and Unearthed Arcana is allowed; but see Elegance below. Web-exclusive 3.0 or 3.5 materials by WotC are expressly allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere, as this may cause an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt or Generic Classes are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Also, item familiars are forbidden because I hate 'em. Please refrain from using Taint unless it's necessary for the Secret Ingredient.

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 09:59 GMT on Sunday,February 22nd, 2015 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, Heliomance. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 09:59 GMT on Sunday, March 8th, 2015 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, Use of Secret Ingredient.

Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
Elegance could bear a little elaboration. It basically measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavor for power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is considered in poor taste, and judges are asked to take a dim view of this option, taking it into account while grading. Other things that will cause penalties here are excessive multi-classing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points.Please note the following change: a legal source's relative obscurity should not be considered as penalizing Elegance, excepting the aforementioned issues with Unearthed Arcana. Using too many sources may result in a penalty to Elegance at the judges' discretion, but a book's relative obscurity may not. In that same vein, drawing solely from the Core 3 (and the d20 SRD) should not be punished for lacking Originality.
Presentation: Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build, as I'm likely to miss it when reviewing the entries!

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



Code immediately below (spoiler).

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



For entries with spellcasting, use the following table for Spells per day and Spells Known. (Spells Known only if necessary, i.e. Sorcerer or Bard, but not Wizard or Warmage)Spells per Day/Spells Known
Spells per Day/Spells Known


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


1st
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


6th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


11th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


12th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


13th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


14th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


15th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


16th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


17th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


18th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


19th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


20th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


1st
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


6th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


11th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


12th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


13th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


14th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


15th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


16th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


17th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


18th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


19th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


20th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-



For other systems (Psionics, ToB, Incarnum, etc.) keep track of PP/maneuvers/essentia separately, preferably in a nice neat list.
Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until the "reveal," in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.

Leadership is banned; we're producing a meal, not a seven-course banquet for a hundred diners. If your entry includes a prestige class or ACF that grants Leadership or a Leadership-like ability as a bonus feat, the feat should be ignored and is not eligible to be traded away for another feat or ACF through any means.

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

For this fist Home Cooking Contest, the Secret Ingredient is Djinn-in-Tonic's
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=6120792&postcount=3)
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 chairwoman's favourite build.

Allez, optimiser!

The Builds

[Heliomance]

FAQ:
What's this even about? I'm glad you asked, actually... (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15415117&postcount=1)

Is Dragon Compendium Allowed? Yes (as well as its Errata), but individual issues of Dragon Magazine are not.

What about 3.0 materials? 3.0 materials, whether online or in printed form, are allowed unless they've been officially updated to a 3.5 edition.

Are Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, or Kingdoms of Kalamar allowable sources? The Dragonlance Campaign Setting is allowed, but the subsequent books for Dragonlance are considered 3rd party, and are therefore not eligible, despite the "WotC approved" status of those books. The same holds for Oriental Adventures (1st party) and the subsequent Rokugan books (3rd party). Materials from Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, and Kingdoms of Kalamar are considered 3rd party for purposes of this contest, and are therefore not allowed.

What about online sources in general? If the online source is a) published by WotC, and b) not replaced by an updated version at a later time, it is eligible. Use it, link it.

Where's the line drawn with "acceptable/unacceptable" for Unearthed Arcana? This will likely vary a bit from Chairman to Chairman. Item Familiars and Gestalt have always been verboten, since before IC migrated to GitP; don't expect that to change. Flaws have similarly always been noted as warranting a deduction; while I am Chairman, I'm extending that to Traits, though they warrant 1/2 the penalty in Elegance that a Flaw would because they're roughly 1/2 as useful. Alternate spell systems, alternate skill systems and alternate crafting rules all create an uneven playing field, and as such, will be disallowed for as long as I am Chairman. Bloodlines and the Retraining options presented in the PHB2 are ripe for abuse, and will be strongly discouraged as long as I am Chairman. Note that judges are allowed to look askance at any use of Unearthed Arcana not specifically mentioned above, at their discretion, and otherwise penalize Elegance according to their preference.

What, exactly, does the ban on Leadership mean? As folks have started to try to work around the edges of this one, I'm forced to spell it out more plainly. No Leadership, Draconic Cohort, or Feats that grant a similar ability are allowed EXCEPT Wild Cohort while Heliomance is chairman. Any PrC you choose with Leadership or a Leadership-analog has that ability entirely ignored for this contest, as it may neither be used nor traded away via any means whatsoever.

What's the minimum score in a category? Assuming an entry is legal, the minimum score in any category is 1. If a judge is convinced that an entry is mechanically illegal by the RAW, the judge may give the build a score of 0 in Elegance, and proceed to judge the entry as if the offending material was not included. Failing to meet a fluff requirements for a prestige class does not merit a 0, but may qualify for a penalty, at the judge's discretion. Because this contest focuses on Player Characters, an entry that is not technically allowed for a PC, but is viable as an NPC, counts as a legal entry, but may receive a minimum score at the judges' discretion.

Creatures and templates with no listed LA are playable, right? No. No listed LA is equivalent to LA: -. It is not suitable for PCs. If you use it, expect judges to look extremely disfavourably on it.

[Inevitability]

Is there a fixed version of the table somewhere? It's a bit hard to use the current one.

[WhamBamSam]

I might cook something this time round. I have some thoughts on this SI, though it seems somewhat resistant to optimization in a way. It's very good at a single specific thing, to the point where further optimization of that thing is sort of unnecessary overkill. Also, the loss of Divination is more of a pain than it seems at first blush. Well, I'll give it some thought, and we'll see I suppose.

[KrimsonNekros]

The biggest hindrance to originality I'm seeing the requirement for the Knowledge domain. Shenanigans to trick that in should prove interesting.

[Venger]

Is there a fixed version of the table somewhere? It's a bit hard to use the current one.

EDIT: Thanks, KrimsonNekros.

Ask and ye shall receive. Fixed the chart, pasta'ed the content, manually replicated the formatting.


http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs33/f/2008/293/9/9/99adece5bf5f83d2733a06b25051c4ba.jpg

“The sands of time hold nothing for you but anguish and pain. Look upon your future...and despair!” —Dorian Rike, Sibyl of the Blinded Eye

Mankind is not made to see the future. Yet for some unknown reason, a small portion of humanity is gifted...or cursed...with the power of foretelling. The gifted adept easily to this, becoming famous oracles or helping the common people to eek a glimpse of the beyond. Others are not so lucky, for the future is not a forgiving thing. It is as terrible as it is fortunate, and as horrifying as it is inspiring. Those who are cursed with the power of foretelling see the terrors of the beyond, or see the truth, but are unable or unwilling to convey it. These are the seers who forsake their birthright. These are the Sibyls of the Blinded Eye.

BECOMING A SIBYL OF THE BLINDED EYE
No living being believed the prophecies of Cassandra, and thus her advice went unheeded. Tiresias saw the truth, but it was too terrible for the ears of Oedipus, and almost too terrible for Tiresias himself. When the weight of the future comes crashing down, many try to escape their destiny. These seers willingly blind themselves, tearing out their own eyes in a desperate bid to rid themselves of the hated visions. It never works. Left bereft of sight and haunted by fragmented sights, these seers seek any path to freedom...even if this means turning their sight outward, and cursing the rest of the world with their terrible visions.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Alignment: Any non-good.
Skills: Concentration 8 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 10 ranks, Spellcraft 10 ranks.
Spells: Must be able to cast Divine spells of at least 4th level.
Special: Must have access to the Knowledge Domain.
Special: Must have foretold a future that somehow scars you, whether through terrible visions, watching those you informed ignore your advice and fall to misery, or some other similiar situation.
Special: Must have subsequently put out your own eyes, and must have forsworn the casting of Divination spells. If ever a Sibyl of the Blinded Eye willingly casts a Divination spell, she immediately and permanently loses access to all class features.

Class Skills
The Sibyl of the Blinded Eye's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Divine) (Int), Knowledge (The Planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills Points at Each Level: 2 + Int

Hit Dice: d6



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


1st
+0
+0
+0
+2
Maddening Knowledge, Mirror of Misfortune, Unbidden Sight


2nd
+1
+0
+0
+3
Visions Held Back


3rd
+1
+1
+1
+3
Gates of the Mind


4th
+2
+1
+1
+4
New Class Abilities


5th
+2
+1
+1
+4
None Escape Time



6th
+3
+2
+2
+5
Haunting Torment


7th
+3
+2
+2
+5
Mirror of Misery


8th
+4
+2
+2
+6
Forgotten Futures


9th
+4
+3
+3
+6
Gates of the Soul


10th
+5
+3
+3
+7
Mirror of Fate



Weapon Proficiencies: A Sibyl of the Blinded Eye gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Spellcasting: At every level except first, fifth, and ninth, a Sibyl of the Blinded Eye gains caster level increase and increased spells per day as if she had gained a level in a Divine spellcasting class she possesses.

Maddening Knowledge: A Sibyl of the Blinded Eye trades her precognition for a chance of escape, but is ultimately disappointed. Her broken and fragmented visions still haunt her mind if her concentration lapses. She loses access to the Knowledge domain (although she keeps it for the purposes of qualifying for this class), and instead gains access to the Madness domain.

Mirror of Misfortune (Su): When a Sibyl of the Blinded Eye blinds herself to her sight, she opens the eyes of those around her. The Sibyl of the Blinded Eye gains a Gaze attack, usable at will as a Swift action on any target within 30 feet. Any sentient creature meeting her sightless gaze has the terrors of the future thrust forcefully upon them, and must make a Will save (DC 10 + the Sibyl’s class level + the Sibyl’s Wisdom modifier) or take 1d4 points of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma drain and be Shaken for 1 minute. Regardless of whether or not the saving throw was a success, the victim becomes immune to further uses of this power for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Unbidden Sight (Su): A Sibyl of the Blinded Eye cannot ever truly escape her destiny. Although her eyes are forever shut, she is still aware of the world around her. She gains Blindsight out to 120 feet, and this Blindsight is treated as if it were under the effects of a true seeing spell: the Sibyl cannot be misled in her perception of reality. Additionally, she is forever cursed to see shadows of fate. Whenever she interacts in any meaningful way with any sentient being, she receives scattered visions of the agony and trials that the future holds for that individual. The visions are not clear enough to give a comprehensible view of the future, but they are disturbing and disorienting for the viewer.

