Junkyard Wars XI: Magical Darkness + Improved Familiar - Wizard

[WhamBamSam]

Welcome to Junkyard Stadium! It is in this hallowed pile of miscellaneous parts that we will hold a competition of Practical Optimization with three components. The catch? Competitors may not use the third item in their builds!

Goal: Create a build that showcases the selected ingredients while steering clear of the Forbidden Ingredient.

This competition has two Necessary Components and one Forbidden Component. This round we're working with a few things that could stand to be explored more by the optimization community. Two things that are often too unweildy, for the slick spellcasters who would most often make use of them. However, the slickest of arcane spellcasters won't be making use of them either, for they find themselves banned this round. Fire up your rudisplorkers, this round's components are...


Necessary: From Lots of places... Magical Darkness!
Necessary: From Lots of places... Improved Familiar!
Forbidden: From The Player's Handbook... The Wizard base class!

Contestants:

So you wanna give this thing a shot? Awesome! The rules are as follows:
Creation: 32 point-buy is the presumed creation method. 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. You may assume that you will have enough exp to reach ECL 20, and that the occasional bit of crafting, use of spells with exp components, or the like won't prevent you from doing so. However, LA buyoff is an alternate rule which is not in play.
Workshop: 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 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. If you use web material, link it. Dragon Magazine Compendium is allowed, as are Oriental Adventures and the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt and fractional saves are not allowed, as they create a different playing field.
Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until after the reveal in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.
Disputes: Any scoring disputes should be sent to the Chair via PM. Valid disputes include RAW misreadings, arithmetic errors, things missed that are present in the entry, and inconsistently applied criteria. Invalid disputes include disagreements on matters of opinion, a judge not catching something not explicitly presented in the entry, and the like. Invalid disputes will be responded to via PM by the Chair, but valid disputes will be posted in-thread for the judge to review. When disputing, please indicate the judge the dispute is intended for and provide a quote of the disputed comment or comments. Note: the Chair may edit or paraphrase any disputes in presenting them to the judges.
Leadership is banned: We're creating one things, not all of the things. 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.
Presentation: 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. Please give a rundown of the build's abilities and playability throughout its life. 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. Also for this reason, PLEASE do not include any material that may or may not offend any potential viewers/judges/competitors OR break forum rules. Any builds which violate forum rules WILL be withheld from posting.


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.

Judges:

Scoring: Each judge is required to provide the criteria by which they are judging the builds. By "criteria," we mean a simple explanation of what the judge is looking for in each of the below categories and what kind of scoring we can expect. If a judge deems a build to be illegal, they may provide a 0 in Elegance but may not refuse to judge any build presented by the Chairman.
The Categories: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Components.


Originality: Basically put, does the build stand out from the crowd? Some judges score entries for the quality of their concept & backstory as well, though not all do. Providing at least some backstory is heavily encouraged, as it helps the judges figure out who the entry is.
Power: Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
Elegance: This category was formerly titled "Build Stability." Here, we're essentially measuring how skillfully you put your build together and how you balanced flavor with power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is an automatic loss of one point per flaw in this category. Other things that will cause lost points here are excessive multiclassing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points. Some judges have penalized dipping classes in this category. Rule adherence and legality of sources is scored under this category. Using too many sources may be an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion, but a book's relative obscurity may not. Note: for this round, the use of Level Adjustment should not receive a deduction. LA Buyoff, however, may receive deductions at each individual judge's discretion.
Use of Components: Was the Forbidden Component avoided? Were the Necessary Components showcased, or simply used because they were necessary? Note: some judges deduct for things that still hold the feel of the Forbidden Ingredient, even if said ingredient itself is not used (ex: using savant levels when factotum is forbidden).

Disputes: Any scoring disputes will be posted by the Chairman in-thread after reviewing them privately. Valid disputes include RAW misreadings, arithmetic errors, things missed that are present in the entry, and inconsistently applied criteria. Invalid disputes include disagreements on matters of opinion, a judge not catching something not explicitly presented in the entry, and the like. Invalid disputes will be responded to via PM by the Chair, but valid disputes should be responded to by each individual judge. Judges are obligated to respond to disputes to ensure that everyone gets a fair shake. A judge's scores will only be recognized if they have recognized all disputes. In the absence of any other judges, the entries will be judged by the chairman.

Completion Time:

Contestants will have until [11:59 PM UTC on April 29th, 2015] to create their builds and PM them to the chairman, WhamBamSam.
Builds will then be posted simultaneously to avoid copying.
Judges will have until [11:59 PM GMT on May 16th, 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. If no other judgings seem likely to happen, the entries will be judged by the chairman.
As the precedent has been set from Episode 2, should all prospective judges have posted their rulings in a neat, timely fashion and all disputes have been settled satisfactorily (to either judges, contestants, or the Chairperson), the judging period may end prematurely to give way to a new episode. No reason to keep working on a finished building and avoid moving onto the next one.

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! 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 that doesn't gain a medal. Contestants are invited to vote for honorable mention via PM. Everyone else can vote in-thread. Ready? Steady? Get to the junkyard and start building!

Previous Competitions:
Episode 1: Shadowdancer + Sneak Attack - Rogue (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?337864-Junkyard-Wars-in-the-Playground-I)
Episode 2: Healing Spells + Ruby Knight Vindicator - Cleric (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342896-Junkyard-Wars-in-the-Playground-II)
Episode 3: Dragon Type + Mystic Theurge - Kobold (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?347412-Junkyard-Wars-in-the-Playground-III-Dragons-Theurges-Kobolds)
Episode 4: Book of Exalted Deeds + Undead Type - Completes Books (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?355278-Junkyard-Wars-in-the-Playground-IV-BoED-Undead-Type-Completes)
Episode 5: Dread Witch + Reaping Mauler - Fighter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?360271-Junkyard-Wars-in-the-Playground-V-Dread-Witch-Reaping-Mauler-Fighter)
Episode 6: Wonderworker + the Profession Skill - Factotum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?369604-Junkyard-Wars-in-the-Playground-VI-Wonderworker-Profession-Skill-Factotum)
Episode 7: Metamagic Feats + Level Adjustment - Metamagic-Reducers! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?374504-Junkyard-Wars-in-the-Playground-VII-Metamagic-Feats-LA-Metamagic-Reducers!)
Episode 8: Pounce + Small Size - Barbarian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?388151-Junkyard-Wars-VIII-Pounce-Small-Size-Barbarian)
Episode 9: Earth Dreamer + Ordained Champion - Cleric (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?395791-Junkyard-Wars-IX-Earth-Dreamer-Ordained-Champion-Cleric)
Episode 10: Meldshaping + Natural Attacks - Totemist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?403880-Junkyard-Wars-X-Meldshaping-Natural-Attacks-Totemist)

[WhamBamSam]

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 WhamBamSam 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 special 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 for creatures is equivalent to LA: -. It is not suitable for PCs. If you use it, expect judges to look extremely disfavourably on it. Templates are arguably a different matter, but expect judges to look unfavorably on your entry.

[Sian]

so, someone that one way or another uses magical darkness while running using a familiar?

think i have a quarter of an idea

[Deadasadoor]

This is gonna be an interesting one. The last Junkyard I competed in was alot of fun. I should be competing, life permitting.

[Troacctid]

Can Celestial Familiar, Dragon Familiar, and Planar Familiar count, too? They are basically Improved Familiar.

[DeAnno]

Can Celestial Familiar, Dragon Familiar, and Planar Familiar count, too? They are basically Improved Familiar.

There are some other similar things as well which I don't want to spoil, as well as some RAW concerns with another thing I don't want to spoil that is probably very relevant to the contest (I think I might be PMing that).

[Sian]

well, first build idea is out for the trash, ends up that i need 21 class levels to get it to work :p

[WeaselGuy]

I'm in. Have a few ideas swirling around, but after spending the last 6 hours working on my Villainous Competition submission it's gonna have to wait a little while before I get around to typing it up.

[sideswipe]

hmmm actually one where i have inspiration from the word go.

[Deadasadoor]

I have a great idea. The issue is, as always, originality. Though every time I say that, its usually not a problem. Knock on wood.

[WhamBamSam]

Can Celestial Familiar, Dragon Familiar, and Planar Familiar count, too? They are basically Improved Familiar.I'm gonna say that those feats meet the criterion, but various class abilities for tricking out your familiar do not (though they might potentially improve your use of component).

[Troacctid]

I'll probably judge again this round. Here's (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19102829&postcount=108) my most recent judging, if you want to try and pander to me.

Pro tip: don't take multiclass penalties. :smallcool:

[WeaselGuy]

I'll probably judge again this round. Here's (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19102829&postcount=108) my most recent judging, if you want to try and pander to me.

Pro tip: don't take multiclass penalties. :smallcool:

FML. I was so close to finishing this build, and then you went and mentioned multiclass penalty, and I'm like "Oh, that's fine, I have [REDACTED] as a favored class for my race... *^%&, I have a third class in there!

Now, the question is, do I completely scrap 2 hours of work getting this class progression working how I want it, or eat the point deduction from multiclass penalties?

*grumble grumble*

[Sian]

see if you can shuffle a bit around with things to get it to fit.

Last escape attempt can be to eat the feat "Additional Favored Class" from Unearthed arcana and hope that Troaccid either don't penaltizes it or to a much smaller degree than multiclassing.

Personally i'm still in the process of clarifying what i want with the build beyond obviously using the needed things, and clarifying a few things as of how some stuff works.

As of yet i've identified 3 strong ways of getting Darkness without it screwing yourself over (as darkvision don't work in magical darkness unless explicitly stating otherwise which racial darkness doesn't)

[dysprosium]

Oh multiclass penalties! Foolish rule, I laugh in your face. :smallbiggrin:

I never play with those in my games so I never think about those.

Anyway, I find that it is much more enjoyable to make a character that you would like and worry about placing afterwards.

Hopefully I will be able to get one in for this round.

[SinsI]

Are Specialist Wizards - Wizards?

[Sian]

given that specialist wizards are an optional class feature (similar to many ACF, note for an example that you can't multiclass two different specialist wizards say Enchanter 5/Necromancer 3), i'd feel comfortable waging everything in Federal Bank on that they're counted as the same

[sakuuya]

given that specialist wizards are an optional class feature (similar to many ACF, note for an example that you can't multiclass two different specialist wizards say Enchanter 5/Necromancer 3), i'd feel comfortable waging everything in Federal Bank on that they're counted as the same

This has been the case historically, too. Way back in round 1, someone asked about Psychic Rogues, and was given by pretty much this answer.

[ninjamaster1991]

I have a few ideas rattling around my head. I'm bad with the minutia, but may as well try it.

[Inevitability]

Now these are some unexpected requirements...

[WeaselGuy]

Whelp, Plan A has been scrapped. I like Plan B though. It will be interesting to see how many people go the same direction as either of my ideas though...

[ben-zayb]

Is there an official definition for magical darkness, and if so does that include anything non-mundane with the Darkness descriptor?

[Sith_Happens]

Can we only choose from creatures that are specifically called out as being eligible as improved familiars? The feat says pretty directly that the listed options are just examples and you should be able to choose from anything of "roughly the same size and power."

[Jurai]

For you,
I have questions two:
What exactly by "Enough exp to reach level 20" mean you? Especially with LA, that thing we boo?
Does my rhyming constantly bother you?

[sakuuya]

For you,
I have questions two:
What exactly by "Enough exp to reach level 20" mean you? Especially with LA, that thing we boo?
Does my rhyming constantly bother you?

LA is all right
but buyoff takes more XP
and is frowned upon

[WhamBamSam]

FML. I was so close to finishing this build, and then you went and mentioned multiclass penalty, and I'm like "Oh, that's fine, I have [REDACTED] as a favored class for my race... *^%&, I have a third class in there!

Now, the question is, do I completely scrap 2 hours of work getting this class progression working how I want it, or eat the point deduction from multiclass penalties?

*grumble grumble*I wouldn't have thought multiclass penalties would be a problem in a caster-centric round, but I guess they can be an annoyance to everyone.


Is there an official definition for magical darkness, and if so does that include anything non-mundane with the Darkness descriptor?Basically, yes. If there's something specific that you're not sure about, feel free to PM me to ask about it. This round has been a big one for PMed questions.


Can we only choose from creatures that are specifically called out as being eligible as improved familiars? The feat says pretty directly that the listed options are just examples and you should be able to choose from anything of "roughly the same size and power."But the decision of what constitutes "roughly the same power" is down to the individual DM. Judges would be within their rights to penalize such choices. There are a bunch of different Improved Familiar options across a number of books though, so even with just the listed ones you do have some options.

What I would probably do is note a preferable, unlisted but similar, creature in an adaptation section.

EDIT:
For you,
I have questions two:
What exactly by "Enough exp to reach level 20" mean you? Especially with LA, that thing we boo?
Does my rhyming constantly bother you?I changed the text to try and make it less restrictive for things like crafting or spells with small exp costs. You can get to ECL 20. LA buyoff is not allowed.

[Inevitability]

A question: Wizard may be forbidden, but how about sorcerer? It probably isn't, but since the two classes are so similar I thought I'd ask.

[WeaselGuy]

I mean, it isn't a wizard, so... yeah.

Seriously though, I was a little shocked by this one too. Kinda going out on a limb to not pick the low hanging fruit though, in my case.

[WhamBamSam]

A question: Wizard may be forbidden, but how about sorcerer? It probably isn't, but since the two classes are so similar I thought I'd ask.Sorcerers are fine.

[Troacctid]

Sorcerer is definitely not Wizard.


FML. I was so close to finishing this build, and then you went and mentioned multiclass penalty, and I'm like "Oh, that's fine, I have [REDACTED] as a favored class for my race... *^%&, I have a third class in there!

Now, the question is, do I completely scrap 2 hours of work getting this class progression working how I want it, or eat the point deduction from multiclass penalties?

*grumble grumble*

TBH it should probably be common knowledge by now that just about every judge deducts Elegance points for multiclass penalties. It's basically equivalent to taking flaws, and we don't see a lot of those.

[WeaselGuy]

I just scrapped Plan B as well. On to Plan C. This one looks promising though!

[Sian]

Got 3 interesting stubs, and are quite certain that i'll shake another (or two) out my sleeve before sitting down deciding on which to pick and choose

[sakuuya]

Hunh. My huge, unwiedy mess of a build just collapsed into something tidy and workable. That's never happened before. Usually they just collapse into nonsense.

[WeaselGuy]

First submission is in. Might make another one, since I have plenty of time. Gotta be careful not to step on the toes of my first one though...

[Inevitability]

WhamBamSam, I just want to say I hate you for not allowing wizards. Morphic Familiar would have been great here. :smallannoyed: JK, don't worry.

[OMG PONIES]

Hunh. My huge, unwiedy mess of a build just collapsed into something tidy and workable. That's never happened before. Usually they just collapse into nonsense.

Ah, the method emerges from the madness...now there's no going back.

[Jurai]

I have a stub in. Could I get a confirmation of reception?

[WhamBamSam]

WhamBamSam, I just want to say I hate you for not allowing wizards. Morphic Familiar would have been great here. :smallannoyed: JK, don't worry.Yeah, Changeling Wizard would have just been just a little too perfect for this round. Also, some of the blame for this round goes to Troacctid. The components were his suggestion.


I have a stub in. Could I get a confirmation of reception?Yes. I've received your entry, as well as WeaselGuy's.

[SinsI]

Have a build to show off Improved Familiar ready (all that's left is to decide on spells), but I'm completely dumbfounded by the Magical Darkness part.
It seems like a poor man's Invisibility - and classes that have access to Improved Familiar usually have access to some form of Invisibility as well, so wouldn't it always be "because they were necessary", and not because they were essential to the build in any way?

[Troacctid]

Have a build to show off Improved Familiar ready (all that's left is to decide on spells), but I'm completely dumbfounded by the Magical Darkness part.
It seems like a poor man's Invisibility - and classes that have access to Improved Familiar usually have access to some form of Invisibility as well, so wouldn't it always be "because they were necessary", and not because they were essential to the build in any way?

Magical darkness has plenty of advantages over invisibility, the most obvious of which is [REDACTED]. It also synergizes with things like [REDACTED] and [REDACTED].

[ben-zayb]

@Judges or potential judges:
Would there be some penalty for using both FR and Eberron material?

[Troacctid]

@Judges or potential judges:
Would there be some penalty for using both FR and Eberron material?
If the flavor is incompatible, or if you have to bend over backwards to make it make sense, it could hurt you in elegance. But if it's something that is mostly setting-agnostic but happens to be in a setting-specific book, e.g. the Song of the Heart feat, it's probably not an issue.

For my part, I grade holistically, so it's entirely possible that, even if it is inelegant, I might look at the overall entry and decide, eh, that one thing is a little inelegant, but the rest of the build is elegant enough to make up for it, or there are a couple other things already resulting in penalties and one more thing isn't enough to swing the score one way or the other.

If the cross-setting material is contributing a cool synergy or unique concept to the build, it will probably help you more than it hurts, or at least break even.

Of course I can only speak for myself. Hopefully there are multiple judges this round.

[Deadasadoor]

Gah! I was halfway through my second build stub before I realized it had exactly nothing to do with magical darkness. Back to the drawing board. I just need to get my backstory and formatting done for the first entry.

[WeaselGuy]

Gah! I was halfway through my second build stub before I realized it had exactly nothing to do with magical darkness. Back to the drawing board. I just need to get my backstory and formatting done for the first entry.

Yeah, I had a problem similar to that on one of my builds. Was already done with the progression and had it about halfway coded, and realized it couldn't even cast Darkness.

[ninjamaster1991]

Are Generic Classes allowed?

[WhamBamSam]

Are Generic Classes allowed?Generic classes are an alternate rule system which is not intended to mix with the standard multiclassing rules. They are not allowed in this competition.

[SinsI]

If familiar requires XP to acquire/create/replace, does this reduce total available XP for the class?

If the familiar dies or is dismissed by the sorcerer, the sorcerer must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude saving throw. Failure means he loses 200 experience points per sorcerer level; success reduces the loss to one-half that amount.

Since one can take Improved Familiar only after getting Arcane Caster Class Level 7, it means for the first few levels one would have to either deliberately abstain from getting one, or pay the aforementioned XP cost.
There are also some Improved Familiars that require you to XP for their creation/gold for their improvement. How much are we allowed to spend on them?

[Troacctid]

If familiar requires XP to acquire/create/replace, does this reduce total available XP for the class?

Since one can take Improved Familiar only after getting Arcane Caster Class Level 7, it means for the first few levels one would have to either deliberately abstain from getting one, or pay the aforementioned XP cost.
There are also some Improved Familiars that require you to XP for their creation/gold for their improvement. How much are we allowed to spend on them?

"You may assume that you will have enough exp to reach ECL 20, and that the occasional bit of crafting, use of spells with exp components, or the like won't prevent you from doing so."

'S all good.

You can take Improved Familiar at 3rd level, BTW.

[Inevitability]

Does the Shadow Familiar feat (Tome of Magic) also count as Improved Familiar for the purpose of this contest? All it does is add a template to a standard familiar, but then again, so do some Improved ones (fiendish, celestial).

EDIT: Also, are Savage Progressions okay? Or do they warrant an elegance penalty?

[WhamBamSam]

Does the Shadow Familiar feat (Tome of Magic) also count as Improved Familiar for the purpose of this contest? All it does is add a template to a standard familiar, but then again, so do some Improved ones (fiendish, celestial).

EDIT: Also, are Savage Progressions okay? Or do they warrant an elegance penalty?I'm inclined to say that Shadow Familiar doesn't count as Improved Familiar by itself as a) it explicitly stacks with Improved Familiar, b) the Celestial/Fiendish familiar options are at the very bottom rung of the Improved Familiar options and in a 3.0 source.

Printed savage progressions are fine. Some judges look askance at making up your own such progression. If you're taking a monstrous race and want to provide a suggestion of how to space out its abilities into a savage progression, that's probably okay, but be sure to note that it's just a suggestion.

[SinsI]

The bad thing about Improved Familiar is that instead of concrete rules and bonuses all it gives are "examples", basically leaving everything outside those examples up to the DM.

[Inevitability]

I'm inclined to say that Shadow Familiar doesn't count as Improved Familiar by itself as a) it explicitly stacks with Improved Familiar, b) the Celestial/Fiendish familiar options are at the very bottom rung of the Improved Familiar options and in a 3.0 source.

Actually, Fiendish/Celestial familiars are in 3.5 too (Improved Familiar mentions them) but I guess I'll redo my build then. Too bad.

[Troacctid]

Shadow Familiar doesn't grant a template to your familiar, it grants you a familiar with a template, and you can then take Improved Familiar on top of it. It's more like Obtain Familiar (with upside) than Improved Familiar.

[Inevitability]

Shadow Familiar doesn't grant a template to your familiar, it grants you a familiar with a template, and you can then take Improved Familiar on top of it. It's more like Obtain Familiar (with upside) than Improved Familiar.

Good point.

[SinsI]

Just to clarify: If a 3.0 class received a 3.5 update only in Dragon Magazine(but nowhere else), old 3.0 version is still legal?

[WhamBamSam]

Just to clarify: If a 3.0 class received a 3.5 update only in Dragon Magazine(but nowhere else), old 3.0 version is still legal?Yes, that's correct. In such cases, the 3.0 version is still "current" for the purpose of this contest.

[sjeshin]

I've never used a 32 point buy, could someone give me a quick rundown or a link to how to use it correctly?

[WeaselGuy]

I've never used a 32 point buy, could someone give me a quick rundown or a link to how to use it correctly?

Page 169 of the 3.5e DMG.

You start out with 8's in all 6 stats, then spend the corresponding number of points (out of 32) to increase each of your stats. For example, if you want to increase your strength from 8 to 14, you spend 6 points. Increases up to 14 are on a point for point basis, after that the cost per point increases. After you spend your points, then you apply racial bonuses.

[sjeshin]

Page 169 of the 3.5e DMG.

You start out with 8's in all 6 stats, then spend the corresponding number of points (out of 32) to increase each of your stats. For example, if you want to increase your strength from 8 to 14, you spend 6 points. Increases up to 14 are on a point for point basis, after that the cost per point increases. After you spend your points, then you apply racial bonuses.

Ok, thank you very much.

[WhamBamSam]

I usually use an online point buy calculator, like this one (http://tools.digitalightbulb.com/pbcalc.html). The 3.5 point buy is the second one down under "D&D." PF point buy is slightly different.

[sjeshin]

Are multiple entries into the contest frowned upon? I have two ideas that are completley different in form, function, and flavor, but I really want to enter both.

[WhamBamSam]

Are multiple entries into the contest frowned upon? I have two ideas that are completley different in form, function, and flavor, but I really want to enter both.Multiple entries are fine, or at least two entries certainly are. Iron Chef limits it to two per contestant, so I suppose we do here as well.

[Inevitability]

Question: if I increase my intelligence at a level past 1st (be it because of a template, a class feature, or plain ability score increases) do I retroactively gain more skill points?

[WeaselGuy]

Question: if I increase my intelligence at a level past 1st (be it because of a template, a class feature, or plain ability score increases) do I retroactively gain more skill points?

Retroactively, no (from what I can remember, at least). But for future levels, you get the increased number of skill points.

[SinsI]

Prescribed "Standartized entry format" is very hard to use, since if you change a class you take somewhere in the beginning, it screws up all the BAB&Save entries for every level after. And it's not like they are important beyond verifying that all the prerequisites were met...

It might be better to leave some things (like specific spells known, or skills distribution) un-specified(so just noting them as "+5 skill points", or "+3 spells known"), since those would serve as "flexibility" of the build, allowing to adjust it for the needs of a real party/campaign.

[WhamBamSam]

Prescribed "Standartized entry format" is very hard to use, since if you change a class you take somewhere in the beginning, it screws up all the BAB&Save entries for every level after.

It might be better to leave some things (like specific spells known, or skills distribution) un-specified(so just noting them as "+5 skill points", or "+3 spells known"), since those would serve as "flexibility" of the build, allowing to adjust it for the needs of a real party/campaign.I'm not sure what you mean. We don't use fractional BAB or saves (which is unfortunate in some ways, but we follow Iron Chef's lead in that regard), so you just go straight from the table of the new class you start taking. You can look at past entries and see how the table works.

The specification of skills and spells are also a carryover from Iron Chef, but one I'm happier with. You can just take filler for some of your spells known, but I feel it's helpful to have an idea of the sort of thing your build is casting. Similarly, some idea of your skills beyond the basic skill prereqs you have to meet are potentially important.

The ideal here is a build which someone could look at, translate directly onto a character sheet and bring to the table without issue. That may not always be the case in practice, but it's just as easy (if not easier) to adapt one skill or spell choice to another as it is to update a blank +X skill points into skill selection.

If you'd like to try presenting your entry in a way you feel is more natural, go ahead, but with the understanding that it might annoy the judges.

[SinsI]

I'm not sure what you mean. We don't use fractional BAB or saves (which is unfortunate in some ways, but we follow Iron Chef's lead in that regard), so you just go straight from the table of the new class you start taking. You can look at past entries and see how the table works.
Let's give an example.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18613489&postcount=48
Suppose instead of 5th level of Druidic Avenger she were to take 1st level in another class with Good BAB, like Fighter. That means that all the BAB values for level 6-20 would need to be corrected.
Similarly, the Good saves of that new class would change all the values for the appropriate saves of the levels 6-20.
This means that if you have the entry "almost ready", but find one such mistake (that makes you change a class level) it is a lot of mechanical work to put it all back into that table.

You also have to track all those details (BAB, saves, skill points per level...) for every class even after they become completely irrelevant for the build after reaching values high enough to satisfy prerequisites.

If I want to show off Magical Darkness and Familiar, I'd select some spells that do one or the other. But even after that there will be lots and lots of other spells known on my character that accomplish neither of these goals - and I don't really see any need to specify them, since it will only make the "use of ingredient" less important.

[Deadasadoor]

I actually went and wrote a small Java program that automatically handles BAB/Saves/Class levels for the table, so that way I only have to worry about skills, feats, and class features. I know how you feel though, having to restart because you remembered you were missing a skill prerequisite halfway through is the worst thing ever. The table is a pain, but I agree that it makes it easier on the judges.

[WhamBamSam]

Let's give an example.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18613489&postcount=48
Suppose instead of 5th level of Druidic Avenger she were to take 1st level in another class with Good BAB, like Fighter. That means that all the BAB values for level 6-20 would need to be corrected.
Similarly, the Good saves of that new class would change all the values for the appropriate saves of the levels 6-20.
This means that if you have the entry "almost ready", but find one such mistake (that makes you change a class level) it is a lot of mechanical work to put it all back into that table.

You also have to track all those details (BAB, saves, skill points per level...) for every class even after they become completely irrelevant for the build after reaching values high enough to satisfy prerequisites.

If I want to show off Magical Darkness and Familiar, I'd select some spells that do one or the other. But even after that there will be lots and lots of other spells known on my character that accomplish neither of these goals - and I don't really see any need to specify them, since it will only make the "use of ingredient" less important.No, that means that when you went to put in the 5th level, you would put in the +1 BAB and +2 Fort instead of the lack thereof from Druidic Avenger 5. Then when you put in the later levels, you would add the BAB and saves to those of a Druidic Avenger 4/Fighter 1 instead of a Druidic Avenger 5. It only forces you to reset the values if you go back and change the 5th Druidic Avenger level to Fighter 1 after the fact, and in the worst case scenario, it only forces you to add +1 and +2 to the respective columns in your table and adjust the skill points a bit.

Ignoring the fact that your familiar inherits some of these things from you, not every round lends itself to casters. As often as not, the difference of a few BAB at level 20 is noteworthy (the difference between 15 and 16 is noteworthy for instance). Sometimes it's important to know which skills are invested in for one reason or another. Sometimes it's worthwhile to have a rough sense of how good your Reflex save is.

You don't have to write about your spell selections at any length apart from the ones which you have specific combos/uses for. Yes, it is likely that some spells will simply be general purpose choices, but it's still easier as a judge to have a sample list at hand. I know I find it vexing as a judge to see a Sorcerer without listed spells known.

Round to round, or even entry to entry, it's hard to say what information might be useful, so we use a generalized format to make things easier on the judges, even if it inconveniences competitors.

This is the way it is. This is the way it has been for as long as I've been involved in Iron Chef and its knockoffs and yours is the first complaint I've seen on the subject so far as I can recall. I'm afraid you're just going to have to deal with it if you want to participate. For what it's worth, you are spared the ordeal of equipping your build, which I always find the most tiresome part of character creation.

[Inevitability]

Submitted my build! It is ridiculous, it is cheesy, and it bends the very rules of the contest itself!

I like it.

[Deadline]

Let's give an example.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18613489&postcount=48
Suppose instead of 5th level of Druidic Avenger she were to take 1st level in another class with Good BAB, like Fighter. That means that all the BAB values for level 6-20 would need to be corrected.
Similarly, the Good saves of that new class would change all the values for the appropriate saves of the levels 6-20.
This means that if you have the entry "almost ready", but find one such mistake (that makes you change a class level) it is a lot of mechanical work to put it all back into that table.

You also have to track all those details (BAB, saves, skill points per level...) for every class even after they become completely irrelevant for the build after reaching values high enough to satisfy prerequisites.

Yes! Functioning as intended!

Welcome to the competition! :smallbiggrin:

Seriously though, I feel your pain, but do your best to power through it and present the best creation you can. Sometimes, you're just going to forget something, or make some mistakes. Such are the perils of a time sensitive competition.

And it's highly unlikely you'll see any of these competitions go for the (+5 skill points at this level) bit, because trying to judge a "Schroedinger's" build is going to be a freaking nightmare. The builds pretty much have to be judged as presented, and were I judging an entry that gave me something that generic, I would probably score it poorly. After all, I'm not the one building the entry, the contestant is. So I'm not going to do any of the building for them.

[sakuuya]

I keep misreading the reveal date and getting all excited. :smallfrown:

[ben-zayb]

Hopefully I'll be able to complete Plan C before the deadline. I'm bad with interweb sarcasm, so can someone clarify whether using cheese that leads to a new TO showcase will be acceptable or not (or if it will be up to individual judges).

[WhamBamSam]

Hopefully I'll be able to complete Plan C before the deadline. I'm bad with interweb sarcasm, so can someone clarify whether using cheese that leads to a new TO showcase will be acceptable or not (or if it will be up to individual judges).It's down to individual judges. I'm sure a lot of us would be interested in seeing some new cheese though, however well it ends up performing in the contest.

[Inevitability]

It's down to individual judges. I'm sure a lot of us would be interested in seeing some new cheese though, however well it ends up performing in the contest.

http://media2.giphy.com/media/IeLOBZb7ZdQ1G/giphy.gif

[Sian]

never managed to get a build done which incorporated what i wanted without falling into the trap of "why not [redacted] instead of SI" ... considering to post the building blocks i tried putting together after the reveal, unless i get a last second "Eureka" moment

[ben-zayb]

It's down to individual judges. I'm sure a lot of us would be interested in seeing some new cheese though, however well it ends up performing in the contest.

Unfortunately, I'd end up toning it down anyway so as not to tip off my hand.:smalleek:

[dysprosium]

Just back from vacation and as such had no time to work on this at all.

There is no way I can get something worthy by the deadline. Good luck everyone!

[SinsI]

I give up - special ingredients this time are too hard for me.
I really, really hate that almost no Prestige Classes that advance spellcasting count as "Arcane spellcasting class levels" for Improved Familiar.
It doesn't help that by the time Improved Familiar shows its full power (~11 level), every opponent already has if not True Sight, when at least a normal Darkvision...

[WhamBamSam]

I give up - special ingredients this time are too hard for me.
I really, really hate that almost no Prestige Classes that advance spellcasting count as "Arcane spellcasting class levels" for Improved Familiar.
It doesn't help that by the time Improved Familiar shows its full power (~11 level), every opponent already has if not True Sight, when at least a normal Darkvision...I'm actually of the opinion that "arcane spellcaster level" is analogous to "effective Wizard level" or what have you. I would say that a Wizard 5/Incantatrix 2 or an Adult Red Dragon would each have an "arcane spellcaster level" of 7, despite the former only having 5 levels in its actual arcane spellcasting class and the latter not actually being a member of an arcane spellcasting class at all.

Also, Darkvision doesn't work in magical darkness. True Seeing will also not help in all cases, as it's not x-ray vision, and not all [Darkness] spells are Illusions. For instance, darkness itself is actually in Evocation.

[ben-zayb]

I'm actually of the opinion that "arcane spellcaster level" is analogous to "effective Wizard level" or what have you. I would say that a Wizard 5/Incantatrix 2 or an Adult Red Dragon would each have an "arcane spellcaster level" of 7, despite the former only having 5 levels in its actual arcane spellcasting class and the latter not actually being a member of an arcane spellcasting class at all.

Also, Darkvision doesn't work in magical darkness. True Seeing will also not help in all cases, as it's not x-ray vision, and not all [Darkness] spells are Illusions. For instance, darkness itself is actually in Evocation.

I think that works for Obtain Familiar, but am not sure if the property/trait carries over Improved Familiar.

[WhamBamSam]

I think that works for Obtain Familiar, but am not sure if the property/trait carries over Improved Familiar.Obtain Familiar requires significantly less than that, in fact, as it only requires an arcane caster level. You could have 1 level of Wizard and +2 CL from somewhere and you'd qualify for Obtain Familiar.

Improved Familiar, by contrast, requires an "arcane spellcaster level." This is clearly different from a caster level requirement, but isn't very well defined anywhere, so there are two ways to parse it.

1) "Spellcaster level" refers to your exact number of levels in a spellcasting class, as SinsI suggests. Under this interpretation, the example Wizard 5/Incantatrix 2 has a spellcaster level of only 5, and the example Adult Red Dragon doesn't have one at all.

2) "Spellcaster level" refers to your effective level of spellcasting. The Wizard 5/Incantatrix 2 and Adult Red Dragon each have a spellcaster level of 7. This seems the more reasonable reading to me, since "spellcasting" is the one thing actually being progressed by caster PrCs, and the notion that the dragon is somehow not a spellcaster is a bit absurd. I know RAW isn't always on speaking terms with RACSD, but when there doesn't seem to be any more compelling a case for the former interpretation, this is the way I'd lean.

[SinsI]

Obtain Familiar requires significantly less than that, in fact, as it only requires an arcane caster level.
No. Obtain Familiar and Improved familiar lessen the restriction to arcane caster CLASS level (take a look at those tables with Improved familiars - that's exactly what it actually says). Things like Practiced Spellcaster don't help to get better familiar in the slightest...

And there is far too much evidence that normally "+1 arcane spellcasting" prestige classes don't contribute towards "arcane caster class level" - not the least of which is existence of classes that do both "+1 arcane spellcasting" and have a special class feature that doesn't grant them familiar but allows to stack their class level for the purpose of its progress.

The only possible reprieve from this inability to gain decent familiar early enough I was able to find was with one of the optional rules - but the use of that rule is looked down on in this competition. :(

[Deadline]

Sorry you're having a rough time with the components SinsI, but I feel your pain. Some combinations can be really rough. Hopefully next competition you will find an idea that calls to you! :smallsmile:

[WhamBamSam]

No. Obtain Familiar and Improved familiar lessen the restriction to arcane caster CLASS level (take a look at those tables with Improved familiars - that's exactly what it actually says). Things like Practiced Spellcaster don't help to get better familiar in the slightest...

And there is far too much evidence that normally "+1 arcane spellcasting" prestige classes don't contribute towards "arcane caster class level" - not the least of which is existence of classes that do both "+1 arcane spellcasting" and have a special class feature that doesn't grant them familiar but allows to stack their class level for the purpose of its progress.

The only possible reprieve from this inability to gain decent familiar early enough I was able to find was with one of the optional rules - but the use of that rule is looked down on in this competition. :(The ability to select a familiar is clearly distinct from what Special Abilities the familiar gets. It's true that Familiar Special Abilities aren't advanced by PrCs, unless the PrC specifically mentions doing so, but that's an entirely different concern from whether you can actually select an alternate familiar.

Obtain Familiar doesn't have a table at all, and why would it, since it just operates with the same basic familiar options that 1st level Wizards get anyway? Thus, all we have is the prerequisite line. One level of Wizard and Practiced Spellcaster would clearly be enough to qualify for it. It could be seen as a little sketchy to say that PrC levels count as "levels in classes that allow you to cast arcane spells" for the purpose of determining Familiar Special Abilities, and Practiced Spellcaster certainly does not grant you familiar special abilities, but you can certainly still gain the familiar.

I can't find any Improved Familiar or similar table that says "arcane caster class level" instead of "arcane spellcaster level."

The table in the 3.5 DMG says "arcane spellcaster level"
The table in Complete Scoundrel only mentions "caster level," though the text may trump table there and bump it back to the "arcane spellcaster level" from the prereq line.
The table in Complete Warrior mentions "arcane spellcaster level" with an extra column for BAB.
The tables in the various 3.5 Faerun books with Improved Familiars have a column for "level" and another for alignment, but direct you back to the DMG version, which presumably means that "level" is a stand in for "arcane spellcaster level."
Dragon Familiar's table says "arcane spellcaster level" with a column for alignments. The table for Familiar Special Abilities of your Dragon Familiar refers to your "master class level," so you probably won't be having it deliver touch spells for you, but that's a different issue.
Planar Familiar has a "level required" column and an alignment column, though the prereq line references "arcane spellcaster level," so the text may trump (or inform the exact meaning of "level" for the purposes of) the table.
Celestial Familiar's table says "arcane spellcaster level."

For the record, I absolutely agree with you that PrCs which advance casting are not themselves spellcasting classes. I just disagree that it matters in determining what the term "arcane spellcaster level" means, since it makes so much more sense for it to be based on the effective level of your spellcasting ability.

Some people have also asked about various class features which provide alternate familiar options similar to those of the feat (I won't spoil any specific classes to prevent speculation), and I've allowed those as well.

[SinsI]

Obtain familiar has this text:
"For the purpose of determining familiar abilities that depend on your arcane caster CLASS level, your levels in all classes that allow you to cast arcane spells stack".

This means that "arcane spellcaster level" mentioned in all the tables for familiars are, in fact, "arcane caster class level".

[WhamBamSam]

Obtain familiar has this text:
"For the purpose of determining familiar abilities that depend on your arcane caster CLASS level, your levels in all classes that allow you to cast arcane spells stack".

This means that "arcane spellcaster level" mentioned in all the tables for familiars are, in fact, "arcane caster class level".Familiar Abilities are the things in the special abilities table for regular familiars (ie, Alertness, Share Spells, Empathetic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, etc). That's a distinct concern from whether or not you can select a familiar in the first place, as I explained in my previous post.

Maybe going back to my examples will help clarify my position. Improved Familiars don't gain the ability to speak with animals of their kind under any circumstances, so we'll add a few levels of Incantatrix for the first one.

A Wizard 5/Incantatrix 6 would be able to acquire an Improved Familiar requiring an arcane caster level as high as 11, but her master class level is still only 5, so the familiar would not get Spell Resistance as the familiar of a Wizard 11 would.

Our Adult Red Dragon with the same familiar selection would not have a master class level at all, so the familiar would be perfectly normal for a creature of its kind apart from the HP, BAB, and such it inherits from its master. It might gain the Alertness, Empathetic Link, Share Spells, and Improved Evasion abilities if we're talking about the CWar version of the feat, depending on whether or not you think its language takes precedence over the DMG version for the options it offers.

[SinsI]

A Wizard 5/Incantatrix 6 would be able to acquire an Improved Familiar requiring an arcane caster level as high as 11, but her master class level is still only 5, so the familiar would not get Spell Resistance as the familiar of a Wizard 11 would.
No. Spellcaster level is class level, not caster level. Incantatrix is not spellcaster class, so its levels don't contribute to spellcaster level.

[Troacctid]

Incantatrix is not spellcaster class, so its levels don't contribute to spellcaster level.

Gonna need a citation on that. The Incantatrix class I'm looking at has a class feature called "Spells per Day/Spells Known" that grants arcane spells. It also refers to your previous spellcasting classes as your "other arcane spellcasting class". So unless there's some general rule defining the term "Spellcasting class" and its definition excludes prestige classes that advance other classes' casting, I don't think your argument holds much water.

You can rule it the other way if you judge, of course. :smallwink:

[SinsI]

Gonna need a citation on that.

Tome and Blood, page 10, titled "The Master's Level":
"Some prestige classes grant extra spells or effective levels of spellcasting. These do not increase a familiar's abilities".
It speaks about both "class abilities" and "level requirement for improved familiar" (namely, what happens to your Improved Familiar when you lose a level) - and it uses them interchangeably in the same topic.

[Sian]

Tome and Blood is 3e not 3.5e so rulings depending on that is highly questionable unless said mechanics have never been touched in 3.5e (which both Incarnatrix and Familiars have)

[sakuuya]

It's finally reveal time, right? I've been burned before...

[WhamBamSam]

It's finally reveal time, right? I've been burned before...It is indeed. I'll happily continue to argue over what constitutes a spellcaster level later, but for now, please refrain from posting until I give the all-clear.

[WhamBamSam]

A thief in the dark, except with magic.



Repraek (of the) Duskplume
Image Inspiration (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e8/a0/28/e8a02850a117f056be895e59f673f380.jpg)

LN (Aeshkrau) Illumian Spellthief 1 / Warlock 1 / Wu Jen 6 / Incantatrix 2 / Shadowcraft Mage 5 / Unseen Seer 5
Ability Score: STR 9, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 20, WIS 10, CHA 12 (+1 INT at 4/8/12/16, +1 STR at 20)



Level
Class
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Skills* / Skill Tricks
Feats
Class Features


1st
Spellthief 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Bluf 4, Conc 4, Deci 1, Gath 4,
Hide 4, KArc 4, Open 1, Sear 4,
Spel 1, Spot 4, Tumb 4, UseM 1
Iron Will
Sneak Attack +1d6,
Steal Spell (0 or 1st),
Trapfinding


2nd
Warlock 1
+0
+0
+0
+4
Bluf 1(5), Sens 4

Eldritch Blast 1d6,
Invocations (Least)


3rd
Wu Jen 1
+0
+0
+0
+6
KDun 1, KLoc 1, KNat 1,
KPla 1, KRel 1
Spell Focus (Illusion),
Heighten Spell
Watchful Spirit,
Bonus Feat


4th
Wu Jen 2
+1
+0
+0
+7
KA&E 1, KGeo 1, KHis 1,
KN&R 1, KPsi 1




5th
Wu Jen 3
+1
+1
+1
+7
KArc +1(5), Spel +2(3),
Collector of Stories

Spell Secret
(Still Silent Image),
Taboo (offering)


6th
Wu Jen 4
+2
+1
+1
+8
Conc +5(9)
Obtain Familiar



7th
Wu Jen 5
+2
+1
+1
+8
Spel +5(8)




8th
Wu Jen 6
+3
+2
+2
+9
KArc +6(11)

Elemental
Mastery (Metal),
Taboo (Eat Meat)


9th
Incantatrix 1
+3
+2
+2
+11
Conc +3(12), KArc +1(12), Spel +2(10)
Echoing Spell,
Improved Familiar
Bonus Feat,
Focused Study
(Enchantment)


10th
Incantatrix 2
+4
+2
+2
+12
Conc +1(13), Craf 1, KArc +1(13),
Spel +3(13)

Cooperative Metamagic


11th
Shadowcraft Mage 1
+4
+2
+2
+14
Sear +4(8), Spot +4(8)

Cloak of Shadow


12th
Shadowcraft Mage 2
+5
+2
+2
+15
Hide +4(8)
Residual Metamagic
Silent Illusion


13th
Shadowcraft Mage 3
+5
+3
+3
+15
Spot +8(16)

Shadow Illusion


14th
Unseen Seer 1
+5
+3
+3
+17
Sens +10(14)

Damage Bonus +1d6


15th
Unseen Seer 2
+6
+3
+3
+18
Sens +4(18), Spel +5(18), Spot +1(17)
Silent Spell,
Repeat Spell
Advanced Learning
(Divine Insight),
Silent Spell


16th
Unseen Seer 3
+7
+4
+4
+18
Hide +7(15), Sens +1(19), Spel +1(19),
Spot +2(19)

Divination
Spell Power +1


17th
Unseen Seer 4
+8
+4
+4
+19
Hide +5(20), Sear +2(10), Sens +1(20),
Spel +1(20), Spot +2(20)

Damage Bonus +2d6


18th
Unseen Seer 5
+8
+4
+4
+19
Hide +1(21), Sear +7(17), Sens +1(21),
Spel +1(21), Spot +1(21)
Blend into Shadows
Advanced Learning
(Hunter's Eye),
Guarded Mind


19th
Shadowcraft Mage 4
+9
+4
+4
+20
Hide +1(22), KArc +1(14), Sear +5(22),
Spel +1(22), Spot +1(22)

Extended Illusion


20th
Shadowcraft Mage 5
+9
+4
+4
+20
Hide +1(23), KArc +5(19), Sear +1(23),
Spel +1(23), Spot +1(23)

Powerful
Shadow Magic

Bluf: Bluff
Conc: Concentration
Craf: Craft (Calligraphy)
Deci: Decipher Script
Gath: Gather Information
Hide: Hide
KArc: Knowledge (Arcana)
KA&E: Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering)
KDun: Knowledge (Dungeoneering)
KGeo: Knowledge (Geography)
KHis: Knowledge (History)
KLoc: Knowledge (Local)
KNat: Knowledge (Nature)
KN&R: Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty)
KPsi: Knowledge (Psionics)
KRel: Knowledge (Religion)
KPla: Knowledge (the Planes)
Open: Open Lock
Sear: Search
Sens: Sense Motive
Spel: Spellcraft
Spot: Spot
Tumb: Tumble
UseM: Use Magic Device
Spells Per Day

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


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


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


3rd
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


8th
4
3
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


10th
4
4
3
3
2
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


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


15th
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
1
-
-


16th
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
-
-


17th
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
1
-


18th
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
1
-


19th
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
-


20th
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
2
1


*excluding bonus spells per day from high ability modifier

Additional Spells Known
Divine Insight (Unseen Seer 2)
Hunter's Eye (Unseen Seer 5)


Invocation Known
Devil's Sight (Warlock 1)
Darkness (Warlock 2, progressed from Unseen Seer 5)



I won't expound much on all Wu Jen and Shadow Illusion spells. Wu Jens are considered as either T1 or T2, and Shadow Illusion grants access to Conjuration (Creation/Summoning) and Evocation spells of 8th level or lower.
Generally, area spells, summons (devils or those with special senses), battlefield controls, and attack-based spells (+Devil's Sight) will benefit from Repraek's signature Creeping Darkness, as well as on other darkness spells that will rob creatures of their vision. Generally, personal spells will benefit from Share Spells, touch spells will benefit from Deliver Touch Spells, and area Reflex-half spells will not be as harmful to an Imp with Improved Evasion."The bond is eternal, until the debt has been paid." That was her father's final words. The young scoundrel never really understood the ramblings of the madman she once called father, but they always filled her with a strong sense of dread and foreboding, and these parting words weren't any different.

