ben-zayb
2015-07-27, 01:16 PM
Not much to say. I challenged myself into breaking the game to near Pun-Pun levels with as least common top-tier spell shenanigans as possible, as few requirements as possible, as early as possible. Thus I present...
Agnes, the Naughty Sorceress
Pre-"Ascension"
Level Breakdown: Sorcerer 8*
Race [Type(Subtypes)]: DusklingMoI [Fey (Incarnum, Extraplanar) ]
Ability Scores: 6 points (+2 level bonus) for 16 CHA, (point-buy above 6pts optional)
Skills: half-rank in UMD/UPD/Spellcraft/Psicraft
* Actually, Wizards and Wu Jens can do this too with maybe more point-buy, but I'm trying to make a KoL reference here, so let's go with Sorcerer. Ok?
Post-"Ascension"
Level Breakdown: Sorcerer 8/ RHD YES! / class levels YES!
Race [Type(Subtypes)]: YES! [Aberration (YES!)]
Divine Rank: YES!
Ability Scores: YES!
Alignment: YES!
Feats: YES! / Hit Points: YES! / Save Bonus: YES! / AC Bonus: YES!
Attack Bonus: YES! / Damage Bonus: YES! / Check Bonus: YES!
Spells: YES! (but SR NO, Save NO) / Spell Slots: YES! / Spell Level: YES! / Caster Level: YES!
Special Attacks: YES!
Special Qualities: YES!
Class Features: YES! (usages that are increasable by feats: YES!)
Gold and Gear: YES!
Actions: YES!
Step 1a: cast Polymorph to turn into a ShaedlingMM5
Step 1b: use Shadow Gossamer to generate a CL:YES! Skull TalismanFB of ImprovisationSpC
Step 2a: use Skull Talisman
Step 2b: use Shadow Gossamer to generate a Scroll of Ice AssassinFB
Step 3a: UMD Scroll to make an Ice Assassin of a ProteanELH
Step 3b: use Shadow Gossamer to generate a Skull Talisman of Aberrate
Step 3c: Protean uses Alter Shape to become a medium-sized version of all non-deific creatures, including Shaedling and LilituFC1
Step 3d: Protean uses move action to stabilize form
Step 3e: Protean uses Shadow Gossamer to generate a ML:YES! Power Stone of Fusion
Step 4a: use Skull Talisman
Step 4b: use Shadow Gossamer to generate a Power Stone of Astral Seed
Step 4c: Protean uses move action to stabilize form
Step 4d: Protean uses Power Stone of Fusion, targeting you
Step 5a: use Power Stone
Step 5b: kill yourself, and wait until you get your new original-recipe Shaedling-Protean form (you have all movement modes and natural attacks too, for what those are worth)
Moving Forward: After this demonstration, it should be clear that you have access to any item (weight limits aside), any creature, and any creature's abilities (including class features). If the latter two capabilities sound familiar, that's because they're already the stuff that Illithid Savants, Manipulate Form (partly), Tippy's Psion, and The Savant Prist are made of! Regardless, the next section will still try to lazily give a link of Pun-Pun's tricks show how much just that gets us to YES!.
Side Note 1: If you don't want any of your Protean's 44HD decremented by Astral Seed, use the Fusion-Seed trick with a Barghest first to get the Feed ability to be used on kidnapped commoners. Conversely, you can level drain yourself to get back to level 4-5, to retain that possibly misleading "Level-4 TO" thing.
Side Note 2: Fusion Bypass
Fusion requires that the fused creatures must be of the same size and type. The simple solution in this case is for you to use the Protean's Alter Shape (Ex) ability to turn into any size (no RAW whether it changes type), and then use Aberrate on the creature you want to fuse with. Note that unlike some Polymorph effects, this bypass doesn't in any way negatively change any of your or the creature's stats (like natural weapons, Ex attacks, movement modes, etc.) aside from its Type and your Size.