Visions Held Back (Su): Although a Sibyl of the Blinded Eye blinds herself to her visions, she cannot stay the source. Fragments of her nightmarish prophecies slip past to haunt her, but the vast majority of these visions is held back, lurking in the physic portions of the mind. Those attempting to use Divination effects upon a Sibyl of the Blinded Eye learn this to late, as their spell opens the pathway between the Sibyl’s mind and their own, causing the haunting visions to sweep through their minds like a tidal wave. Any creature using a Divination spell or effect that targets the Sibyl or uncovers information about the Sibyl (even if she is immune to the effect) is immediately subject to the full effect of the Sibyl’s Gaze attack, even if they have already successfully saved against it within the past 24 hours. Additionally, the victim receives a penalty on the saving throw equal to the level of the divination spell or effect used (if the effect does not have a level, the penalty is equal to ½ the Sibyl’s class level).

Gates of the Mind (Ex): The mental anguish a Sibyl of the Blinded Eye undergoes on a daily basis inures her to mundane emotions. She has learned to shut away such feelings to such an extent that she gains immunity to fear effects, as well as all spells that manipulate emotions (Crushing Despair, Rage, and similar effects).

Mirror of Mischance (Su): The Sibyl’s Gaze attack grows more potent, inflicting emotional trauma on the hapless victim. Any sentient creature meeting the Sibyl’s gaze must make a Will save (DC 10 + the Sibyl’s class level + the Sibyl’s Wisdom modifier) or take 2d4 points of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma drain and be Frightened for 1 minute. A successful saving throw leave the victim Shaken for 1 minute. This replaces all previous effects of the Sibyl’s Gaze attack. Regardless of whether or not the saving throw was a success, the victim becomes immune to further uses of this power for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

None Escape Time (Su): Even those who spurn mortal magic and mundane horrors cannot make light of the progression of time and the horrors of reality. A Sibyl’s class abilities function normally even against creatures normally immune to fear effects or mind-affecting effects.

Haunting Torment (Su): Once a Sibyl’s victim has begun to fall under the despairing spell, there is nothing that can save them. A victim who successfully saves against a Sibyl’s Gaze attack must make an additional Will save at the same DC or begin to have terrible nightmares. A creature so affected can get no sleep, cannot regain spells or power points, and must make a Fortitude save each morning (DC 10 + the Sibyl’s class level + the Sibyl’s Wisdom modifier) or take 1 point of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma drain. This effect is permanent, and can only be healed by Restoration, Remove Curse, Heal, Limited Wish, Wish, or Miracle. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Mirror of Misery (Su): The Sibyl’s Gaze attack begins to reveal deeply personal fears and show truly horrendous happenings. Any sentient creature meeting the Sibyl’s gaze must make a Will save (DC 10 + the Sibyl’s class level + the Sibyl’s Wisdom modifier) or take 3d4 points of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma drain and be both Panicked and Cowed for 1 minute. A successful saving throw leave the victim Shaken for 1 minute. This replaces all previous effects of the Sibyl’s Gaze attack. Regardless of whether or not the saving throw was a success, the victim becomes immune to further uses of this power for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Forgotten Futures (Su): A Sibyl of the Blinded Eye once had a flawless knowledge of her own future, but, once it was corrupted by nightmarish visions, she buried it deep within the dark corners of her mind. There it lurks, waiting to resurface in a moment of weakness. Any creature using a Mind-Affecting spell or effect that targets the Sibyl (even if she is immune to the effect) is immediately subject to the full effect of the Sibyl’s Gaze attack, even if they have already successfully saved against it within the past 24 hours. Additionally, the victim receives a penalty on the saving throw equal to the level of the Mind-Affecting spell or effect used (if the effect does not have a level, the penalty is equal to ½ the Sibyl’s class level).

Gates of the Soul (Ex): A Sibyl has withstood so many visions of misfortune and despair that nothing can shake her resolve. When she so desires, her spirit is an impenetrable barrier against outside intervention. She gains immunity to all mental ability damage and drain, as well as all mind-affecting spells, abilities, and effects.

Mirror of Fate (Su): The Sibyl’s Gaze attack now reveals, in a single instant, all the pain and misery that lies ahead in the victim’s life. The overwhelming sense of meaninglessness and despair this causes is enough to drive men mad. Any sentient creature meeting the Sibyl’s gaze must make a Will save (DC 10 + the Sibyl’s class level + the Sibyl’s Wisdom modifier) or have their Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma permanently reduced to 1, be rendered permanently insane as if by the Insanity spell, and drop to the floor in a fit of uncontrollable madness during which it attempts to put out its own eyes by any means possible (treat this as the Otto’s Irresistible Dance spell with a duration of 1 minute). A successful saving throw leave the victim Shaken for 1 minute. This replaces all previous effects of the Sibyl’s Gaze attack. Regardless of whether or not the saving throw was a success, the victim becomes immune to further uses of this power for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

PLAYING A SIBYL OF THE BLINDED EYE
Playing a Sibyl of the Blinded Eye means learning to balance your mental anguish with your resolve to free yourself from your imprisonment. Keeping your visions at bay is always your top priority, and everything else is secondary at best. A Sibyl of the Blinded Eye is almost always a trouble individual, most comfortable away from crowds that would cause unwanted visions of misery to force their way through. They do not make friends lightly--each additional companion is another being whose fragmented future comes unbidden to the Sibyl's eyes.

Combat: A Sibyl of the Blinded Eye opens combat through the use of her divine spells and her potent gaze. A typical first round is to curse a target with a save penalty, then open fire with the gaze attack, hoping to remove the opponent from the fight. At low levels this is an inconvenience, but as the Sibyl progresses, she can easily take an opponent completely out of the fight...and even out of sanity.

In subsequent rounds, the Sibyl fights much like a normal divine spellcaster, using her gaze on as many opponents as she can manage.

Advancement: Sibyls who leave or finish the Sibyl of the Blinded Eye prestige class advance as normal divine caster would, although they avoid any oracular prestige classes.

Resources: Your average Sibyl has few resources besides the clothes she wears and the items she carries. Most people are uncomfortable around such a troubled character, and, as such, allies are few and far between.

SIBYL OF THE BLINDED EYE IN THE WORLD
"It's just unnerving, you know what I mean? How am I supposed to sleep at night knowing that the future is such a merciless place? Why not end it all now? Yeah, sometimes I think the Sibyls have the right idea...and that's far from comforting."

[KrimsonNekros]

Ask and ye shall receive. Fixed the chart and pasta'ed the content. If anyone can tell me what that lovely burgundy color is, I can go back in and tag the headers. Quoting's disabled and I can't get an older version on the wayback machine, so I can't quote the post as a whole.


Ask and ye shall receive

800000

[WhamBamSam]

So how does the gaze attack work exactly? Does it work in accordance with the normal rules for gaze attacks, (any creature within range that doesn't avert its eyes has to make a save, and those that are averting their eyes have a 50% chance of having to make one) or is it a single target per round as a swift action? If it's the former, how does the swift action activation work?

[Heliomance]

So how does the gaze attack work exactly? Does it work in accordance with the normal rules for gaze attacks, (any creature within range that doesn't avert its eyes has to make a save, and those that are averting their eyes have a 50% chance of having to make one) or is it a single target per round as a swift action? If it's the former, how does the swift action activation work?

Hrm, I think the most consistent way to read it is also the weakest - single target per round as a swift action, only useable if they can see you, 50% chance if they're averting their eyes.

[Venger]

Hrm, I think the most consistent way to read it is also the weakest - single target per round as a swift action, only useable if they can see you, 50% chance if they're averting their eyes.

At least we know how you're supposed to go shopping at level 10.

[KrimsonNekros]

I've got one [Redacted] idea that [Redacted] and one [Redacted] build, think I'm going to finish the latter first.

[The Viscount]

This is quite a weird class, but I think I'm in. I should be able to wrangle something. It may be the equivalent of spray cheese and a microwave, but it'll be something.

[Deadasadoor]

This is quite a weird class, but I think I'm in. I should be able to wrangle something. It may be the equivalent of spray cheese and a microwave, but it'll be something.

My idea also involves quite a bit of cheese, however that is subject to change. I just hope it isn't like last round where I get something almost identical to another build.

[Venger]

This is quite a weird class, but I think I'm in. I should be able to wrangle something. It may be the equivalent of spray cheese and a microwave, but it'll be something.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/PatsCheesesteak.jpg

Don't knock spray cheese and microwaves, son.

[Heliomance]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/PatsCheesesteak.jpg

Don't knock spray cheese and microwaves, son.
That looks repulsive.

[KrimsonNekros]

That looks repulsive.

As will most of these builds I think.

[Michael7123]

Looks interesting. I don't have any good ideas for this one, but I'm looking forward to seeing the builds.

Furthermore, has the slime lord iron chief challenge wrapped up, and if so, has another one taken its place?

[Venger]

That looks repulsive.

That is a Philly cheesesteak, a regional delicacy from Pennsylvania. It is traditionally served with Cheez Whiz and fried onions, referred to as a "whiz wid"


Looks interesting. I don't have any good ideas for this one, but I'm looking forward to seeing the builds.

Furthermore, has the slime lord iron chief challenge wrapped up, and if so, has another one taken its place?

Yes, it wrapped up, and the current round is thunder guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?394981-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXV) cooking has concluded, there are 6 dishes, the second-least ever (least is a tie between acolyte of the ego and psibond agent with 5 each) It is currently in the judging phase.

[The Viscount]

Working with this ingredient now I'm certainly worrying about originality. It's going to be difficult to impress with such strict requirements.

[Heliomance]

Not had any builds for this yet, guys. Only two days left!

[KrimsonNekros]

Not had any builds for this yet, guys. Only two days left!


I'm still waiting for an answer to my rules question for this competition.

[WhamBamSam]

Not had any builds for this yet, guys. Only two days left!I probably won't be submitting after all, especially now that I'm in Kansas for the weekend on a grad school visit. Anyway, I ended up being not all that keen on either of my two build ideas. One is flavorful and would have been decently powerful, but probably would've taken at least a small elegance hit and just wasn't that interesting to me. The other does a few more interesting things, but was just a mess and couldn't finish the SI.