Years have passed, and the echoes have long since faded. She has long since awakened the fiendish powers that flowed in her veins. House Duskplume, the quill cabal that seek the arcane secrets surrounding the Shadow-City of Elirhondas, has raised her to be one of their most prodigious mystic scholars.
Repraek casts as a 5th-level Wu Jen, and as a side note, many Wu Jen spells require attack/s and thus benefit from Sneak Attack.
Repraek's has a wide range of skills, including trained-only dips (combined with Collector of Stories).
Despite damage dealing not being Repraek's primary role, Eldritch Blast 1d6 + 1d6 Sneak Attack (or Spell Stealing) gives her situational blasting potential (vs. Flatfooted foes, such as those ambushed using Devil's Sight + Wall of Gloom); darkness will not be a hindrance for your sneak attack, either."The prince had completely fallen for it, so here's what you are going to do next, milady...", Ybsur then began whispering their next scheme.

Repraek never would've expected that she would so easily welcome the very forces that damned her ancestors. The imp and I are simply using each other for our own ends seemed like a good enough excuse. Still, she takes every possible precautions to avoid increasing her debt further, and manages to keep her fiendish powers from further progressing.
She gains access to 4th level Wu Jen spells and her signature Creeping Darkness spell.
Echoing Spells allow a Wu Jen and her allies to stock up on low level spells during down time, giving her more versatility.
Her newly-gained Imp allows her to effectively double up on her steadily-growing skills and on her personal spells' benefits, as well as being a great recipient for combat buffs like Polymorph due to Type.
This is where she first completes her combination assault: she (up to 30ft) and her imp can perfectly see in magical darkness, allowing both to attack blinded/deafened enemies within the Creeping Darkness, with Telepathy in case coordination is needed. Blindness means easy eldritch blasts even at BAB+4, or Snake Darts for up to 8d6 damage and up to 4d6 Con damage.
For added fun, her Imp can craft poison on their free time.Amongst the criminal underworld, both literally and figuratively, there is a recently increasing demand for the services of a trader referred to as "The Calligrapher". Rumoured to have mastered the powers of shadows and darkness, the Calligrapher can supposedly retrieve any information or item from any place where a shadow can be seen, even appearing at multiple places at the same time, or evern disappearing at will. Some claim that she can be recognized as a lady whose entire body beneath her shadowcloth robe is decked full of serpentine tattoos that come alive, while some claim that she wore silken scarlet robes and sported mystic runes on her arms and her entire back that reduces all those who read them into mindless, babbling, idiots. As with most urban legends, such accounts are often not verified and are even sometimes in conflict with each other, so take them with a grain of salt.
She gains access to 7th-level Wu Jen spells and 8th-level Sor/Wiz Conjuration (Creation/Summoning) and Evocation spells via Shadow Illusion; in particular, autosilent/autostill (via Spell Secret + Silent Illusion) Silent Image with Echoing Spell, Heighten Spell (to 9th level), Repeat Spell, and Residual Metamagic gives her far more bang for her spell slots.
Her improving skill ranks and the addition of Divine Insight (also combined with Echoing Spell, Repeat Spell, and Residual Metamagic) allows her and her Imp to exponentially be better at skillmonkeying.
Gaining Body Outside Body also allows her to Steal Level 1 Spells from her clones (hello Silent Image) that can then be modified by said clones (not her, as she can't) via Cooperative Metamagic.
Her Creeping Darkness + Blasting tactic remains viable sans True Seeing, and becomes even more effective with 2d6 Sneak Attack, her ability to Summon Monster (devils), and additional Sneak Attackers via Body Outside Body.
Her mastery with magical darkness usage also increases due to her Shadowcraft Mage levels, with Cloak of Shadows for a stand-by magical-darkness-like defense, Blacklight for flexible absolute darkness, Scattergloom for mobile large-area Darkness, Early Twilight for large-area illumination adjuster, Darkbolt for sneak-attack stunning effects, Shadow Shroud providing better hiding in darkness, and Shadow Canopy for a massive, long-lasting area of absolute darkness.
Cast Body Outside Body
Cast another Body Outside Body with bonus slot (feasible with +6 items), with Clones Cooperating with (Repeat)
Clones repeat step 2, but the spell is already autocast via Repeat Spell
Step 4: Profit! (don't forget this also works with Residual Metamagic)

Continues supply of clones within the area (keep in mind Repeated spells originate at the same place) provide Silent Image spell slot for Steal Spell and Cooperative Magic to buff the spell up. During downtime/s, this also means Repraek can cast all of her prepared spells, most of which can be perpetually Repeated (using steps 2-4), Heightened, and Echoed for arbitrarily large amount of indefinitely prepared spells. She can have all her spells known prepared at any one time at any amount, given time, including plenty (repeated) of Echoing Body Outside Body spells spawned from the first two castings that can now be spammed in combat. Watch out for the CL decrease in Echoing Spell, though thankfully, her CL remains high due to Illumian + Shadow Illusion (Create Magic Tattoo).Myths and realities can mix up so much in stories that it can be too hard to tell which is which. Sometimes, the illusions are just much truer than one's realities.
She caps off with 9th-level Wu Jen spells, a 110% 9th-level Silent/Still Silent Image (Shadow Illusion), a wicked Hide check with Blend into Shadows + Darkness combo in case of emergency, 3d6 Sneak Attack, and finally additional CL/3 Sneak Attack damage die shareable to her Imp. Shapechange is a large boon to her and her Imp, as well, allowing both to gain better forms to attack with.
She has plenty of skills for a full-caster, and plenty more Divine Insight to make use of with her Imp.
As already mentioned, the Creeping Darkness trick will still be the most relevant, reliant, and powerful magical darkness spell (since Shadow Canopy allows for SR) against those who have neither True Seeing nor devil's sight; this time, however, Blend into Shadows helps her still sneak-attack those who have these.
Illumian: aside from being the "multiclass" race mechanically and thematically, the race was chosen due to its thematic connection with the non-dip class choices

Wu Jen: the class has an academic feel with its use of spellbook, thematic with an Illumians academic pursuits (complete with libraries)
Incantatrix: the raw-magic feel of this class mixed with a race born out of pure magic
Shadowcraft Mage: the illumian's innate connection to the Plane of Shadow, along with its cabal system, lends well to the Adaptation section of this class (using this is an important key to the build, because otherwise the PrC will be illegal)
Unseen Seer: the mystery, secrecy, and intrigue of the entire illumian society, complete with cabal spies, plotters, and "eyes", complements the class theme



Use of Secret Ingredient
Magical Darkness:
Blend into Shadows, +Sneak Attack (+Steal Spell), + Eldritch Blast (Ranged FF Touch)
Blinded enemies within Creeping Darkness, +Sneak Attack (+Steal Spell), + Eldritch Blast (Ranged FF Touch)
Devils seeing through Magical Darkness effects ignore their vision-based "debuffs" (concealments, blind treatment, LoS, etc.)
Various utility of magical darkness effects from Shadow Illusion to mimic [Darkness] evocations


Improved Familiar:
Using Outsider type to advantage (Alter Self, Polymorph, ranged weapon proficiency)
Using Baatezu subtype to advantage (Devil's Sight, Telepathy even on LoS-blocked caster)
Poison (fabricated/crafted) usage combined with Snake Darts on Creeping Darkness
Share Spells for concentration-based (often detection) spells
Share Spells for good combat buffs (Alter Self, Giant Size, Shapechange)
Share Spells for utility spells (Heart of Water, Divine Insight)
Crapton of shareable spells via Steal Spell, Echoing/Repeat Spell, and/or Residual Metamagic
Plenty of skill ranks to share
Deliver Touch Spells for situational "must-hit" touch spells


Adaptations
Depending on your reading of Improved Familiar, you may choose to subtract 3 Wu Jen levels for more PrC levels
If you can justify the fluff, one could try using Humans instead of Illumians for more skills and feats
If multiclass penalties are off the table, using Whisper Gnome for better ranged attack, HP, and Hide is a good option

SRD: (everything else)
Spell Compendium: Divine Insight, Wu Jen spells, Blacklight, Darkbolt
Complete Adventurer: Spellthief
Complete Arcane: Warlock, Warlock invocations, Wu Jen, Wu Jen spells, Obtain Familiar, Practiced Spellcaster, Persistent Spell, Repeat Spell
Complete Mage: Unseen Seer, Wu Jen spells, Residual Metamagic
Complete Scoundrel: Collector of Stories
Races of Faerun: Shadow Canopy
Dragons of Faerun: Scattergloom
Heroes of Battle: Early Twilight
Drow of the Underdark: Blend into Shadows, Shadow Shroud
Player's Guide to Faerun: Incantatrix
Player's Handbook 2: Hunter's Eye
Secrets of Xendrik: Echoing Spell

[WhamBamSam]

The itsy bitsy spider...


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/1e/e2/75/1ee2756d6f69bb2895e943b227144d9f.jpg

Race: Human
Ability Scores (level 1): Str 10, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 16
Ability Scores (level 6): Str 10, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 16
Alignment: TN


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


1st
Shadowcaster 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
Concentration 4, Hide 4, Knowledge (the planes) 4, Spellcraft 4
Lightning Reflexes, Toughness
Fundamentals of Shadow, Apprentice Mysteries


2nd
Shadowcaster 2
+1
+3
+0
+3
Concentration 5, Hide 5, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Spellcraft 5
Shadow Vision
Bonus Feat (Shadow Vision)


3rd
Shadowcaster 3
+1
+3
+1
+3
Move Silently 2, Knowledge (arcana) 2
Shadow Familiar (Hairy Spider)
Umbral Sight (darkvision 30 ft.)


4th
Bard 1
+1
+3
+3
+5
Perform (sing) 7, Knowledge (arcana) 3

Spellcasting, Bardic music, bardic knowledge, countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1


5th
Bard 2
+2
+3
+4
+6
Perform (sing) 8, Concentration 8, Hide 6, Move Silently 5




6th
Bard 3
+3
+4
+4
+6
Perform (sing) 9, Concentration 9, Hide 8, Move Silently 7
Planar Familiar (fiendish Hairy Spider)
Inspire Competence



Fundamentals: Arrow of Dusk, Caul of Shadow, Umbral Hand
Mysteries: Life Fades, Steel Shadows, Flesh Fails

Spells known: (0) Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Flare, Light, Prestidigitation, Resistance, (1) Comprehend Languages, Erase, Unseen Servant
Spells per day: 3 0th-level spells, 2 1st-level spells

He wasn't going to survive this; Sam knew that much. Kraterion the Knight and Mux'th the Monk were dead. Henry the Healer was still alive, but only because the half-orc had gone into hiding the moment it became clear they couldn't win anymore. Now he and Sam were taking cover behind a boulder barely big enough to shield them both.

Sam desperately looked for a way to turn the battle around, but there was none. Only he, Henry, and his trusty familiar were still there, and at least two of those were useless in direct combat. Well, if he had to die, no reason to take Skyg with him, right?

Sam reached for his familiar, careful not to have his arm leave cover, and put the spider down on the ground, watching it as it skittered away. The shadowcaster sighed, then looked at the half-orc next to him. The two adventurers wordlessly nodded.

Sir William Evilton, Duke of the Dry Lands, laughed. It was not a laugh of joy, but one of triumph. The duke knew he had won. His foes were dead or scattered. Their mission to stop him had failed. Now, nothing was preventing him from finishing the ritual that would grant him power beyon...

The two adventurers he had not killed yet charged at him from behind their cover. Slightly startled but not too worried, the duke raised his hand and send a small red orb flying at his enemies. The orb quivered for a moment, then exploded, engulfing both targets in flame. Sir William Evilton grinned, content on knowing that in a moment, the smoke would clear and he would see his opponent's scorched corps...

A ray of darkness flew out of the clouds, piercing smoke, dust, and William's thigh. The duke cursed at the sight of one of his enemies still standing. How dared that human defy him? With a savage look on his face, the villain uttered a single word of power, and the final adventurer collapsed on the ground, screaming in pain.

Pain. Nothing but pain. It was as if everything in the world had just been covered by a curtain of pure anguish and every second of Sam's life had become an eternity of torture. The shadowcaster was dimly aware of an approaching figure, but did not have the strength to care.

Then the dagger slit his throat, and he never cared about anything again.

Sir William removed the bloody blade from the dead human's throat and stood up. Finally his foes were dead. The sorcerer took a moment to savor his victory, then started to cast the final spells required to complete the ritual.

He never noticed the spider crawling towards the ritual circle.


I suspect the above has confused you. Allow me to explain. Sam is not my submission for this contest. He is here only to justify the existence of my real build.

This build is dependant on a single, important detail. If you look at the instructions for this contest, it doesn't say 'Necessary: The Improved Familiar feat'. It simply says: 'Necessary: Improved Familiar'. This little detail is very important, so keep it in mind.

You know, this interlude probably confused you even more. Just read on and things will start to make sense... I hope.

(Oh, and by the way, I did intend for Sam's team to be as unoptimized as possible. I mean, a Knight, Monk, Healer, and Bard/Shadowcaster? Yeah...)


Skyg Shadowfiendhttp://projectumbrella.net/files/imagecache/preview/images/bio2%202009-10-26%2002-01-01-16.png

“Normal is an illusion. What is normal to the spider is chaos to the fly.”


The giant did not comprehend what it was seeing. When it heard someone had come to challenge him, he had expected a powerful warrior with an enchanted blade, or maybe a robed cleric wielding his god's wrath. Of course, he'd still vanquish them. He was Rogmar Thundermountain, lord of the White Peaks!

His challenger, however, was a miniscule spider covered in tiny black and red hairs. The giant shook his head. Was this a trick? An illusion, to catch him off guard? Maybe his challenger was still on his way?

The spider, however, looked straight at him. Rogmar blinked.

The spider continued to look straight at him. Rogmar blinked again.

The spider was gone. Rogmar looked around in disbelief. Where had the thing disappeared to? Almost immediately, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The giant looked down, but saw nothing. Again and again he felt the sharp sting, but no source was visible. Rogmar desparately flailed around now, but he struck nothing but air.

After what seemed like an eternity of torture, the giant finally fell.

A tiny spider appeared on top of his corpse, seeminly emerging from the shadow cast by it. Another vanquished foe, another battle won.


Excellent question. You may be slightly confused by finding out that my submission is a spider. In fact, perceptive individuals may have found out that my submission is Sam's familiar. Just bear with me for a little longer, it'll all make sense in a minute.

Allow me to explain why Skyg is a legal PC in a series of facts.

Here's a fact: The Hairy Spider is a creature from the Monsters of Faerun book that has been given a LA of +0 in the 3e-to-3.5 conversion.

Here's another fact: Familiars 'use the basic statistics for a creature of their kind, but with the following changes [...]'. No changes related to LA are mentioned, so a Hairy Spider familiar would not lose its LA.

Here's a slightly unrelated fact: A familiar whose master dies retains some of its abilities, although it is treated as the familiar of a master two levels lower (minimum level 1). These rules were provided in Tome and Blood (page 12), and remain legal since they were never updated/reprinted/errata'ed.

Here's a fact based on the above facts: It is possible to play as a hairy spider who used to be a familiar but whose master is now dead.

Here's a completely unrelated fact: 'Tonkatsu' is a Japanese food which consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. It was invented in 1899, in Tokyo.


I could even make Skyg's master a 20th-level character and have him get some huge bonuses. There are two reasons why I am not doing this. First there is the issue that whatever is strong enough to defeat a 20th-level character probably would notice said character's familiar, and second because I fear the mighty judges and their +6 Greataxe of Elegance Penalties.

So now that it has been established the Skyg is, in fact, a legal character, let's see the build!

Race: Dark Partly-Fiend Fiendish Ex-familiar Hairy Spider
Ability Scores (level 1): Str 1, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 1
Ability Scores (level 20): Str 2, Dex 24, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 1
Alignment: CE


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


1st
Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Climb 4, Craft (poisonmaking) 4, Escape Artist 4, Hide 4, Listen 4, Move Silently 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Speak Language 4 (Drow Sign Language and Common)
Darkstalker
Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding


2nd
Dark Template
+0
+0
+2
+0


+10 ft. to all movement modes, Hide in Plain Sight, Resist cold 10, Superior Low-Light vision, Skill Bonuses


3rd
Fiendish Template
+0
+0
+2
+0





4th
Fiendish Template
+0
+0
+2
+0


Resistance to Cold and Fire, Smite Good, Damage Reduction, Spell Resistance


5th
Half-Fiend Savage Progression 1
+0
+0
+2
+0


+2 dexterity, +1 natural armor, claws, outsider type, spell-like abilities


6th
Rogue 2
+1
+0
+3
+0
Climb 5, Craft (poisonmaking) 5, Escape Artist 5, Hide 5, Listen 5, Move Silently 5, Search 5, Sense Motive 5, Spot 5, Disguise 1

Spell Reflection


7th
Rogue 3
+2
+1
+3
+1
Climb 6, Craft (poisonmaking) 6, Escape Artist 6, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 6, Search 6, Sense Motive 6, Spot 6, Disguise 2
Weapon Finesse
Sneak Attack +2d6, Penetrating Strike


8th
Rogue 4
+3
+1
+4
+1
Climb 7, Craft (poisonmaking) 7, Escape Artist 7, Hide 7, Listen 7, Move Silently 7, Search 7, Sense Motive 7, Spot 7, Disguise 3

Uncanny Dodge


9th
Rogue 5
+3
+1
+4
+1
Climb 8, Craft (poisonmaking) 8, Escape Artist 8, Hide 8, Listen 8, Move Silently 8, Search 8, Sense Motive 8, Spot 8, Disguise 4

Sneak Attack +3d6


10th
Rogue 6
+4
+2
+5
+2
Climb 9, Craft (poisonmaking) 9, Escape Artist 9, Hide 9, Listen 9, Move Silently 9, Search 9,, Spot 9, Sense Motive 8 Easy Escape Skill Trick 2
Instinctive Darkness



11th
Rogue 7
+5
+2
+5
+2
Climb 10, Craft (poisonmaking) 10, Escape Artist 10, Hide 10, Listen 10, Move Silently 10, Search 10, Sense Motive 10, Spot 10

Sneak Attack +4d6


12th
Rogue 8
+6/+1
+2
+6
+2
Climb 11, Craft (poisonmaking) 11, Escape Artist 11, Hide 11, Listen 11, Move Silently 11, Search 11, Sense Motive 11, Spot 11, Disable Device 2,

Uncanny Bravery


13th
Rogue 9
+6/+1
+3
+6
+3
Climb 12, Craft (poisonmaking) 12, Escape Artist 12, Hide 12, Listen 12, Move Silently 12, Search 12, Sense Motive 12, Spot 12, Disable Device 4
At Home in the Deep
Sneak Attack +5d6


14th
Rogue 10
+7/+2
+3
+7
+3
Climb 13, Craft (poisonmaking) 13, Escape Artist 13, Hide 13, Listen 13, Move Silently 13, Search 13, Sense Motive 13, Spot 13, Disable Device 6

Skill Mastery (Hide, Move Silently, Spot, Listen, Escape Artist, Craft (poisonmaking)


15th
Rogue 11
+8/+3
+3
+7
+3
Climb 14, Craft (poisonmaking) 14, Escape Artist 14, Hide 14, Listen 14, Move Silently 14, Search 14, Sense Motive 14, Spot 14, Disable Device 8

Sneak Attack +6d6


16th
Assassin 1
+8/+3
+3
+9
+3
Craft (poisonmaking) 15, Escape Artist 15, Hide 15, Listen 15, Move Silently 15, Search 15, Spot 15
Gloom Strike
Sneak Attack +7d6, Death Attack, Poison Use, Spells


17th
Assassin 2
+9/+4
+3
+10
+3
Craft (poisonmaking) 16, Escape Artist 16, Hide 16, Listen 16, Move Silently 16, Search 16, Spot 16

+1 save against poison, Improved Uncanny Dodge


18th
Assassin 3
+10/+5
+4
+10
+4
Craft (poisonmaking) 17, Escape Artist 17, Hide 17, Listen 17, Move Silently 17, Search 17, Spot 17

Sneak Attack +8d6


19th
Assassin 4
+11/+6/+1
+4
+11
+4
Craft (poisonmaking) 18, Escape Artist 18, Hide 18, Listen 18, Move Silently 18, Search 18, Spot 18
Shadow Heritage
+2 save against poison


20th
Assassin 5
+11/+6/+1
+4
+11
+4
Craft (poisonmaking) 19, Escape Artist 19, Hide 19, Listen 19, Move Silently 19, Search 19, Spot 19

Sneak Attack +9d6




Skyg starts off as Sam's familiar. However, after a lost battle with a mad mage wishing to perform a dark ritual, Sam dies, and Skyg ends up becoming the ritual's target (half-fiend template).

The spider becomes a wandering killer, seeking to prove his strength by winning seemingly impossible battles. With his penchant for hiding and pragmatism, Skyg manages to win many fights.

Later, Skyg travels to the underdark in search of new challenges, and discovers a secret cabal of drow assassins. He proves his worth by killing one (thus fulfilling assassin's prerequisites) and is accepted in the cabal. Some see his presence even as a sign of Lolth.

Skyg continues increasing his powers until he is a near-unstoppable opponent. His use of poison, magic, and stealth combined with his defensive abilities means that few can best him in single combat.

A single hit die at ECL 5? I know what you are thinking. However, please keep in mind that you have a hide bonus in the mid-thirties and HiPS to go with it. People will only see you if you allow them to. You can even try attacking, then hiding. The -20 penalty is harsh, but you'll still beat most creatures' spot checks most of the time.

Even if you do get attacked, your foes have to contend with AC in the mid-twenties, spell resistance, improved evasion, poison immunity, resistance to two common damage types, and possible concealment (from Darkness). Skyg isn't that easy to kill!

Your combat abilities at this level suffer, though. Without Weapon Finesse you are stuck with a mere +3 bonus to hit, and you'll be . Try to avoid fights by sneaking.

Finally, try to craft some poison. You can get almost everywhere, and a bit of strategically applied poison can't hurt (well, of course it does hurt, but... well, you get what I'm trying to say). Using a Toxic Tooth (Complete Scoundrel) with it can be quite effective, as the item's drawback does not apply to you.

We finally have Weapon Finesse! Also, Instinctive Darkness lets your screw with the action economy, which is always nice. It's more of the same for the remaining part. Keep sneaking and stabbing and you'll be fine.

In case you ever get grabbed, Easy Escape helps you get away. Grappling is still not your strong suit, though, so just stay away from everything with tentacles, coils, claws, or a combination of those.

At Home in the Deep is nice, but what you should be really excited about is Skill Mastery! Taking 10 on Hide and Move Silently? Don't mind if I do! With cruel luck eliminated as a factor in our sneaking we can now pretty much do it all the time.

Oh, you also get Uncanny Bravery. Maybe go fight some dragons, I don't really know what else to do with it.

Skyg takes up the path of the Assassin, barely reaching 3rd-level spells. I don't even know where to start on the things you can do now! Turning invisible, creating poison, buffing yourself..

But let us not forget about the more mundane bonuses! Poison Use is nice, even though immunity to poison already did most of its job. Death Attack, however, is awesome for this build. Let me explain:

You only have to study your target three rounds for Death Attack to work. There's no limit on how often per day you can do this. Ergo, you can hide, study the target, dart in for a quick strike, and repeat if the enemy still lives. Eventually, the enemy will roll an 1 on its saving throw. The highest spot checks modifiers I have seen below CR 20 aren't higher than +33, so an Invisibility spell should be enough to become virtually undetectable.

Magical Darkness!
Skyg can cast Darkness as a SLA from ECL 5 on. He can use it in a variety of ways, whether to gain some concealment, gain his bonuses from being in shadow, or hide.

Improved Familiar!
As I said before, you don't need the 'improved familiar' feat, you merely need to have an 'improved familiar' somewhere in your build. Here, it is the race. You don't have an improved familiar, you are an improved familiar.

No wizard!
Well, this one kind of speaks for itself. No wizards were harmed during the making of this build, and all that.

Putting it together: Magical darkness helps you to use the abilities of the Dark template (part of being an Improved Familiar). In addition, Darkness is a good (de)buff in itself.

Originality: Don't tell me I'm scoring low here. Rogue may be expected, as is the case (to a lesser degree) with Assassin, but actually being an improved familiar instead of having one?

Power: You get to pick your battles, you can deal consistent damage without being hit yourself, and eventually your foes risk dying with each attack you make. You may not be a full caster, but you are pretty impressive in combat.

Out of combat, you get to craft poison, scout, and put those skills to use. All in all, I'd label Skyg high tier 4/low tier 3.

Elegance: Three templates aren't a great thing to have here, I know. However, do know that two of them are actually gained in a way that makes sense (being summoned as familiar with them). I also only have a single class and prestige class.

It says in the first post that LA should not be factored in here this round. Perhaps that would make the templates acceptable?

Use of Secret Ingredient: Forbidden Ingredient was avoided. Both secret ingredients were used, and they interact with each other in a meaningful way.

[WhamBamSam]

A blade (or two) in the dark.



Mourne Elisviir
Lesser Drow Ranger 2/Wilderness Rogue 3/Assassin 10/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/232/2/8/the_one_who_walks_in_shadows_by_justinianknight-d5bt98h.jpg


Art by Justin Butler (http://justinianknight.deviantart.com/art/The-One-Who-Walks-in-Shadows-322171649)

Ability Scores
Ability Scores: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10
Increase: Int at 4 and 8; Str at 12, 16, and 20.
Build Table


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


1st
Ranger
+1
+2
+2
+0
Handle Animal 4, Hide 4, Listen 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Move Silently 4, Ride 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Survival 4
Darkstalker, Track (B)
Favored Enemy (Humans), Wild Empathy


2nd
Ranger
+2
+3
+3
+0
Handle Animal 5, Hide 5, Listen 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 2.5, Move Silently 5, Ride 5, Search 5, Spot 5, Survival 5
Two-Weapon Fighting (B)



3rd
Wilderness Rogue
+2
+3
+5
+0
Disguise 2, Hide 6, Intimidate 1, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Listen 6, Move Silently 6, Ride 6, Spot 6, Use Magic Device 2
Mounted Combat
Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding


4th
Wilderness Rogue
+3
+3
+6
+0
Disguise 3, Hide 7, Intimidate 2, Knowlege (Arcana) 3.5, Listen 7, Move Silently 7, Ride 7, Search 6, Spot 7, Use Magic Device 4

Evasion


5th
Wilderness Rogue
+4
+4
+6
+1
Disguise 4, Hide 8, Intimidate 3, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Listen 8, Move Silently 8, Ride 8, Search 8, Spot 8, Use Magic Device 6

Sneak Attack +2d6, Penetrating Strike


6th
Assassin
+4
+4
+8
+1
Hide 9, Listen 9, Move Silently 9, Ride 9, Spot 9, Use Magic Device 7
Stealthy
Sneak Attack +3d6


7th
Assassin
+5
+4
+9
+1
Hide 10, Listen 10, Move Silently 10, Ride 10, Spot 10, Use Magic Device 8

Uncanny Dodge, +1 Save vs. Poison


8th
Assassin
+6/+1
+5
+9
+2
Hide 11, Intimidate 4, Listen 11, Move Silently 11, Ride 11, Spot 11, Use Magic Device 9

Sneak Attack +4d6


9th
Assassin
+7/+2
+5
+10
+2
Hide 12, Intimidate 5, Listen 12, Move Silently 12, Ride 12, Spot 12, Use Magic Device 10
Obtain Familiar
Save vs. Poison +2


10th
Assassin
+7/+2
+5
+10
+2
Hide 13, Intimidate 6, Listen 13, Move Silently 13, Ride 13, Spot 13, Use Magic Device 11

Improved Uncanny Dodge, Sneak Attack +5d6


11th
Assassin
+8/+3
+6
+11
+3
Hide 14, Intimidate 7, Listen 14, Move Silently 14, Ride 14, Spot 14, Use Magic Device 12

Save vs. Poison +3


12th
Assassin
+9/+4
+6
+13
+3
Hide 15, Intimidate 8, Listen 15, Move Silently 15, Ride 15, Spot 15, Use Magic Device 13
Improved Familiar
Sneak Attack +6d6


13th
Crinti Shadow Marauder
+9/+4
+6
+14
+3
Hide 16, Intimidate 9, Listen 16, Move Silently 16, Ride 16, Spot 16, Use Magic Device 14

Shadow Ride


14th
Crinti Shadow Marauder
+10/+5
+7
+14
+4
Hide 17, Intimidate 10, Listen 17, Move Silently 17, Ride 17, Spot 17, Use Magic Device 15
Ride-By Attack (B)
Shadow Walk


15th
Crinti Shadow Marauder
+11/+6/+1
+7
+15
+4
Hide 18, Intimidate 11, Listen 18, Move Silently 18, Ride 18, Spot 18, Use Magic Device 16
Instinctive Darkness
Sudden Strike +1d6


16th
Crinti Shadow Marauder
+12/+7/+2
+7
+15
+4
Hide 19, Intimidate 12, Listen 19, Move Silently 19, Ride 19, Spot 19, Use Magic Device 17

Shadow Pounce


17th
Crinti Shadow Marauder
+12/+7/+2
+7
+15
+4
Hide 20, Intimidate 13, Listen 20, Move Silently 20, Ride 20, Spot 20, Use Magic Device 18

Sudden Strike +2d6


18th
Assassin
+13/+8/+3
+7
+16
+5
Hide 21, Intimidate 14, Listen 21, Move Silently 21, Ride 21, Spot 21, Use Magic Device 19
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Hide in Plain Sight, +4 Save vs. Poison


19th
Assassin
+13/+8/+3
+8
+16
+5
Hide 22, Intimidate 14, Listen 22, Move Silently 22, Ride 22, Spot 22, Use Magic Device 20

Sneak Attack +6d6


20th
Assassin
+14/+9/+4
+8
+17
+5
Hide 23, Intimidate 15, Listen 23, Move Silently 23, Ride 23, Spot 23, Use Magic Device 21

Save vs. Poison +5



Spells
Spells per Day/Spells Known


Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th


1st
-
-
-
-


2nd
-
-
-
-


3rd
-
-
-
-


4th
-
-
-
-


5th
-
-
-
-


6th
0/2
-
-
-


7th
1/3
-
-
-


8th
2/3
0/2
-
-


9th
3/4
1/3
-
-


10th
3/4
2/3
0/2
-


11th
3/4
3/4
1/3
-


12th
3/4
3/4
2/3
0/2


13th
3/4
3/4
2/3
0/2


14th
3/4
3/4
2/3
0/2


15th
3/4
3/4
2/3
0/2


16th
3/4
3/4
2/3
0/2


17th
3/4
3/4
2/3
0/2


18th
3/4
3/4
3/4
1/3


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


20th
3/4
3/4
3/4
3/4



Spells Known
1st: Critical Strike1, Shadow Double2, Ebon Eyes3, Shock and Awe3
2nd: Blade of Pain and Fear3, Alter Self, Swift Invisibility3, Darklight4
3rd: Wratihstrike3, Deeper Darkness, Magic Circle Against Good, Sadism4
4th:Greater Invisibility, Assassin's Darkness5, Freedom of Movement, Shadow Arrow6

1. This spell appears in both the Spell Compendium and Complete Mage, and the latter is not an update of the former. I like the SC version better, but the CM version came later. Talk to your DM.
2. This spell is from Drow of the Underdark
3. This spell is from the Spell Compendium
4. This spell is from the Book of Vile Darkness
5. This spell is from Complete Scoundrel
6. This spell is from Champions of Ruin
Familiar Stuff
http://th02.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2014/047/6/6/hippogriff_import__13_by_silveroakstables-d76otk3.png
Image by SilveringOak (http://www.deviantart.com/art/Hippogriff-Import-13-434498979)
Mourne gains a hippogriff familiar at level 12, and before that, his familiar doesn't matter much. Grab a cat for the Move Silently bonus, maybe. Because Assassin is his only spellcasting class, his effective spellcaster level maxes out at 3, so the hippogriff gets/gives the following: Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, and Deliver Touch Spells. Mostly, though, it's there to serve as a mount, with Mounted Combat helping it to stay alive in battle. It's got decent HP and BAB because Mourne does, and it's perfectly capable of stealthing along with him.

And no, it doesn't have a name. Mourne isn't much of a pet-namer.
Design Notes
Level 5
Mourne was unsurprised when he was asked to join the assassins. After all, his incursions against the Arkuins had been wildly successful, and everyone knew he was almost pure drow, which, unfortunately mattered when one was a candidate for a prestigious position. But...he had expected his target to be an enemy of the state, some worthless human he could feel good about putting out of its misery. But here he was in T’lindhet. stalking a full drow who would undoubtedly consider herself his better. He knew better than to ask why she had to die, and the fact that she was wearing better clothes than he could personally afford and riding in a palanquin carried by a pair of skum did little to endear her. As the palanquin passed, he slipped alongside it. He could pass for full drow, and the skum averted their eyes, as was the custom. Mourne didn't bother to draw back the palaquin's curtains; he just stabbed through them until he heard the corpse tumble out the other side.
Mourne has those Ranger levels for a couple reasons: Easily picking up TWF and getting better BAB. Fluff-wise, Ranger and Wilderness Rogue are pretty much the same, and his levels are arranged to avoid multiclass penalties. No reason to antagonize the judges! He's got +4 BAB, +2d6 Sneak Attack, Darkstalker from level 1, and all the skills he needs to scout. Pretty much what you'd expect from a Ranger/Rogue. Only Mounted Combat is odd, though right now he'll have to settle for riding a horse, probably. I picked humans for his favored enemy to deal with Arkuin rebels. Also note that these levels are where he picks up the Knowlege (Arcana) ranks he needs for Obtain Familiar later.
Level 10
It was such a terrible shame that T’lindheti ambassadors kept being ambushed and killed by Arkuin raiders on the road to Cathyr, and such bad timing too--the politicians might call it "furthering cooperation with our homeland," but Mourne knew what it meant: The drow, fearing the increasing independence of their surface-world kin, were trying to reassert their dominance, which was more difficult when malcontents kept murdering their diplomats. Few knew that Crinti assassins were taught the rudiments of magic, so Mourne appeared as just another human. He signaled his team, and the attack began.
Assassin continues increasing Mourne's Sneak Attack, and gives him the arcane spellcasting to get a familiar. Oh, and it has Use Magic Device as a class skill, which is surprisingly rare for PrCs. Mourne's Int mod is sufficient for his spellcasting, but that's about it, and his caster level will never be any good. I recommend he avoid spells that have saves and instead focus on buffing himself with spells like Blade of Pain and Fear and Wraithstrike. Frankly, all good Assassin spells are wand-worthy, but if that's not an option, Mourne can cast it himself.
Level 17 (Sweet Spot)
Officially, Mourne was inducted into the shadow marauders in order to quell human uprisings to the east, but, officially, that had always been his job. The queen must have been aware of the assassins and shadow marauders' movements against T’lindhet. With treason of that magnitude, the lack of a knife in Mourne's own back was as resounding an endorsement as he was likely to get. And the drop in attacks once he started training with the Shadow Marauders was remarkable--after all, riding around on a hippogriff made it much harder to effectively pose as an Arkuin.
The optimal improved familiar for Mourne is probably a hippogriff because of its flight, but any of the Large (and therefore rideable) familiars from Complete Warrior will do in a pinch. Anyway, this is the level where he gets Shadow Pounce, which lets him ride his improved familiar through magical darkness and full-attack. Mounted Combat shines here, because his familiar is going to be in combat pretty much constantly. He's got a maximum of 10 Shadow Ride uses per day just from his class, but he can supplement that with Dimension Door, either cast himself of through a wand, but that's not magical darkness, so ehh. His precision damage also continues to improve, though Sudden Strike isn't as good as Sneak Attack.
Level 20
The queen's announcement yesterday that the Crinti were officially cutting ties with T'lindhet, had received a...mixed reception. Most of the populace were glad to be out from under the heel of those underground decadents, but there were always traditionalists, especially those whose social cachet relied on their drow blood. And for Mourne, the head of queen's guard and master of the assassins, that meant there was always plenty to keep him occupied...
It's too bad that Mourne doesn't get up to +16 BAB (seriously, Crinti Shadow Marauder, who gives out pounce without full BAB?!), but TWF and Improved TWF give him a decent number of attacks, and he's got a total of 9d6 dice of precision damage (7 Sneak Attack and 2 Sudden Strike). He finally picks up Hide in Plain Sight at level 18, another use of magical darkness that combos nicely with his racial Darkness power, which can be used in a pinch to create shadows. It's even useful in combat, since the Instinctive Darkness feat (which he gained at level 15 but only comes into its own with HiPS) allows him to use it (a) twice a day, and (b) as a swift, non-AOO-provoking action. Note also that even though he's not a very impressive spellcaster, more than a quarter of his spells known deal with magical darkness.
Adaptation
If your DM allows Practiced Spellcaster to apply to familiar, take that at 15th level instead of Instinctive Darkness. More familiar abilities is better. Also, if you can customize his familiar's feats, exchange Dodge for Flyby Attack. Nothing fancy.
Sources
Complete Arcane: Obtain Familiar
Complete Warrior: Improved Familiar (Hippogriff)
Drow of the Underdark: Instinctive Darkness
Dungeonscape: Penetrating Strike ACF
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Shining South: Crinti Shadow Marauder
Unearthed Arcana: Wilderness Rogue

[WhamBamSam]

He's two plagues for the price of one!


The Harbinger of Fear
5 death master/5 dread witch/10 vermin lord
“Fear is a plague, deadlier than any other.”
CE Hellbred(spirit)

STR 10 DEX 10 CON 15-2(+1) INT 16(+3) WIS 10 CHA 15+2(+1)
CHA is done at level 4, CON at 8. INT for the other increases.
Casts as a level 15 Death Master, CL 19. Levels lost at 6, 12, 14, 16,18
Giant Vermin, Scare, and Cause Fear are all needed for prerequisites, otherwise vermin and darkness/fear themed spells are taken if available.


Intelligence report A62, subject: Harbinger of Fear?

These excerpts were picked out from a journal found in an abandoned town, after the being known as the Harbinger of Fear paid a visit.

First entry:
I’ve heard rumors of massive locust swarms blocking out the sun and devouring crops just hours before harvest time. They’ve always been bad in this area, but nothing has ever come close to this. The winter will certainly be hard this year. The Grand Harvest Festival may even have to be cancelled again.

Second entry:
The mayor called a town meeting today. As suspected, there will be no festival this year. Worse, signs point to a harsh winter, and with short food supplies many people are going to die. The locusts are unstoppable, every day we get more and more reports of a massive swarm tearing through the countryside and cleaning out fields of crops in minutes. Mages were dispatched, but when they tossed fireballs at the insects they simply turned and ate them instead. Nobody I've talked to has heard of bugs acting intelligently like that. I suspect something far worse than just a regular swarm....

Third entry:
They’re here. We woke up this morning to find the entire town covered in insects. Not just locusts either. Centipedes, mosquitoes, flies, any creature you can think of. They seem to be waiting for something. The buzzing is driving me insane. An emergency meeting was called again. We asked the neighboring druid community if there was anything they could do, and the response was telling us to abandon the city. The druids have always been... lax, but if they’re that worried, something is very wrong. We don’t have the supplies for a mass relocation to the next town.
There is a plan though. A very stupid one, if I might add. Tonight every able man and mage is going to take a torch and hammer and try to kill as many bugs as we can. I tried to warn them that this is no ordinary infestation, but nobody would listen. This is going to end in disaster.

Four:
I was right. A dozen men dead, ripped to shreds by vermin. The instant Davis raised a torch to a group of flying insects they turned, clinging to him and draining his blood in seconds. After that, every insect in the area sprung to life, attacking everyone in the area. I managed to split off from the group without being followed and make it back to my house. I don’t know how well the others fared... We can only hope the frost comes early this year.

Fifth:
I woke up this... morning? Its hard to tell. I can’t tell if its a massive swarm of insects, or if some godforsaken spell has blotted out the sun. I can’t stop shaking. I’m going to die here. Starving and surrounded by buzzing bugs. What do I do if they get in? What if my house has a crack in the roof where they can crawl in and rip me apart? Why are they here?! I can hear something moving outside. Something bigger than a regular bug... Gods, I hope its not a giant spider.

Six:
I found out what the noise was. Davis came back. Only it wasn't him... He was so pale, and he was covered in blood. I watched him through the window. Just wandering, like a starving animal looking for food. There’s something else here, I can feel it in my bones. Every few hours it passes over and I get chills down my spine. This journal is my only distraction from the horrors outside...

Seven
I saw it. A hooded figure, walking among the swarms. The first time it passed by I nearly passed out from fear. I thought the shaking was bad two days ago. I can barely see straight now. Food is running out. I can last another day at most.

Eight
Food ran out, 3 days ago. The hooded thing has been standing outside, just watching me for a little over a day. I caught a glimpse of its face.... Oh god... It looks like a man but with mandibles and its covered in swarming creatures.... I think its sitting there to mock me... feed off my fear. Every so often a bug will crawl in... I don’t know where from. It’ll just sit there until I kill it.... if I sleep they’ll just pile up and then swarm me in my sleep... I have to stay awake.

Nine
I’ve been awake for 37 hour straght.... the bugs keep crawling i They’re geting worse. I have to stay awak, but I don’t even know which ones are rea l anymre. There’s a buzing in my brain... Its so loud, i can braley hear myself think.. That thing is still outside... t coul get in if it really wanted... maybe it just wants to talk? maybe the buziing is it trying to talk to me... ill go outside... maybe it just wants some sugar?? al this for some sugra... what a silly bug...

Nobody is quite sure what the Harbinger is. Stories of it pop up every few years, but we can never mobilize fast enough to get a large force out to try and deal with it. Some say its an avatar of some forgotten god trying to bring fear on the world, others say its simply a mage who enjoys slowly driving men mad with terror. There are some very old tales about a necromancer who controlled vermin, much like the Harbinger, but was struck down and banished to Hell. Its possible the two are linked, that an evil deity brought the necromancer back so that it could continue its vile work.

Regardless, it approaches these attacks with a terrifying precision. First it draws out the magic users, ensuring communication and defense is cut off. After that, it infests the city and picks off the survivors, leaving a few alive until they either die from insanity or starvation. Once its satisfied it simply vanishes, leaving zero to few corpses. Based on the journal, we now think it may be animating those it kills. An undead army piloted by a madman. Wonderful. That’s just the thing this kingdom needs. End of report.


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


1st
Death Master 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
4 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 4 Intimidate, 4 Knowledge(arcana), 4 concentration
Devil's Favor, Verminfriend
Rebuke Undead, Undead Companion


2nd
Death Master 2
+1
+0
+0
+3
5 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 4 Intimidate, 4 Knowledge(arcana), 5 concentration, 1 knowledge(nature)
-
-


3rd
Death Master 3
+2
+1
+1
+3
5 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 4 Intimidate, 4 Knowledge(arcana), 6 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 1 hide
Mother Cyst
-


4th
Death Master 4
+3
+1
+1
+4
5 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 4 Intimidate, 4 Knowledge(arcana), 7 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 2 hide, 1 move silently
-
-


5th
Death Master 5
+3
+1
+1
+4
5 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 4 Intimidate, 4 Knowledge(arcana), 8 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 2 move silently
-
Master of the Dead


6th
Dread Witch 1
+3
+1
+1
+6
5 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 6 Intimidate, 4 Knowledge(arcana), 9 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently
Heighten Spell, unnatural will
Master of Terror


7th
Dread Witch 2
+4
+1
+1
+7
5 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 10 Intimidate, 4 Knowledge(arcana), 10 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently
-
Absorb Fear


8th
Dread Witch 3
+4
+2
+2
+7
6 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 11 Intimidate, 5 Knowledge(arcana), 11 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 1 knowledge(the planes)
-
Fearful Empowerment 1/day


9th
Dread Witch 4
+5
+2
+2
+8
7 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 12 Intimidate, 5 Knowledge(arcana), 12 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 2 knowledge(the planes)
Fell Frighten
Delay fear, Greater Master of Terror


10th
Dread Witch 5
+5
+2
+2
+8
8 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 13 Intimidate, 6 Knowledge(arcana), 13 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 3 knowledge(the planes)
-
Fearful Empowerment 2/day, horrific aura, reflective fear


11th
Vermin Lord 1
+5
+2
+2
+10
9 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 13 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 14 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 1 spot, 2 listen, never outnumbered
-
Chitin 1, Vermin servant 1HD


12th
Vermin Lord 2
+6
+2
+2
+11
10 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 14 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 15 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 3 spot, 3 listen , never outnumbered
Practiced Spellcaster
Blood Drain


13th
Vermin Lord 3
+6
+3
+3
+11
11 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 15 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 16 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 5 spot, 4 listen, never outnumbered
-
Spider Hand


14th
Vermin Lord 4
+7
+3
+3
+12
12 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 16 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 17 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 6 spot, 6 listen, never outnumbered
-
Chitin 2, swarm armor


15th
Vermin Lord 5
+7
+3
+3
+12
13 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 17 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 18 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 8 spot, 7 listen, never outnumbered
Mindsight
Wings of the vermin, vermin servant 4 HD


16th
Vermin Lord 6
+8
+4
+4
+13
14 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 18 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 19 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 10 spot, 8 listen, never outnumbered
-
Spider legs


17th
Vermin Lord 7
+8
+4
+4
+13
15 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 19 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 20 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 11 spot, 11 listen, never outnumbered
-
Chitin 3, spew vermin


18th
Vermin Lord 8
+9
+4
+4
+14
16 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 20 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 21 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 13 spot, 12 listen, never outnumbered
Extra Spell(Aura of Terror)
Poison


19th
Vermin Lord 9
+9
+5
+5
+14
17 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 21 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 22 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 15 spot, 14 listen, never outnumbered
-
Vermin Servant 16 HD


20th
Vermin Lord 10
+10
+5
+5
+15
18 Spellcraft, 4 knowledge(religion), 22 Intimidate, 7 Knowledge(arcana), 23 concentration, 2 knowledge(nature), 3 hide, 3 move silently, 4 knowledge(the planes), 16 spot, 16 listen, never outnumbered
-
Chitin 4, hivemind



1-5
5 Death Master
Easy start here. Death Master gives us a decent selection of spells to choose from, as well as a decent tank to meatshield for us. At level 4 we can select a ghoul companion and use it to make more ghouls by stealing away commoners, sticking them in a cave somewhere, and then rebuking the new ghouls. We take Necrotic Cyst at level 3 to get a few more spells that work with what we do. Later on when we get a familiar it can hold the charge for us. The spell focus here is on debuffing, spells like Cause Fear and Darkness.

6-10
5 Death Master/5 Dread Witch
Death Master’s can actually be decent at fear tactics due to spell selection and high CHA. So we jump into dread witch to get our scare on. Piercing fear immunity is great, and so is getting a higher caster level on effects. To keep with our fear/darkness theme we grab Fell Frighten and Heighten Spell. Fell Animate would be an option here but Death Masters don’t have enough blasty spells to make it worth it. Fell Frighten is a much safer choice. Heighten spell can be used to heighten the level of (deeper) darkness to cancel out light spells, not to mention the better save DC’s for Necrotic Tumor. Also notable is the fact that Dread witch gives +2/class level bonus to intimidate, which stacks with the bonus that Hellbred get. With CHA, we now have a +16 to intimidate before any skill ranks. Unfortunately, Vermin Lord does not get intimidate as a class skill so we’re stuck putting cross-class ranks into it. Vermin Lord doesn’t have great class skills though, so we don’t lose much. Dread Witch only punches through fear immunity on spell effects though, so investing feats in intimidate isn’t worth it.

11-15
5 Death Master/5 Dread Witch/5 Vermin Lord
Vermin Lord is only 6/10 casting, but we have the potential to make up for that. Blood Drain does very little for us, since we lack the ability to change form. Spider Hand can be used to hold a charge in your hand and then deliver it via tiny spider assault. Wings of the vermin gives a limited flight, but a native flight nonetheless. The cool part here is vermin servant. It doesn’t specify anything beyond the HD limit, so it could be assumed that swarms can be taken. Swarm armour gives some DR in combat, which is pretty good. Here we get the ability to see in deeper darkness from Hellbred, which gives more flexibility with where we can cast darkness spells. Vermin also have darkvision, so throwing down a darkness spell doesn’t hurt them that much. Even better, since swarms do damage without needing to attack, they’re not really affected by magical darkness, providing they have some direction of where to be.

16-20
5 Death Master/5 Dread Witch/10 Vermin Lord
The moment we’ve all been waiting for. A 16HD vermin familiar. The two choices here are Bonespear from Fiend Folio for a nasty melee brute, or Bloodfiend Locust Swarms for automatic energy drain. Rude. By draining levels from a foe we can make it that much more likely that an opponent will fail a save to a Mother Cyst spell. Hello domination. The Bloodfiend swarm also creates fiendish vampire spawn if if totally drains a foe. The Harbinger can then cast Command Undead or if the items are available, rebuke the spawn.

The other benefit, coming very late, is the ability to make Hiveminds. Due to the rules in BoVD, we can get full sorcerer casting with enough bugs in our presence. See below. Nice. This more than makes up for the 5 lost levels of casting that we have. That’s on top of the utility we get from having thousands of insects at our disposal. Out of darkness spells for some reason? Blot out the sun with a swarm. Circumstance bonuses for saves vs fear? People hate bugs. Need a touch spell delivered? Use a gigantic arm made of bugs. The possibilities are endless. We also get Mindsight at level 15, so that we can detect pretty much anything in the game. Since a Hivemind shares awareness, that means everything in the swarm automatically knows about it. Our final feat is Aura of Terror. Frightful Presence would be an option, but AoT is a spell, and thus benefits from Dread Witch.


Due to the rules on swarms from:
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Swarm
A swarm of fine creatures (like our Bloodfiend Swarm familiar) has 10000 individuals. According to the section on hive minds on BoVD, it only needs 550 individuals in a swarm to achieve casting as a first level sorcerer, and then only 50 more for each level of sorcerer. If what I’ve calculated is correct, a swarm of 10001 individuals has 180 levels of casting split between two medium entities. However for the purposes of the contest/sanity, that number should be reduced. Alot. Something like 1 level of casting per 1000-2000 individuals brings the sanity in line.

Why not Dread Necro?
The fear aura would’ve helped out our shtick in the early game but with a DC capped at 12+CHA, it wasn’t worth it. SADness would’ve been a boon, but Death Master won out.

You don’t take any feats regarding familiars!
I asked the chair about how the Vermin Servant class feature would work for this contest and he had this to say:

Another question: Does the Vermin Servant class feature from Vermin Lord count for the improved familiar criteria? It's called out as a familiar, and can be swapped out for higher HD vermin at later levels. Second, though you said Companion Familiar doesn't count, is taking Obtain/Improved Familiar still legal?
I'm sort of split on Vermin Savant, and because I'm split on Vermin Savant, I'm now split on whether Companion Familiar should count or not. Both certainly do allow for expanded choices of things which count as familiars. I guess I'll be nice and say that Arcane Hierophant counts after all, and Vermin Lord as well.

If I'm understanding your question right, you're asking if you can atake Obtain Familiar (and later on, Improved Familiar) after becoming an Arcane Hierophant and dismissing a previous familiar (if applicable), sort of similar to how it's argued that Ur-Priests can take other divine spellcasting classes and keep the abilities if so inclined after becoming Ur-Priests, just not before. I'd say that you can do so, but it might result in Elegance penalties depending on the judge.

If you're just asking if Obtain Familiar is a legal way of meeting the familiar requirement for Improved Familiar, then yes. Of course it is.


Having a swarm familiar is a double edged sword. It means we can’t share most spells with it, because swarms are unaffected by effects that only affect one creature. Thus feats like Enspell Familiar are wasted on it.

Archivist and Druid could both replace Death Master. Druid would lack the darkness spells, but make up for it with wild shape. Archivist works about the same Death Master, but with a much larger spell list.

That hivemind shenanigans is known/too cheesy/updated! Get it outta here!
I’ve seen things lurking around that say hive minds were updated, but I can’t find where.
The extra sorcerer casting isn’t really that important for the purpose of Junkyard Wars, but the swarm familiar fits the character. Swapping the locust swarm for the Bonespear hurts us in power since we lost the fiendish vampire spawns, but still gives a powerful companion. I originally only intended to use the Bonespear, but I thought the bloodfiend locust swarm was too cool to pass up.

HoH: Dread Witch
LM: Fell Frighten, Mother Cyst
Dragon Compendium: Death Master
BoVD: Vermin Lord, Verminfriend
CA: Practiced Spellcaster, Extra Spell
LoM: Mindsight
SpC: Aura of Terror
FC2: Hellbred
Fiend Folio: Bloodfiend Locust Swarm

[WhamBamSam]

The darkness of a wicked soul.


Pike Grumswytch
Lesser Tiefling
Neutral Evil
Incarnate 2/Wu Jen 1/Human Paragon 3/Fighter 2/Soulcaster 9/Uncanny Trickster 3


Str 14 -- 14
Con 15 -- 15
Dex 12 +2 14
Int 16 +2 18
Wiz 10 -- 10
Cha 10 -2 08

All level increases to CON



The War of the Planes had ended decades ago. Devils and Demons; Eladrin and Archons. They had poured into the Material from the four corners and clashed in a mounting rage of ongoing war. Long they'd fought, tearing the Material Plane to shreds in their wake, until, finally, all four armies retreated in a draw, leaving as suddenly as they'd come for the respite of their own home Planes.

But they left behind evidence of their passing -- the Planetouched.

Orphans abandoned, treated as outcasts by the only Plane they'd ever really known. Each culture, human and elf, dwarf and gnome, raising these lost children in a vast sea of wary distrust. Orphanages were built, set aside to the outskirts of civiliazation, or, in cases, well into the wilds beyond, out of sight, a problem well swept beneath a rug of insecurity.

These Children of the Planes were left to make their own way in the world. They kept out of sight when they were able. Stayed shackleded to the shadows with chains of fear, living by the philosophy that it was better to live unseen than to suffer in persecution. And slowly, the world rebuilt itself, leaving these Children forgotten.

Time ticks on with a Prophecy yet unfulfilled. Four armies gather again, their wounds well and truely licked, ready to sally forth toward battle once more, each eager to lay claim to the Material Plane and, in so doing, tip the scales of balance toward their cause.

But this time, they'll find a Material Plane more harsh and uninviting to outside guests. The Children stand ready to defend the only home they've known, to strike back at the invading forces with rage and malice, passion and vigor.

The Prophecy has already decided. The War is coming! But who shall reign victorious is, as yet, unknow......





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


1st
Tiefling Incarnate 1
+0
+2
+0
+2

4 Appraise 2
4 Balance 2
4 Concentr. 4
4 Hide 4
4 Knowledge: Arcana 4
4 Spellcraft 4
4 Spot 2
4 Tumble 2
4 Use Magic Device 2

1st: Human Heratige
Aura; Detect Good; See in Darkness


2nd
Incarnate 2
+1
+3
+0
+3

Appraise 2
Balance 2
1 Concentr. 5
Hide 4
1 Knowledge: Arcana 5
1 Knowledge: thePlanes 1
2 Ride 1
1 Spellcraft 5
Spot 2
Tumble 2
Use Magic Device 2

--
Chakra Bind: Crown


3rd
Wu Jen 1
+1
+3
+0
+5

Appraise 2
2 Balance 3
1 Concentr. 6
Hide 4
1 Knowledge: Arcana 6
1 Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
Ride 1
1 Spellcraft 6
Spot 2
Tumble 2
Use Magic Device 2

3rd: Incarnum Spellshaping; B: Quicken Spell
Watchful Spirit


4th
Human Paragon 1
+1
+3
+0
+7

3 Appraise 5
2 Balance 5
Concentr. 6
Hide 4
1 Knowledge: Arcana 7
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
Ride 1
Spellcraft 6
Spot 2
2 Tumble 4
Use Magic Device 2

--
Adaptive Learning (Ride)


5th
Human Paragon 2
+2
+3
+0
+8

Appraise 5
Balance 5
Concentr. 6
6 Handle Animal 6
Hide 4
1 Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
Ride 1
Spellcraft 6
Spot 2
1 Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

B: Shape Souldmeld (Sphinx Claws)
--


6th
Human Paragon 3
+3
+4
+1
+8

Appraise 5
Balance 5
Concentr. 6
3 Handle Animal 9
Hide 4
5 Jump 5
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
Ride 1
Spellcraft 6
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

6th: Obtain Familiar
Ability Boost +2 (Con)


7th
Fighter 1
+4
+6
+1
+8

Appraise 5
Balance 5
Concentr. 6
1 Handle Animal 10
Hide 4
5 Jump 10
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
Ride 1
Spellcraft 6
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

B: Mounted Combat
--


8th
Fighter 2
+5
+7
+1
+8

Appraise 5
Balance 5
Concentr. 6
1 Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
1 Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
4 Ride 5
Spellcraft 6
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

B: Ride By Attack
--


9th
Soulcaster 1
+5
+7
+1
+10

Appraise 5
Balance 5
3 Concentr. 9
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
Ride 5
3 Spellcraft 9
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

9th: Share Soulmeld
Arcane Investment 1


10th
Soulcaster 2
+6/1
+7
+1
+11

Appraise 5
Balance 5
3 Concentr. 12
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
Ride 5
3 Spellcraft 12
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

--
--


11th
Soulcaster 3
+6/1
+8
+2
+11

Appraise 5
Balance 5
2 Concentr. 14
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
2 Ride 7
2 Spellcraft 14
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

--
Chakra Binds: Crown, Feet, Hands


12th
Soulcaster 4
+7/2
+8
+2
+12

Appraise 5
Balance 5
1 Concentr. 15
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
4 Ride 11
1 Spellcraft 15
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

12th: Improved Familiar
--


13th
Soulcaster 5
+7/2
+8
+2
+12

Appraise 5
Balance 5
1 Concentr. 16
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
4 Ride 15
1 Spellcraft 16
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2

--
--


14th
Soulcaster 6
+8/3
+9
+3
+13

Appraise 5
Balance 5
1 Concentr. 17
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
2 Ride 17
1 Spellcraft 17
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2
2 Skill Trick: Twisted Charge

--
--


15th
Soulcaster 7
+8/3
+9
+3
+13

Appraise 5
Balance 5
1 Concentr. 18
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
1 Knowledge: Religion 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
1 Ride 18
1 Spellcraft 18
Spot 2
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2
2 Skill Trick: Nimble Charge
Skill Trick: Twisted Charge

15th: Shape Soulmeld (Shadow Mantle)
Arcane Investment 2


16th
Soulcaster 8
+9/4
+9
+3
+14

Appraise 5
Balance 5
1 Concentr. 19
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: Religion 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
1 Ride 19
Spellcraft 18
2 Spot 3
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2
Skill Trick: Nimble Charge
Skill Trick: Twisted Charge
2 Skill Trick: Up the Hill

--
Chakra Binds: Arms, Brow, Shoulders


17th
Soulcaster 9
+9/4
+10
+4
+14

Appraise 5
Balance 5
1 Concentr. 20
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: Religion 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
1 Ride 20
2 Spellcraft 20
Spot 3
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2
2 Skill Trick: Extreme Leap
Skill Trick: Nimble Charge
Skill Trick: Twisted Charge
Skill Trick: Up the Hill

--
--


18th
Uncanny Trickster 1
+9/4
+10
+6
+14

Appraise 5
Balance 5
Concentr. 20
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: Religion 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
1 Ride 21
Spellcraft 20
11 Spot 14
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2
Skill Trick: Extreme Leap
Skill Trick: Nimble Charge
Skill Trick: Twisted Charge
Skill Trick: Up the Hill

18th: Midnight Metamagic
Bonus Trick (Clarity of Vision); Favorite Trick (Clarity of Vision)


19th
Uncanny Trickster 2
+10/5
+10
+7
+14

Appraise 5
Balance 5
Concentr. 20
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
3 Listen 3
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: Religion 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
1 Ride 22
Spellcraft 20
8 Spot 22
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2
Skill Trick: Extreme Leap
Skill Trick: Nimble Charge
Skill Trick: Twisted Charge
Skill Trick: Up the Hill

--
Bonus Trick (Spot the Weak Point); Favorite Trick (Spot the Weak Point); Magical Distillation


20th
Uncanny Trickster 3
+11/6/1
+11
+7
+15

Appraise 5
Balance 5
Concentr. 20
Handle Animal 11
Hide 4
Jump 11
10 Listen 13
Knowledge: Arcana 8
Knowledge: Nature 1
Knowledge: Religion 1
Knowledge: thePlanes 1
1 Ride 23
Spellcraft 20
1 Spot 23
Tumble 5
Use Magic Device 2
Skill Trick: Extreme Leap
Skill Trick: Nimble Charge
Skill Trick: Twisted Charge
Skill Trick: Up the Hill

--
Bonus Trick (Magical Appraisal); Favorite Trick (Extreme Leap); Trick Defense; Expanded Soulmeld Capacity +1; Incarnum Radiance 1/day







Spells Per Day (+Bonus Spells)Meldshaping


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


1st
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
1
-



2nd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
2
1



3rd
3
1(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
2+1
1




4th
3
1(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
2+1
1



5th
4
2(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
2+1
1



6th
4
2(+1)
1(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3+SC
2+1
1



7th
4
2(+1)
1(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3+SC
2+1
1



8th
4
2(+1)
1(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3+SC
2+1
1



9th
4
3(+1)
2(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3+SC
3+1
1



10th
4
3(+1)
2(+1)
1(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
4+SC
4+1
1



11th
4
3(+1)
3(+1)
2(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
4+SC
5+1
1



12th
4
4(+1)
3(+1)
2(+1)
1(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
4+SC
6+1
2



13th
4
4(+1)
3(+1)
3(+1)
2(+1)
-
-
-
-
-
5+SC
7+1
2



14th
4
4(+1)
4(+1)
3(+1)
2(+1)
1
-
-
-
-
5+SC
8+1
2



15th
4
4(+1)
4(+1)
3(+1)
3(+1)
2
-
-
-
-
5+SC+SM
9+1
2



16th
4
4(+1)
4(+1)
4(+1)
3(+1)
2
1
-
-
-
6+SC+SM
10+1
3



17th
4
4(+1)
4(+1)
4(+1)
3(+1)
3
2
-
-
-
6+SC+SM
11+1
3



18th
4
4(+1)
4(+1)
4(+1)
3(+1)
3
2
-
-
-
6+SC+SM
11+2
3



19th
4
4(+1)
4(+1)
4(+1)
4(+1)
3
2
1
-
-
6+SC+SM
12+2
3



20th
4
4(+1)
4(+1)
4(+1)
4(+1)
3
2
1
-
-
7+SC+SM
13+2
3





At first level, with any meld shaped to his brow (Hello, Mage's Spectacles!), he gains the ability to see in magical darkness. Which goes well with the ability to cast Darkness as a SLA 1/day.
At sixth level, he is able to cast second level wu jen spells, which includes Wall of Gloom, allowing him to throw up a barrier of shadow that he can see through, but which (most of) his enemies can't.
At 12th level, he gains access to the spell Creeping Darkness which blots out both sight and sound. He can still see through that darkness, though, giving him a distinct advantage over his enemies.
At 16th level, he can use the Shadow Mantle soulmeld with his shoulders chakra. With a swift action, he has a blob of magical darkness (which he can see through) all around him, following wherever he goes, and blindsight throughout that darkness for good measure.
At 20th level, his incarnum radiance, when used, grants a miss chance against enemies who can see him through the darkness.



At sixth level, he gains Obtain Familiar. This isn't a big deal. He might get an owl or something, but ultimately, his goal is a bigger prize later on.
At ninth level, he can share the benefits he gets from his soulmelds with his familiar when in proximity. This would, certainly, make an owl (or similiar) more useful.
Fun things happen at 12th level, however. He gains the Improved Familiar feat at the same time that his BAB improves to +7 and his spellcaster level improves to 7th. This opens the door to a Howler (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/howler.htm) familiar!
With a special saddle, a Howler can be ridden as a mount. (Which keeps it well within five feet for share spells and share soulmeld abilities.) Tack on the Mounted Combat and Ride By Attack feats, along with the shared benefit of Sphinx Claws bound to the hands chakra. Charge in, the Howler makes a full attack, he spears the enemy with a lance, then move away. With some luck, the Howler leaves a few quills behind in the enemy. Perhaps toss a Quickened spell off afterward.
Mounted Combat and a good Ride skill keeps his mount fairly safe. The use of the Vitality Belt soulmeld gives the Howler several extra hit points (the full amount of the soulmeld plus half again as much from what he gains.) All in all, a great combat familiar!
At 19th level, this all grows to insane levels with the spell Body Outside Body shared with the familiar. Three howlers being ridden into combat (or four, if Arcane Investment 2 is used), charging, springing away, leaving quills behind. Crazy!



Player's Guide to Faerun -- Lesser Tiefling
Magic of Incarnum -- Incarnate; Tiefling Incarnate Racial Substitution Levels; Incarnum Spellshaping feat; Shape Soulmeld feat; Soulcaster; Share Soulmeld feat; Midnight Metamagic feat
Races of Destiny -- Human Heritage feat
Complete Arcane -- Wu Jen; Obtain Familiar feat;
Unearthed Arcana -- Human Paragon
Complete Warrior -- Improved Familiar
Complete Scoundrel -- Skill Tricks; Uncanny Trickster

[WhamBamSam]

The shadowy-est of shadows.



Zarvyrae Torana, Female Chaotic Evil Drow Shadowcaster 18
Point Buy and Racial Modifiers: 8 Strength, 16 Dexterity, 10 Constitution, 18 Intelligence, 8 Wisdom, 18 Charisma
Ability Score Increases: +1 Intelligence at fourth and twelfth levels, +1 Charisma at eight and sixteenth levels.
Item-related Ability Score Increases: +6 to all stats from a +6 Belt of Magnificence, resulting in 14 Strength, 22 Dexterity, 16 Constitution, 24 Intelligence, 14 Wisdom, 24 Charisma, which is acquired at


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


1st
Shadowcaster 1
+0
+2
+3
+1
4 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
Still Mystery
Apprentice Mysteries, Fundamentals of Shadow


2nd
Shadowcaster 2
+1
+3
+3
+2
5 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
--
Shadow Vision


3rd
Shadowcaster 3
+1
+3
+4
+2
6 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
Shadow Familiar
Umbral Sight (30 feet of Darkvision (Stacks))


4th
Shadowcaster 4
+2
+4
+4
+3
7 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
--
Bonus Fundamental


5th
Shadowcaster 5
+2
+4
+4
+3
8 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
--
Sustaining Shadow (1 meal per week)


6th
Shadowcaster 6
+3
+5
+5
+4
9 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
Planar Familiar (Fiendish Creature)
--


7th
Shadowcaster 7
+3
+5
+5
+4
10 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
--
Apprentice Mysteries (Spell-Like Ability), Initiate Mysteries


8th
Shadowcaster 8
+4
+6
+5
+5
11 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
Shadow Vision
Bonus Fundamental


9th
Shadowcaster 9
+4
+6
+6
+5
12 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
Improved Familiar (Small Monstrous Spider (Complete Scoundrel))
--


10th
Shadowcaster 10
+5
+7
+6
+6
13 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
--
Sustaining Shadow (Sleep one hour per day)


11th
Shadowcaster 11
+5
+7
+6
+6
14 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each.
--
Umbral Sight (See in Darkness 60 feet)


12th
Shadowcaster 12
+6/+1
+8
+7
+7
15 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each. 1 rank in Jump or another skill.
Reach Mystery
Bonus Fundamental


13th
Shadowcaster 13
+6/+1
+8
+7
+7
16 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each. 2 ranks in Jump or another skill.
--
Apprentice Mysteries (Supernatural), Initiate Mysteries (Spell-Like Ability), Master Mysteries


14th
Shadowcaster 14
+7/+2
+9
+7
+8
17 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each. 3 ranks in Jump or another skill.
Enlarge Mystery
Unlimited use of Fundamentals


15th
Shadowcaster 15
+7\+2
+9
+8
+8
18 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each. 3 ranks in Jump or another skill.
Line of Shadow
Sustaining Shadow (Immunity to Poison and Disease)


16th
Shadowcaster 16
+8/+3
+10
+8
+9
19 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each. 4 ranks in Jump or another skill.
--
Bonus Fundamental


17th
Shadowcaster 17
+8/+3
+10
+8
+9
20 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each. 5 ranks in Jump or another skill.
--
--


18th
Shadowcaster 18
+9/+4
+11
+9
+10
21 ranks in Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes, the), Move Silently, and Spellcraft each. 6 ranks in Jump or another skill.
Maximize Mystery
--





[tr]
Level Acquired
Fundamentals


1
Arrow of Dusk, Caul of Shadow, Black Candle


4
Mystic Reflections


8
Widened Eyes


12
Shadow Hood


16
Sight Obscured






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


1st
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
1
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


6th
1
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
2
2
2
1
-
-
-
-
-


8th
2
2
2
1
-
-
-
-
-


9th
2
2
2
1
1
-
-
-
-


10th
2
2
2
1
1
-
-
-
-


11th
2
2
2
1
1
1
-
-
-


12th
2
2
2
1
1
1
-
-
-


13th
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
-


14th
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
-


15th
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
-


16th
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
-


17th
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1


18th
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1






[tr]
Level
Mysteries Known (Path) (Level Acquired)


1
Bend Perspective (Eye of Darkness) (1), Quicker Than the Eye (Night’s Long Fingers) (2)


2
Piercing Sight (Eye of Darkness) (3), Trail of Haze (Night’s Long Fingers) (4)


3
Killing Shadows (Eye of Darkness) (6), Umbral Fist (Night’s Long Fingers) (5)


4
Fearful Gloom (Darkened Allies) (7), Shadow Evocation (Dark Reflections) (8)


5
Feign Life (Dark Reflections) (10), Sickening Shadow (Darkened Allies) (9)


6
Deadly Shade (Darkened Allies) (11), Greater Shadow Evocation (Dark Reflections) (12)


7
Grasping Shadows (Shadowscape) (14), Summon Umbral Servant (Shadow Calling) (13)


8
Menagerie of Darkness (Shadowscape) (15), Shadow Plague (Shadow Calling) (16)


9
Army of Shadow (Shadow Calling) (18), Black Labyrinth (Shadowscape) (17)






G’eldlochar Xunlara (Nimble-death Spider-demon)
Dark Fiendish Small Monstrous Spider (Web-spinner)


Size and Type
Small Magical Beast


Hit Dice
1d8


Initiative
+3


Speed
40 Feet, 30 Feet Climb


Armor Class
23 (+3 Dexterity, +9 Natural Armor, +1 Size), 20 Flat-footed, 14 Touch


Base Attack/Grapple
+0/-6


Attack
Bite +4 Melee (1d4-2 plus Poison (1d3 Strength damage))


Full Attack
Bite +4 Melee (1d4-2 plus Poison (1d3 Strength damage))


Space/Reach
5 Feet/5 Feet


Special Attacks
Smite Good, Poison, Web (DC 10 Escape Artist, DC 14 Break, 4 Hit Points)


Special Qualities
Darkvision 60 ft., Deliver Touch Spells, Empathic Link, Hide in Plain Sight (Except when in natural sunlight, the effect of a daylight spell, or similar effects), Immune to Mind-affecting abilities, Improved Evasion, must breathe, eat, and sleep, proficient in no armor and only its natural weapons, Resist Cold 10, Resist Fire 5, Scry on Familiar, Speak With Spiders, Speak With Master, Share Spells, Spell Resistance 23, Superior Low-light Vision, Tremorsense 60 feet.


Saves
+11 Fortitude, +6 Reflex, +11 Will


Abilities
Strength 7, Dexterity 17, Constitution 10, Intelligence 14, Wisdom 10, Charisma 2


Skills
Climb +15 (4 ranks, +3 Dexterity modifier, +8 racial bonus from Climb speed), Hide +7 (0 ranks, +3 Dexterity modifier, +4 racial bonus (increases to +8 if using webs)), Jump -2 (0 ranks, -2 Strength modifier), Move Silently +3 (0 ranks, +3 Dexterity modifier, +8 racial bonus when using webs), Spot +4 (0 ranks, +0 Wisdom modifier, +4 racial bonus)


--
Spit Venom (Serpent Kingdoms), Weapon FinesseB


Challenge Rating
2




Zarvyrae was born in a great city of the Drow, a long time ago. She was a great noble in her house, and would have been a cleric, until Lolth trapped her in the Plane of Shadows for ten years. Being trapped on a plane that is the dark reflection of one’s home tends to have horrible side effects on one’s mind, and it did on her. She snapped, and mastered Shadow magic, eventually being called back to lead her house to glory
Zarvyrae is just learning her Shadowcasting, and most of her fundamentals tend toward attack and defense, with Black Candle as the odd duck of Utility. She can navigate without much trouble around enemy patrols using Bend Perspective. Other than that, she runs. She is not very fighty until fifth level, when she acquires Umbral Fist. Now she’s pushing and punching and moving foes around.

She met a spider on this plane, and named it G’eldlochar Xunlara. It led her to a portal back to her home. Having returned, she is given a quick education in weapons and magic, though her shadow-touched self is considered unworthy of Lolth, so she is denied clerical training. She defends her house from several attempts to usurp its position by other, less powerful houses, using her abilities to snipe targets and weaken and disorient them.

Zarvyrae is now rocking socks, as Killing Shadows comes online. Yes, it’s not a Save or Die or Save or Suck, but considering that until now she was dealing either nonlethal damage or 1d4 Slashing with a dagger, it’s a fair cop. In addition Fearful Gloom, Shadow Evocation, Feigh Life, and Sickening Shadow come online, so she can animate a horde of candelabrum and send them after a group of nauseated or sickened foes.

After securing her house’s position, she is tossed aside, like a used toy. She starts planning, practicing her magic in secret between jobs at the local brothel to support herself. She eventually manages to reach a level of mastery unmatched in the city. She launches an attack on her old house, conquering it in the dark.

Zarvryae goes from Hero of the House to trash, so she trashes her house. Deadly Shade, Greater Shadow Evocation, Summon Umbral Servant, Grasping Shadows, and Menagerie of Darkness come online, allowing her to distract foes, weaken them with negative levels and hordes of teacups and teapots, spiders, and other things. She also gets unlimited fundamental usage, so go crazy with Caul of Shadow or Black Candle.

She now rules her house with a fist made of the shadowy reflection of iron, crushing dissent and destroying her enemies. So far, Lolth has smiled upon her, but who knows when the time will come for her to be slain.

She finishes learning her two paths of Master Mysteries, and picks up Maximize Mystery. Zarvryae typically has her familiar crawl throughout the house, spinning sheets of web in tactically significant areas, and then setting up traps to take out her foes that are stuck in the webs. If she absolutely must fight, she recalls G’eldlochar, and has the spider sit on her shoulder, using its Spit Venom feat to weaken characters, using minions and henchmen to do battle against her attackers.

[WhamBamSam]

I don't think ghosts even cast shadows. Then again, perhaps that's the point.



Rhazien Cozma

Shadow of the Ghost

http://i.imgur.com/18a9en8.jpg

LE Shadow-Walker Human Shadowcaster 3/Duskblade 5/Noctumancer 10/Mystic Theurge 1


Growing in up in Telflamm as a displaced citizen in the aftermath of the Tuiguan Horde Invasion, Rhazien learned early that an orphan in a huge city needs to be backed by a larger organization. The Mask-worshipping Shadowlords were perfectly capable of fulfilling that role for young Rhazien, but only so long as he could maintain his worth to them. In an attempt to prove himself to the Shadowlords, Rhazien dedicated himself to mastering the obscure art of Shadowcasting, and thus securing a spot within their organization.

It wasn't long after being accepted into the criminal organization that Rhazien was fully inducted and underwent a ceremony to become a Shadow-Walker. Shortly after this, spellblade tutors were brought to him, in an attempt to mold Rhazien into a powerful combatant, preparing him to be an assassin striking from the shadows. Unfortunately for the masters of Telflamm, Rhazien had other ideas. After earning the title of Duskblade, he collected his belongings and left Telflamm and Thesk entirely.

His goal was to seek out the Tenebrous Cabal, and enroll in the Bleak Academy. It was there that he planned to learn how to merge Shadowcasting with the Arcane, and under the tutelage of their oppressive masters, he became one of Faerun's few known Noctumancers.

It is now Rhazien Cozma's goal to sit on the Parliament of Shadows. He stands in his own right as a competent assassin and spellblade, and has mastered the art of counterspelling enemy spellcasters and mystery users alike. He has dedicated himself to a life of study, mixed judiciously with combat and has since been approached more than once by both the Nightshade Covenant and the Telflemmar Shadowlords, each seeking for him to join their ranks.

However, Rhazien Cozma, Shadow of the Ghost, Noctumancer of the Tenebrous Cabal and aspiring Councillor to the Parliament of Shadows has also nearly reached old age. He is fast approaching an important decision point in his life, that being the question of embracing alternative methods of continued existence. Chief among them, the option of Lichdom. Apparently, great strides have been made in the field of Shadow-Liches...


Special Attacks:


Level
Abilities


1-2
Shadow Mask 3/day


3-4
Dimension Door 1/day (self only)


5-6
Darkness 3/day


7-8
Dimension Door 2/day


9-10
Shadow Spray 3/day


11-12
Shadow Walk 1/day


13-14
Displacement 2/day


15-16
Dimension Door 3/day


17-18
Evards Black Tentacles 1/day


19+
Shadow Walk 3/day


A shadow-walker cannot use any of his spell-like abilities in an area of bright light (sunlight or the radius of a Daylight spell).
Special Qualities:

Light Blindness (Ex) - Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a Daylight spell) blinds a shadow-walker for 1 round. In addition, he takes a -1 penalty on all attack rolls, saves, and checks when operating in bright light.
Darkvision (Ex) - The character gains darkvision with a 60-foot range if he does not have darkvision already.

Abilities: Adjust from the base character as follows: Dex +2, Con -2.
Skills: Shadow-walkers gain a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base character +1.




Attribute
Base Score
Racial Modifier
Level Increases
Total Score


Strength
16
+0
+2
18


Dexterity
12
+2
+0
14


Constitution
14
-2
+0
12


Intelligence
16
+0
+2
18


Wisdom
10
+0
+0
10


Charisma
8
+0
+0
8


Increases from level at 4 and 8 go to Intelligence. Increases from level at 12 and 16 go to Strength.




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


1st
Shadowcaster 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
Concentration 4, Hide 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Move Silently 4, Spellcraft 4
Still Mystery (ToM), Darkstalker (LoM)
Fundamentals of Shadow, Apprentice Mysteries


2nd
Shadowcaster 2
+1
+3
+0
+3
Concentration +1 = 5, Hide +1 = 5, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 5, Knowledge (The Planes) +1 = 5, Move Silently +1 = 5, Spellcraft +1 = 5
Umbral Spell (DotU)
Bonus Feat


3rd
Shadowcaster 3
+1
+3
+1
+3
Concentration +1 = 6, Hide +1 = 6, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 6, Knowledge (The Planes) +1 = 6, Move Silently +1 = 6, Spellcraft +1 = 6
Shadow Familiar (ToM)
Umbral Sight (Darkvision 30 ft)


4th
Duskblade 1
+2
+5
+1
+5
Concentration +1 = 7, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 7, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) +1 = 7, Spellcraft +1 = 7
-
Arcane Attunement, Armored Mage (Light)


5th
Duskblade 2
+3
+6
+1
+6
Concentration +1 = 8, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 8, Knowledge (Religion) +2 = 4, Knowledge (The Planes) +1 = 8, Spellcraft +1 = 8
-
Combat Casting


6th
Duskblade 3
+4
+6
+2
+6
Concentration +1 = 9, Knowledge (Religion) +4 = 8, Spellcraft +1 = 9
Power Attack (PHB)
Arcane Channeling


7th
Duskblade 4
+5
+7
+2
+7
Concentration +1 = 10, Hide +2 = 7, Move Silently +2 = 7, Spellcraft +1 = 10
-
Armored Mage (Medium)


8th
Duskblade 5
+6/+1
+7
+2
+7
Concentration +1 = 11, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 9, Move Silently +4 = 9, Spellcraft +1 = 11
-
Quick Cast 1/day


9th
Noctumancer 1
+6/+1
+9
+2
+9
Concentration +1 = 12, Hide +2 = 8, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 10, Move Silently +2 = 10, Spellcraft +1 = 12
At Home in the Deep (DotU)
Capture Magic's Shadow


10th
Noctumancer 2
+7/+2
+10
+2
+10
Concentration +1 = 13, Hide +2 = 9, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 11, Move Silently +2 = 11, Spellcraft +1 = 13
-
Innate Counterspell 1/day


11th
Noctumancer 3
+7/+2
+10
+3
+10
Concentration +1 = 14, Hide +2 = 10, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 12, Move Silently +2 = 12, Spellcraft +1 = 14
-
-


12th
Noctumancer 4
+8/+3
+11
+3
+11
Concentration +1 = 15, Hide +2 = 11, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 13, Move Silently +2 = 13, Spellcraft +1 = 15
Improved Familiar - Winter Wolf (CW)
-


13th
Noctumancer 5
+8/+3
+11
+3
+11
Concentration +1 = 16, Hide +2 = 12, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 14, Move Silently +2 = 14, Spellcraft +1 = 16
Maximize Mystery (ToM)
Innate Counterspell 2/day, Shadowcaster Bonus Feat


14th
Noctumancer 6
+9/+4
+12
+4
+12
Concentration +1 = 17, Hide +2 = 13, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 15, Move Silently +2 = 15, Spellcraft +1 = 17
-
Eldritch Disruption


15th
Noctumancer 7
+9/+4
+12
+4
+12
Concentration +1 = 18, Hide +2 = 14, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 16, Move Silently +2 = 16, Spellcraft +1 = 18
Fade into Darkness (DotU)
Innate Counterspell (Retain Power)


16th
Noctumancer 8
+10/+5
+13
+4
+13
Concentration +1 = 19, Hide +2 = 15, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 16, Move Silently +2 = 17, Spellcraft +1 = 19
-
Innate Counterspell 3/day


17th
Noctumancer 9
+10/+5
+13
+5
+13
Concentration +1 = 20, Hide +2 = 16, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 17, Move Silently +2 = 17, Spellcraft +1 = 20
-
-


18th
Noctumancer 10
+11/+6/+1
+14
+5
+14
Hide +2 = 17, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 19, Knowledge (Religion) +2 = 10, Move Silently +2 = 19
Instinctive Darkness (DotU)
Eldritch Vortex, Shadow's Persistence


19th
Mystic Theurge 1
+11/+6/+1
+14
+5
+16
Hide +2 = 18, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 = 20, Knowledge (The Planes) +2 = 10, Move Silently +2 = 20
Quicken Mystery (ToM)
Shadowcaster Bonus Feat






Skill
Total


Concentration
20


Hide
18


Knowledge (Arcana)
20


Knowledge (The Planes)
10


Knowledge (Religion)
10


Move Silently
20


Spellcraft
20









Level X Mysteries
Fundamentals

Touch of Twilight

Ebon Whispers

Dark Reflections

Ebon Roads

Shadow Calling

Ebon Walls





1

Arrow of Dusk, Mystic Reflections, Black Candle

Life Fades

-
-
-
-
-




2

-

-

Voice of Shadows

-

-

-

-




3

-

Flesh Fails

-

-

-

-

-





9

Sight Obscured

-

Congress of Shadows

-

-

-

-





10

-

Umbral Touch

-

-

-

-

-





11

-

-

Flicker

-

-

-

-




12

-

-

-

Shadow Evocation

-

-

-





13

Caul of Shadow

-

-

-

Step into Shadow

-

-





14

-

-

-

Feign Life

-

-

-





15

-

-

-

-

Pass into Shadow

-

-





16

-

-

-

Shadow Evocation, Greater

-

-

-





17

Umbral Hand

-

-

-

Voyage into Shadow

-

-




18

-

-

-

-

-

Summon Umbral Servant

-




19

-

-

-

-

-

-

Prison of Night






Spells Known/Spells per Day



Level

0th

1st

2nd

3rd

4th



4

5/3

2/2

-

-

-





5
5/4
3/3

-

-

-





6

5/5

4/4

-

-

-




7

5/6

5/5

-

-

-





8

5/6

5/5

1/2

-

-





9

5/6

5/6

2/3

-

-





10

5/6

5/6

3/5

-

-




11

5/6

5/7

4/6

-

-





12

5/6

5/7

4/6

1/2

-





13

5/6

5/8

4/7

2/3

-





14

5/6

5/8

4/7

3/5

-




15

5/6

5/8

4/8

4/6

-





16

5/6

5/9

4/8

4/6

1/2




17

5/6

5/9

4/8

4/6

2/3






18

5/6

5/9

5/8

4/7

3/5





19

5/6
5/9

4/9

4/8

4/6




Spells Known:
0th: Acid Splash, Disrupt Undead, Ray of Frost, Touch of Fatigue
1st: Shocking Grasp, Chill Touch, True Strike, Ray of Enfeeblement, Resist Energy
2nd: Dimension Hop, Touch of Idiocy, Melf's Acid Arrow, Scorching Ray
3rd: Vampiric Touch, Dispelling Touch, Ray of Exhaustion, Greater Magic Weapon
4th: Dispel Magic, Enervation, Dimension Door, Shout




Levels 1-5: For the first few levels, you are little more than a scout with unique spellcasting. After you get your familiar (Raven or Weasel is a solid choice), you have a scouting partner as well. When you get your levels in Duskblade, your combat efficiency ramps up a bit, and your survivability, since you can wear armor. Still Mystery removes the only component to all Mystery casting, and lets you cast any of your mysteries while wearing any degree of armor that you are proficient with. Reach Mystery helps you literally reach out and touch someone, allowing you to deliver your Life Fades and Flesh Fails attacks with relative impunity.
Levels 6-10: I don't know that you can be considered a proper gish with this build, but your BAB is relatively substantial for most of these levels. You have a good Strength score though, and a decent selection of spells to channel through your melee attacks. Power Attack can help up your damage as well, so long as you can hone in on that sweet spot to determine just how much to shave off your attack while still almost guaranteeing a hit. You also pick up a few uses of Darkness as an SLA from the Shadow-Walker template, opening yourself up to the Darkness themed feats in DotU. At Home in the Deep removes the main inhibitor of the SLA, allowing you to see through the effect.
Levels 11-15: Improved familiar is online at this point, and based on alignment and level, I selected the Winter Wolf, which is a Large wolf with the Cold subtype, as well as the Dark template (thanks to Shadow Familiar). It has a cone breath attack, so my advice would be that when setting up flanking scenarios between you and your familiar, make sure that any nearby allies are operating under the effect of your Resist Elements spell. In addition to this, you have plenty of Counterspell and Dimension Door options, as well as Darkness tactics. Fade into Darkness, taken at level 15, allows you to make hide attempts so long as there is an appropriate area of Darkness nearby.
Levels 16-19: This is where the build caps out, obviously. All of the major pieces fall in to place, including 4th level spells and 8th level mysteries, as well as reach the end of Noctumancer, with all of it's counterspelling and dispelling mechanics.
Sweet Spot - Level 18: I'm pretty confident marking level 18 as the sweet spot for this build. It is rather late in the build, but by this point all of the major components are online. You can cast Darkness as an immediate action, you can basically Hide in Plain Sight with it, your familiar is formidable enough to still provide a threat through teamwork, plus your maneuverability is through the roof. Additionally, you have reached 11 BAB, giving you 3 iterative attacks, and can really put a roadblock on an enemy spellcaster's efficiency.



As a melee striker themed character, personal defensive and offensive items are both a must for Rhazien. At the bare minimum, I recommend a Mithril Breastplate (although, with Armored Mage (Medium) you can get away with Mithril Full-Plate, it's still expensive. Maybe consider upgrading from one to the other). You definitely want a good two handed martial weapon, of which the Greatsword is always a solid choice.

Between those two items alone, most of your bases should be covered, however investing in the standard gamut of protective items would be highly advisable. Things like an Amulet of Natural Armor, Ring of Protection, Ring of Spell-Battle, Belt of Battle (maybe even combined with a Belt of Magnificence), Vest of Resistance, Wings of Flying (or a Cloak of the Phoenix, either of which combined with a Minor Cloak of Displacement is hard to beat).



Player's Handbook: Feats, Items, Skills, Spells, Human Race
Player's Handbook 2: Duskblade, Spells
Dungeon Master's Guide: Point Buy chart, Magic Items
Tome of Magic: Shadowcaster, Noctumancer, Dark Template, Shadow Familiar, Metamystery Feats, Magic Items
Drow of the Underdark: Darkness Feats
Complete Warrior: Improved Familiar
Monster Manual 1: Winter Wolf
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting: Spells
Forgotten Realms - Unapproachable East: Telflamm, Thesk, Shadow-Walker
Magic Item Compendium: Magic Items

[WhamBamSam]

Whoops, there was one more after all. Let's just say it was hiding in the dark.


Darkseeker Krill’Zaak
CE Illumian
(12 STR) (10 DEX) (14 CON) (14 INT) (16(+5) WIS) (12 CHA)
3 Cleric/2 Sorcerer/5 Mystic Wanderer/10 Fleshwarper

Darkseeker Krill was born in the Illumian city of Elirhondas, under the Naenkrau sign. Pushed towards the magical arts from a young age, Krill developed a fascination for the latent energy of the Plane of Shadow and spent long hours pouring over books on the subject.

Years passed and Krill was sent on a field trip to the Material Plane with his colleagues. They were to search for and then study an ancient library in the middle of a desert. The instant Krill stepped out of the portal and into the blazing heat of Elirhondas’ sister city, Desloun, he knew one thing for sure: He loathed the sun. His native plane had only a dark facsimile of the sun that gave no warmth and little light. The heat and the brightness were too much for Krill and he nearly ran back into the portal. Grumbling, he carried on. The library was rumoured to be a little over 2 days away by horse, but finding it would prove difficult for the group. No divination or other magic could help them. After a week of searching the group was ready to pack up and return to Desloun to rest and resupply. Krill could hardly wait to be out of the sun.

Late in the night, desert marauders raided the camp. Krill tried to provide cover for his allies with his shadow magic, but found that only made the bandits target him. He was knocked unconscious and woke up in a cage under the sun, already sunstroked and dehydrated. The rest of his group had been slain, and he only been spared for his ability to create darkness. The bandits used him as a portable umbrella, able to create shade whenever they needed a break from the heat. They gave him only the base amount of sustenance that he needed to conjure basic shadows. But they never gave Krill a break from the heat. Each day he stewed, kept alive only to provide darkness. And each day, he hated the sun more.

After a few weeks, on the verge of death from dehydration Krill sat in his cage. His hatred had subsided and he only wished that the bandits would get sick of his parlour tricks and feed him to the dogs. The day was hot, even by the standards of the desert. The orc assigned to make sure Krill had his daily bowl of water approached the cage and set it inside. The prisoner knew he was on the verge of death, so he ignored the water and sat, waiting for death.
“Not thirsty today?” asked the orc. He picked up the bowl. “Plenty o’ thirsty men out there. You should be grateful we keep you alive! I bring you water every day and you never even thank me! I think it’s time to teach you some manners, boy!”. He dragged Krill from his prison and threw him on the ground. Krill stayed limp, wishing that he would die from the injuries that were about to happen. The brute sat the bowl on the ground and grabbed Krill by the back of his hair and put his face in front of the water. “One last chance. Drink it or lose it.” Krill felt the hatred well up inside him again as the orc smashed his face into the bowl, trying to drown his disobedient prisoner. Something snapped within Krill. He felt an intense surge of power, as shadow began to pour out from his body. The aggressor stumbled back too late and the shadow began to strip his flesh from the bone.

Minutes later, the encampment was covered in shadowstuff. Screams echoed across the dunes as the bandits were flayed alive by the physical manifestation of Krill’s hatred. Satisfied, he picked up a glass of water and took a long drink. He chuckled to himself. “I guess I was thirsty after all.”

Driven by some unknown force, the newly freed mage left the encampment and walked in a straight line through the desert. He still loathed the heat, but found that the force compelling him made it easier to ignore. He walked for three days straight, not stopping for food or water. His long walk came to an end when he came across an ancient ruin, half buried in a dune. Without a pause, Krill found the door and threw it open. He slowly returned to his senses and saw hundreds if not thousands of books lining the walls. A cursory glance revealed most of them to be about magic, both arcane and divine. Wasting no time, Krill immediately set to work, learning all that he could. He didn’t quite understand why, but he wanted to make sure no one would ever have to suffer the sun again. He read the ancient tales of the terrifying aberrations who lurked in the dark, the mind flayers who tried to enslave the world, the cunning aboleths that warped flesh how they saw fit. As the weeks went on and Krill’s sanity waned, he became more and more obsessed with aberrations. He yearned to be one, to lurk in the dark far away from the sun and have the power to destroy what he hated.

The library provided for him. He found food waiting for him when he was hungry, water when he was thirsty, a bed when he was tired. Whenever he finished a book, a new one would spring up with just the information he needed. Something was watching, something that wanted to help him bring darkness on the world. After a few months, Krill’s time in the library had taught him the secret of warping flesh on a whim. He had taken up the habit of capturing animals and using his corrupting magic to warp their bodies, adding tentacles to jackals and skeletal arms to birds. Once he was confident enough, Krill began to experiment on himself. After his entire body had been warped into something alien, Krill felt ascended. Whole. That night, he rose as Darkseeker Krill’Zaak. Zaak was taken from the Illumian word for “Risen”. He felt that one day he would rise to eclipse the sun and pull it from its arrogant perch. But there was one more thing separating him from the aberrations: they had subjects and slaves.

And so Krill’Zaak wandered the desert, finding any who would follow, and enslaving or sacrificing those who would not. His influence crept over the land like the shadows he was so fond of. The dunes are cold now, the sun has not risen over them since the Darkseekers reached the peak of their power. The few areas that still see sunrise only exist because they haven’t yet been touched by corruption.


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


1st
Cloistered Cleric 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
4 Heal, 4 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 4 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 2 Perform, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 knowledge (religion), 1 knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Spellcraft
Knowledge Devotion, Able Learner, Blind-Fight
Rebuke Undead, Lore


2nd
Cloistered Cleric 2
+1
+3
+0
+3
5 Heal, 5 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 5 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 2 Perform, 2 Knowledge(arcana), 2 knowledge (religion), 2 knowledge(dungeoneering), 4 Spellcraft
-
-


3rd
Cloistered Cleric 3
+1
+3
+1
+3
6 Heal, 6 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 6 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 3 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 3 knowledge(dungeoneering), 5 Spellcraft
Iron Will
-


4th
Sorcerer 1
+1
+3
+1
+5
7 Heal, 7 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 7 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 3 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 3 knowledge(dungeoneering), 5 Spellcraft
-
Summon Familiar


5th
Sorcerer 2
+2
+3
+1
+6
8 Heal, 8 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 8 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 4 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 4 knowledge(dungeoneering), 5 Spellcraft
-
-


6th
Mystic Wanderer 1
+2
+3
+3
+8
9 Heal, 9 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 8 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 6 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 4 knowledge(dungeoneering), 5 Spellcraft
Improved Familiar
Glory of the Divine, Sleep


7th
Mystic Wanderer 2
+3
+3
+4
+9
10 Heal, 10 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 8 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 8 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 4 knowledge(dungeoneering), 5 Spellcraft
-
Familiar, Lore of Nature


8th
Mystic Wanderer 3
+3
+4
+4
+9
10 Heal, 11 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 8 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 8 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 6 knowledge(dungeoneering), 6 Spellcraft
Attune Gem
Resist Charm


9th
Mystic Wanderer 4
+4
+4
+5
+10
10 Heal, 12 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 8 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 8 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 8 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft
Graft Flesh, Brew Potion
-


10th
Mystic Wanderer 5
+4
+4
+5
+10
10 Heal, 13 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 8 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 9 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft
-
Suggestion


11th
Fleshwarper 1
+4
+6
+5
+10
10 Heal, 14 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 4 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 9 Knowledge(arcana), 3 knowledge (religion), 10 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 3 UMD
-
Aberrant Familiar(Large), Graft Reserve


12th
Fleshwarper 2
+5
+7
+5
+10
10 Heal, 15 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 5 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 10 Knowledge(arcana), 4 knowledge (religion), 10 knowledge(dungeoneering)[/B], 7 Spellcraft, 5 UMD
Magical Artisan(Graft Flesh)
Elder Secret(Choker)


13th
Fleshwarper 3
+5
+7
+6
+11
10 Heal, 16 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 5 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 11 Knowledge(arcana), 5 knowledge (religion), 11 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 7 UMD
-
Graft Mastery(Fiendish)


14th
Fleshwarper 4
+6
+8
+6
+11
10 Heal, 17 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 5 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 12 Knowledge(arcana), 6 knowledge (religion), 12 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 9 UMD
-
Aberrant Familiar(wings)


15th
Fleshwarper 5
+6
+8
+6
+11
10 Heal, 18 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 6 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 13 Knowledge(arcana), 7 knowledge (religion), 13 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 10 UMD
Enspell Familiar
Elder Secret(Mind Flayer), Graft Mastery(Illithid)


16th
Fleshwarper 6
+7
+9
+7
+12
10 Heal, 19 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 7 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 14 Knowledge(arcana), 8 knowledge (religion), 14 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 11 UMD
-
Rapid Grafting


17th
Fleshwarper 7
+7
+9
+7
+12
10 Heal, 20 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 8 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 15 Knowledge(arcana), 9 knowledge (religion), 15 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 12 UMD
-
Aberrant Familiar(amorphous form), Graft Mastery(Yuan Ti)


18th
Fleshwarper 8
+8
+10
+7
+12
10 Heal, 21 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 9 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 17 Knowledge(arcana), 11 knowledge (religion), 17 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 14 UMD
Heighten Spell
Elder Secret(Beholder)


19th
Fleshwarper 9
+8
+10
+8
+13
10 Heal, 22 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 10 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 18 Knowledge(arcana), 12 knowledge (religion), 18 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 15 UMD
-
Graft Mastery(Maug)


20th
Fleshwarper 10
+9
+11
+8
+13
10 Heal, 23 Concentration, 4 Craft(alchemy), 10 Diplomacy, 11 Knowledge (nature), 3 Profession(herbalist), 3 Perform, 19 Knowledge(arcana), 13 knowledge (religion), 19 knowledge(dungeoneering), 7 Spellcraft, 16 UMD
-
Aberrant Familiar(Scales), Aberrant Apotheosis



2 sorcerer/3 cleric
A bit of a weird start here. Krill starts off as a cleric, but moves into sorcerer after 2 levels. Cloistered Cleric is taken and then traded for Knowledge Devotion. The other 2 domains are Vile Darkness and Corruption, with The Patient One as his patron deity. Spontaneous domain(Vile Darkness) is also grabbed so that we always have access to darkness spells. Krill’Zaak is a Naenkrau Illumian, since a +2 to INT checks helps with Knowledge Devotion, and +2 CL saves us from needing Practiced Spellcaster. The Naenkrau ability is nothing to write home about, but I suppose it could see use. Fleshwarper and Mystic Wanderer both have crappy skill requirements, so we grab Able Learner, qualifying since Illumians are human subtyped creatures. We also grab Iron Will for Mystic Wanderer.

6-10
2 sorcerer/3 cleric/5 mystic wanderer
Mystic Wanderer is entered at level 6 and gives us a few odd benefits, but we’re here for the familiar. Though the class itself is divine themed, the familiar gained from it stacks with Sorc/Wiz levels. Full casting advancing cleric levels also means access to level 9 spells. We take improved familiar at level 6. Since clerics are excellent buffers, a melee brute like a worg or krenshar does the most good here. Share Spell applies to all spells that the master has, meaning we can throw Enlarge Person and Bull’s Strength on our familiar and go to town. At this level Divine Power kicks in to keep our familiar’s BaB equal to our character level to give it a much better chance to hit. Graft Flesh(undead) is taken since Illithids and Beholders don’t like to share.

11-15
2 sorcerer/3 cleric/5 mystic wanderer/5 fleshwarper
We get one elder secret at this point, which is Secret of the Choker, because high level DND is rocket tag and a free improved initiative never hurt anybody. Our first graft mastery is fiendish because the grafts are all-around the cheapest for what they do. Second, we get Illithid grafts, which provide an array of natural attacks. For our second Elder Secret, Secret of the Mind Flayer is taken because mind-affecting is common. An important thing to note is that some grafts require spells to make. If we can’t get them from the cleric spell list, we can get them from UMD, which is a class skills for Fleshwarpers. We get Enspell Familiar at this point, which gives about a mile more of flexibility when it comes to buffing. Magical Artisan saves a whole lot of gold, XP and time and lets us squeeze every bit of value out of the graft reserve.

16-20
2 sorcerer/3 cleric/5 mystic wanderer/10 fleshwarper
We finish off with 9th level spells (yay Utterdark!) and grab even more abilities. Maug and Yuan Ti grafts are taken as our final graft types. The last 2 secrets are Beholder and Destrachan. Our last feat is heighten spell. Light spells are countered with an equal or greater darkness spell, so we now have the ability to dispel pretty much anything.

Cast as 2nd level sorcerer (CL4) and a 17th level cleric (19CL)
Magical Darkness- We always have this due to being able to spontaneously cast from the Vile Darkness domain. The combat strategy against anything vulnerable is to slap down darkness and then cast Blindsight to attack from total concealment. That really hurts when you get something like our fully buffed, augmented, and grafted familiar.

Improved Familiar- All or most of our graft reserve goes towards making our Howler friend even nastier. It gains the aberration type, which is a shame since it won’t get access to Rapidstrike without shenanigans. Here’s a few grafts we can add: Weakening arm, Poison Fangs, Grasping Mandibles, 2x Rending Claw, Antenna Grafts, Shoving Arm. Since the familiar is already huge, with the proper buffs it can turn into a very powerful grappler/controller. Bad BaB and lots of multiclassing means we don’t get access to the Howler until level 16.

For a non-worshipping cleric, changing Krill’s race to Changeling to get the Transformation domain is much better than the Corruption domain.

Why not Archivist?
Archivist gives much better flexibility with spells, but 'insane aberration-worshiping cultist' is more of a cleric thing.

Why bother with sorcerer again?
Since familiars work off of class level and not caster level, sorcerer gives us 2 more levels to work with so that we have access to all of the familiars off of the improved list. I originally had these as warlock levels and Eldritch disciple replacing MW, but fleshwarper specifically requires the familiar gained to be from class levels. While that didn’t gain access to 9th level spells, I enjoyed the flavour of the build much more.

There’s a whole bunch of awesome grafts in Magic of Eberron and [INSERT BOOK], why don’t you take any of those?
Because as people have said before, often the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing at WoTC. Between all of the books with grafts, Field Folio, Libris Mortis, and Lords of Madness are the only books that actually share the same rules on grafts. The ones in MoE and Races of the Dragon are super cool, but they’re also stupidly expensive and a creature can only have one ‘family’ of graft before they die. The latter restriction does not exist with the books Darkseeker Krill uses.

Why heighten spell?
Darkness effects are countered with light spells that have an equal or greater spell level. Utterdark is great and all, but evil creatures can still see through it. By getting a Deeper Darkness spell up to level 9, most enemies will be hard pressed to deal with it. Getting darkbolt to a higher save isn’t bad either.

What the hell does the familiar look like?
Some kind of porcupine-dog-snake with a skeleton arm, a demon arm, and too many wings. So exactly like this:
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/digimon/images/7/71/Kimeramon_t.gif/revision/20071102035010



Magic of Faerun: Mystic Wanderer
Lords of Madness: Vile Darkness, Fleshwarper, Graft Flesh
Dragon Compendium: Enspell Familiar
Complete Warrior: Improved Familiar
FRCS: Magical Artisan
Fiend Folio: Grafts
Races of Destiny: Illumian, Able learner
PHB2: Spontaneous Domain
UA: Cloistered Cleric
Knowledge Devotion
Anything else is core

[sakuuya]

Ooh, fun stuff. And I'm surprised by the relatively low number of Shadowcasters.

Repraek (of the) Duskplume (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184664&postcount=94): LN Aeshkrau Illumian Spellthief 1/Warlock 1/Wu Jen 6/Incantrix 2/Shadowcraft Mage 5/Unseen Seer 5
Styg Shadowfiend (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184669&postcount=95): CE Dark Fiendish Half-Fiend Hairy Spider Rogue 11/Assassin 5
Mourne Elisviir (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184688&postcount=96): (Evil?) Lesser Drow Ranger 2/Wilderness Rogue 3/Assassin 10/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
The Harbinger of Fear (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184705&postcount=97): CE Death Master 5/Dread Witch 5/Vermin Lord 10
Pike Grumswytch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184711&postcount=98): NE Lesser Tiefling Incarnate 2/Wu Jen 1/Human Paragon 3/Fighter 2/Soulcaster 9/Uncanny Trickster 3
Zarvyrae Torana, Mistress of Shadows (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184714&postcount=99): CE Drow Shadowcaster 18
Rhazien CozmaShadow of the Ghost (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184723&postcount=100): LE Shadow-Walker Human Shadowcaster 3/Duskblade 5/Noctumancer 10/Mystic Theurge 1
Darkseeker Krill’Zaak (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184735&postcount=101): CE Naenkrau Illumian Sorcerer 5/Mystic Wanderer 5/Fleshwarper 10

[WhamBamSam]

Ooh, fun stuff. And I'm surprised by the relatively low number of Shadowcasters.

Repraek (of the) Duskplume (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184664&postcount=94): LN Aeshkrau Illumian Spellthief 1/Warlock 1/Wu Jen 6/Incantrix 2/Shadowcraft Mage 5/Unseen Seer 5
Styg Shadowfiend (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184669&postcount=95): CE Dark Fiendish Half-Fiend Hairy Spider Rogue 11/Assassin 5
Mourne Elisviir (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184688&postcount=96): (Evil?) Lesser Drow Ranger 2/Wilderness Rogue 3/Assassin 10/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
The Harbinger of Fear (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184705&postcount=97): CE Death Master 5/Dread Witch 5/Vermin Lord 10
Pike Grumswytch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184711&postcount=98): NE Lesser Tiefling Incarnate 2/Wu Jen 1/Human Paragon 3/Fighter 2/Soulcaster 9/Uncanny Trickster 3
Zarvyrae Torana, Mistress of Shadows (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184714&postcount=99): CE Drow Shadowcaster 18
Rhazien CozmaShadow of the Ghost (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184723&postcount=100): LE Shadow-Walker Human Shadowcaster 3/Duskblade 5/Noctumancer 10/Mystic Theurge 1There was one more that I missed actually. It's been edited in to the post above yours.

[Deadasadoor]

Likewise, I'm also surprised at the number of Shadowcasters. Only one Warlock surprised me too.

I'm quite happy with how both of my builds turned out. I had alot of other versions that I played with, but they always managed to focus more on either a familiar or darkness, completely forgetting the other. One of these was a binder/Anima Mage that used Tenebrous to have permanent darkness, but didn't really have the familiar part down.

[WhamBamSam]

Likewise, I'm also surprised at the number of Shadowcasters. Only one Warlock surprised me too.

I'm quite happy with how both of my builds turned out. I had alot of other versions that I played with, but they always managed to focus more on either a familiar or darkness, completely forgetting the other. One of these was a binder/Anima Mage that used Tenebrous to have permanent darkness, but didn't really have the familiar part down.Were I a competitor and not the chairman I'd have done an Anima Mage with a Dragon Familiar sharing a Vestige Persisted Dispelling Breath, since breath weapons and blindsense generally don't care about concealment all that much. Would have had to do some fiddling to pump the save DC on its breath weapon a bit though.

Another thing I though we might see was a Familiar Concentration+Control Darkness and Shadow combo. Probably on some manner of Bard, since that allows for a slightly less intelligent familiar.

[sakuuya]

There was one more that I missed actually. It's been edited in to the post above yours.

I've edited my post as well.

[ben-zayb]

Another thing I though we might see was a Familiar Concentration+Control Darkness and Shadow combo. Probably on some manner of Bard, since that allows for a slightly less intelligent familiar.

My second idea was something similar but I just can't make it work. Bardic Knack, Control Darkness and Shadow, a lose interpretation of the Summon Elemental reserve feat, nd fully buffed Shadow Elemental Familiar to somehow make both SI work together.

EDIT: Is Shadowcaster really the low hanging fruit? And I'm really surprised to see just 1 Incarnum entry for that delicious Share Soulmeld and Shadow Mantle for extra darkness.

[WeaselGuy]

I wish I'd had time to format my 2nd entry, it was going to be something along the lines of [redacted], but I never got around to finishing the build progression table. I think I'll drop it into a spoiler, in case anybody wants to see what I did finish so far...

[redacted]

[Sian]

the idea that i tried getting to work was based on a number of different things

Competent attack bonus, Persisted Hunters Eye (taken via Unseen Seer), Cloud of Knives and Blacklight (both of them via Shadowcraft Mage 3 if needed) and Enspell Familiar (from Dragon Compendium) for sharing them with my familiar who is chosen after as many attacks as possible.

But i just couldn't get the things to mix as i wanted to, as i couldn't get them to fit due to feat restrictions (minimum needs 4 feats, extend spell, persist spell, improved familiar and enspell familiar, and probably another one as well due to obtain familiar) and a way to presist the spells without demanding to be casting them as 8th/9th level spells. No matter which configuration i tried mixing them i just couldn't get all of the above, usually the attack bonus.

Tried considering Duskblade 8 / Fiend-blooded 4 / Shadowcraft Mage 3 / Unseen seer 2 / Incantrix 3, but it felt ugly has heck

[SinsI]

I get the feeling even pure Sorcerer 20 with Blade Guardian familiar would be stronger than most of the entries (not to mention something even minimally more optimized, Like Sorcerer 11/Mage of the Arcane Order 9) - which is why gave up in the first place...

Surprised that some people dared to start with first level of Shadowcaster. They get a total of 1(!!!!) use of their sole Mystery at 1st level, with no bonuses for high Int score...

My most promising idea was 17 different arcane spellcasting classes + 3 levels of Major Bloodline (taken before 3rd, 6th and 12th levels).
That would've netted an effective Master Level of 68 (since Bloodline levels count as class levels for each class, and those class levels stack for the purpose of Improved Familiar), giving your Familiar a Natural Armor adjustment of +34, an Intelligence score of 39, and 5 Familiar Spells of 8th level or below(amongst the classes at least some are going to use spellbooks so you'll be able to give some to the familiar even if you can't cast them yourself).
You'll also be able to get a Gold Dragon familiar at level 6 (and with his 8 racial HD levels he will be much stronger than you)...

Another idea I wanted to investigate is what would happen to your construct familiar(above mentioned Blade Guardian, or his earlier cousins Spark Guardian and Gauntlet Guardian) if you take some levels in Fleshwarper and thus convert him into an Abberration... I couldn't find any rules on what would happen to his missing Con and Int scores in that case...

I have also played around with a Totemist build that used Share Soulmelds to buff his familiar, so it's nice to see Pike Grumswytch's build that does something similar. Unfortunately, he only has Arcane Spellcaster level of 1 (from his sole Wu-Jen level), so he doesn't qualify for Improved Familiar...

[Inevitability]

I briefly considered using that-one-shadowcasting-genie-from-ToM, as it gains what amounts to darkness as an at-will SLA, but eventually decided against it.

[ben-zayb]

It's also nice to point out that this round only had one instance of same Improved Familiar with the two Howlers, since the spider familiar entries are definitely distinct enough from each other. Then again, if one of those Howlers already looks pretty much like Chimeramon anyway...

[Jurai]

Huzzah! I hope [redacted] wins!

[Deadline]

My most promising idea was 17 different arcane spellcasting classes + 3 levels of Major Bloodline (taken before 3rd, 6th and 12th levels).

The Bloodlines are alternate rules, and as such are either disallowed (at least in Iron Chef, not sure about here), or might result in an Elegance penalty from a judge. Otherwise it's a neat trick.


I have also played around with a Totemist build that used Share Soulmelds to buff his familiar, so it's nice to see Pike Grumswytch's build that does something similar. Unfortunately, he only has Arcane Spellcaster level of 1 (from his sole Wu-Jen level), so he doesn't qualify for Improved Familiar...

You don't seem to make a distinction between Class level and Caster Level. The two are most definitely not the same. Your Class Level determines the benefits your familiar gains from the table in the PHB. Your Caster Level is what is used to determine eligibility for the various Improved Familiar feats.

Grumswytch seems to qualify for Improved Familiar to me (sufficient Caster Level). Now, what benefits his familiar gains might be a matter of some debate.

[SinsI]

You don't seem to make a distinction between Class level and Caster Level. The two are most definitely not the same. Your Class Level determines the benefits your familiar gains from the table in the PHB. Your Caster Level is what is used to determine eligibility for the various Improved Familiar feats.

Grumswytch seems to qualify for Improved Familiar to me (sufficient Caster Level). Now, what benefits his familiar gains might be a matter of some debate.
I especially make distinction between Class Level and Caster Level. Table on page 200 of DMG requires Arcane Spellcaster Level - which is not a Caster Level but total Class Level in Arcane Spellcaster Classes. The only thing that requires arcane Caster level is Obtain Familiar feat.


The Bloodlines are alternate rules, and as such are either disallowed (at least in Iron Chef, not sure about here), or might result in an Elegance penalty from a judge. Otherwise it's a neat trick.
Their use in this contest is "Strongly Discouraged" - which is not outright banned. And I don't think that if you have 17 different classes with no synergy you should worry about your Elegance score anytime soon - it would already be at rock bottom.

[Deadline]

I especially make distinction between Class Level and Caster Level. Table on page 200 of DMG requires Arcane Spellcaster Level - which is not a Caster Level but total Class Level in Arcane Spellcaster Classes. The only thing that requires arcane Caster level is Obtain Familiar feat.

I think this is the main point of contention you are going to find for this. Class level is usually specifically called out when referenced. It ultimately boils down to the question of "does Arcane Spellcaster Level refer to caster level, or class level?"

For me, at least, it seems pretty clear that Arcane Spellcaster Level refers to Caster Level (it's even in the name).


Their use in this contest is "Strongly Discouraged" - which is not outright banned. And I don't think that if you have 17 different classes with no synergy you should worry about your Elegance score anytime soon - it would already be at rock bottom.

Heh, fair enough. :smalltongue:

[WhamBamSam]

I think this is the main point of contention you are going to find for this. Class level is usually specifically called out when referenced. It ultimately boils down to the question of "does Arcane Spellcaster Level refer to caster level, or class level?"

For me, at least, it seems pretty clear that Arcane Spellcaster Level refers to Caster Level (it's even in the name).My opinion is that spellcaster level refers to the effective level of your spellcasting feature, and that it is an entirely distinct value from the "master class level" which determines familiar special abilities.

So I would say that a Wizard 7, Wizard 5/Incantatrix 2, or an Adult Red Dragon would have an arcane spellcaster level of 7, but a Wizard 3/Fighter 4 with Practiced Spellcaster would not, despite having a caster level of 7, and a Wizard 7/Fleshwarper 2 (say he's a Glimmerskin Halfling or something so he qualifies) would have an arcane spellcaster level of only 8, despite having 9 levels of familiar progression. I spent the last page or so of the thread before the reveal trying to convince SinsI of this to no avail however. He argues that the section on the Master's Level in Tome and Blood indicates that "the master's level" and "arcane spellcaster level" are interchangeable, but I don't get that impression from the passage in question (which doesn't mention arcane spellcaster level at all, though it does have a rule about your level dropping below the minimum required for an Improved Familiar).

[SinsI]

I think this is the main point of contention you are going to find for this. Class level is usually specifically called out when referenced. It ultimately boils down to the question of "does Arcane Spellcaster Level refer to caster level, or class level?"
If someone wanted "Arcane Spellcaster Level" to refer to "arcane caster level" he would go with that wording (saving himself the needless "spell" part of the second word). Spellcaster refers to your class that casts spells. Arcane Spellcaster refers to your combined experience in arcane spellcasting classes - classes that "allow you to cast arcane spells", or qualify to be called "arcane spellcaster" due to the special "+1 arcane caster level" progress rules for Warlock and Dragonfire Adept.

The distinction between "Master class level" and "Arcane Spellcaster Level" is due to the former being different if your familiar is obtained via Sorcerer/Wizard class feature and not Obtain Familiar feat. But neither of those refer to the fleeting "caster level" thing that can change each time you cast a spell (i.e. if you are a Wild Mage).

Incantantrix says:
"She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would've gained".

"Ability to get better familiar" is a benefit.

[Sian]

SinsI, why don't you just argee to disargee, instead of beating your umpteenth horse to death?

We all know that you read it one way, while the majority that have given their opinion reads it another way ... go make another thread about how to read it or let it die.

[Twice]

I was sure someone would have tried to use Psychic Theurge and Mind Switch, True on a Living Spell. It would simple to make use of if the familiar used UPD to preform the power and the character used available skill buffs to increase success of UPD. You'd then have the familiar jump into a magical darkness / living tentacles combo. As a bonus, you could then jump into your familiars old body yourself and seal away your body in a "safe" place.

I never figured out how to make a living spell though.

[Curmudgeon]

OK, I'm very confused about one of the builds, Skyg Shadowfiend (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184669&postcount=95).

According to Monsters of Faerûn page 79 (and no change to these stats on page 6 of Player’s Guide to Faerûn Web Enhancement), the Hairy Spider has:

Str 1, Dex 14, Con 10, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2

The master, Sam Shadowbard, was a Shadowcaster 3/Bard 3. The familiar, Skyg Shadowfiend, was obtained via the Shadow Familiar feat, which says:
For the purpose of determining familiar abilities that depend on your arcane caster level, your levels in all classes that allow you to cast mysteries or arcane spells stack.
That initially gives the familiar the Special Abilities specified on the Familiar Abilities Table (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm#tableFamiliarSpecialAbilities) for a level 6 master.


Death of a Master
If a master dies and the familiar survives, part of the master lives on in the familiar. It loses any extra hit points and skills it gained from the master but retains most of its familiar abilities. It is treated as having a master two levels lower (but never below 1st level).
Now we're down to a level 4 master, which gets an INT of 7 according to the table (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm#tableFamiliarSpecialAbilities).
So that should give stats of:

Str 1, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 2
So, given that this is a character built using the above-cited rules rather than 32 point buy, how does it start with the following stats?

Race: Dark Partly-Fiend Fiendish Ex-familiar Hairy Spider
Ability Scores (level 1): Str 1, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 1
STR and WIS match, but everything else seems wonky.
:confused:

[Inevitability]

OK, I'm very confused about one of the builds, Skyg Shadowfiend (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184669&postcount=95).

According to Monsters of Faerûn page 79 (and no change to these stats on page 6 of Player’s Guide to Faerûn Web Enhancement), the Hairy Spider has:


The master, Sam Shadowbard, was a Shadowcaster 3/Bard 3. The familiar, Skyg Shadowfiend, was obtained via the Shadow Familiar feat, which says:
That initially gives the familiar the Special Abilities specified on the Familiar Abilities Table (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm#tableFamiliarSpecialAbilities) for a level 6 master.


Now we're down to a level 4 master, which gets an INT of 7 according to the table (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm#tableFamiliarSpecialAbilities).
So that should give stats of:

Str 1, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 2
So, given that this is a character built using the above-cited rules rather than 32 point buy, how does it start with the following stats?

STR and WIS match, but everything else seems wonky.
:confused:

I may be mistaken, but I believe that 32 point buy was, in fact used, applying the modifiers above (-10 strength, +4 dex, +0 con, -4 int, +0 wis, -8 cha) to the bought amounts.

After some messing around with a point buy calculator, I figured that if the creator put 0 points in strength and charisma, 10 points in dexterity, 4 in constitution, 16 in intelligence, and 2 in wisdom, he'd end up with the given stats (assuming no ability score can get lower than 1).

But I agree, the build does depend on some shaky RAW.

[WhamBamSam]

Do we have anyone thinking of judging this round?

[Troacctid]

Oh, yeah, I did say I was gonna do that. I guess I'll do it today. Maybe tomorrow.

[Jurai]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I'm so excited!

[Sian]

soo... who throws a coin in the jukebox?

[WhamBamSam]

It's looking as though I may have to judge myself this round. The bad news is that I'm a pretty slow judge. The good news is that we don't have to worry too much about anonymity, as I don't really remember who submitted what without checking my PM box.

[Deadasadoor]

Any word on judging for this?

[Sian]

*pokes corpse*

[dysprosium]

I would have stepped forward earlier but real life is a monster.

That and my free time is being spent on getting entries in for IC and ZS.

[WhamBamSam]

Oh, right. I had meant to judge myself to get the round done, but I've been getting caught up in IC rounds and things.

[sakuuya]

Oh, right. I had meant to judge myself to get the round done, but I've been getting caught up in IC rounds and things.

Haha, I was wondering! Are you still willing to do it?

[Sian]

just a guess but i think part of the issue is that the ingredients is too vague to lean a judging on, meaning that it would be much more of 'who made the objectionally best character that didn't ignore this', instead of 'who used this to make the best character'

[WhamBamSam]

Haha, I was wondering! Are you still willing to do it?Yeah, I suppose. I'll get to work on it as soon as I'm finished with my IC entry for this round, unless someone else wants to jump in and do it before then.

[Sian]

*orders funeral train*

[Inevitability]

How's the judging?

[Sian]

Can't it just end with no judging done, list the entries, and move onwards to a new edition? ... this optimization variant is simply to interesting to die IMO (and with me running Zinc already i can't take over, even if i would have wanted to)

[WhamBamSam]

Can't it just end with no judging done, list the entries, and move onwards to a new edition? ... this optimization variant is simply to interesting to die IMO (and with me running Zinc already i can't take over, even if i would have wanted to)Yeah, alright. I really should have just judged this myself, but couldn't find the wherewithal to get down to it somehow. I'll put a new round up sometime tonight.

[Deadasadoor]

I'm sad to see this go unjudged, seeing how much work I put into both of my entries. But I'd also like to see the next round :smallfrown:. Can't win 'em all I guess.

[Troacctid]

Dammit I've been holding out on judging this whole time hoping that I wouldn't be the only judge. I really hate being the only judge. It's, like, the worst. There really ought to be, like, a whole panel of judges, and they would all take notes on the contestants, then have a Skype debate about their scoring, and record it, and then release the whole discussion as a podcast. Now that would be a competition.

[WeaselGuy]

Wow, almost 3 months with nobody judging it, and now it just dies. I too am sad to see this happen, considering the amount of work I put into my entry as well.

[Inevitability]

So should we just reveal our submissions? Mine was...

Skyg. Yeah, no big surprise there.

[Sagetim]

oh, now I see this thread, months after it's over. Before I go back and look at the entries, I wonder if anyone did shadowcaster + acquire familiar feat +improved familiar feat at 9? It would be the easiest way to get the ingredients, then you could pick up shadow master from 10 to 19 and turn your familiar into something awesome (a shadow elemental).

[WhamBamSam]

oh, now I see this thread, months after it's over. Before I go back and look at the entries, I wonder if anyone did shadowcaster + acquire familiar feat +improved familiar feat at 9? It would be the easiest way to get the ingredients, then you could pick up shadow master from 10 to 19 and turn your familiar into something awesome (a shadow elemental).Shadowcasters don't have an arcane spellcaster level and do not qualify for Improved Familiar.

[Troacctid]

But yes, we had two Shadowcasters this round, plus however you count the spider.

[ben-zayb]

So should we just reveal our submissions? Mine was...

Skyg. Yeah, no big surprise there.

I love reading that entry!

Too bad on how it ended, though, seeing as this is my first official optimization contest to have joined in.

[Sagetim]

Shadowcasters don't have an arcane spellcaster level and do not qualify for Improved Familiar.

In the last line of the shadowcaster entry on mysteries and paths it says,
Even though as a shadowcaster you do not “cast spells” in the traditional sense, your levels in this class count for the purpose of determining your overall caster level.

Does that not imply that you have arcane caster levels? I'm pretty sure true namers have an arcane caster level too, despite having no spells per day.

[WhamBamSam]

Caster levels are not the same as spellcaster levels, and there's nothing to suggest that Shadowcaster caster levels are arcane.

[Troacctid]

Caster levels are not the same as spellcaster levels, and there's nothing to suggest that Shadowcaster caster levels are arcane.

However, the Shadow Familiar feat has explicit language that allows Shadowcaster levels to count towards familiars despite not being arcane, which is why it was eligible to be used this round.

[Curmudgeon]

I suggest that it's not a matter of "letting" Junkyard Wars die; it's already dead. If nobody was interested in seeing how the entries compared, the formula just wasn't good enough to sustain the contest.

[Sian]

well, aren't you a bundle of joy Curmudgeon ...

Its not the Formula that is an issue IMO ... its the ingredient pairing that is so flightly that its difficult to rank how well you're using it, without being a simple who has the most traditionally OP build that happens to have a way of using magical darkness.

[Troacctid]

I wonder what would happen if we let the judges and winners vote on the ingredients for the next round. Would that get people more invested?

[Curmudgeon]

well, aren't you a bundle of joy Curmudgeon ...
The essence of being a curmudgeon (http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Full-Fledged-Curmudgeon) is that you care only about the facts, and not about opinions. Frequently that makes people think you're generally disagreeable. (It's funny that when I express great enthusiasm for something it's largely unremarked.)

Its not the Formula that is an issue IMO ... its the ingredient pairing ...
By "the formula" I meant specifically "Magical Darkness + Improved Familiar - Wizard". I don't know from where the inspiration for this round arose, but obviously it was a dud; nobody cared to evaluate the results. However, if continuing Junkyard Wars is dependent on each round finding both entrants and judges, then yes, Junkyard Wars died when this round died.

[Sian]

schematics, but in my mind Formula is X+Y-Z that Junkyard runs on

[WeaselGuy]

I always like the JW competitions, because you typically have to recreate a common concept without it's most common denominator. Also, for what it's worth, my entry was:


Rhazien Cozma, Shadow of the Ghost (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184723&postcount=100)

[WhamBamSam]

By "the formula" I meant specifically "Magical Darkness + Improved Familiar - Wizard". I don't know from where the inspiration for this round arose, but obviously it was a dud; nobody cared to evaluate the results. However, if continuing Junkyard Wars is dependent on each round finding both entrants and judges, then yes, Junkyard Wars died when this round died.It was initially one of Troacctid's suggestions, but magical darkness and fancy familiars are both things which I like, and which are both somewhat out of the common way for casters' standard operating procedure. Wizard seemed like a good way to put an extra squeeze on a caster round.

Ultimately, I'm not sure I'm that great a chairman for JW, and I found my motivation and sufficient free time lacking when it became necessary for me to be the last line of defense against no judging. I'll chair the next round at least (I'm struggling to decide on components, as I often do), but I'd like to start looking for a replacement.


I wonder what would happen if we let the judges and winners vote on the ingredients for the next round. Would that get people more invested?Could you explain what you mean in more detail? How would the voting system work?

[Sian]

I have a .txt file in which i write ideas for future Zinc Sauciers (with Titles), often also including half a line about how i'd go at it so i know its possible to do it. :smallsmile: And then i look at it a couple of times through each contest seeing if i can find some more interesting ideas, if some of them don't work for one reason or another and try to rank them from most interesting to least interesting, with the intention of selecting one of the highest ranked when there's a rollover.

[WhamBamSam]

I have a .txt file in which i write ideas for future Zinc Sauciers (with Titles), often also including half a line about how i'd go at it so i know its possible to do it. :smallsmile: And then i look at it a couple of times through each contest seeing if i can find some more interesting ideas, if some of them don't work for one reason or another and try to rank them from most interesting to least interesting, with the intention of selecting one of the highest ranked when there's a rollover.I have a lot of things that I'd like to use as components, but nothing that I'm super enthusiastic about as a combination. I also almost never know what to make the forbidden component.

[rrwoods]

My two coppers (which aren't worth much seeing as I have only ever silently spectated these competitions) --

I love the junkyard wars concept. I feel like at-the-table optimization has a lot of already accepted norms that inform the "correct" decisions for any given character concept, and explicitly disallowing something that is usually what makes a concept work forces creativity in really cool ways.

But, my favorite instance of junkyard wars was the first one. Since then it seems like interest waned over time, for whatever reason. I think having tighter concepts would help a ton; the dartboard round in particular was pretty lackluster.

Personally I'd be thrilled to see this competition be reinvigorated, even though I'm not an active participant. I looked forward to seeing what folks came up with.

[Troacctid]

Could you explain what you mean in more detail? How would the voting system work?

I was thinking anyone could nominate ingredients (combinations of ingredients I guess), and then the chairman, judges, and top three entrants could vote on which to do in the next round.

[Deadasadoor]

Well, if we're revealing....

Mine were the Harbinger and Darkseeker Krill’Zaak

I would've judged this round had I not entered, just to get the ball rolling again. I judged the last Home Cooking round after something like 2 months of inactivity, but it seems the current round has died as well. I liked that contest alot too. :smallfrown:

[Lakal shadowfox]

I really like the idea of this contest, i would have really liked to partecipate if i knew of it earlier, please don't let it die it looks really funny.
Plus i was wondering if an arcane hierophant was viable in this round ( and if yes, why nobody tried it) since it gives you a fancy familiar that it's also a companion.

For the judging in this round we can tra a popular vote , not too fancy but at least it would settle everything and we can move on to another round

P.s. English is not my first leanguage so bare some grammar errors, and posting from a phone doesn't help either. It's also my first real post here in the playground

[Deadasadoor]

I really like the idea of this contest, i would have really liked to partecipate if i knew of it earlier, please don't let it die it looks really funny.
Plus i was wondering if an arcane hierophant was viable in this round ( and if yes, why nobody tried it) since it gives you a fancy familiar that it's also a companion.

For the judging in this round we can tra a popular vote , not too fancy but at least it would settle everything and we can move on to another round

P.s. English is not my first leanguage so bare some grammar errors, and posting from a phone doesn't help either. It's also my first real post here in the playground

Welcome to the playground!

Arcane Heirophant was actually usable in the round (got an OK from the chair through PM), but I think it wasn't used because it didn't mesh well with the magical darkness component. At least, that's what happened when i tried to work with it.

As for the "judge by voting", I agree with this. If we can't get a proper judging, something is better than nothing.

[WhamBamSam]

I was thinking anyone could nominate ingredients (combinations of ingredients I guess), and then the chairman, judges, and top three entrants could vote on which to do in the next round.Oh, I see. I thought you were proposing an alternate scoring system of some kind. Yeah, I'd be all for that, especially as it keeps things from being so bogged down over my dithering. I'd say people should be able to nominate partial combinations or individual ingredients as well.

In the meantime, hopefully my capricious method of choosing will suffice for the next round. I'm not sure if the required components have any exceptional synergy yet, but they're both fields of optimization that I personally find interesting. The forbidden component was chosen at random by way of alcohol, though it does limit one of the more straightforward and common usages of the second required component.

The contest is dead, long live the contest (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?430214-Junkyard-Wars-XII-Dragonmark-Heirs-Touchstones-Exotic-Weapons&p=19586483#post19586483).

[Jurai]

My entry was Zarvyrae Torana.

[ben-zayb]

Mine was Repraek (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19184664&postcount=94), although I'm not entirely sure whether such PO/TO trick is new or if it had been done before.

Additionally, I just realized the feat was Residual Magic, not Residual Metamagic...