A List of Pun-Pun's Best Abilities and (Nigh)-Infinities (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2705.0)
Ok, ok. I cheated with the explanation. But to repeat what's already been written is an exercise in futility, so I will just expound on the deviation from Pun-Pun's basic tricks:
NI Divine Rank: similar to Pun-Pun's Nut-Puns, but using Shadow Gossamer for free Scrolls of Ice Assassins of Deities; however, since you are avoiding Wish, and Alter Reality has a Wish reference, your method of virtually making magical effects permanent is via Temporal Reiteration, either from a Power Stone or by being fused with a manifesting creature (like an Elder Brain)
NI Feats: use Shadow Gossamer to generate Scrolls of Heroics, Shun the Dark Chaos, and Embrace the Dark Chaos
Racial/Class Abilities: while this challenge avoids Manipulate Form ability, this can be replicated as already demonstrated above in the initial example of Ice-Fusion-Seed combo, which can be used for any particular creature whose abilities you want
INF Ability Scores: similar to Pun-Pun, but use Void Disciple'sCD Void Release and combine it with Temporal Reiteration for infinite duration
INF Skill Ranks: similar to Pun-Pun, but again using Temporal Reiteration for the Void Disciple's Moment of Clarity. Additionally, you may use the Dusk Giant trick to bypass normal HD limits if you really want to have lower HD but don't want INF skill ranks from Void Disciples.
You can do any 3.5 trick that doesn't involve the presented limits of this thought experiment. Psionic tricks? Check! Clone Army? Check. LoP's tricks? Check. Assplomancer? Check. Wight-apocalypse? Check.
You could probably even replicate some of the tricks that used the banned recipes, as shown above in how even pun-pun's tricks can be replicated without Manipulate Form and Wish / Alter Reality. Team Solar? Check. Priya? Check. The Cube? If you know what it is! Those cool optimization challenge winners? As long as they don't involve you banlist, and likely even then! The 8-round God? Check! Ex-Caster? Check! And so on, and so forth...EDIT: Apparently I'm thinking of Alternate Form instead of Alter Self, since the latter grants no Ex attacks. That's what I get for half-arsing things. It's been rectified, at the cost of bumping the level to 8!:smallsigh:
Agnes, the Naughty Sorceress
Pre-"Ascension"
Level Breakdown: Sorcerer 8*
Race [Type(Subtypes)]: DusklingMoI [Fey (Incarnum, Extraplanar) ]
Ability Scores: 6 points (+2 level bonus) for 16 CHA, (point-buy above 6pts optional)
Skills: half-rank in UMD/UPD/Spellcraft/Psicraft
* Actually, Wizards and Wu Jens can do this too with maybe more point-buy, but I'm trying to make a KoL reference here, so let's go with Sorcerer. Ok?
Post-"Ascension"
Level Breakdown: Sorcerer 8/ RHD YES! / class levels YES!
Race [Type(Subtypes)]: YES! [Aberration (YES!)]
Divine Rank: YES!
Ability Scores: YES!
Alignment: YES!
Feats: YES! / Hit Points: YES! / Save Bonus: YES! / AC Bonus: YES!
Attack Bonus: YES! / Damage Bonus: YES! / Check Bonus: YES!
Spells: YES! (but SR NO, Save NO) / Spell Slots: YES! / Spell Level: YES! / Caster Level: YES!
Special Attacks: YES!
Special Qualities: YES!
Class Features: YES! (usages that are increasable by feats: YES!)
Gold and Gear: YES!
Actions: YES!