[sakuuya]

I probably won't be submitting after all, especially now that I'm in Kansas for the weekend on a grad school visit. Anyway, I ended up being not all that keen on either of my two build ideas. One is flavorful and would have been decently powerful, but probably would've taken at least a small elegance hit and just wasn't that interesting to me. The other does a few more interesting things, but was just a mess and couldn't finish the SI.

My build is also just a mess! I wonder if we were thinking the same thing...

I will finish, though. I did for JW, and goshdarnit, I can do it here.

[Deadasadoor]

My break ended up being much busier than I imagined... I sat down for a bit today to try and hammer out the idea I had, but the difficulty of getting the knowledge domain without cleric kills any originality that I had. I don't think I'll be able to participate in this one.

[Heliomance]

I may need to extend the deadline by the sounds of it. That will result in it running concurrently with the main contest though, as I don't want to delay it in favour of this one.

[KrimsonNekros]

We could also delay it to the next period to avoid scheduling conflict.

[sakuuya]

Well, I'm officially in (toldja!) but I still think it would be good to push the deadline back a little.

[The Viscount]

Well extension or no, I'm at least finished. I really should stop doing these cooking sessions into the night.

[KrimsonNekros]

I need to do skills and writeup. I'll get on it tomorrow.

[Heliomance]

Still only two entries to this. I'll close it on Sunday; if there aren't more entries by then I don't think I'll run a third one.

[Sian]

I think the problem aren't as much lack of interest in the concept as such, but that the class you choose have some of the same issues as Thunder Guide have, feeling extermly much as a special prestige class to one specific character, instead of one of a organization, or a 'known' road to travel down.

[sakuuya]

It'd be sad if this competition died. Is anyone else planning to submit?

[Macabaret]

Ahh, the joys of copy/paste-ing a build into the PM window to send to the chairperson only to find then that the build doesn't meet pre-reqs. (Stupid skills!!)

Fixed it though. (That error, anyway. Who knows what else the judge(s) may find.) And submitted.

Now I can go off to work on the next IC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVI).
'Cause otherwise I'd have to do actual work or something. *shudder*

[KrimsonNekros]

I'll submit this evening after I finish writeups

[The Viscount]

Good, we've got a round of fighting competition after all.

[KrimsonNekros]

Entry away

[The Viscount]

I think the problem aren't as much lack of interest in the concept as such, but that the class you choose have some of the same issues as Thunder Guide have, feeling extermly much as a special prestige class to one specific character, instead of one of a organization, or a 'known' road to travel down.

Personally I didn't feel this class was much like Thunder Guide. Thunder Guide was extremely easy to enter, but had little in the way of direction because it did very little. The largest obstacle here is trying to be novel. Entry to this SI is simple, but there is very little in the way of path choice. I could think of only five ways into this class, one that doesn't take advantage of the SI well, one that's obvious, two that are a bit of a disadvantage, and one that would likely be frowned upon. Several of these approaches are very similar to one another. The fact that the SI is 7/10ths casting also severely limits build ability, since it is in your best interest to not lose any more spellcasting levels. Combine that with rather narrow tone and feel of the PrC and you have something where it is hard to stand out. Nobody wants a repeat of Shadow Sentinel, when we had two builds with the same race and class level breakdown.

[Venger]

kuulv and I also had many of the same feats due to the strictures and direction of the SI in that round, and we used the same weapon. It was pretty funny.

[KrimsonNekros]

So are we ready for the reveal now?

[Heliomance]

Sorry for the delay, I was pretty busy yesterday. Builds will follow now!

[Heliomance]

The plans of gods are not easily spoiled.



http://i57.tinypic.com/2v3qanm.png
N Stonehunter Gnome Druid 5/Singer of Concordance 2/Sybil 3/Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs12/i/2006/276/a/2/Lost_in_the_Trees_by_m00nshine.jpg
(Image credit to neomeruru (http://neomeruru.deviantart.com/art/Lost-in-the-Trees-40836293))

Who was Caith of Lantan, and what did she see?

Caith was a Lantan gnome descended from the dragon Ruaham, and like the rest of her line, she was a servant of the god Io, lord of dragons, and she was strange among her people because she had no affinity for devices. Instead, the ninefold dragon had given her knowledge of the future and a knack for riddles, as well as the ability to become more like his true children. When she prophesied doom upon the building of a great engine of fire, none believed her, assuming she was simply jealous of the technological acumen that she did not possess. But she saw true, and the engine erupted into a great pillar of fire, costing many lives. In her rage and grief, Caith tore out her own eyes so that she would see no more death, and foreswore the god she had worshipped. Io didn’t let her go so easily, though, and neither did her vision. Even sightless, she saw what the concordant dragon willed her to see and unwittingly acted as his voice. For the rest of her life, she roamed Lantan like a banshee, her very gaze enough to shatter minds, until her god finally allowed her the sleepless peace of death.

Good. And the stricture?

One cannot defy a plan unless one understands its full scope; otherwise, one cannot be sure one is not doing exactly what the planner desires.

Starting Scores: STR 8, DEX 12, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 18, CHA 14

All leveling increases go to Wis.



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


1st
Druid
+0
+2
+0
+2
Concentration 4, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Spellcraft 4
Education
Animal companion, nature sense, wild empathy


2nd
Druid
+1
+3
+0
+2
Concentration 5, Knowledge (Nature) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 5, Spellcraft 5

Woodland stride


3rd
Druid
+2
+3
+1
+
Concentration 6, Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Spellcraft 6
Knowledge Devotion (Arcana, Planes)
Trackless step


4th
Druid
+3
+4
+1
+4
Concentration 7, Knowledge (Nature) 7, Knowledge (Religion) 7, Spellcraft 7

Resist nature's lure


5th
Druid
+3
+4
+1
+4
Concentration 8, Knowledge (Nature) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Spellcraft 8

Aspect of the dragon 1/day


6th
Singer of Concordance
+3
+4
+3
+6
Sense Motive 4
Empower SLA
Aspect of peace


7th
Singer of Concordance
+4
+4
+4
+7
Sense Motive 8

Bonus domain (Knowledge)


8th
Sybil
+4
+4
+4
+9
Concentration 9, Knowledge (Nature) 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 3

Divine insight


9th
Sybil
+5
+4
+4
+10
Concentration 11, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (Nature) 12, Knowledge (The Planes) 5
Natural Spell
Reclusive insight


10th
Sybil
+5
+5
+5
+10
Concentration 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nature) 13

Augury 3/day


11th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+5
+5
+5
+12
Concentration 13, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 1

Maddening knowledge, mirror of misfortune, unbidden sight


12th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+6/+1
+5
+5
+13
Concentration 14, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2
Ability Focus (Sibyl of the Blind Eye's gaze)
Visions held back


13th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+6/+1
+6
+6
+13
Concentration 15, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 3

Gates of the mind


14th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+7/+2
+6
+6
+14
Concentration 16, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4




15th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+7/+2
+6
+6
+14
Concentration 17, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5
Irresistible Gaze
None escape time


16th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+8/+3
+7
+7
+15
Concentration 17, Sense Motive 9

Haunting torment


17th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+8/+3
+7
+7
+15
Concentration 18, Sense Motive 10

Mirror of misery


18th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+9/+4
+7
+7
+16
Concentration 19, Sense Motive 11
Ability Focus (Haunting Torment)
Forgotten futures


19th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+9/+4
+8
+8
+16
Concentration 20, Sense Motive 12

Gates of the soul


20th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye
+10/+5
+8
+8
+17
Concentration 21, Sense Motive 13

Mirror of fate



Spells per Day


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


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


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


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


4th
5
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
5
3
2
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


6th
5
3
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
6
4
3
2
1
-
-
-
-
-


8th
6
4
3
2
1
-
-
-
-
-


9th
6
4
3
2
1
-
-
-
-
-


10th
6
4
3
2
1
-
-
-
-
-


11th
6
4
3
2
1
-
-
-
-
-


12th
6
4
3
3
2
-
-
-
-
-


13th
6
4
4
3
2
1
-
-
-
-


14th
6
4
4
3
3
2
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


18th
6
5
4
4
3
3
2
1
-
-


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


20th
6
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
-
-



Level 5: Stonehunter gnome is a pretty elegant way for Caith to get into her non-SI prestige classes, since it fullfils both Singer of Concordance's type requirement and Sybil's SLA requirement. Neither of those matter at level 5, though, because right now she's just a Druid. Aspect of the dragon is generally inferior to wild shape, but (a) it's flavorful for her, and (b) she can't use gaze attacks in wild shape, which is bad when the SI centers around a gaze attack. Also note that while Education is technically an Eberron feat, it also appeared in the Player's Guide to Faerun, published a few months before the Eberron Campaign Setting. Therefore, a DM would be unlikely to have a problem with a FR character like Caith using it, though she'd probably take the PGtF version.

Level 10: Singer of Concordance is mostly a way to get the Knowledge domain, but it advances casting and its first-level ability--which gives Caith immunity to one mind-affecting, erm, effect per day and then a save bonus afterwards--is a nice precursor, both thematically and mechanically, to the more powerful anti-mind-affecting features she'll get from the SI. Sybil (it really is spelled differently than Sibyl of the Blind Eye, so please excuse me if I mix the spellings up) is mostly useful for augury 3/day as an SLA, which gets around the SI's ban on divination spells. It requires that she answer an "easy" riddle, and the examples were pretty darn easy.

Unfortunately, Sybil inexplicably requires Empower SLA, a useless garbage feat for Caith (and only applies to one of the Sybil's abilities at all!). If your DM (a) allows retraining, and (b) allows you to keep PrC features if you stop qualifying, retrain it. For anything. Freaking toughness is a better feat for Caith. It also delays Natural Spell 'til 9th level, which is a bummer.

Level 15: Both of the feats Caith gains in these levels are geared toward improving her gaze attack. Irresistable Gaze explicitly stacks with Ability Focus, giving her a total of +4 extra. That, combined with None escape time (which means her gaze functions even on enemies immune to mind-affecting stuff), makes this the build's sweet spot. She now has at least 5 ranks in all the monster-identifying knowledge skills, making it pretty likely that any Knowledge Devotion checks will succeed.

Level 20: Caith's final feat improves the range of her now-hilariously-overpowered gaze attack to 60', and she casts as a 14th-level druid, which--while only nabbing 7th level spells--still gives her a lot of options in between gaze attacks. Her final feat is another Ability Focus, this time for the gaze attack rider affect Haunting torment.

Complete Champion: Knowledge Devotion
Dragon Magic Aspect of the Dragon
Eberron Campaign Setting: Education
Homebrew: Sibyl of the Blinded Eye (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=6120792&postcount=3) by Djinn-in-Tonic
Races of the Dragon: Stonehunter Gnome, Singer of Concordance
Savage Species: Sybil
Serpent Kingdoms: Irresistible Gaze

Core: Everything Else

[Heliomance]

A young body with an old soul

Deino

LN Synad Cleric 3/Church Inquisitor 5/Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10/Divine Disciple 2
StatsStr 8
Dex 10
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 18 (increases here)
Cha 14
Build


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


1st
Cleric 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (religion) 4
Heretic of the Faith
Rebuke Undead, Spontaneous Domain Casting (Tyranny), Tyranny Domain, Knowledge Domain


2nd
Cleric 2
+1
+3
+0
+3
Spellcraft 2




3rd
Cleric 3
+2
+3
+1
+3
Spellcraft 4
Extend Spell



4th
Church Inquisitor 1
+2
+3
+1
+5
Concentration 4

Detect Evil, Inquisition Domain


5th
Church Inquisitor 2
+3
+3
+1
+6
Concentration 6, Knowledge (Religion) 5, Spellcraft 5

Immune to Charms


6th
Church Inquisitor 3
+4
+4
+2
+6
Concentration 7, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Spellcraft 7
Persistent Spell
Pierce Illusion


7th
Church Inquisitor 4
+5
+4
+2
+7
Concentration 8, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Spellcraft 8

Pierce Disguise


8th
Church Inquisitor 5
+5
+4
+2
+7
Knowledge (Religion) 10, Spellcraft 10

Immune to Compulsions


9th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 1
+5
+4
+2
+9
Diplomacy 1
Extra Turning
Maddening Knowledge, Mirror of Misfortune, Unbidden Sight


10th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 2
+6/+1
+4
+2
+10
Diplomacy 2

Visions Held Back


11th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 3
+6/+1
+5
+3
+10
Diplomacy 3

Gates of the Mind


12th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 4
+7/+2
+5
+3
+11
Diplomacy 4
Divine Metamagic
Mirror of Mischance


13th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 5
+7/+2
+5
+3
+11
Diplomacy 5

None Escape Time


14th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 6
+8/+3
+6
+4
+12
Concentration 10

Haunting Torment


15th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 7
+8/+3
+6
+4
+12
Concentration 12
Persistent Refusal
Mirror of Misery


16th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 8
+9/+4
+6
+4
+13
Swift Concentration

Forgotten Futures


17th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 9
+9/+4
+7
+5
+13
Concentration 14

Gates of the Soul


18th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10
+10/+5
+7
+5
+14
Concentration 16
Divine Defiance
Mirror of Fate


19th
Divine Disciple 1
+10/+5
+9
+5
+16
Concentration 18

New Domain (Destiny), Divine Emissary


20th
Divine Disciple 2
+11/+6/+1
+10
+5
+17
Concentration 20

Sacred Defense +1


Backstory Deino was born old. Even as an infant she had an unsettlingly direct look in her eyes. She cried, as all babies did, but she often seemed to cry with no apparent cause at times, and at others ignore sudden noises.

As a child Deino was incredibly inquisitive. She always wanted to know everything, especially things others didn’t want her to know, and she had an uncanny knack for finding out what she wanted.

When she had grown more she dedicated herself to religious studies with singular passion. She never told anyone, but she always had a respect for Vecna. Many teachers told her he was evil, but Deino never understood it. He was simply after knowledge, after all, and no knowledge is evil. It is only what one does with knowledge that matters, and Deino knew to use it correctly. It was in the hours of isolation in prayer and study that Deino discovered the whispers. As a young child Deino was easily distracted by vague whispers, but her parents and teachers trained her to concentrate and focus until she had blocked it out completely.

But now the whispers were back, and they were different. They were clearer, more direct and…they were making sense. Deino was about to try to focus to lock them away when she heard a snatch she recognized, and it all clicked. The whispers were absolutely archaic in syntax and diction; it was only due to years spent reading ancient texts that Deino could understand them. The whispers made some sense, but they were discussing all manner of things at once. It was only through several sessions of focusing on the whispers in silence that she could get some sense out of them.

The whispers were half about very old information, gossip and blood feuds and lineages of cities since crumbled or abandoned. The other half were on what had not yet come to pass. This was nothing like most discussions of the future Deino had heard. These were not vague guesses or artfully constructed to sound profound. These were certainties. And they were always bad. Over time it became easier and easier to hear the whispers, until they were always there like chatty friends. Neither voice paid any attention to the other, or even seemed engaged in the same conversation. She was always caught in the middle, and most of the information was entirely useless. She tried speaking back to them aloud, in thought, even in prayer, but it was like trying to ask a question of the lecturing priests; always too caught up in their own thoughts to notice.

Over time the words blended to images. Flashes at first, and then extended scenes. It was always disorienting, and she would have to stop what she was doing so she didn’t run into a wall. Eventually whenever she saw someone, the visions were specific to that person. She saw the indecencies of their people and the petty sins they were yet to commit. Her performance declined, but she was able to exit with a good enough record to enter an order.

She picked the busiest and farthest traveling one she could find in the desperate hopes that work could keep her focused and drive them away. She was tasked with another recruit fresh out of school to travel gathering alms. He was a pleasant conversation partner and sweet on her, but she found it hard to stay in the present with all the images of his ancestors stealing sheep and the stumbles his horse would take on the next day churning in her mind. When they had finished their route and returned with their meager collections she met her elder. Upon shaking hands the first thing she saw was him taking their collection purses to market and using them to buy vials of liquid pain, and the night of depravity that followed. She was so shocked that she slapped him before he could say a word. When she had regained her senses she was already surrounded by the guards, and an ugly trial followed.

She gave her testimony repeatedly under layered zones of truth. When she told them for the fifth time where he had stashed it, they finally sent someone to investigate and she was proved correct. When she told them she simply knew they took it as divine inspiration, and she was sent off to train with those who policed the order. The visions seemed almost delighted to parade the many stains on the histories (and futures) of even the most respectable members of the order. She worked with them rooting out corruption and heresy for years with fanatical devotion in the hopes she could appease the visions with justice upon the wrongdoers. She tried to tell herself that she was putting knowledge to good use, exposing secrets where they could be best used. But she saw the lives destroyed with every mission, the pillars of the community brought down by her visions. She saw the ranks of the order grow thin as she exposed liar after liar faster than they could be replaced. She saw as even the men she worked with became afraid of how she saw everyone’s sins, how no secret was buried too deep.

Late one evening, when she was preparing for bed she had a vision of them coming for her. The charges were severe: undermining the very foundations of the order, promoting chaos and mistrust. She knew they weren’t wrong, and she wept.

When they entered her room the next morning she had her back to them, sitting by her desk, in her formal uniform bedecked with all the honors and tokens of blessings accumulated over the years. She set the shears down as she spoke

“Don’t worry, I won’t resist. I know why you’re here. You don’t have to worry about me causing any trouble.”

When they saw she had carried out her own sentence and in light of her contrition they decided excommunication was sufficient. She thanked them and left.

In a small hut in the middle of nowhere you can find and old blind woman, her face lined with age and the remnants of very old scars. She is a gracious hostess even though she will rarely face you directly. You can ask her for your future, and if you are persistent she might give it to you, always beginning with the same words.

“You aren’t going to like this.”
Level 5We’re off to both a simple and a weird start. Heretic of the Faith enables you to be two steps away from Vecna’s alignment, which means you can qualify for Church Inquisitor. Extend spell is a nice use of your turn attempts, and we both know what it means down the road. Knowledge Domain is necessary for the SI, and Tyranny is a pretty sweet domain spell-wise, and doesn’t have anything you can’t cast once the SI’s taboo kicks in.

Church Inquisitor gives you many things and begins very early with a detect evil SLA (for rooting out corruption) that may still work through the SI’s taboo (since it only prohibits spells) and another domain, Inquisition. Enjoy the div spells while you can. The dispel bonus will always be great. Immunity to charm is pretty sweet; and it will be a while before the SI overlaps it. Pierce Illusion is a singular ability, and you’ve got immense will saves when you factor in Wis, which means this will come up pretty frequently.

Synad’s quirky, and has a number of small bonuses that are useful. The oracle’s bonus is most useful since it applies to all the good stuff. Aberration means darkvision and immunity to x person, which are both useful at low levels. Remember to keep psionic focus up so you can expend it to auto-succeed on casting defensively for any spell you can cast.
Level 10After some more time in Church Inquisitor to qualify we’re in the SI. Persistent Spell is always useful to turn a little spell into an all-day thing (you knew this was coming) and Extra Turning will make itself useful soon.

Immunity to Compulsions is a pretty strong effect and it’s definitely relevant at this point in time.

On to the SI. You’ll need to ask your DM if your gaze counts as a mental action or not. It may be one, since you’re not really doing anything to make it happen. If so, then Synad’s Multitask kicks in and is pretty good. Madness domain has some pretty good spells. The irritating penalty isn’t as bad as it may seem. You aren’t really making any Wis based skill checks, and Synad covers the penalty and leaves you with +1 left over. The bonus you can use when you really don’t want to fail something. Visions Held Back can be treated sort of like nondetection, since it will strongly discourage scrying on you. The caster will still technically receive information, but since visions will accompany it the info’s essentially corrupted, the caster can’t know what to trust. Unbidden Sight is absurdly strong, and you get it before you even get the spell, so no need to ever pay for it. The entire school of illusion is now simply laughed away from here on.
Level 15Now it’s the main event! Divine Metamagic (I told you that you knew what was coming) is now paired up with its partners in crime Persistent Spell and Extra Turning means you can turn any personal or fixed range spell you can cast into an all day one. You’ll also have turn attempts left over for Persistent Refusal, aka slippery mind’s big brother. This is essentially also a mental action, so check if Multitask can apply to this effect. Combined with pretty good saves you have a good chance of ending whatever managed to get you first time round.

The gaze attack keeps getting stronger, and wis based save means your enemies are in a world of hurt if they fail. A good enough roll can render an enemy unconscious. Immunity to fear is good if a tad late, nobody says no to immunities. None Escape Time means everybody has to watch out for your gaze, and at this point that’s going to be necessary. Haunting Torment’s largest use is for some sort of recurring foe or enemy that runs from battle before you can finish them. The wording for it is a bit vague, it’s unclear if the list of curative spells undo the drain caused by your gaze or end the nightmares (the second seems more likely, but if the former then there is no way to end the nightmares). Remember that even Undead are vulnerable to mental ability drain delivered by your gaze, so don’t let your DM try to slip one by you.

While we’re here let’s talk about pushing boundaries. None Escape Time says that a Sibyl’s “class abilities” (presumably meaning class features) work through immunity to mind affecting (assumedly referring to the “Mirror of” gazes and Haunting Torment). It is worth noting that one class feature is the granting of the Madness domain. Does that mean that any Madness domain spells cast from domain slots pierce through mind affecting? Probably not, but worth asking.

Level 20Divine Defiance is the cleric’s way of saying “no.” Dispel magic or its big brother should always be on your list, which means you can essentially use them reflexively (presumably after checking to see that you didn’t make the save). Swift Concentration means you can now use Synad Multitask to concentrate on a spell while you do whatever you want with the rest of your turn (your swift is even freed up to use your gaze attack). Gates of the Soul locks down whole swaths of spells, including what was left of the Enchantment school you weren’t already immune to. Immunity to mental drain is quite a rare thing, and means you don’t even fear the nastiest undead. This plus Forgotten Futures creates an “I’m rubber, you’re glue kind of situation” especially since your gaze punches through whatever mind affecting immunity your opponent has. Your gaze is now a save or lose that ends fights, so open up with it to save on resources if you like your chances.

Now on to the cherry to top this sundae. Divine Disciple gives access to another domain, bringing us up to 4. I’ve chosen Destiny, which has a sweet power of letting a friend reroll anything. It’s a domain with some truly potent spells on the list, most importantly Warp Destiny. Immediately reroll a save you don’t like with a +17 bonus (virtually guaranteeing success). Similarly you can use it to drastically increase your chances of negating an attack on the rare chances you get hit. It’s a domain only spell, and for good reason.

SourcesChurch Inquisitor, Divine Metamagic: Complete Divine
Extend Spell: Complete Arcane
Divine Disciple: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
Cleric, Extend Spell, Extra Turning: srd
Persistent Refusal, Divine Defiance: Fiendish Codex II
Destiny Domain: Races of Destiny
Tyranny Domain: Complete Warrior

[Heliomance]

Stealing from the gods rarely works out well for the thief...


Anders Belaine
Chaotic Evil Human
Savage Bard 1/Sorcerer 5/Ur-Priest 2/Mystic Theurge 2/Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10


Anders Belaine opened his eyes and faced a tribunal. He hadn't remembered coming here and wasn't sure how long he'd been. But he was here, ringed by a circle of folk, forced to face their judgement with a growing sense of awe.

A booming voice broke the silence. "You stand before us, accussed of theft. How do you plead?"

Theft, Anders thought, I haven't stolen anything.

A man leaning on a quarterstaff eyed him from his spot in the circle. "He believes his innocence. Nevertheless, he is confused."

Confused? I certainly am not confused! thought Anders. But who are these people? And why are they all so tall?

One amongst the circle used the tip of a dagger to clean beneath his fingernail. The pommel of the dagger was an eyeball that seemed to stare at Anders with a gaze that bore into his soul. "Confused or not, he has stolen from us. Punishment must be meted."

Two from the circle stepped forward, eyeing Anders. They were practically identical, twins perhaps. One wore gleaming armor polished to a brilliant shine. The other, coal-grey mail that seemed charred and smoky. Sparks danced like lightning around each one, jumping from time to time to the other. "He has what was not given him," said one. A spark of the lightning left from him to twist and dance around Anders, and with it, Anders felt the familiar rush of power at his fingertips. "He takes what is not his," the other brother intoned.

"By my hammer," a shorter member of the circle spat through his beard, "guilt is upon 'im. The only question remaining: At what punishment?"

Something hidden within the folds of a large black cowl clutched its scythe and whispered, "Death is the typical consequence."

In the circle, a woman shook her head. She stood tall, longbow strapped across her chest, plush fuzzy unicorn-shaped slippers on her feet. "Death is not our sharpest weapon."

"Yes, let him be made to suffer most gruesomely for his crimes." The woman who spoke eyed him stearnly, her ruby robes rippling about her in her loathing.

Eerie laughter rippled from behind a mask. The jester wearing it bowed low. "Yes, yes, yes. Strip from him his confusion of sanity. Show him what he seeks and blind him with the view. Herein lies a just reward for his misdeeds!" More of the creepy laughter pealed forth from that disturbing mask.

The sound of a large mace shuddered against the stone floor, bringing silence to the assembled. One man moved, lifting that mace high, pointing at Anders. "You have been measured. You have been found wanting. And your punishment has been declared. So let it be done!"

Pain filled Anders's head. He clutched his face, jaw clenched against the pain. A scream ripped through him, tore from him, born of pain and terror never before known. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO...."

"...oooo!!" Anders jerked awake, sitting bolt upright. He sucked in breath after heaving breath, trying to steady himself. His fingers clenched into claws, sticky and dripping. His face ached. The darkness pervaded his senses, eternal, cloying, absolute.

He could sense something in front of him, two object that he knew, somehow, to be his own eyeballs. They rolled slowly, spinning around each other, drawing closer together until they touched, and, finally, merged. It lifted up, floating higher, and hovered in front of his face. It blinked once, then again, looking him over, examining him.

The words that finally bubbled from Anders's lips eeked out in a soft whisper. "Oh, sweet nightmare of madness, what have I done!?"



Str 08
Con 10
Dex 10
Int 14
Wis 18
Cha 14
Level increases: 4th: Cha; 8th/12th/16th/20th: Wis





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


1st
Savage Bard 1
+0
+2
+0
+2

(4) Bluff 4
(4) Concentration 4
(4) K: Arcana 4
(4) K: thePlanes 4
(4) K: Religion 4
(4) Listen 4
(4) Perform: Oratory 4
(4) Profession: Fortuneteller 4
(4) Spellcraft 4

1st: Iron Will; H: Spell Focus (evil)
Bardic Music; Bardic Knowledge; Countersong; Fascinate; Inspire Courage +1


2nd
Sorcerer 1
+0
+2
+0
+4

(1) Bluff 5
(1) Concentration 5
(1) K: Arcana 5
K: thePlanes 4
K: Religion 4
Listen 4
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 5
(1) Spellcraft 5

--
Summon Familiar


3rd
Sorcerer 2
+1
+2
+0
+5

(1) Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 6
(1) K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 4
K: Religion 4
Listen 4
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 6
(1) Spellcraft 6

3rd: Empower Spell
--


4th
Sorcerer 3
+1
+3
+1
+5

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 7
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 4
K: Religion 4
(2) Listen 5
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 7
(1) Spellcraft 7

--
--


5th
Sorcerer 4
+2
+3
+1
+6

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 8
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 4
K: Religion 4
(2) Listen 6
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 8
(1) Spellcraft 8

--
--


6th
Domain Access Sorcerer 5
+2
+3
+1
+6

Bluff 6
Concentration 8
K: Arcana 6
(1) K: thePlanes 5
(4) K: Religion 8
Listen 6
Perform: Oratory 4
Profession: Fortuneteller 8
Spellcraft 8

6th: Improved Familiar
Knowledge Domain


7th
Ur-Priest 1
+2
+3
+1
+8

Bluff 6
(2) Concentration 10
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 8
(2) Listen 7
Perform: Oratory 4
Profession: Fortuneteller 8
(1) Spellcraft 9

--
--


8th
Ur-Priest 2
+3
+3
+1
+9

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 11
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 8
(2) Listen 8
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 9
(1) Spellcraft 10

--
Rebuke Undead


9th
Mystic Theurge 1
+3
+3
+1
+11

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 12
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 8
(2) Listen 9
Perform: Oratory 4
(1)Profession: Fortuneteller 10
(1) Spellcraft 11

9th: Practiced Caster (Ur-Priest)
--


10th
Mystic Theurge 2
+4
+3
+1
+12

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 13
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
(2) K: Religion 10
Listen 9
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 11
(1) Spellcraft 12

--
--


11th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 1
+4
+3
+1
+14

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 14
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 10
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 12
(1) Spellcraft 13

--
Maddening Knowledge; Mirror of Misfortune; Unbidden Sight


12th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 2
+5
+3
+1
+15

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 15
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 11
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 13
(1) Spellcraft 14


12: Pervasive Gaze
Visions Held Back


13th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 3
+5
+4
+2
+15

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 16
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 12
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 14
(1) Spellcraft 15

--
Gates of the Mind


14th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 4
+6/1
+4
+2
+16

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 17
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 13
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 15
(1) Spellcraft 16

--
Mirror of Mischance


15th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 5
+6/1
+4
+2
+16

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 18
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 14
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 16
(1) Spellcraft 17

15: Irresistable Gaze
None Escape Time


16th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 6
+7/2
+5
+3
+17

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 19
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 15
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 17
(1) Spellcraft 18

--
Haunting Torment


17th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 7
+7/2
+5
+3
+17

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 20
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 16
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 18
(1) Spellcraft 19

--
Mirror of Misery


18th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 8
+8/3
+5
+3
+18

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 21
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 17
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 19
(1) Spellcraft 20

18: Piercing Gaze
Forgotten Futures


19th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 9
+8/3
+6
+4
+19

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 22
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 18
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 20
(1) Spellcraft 21

--
Gates of the Soul


20th
Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10
+9/4
+6
+4
+19

Bluff 6
(1) Concentration 23
K: Arcana 6
K: thePlanes 5
K: Religion 10
(2) Listen 19
Perform: Oratory 4
(1) Profession: Fortuneteller 21
(1) Spellcraft 22

--
Mirror of Fate





Spells per Day/Spells Known



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





1st

Bard: 2/4

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-






2nd

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 5/4

Sorc: 3/2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-






3rd

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/5

Sorc: 4/2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-






4th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/5

Sorc: 5/3
-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-






5th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/6

Sorc: 6/3
Sorc: 3/1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-






6th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/6

Sorc: 6/3+1
Sorc: 4/1+1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-






7th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/6; UrP: 4

Sorc: 6/3+1; UrP: 2
Sorc: 4/1+1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-






8th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/6; UrP: 5

Sorc: 6/3+1; UrP: 3
Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 0

-

-

-

-

-

-

-






9th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 5

Sorc: 6/3+1; UrP: 3
Sorc: 5/1+1; UrP: 1

Sorc: 3/0+1; UrP: 0

-

-

-

-

-

-






10th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 3
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 2

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 1

UrP: 0

-

-

-

-

-






11th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 3
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 2

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 1

UrP: 0

-

-

-

-

-






12th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 3
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 3

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 2

UrP: 1

UrP: 0

-

-

-

-






13th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 3
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 3

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 3

UrP: 2

UrP: 1

UrP: 0

-

-

-






14th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 4
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 3

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 3

UrP: 3

UrP: 2

UrP: 1

UrP: 0

-

-






15th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 4
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 3

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 3

UrP: 3

UrP: 2

UrP: 1

UrP: 0

-

-






16th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 4
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 4

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 3

UrP: 3

UrP: 3

UrP: 2

UrP: 1

UrP: 0

-






17th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 5
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 4

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 3

UrP: 2

UrP: 1

UrP: 0






18th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 5
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 5

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 3

UrP: 2

UrP: 1






19th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 5
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 5

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 3

UrP: 2

UrP: 1






20th

Bard: 2/4; Sorc: 6/7; UrP: 6

Sorc: 6/4+1; UrP: 5
Sorc: 6/2+1; UrP: 5

Sorc: 4/1+1; UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 4

UrP: 3

UrP: 2

UrP: 1







Bluff, Perform: Oratory, and Profession: Fortuneteller combine to prepare this character as a charlaton and a hack. Forever mouthing off vague discriptions of possible futures (and often being wrong), he is condemned to a life of mistrust. In those times that he does correctly predict future outcomes, it is regarded as lucky chance instead of pure insight.

Otherwise, he plays like a typical 1st level bard.



He's left the life of a bard behind him. (Though he still, of course, remembers how to use wands off of the bard list!) Five levels of sorcerer increase his magical prowess, and with them, his thirst for knowledge grants him the Knowledge domain (how handy!).

(I haven't included a list of spells known. Different campaigns and different groups with have different needs. Choose spells accordingly. The one note I will make here, though, is to get Ray of Stupidity (Spell Compendium p.167) as a known spell. You're going to need it later on.)



The thirst for knowledge of magic has led here: Ur-Priest. Stealing power directly from the gods themselves, of course, tends to piss them off some. Vengence is theirs. As punishment, they force insight, and our hero begins a decent into insanity.

The eyes he plucks out of his own head merge and (through the Improved Familiar feat) become a beholderkin eyeball (Monsters of Faerun p.23). A lovely floating eyeball with all-around vision and the ability to make Listen checks with its master's skill ranks. (That's right, listen with your eyes!) See if the DM will allow your familiar to ride inside your empty eye sockets!



Here be the SI. Feats improve the gaze attack you gain. Use the gaze attack to weaken foes. Add in Obscuring Mist or similar then follow up with ability damage dealing spells targeted by your blindsight ability. Ray of Stupidity is your friend. (Feel free to empower it!) Phantasmal Assailants (Spell Compendium p.154) will work fine by level 20 (a foe with a Wis of 1 will most likely fail the Will save, and the Fort save just lowers the wisdom damage to half (i.e. 4) which is plenty). Chain of Sorrow (Heroes of Horror p.128) and Investiture of the Amnizu (Fiendish Codex II p.101) become rather nasty spells in your hands, too.



Savage Bard: Unearthed Arcana
Improved Familiar feat: DMG
Domain Access Sorcerer: Complete Champion
Ur-Priest: Complete Divine
Mystic Theurge: DMG
Practiced Caster feat: Complete Divine
Pervasive Gaze feat: Savage Species
Irresistable Gaze feat: Savage Species
Piercing Gaze feat: Savage Species

[Heliomance]

Kitsune are said to be favoured by fate. But perhaps not all of them...




Takenaka Kenshin
Fox Hengeyokai, CN, Shaman 5/ Divine Oracle 2 / Sacred Fist 3/ Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10

Abilities:








Strength Dexterity Constitution Intelligence Wisdom Charisma Reason
8 16 8 14 14 16 32-point buy
8 16 8 14 15 16 4th
8 16 8 14 16 16 8th
8 16 8 14 17 16 12th
8 16 8 14 18 16 16th
8 16 8 14 19 16 20th





Build:


Level Class BAB Fort Ref Will Skills Feats Features
1 Shaman +0 + 0 + 0 + 2 Concentration (Con) 4, Heal (Wis) 4, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 4, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 4, Spellcraft (Int) 4 Skill Focus (Knowledge (Religion)), Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed Strike, Animal Companion, Knowledge Domain, Guardian Domain
2 Shaman +1 + 0 + 0 + 3 Concentration (Con) 5, Heal (Wis) 5, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 5, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 5, Spellcraft (Int) 5 - Spirit Sight
3 Shaman +2 + 1 + 1 + 3 Concentration (Con) 6, Heal (Wis) 6, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 6, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 6, Spellcraft (Int) 6 Intuitive Strike Turn Undead
4 Shaman +3 + 1 + 1 + 4 Concentration (Con) 7, Heal (Wis) 7, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 7, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 7, Spellcraft (Int) 7 Stunning Fist -
5 Shaman +3 + 1 + 1 + 4 Concentration (Con) 8, Heal (Wis) 8, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 8, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Spellcraft (Int) 8 - Spirit's Favor
6 Divine Oracle +3 + 1 + 1 + 6 Concentration (Con) 9, Heal (Wis) 8, Intimidate (Cha) 1, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 9, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Spellcraft (Int) 9 Combat Reflexes Oracle Domain, Scry Bonus
7 Divine Oracle +4 + 1 + 1 + 7 Concentration (Con) 10, Heal (Wis) 8, Intimidate (Cha) 2, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Spellcraft (Int) 10 - Prescient Sense, Trap Sense +1
8 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +4 + 1 + 1 + 9 Concentration (Con) 11, Heal (Wis) 8, Intimidate (Cha) 3, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 1, Spellcraft (Int) 11 - Maddening Knowledge, Mirror of Misfortune, Unbidden Sight
9 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +5 + 1 + 1 + 10 Concentration (Con) 12, Heal (Wis) 8, Intimidate (Cha) 4, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 2, Spellcraft (Int) 12 Combat Casting Visions Held Back
10 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +5 + 2 + 2 + 10 Concentration (Con) 13, Heal (Wis) 8, Intimidate (Cha) 5, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 3, Spellcraft (Int) 13 - Gates of the Mind
11 Sacred Fist +6/+1 + 4 + 4 + 10 Concentration (Con) 14, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 6, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 3, Spellcraft (Int) 14 - Unarmed Strike, AC Bonus
12 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +7/+2 + 4 + 4 + 11 Concentration (Con) 15, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 7, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 4, Spellcraft (Int) 15 Freezing the Lifeblood -
13 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +7/+2 + 4 + 4 + 11 Concentration (Con) 16, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 8, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 5, Spellcraft (Int) 16 - None Escape Time
14 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +8/+3 + 5 + 5 + 12 Concentration (Con) 17, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 9, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 6, Spellcraft (Int) 17 - Haunting Torment
15 Sacred Fist +9/+4 + 6 + 6 + 12 Concentration (Con) 18, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 11, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 6, Spellcraft (Int) 18 Superior Unarmed Strike -
16 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +9/+4 + 6 + 6 + 12 Concentration (Con) 19, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 12, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 7, Spellcraft (Int) 19 - Mirror of Misery
17 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +10/+5 + 6 + 6 + 13 Concentration (Con) 20, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 13, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 8, Spellcraft (Int) 20 - Forgotten Futures
18 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +10/+5 + 7 + 7 + 13 Concentration (Con) 21, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 14, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 9, Spellcraft (Int) 21 Improved Natural Attack Gates of the Soul
19 Sacred Fist +11/+6/+1 + 7 + 7 + 14 Concentration (Con) 22, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 16, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 9, Spellcraft (Int) 22 - +10ft Movement
20 Sybil of the Blinded Eye +12/+7/+2 + 7 + 7 + 15 Concentration (Con) 23, Heal (Wis) 10, Intimidate (Cha) 17, Knowledge (religion) (Int) 10, Knowledge (spirits) (Int) 8, Sense Motive (Wis) 10, Spellcraft (Int) 23 - Mirror of Fate





Fluff: The young fox sat in the gutter, his alms bowl before him, muttering incoherently. Dark prophecies seemed to fall from his lips, his own ears oblivious to them. A hachimaki was tied over his eyes. Two characters appeared on it 幻 罰, Vision, Punshisment. A daishō was strapped across his back. Where his clothes were worn, and his fur matted, the daishō seemed to be obssesively maintained. Still it derived him nothing but scorn from those of noble blood who passed him by. Still none wanted to come close. He had an ill air about him, and it pushed others away. A handful of cheap coins found there way into his bowl occasionally, but the generous souls didn't linger long.

Amidst his ramblings, a few phrases seemed to make sense, and those who lingered could hear his tale.

“Allied with Spirits.... Cursed with vision... Failed to save him.... Brother dead... Self punished.... Could not stop it.... Tore out eyes.... Seeking vengeance.... Find the traitor... Make them suffer....”



Sources:


[tr][td] Item Source Page
Hengeyokai Oriental Adventures 10
Shaman Oriental Adventures 22
Divine Oracle Complete Divine 34
Sacred Fist Complete Divine 59
Intuitive Strike Book of Exalted Deeds 44
Freezing the Lifeblood Oriental Adventures 62
Improved Natural Attack Monster Manual 304



Notes:

Shaman provides us with Domain access, and also has a few nice defensive capabilities. Most notably Spirit's Favor which allows us to augment our less than stellar Fort and Reflex saves. Divine Oracle melds in with the Sibyl fluff of a former seer, and grants us a significantly improved version of Evasion at second level. All feats taken at this point are for the qualification of later classes.




At level 20 we have a build with a decent unarmed attack Thanks to the Sacred Fist giving us the Monk unarmed strike ability. This is readily augmented by our full selection of divine spells. We lose three caster levels from Sibyl, but still achieve the capability to cast 9th level spells. Combined with the abilities of the Sibyl, we should be able to hold our own on the battlefield, and still assist our allies.

[Heliomance]

And that's all of them. Only four troubled souls entered into this contest. Judges, have at!

[sakuuya]

Thank you, everybody, for putting your build stub at the top of your entry outside of a spoiler. It makes lists like these so much easier to put together.

Also, hey, everybody qualified for the SI differently. That's pretty cool.

Caith the Riddle-Master: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18897393&postcount=41) N Stonehunter Gnome Druid 5/Singer of Concordance 2/Sybil 3/Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10
Deino: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18897397&postcount=42) LN Synad Cleric 3/Church Inquisitor 5/Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10/Divine Disciple 2
Anders Balaine: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18897402&postcount=43) CE Human Savage Bard 1/Sorcerer 5/Ur-Priest 2/Mystic Theurge 2/Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10
Takenaka Kenshin: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18897407&postcount=44) CN Fox Hengeyokai Shaman 5/ Divine Oracle 2 / Sacred Fist 3/ Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10

[Deadasadoor]

Good thing I didn't submit anything, my idea was very similar to Anders, using ur-priest to qualify, and then Catalogs of Enlightenment to fill the Knowledge Domain requirement. However, I didn't know if that would fly with the judges. Congrats to anyone who managed to get a build in.

[KrimsonNekros]

Ok I'm surprised. Outside of two instances of human, it looks like nobody duplicated each other. Looks like there was a lot of Vizzini plaguing the cooks this go round.

[The Viscount]

This is an astounding level of variety. Not a single non-SI level shared among the builds, and all used different means of qualifying. This should make for a very interesting round.

[WhamBamSam]

My first idea had similarities to both Anders and Caith. It was to be a Dragonwrought Kobold Savage Bard 2/Singer of Concordance 2/Dread Witch 1/Ur-Priest 2/Dread Witch +2/Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 10/Dread Witch +1, using Dragonblood auto-qualification cheese to get into Singer of Concordance. Fluff would have been an Ur-Priest who in his hubris attempted to steal power from Io himself rather than whittle off power from many gods in small amounts. He would have found himself staring into the Eye of Chronepsis, and seeing the horrible visions which he did not wish to see. I got bored with the build, since it was just an ordinary fear-o-mancer with a somewhat unusual swift action attack.

I then tried to get weird and came up with a "blind swordsman" build. The stub was Forestlord Half-Elf Cloistered Cleric 2/Swordsage 4/Ruby Knight Vindicator 7/Sibyl of the Blinded Eye 6/Swordsage +1, and the idea was to either take advantage of the concealment from enemies deliberately avoiding his gaze (Aereni Focus (Iaijutsu Focus), Ghostly Defense at level 20), or else double up on his gaze attacks for a round by getting another swift action through Divine Impetus. But it was just too much of a mess and came up short on too many things (levels of the SI, casting, maneuvers, BAB, and so on), so I scrapped it as well.

[sakuuya]

Ok I'm surprised. Outside of two instances of human, it looks like nobody duplicated each other. Looks like there was a lot of Vizzini plaguing the cooks this go round.

:smallconfused: Are there two humans? I only see Anders.

You're right about the Vizzini, though. Thank goodness for Deino; it would've been pretty embarrassing if everybody Vizzini'd themselves out of using Cleric.

[KrimsonNekros]

:smallconfused: Are there two humans? I only see Anders.

You're right about the Vizzini, though. Thank goodness for Deino; it would've been pretty embarrassing if everybody Vizzini'd themselves out of using Cleric.

What race is Deino?

[sakuuya]

What race is Deino?

She's a synad, from...Complete Psionic, I think? They're psychic dudes with two ghost heads that appear when they're out of PP.

[The Viscount]

I still can't believe that everybody managed to Vizzini themselves out of cloistered cleric for free knowledge.

[sakuuya]

Have you asked djinn-in-tonic if he'd like to judge this round, Ms. Chairwoman? Last round, dysprosium suggested asking the creator of the homebrew to judge, and it's still a good idea, especially since I don't think anyone's stepped up to judge this round.

[Heliomance]

Have you asked djinn-in-tonic if he'd like to judge this round, Ms. Chairwoman? Last round, dysprosium suggested asking the creator of the homebrew to judge, and it's still a good idea, especially since I don't think anyone's stepped up to judge this round.

Not a bad plan, I've sent Djinn a PM.

[KrimsonNekros]

Any luck with judges yet?

[Heliomance]

Anyone willing to judge, lest this die, sad and unloved?

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Anyone willing to judge, lest this die, sad and unloved?

Certainly! :smallbiggrin:

[sakuuya]

Certainly! :smallbiggrin:

Ooo, Official Creator Judging! We've never been in a position where that could happen before, since the first homebrew competition was with the chairwoman's PrC. Looking forward to it!

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Ooo, Official Creator Judging! We've never been in a position where that could happen before, since the first homebrew competition was with the chairwoman's PrC. Looking forward to it!

Well, I'll try to make it good then!

May take me a little bit though: not 100% familiar with every single one of the varied things I've seen in these builds, and I've also got a major job interview coming up, so it'll have to happen when I have the time to really look into the builds.

Aiming for ASAP though! :smallbiggrin:

Edit: As a minor aside, congratulations to everyone involved in this! I've looked over things briefly, and I absolutely love the variance in the builds and the way you managed to work with one of my PrCs, which are notoriously niche and often intentionally awkward to get into!

...in a way, I think that niche nature and strange prerequisites might actually open up build possibilities rather than closing them off. I'd be curious to know if that was the experience of the builders for this contest, as it'll help me as a designer know if I'm severely limiting my potential players or actually opening up their options, albeit in an odd way.

[KrimsonNekros]

Congrats on the interview. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the builds.

[Deadasadoor]

Any activity on this? It would be a shame to see this die.

[Heliomance]

It would indeed, but I think it did die. That said, I did write another class is like feedback on, so I was toying with the idea of giving it one more try :p

[sakuuya]

So...everybody wins? :smallbiggrin:

[Deadasadoor]

I'd really love to see another round. I'd judge, but I don't know if Djinn_in_Tonic still wants to do it or not. Additionally, it would be my first time judging. It's only 4 entries though, and I have far too much free time on my hands since my semester ended.

[Heliomance]

Oh, rats. It's been so long,guess what I've gone and done again?

That's right, I've gone and cleared out my inbox. If this is going to get judged, could the contestants kindly let me know who sent what, please?

[sakuuya]

Wait, I'm supposed to remember which build is mine? After all this time? :smalltongue:

[KrimsonNekros]

Mine is the one that wins obviously ;p

[Deadasadoor]

So there is demand for me to judge then? If there is, I may be able to have scores up as early as tomorrow. Don't say I didn't warn you about first time judgings though :smalltongue:. Unless someone else more experienced can be snagged.

[sakuuya]

So there is demand for me to judge then? If there is, I may be able to have scores up as early as tomorrow. Don't say I didn't warn you about first time judgings though :smalltongue:. Unless someone else more experienced can be snagged.

Go for it! I'm not going to be able to dispute, because I don't remember anything about my build. :P

[Macabaret]

So there is demand for me to judge then? If there is, I may be able to have scores up as early as tomorrow. Don't say I didn't warn you about first time judgings though :smalltongue:. Unless someone else more experienced can be snagged.

I say go for it. And enjoy. This is, probably, the best possible way to cut your teeth on judging. Relatively few builds (compared to other competitions) and mostly everyone will just be thrilled to have some judging after all this time. You really can't go wrong here. Unless, of course, you don't rank my build as being best.

[Deadasadoor]

Alright. I will start on that after I get my second build in for Junkyard.

[Deadasadoor]

Halfway done... this is difficult, I feel a lot more respect towards IC judges now...

[Deadasadoor]

Like every first time judge says, I was surprised at how low the scores turned out. Maybe I'm just a mean judge? Anyways, here it is.


Originality:
Start from 3.
+/- 1 for things I expected. Like other judges, known cheese and builds right from handbooks will lose you points.
+/- 0.75 for Interesting, or stale, tactics.
+/- 0.25 For fluff. Does entering the SI make sense in the context of the character?

Power
Start from 3.
+/- 1 for how much the SI harms/helps. Does your gaze attack devastate commoners, or does it ruin dragons?
+/- 1 For overall power. This is a 7/10 casting PrC, did you manage to get 9th level spells? How much does it take to shut you down?

Elegance.
Start from 3. Multiclass penalties are a stupid garbage rule and I will not enforce them. With cross-setting material, I will be lenient, dependent on the case.
-0.5 for failure to qualify for something outside of the SI.
+0.5 for qualifying for everything seems to be a standard, so I'll stick with that.
+/- 1 for how well the build flows. Do you randomly dip rogue in the middle of your build? Do you avoid cheese, or do you bring something fresh to the table?
+/- 1 For synergy. I'm a firm believer of 'value' in class levels. Do you maximize that value and make it work with everything else, or does it make things awkward?

UoSI
The big one. Why does your character enter the SI? Does it actually bring something to the table, or did you lose your eyesight and 3 levels of casting to glare at people and hope they get scared? You get a 1 if you don't qualify. Harsh, I know, but this class wasn't that bad to enter.
Starts at 3.
+/- 1.5 The gaze attack is the major class feature here. Do you make good use of it?
+/- 0.5 For the use of abilities not related to the gaze attack. Do you do anything special with your immunities?

Well, here goes.


Originality 4.5/5:
Druid was somehow unexpected for me. It's been a while, but I know I didn't look at Singer of Concordance, and you make the dragon theme work. +1
The fluff was very brief, but I liked it and so I'll give an average score here. 0
Bypassing the divination ban is cheeky, but augury is alright at best. +.5

Elegance 3.5/5:
You give up Wild Shape for Aspect of the Dragon, which can give you a WIS boost for using Sybil's (both sibyls) class features. I can dig that. Everything also flows well, levels are taken where they make sense. +1

However you then pick up natural spell for some reason even though you no longer have Wild Shape, meaning you don't qualify and have a dead feat. -0.5

Another nitpick, you grab Knowledge Devotion, which specifies that you pick one knowledge to have as a class skill permanently. In your table you put two knowledge's down, and then fail to take ranks in them during the rest of your levels. I won't deduct marks for it directly, but I will say that you don't use it to the fullest effect.

Poor use of early feats really hurt you here, even though one was for prerequisites. Other than that, the synergy between Aspect of the Dragon and SoBE works. One more thing. While I like the idea of Sybil, it actually doesn't synergize with the SI. Sybil states "divine spells and spell-likes", the gaze being a (Su) ability.0

Power 2.5/5:
You lose 3 levels of spellcasting for some mediocre, but flavorful abilities. Again, that natural spell bites you in the backside. Likewise, the Sybil levels hurt you more than they help. -1 .
I can see (hah) that you tried to optimize the very devastating gaze attack. It still has a save of 30 without the bonus from Sybil, which is tied for the best save in the contest. Optimizing Haunting Torment was interesting too, but doesn't really do much for you. If they saved against your gaze in the first place, boosted DC's and all, how are you going to make them fail a second save? You still get half points for the powerful gaze.+0.5

UoSI 1/5:
FTQ. Sorry about that. You lack the 10 ranks in spellcraft needed, only having 8.
This is what you'd get if you had qualified:
You get most of your points for the gaze attack. You don't really have a way of forcing people to look at you, but if they do they're gonna be in for some hurt. +1.25

You at least try to work with the single non-gaze, non-immunity ability. I'll throw you a bone. +0.25


Originality: 1.75/5
Cloistered cleric using Divine Metamagic? Nothing surprising there. Tyranny domain? Why? -1
Likewise, Divine Defiance and Persistant Refusal are well-known in IC. -0.5
I do like your fluff though. A non-evil worshiper of Vecna, insisting knowledge isn't evil, but who's downfall comes from too much knowledge? Not bad. +0.25

Elegance: 3.5/5
You qualify for everything. +0.5
You have a nice flow, entering the SI fairly early, and with only 2 dead levels. That being said, DMM cleric hits you again for cheese.-0.5
You have some synergy with Synad and the gaze attack, and your non-DMM abilities work for you. +0.5

Power 4.5/5:
I can't say you don't have it. You get level 9 spells and do well on the defensive front. +1
That being said, the abilities don't as much for you as they could. I can't say it hinders you either, since the SI is that powerful. +0.5

UoSI 2.25/5:
Again, I can't say it doesn't make you stronger. But you invest almost nothing in it. It's one of those characters that just enters that enters the SI because it can. -1
I'll argue that the Madness domain spells remain spells and not abilities, but this doesn't affect your score in any way.
I'll say that Divine Defiance helps you here, giving you an extra buffer against magical effects when paired with immunities. +.25


Originality 2/5:
Ur-Priest? Savage Bard? Mystic Theurge? Entirely expected. Does Ur-Priest make sense in the context of this SI? Yes, so I won't hit you with the full deduction.-0.75
Likewise, your tactics aren't exactly special. Using the SI to do massive amounts of ability drain and then finishing them off isn't next-gen stuff. -0.5
I like the idea of your eyes becoming your familiar and the fluff is well-written so I'll throw you a bone there. +0.25

Elegance 3.25/5:
You qualify for everything. +0.5
You're a standard Ur-Priest/Mystic Theurge, using Savage Bard as an entry, and then Divine Sorcerer for the SI, which I guess is slightly different.-0.5
The abandoned bard level is kind of awkward, but I guess you need it. Otherwise, your progression makes sense. +.25

Power 5/5:
The SI definitely makes you stronger. You do actually put effort into making it more powerful as well. +1
Overall power? You're an Ur-Priest with an at-will save or suck-extremely-hard. You tell me. +1

UoSI 4/5:
As much as I've bashed Ur-Priest, it makes sense for this particular SI and you put effort into making the gaze attack work. +1
You don't even mention or do anything special with the immunities though. 0



Originality 4.5/5:
I didn't expect a gish, nor had I heard of shaman at the time when I was trying to build my entry. +1
Hengeyaokai is unique, however I wonder if that's for an originality grab, or if its because it actually offers something to the build. Hard to tell because the write up is lacking. I'll go with the safe bet and toss you half a point. +0.5
Your fluff also leaves me wanting, and as such I can't give points for it. 0

Elegance 1.5/5:
Right off the bat I have to hit you with an elegance penalty. Hengeyaokai are +1 LA, updated in Dragon Magazine, which IC doesn't use. While they don't deserve LA at all, its still a rule. I hate to hit you with another penalty... but nothing says the shaman bonus feats ignore prerequisites like monk's do. You take stunning fist at level 4, which was updated in PHB1, needing 8 BaB for some moronic reason. Yet another. Intuitive attack is an exalted feat, which requires exalted good, which the SI forbids. Stupid? Yes. But I have to deduct points. However, I'll be nice and not give a fourth penalty for Freezing the Lifeblood/Sacred Fist.-1.5

Without enough information to know, I'm not sure why you do the awkward progression with the SI and Sacred Fist. As such, I have to hit you with a penalty. -0.5
You do synergize though. The best way to get someone to look at you is to punch them in the face. Wisdom synergy also works in your favor, but crappy BaB on the SI hurts you a bit here. The idea is there, but the execution is flawed. +0.5

Power 3.5/5:
You get 9th level spells and the Shaman is decent enough. But it doesn't actually work well enough for a gish, nor do you have the BaB/HD to make it work, and you don't explain what the build is really capable of. +0
Like Deino, you don't invest any resources in the abilities, preferring to just let them lie. I could be wrong, but a few sentences of writeup really doesn't give me enough to work with. The SI is powerful enough that anyone would benefit from it though. +0.5

UoSI 2.5/5:
Like I said earlier, if you want someone to look at you, smack 'em in the mug. Again, you don't invest anything extra in the SI, and it hurts you once more. I feel like you'd be better off as just a Sacred Fist build. -0.5
You don't do anything extra with immunities either.0


Edited for grammar, this managed to fry my brain more than it should have.

[sakuuya]

Awesome! Thanks, Deadasadoor.

[The Viscount]

Great! I was hoping someone would judge for this. I greatly appreciate it, Deadasadoor.

[Heliomance]

Right off the bat I have to hit you with an elegance penalty. Hengeyaokai are +1 LA, updated in Dragon Magazine, which IC doesn't use. While they don't deserve LA at all, its still a rule.

This actually raises a very good point. I think in future Iron Chefs I'll add an exception to the DragMag ban for 3.5 updates, because they technically are a binding rules change.

Seeing as this wasn't presented as part of the rules for this contest, I'll let you decide whether or not you want to update the score accordingly, Deadasadoor.

[Curmudgeon]

This actually raises a very good point. I think in future Iron Chefs I'll add an exception to the DragMag ban for 3.5 updates, because they technically are a binding rules change.
Adding the 3.5 updates for Oriental Adventures (Dragon # 318) would be good.

To be consistent you'd also need to include the updates to Dragonspawn. That template is originally in Dragonlance Campaign Setting 222-223, but changed in Bestiary of Krynn 43-48 (easy-to-read full rewrite) or Dragons of Krynn 175 (terse errata). Those are official errata, just Margaret Weis Publications style rather than WotC or Paizo Publishing.

[Deadasadoor]

Hmmmm. I think I'll leave the score as it lays, as its a new addition to the rules of IC.

[sakuuya]

How long is this going to remain open? Even if there's never another round, it would be nice to get some closure.

[Heliomance]

How long is this going to remain open? Even if there's never another round, it would be nice to get some closure.

I'll close it when I get home from work.

[Heliomance]

In first place, with 14.25 points, Macabaret's Anders Belaine!
In joint second place, with 12 points each, Deino and Takenaka Kenshin, by (I assume) Krimson Nekros and The Viscount, though I have no idea whose is which.
And in fourth place, with 11.5 points, sakuuya's Caith of Lantan!


Congratulations all!

[sakuuya]

In first place, with 14.25 points, Macabaret's Anders Belaine!
In joint second place, with 12 points each, Deino and Takenaka Kenshin, by (I assume) Krimson Nekros and The Viscount, though I have no idea whose is which.
And in fourth place, with 11.5 points, sakuuya's Caith of Lantan!


Congratulations all!

It's pretty great that the folks who didn't tell you which build was theirs tied.

Congrats, everybody!

[KrimsonNekros]

Mine was Takenaka ^^

[sakuuya]

Do you think you're going to try this again, Heliomance? You mentioned upthread that you've got another class you want to sic us on...

[Deadasadoor]

I'd also like to see another round. If I don't compete, then I can judge.

Speaking of judging, I'd like some feedback from the contestants. Do you feel I judged fairly? Did you agree with what I said? Did I provide enough information? Any other words of wisdom for me?

[Heliomance]

Aye, if people are up for it (and it sounds like they are) I'll run another. The main competition's about to starta new round though, so it won't be for a couple of weeks.

[The Viscount]

I'm totally up for another round of home cooking. The homebrew classes always prevent a special sort of challenge, and I can't think of a better means of searching for bugs than asking optimizers to exploit it as much as they can.

Deadasadoor, I found your judgings to be as a whole quite fair, and I'm not just saying that because I got 2nd place. The harshness old tricks is perhaps a bit more than most, but still an understandable stance. I like that you left yourself a little bit of wiggle room in the criteria for those things that are more qualitative. The important thing is that you had clear objective criteria in the form of some questions that you could easily answer. It means your positions are more defensible, which means less work for everyone. I would have appreciated a little more expanding on some of your points, but it was always clear enough what you meant and why you said it.