Step 1a: cast Polymorph to turn into a ShaedlingMM5
Step 1b: use Shadow Gossamer to generate a CL:YES! Skull TalismanFB of ImprovisationSpC
Step 2a: use Skull Talisman
Step 2b: use Shadow Gossamer to generate a Scroll of Ice AssassinFB
Step 3a: UMD Scroll to make an Ice Assassin of a ProteanELH
Step 3b: use Shadow Gossamer to generate a Skull Talisman of Aberrate
Step 3c: Protean uses Alter Shape to become a medium-sized version of all non-deific creatures, including Shaedling and LilituFC1
Step 3d: Protean uses move action to stabilize form
Step 3e: Protean uses Shadow Gossamer to generate a ML:YES! Power Stone of Fusion
Step 4a: use Skull Talisman
Step 4b: use Shadow Gossamer to generate a Power Stone of Astral Seed
Step 4c: Protean uses move action to stabilize form
Step 4d: Protean uses Power Stone of Fusion, targeting you
Step 5a: use Power Stone
Step 5b: kill yourself, and wait until you get your new original-recipe Shaedling-Protean form (you have all movement modes and natural attacks too, for what those are worth)
Moving Forward: After this demonstration, it should be clear that you have access to any item (weight limits aside), any creature, and any creature's abilities (including class features). If the latter two capabilities sound familiar, that's because they're already the stuff that Illithid Savants, Manipulate Form (partly), Tippy's Psion, and The Savant Prist are made of! Regardless, the next section will still try to lazily give a link of Pun-Pun's tricks show how much just that gets us to YES!.
Side Note 1: If you don't want any of your Protean's 44HD decremented by Astral Seed, use the Fusion-Seed trick with a Barghest first to get the Feed ability to be used on kidnapped commoners. Conversely, you can level drain yourself to get back to level 4-5, to retain that possibly misleading "Level-4 TO" thing.
Side Note 2: Fusion Bypass
Fusion requires that the fused creatures must be of the same size and type. The simple solution in this case is for you to use the Protean's Alter Shape (Ex) ability to turn into any size (no RAW whether it changes type), and then use Aberrate on the creature you want to fuse with. Note that unlike some Polymorph effects, this bypass doesn't in any way negatively change any of your or the creature's stats (like natural weapons, Ex attacks, movement modes, etc.) aside from its Type and your Size.
A List of Pun-Pun's Best Abilities and (Nigh)-Infinities (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2705.0)
Ok, ok. I cheated with the explanation. But to repeat what's already been written is an exercise in futility, so I will just expound on the deviation from Pun-Pun's basic tricks:
NI Divine Rank: similar to Pun-Pun's Nut-Puns, but using Shadow Gossamer for free Scrolls of Ice Assassins of Deities; however, since you are avoiding Wish, and Alter Reality has a Wish reference, your method of virtually making magical effects permanent is via Temporal Reiteration, either from a Power Stone or by being fused with a manifesting creature (like an Elder Brain)
NI Feats: use Shadow Gossamer to generate Scrolls of Heroics, Shun the Dark Chaos, and Embrace the Dark Chaos
Racial/Class Abilities: while this challenge avoids Manipulate Form ability, this can be replicated as already demonstrated above in the initial example of Ice-Fusion-Seed combo, which can be used for any particular creature whose abilities you want
INF Ability Scores: similar to Pun-Pun, but use Void Disciple'sCD Void Release and combine it with Temporal Reiteration for infinite duration
INF Skill Ranks: similar to Pun-Pun, but again using Temporal Reiteration for the Void Disciple's Moment of Clarity. Additionally, you may use the Dusk Giant trick to bypass normal HD limits if you really want to have lower HD but don't want INF skill ranks from Void Disciples.
You can do any 3.5 trick that doesn't involve the presented limits of this thought experiment. Psionic tricks? Check! Clone Army? Check. LoP's tricks? Check. Assplomancer? Check. Wight-apocalypse? Check.
You could probably even replicate some of the tricks that used the banned recipes, as shown above in how even pun-pun's tricks can be replicated without Manipulate Form and Wish / Alter Reality. Team Solar? Check. Priya? Check. The Cube? If you know what it is! Those cool optimization challenge winners? As long as they don't involve you banlist, and likely even then! The 8-round God? Check! Ex-Caster? Check! And so on, and so forth...EDIT: Apparently I'm thinking of Alternate Form instead of Alter Self, since the latter grants no Ex attacks. That's what I get for half-arsing things. It's been rectified, at the cost of bumping the level to 8!:smallsigh: