Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground LXXIV

[Heliomance]

A dimly-lit library. Rows of bookshelves line the walls, and as the camera slowly pans over them, we see that they are filled with gaming books. From the original brown-cover D&D manuals to the newest fifth edition supplements, we are given a brief but breathtaking history of over four decades of gaming in visual form.

A pair of feet, clad in Converse, appear. The camera pans back to reveal the Chairwoman as she strides out into Optimization Stadium. Slowly, she looks around at the battleground. Rapidly, we are shown shots of the gaming materials here assembled: books, miniatures, maps, dice. The Chairwoman reaches down and picks up a twenty-sided die. She rolls it, then turns to the camera... and smiles.

The camera pulls back from the smile to reveal... the Iron Gamers. Row upon row they stand, clad in the uniform of their trade: t-shirts with fantasy images, buttons with obscure quotes from novels and movies, dice bags at the ready. The shot dissolves into flames and the logo:


Iron Gamer

A montage of the contestants plays, with summaries of their optimization triumphs and achievements. Interspersed are brief interviews. Finally, though, the introductions are over. The contestants stand arrayed before the Chairwoman.

Chairwoman: We unveil the ingredient!

Tense music plays as the pedestal containing the mystery ingredient rises from below. Stacked neatly on the pedestal are copies of Shining South.

Chairwoman: This month's theme is... Crinti Shadow Marauder! ALLEZ OPTIMISER!


http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/api/content/nl/en-us/SSZND2_6.0.0/com.ibm.etools.webreference.doc/images/hr_runtime.gif

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef LXIX. Here in Optimisation Colosseum, contestants will endeavor to create an optimized and flavorful character using a specified D&D3.5 prestige class as a "Secret Ingredient".

Contestants: You will need to present a full 20-level build for your entry. Also required is a rundown of how your build works at lower levels, to demonstrate that it is a functional character that could be played from 1-20 in a real game. Traditionally contestants give "snapshots" of tactics and abilities at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20, as well as a "sweet spot" of their choosing that represents what they believe to be the high point of the build. The purpose of these snapshots is not just to showcase your use of the SI, it is to demonstrate that your character is playable at every level. For this reason, it's still worth giving a snapshot before you have entered the SI.

Menu: The "special ingredient" can be drawn from any legal source. Originally, the plan was to mostly use Core and Completes, but that was a long time ago, and we've started running out of interesting classes to use if we restrict ourselves to those.

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

Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon magazine is disallowed, and Unearthed Arcana is allowed; but see Elegance below. Web-exclusive 3.0 or 3.5 materials by WotC are expressly allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere, as this may cause an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt or Generic Classes are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Also, item familiars are forbidden because I hate 'em. Please refrain from using Taint unless it's necessary for the Secret Ingredient.
NB: Official Errata and 3.5 updates to 3.0 content are considered valid regardless of whether their sources would otherwise be legal. This includes the 3.5 update of Oriental Adventures given in Dragon Magazine, and the 3.5 updates of Dragonlance Campaign Setting content given in later third party Dragonlance books.

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 09:59 GMT on Sunday, November 29th, 2015 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairwoman, Heliomance. Please put the name of your build in the subject line of your PM. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 09:59 GMT on Sunday, December 13th, 2015 to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

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

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

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



Code immediately below (spoiler).

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



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

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

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

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

The Builds

Past Competitions

Iron Chef I: Entropomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142470)
Iron Chef II: Psibond Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146583)
Iron Chef III: Cancer Mage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148584)
Iron Chef IV: Stonelord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150595)
Iron Chef V: War Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152543)
Iron Chef VI: Master of Masks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156876)
Iron Chef VII: Green Star Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158633)
Iron Chef VIII: Pyrokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160266)
Iron Chef IX: Animal Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162702)
Iron Chef X: Mythic Exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164381)
Iron Chef XI: Blade Bravo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166539)
Iron Chef XII: War Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9426386)
Iron Chef XIII: Vigilante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172233)
Iron Chef XIV: Seeker of the Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174434)
Iron Chef XV: Drunken Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176049)
Iron Chef XVI: Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178202)
Iron Chef XVII: Ardent Dilettante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182492)
Iron Chef XVIII: Unseelie Dark Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186097)
Iron Chef XIX: Dread Pirate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190607)
Iron Chef XX: Incandescent Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10976416)
Iron Chef XXI: Ghostwalker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198921)
Iron Chef XXII: Dervish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206576)
Iron Chef XXIII: Divine Crusader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210071)
Iron Chef XXIV: Tactical Soldier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214198)
Iron Chef XXV: Scion of Tem-Et-Nu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217441)
Iron Chef XXVI: Shadowdancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220956)
Iron Chef XXVII: Mindbender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224008)
Iron Chef XXVIII: Cryokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227304)
Iron Chef XXIX: Consecrated Harrier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229688)
Iron Chef XXX: Initiate of Pistis Sophia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233346)
Iron Chef XXXI: Shadow Sentinel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236908)
Iron Chef XXXII: Temple Raider of Olidammara (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239786)
Iron Chef XXXIII: Drow Judicator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243052)
Iron Chef XXXIV: Dragon Disciple (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246072)
Iron Chef XXXV: Death Delver (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249542)
Iron Chef XXXVI: Acolyte of the Skin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252923)
Iron Chef XXXVII: Justiciar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13865473)
Iron Chef XXXVIII: Hand of the Winged Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255215)
Iron Chef XXXIX: Renegade Mastermaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260333)
Iron Chef XL: Nightsong Infiltrator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263173)
Iron Chef XLI: Geomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266709)
Iron Chef XLII: Shadowblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270196)
Iron Chef XLIII: Bladesinger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274122)
Iron Chef XLIV: Urban Soul (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=279116)
Iron Chef XLV: Talon of Tiamat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15216595)
Iron Chef XLVI: Cipher Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287314)
Iron Chef XLVII: Cold Iron Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291294)
Iron Chef XLVIII: Shadow Sun Ninja (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297327)
Iron Chef XLIX: Thrall to Orcus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302487)
Iron Chef L: Corrupt Avenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307823)
Iron Chef LI: Black Flame Zealot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312773)
Iron Chef LII: Anointed Knight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317934)
Iron Chef LIII: Zerth Cenobite (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325164)
Iron Chef LIV: Osteomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330890)
Iron Chef LV: Mountebank (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?336373-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LV)
Iron Chef LVI: Dwarven Defender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342807-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVI)
Iron Chef LVII: Darkrunner (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?349040-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVII)
Iron Chef LVIII: Spellsword (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?357412-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVIII)
Iron Chef LIX: Fleet Runner of Ehlonna (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?364667-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LIX)
Iron Chef LX: Lasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?371835-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LX(II): Acolyte of the Ego (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?372145-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LXII: Dungeon Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?376810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXII)
Iron Cheff LXIII: Witchborn Binder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?382632-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIII)
Iron Chef LXIV: Slime Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?387166-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIV)
Iron Chef LXV: Thunder Guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?394981-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXV)
Iron Chef LXVI: Dwarven Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVI)
Irogn Chef LXVII: Gnome Giant Slayer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406613-Irogn-Chef-Optimisatiogn-Challegnge-ign-the-Playgrougnd-LXVII)
Iron Chef LXIX: Fang of Lolth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?412530-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVIII)
Iron Chef LXIX: Shiba Protector (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420165-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIX)
Iron Chef LXX: Order of the Bow Initiate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?425634-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXX)
Iron Chef LXXI: Silver Key (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?431484-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXI)
Iron Chef LXXII: Spellfire Channeler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439020-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXII)
Iron Chef LXXIII: Flux Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?448596-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIII)

[Heliomance]

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

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

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

Q: Are Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, or Kingdoms of Kalamar allowable sources?
A: 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.

Q: What about online sources in general?
A: 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.

Q: 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. In a similar vein, LA buyoff and fractional BAB are also disallowed. 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.

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

Q: What's the minimum score in a category?
A: 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 requirement 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.

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

Q: So what's the deal with equipment, anyway?
A: There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list. Historically, judges have frowned upon "item dependent" builds, but unfortunately the definition of that has been applied to mean anything from builds that don't function if you remove one very specific item, to builds that so much as mention a particular weapon. Builds that don't list gear should be assumed to buy useful generics - items to boost their primary stats, cloaks of resistance, appropriate magical weapons and armour, and so forth. If a build would find particular items useful, they should be listed, but experience suggests that the more generic you keep them, the more favourably judges are likely to look upon them, as a build being shut down because the Thundering Bagpipes of Urist McTrumpetbritches were unavailable is considered a weakness. Similarly, requiring items in order to be able to qualify for things tends to be frowned upon.

[Heliomance]

What's this? An actually good ingredient? I don't know what's come over me.

Yes, it's Crinti Shadow Marauder. I thought I'd give you a break from all the terrible ingredients, and give you something that's actually potentially useful. It is only 5 levels long, though, so you'll have to be very careful not to overpower the flavour - like Dungeon Lord, this is a very delicate ingredient!

As further proof that I've lost my mind, I'm going to give you all a Christmas present. Next month's Iron Chef ingredient will be chosen by popular vote!

I'll use the voting system used by the Avatar Theme Week threads. You have until the end of the cooking time to nominate potential ingredients. Nominations in bold red please. Up to three nominations per person. When the dishes are unveiled, I'll collect all the nominations, and you'll then be able to vote on which of them you want to see next. Have fun!

[Amphetryon]

Nifty. If real life stops kicking, I'll try to compete.

ETA: We're probably going to need some discussion on how much wiggle-room the Racial 'Special' requirement for this PrC has to it. Also, I'm voting Winterhaunt.

[nedz]

I like this one — and I have an idea — I just have to work out how to squeeze a quart into a half pint pot.

[Sian]

We're probably going to need some discussion on how much wiggle-room the Racial 'Special' requirement for this PrC has to it.

Yeah, while the class doesn't explicitly say anything about it, reading the fluff pieces about Crintis in Dambarth, it would demand hell of a good reason why you weren't a female of at least 1/32'th Drow ancestry, and most probably being half-drow.

Also important would probably be a clearcut ruling on how to respond to 'Lesser' and savage progression Drows.

That said .... Watch Detective (Master of the Wild), Disciple of Thrym (Frostburn) or Hellreaver (Fiendish Codex II)

[nedz]

I know nothing about Crintis or Dambarth. Which setting are they from ?

Is this even relevant, since the character could be from an entirely different setting ?

That's the trouble with regional feats and PrCs: if you transpose them to another setting, what do you do about the regional pre-reqs ?

[Amphetryon]

*Whisks desperately at the build stub*

Get back in there, darn it! You're a delicate soufflè, not a waffle!

[Heliomance]

Hmm, I've been looking around, and there really aren't many abilities that let you teleport with a mount, are there?

[WhamBamSam]

Nifty. I have some thoughts on this. Work's eased up a bit too, and Thanksgiving break comes before the deadline, so I should have time to get at least one build together.

And it looks as though the judging period for this round will cover the big potential "problem weeks" of December, so I'll be able to submit for that one too. Which means I don't need to worry about not having time to cook for ingredients that I really want. With that in mind, I nominate Beast Heart Adept (Dungeonscape), Thief of Life (Faiths of Eberron), and Rage Mage (Complete Warrior).

[Zaq]

A five-level PrC? That actually gives a very strong ability? Heliomance, you've gone mad. I genuinely don't know how to feel about this. I'm definitely going to have some thinking to do.

What does Shadow Walk's "This ability does not stack with shadow walk spell-like abilities granted by other sources" mean? Since it only gives it once per day, does that mean that the class feature does nothing if you have Shadow Walk as an SLA from anywhere else? "Stack" is really not the right term to use when discussing discrete SLA uses per day, I would think.

[Sian]

I know nothing about Crintis or Dambarth. Which setting are they from ?

Is this even relevant, since the character could be from an entirely different setting ?

your joking right? ... Its forgotten realms just as the PrC, just as the book they're from (Shining south is a regional splat book). Just as you'd expect that the Spellfire Channelers and Thunder Guides from recent editions were from their respective settings, i'd say its a reasonble exceptation to say that not following the setting, even prehaps its its suboptimally written, might very well be a large deficit on the score (Elegance most probably)

[Deadasadoor]

I have an awesome idea for this. I have a few hoops to jump through to pull the build together, but I really hope I can participate this round.

[Curmudgeon]

That's the trouble with regional feats and PrCs: if you transpose them to another setting, what do you do about the regional pre-reqs ?
You make whatever homebrew alterations you wish, then duck and cover for the incoming artillery from the judges.

What did you expect?

[Sian]

I think my major issue with this is going to be fending off Vizzini

[Amphetryon]

Build stub is essentially done. w00t.

[daremetoidareyo]

I think my major issue with this is going to be fending off Vizzini

I see these Vizzini references but I don't understand how they are used. I get the princess bride bit, but what does this mean...?

[ben-zayb]

Hmm, I've been looking around, and there really aren't many abilities that let you teleport with a mount, are there?

Definitely this. Either I pick one of the low hanging fruits for this or take the hit to UoSI.


Can we get a verdict on whether the regional/racial fluff needs to be followed to the T?

[Amphetryon]

I see these Vizzini references but I don't understand how they are used. I get the princess bride bit, but what does this mean...?

Paraphrased: "I cannot use this, everyone expects it! But, if everyone expects it, then obviously everyone expects that it will be unused, so if I use it. . . ." and round and round it goes.

[KrimsonNekros]

Paraphrased: "I cannot use this, everyone expects it! But, if everyone expects it, then obviously everyone expects that it will be unused, so if I use it. . . ." and round and round it goes.

And the unabridged rendition. (https://youtu.be/U_eZmEiyTo0)

[Troacctid]

As usual, I nominate Elocater. I want to see what people can come up with for it.


Also, I'm voting Winterhaunt.

Do you mean Winterhaunt of Iborighu?

[nedz]

your joking right? ... Its forgotten realms just as the PrC, just as the book they're from (Shining south is a regional splat book). Just as you'd expect that the Spellfire Channelers and Thunder Guides from recent editions were from their respective settings, i'd say its a reasonble exceptation to say that not following the setting, even prehaps its its suboptimally written, might very well be a large deficit on the score (Elegance most probably)
I don't know any of the published settings in detail. D&D for me is about world building.

You make whatever homebrew alterations you wish, then duck and cover for the incoming artillery from the judges.

What did you expect?

There is a separation between rules, which I expect to follow, and settings, which are fluff.

[Curmudgeon]

There is a separation between rules, which I expect to follow, and settings, which are fluff.
That opinion works OK if you're in charge, but isn't binding on any judges. I'd require a pretty good explanation of how your character acquired things not found together on the same world.

[nedz]

That opinion works OK if you're in charge, but isn't binding on any judges. I'd require a pretty good explanation of how your character acquired things not found together on the same world.

There's nothing in the Iron Chef rules which say you have to stick to the fluff of any setting. Judges will make their own call, but Originality is a metric.

[WhamBamSam]

As usual, I nominate Elocater. I want to see what people can come up with for it.



Do you mean Winterhaunt of Iborighu?Elocater is actually higher on my list than Rage Mage, but I figured I could count on you to nominate it for me. Strategic voting!

[Amphetryon]

As usual, I nominate Elocater. I want to see what people can come up with for it.



Do you mean Winterhaunt of Iborighu?

Yes, 10 characters

[Curmudgeon]

Nominations:

Justiciar of Taiia (Deities and Demigods, page 205)
Bloodhound (Complete Adventurer, page 28)
Court Herald (Power of Faerûn, page 108)

[Sian]

Still probably need some shuffling of my feats, so i get what i need in time for when i need it. But i think i've gotten to the point where my class levels are fairly locked down

[sakuuya]

Nom Nom Noms:

Oozemaster from Masters of the Wild
Astral Dancer from Planar Handbook
Doomlord from Planar Handbook

[Amechra]

I have... an idea.

It'll be... strange, to say the least.

[black-jack]

I have a few nominations:
Gray Guard
Fortunes Friend
Avenging Executioner
All from Complete Scoundrel. I think my bias is showing. :smallbiggrin:

[Darrin]

Can we get a verdict on whether the regional/racial fluff needs to be followed to the T?

I'd like to see a ruling on this as well. Shining South p. 94:

"Dambrath is ruled by the Crinti -- people of mixed human, drow, and elf heritage."

Shining South p. 100:

"The Crinti, all of whom are of racially mixed heritage, not only hold the highest social positions within Dambrathan society, but also consider themselves above the “lesser” races that dwell within the country’s borders."

and:

"About fifteen percent of Dambrath's peopleare of mixed human, drow, and elf heritage. Most of them have at least partial drow blood, but generations of interbreeding among drow, half-drow, humans, and half-elves have made it more pronounced in some individuals than in others. Regardless of their precise heritage, these racially mixed people are called half-drow or Crinti, and they constitute the aristocracy of Dambrath.

Most of the humans (Shebali) are descended from the Arkaiuns who lived here before the coming of the drow and their half-elf allies. Though humans make up seventy percent of the population, they are considered second-class citizens throughout the nation."

The racial abilities for half-drow are defined in Races of Faerun. They are identical to half-elves, except they have "Drow Blood" (Errata removed their Darkvision 60'). Drow of the Underdark also has a sidebar that deals with this distinction, but as far as I can tell, the only difference between half-elf and half-drow is the "Drow Blood" thing, which DotU says the same as "Elf Blood", except they also qualify for drow-only stuff (which is odd, because of all the "Drow" options for feats/PrCs that DotU introduced, only four feats actually list "Drow" as a prerequisite). DotU also says the half-drow favored class differs from half-elves (highest class is favored), but I can't see exactly how, since they appear to be the same.

So, as far as I can determine by RAW, in order to be considered a member of the Crinti aristocracy, only two races would be considered valid:

Half-elf of drow descent (as defined by the MM)
Half-drow (as defined by Races of Faerun and Drow of the Underdark)

There's also the "official sanction of the nobility of Dambrath", but that's pretty much going to be up to how well you sell your backstory to the judges.

[Heliomance]

Oh sorry, didn't actually realise Crinti say a race!

I'm going to rule that, due to the vagaries of genetics, humans, elves, lesser drop, and half elves/half drow all qualify - they all have mixed genetics, but some of them favour one side of their ancestry more than others. A case could also be made for Mongrelfolk, which I'll allow because it's amusing!

[Sian]

Minor note Darrin


LAW AND ORDER
For legal purposes, an individual must be able to prove that he has at least 1/32 drow or First blood to be classified as Crinti, In practice Crinti who have the look of drow or elves (Dusky skin or pointed ears) receive more favorable treatment than those who appear more human.

So, Half-elf, Half-drow, Drow (although most likely with a certain ammount of non-drow blood in them, being from Half-drow/Drow stock) or a human who have enough elf blood.

[nedz]

Oh sorry, didn't actually realise Crinti say a race!

I'm going to rule that, due to the vagaries of genetics, humans, elves, lesser drop, and half elves/half drow all qualify - they all have mixed genetics, but some of them favour one side of their ancestry more than others. A case could also be made for Mongrelfolk, which I'll allow because it's amusing!
Well, what it actually says is:

Special: The character must either be Crinti or have the official sanction of the nobility of Dambrath. Only those accepted by the Crinti can train as shadow marauders.
The bolded section seems to open this up to any race provided that they make the fluffy grade.

[Jormengand]

Ooh, I have some ideas! I might play this round.

And because I have an unnatural loathing for the things of this universe, Bereft, Disciple of the Word (ToM) and Arcane Archer

[The Viscount]

In light of Heliomance's post in Dysfunctional Rules on this ingredient I'd like to know formally how we are treating shadow pounce. I see 3 options.


Shadow pounce works with abilities with the teleportation descriptor or subschool, or abilities that mimic these spells
Shadow pounce only works with abilities with the teleportation descriptor, so not the SI granted one.
Shadow pounce works only on abilities with the teleportation descriptor, with the addition of the SI granted ability, which it also works with.


Which should we operate under?

[daremetoidareyo]

In light of Heliomance's post in Dysfunctional Rules on this ingredient I'd like to know formally how we are treating shadow pounce. I see 3 options.


Shadow pounce works with abilities with the teleportation descriptor or subschool, or abilities that mimic these spells
Shadow pounce only works with abilities with the teleportation descriptor, so not the SI granted one.
Shadow pounce works only on abilities with the teleportation descriptor, with the addition of the SI granted ability, which it also works with.


Which should we operate under?

The third one is probably how I'de rule as a DM, as well as how I would expect it to work as a PC.

[Heliomance]

In light of Heliomance's post in Dysfunctional Rules on this ingredient I'd like to know formally how we are treating shadow pounce. I see 3 options.


Shadow pounce works with abilities with the teleportation descriptor or subschool, or abilities that mimic these spells
Shadow pounce only works with abilities with the teleportation descriptor, so not the SI granted one.
Shadow pounce works only on abilities with the teleportation descriptor, with the addition of the SI granted ability, which it also works with.


Which should we operate under?

I'm the name of sanity, I'm ruling the first. The wording of the ability is pretty clearly a case of WotC not knowing how their own game works. It's an easy fix, and restricting it wouldn't make for more interesting dishes, so I'll be nice.

[Thurbane]

5 level class? Interesting...

I may or may not get an entry in.

Being a 5 level PrC, I can think of at least two other classes I expect to see a lot of - unless the Vizzini paradox wins out.

Oh, and my nominations for next SI? Beast Heart Adept, Watch Detective or Dragon Samurai.

If we get another 5 level PrC any time soon, then Elemental Warrior.

[ben-zayb]

Shadow pounce works with abilities with the teleportation descriptor or subschool, or abilities that mimic these spellsFor the sake of completeness (yeah right!), would this also include items that either mimic such spells or have them as required for crafting?

My nominations might not make it due to some mechanical feel or similarity to current SI, but might as well:
Ninja Spy
Ninja of the Crescent Moon
Ghost-Faced Killer

[Heliomance]

For the sake of completeness (yeah right!), would this also include items that either mimic such spells or have them as required for crafting?


If it can be accurately described as a teleportation effect, it counts. However, seeing as I'm ruling in favour of RAI here, I am going to say that you have to be the one teleporting. Balfeful Transpositioning two enemies does not get you a free full attack.

ION, I'm considering (as a permanent thing) relaxing the restriction on Leadership-type abilities. What I'm thinking is that I might allow them, with the restriction that your cohort (or equivalent) must be a creature that advances by HD and cannot have class levels. You'd also need to justify in the fluff why this creature is following you around. Any shaky rules interpretations created by this would be ruled to err on the side of not working. Does this sound like a good idea to you guys?

[Sian]

Might be an issue if you can select creatures who also advance their magical capabilities via HD, say like Spell Weaver from MMII, who casts as a sorcerer at their HD+2

[Curmudgeon]

ION, I'm considering (as a permanent thing) relaxing the restriction on Leadership-type abilities. What I'm thinking is that I might allow them, with the restriction that your cohort (or equivalent) must be a creature that advances by HD and cannot have class levels. You'd also need to justify in the fluff why this creature is following you around. Any shaky rules interpretations created by this would be ruled to err on the side of not working. Does this sound like a good idea to you guys?
Sian beat me to it, but no, this sounds like a recipe for disaster.

[Heliomance]

Might be an issue if you can select creatures who also advance their magical capabilities via HD, say like Spell Weaver from MMII, who casts as a sorcerer at their HD+2

Might score high in Power, but it would do terribly in Elegance, UotSI (if all your power is coming from a pet Spell Weaver, you're hardly showcasing the SI, are you?) and probably Originality as all the OP monsters for things like that are well known. Probably not that much of an issue.

[Amphetryon]

Might score high in Power, but it would do terribly in Elegance, UotSI (if all your power is coming from a pet Spell Weaver, you're hardly showcasing the SI, are you?) and probably Originality as all the OP monsters for things like that are well known. Probably not that much of an issue.

Given that Leadership is widely regarded as the best Feat in the game, and given that folks already note (or bemoan) "Feat taxes" like Darkstalker on any stealth-based PrC for this contest as being mandatory for winning, it seems to me that there would be very little functional difference between "Leadership is allowed (with these restrictions)" and "Leadership is required."

[Heliomance]

Given that Leadership is widely regarded as the best Feat in the game, and given that folks already note (or bemoan) "Feat taxes" like Darkstalker on any stealth-based PrC for this contest as being mandatory for winning, it seems to me that there would be very little functional difference between "Leadership is allowed (with these restrictions)" and "Leadership is required."

My thinking was that any build which didn't answer in the affirmative to the questions "Does Leadership make sense for your character?" and "Does Leadership make you better at using the SI rather than being a shameless standalone power grab?" would be blasted for it. Sometimes the story you're crafting cries out for a companion to share it, sometimes you want a really sweet mount. My hope was to enable concepts that are shut down by the current restrictions.

General consensus seems to be bad idea though, so I'll bow to the will of the community. I might still run a trial of it at some point in the future, to see how it pans out.

[ben-zayb]

However, seeing as I'm ruling in favour of RAI here, I am going to say that you have to be the one teleporting. Balfeful Transpositioning two enemies does not get you a free full attack.Aw, snap, there goes an idea. IMO using a teleportation effect on anything that you, as the player, has complete autonomy over controlling, should count, which is more or less the limit where I can see RAI being stretched out from just "You".


Hopefully Vizzini doesn't strike me hard. I just realized that I've been doing a certain thing wrong all this time and would likely resort to traversing old paths.

[Sian]

in length of Leadership ... how problematic would it be, if Leadership was allowed without Cohorts, so you only got followers? Off the top of my hat i can't figure anything, but i wouldn't be surprised if i was missing something

[WhamBamSam]

I've been clamoring for Beast Heart Adept, a class which, among other things, is focused around giving you creatures which advance by RHD, for a good long while. So clearly, I think that such minions are a deep enough field of optimization on their own to sustain a significant portion of an IC round. And BHA monstrous companion creatures are weaker than a cohort version of the same creature advanced by RHD, let alone a creature chosen freely based on its Cohort ECL, at least before the teamwork features are factored in. Even with the restrictions, Leadership will essentially never not be the optimal choice.

I understand the impetus, especially in a round like this where you just want to use it to get a mount that won't die, but I don't think it's a good idea.

[nedz]

If we are running low on interesting PrCs then why not use a Base Class ? You could limit the build to only using 10 levels, or so.
Working on this assumption I nominate Monk — 11. I.e. 11 levels of Monk.

[Thurbane]

I still think Dragon Samurai would be interesting. A melee class with medium BAB, a 1/day breath weapon, some lacklustre abilities related to being chummy with dragons, energy resistance to one type, one preset bonus feat, and energy damage added to weapons that would be left in the dust by Dragonfire Inspiration.

It makes Dragon Disciple look positively exciting.

It's only plus is fairly easy entry reqs.

[Heliomance]

If we are running low on interesting PrCs then why not use a Base Class ? You could limit the build to only using 10 levels, or so.
Working on this assumption I nominate Monk — 11. I.e. 11 levels of Monk.

Oh, we're not even remotely running low. I've got a list with enough classes to keep us going at least another year. I just thought I'd let you choose the class you wanted to cook for Christmas - which also happens to be the 75th contest.

[Venger]

Oh man, I'm so down to cook this round. this is gonna be a blast.

[Nohwl]

going to nominate Waker of the Beast (dragon magazine 296) and Dragon Rider (dragonlance campaign setting).

[Thurbane]

I don't think Dragon Mag PrCs would be allowed under IC rules (except from the Dragon Compendium hardcover), but something from DLCS would be great to see!

[Lagren]

I am not really a CharOp sort of person in general, but this round has intrigued me. I have an idea - hopefully I can make it work!

[xyianth]

I'll be staying out of this one as I have two very different ideas, but I am certain that both will be featured (to some extent) by other chefs. (or discounted for being too obvious)
I will however throw my vote in for upcoming ingredients:

Serene Guardian(The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde)
Twisted Lord(The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde)
Justiciar of Taiia(Deities and Demigods)

[WhamBamSam]

Really struggling to make my idea come together. Might have to fall back to something a bit more obvious.

[Zaq]

I have one idea, and it's gimmicky as hell. I haven't decided if I want to actually go through with using it. This class is harder to use than it looks—Shadow Pounce is godly, but it's hard to use the class as a whole instead of just taking Shadow Pounce and running with it. (And of course, Shadow Pouncers are a fairly well-trodden optimization road at this point, so I feel like doing well in Originality is going to be brutally hard this time around.)

Also, the fluff and alignment restrictions are tripping me up way more than I was expecting. I'll say no more than that for now, but they're definitely inconvenient.

[WhamBamSam]

One thing I notice and then subsequently forget when making Shadow Marauder builds is that the class is deceptively difficult to qualify for (unlike Shadowlord, which is obviously difficult to qualify for). The feat taxes are downright unpleasant and the skill prereqs are always worse than you think they're going to be.

[ben-zayb]

^ Definitely, and I'm just happy that it requires 4 ranks in Handle Animal, not 8. Imagine my surprise when I realize a lot of classes has Ride, but not Handle Animal, as a class skill!

[Venger]

One thing I notice and then subsequently forget when making Shadow Marauder builds is that the class is deceptively difficult to qualify for (unlike Shadowlord, which is obviously difficult to qualify for). The feat taxes are downright unpleasant and the skill prereqs are always worse than you think they're going to be.

the skillreqs are horrifyingly difficult to fulfill, to say nothing of the feat taxes.

and we all get to revisit the rules on mounted combat. always a fun time.

[Troacctid]

the skillreqs are horrifyingly difficult to fulfill, to say nothing of the feat taxes.

You only need three class skills. It's not difficult at all. I can think of half a dozen base classes just off the top of my head that have all three of them, and that's before you count substitution levels, which add at least three more. Bring multiclassing into the equation and it becomes downright trivial.

[WhamBamSam]

You only need three class skills. It's not difficult at all. I can think of half a dozen base classes just off the top of my head that have all three of them, and that's before you count substitution levels, which add at least three more. Bring multiclassing into the equation and it becomes downright trivial.It's deceptively difficult if you're trying to acquire abilities which synergize with Shadow Marauder at the same time. Many popular Shadow Pounce classes are missing at least two of the required skills and have limited skill points per level. Essentially every time I build a Shadow Marauder I have to go back and carefully rejigger skill points at least once.

That said, for all my grousing, my build seems to finally be starting to coalesce.

[Heliomance]

So I know I said nominations would be open until the end of the coming time, but we've got a lot of suggestions already. I think I'll close nominations this weekend, which means we can have two weeks of voting and still have a week spare for things like resolving ties.

[KrimsonNekros]

Well I'm most likely not going to finish in time. Have to get everything written up and formatted still.

[Sian]

deadlines first in next week Krimson

[Darrin]

deadlines first in next week Krimson

If you're American, next week is Thanksgiving. It may be diificult to devote time to imaginary iron cheffing while real iron cheffing, fighting off a turkey coma, and avoiding disgruntled family members who may resent being ignored.

[KrimsonNekros]

deadlines first in next week Krimson

Heliomance just said she's closing entries this weekend due to sheer volume.

[WhamBamSam]

Heliomance just said she's closing entries this weekend due to sheer volume.That's for nominations for the next round's SI. We still have the original deadline for submitting entries.

[KrimsonNekros]

Ah well then, I should be fine then. As for nominations,


Arachnomancer from Drow of the Underdark
Black Blood Hunter

[Venger]

I'll kick in my vote for Thief of life, bloodhound, and winterhaunt of iborighu

[Lagren]

I'd like to nominate Swiftblade.

[Amphetryon]

Voting Thief of Life, Avenging Executioner, and Winterhaunt of Iborighu

[TerrickTerran]

Seeing all the Frostburn nominations makes me wonder if there's an actual good Prestige Class in that book?

[Venger]

Seeing all the Frostburn nominations makes me wonder if there's an actual good Prestige Class in that book?

primeval is unironically good. it even has its own handbook.

disciple of thrym is pretty good. its spell list alone makes it too good for iron chef

frostrager, while not my cup of tea, is somewhat popular for barb-heavy builds.

but yeah, it's mostly chaff in that book. very little wheat.

mercifully, I didn't see any votes for cloud anchorite. that'd be the definition of coal in our stocking this christmas.

(I would like to do cloud anchorite in january or later though)

[Curmudgeon]

Seeing all the Frostburn nominations makes me wonder if there's an actual good Prestige Class in that book?
Intrinsically good isn't necessary for something to be interesting to build with.

[Venger]

Intrinsically good isn't necessary for something to be interesting to build with.

if anything, goodness is (normally) inversely proportional to suitability as a secret ingredient.

[Troacctid]

Seeing all the Frostburn nominations makes me wonder if there's an actual good Prestige Class in that book?

Cloud Anchorite, Cryokineticist, and Knight of the Iron Glacier are bad, but all the other prestige classes in the book are well-balanced and viable. Stormsinger is probably the best of them.

[The Viscount]

I'm tossing in my nominations for Thief of Life, Winterhaunt of Iborighu, and Cloud Anchorite. All this red text is reminding me of the fun we had with MODDOK

[Heliomance]

Okay, closing nominations there!

Your choices are:

Arachnomancer
Arcane Archer
Astral Dancer
Avenging Executioner
Beast Heart Adept
Bereft
Black Blood Hunter
Bloodhound
Cloud Anchorite
Court Herald
Disciple of the Word
Disciple of Thrym
Doomlord
Dragon Samurai
Elemental Warrior
Elocator
Fortune's Friend
Ghost-Faced Killer
Gray Guard
Hellreaver
Justiciar of Taiia
Ninja of the Crescent Moon
Ninja Spy
Oozemaster
Rage Mage
Serene Guardian
Swiftblade
Thief of Life
Twisted Lord
Watch Detective
Winterhaunt of Ibhorigu

Wow, that's a lot of entries. Should have restricted you to one nomination each! Okay, get voting. Three votes each again, must be spent on different classes. Votes in bold please.

Out of interest, why so many votes for Winterhaunt? It looks pretty decent on the whole - it's full casting, and between that, free Piercing Cold, and Coldstrike, it looks like you could make a pretty terrifying cold-based blaster.

[Thurbane]

Beast Heart Adept
Dragon Samurai
Watch Detective

[ben-zayb]

I'll vote for my own suggestions of Ninja Spy, Ninja of the Crescent Moon, and Ghost-Faced Killer.

However, if we are not allowed to vote for our own suggestions, similar to Iron Chef rules, then I'll go for Rage Mage, Avenging Executioner, and Doomlord.

[Troacctid]

Elocater
Swiftblade
Doomlord

[xyianth]

Justiciar of Taiia
Bereft
Serene Guardian

[WhamBamSam]

Beast Heart Adept
Elocator
Thief of Life

[daremetoidareyo]

Beast Heart Adept
Disciple of the Word
Thief of Life

[Deadasadoor]

Beast Heart Adept
Thief of Life
Rage Mage

[Vaz]

[b]Court Herald, Winterhaunt of Iborighu and Thief of Life[b]

[A.A.King]

Black Blood Hunter (Would be made more interesting if the LA of Lycanthrope was ignored for that round only)
Bloodhound
Swiftblade

[Seto]

Elocater
Ghost-faced Killer
Hellreaver

[sakuuya]

Bloodhound
Ghost-Faced Killer
Gray Guard

[Venger]

Winterhaunt of Ibhorigu, bloodhound, and thief of life

[The Viscount]

I'm going Thief of Life, Elocator, and Winterhaunt

As for why winterhaunt is so popular, I think it's partially because many class features have little use, and partially a desire to do something with the capstone.

[Venger]

I'm going Thief of Life, Elocator, and Winterhaunt

As for why winterhaunt is so popular, I think it's partially because many class features have little use, and partially a desire to do something with the capstone.

yeah, it's very difficult to gain elemental as a type, and that's just too good to turn down.

[Curmudgeon]

I've looked over the list, and I can't find anything that piques my interest more than my nominations:

Bloodhound
Court Herald
Justiciar of Taiia
I think Court Herald, a 12-level PrC, might be an interesting change of pace.

[Lagren]

My votes are for Grey Guard, Avenging Executioner, Swiftblade.

If no self-voting, then Watch Detective.

[Sian]

ugh... Procrastination ... only lacked setting up skills and figuring out a proper background story, even back immediately after announcement of the dish, but it have been laid untouched for near-on 10 days now, and i havn't gotten any further

[Deadasadoor]

Finally done my entry. I remembered how much I hate that build table. How's everyone else doing?

[Jormengand]

I've looked over the list, and I can't find anything that piques my interest more than my nominations:

If we can really do this, I guess I'll restate Bereft, Disciple of the Word and Arcane Archer.

[Sian]

Finally done my entry. I remembered how much I hate that build table. How's everyone else doing?

remembered that i hadn't done any snapshots either so I've done that and Skills ... only need Background story and thats consistently what i have the most problems with.

[Bucky]

Arachnomancer, Arcane Archer, Elocator

[Darrin]

Beast Heart Adept, Arcane Archer, and Oozemaster.

[Venger]

The hour approaches. Can't wait to see what everyone did. Arcane archer seems to be popular. I feel I'm missing something. What is its appeal as an SI?

[Sian]

The hour approaches. Can't wait to see what everyone did. Arcane archer seems to be popular. I feel I'm missing something. What is its appeal as an SI?

I have to say, i don't see the appeal in Arcane Archer either, its abilities are 1/day, or demand you being a (arcane) caster, with no +existing caster levels, even its capstone is a somewhat weak 1/day (effectively) Attack+DC20 Fort or die ... anyone with half a mind on the level where its available (since youre at least level 16 at this point) has enough boosts to saves that a DC20 is quite simple to beat, probably even to the degree that only a 1 would fail (which certain abilities can make sure doesn't fail or get rerolled anyways)

If Arcane Archer was a half-caster, and was a bit more scaling in its DCs, even if it caused it to only have medium BAB, i could see the intriguing parts of it ... but as it is, no.

[Venger]

I have to say, i don't see the appeal in Arcane Archer either, its abilities are 1/day, or demand you being a (arcane) caster, with no +existing caster levels, even its capstone is a somewhat weak 1/day (effectively) Attack+DC20 Fort or die ... anyone with half a mind on the level where its available (since youre at least level 16 at this point) has enough boosts to saves that a DC20 is quite simple to beat, probably even to the degree that only a 1 would fail (which certain abilities can make sure doesn't fail or get rerolled anyways)

yeah, 1/day is one thing I don't miss about 3.0 design philosophy. since your arrow of death takes a whole day to make, you can actually use it once every other day. you can't even share with the other members of AA, since it'll only work for you.

[Heliomance]

Apologies all, I've not been in the forums much all weekend. Reveal will be tomorrow, as I'm going to bed now.

... I have 15 unread PMs. This is going to be fun.

[Venger]

Apologies all, I've not been in the forums much all weekend. Reveal will be tomorrow, as I'm going to bed now.

... I have 15 unread PMs. This is going to be fun.

Thanks for the update. can't wait.

[Zaq]

15+ entries? Now I'm almost glad I couldn't get my act together enough to cobble together an entry. The chances of standing out in that crowd are pretty slim. (Plus, I imagine the judges are going to be happy to have fewer entries to plow through.)

[Venger]

15+ entries? Now I'm almost glad I couldn't get my act together enough to cobble together an entry. The chances of standing out in that crowd are pretty slim. (Plus, I imagine the judges are going to be happy to have fewer entries to plow through.)

it's probably less, taking into account long entries, corrections, and such

[Lagren]

My anticipation is building.

(And yeah, there's probably less than 15 entries: I know mine ended up split across a bunch of PMs.)

[KrimsonNekros]

Unfortunately due to my laptop being stolen, and some other facrors, I was not able to get my write up done. If it wasn't used I'll let you know what I was planning for this round.

[Lagren]

Unfortunately due to my laptop being stolen, and some other facrors, I was not able to get my write up done. If it wasn't used I'll let you know what I was planning for this round.

I'm sorry to hear that. :smallfrown:

(Also, curse the no-speculation rule!)

[Venger]

Unfortunately due to my laptop being stolen, and some other facrors, I was not able to get my write up done. If it wasn't used I'll let you know what I was planning for this round.
Hope they track it down. love to see what your ideas were if they aren't in one of our tasty thanksgiving dishes.

[Heliomance]

Damn, I left this late. I'm afraid there won't be any snappy comments on the entries this time, I don't have time to come up with them! Entries follow.

[Heliomance]

Entry number 1:


Mourne Elisviir
NE 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

[Heliomance]

Entry number 2

Aranni and Oritonde
TE Dvati
(10 STR) (12 DEX) (16(+5) CON) (14 INT) (14 WIS) (12 CHA)
1 dvati/1 warlock /5 ranger/5 marauder /8 Master of Many Forms



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


1st
Dvati
+0
+0
+0
+0
-
-
Twins


2nd
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
4 Hide, 4 Move Silently, 4 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 4 Bluff, 4 Spot, 4 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information
Apprentice(Criminal), Track
Favored enemy(humans), Wild Empathy, Fast movement


3rd
Warlock 1
+1
+2
+2
+2
4 Hide, 4 Move Silently, 4 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 4 Bluff, 4 Spot, 4 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information, 2 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD
-
Eldritch Blast 1d6


4th
Ranger 2
+2
+3
+3
+2
5 Hide, 5 Move Silently, 5 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 5 Bluff, 5 Spot, 5 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,4 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD
Alertness
-


5th
Ranger 3
+3
+3
+3
+3
6 Hide, 6 Move Silently, 6 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 6 Bluff, 6 Spot, 6 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,6 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD
Endurance
-


6th
Ranger 4
+4
+4
+4
+3
7 Hide, 7 Move Silently, 7 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 7 Bluff, 7 Spot, 7 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,7 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 1 Listen
-
Urban Companion, Spellcasting


7th
Ranger 5
+5
+4
+4
+3
8 Hide, 8 Move Silently, 8 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 8 Bluff, 8 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,8 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 2 Listen
Mounted Combat
Favored enemy(elves), Wildshape


8th
Master of Many Forms 1
+5
+6
+6
+3
9 Hide, 8 Move Silently, 8 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 9 Bluff, 9 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,9 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 4 Listen
-
Wildshape(humanoid), Shifters speech


9th
MoMF 2
+6
+7
+7
+3
10 Hide, 8 Move Silently, 8 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 10 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,10 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 6 Listen
-
Improved Wildshape(giants), large


10th
Crinti Shadow Marauder
+6
+7
+9
+3
11 Hide, 9 Move Silently, 10 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 11 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,11 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 6 Listen
Stealthy
Shadow Ride


11th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+7
+7
+9
+3
12 Hide, 10 Move Silently, 12 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 12 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,12 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 6 Listen
-
Sudden Strike 1d6


12th
CSM 3
+8
+8
+9
+4
13 Hide, 12 Move Silently, 13 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 13 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,13 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 6 Listen
Trample
Shadow Walk


13th
CSM 4
+9
+8
+10
+4
14 Hide, 14 Move Silently, 14 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 14 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,14 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 6 Listen
Multiattack
Sudden Strike 2d6


14th
CSM 5
+9
+8
+10
+4
15 Hide, 15 Move Silently, 15 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 15 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,15 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 7 Listen
-
Shadow Pounce


15th
MoMF 3
+10
+8
+10
+5
16 Hide, 15 Move Silently, 15 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 16 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,15 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 7 Listen, 4 Disguise
-
Fast wild shape, monstrous humanoid


16th
MoMF 4
+11
+9
+11
+5
17 Hide, 15 Move Silently, 15 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 17 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,15 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 7 Listen, 6 Disguise, Skill trick: assume quirk
Darkstalker
improved wildshape, fey, tiny


17th
MoMF 5
+11
+9
+11
+5
18 Hide, 15 Move Silently, 15 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 18 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,15 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 7 Listen, 10 Disguise, Skill trick: assume quirk
-
wildshape(vermin)


18th
MoMF 6
+12
+10
+12
+6
19 Hide, 15 Move Silently, 15 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 19 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,15 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 7 Listen, 14 Disguise, Skill trick: assume quirk
-
wildshape aberration, huge


19th
MoMF 7
+13
+10
+12
+6
20 Hide, 15 Move Silently, 15 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 20 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information,15 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 7 Listen, 18 Disguise, Skill trick: assume quirk
Assume Supernatural ability
Extraordinary Wildshape, wildshape plant


20th
MoMF 8
+14
+11
+13
+
21 Hide, 15 Move Silently, 15 Ride, 4 Handle Animal, 21 Bluff, 10 Spot, 8 Survival, 1 Knowledge(nature), 1 Knowledge(dungeoneering), 2 Gather Information, 15 Concentration, 1 Knowledge(arcana), 1 UMD, 10 Listen, 19 Disguise, Skill trick: assume quirk
-
Wildshape(ooze)



Aranni and Oritonde were orphaned in the city of Dambrath at a young age. Unlike most Dvati, they had different opinions and tastes on subjects. Arrani preferred the wilds, shying away from people and feeling cramped within the confines of cities. Oritande was his opposite, living in the spotlight, relishing in the crowds and stone walls. This proved useful as poverty drove them into a life of crime. Oritande would distract an unwitting victim, as Arrandi stole a loaf of bread, or a few apples. After being drafted into the Thieves Guild, the twins discovered a talent for disguise, and later, shapeshifting into both animals and humanoids.

After growing bored with the Thieves Guild, Oritande took on the guise of a travelling knight, along with Arrandi his trusty steed. After they were famous enough, an old Crinti noble hired them to keep an eye on the streets for any threats to the power of those in rule. Once they gained the trust of the old man, he trained them in the way of the Shadow Marauders. While it was usually reserved for a rider and his mount, the twins unique skill set allowed them to quickly dispatch any threat on the battlefield.

As unrest grew in Dambrath, the twins took on a role more like that of assassins or enforcers. Troublemaking adventurers came and went, but were always found dead miles away from the cities, with wounds suggesting they were mauled by wild beasts.

1-5
1 Dvati/1 Ranger/1 Warlock/2 Ranger
The twins start off as Wildshape Rangers with a level of warlock. Urban companion is also taken over a regular companion because a scout will help out the twins much more than another brute. A level of Ranger is taken first instead of Warlock. This makes early progression slightly awkward, but squeezes out necessary health and skill points. The low levels will of course be difficult due to the low health pool, but staying at range and using Eldritch blast should mitigate that. The first and only invocation taken is Darkness. This comes in handy for staying stealthy, as well as always having darkness for our later abilities. It also gives UMD as a class skill, to use some of the great ranger wands. Apprentice(criminal) gives Bluff and Gather Information as permanent class skills, allowing the twins to infiltrate places and maintain disguises. Their mentor could either be a representative in the Thieves Guild, or the old Shadow Marauder that mentors them. Alertness is taken at level 3. While this could come from Urban Companion, qualifying for PrC’s with it seems to differ person to person, as its a “virtual feat”.

At these levels, the twins can skill monkey as well as scout. With a decent disguise and bluff check they can pull off small criminal jobs. One twin can even provide the other with an alibi if they do jobs separately. Favored enemy(Humans) is taken because the twins stay largely in Dambrath.

6-10
1 Dvati/1 Ranger/1 Warlock/4 Ranger/2 Master of Many Forms/1 Crinti Shadow Marauder
We start getting into the main trick of the build here. The 5th level in ranger gives Wild Shape, and the 2nd level of MoMF gives large forms. One twin can turn into a large ridable form, like a tiger or bear, and the other can ride them, using Mounted Combat to mitigate damage to the mount. Other combinations include one twin becoming a small humanoid, and the other becoming something medium and deadly, like a fleshraker. Urban Companion is taken to replace the regular animal companion. Ravens are common in cities, and are able to speak and deliver messages as well as fly. The second favored enemy taken is elves.

The twins are still fragile though, and can’t stay in melee combat for long. Forms with high natural armor or dexterity can help with this. Eldritch blast is still usable in Wild shape, and can deal free damage if needed. Darkstalker is also taken at level 9 to remain stealthy. We also start the secret ingredient and start gaining some great mobility.

Around this level, they can pose as a knight or soldier with a horse mount. The twins accept contracts from Dambrath nobility, and can remove political enemies of the houses from the picture with their skills as criminals. Some guy knows too much? Frame him for horse theft by Wild Shaping into horses and get him executed under Dambrath law!

11-15
1 Dvati/1 Ranger/1 Warlock/4 Ranger/2 Master of Many Forms/5 Crinti Shadow Marauder/1 Master of Many Forms
We progress through the SI and pick up our main tricks. Sudden Strike may be inferior to sneak attack, but there are still situations where we can use it. Having the mount grapple an opponent can deny the foe Dex to AC, letting both twins Sudden Strike it. Tripping an opponent also works. Shadow Walk also gives Plane Shift/Teleport - lite, fantastic for hopping from city to city. And then we finally get Shadow Pounce, the capstone of the build. Because both twins have the ability, they both get a full attack on teleportation. They also share initiative count, allowing for tonnes of possibilities. If both twins use Shadow Ride in the same turn, they can get 2 full attacks each. In a situation where a foe is denied dexterity to AC, such as a surprise round, the twins have a good chance of killing a foe before it can even act. For the bonus feat, we take trample, since the twins eventually have access to huge forms, enabling easy Sudden Strikes.

The twins are now more or less capable of removing anything that their employers wish. With a growing number of forms to pick from, as well as formidable stealth capabilities, they can be excellent hitmen or great for performing frame-ups.


16-20
1 Dvati/1 Ranger/1 Warlock/4 Ranger/2 Master of Many Forms/5 Crinti Shadow Marauder/6 Master of Many Forms
We’re on the last leg of the build, and everything here is gravy. The 7th level of MoMF gives a major power spike, giving the (Ex) qualities of any assumed form. How about a troll riding an elephant? Not exactly subtle, but 4 full attacks from those beasts in one turn will kill most anything in a single turn. For something a little sneakier, diminutive forms are available. Assume supernatural ability is taken as a cherry on top.

Pesky adventurers getting the corrupt nobility down? It would be a shame if they were mauled by some roving trolls while out on a mission. Really, the possibilities here are endless.

Shadow ride:
Our main way of teleporting. We have a maximum of 10 teleports a day, which is pretty great. The butter to our bread.

Sudden Strike:
We get a few ways of enabling this, like grappling or trampling. A good way to boost damage, especially on forms with large amounts of natural attacks.

Shadow Pounce:
Our bread. It comes online fairly late, but lets the twins murder enemies with major action efficiency when they can make 2 full attacks plus move actions each.


Any changes?
The warlock level hurts in the early game, but having darkness anywhere for use of Mantle of Darkness and Shadow Pounce is handy. It also incurs favoured class penalties, but the build is stronger for it. If I were to take out the Warlock level, it would get access to the main trick of the build earlier, and it would be replaced with another level in Master of Many Forms.
More levels of Warlock replacing MoMF levels gives access to a few nice invocations. Getting 6 levels in Warlock gives dimension door at-will, and still allows the mount to come along. However, this makes for awkward level progression and comes online very late.

Using Hellbreaker?
Because Shadow Pounce that any time she uses an ability that causes teleportation, they may make a full attack, a DM may say that the “mount” in the twins case would be unable to use Shadow Pounce. In this case, swapping spellcasting for Champion of the Wild and changing a few feats around allows the twins to enter Hellbreaker to get the Stowaway ability. However, this nearly guts the build for feats, and the fluff becomes awkward. Heliomance had this to say:


Another question:

Say that a Dvati wildshape ranger/Shadow pouncer was being ridden by their twin. When they use an ability that allows the rider to shadow pounce, would the mount also get a full attack, due to them being teleported?

For more detail: the Shadow Pounce ability states: Any time she uses an ability, she can execute a full attack.... Does this mean that only the "activator" of the ability gets a full attack, even though both twins have the Shadow Pounce ability?
Personally I think that both twins would get an attack (and I did wonder about building a Dvati pair using just that concept!), but it would be down to the judges, I think.

How are you mounting all these weird creatures? (Insert joke about mounting here)
Having a number of saddles custom-made for different creatures will help with this. If there isn’t time for a saddle, or the creature can’t accommodate one, riding bareback gives a -5 on Ride checks but is still doable.

Your build table has you taking Disguise ranks starting at level 15?
Clerical error while completing the table that I lack the time to fix. Wildshape gives a +10 to Disguise, and other items can help keep the bonus high enough until they actually take skills ranks in it.


Master of Many Forms- Complete Adventurer
Dvati- Dragon Compendium
Darkstalker- LoM
Assume Supernatural Ability- Savage Species
Assume Quirk- Complete Scoundrel
Apprentice- DMG2

[Heliomance]

Entry number 3


Katjusha, the Bloodstorm
http://orig08.deviantart.net/5afe/f/2013/098/2/4/jake_murray_morgul_nazgul_by_jakemurray-d60w37d.jpg
Guardian of the Ghost City (http://jakemurray.deviantart.com/art/Guardian-of-the-Ghost-City-364294201), original art by Jake Murray, ©Fantasy Flight Games 2015

A Warning
"The waters of the bay are almost unnaturally calm, giving rise to the rumors that some kind of subtly magic protects it from storms. Indeed, no storm has churned its waters for at least the last 500 years, though many stretches of coastline nearby have been repeatedly battered by winds and rain."
- excerpt from the tales of Shining South, pertaining to Dambrath

The Crinti dared not risk another human uprising, and so forbade these second-class citizens from ever possessing weapons. But, alas, the burning ambition inside Katjusha's brainwashed psyche simply wouldn't allow her to be quelled and subdued; it quietly whispered Nana's words over and over again, and it raged fiercely with a fire that forged her own weapons. Once Katjusha had her fangs and claws bared, she became just as lethal as any fully-armed warrior.


She eventually turned to banditry, further sharpening her predatory prowess, so as to better ambush passing trade caravans with. Indeed, it didn't take long for her rising notoriety to be noticed by those in power. One of the Crinti houses took her under its protection, and in return her band of brigands directed the ambushes against merchant convoys allied to the other houses, employing hit-and-run tactics to wear down any opposition.


Surely, however, being a dispensable lapdog of the nobility was far from being enough to sate Nana's ambition for her. Katjusha scratched and clawed her way to the top of Crinti society, eventually rising to the ranks of the elite Shadow Marauders while doing so. Nothing was ever too sacred to not be used as leverage, and at the end of all the politicking, backstabbing, bribing, blackmailing, and everything else, she finally (and rightfully, as Nana always told her) claimed her place as one of them. By the time her political enemies finally decided to stop her on her tracks, it was far too late: Gnollwatch Mountains and the entire slave trade had already been firmly under her control, and even she had grown powerful enough to mangle and eviscerate entire armies from afar in the blink of an eye.


Lately, there had been a lot of rumours going around; of Katjusha gathering forces from outside Dambrath, of the pure-blood Drow aristocracies in the Underdark finally mobilizing their own denizens, of human uprisings brought about by the sudden surge of underground weapons distribution. For the first time in Dambrath's semi-millenial history of Drow complacency, its citizens can once again feel a massive storm heading their way.
Under the Bloodied Hood

Soulknife 4 / Crusader 1 / Soulbow 3 / Bloodstorm Blade 4 / Crinti Shadow Marauder 5 / Kensai 3

Lawful Evil HumanSTRDEXCONINTWISCHA
Initial (with Point-Buy)101514141412
Final (with Hit Die Bonus)102014141412





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


1st
Soulknife 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Auto 4, Bala 2,
Conc 4, Hand 2,
Hide 4, Move 2,
Ride 2, Spot 4,
Tumb 4

Able LearnerRD150,
Weapon FocusB
(Mind Blade),
Wild TalentB,
Point Blank ShotB
Mind Blade,
Weapon FocusB
(Mind Blade),
Wild Talent



2nd
CrusaderToB8 1
+1
+2
+2
+2
Auto 5, Bala 5(3),
Ride 5(3)

Furious Counterstrike,
Steely Resolve 5


3rd
Soulknife 2
+2
+2
+3
+3
Auto 6, Bala 6,
Hide 6(2), Ride 6,
Spot 6(2)

Weapon Finesse
Throw Mindblade


4th
Soulknife 3
+3
+3
+3
+3
Auto 7, Bala 7,
Hide 7, Ride 7,
Spot 7, Tumb 6(2)
Martial StudyB,ToB31
(Steely Strike)
Bonus Feat (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070214a)


5th
Soulknife 4
+4
+3
+4
+4
Auto 8, Bala 8,
Hide 8, Ride 8,
Spot 8, Tumb 8(2)

+1 Mind Blade


6th
Soulbow (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060403a&page=2)CP36 1
+4
+3
+6
+6
Conc 5, Hide 9,
Move 4(2), Ride 9,
Spot 9, Tumb 9
Martial StanceToB31
(Punishing Stance)
Precise ShotB
Mind Arrow,
Bonus Feat


7th
Bloodstorm
BladeToB100 1
+5
+5
+6
+6
Hand 5(3), Hide 10,
Ride 10, Spot 10,
Tumb 10
Throw AnythingB,CW105
Throw Anything,
Returning Attacks,
Weapon Aptitude


8th
Bloodstorm
Blade 2
+6
+6
+6
+6
Hide 11, Move 7(3),
Ride 11, Spot 11,
Tumb 11

Martial Throw,
Thunderous Throw


9th
Bloodstorm
Blade 3
+7
+6
+7
+7
Hide 12, Move 10(3),
Ride 12, Spot 12,
Tumb 12
Stealthy,
Mounted CombatB,
Bonus Feat


10th
Crinti
Shadow
MarauderShS23 1
+7
+6
+9
+7
Hide 13, Move 13(3),
Ride 13, Spot 13,
Tumb 13

Shadow Ride


11th
Crinti
Shadow
Marauder 2
+8
+6
+10
+7
Dipl 2, Hide 14,
Move 14, Ride 14,
Spot 14, Tumb 14

Sudden Strike +1d6


12th
Crinti
Shadow
Marauder 3
+9
+7
+10
+8
Dipl 4(2), Hide 15,
Move 15, Ride 15,
Spot 15, Tumb 15
Combat Expertise,
Mounted ArcheryB
Shadow Walk,
Bonus Feat


13th
Crinti
Shadow
Marauder 4
+10
+7
+11
+8
Dipl 6(2), Hide 16,
Move 16, Ride 16,
Spot 16, Tumb 16

Sudden Strike +2d6


14th
Crinti
Shadow
Marauder 5
+10
+7
+11
+8
Dipl 8(2), Hide 17,
Move 17, Ride 17,
Spot 17, Tumb 17

Shadow Pounce


15th
KensaiCW49 1
+10
+7
+11
+10
Dipl 10(2), Hide 18,
Move 18, Ride 18,
Spot 18, Tumb 18
Ranged PinCW104
Signature Weapon
(+Teleporting)


16th
Kensai 2
+11
+7
+11
+11
Dipl 12(2), Hide 19,
Move 19, Ride 19,
Spot 19, Tumb 19

Power Surge,
(+Distance)


17th
Kensai 3
+12
+8
+12
+11
Dipl 14(2), Hide 20,
Move 20, Ride 20,
Spot 20, Tumb 20

(+Dispelling)


18th
Bloodstorm
Blade 3
+13
+8
+13
+12
Dipl 17(3), Hide 21,
Move 21, Spot 21,
Tumb 21
Staggering StrikeCAd112
Lightning Ricochet


19th
Soulbow 2
+14
+8
+14
+13
Dipl 20(3), Hide 22,
Move 22, Spot 22,
Tumb 22

Mind arrow
enhancement +1


20th
Soulbow 3
+15
+9
+14
+13
Dipl 23(3), Hide 23,
Move 23, Spot 23,
Tumb 23
Far Shot
+1 Mind Arrow,
Bonus Feat


* Skill names are abbreviated to their first four letters. Numbers outside parentheses indicate skill ranks. Numbers within parentheses indicate skill points used, if equal to neither 1 nor the current skill rank.


Maneuvers Known/Readied (2 Granted): Martial Spirit (Stance), Crusader's Strike, Vanguard Strike, Leading the Attack, Douse the Flames, Stone Bones


Sources

SRD: everything else
Shining South: Crinti Shadow Marauder
Tome of Battle: Crusader, Bloodstorm Blade, Martial Study, Martial Stance, maneuvers/stances
Complete Warrior: Kensai, Ranged Pin
Complete Psionics: Soulbow
Complete Adventurer: Staggering Strike
Races of Destiny: Able Learner
Expanded Classes (Soulknife), Web Article: Soulknife ACFs (Bonus Feat)

In ActionRiding into BattleTactics


General: Across almost all levels, she has high HP due to d10s, AC due to Dex and armor/shield, and saves. Her skills are good, ending up with 6 nearly maxed out: Hide, Spot, Ride, Tumble, Move Silently, and then Diplomacy. Her BAB and attack bonus are above average whenever they're most important. Her combat mobility is unmatched due to her mount.


Level 5
She is a great support, having Crusader maneuvers give attack bonus, minor healing, and AoO prevention; this is coupled with a Mind Blade attack bonus of up to +11 = 4(BAB) +3(DEX) +1(Focus) +1(Enhancement) +1(Higher Ground) +1(Furious Counterstrike).

With mounted combat, she can effectively hit-and-run with Maneuvers, making the 1/round mount-AC substitution sufficient. Her defenses are solid with the usual Crusader defensive perks, as well as Autohypnosis to stave-off Fear and Poison. Hit-and-run tactics also favor thrown her Mind Blades, whose generation isn't much of a problem and whose attack penalties at far ranges she can take.


Level 10
Shadow Ride gives her and her mount more mobility that only teleportation effects can provide, helps her in scouting, and increases her attack/retreat range. Punishing Stance gives a slight bump to thrown-melee attack damage and Steely Strike gives a good bump to attack bonus, if needed.

More importantly, activating Thunderous Throw allows her to hit any Maneuver from her throwing range (up to 150ft for Mind Blade), bringing Crusader support even at range. Full-attacking with ranged weapons while in a speeding mount is another option, so she can shoot or throw 2 Mind Arrows per round whenever not using Maneuvers.


Level 15 (Sweet Spot)
Combat Expertise trades attack bonus (max 5) for AC, while Ranged Pin enables Sudden Strike. Shadow Walk also provides her with a means to scout in/out (even interplanar) of target areas, and Shadow Ride becomes now triggers Shadow Pounce. Mounted combat works well with Shadow Pounce as intended: Shadow Ride to get in range, free full-attack and standard action mount attack, and then move out.

Additionally, Thunderous Throw turns thrown-weapon ranged attacks from maximum range (150ft for Mind Blade) into Melee Attacks. Combined with Sudden Strike, it allows iterative melee Sudden Strikes and even at >30ft range. Combined with Shadow Pounce triggered from using a teleportation effect up to 50-150ft away, it gives a free full-attack by having "a place from which she can make a melee attack against the intended target". Shadow Pounce doesn't even have to be a melee full-attack, so she can be far away wielding a Mind Blade and making a full-attack shooting Mind Arrows; as a quick reminder, she can make a full-attack with her Mind Arrows even while her mount is moving at top speed.

This is also where Katjusha goes from just being a mobile support/recon to also being a mobile artillery with pseudo-cover-fire support, courtesy of Kensai imbuing the Teleporting ability to her Mind Blade/Arrow, which is technically a part of "You". If even a single one Mind Arrow is thrown, it travels through the Astral Plane and returns it next round to its source. Thus, each single thrown Mind Arrow, such as those used for Maneuvers, will use a Teleportation effect on "You" and trigger Shadow Pounce full-attack, which can the be used to throw a newly generated Mind Arrow or two for more full-attacks, repeated ad infinitum. This means NI attacks of any combination of ranged-thrown/melee and ranged-projectile against anything/one within her maximum throwing weapon range.

Inspiring Salvo: Give NI healing via Martial Spirit (melee attack only) to anyone within 30ft, a range which is actually pretty flexible when moving with a mount.

Mind Arrow Pincushion: NI grapple attempts via Ranged Pin (ranged-projectile attack only) statistically means having opposing rolls of 20 and 1, in her favor, will occur; thus, any modifier less than her BAB+STR+19 is doomed to fail. This is the pseudo-cover-fire effect that vastly improves her support role, in that the enemies will have to waste a standard action to get out of grapple. This is more or less useful for opponents that needs to be alive and conscious, but denied of standard actions, with Martial Spirit likely used to keep them alive too.

Mounted Bombing Run: Have all of the above tricks on a far larger scale with the help of her mount. Even a single movement of a Light Warhorse (60ft) or a Nightmare (90ft) already brings a massive increase in area coverage (60/90ft line, 300ft thick). That can only get worse with a double-move, or a run (with the Run feat).

Shadow Ride Missile: Get larger effective range of where "Ground Zero" starts, by a distance of up to 250ft courtesy of Shadow Ride. In this case, Shadow Ride also doubles as an initial Shadow Pounce trigger.

Shadow-Plane Orbital Cannon: Since Shadow Walk is effectively done at the edge of the Material Plane, a case could be made that she can attack within such a strategically situated edge, affecting anything on that part of the Material Plane. While she can't make out details of the areas/terrain, she doesn't have to because she can just bombard every arbitrary square within range during her entire trip, likely getting a 50% miss chance similar to attacking an invisible creature by attacking its square. In the end, she'd have laid waste to an entire 250mi. line, 300ft wide.Be wary, however, that her attacks have low individual damage output, and can be foiled by a combination of DR and critical hit immunity.


Level 20
Mind Arrow Enhancement provides Bane for preparing against enemies with crit immunity and high DR, or Merciful to knock creatures unconscious instead. Lightning Ricochet means even manufactured weapons can be used for her barrage of attacks, such as a tripping/disarming weapon or an adamantine weapon for atomizing virtually anything in range with Hardness less than 20. Far Shot doubles her throwing range, and with Distance, gives Mind Blade a max range of 600ft.

Dispelling improves her supporting role further, with Martial Spirit keeping her target creature alive and a maximum Dispel check of 30 making sure the creature is completely dispelled of anything with CL below 20. Being another great addition to her support role, Staggering Strike also forces the staggered condition on those she Sudden Strikes, which, combined with Ranged Pin, makes for a perfect action-denial combo.


The Great Shadow Marauding
Use of Crinti Shadow Marauder

Prereq (Stealthy + stealth skills): Maxed out, although not useful during combat. Her guerilla tactics is sufficiently stealthy in principle, as well as nuking the Material Plane from the border of the Shadow Plane.
Prereq (Mounted Combat + mount skills) + Mounted Archery: Her mount isn't just tacked-on. It complements and massively augments her style from the first quartile to the fourth, with Handle Animal enough for low-levels and Ride maxed out. Mounted Archery is useful whenever she isn't nuking, such as when shooting or throwing manufactured weapons pre-LightningRicochet.
Shadow Ride: Utilized for actual Mounted Combat, mobility, Shadow Pounce, and the Shadow Ride Missile trick.
Sudden Strike: Combined with Thundering Throws for iterative sudden strikes from up to 600ft of distance. Additionally, it's enabled with Ranged Pin's grappling, and further combining the two with Staggering Strike means enemies spend their only action getting out of the pin.
Shadow Walk: Utilized for getting in/out of areas for reconnaisance, interplanar travel, and the Shadow-Plane Orbital Cannon trick.
Shadow Pounce: Combined with Thundering Throws for ranged/melee full-attacks. Further combined with Teleporting Mind Arrows for NI attacks, and thus is one of the keys to the tricks presented in Level 15. Additionally, her usage of this ability means effects like Dimensional Anchor isn't a complete problem for her.

Originality


Expectation
Reality


Manifester with (Teleportation)
Teleporting Mind Blade/Arrow


Initiator with [Teleportation]
Buffer Crusader + Bloodstorm


Sudden Strike beatdown
Sudden Strike lockdown


Shadow Walk tacked-on
Shadow Walk orbital-cannon


Swift+Move+Standard Shadow Pounce
Standard+Combo Shadow Pounce


"Share <X>" to carry mount
always carried by mount


Power
She ranges from good to overpowered at what she does, such as physical offense buffing, out-of-combat stealth, mobility, battlefield control, HP healing, and then dispel support.

Elegance
Since one of the goals was to highlight the SI, the other classes were utilized such that they don't overshadow the SI but she will still get more from taking at least 3 levels. Unfortunately for Crusader, this is a 20-level build; It's really hard to choose who gets shafted, considering Iron Guard's Glare and even the underrated Order forged from Chaos will be great upgrades to this build. The class choices are thematically based on either her personal career or her conviction to further sharpen her "fang"/"claws". Lastly, being a "combo build", the whole will be far larger than the sum of its parts, and nothing it does is doable with any of those taken alone.


ConflictsRAW Concerns

Shadow Pounce (Full-Attack) on a moving mount: While making a melee full-attack is normally forbidden on a mount moving more than 5ft in a round, this seems to be a Specifics trumps General rule similar to how Pounce (Ex) enables a mounted charger to make a full-attack at the end of its charge, or even a full-attack at the end of a normal charge, despite not normally allowing it. Furthermore, the rule seems to refer only to this since the SRD action economy only anticipates one move + one standard action per round as references, which Shadow Pounce already breaks. Lastly, this would make Shadow Pounce almost dysfunctional, since teleporting more than 5ft towards an enemy still technically means that the "mount moves more than 5 feet", only not of its own will/action.

Throw Mind Arrow: Mind Arrow is based on Throw Mind Blade, and even has Returning as an available enhancement choice, which can only be applied on weapons that can be thrown. Furthermore, Throw Anything pretty much makes normally-non-thrown melee weapons throwable.

Teleporting Mind Blade/Arrow:
A Mind Blade/Arrow is created from the very own distilled psychic energies of a Soulknife/bow, and thus sufficiently satisfies the requirement of "You". Unlike manufactured weapons, it's pretty much an extension of your being, using your own energy. Thus, it triggers the Crinti Shadow Marauder's Shadow Pounce.


Plunders and Bounties
Items
She needs no item in particular, but she can utilize any melee weapon quite well once she gets Lightning Ricochet. An adamantine weapon, for example, would allow her to terraform and destroy nearly anything. Other weapons allow her to trip and disarm from afar with Thunderous Throw.


Mounts
She doesn't need a permanent mount. Her choice heavily depends on 1. creature availability and 2. whether she can successfully use Diplomacy on a non-animal mount (as stated in DMG p.204). She prefers fast and maneuverable ones to complement her tactics: something like Light Warhorse or Dire Bat earlier and Dragon, Hoary Steed, or Nightmare later.

[Heliomance]

Entry number 4

Valkav Kelgrave

Race: Dragonborn Human
Build Stub: Wilderness Feat Rogue 1/Ranger 2/Swashbuckler 1/Warblade 1/Rogue +1/Hit-and-Run Fighter 1/CSM 4/Monk 2/CSM +1/Mo9 4/Fighter +1
Ability Scores (32 Point Buy): Str 14 (6), Dex 16 (10), Con 14 (6), Int 14 (6), Wis 12 (4), Cha 8 (0)
Ability Increases: Dex 17 (4th), Dex 18 (8th), Dex 19 (12th), Con 15 (16th), Con 16 (20th)
Dragonborn Scores: (12th) Str 14, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 8
Ability Increases: Dex 18 (16th), Dex 19 (20th)
Languages: Common, Drow, Draconic
Alignment: LN
Multiclass Penalty: No.


http://orig02.deviantart.net/3c99/f/2011/203/8/4/assassin_by_mineworker-d419vqv.jpg





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


1st
Wilderness Feat Rogue 1
+0
+2
+5
+1
Balance 4, DisDev 4, Handle Animal 4, Hide 4, Jump 4, Move Silently 4, Ride 4, Search 4, Tumble 4, UMD 4
Stealthy, Improved Initiative (FB), Able Learner (H)
Trapfinding


2nd
Ranger 1
+1
+4
+7
+1
Balance 5, DisDev 5, Hide 5, Jump 5, Move Silently 5, Ride 5, Search 5, Tumble 5
Track
Favored Enemy (Arcanists), Spiritual Connection ACF


3rd
Ranger 2
+2
+5
+8
+1
Concentration 1, DisDev 6, Hide 6, Jump 6, Move Silently 6, Ride 6, Search 6, Tumble 6
Darkstalker, Combat Style: TWF



4th
Swashbuckler 1
+3
+7
+8
+1
DisDev 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Ride 7, Search 7, Tumble 7
Weapon Finesse



5th
Warblade 1
+4
+9
+8
+1
DisDev 8, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Ride 8, Search 8, Tumble 8

Battle Clarity (Ref saves), Weapon Aptitude


6th
Wilderness Feat Rogue 2
+5
+9
+9
+1
Concentration 2, DisDev 9, Handle Animal 5, Hide 9, Jump 9, Move Silently 9, Search 9, Tumble 9
Adaptive Style, Mounted Combat (FB)
Evasion


7th
Hit-and-Run Fighter 1
+6
+11
+9
+1
Concentration 4, Hide 10, MOve Silently 10
Improved TWF (FB)



8th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1
+6
+11
+12
+1
Cocnentration 5, DisDev 10, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Search 10, Tumble 10

Shadow Ride


9th
Crusader 1
+7
+13
+12
+1
DisDev 11, Hide 12, Jump 10, Move Silently 12, Search 11, Tumble 11
Extra Granted Maneuver
Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5


10th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+8
+13
+13
+1
Concentration 6, DisDev 12, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Search 12, Timble 12

Sudden Strike 1d6


11th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 3
+9
+14
+13
+2
Concentration 10, Hide 14, Move Silently 14
Mounted Archery
Shadow Walk


12th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 4
+10
+15
+13
+2
DisDev 13, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Search 13, Tumble 13, UMD 5
Craven, Dragon Tail (losing Mounted Archery, Track)
Sudden Strike 2d6, Dragonborn: Wings Aspect


13th
Monk 1
+10
+17
+15
+4
DisDev 14, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Search 14, Tumble 14, UMD 6
Improved Unarmed Strike, Dodge (OA p. 19)
Flurry of Blows


14th
Monk 2
+11
+18
+15
+5
DisDev 15, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Search 15, Tumble 15, UMD 7
Blind-Fight (OA p. 19)
Invisible Fist ACF


15th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
+11
+18
+15
+5
Hide 18, Move Silently 18, UMD 11
Sun School
Shadow Pounce


16th
Master of Nine 1
+11
+18
+16
+7
DisDev 16, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Search 16, Tumble 16, UMD 14




17th
Master of Nine 2
+12
+18
+16
+8
DisDev 17, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Search 17, Tumble 17, UMD 17

Dual Stance


18th
Master of Nine 3
+13
+19
+17
+8
DisDev 18, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Search 18, Tumble 18, UMD 20
Shadow Blade
Perfect Form


19th
Master of Nine 4
+14
+19
+17
+8
DisDev 20, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Search 20, Tumble 20

Counter Stance


20th
Fighter 2
+15
+20
+17
+8
Concentration 12, Hide 23, Move Silently 23
Greater TWF (FB)








Level
Warblade IL
Warblade Maneuvers Known
Warblade Maneuvers Readied
Warblade Maneuvers
Warblade Stances
Crusader IL
Crusader Maneuvers Known
Crusader Maneuvers Readied
Crusader Maneuvers Granted
Crusader Maneuvers
Crusader Stances


5th
3.0
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
-
-
-
-
-
-


6th
3.5
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
4.0
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
4.5
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
5.0
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
5.0
5
3
3
Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Leading the Charge (WR1)


10th
5.5
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
5.5
5
3
3
Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Leading the Charge (WR1)


11th
6.0
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
6.0
5
3
3
Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Leading the Charge (WR1)


12th
6.5
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
6.5
5
3
3
Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Leading the Charge (WR1)


13th
7.0
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
7.0
5
3
3
Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Leading the Charge (WR1)


14th
7.5
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
7.5
5
3
3
Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Leading the Charge (WR1)


15th
8.0
3
3
Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
8.0
5
3
3
Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Leading the Charge (WR1)


16th
9.0
5
3
Burning Blade (DW1), Iron Heart Surge (IH3), Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
9.0
5
4
4
Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Leading the Charge (WR1)


17th
10.0
5
3
Burning Blade (DW1), Iron Heart Surge (IH3), Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
10.0
6
5
5
Shadow Stride (SH5), Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Assassin's Stance (SH3), Leading the Charge (WR1)


18th
11.0
7
3
Zephyr Dance (DW3), Leaping Flame (DW5), Burning Blade (DW1), Iron Heart Surge (IH3), Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
11.0
6
6
6
Shadow Stride (SH5), Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Assassin's Stance (SH3), Leading the Charge (WR1)


19th
12.0
7
3
Zephyr Dance (DW3), Leaping Flame (DW5), Burning Blade (DW1), Iron Heart Surge (IH3), Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
12.0
7
7
7
Shadow Jaunt (SH2), Shadow Stride (SH5), Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Press the Advantage (IH5), Assassin's Stance (SH3), Leading the Charge (WR1)


20th
12.5
7
3
Zephyr Dance (DW3), Leaping Flame (DW5), Burning Blade (DW1), Iron Heart Surge (IH3), Moment of Perfect Mind (DM1), Wolf Fang Strike (TC1), Sudden Leap (TC1)
Punishing Stance (IH1)
12.5
6
5
5
Shadow Jaunt (SH2), Shadow Stride (SH5), Crusader's Strike (DS1), Vanguard Strike (DS1), Revitalizing Strike (DS3), Mountain Hammer (SD2), White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Press the Advantage (IH5), Assassin's Stance (SH3), Leading the Charge (WR1)




"Kelgrave!" called out Master Embry, his voice cracking like a whip. "In my office! Now!"

Valkav took in a deep breath, closed his footlocker, and followed Master Embry into his office. No one else in the barracks dared to look up for meet his gaze.

Master Embry marched sharply behind his desk and... waited.

Valkav stood at attention, not daring to move.

After a long silence, Master Embry spoke softly, barely a whisper. "This was a milk run, Kelgrave. Simple bag job, in and out, grab Lord Rilkar's love letters, nothing complicated. Now, please explain to me how you botched this up?"

Valkav said, "It was smooth, in and out, no problems until I hit the roof. Then I got blindsided. Never saw his face. I tried to jump away, but he could follow me, maybe even anticipate my jumps. Everything I threw at him, he threw it back three times worse. I thought at first he was another Shadow Marauder, but then he kept jumping behind me, every time I turned around he was there."

"How, exactly, did your horse get up on the roof?" asked Master Embry.

"I can explain that! I--" started Valkav.

"Save it!" snapped Master Embry. "Nevermind, I'll just add it to the tally. Did you know you've killed seventeen horses so far? I didn't think you'd top the catapult incident, but somehow you managed it. So... this assailant, you said he was a Shadow Marauder?"

"At first, I thought so. But he kept jumping around, every time I turned to attack he'd pop behind me... similar technique, to our shadow walking, but he could do it at will."

Master Embry's eyes narrowed. "And you said you never saw his face. Did you notice anything else about him? Clothing, boots, belt buckle... anything distinctive?"

Valkav said, "Well, there was one thing. A ring, on his left hand, with a white bird on it."

"White bird..." said Master Embry. "Like a raven?"

Valkav squinted, trying to remember it clearly. "It could have been."

Master Embry held up one of his hands, palm facing toward himself, showing a ring on his finger. "Like this one?"

Valkav reached immediately for his shortswords, but before his hands had even moved Master Embry and disappeared and reappeared behind him. By the time Valkav got his swords free and spun around to face him, Embry had already landed two solid punches on his ribs and a glancing blow across his cheekbone. Valkav feinted and lunged, but Master Embry disappeared again, reappearing on the desk behind him and letting loose with a kick to the back of Valkav's skull. Before another second had passed, it was over. Mastery Embry had him pinned to the ground, one arm bent way too far behind his back.

Embry leaned down, putting his face next to Valkav's ear. "You may have lost the letters and your horse, Kelgrave," whispered Master Embry, "But somehow you also got back up on that roof and gave chase for another four city blocks. That was pretty impressive, even by my standards. I've got a couple more questions for you, though. The Blackwulf job, six tendays ago... you killed everyone in the room, except for Lady Birchwood's daughter. Why not the girl?"

Valkav shifted his weight slightly, and the blinding pain in his shoulder and neck subsided momentarily, enough to collect more of his wits. "Gah... Birchwood's daughter... only fourteen. Still a child. Not part of my orders... kill the Blackwulfs, nothing about killing children."

"And if killing Birchwood's daughter had been in your orders?" asked Master Embry.

"And bring Lady Birchwood's assassins down on us all? Even you're not that insane, Master Embry!"

The weight on his arm and neck suddenly disappeared, as Master Embry popped back behind his desk. "Stand up, Kelgrave."

Valkav managed it somehow, still holding his shortswords dumbly at his side, and not entirely sure what to do with them. "Sir?"

"There's a very slight possibility you're not as stupid or useless as I first thought, Kelgrave." Embry called out, "Master Ping!"

A side door opened to Valkav's right, and a squat, stooped lizardman in silk robes entered the office. He raised his clawed hands and bowed crisply to both of them. Valkav noticed that the lizardman was also wearing a ring with a white raven on it.

Master Embry said, "Behind you, Kelgrave, is a world of greedy nobles, squabling over petty intrigues. Amusing enough, and lots of good work for someone with your skills, but eventually your name winds up on the wrong list and you're just a fraction of a hair slower than you used to be, maybe if you're lucky you wind up in a cold stone box with a nice litte plaque rather than a nameless wooden box. Or you might consider studying under Master Ping, and learn how to slip between shadows like a knife slips beteween the ribs, walk up a pillar of fire as if it were a staircase, or shatter stone walls with your fists. So tell me, Kelgrave... would such an offer interest you?"



Valkav starts out as a trapfinder and skillmonkey, and spends most of his earlier levels as a typical rogue or ranger: namely, pretending to be important, but not nearly as effective as he thinks he is. The wilderness rogue variant was taken as it gave me a lot more skill points to put into support skills, but isn't strictly necessary to qualify for Crinti Shadow Marauder or Master of Nine. Trading away sneak attack reduces his combat effectiveness below what you might expect of a typical rogue, but hopefully in the earlier levels this won't be so noticeable. But there's one thing Valkav does excel at, and that's the sneaky stuff, which helps him survive until the later levels. Swashbuckler is there to help with the attack bonus, although it's not really necessary here, and could be bumpbed until much later if whiffing isn't so much of a concern. Taking Warblade at 5 helps shore up his combat abilities, as both Wolf Fang Strike and Sudden Leap give him "mini-pounces", Moment of Perfect Mind is there to cover his horrible Will save, and Punishing Stance helps make up for the missing sneak attack. After that, a couple more dips for fighter bonus feats as we try and get our prereqs lined up for later.



Valkav enters Crinti Shadow Marauder and discovers that mounted combat is not a particularly good fit for a Dex-based finesse fighter. But CSMs are expected to be mounted, and he's not exactly tearing things up as a frontline meatbag, so riding around on a mount isn't a completely useless idea. He can use a lance, so that's at least something useful to do on the first round. The Warblade maneuvers help here as well, allowing him to dismount as a move action and Wolf Fang Strike as a standard attack, or Sudden Leap from his mount and then full attack on the ground. The Crusader level also helps, as Leading the Charge stance adds bonus damage to his lance attack when his mount charges. If Valkav decides to stay in the saddle, then Crusader's Strike, Vanguard Strike, and Mountan Hammer gives him something interesting to do with his single standard attack while his mount is moving. He also picks up White Raven Hammer, which either lets him act twice in a round or can be used to grant extra turns to other party members. Valkav also picks up Craven, which adds to his Sudden Strike damage, but at the moment he doesn't have a reliable way to activate it.

Valkav flirts a bit with Mounted Archery, but not for long. At level 12, he goes through the Ritual of Rebirth to become a Dragonborn of Bahumat. Instead of losing his human bonus feat, Valkav loses Track, as per the rules on page 10 of Races of the Dragon: "If your original race granted you a nonspecific bonus feat (such as the one gained by a human at 1st level), any feat can be lost, so long as it is not a prerequisite for another feat you have." Track is an eligible feat, and he can get more reliable information from local plants/animals by using his Spiritual Connection ACF. Valkav also takes advantage of the option to pick up a 1st-level only Dragonborn feat, swapping Mounted Archery for the Dragon Tail feat. The Dragonborn ritual isn't strictly necessary, as the build functions well enough without it, but it does add a flight capability and an additional tail attack to Valkav's full attack. If you prefer a more evil-ish Crinti Shadow Marauder, it can be skipped. (For simplicity's sake, I calculated Valkav's skill points without the human bonus points, as I anticipated that Dragonborn would remove them. If you prefer to restore the skill points, then Valkav can max out Concentration and Jump.)



Valkav can now dish out some decent damage when he gets the drop on someone, but doesn't have a reliable way to trigger Sudden Strike, so he shifts focus a bit to study as a monk. Using the rules in Oriental Adventures (p. 19), monks can select bonus feats from Table 6-1 (p. 79), which includes Dodge and Blind-Fight. This finishes up the last three feats he needs for Master of Nine, and he also picks up the Invisible Fist ACF. This allows him to get Sudden Strike on most opponents every four rounds or so (and since the text refers to invisible as a special ability rather than a spell effect, attacking doesn't end the effect). In the intervening three rounds, he can rely on his Warblade/Crusader strikes, or if an opponent is articularly challenging, he can pull back and hide until Invisible Fist comes around again. Monk also adds unarmed strike as an offhand attack, allowing Valkav to switch to a two-handed greatsword if he's looking for better damage on his primary attack, or switch to quantity over quality, using Flurry of Blows with unarmed strikes and/or Scorpion Kamas.

At 15th level, Valkav finishes off Crinti Shadow Marauder and unlocks Shadow Pounce. At this point, Valkav can only do this 3/day: Two Shadow Rides, and one Shadow Walk from his class abilities. Teleport items, such as Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker (500 GP, MIC), Anklets of Translocation (1400 GP, MIC), Shadow Cloak (5500 GP, DotU), or Novice Shadow Hand gloves (3000 GP, ToB) can provide additional uses. He also picks up the Sun School tactical feat, providing an additional attack at full BAB every time he Shadow Pounces.

After securing Shadow Pounce, Valkav heads into Master of Nine to unlock an "Idiot Crusader" combo by choosing to learn new known maneuvers on his Warblade side and adding additional readied/granted maneuvers to his Crusader side. As per Tome of Battle page 96, these class features are added separately. Under "Maneuvers Known: When you gain additional maneuvers known, these simply add to the maneuvers known of one martial adept standard class you already possess", this allows Valkav to add new known maneuvers to his Warblade class. In the next section below, the text says, "Maneuvers Readied: When indicated, you gain the ability to ready one or more additional martial maneuvers. If you have more than one martial maneuver progression, you must choose which progression the additional readied maneuver slot applies to. If you choose to add the maneuver readied to a martial maneuver progression derived from crusader class levels, you also gain one additional maneuver granted at the beginning of the encounter for each additional maneuver you can ready." At 16th level, Valkav has 5 Crusader maneuvers known and 4 readied/granted. At 17th level, Valkav can add one maneuver and one stance, so he takes Shadow Stride and Assassin's Stance here, allowing him to pick up Shadow Blade next level. It's all coming together now...



At 18th level, Valkav has 6 Crusader maneuvers known and maneuvers readied/granted. Every turn, Valkav gets the following 6 Crusader maneuvers:

Crusader's Strike (DS1)
Vanguard Strike (DS1)
Revitalizing Strike (DS3)
Mountain Hammer (SD2)
White Raven Tactics (WR3)
Shadow Stride (SH5)

This means every round he can:

Move Action: Shadow Stride up to 50' -> Shadow Pounce + Sun School
Standard Action: Revitalizing Strike or UMD a wand with a teleport effect (such as stand or benign transposition)
Swift Action: Activate White Raven Tactics on himself.

On the next initiative count, he can repeat all of that, and keep going at every initiative count until everything around him is dead. If he's using Invisible Fist on that round, it lasts for every turn he takes that round, and every attack against an opponent that can't detect him triggers Dex damage from Shadow Blade, 2d6 Sudden Strike, 2d6 Sneak Attack from Assassin's Stance, Craven, and more Dex damage from Hit-and-Run Fighter. If his target can see invisible, Valkav can try flanking or using his standard action to hide. If that doesn't work... even without the bonus damage, a substantially large number of full attacks should be sufficient to render any particularly observant opponent into a particularly unobservant corpse.

Also at 18th level, Valkav adds a little Desert Wind to his Warblade side, picking up Leaping Flame. Although using this as a counter allows Valkav to add another full attack when an opponent attacks him, it breaks the "White Raven Tactics All The Time" combo: he can't activate WRT on his next turn without a swift action available. But it does allow him to respond to an ambush or unexpected ranged attack: he can teleport in for a full attack, unload another full attack on his next turn, and then activate the WRT combo on the subsequent round. Leaping Flame can also be triggered by an ally making a ranged attack at Valkav, allowing him to teleport up to 100' across the battlefield, pouncing in to help them with an adjacent enemy or moving him into a better position when he's out of teleports for that particular round.

Outside of combat, Valkav has a little bit of everything: top-notch sneak/spy, accomplished trapfinder, world-class tumbler, some wilderness/animal skills, a dash of magic wands/UMDs, and some Martial Adept utility maneuvers.



Valkav finishes off with another level of Master of Nine, which gives him Shadow Jaunt as a Standard Action, so he can now Shadow Pounce twice every turn, and Press the Advantage for 10' steps. Fighter 2 on the last level allows him to complete the TWF trifecta with Greater TWF, and he now has 8 attacks per Shadow Pounce: 3 primary, 3 offhand, tail attack, and Sun School.

Use of the Secret Ingredient:

Shadow Ride: At earlier levels, this ability is the source of 2 out of 3 Shadow Pounces per day. However, once the Idiot Crusader combo has been unlocked for unlimited Shadow Strides, it's largely irrelevent outside of certain pranks involving livestock and church belltowers.

Sudden Strike: This ability allows Valkav to acquire Craven, as it counts as Sneak Attack, and helps leverage up the bonus damage when using Invisible Fist.

Bonus Feat: Ok, so Mounted Archery (or any of the other mounted combat feats) doesn't really do diddley-squat for this build, but Valkav does use it with Dragonborn of Bahamut to pick up an extra attack via Dragon Tail.

Shadow Walk: This SLA provides the third and most reliable Shadow Pounce per day. Once Shadow Stride is up and working, it also works as a standard-action teleport until Valkav gets Shadow Jaunt at level 19.

Shadow Pounce: The key to the build. I think it's safe to say it's going to get a lot of use.



Here's some advice on how to deal with a DM blubbering about "game balance" or "broken loopholes" and whatnot.

The Idiot Crusader trick presented here works by RAW. On your Crusader side, the number of Known, Readied, and Granted maneuvers are equal at levels 18 and 19. As per ToB pages 9-10, you end every turn without any withheld manuevers, and get a fresh set of all your known maneuvers at the start of your next turn. The only part that's even questionable is on Master of Nine 1 and 3, you add Maneuvers Known to your Warblade side and the Maneuvers Readied to the Crusader side. But given how the text breaks these two advances into two separate sections, I don't see any valid argument why this couldn't be done this way on a multiclass Martial Adept with more than one initiator class to choose from. It's possible to get this trick working at much lower levels, but as presented here it's at the point where wizards and clerics are already breaking the action economy into tiny little pieces, so I don't see how this could be any worse.

White Raven Tactics is a much trickier problem, and much more likely to be banned to start with. If it's not banned outright, then unless your DM goes out of his/her way to enforce strict RAW in all of its bizarre glory, it's likely there will be some restrictions on how you can use WRT. There are two popular house rules, sometimes encountered together:

1) White Raven Tactics can't be used on yourself. This is explicitly against the RAW (PHB Glossary p. 304 says you count as your own ally), but there's an argument that the designers intended this to be used for the benefit of other PCs in the party, as that's what most White Raven maneuvers are designed to do. Allowing yourself to act twice in the same round feels selfish and against the spirit of the discipline. If this is the case, consider swapping out the Sun School or Shadow Blade feat for the Trickery Devotion (Complete Champion). Your duplicate "ally" can then use WRT on you. However, this is just as likely to get books thrown at your head. Your best course of action is to trade in Shadow Blade or Sun School for Shape Soulmeld: Blink Shirt, take another level of Crusader at 19th, and then Master of Nine 4 at 20th level, picking up Shadow Blink instead of Shadow Jaunt. You get three shadow pounces per round, and can use WRT to give a spellcaster in the party an extra turn every round.

2) White Raven Tactics an only be used once per round. While just this restriction still leaves the door open for using it on yourself, you don't get an infinite number of turns in the round. Then again, with four full attacks every round, it's not exactly ruining a melee build that can dish out what could reasonably be considered a pretty decent amount of whoopass. So enjoy your four full attacks, and maybe snag a fifth with Leaping Flame. If the DM combines both 1) and 2), see how he likes watching the wizard/cleric/druid in your party to smack the Win button twice instead of once.

Of course, if your DM is insane enough to allow WRT to be used on yourself for every initiative count... there is a third problem that might need to be addressed, as the rules don't really cover what happens when the initiative count goes into negative numbers. We know that with a large enough Dex penalty, initiative counts can go into the negatives, so in theory if you keep lowering your initiative count to the number below the current count, you could keep going down to negative infinity, or until Pun-Pun shows up to bitch-slap you back into the normal timestream. However, I think the combat rules do address this on page 133 of the PHB:

"When everyone has had a turn, the combatant with the highest initiative acts again, and steps 4 and 5 repeat until combat ends."

What this means is that you can keep using WRT up until the last person in the combat who hasn't acted yet takes his turn. At that point, the argument would be that the round ends and the initiative count starts over from the highest initiative count. Even if you still have a turn coming up on the next count, everyone has had a turn (you moreso than most!), so the round ends and a new one begins. More worrisome for you, if your last WRT put you at a very low or negative initiative count, that becomes your count for the new round, and you don't get to act until after everyone else has gone. The fix for this is to keep using WRT up until you are acting on the same count as the last creature that hasn't acted yet, and declare that you are delaying your turn until the next round. You can then reset your initiative count to match whoever goes first, and start another series of turns, stopping to delay again at the person acting last. This means it will be hard to predict how many turns you will get in a round, particularly if everybody's initiative count winds up close to each other, but you can mitigate this by having an ally delay his action to initiative count to 1. (Technically, since the delay rules don't specify a bottom boundary, you could have an ally reduce their count to -99 or negative nine million or negative infinity... but you've probably got enough books flying at your head already, so don't push it.)



Champions of Ruin: Craven
Complete Champion: Spiritual Connection ACF
Complete Mage: Arcane Hunter ACF
Complete Warrior: Swashbuckler, Sun School
Drow of the Underdark: Hit-and-Run Fighter
Exemplars of Evil: Invisible Fist ACF
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Oriental Adventures: Monk bonus feats (p. 19)
Races of Destiny: Able Learner
Races of the Dragon: Dragonborn of Bahamut, Dragon Tail
Tome of Battle: Warblade, Crusader, Adaptive Style, Extra Granted Maneuver, Shadow Blade
Unearthed Arcana: Wilderness Rogue variant, Feat Rogue variant

[Heliomance]

Entry number 5

Nyldene the Neutral Evil Female Human Ranger 1 / Wilder 7 / Crinti Shadow Marauder 5 / Illithid Slayer 7

Nyldene sat on her horse with closed eyes breathing slowly and deeply while she mentally refocused her mental powers, while her horse kept moving in the direction she wanted it to, knowing to give sound if anything was noticed although she didn't except to as she was riding on the main trade road down towards T'lindhet. It was said that someone had noticed a Illithid encampment somewhere between T'lindhet and the trade route. While she wasn't drow or even half-drow, she had ample ammounts of drow blood as both her mother a half-drow, her mate was one and her daugther was one, so she had been honorably promoted to be considered one as well. And Illithids was something that she had gotten some expertise in fighting the last couple of years, as they had managed to get aboveground trying to capture a few outlying villages and horse ranches a couple of years ago.



Stat
Score


Strength
17


Dexterity
14


Constitution
14


Intelligence
10


Wisdom
8


Charisma
13


All Stat increases goes into Strength




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


1st
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
Concentration 4, Handle Animal 4, Hide 4, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4, Move Silently 4, Ride 4, Survival 4
TrackB, Able Learner, Stealthy
Favored Enemy (Arcanist) +2, Wild Empathy


2nd
Mantled Wilder 1
+1
+2
+2
+2
Concentration 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Psicraft 1, Ride 5

Mantled Wilder (Conflict), Wild Surge +1, Psychic Enervation


3rd
Wilder 2
+2
+2
+2
+3
Concentration 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Psicraft 2, Ride 6
Enervation Endurance, Weapon Focus (Glaive)B



4th
Wilder 3
+3
+3
+3
+3
Concentration 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Psicraft 3, Ride 7

Wild Surge +2


5th
Wilder 4
+4
+3
+3
+4
Concentration 8, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Psicraft 4, Ride 8

Surging Euphoria +1


6th
Educated Wilder 5
+4
+3
+3
+4
Concentration 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Survival 6
Expanded Knowledge (Dimension Hop)B, Mounted Combat



7th
Wilder 6
+5
+4
+4
+5
Concentration 10, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Survival 8




8th
Wilder 7
+6
+4
+4
+5
Concentration 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Survival 10

Wild Surge +3


9th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1
+6
+4
+6
+5
Concentration 12, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Survival 12
Expanded Focus (Bestow Power)
Shadow Ride


10th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+7
+4
+7
+5
Concentration 13, Hide 13, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Move Silently 13, Survival 13

Sudden Strike +1d6


11th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 3
+8
+5
+7
+6
Concentration 14, Hide 14, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 7, Move Silently 14, Survival 14
Ride-By AttackB
Shadow Walk


12th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 4
+9
+5
+8
+6
Concentration 15, Hide 15, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 7, Move Silently 15, Survival 15
Practiced Manifester (Wilder)
Sudden Strike +2d6


13th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
+9
+5
+8
+6
Concentration 16, Hide 16, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 8, Move Silently 16, Survival 16

Shadow Pounce


14th
Illithid Slayer 1
+10
+5
+8
+8
Concentration 17, Hide 17, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 9, Move Silently 17, Survival 17

Favored Enemy (Illithid) +2, Illithid Sense


15th
Illithid Slayer 2
+11
+5
+8
+9
Concentration 18, Hide 18, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 10, Move Silently 18, Survival 18
Power Attack
Brain Nausea


16th
Illithid Slayer 3
+12
+6
+9
+9
Concentration 19, Hide 19, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 11, Move Silently 19, Survival 19

Lucid Buffer


17th
Illithid Slayer 4
+13
+6
+9
+10
Concentration 20, Hide 20, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 12, Move Silently 20, Survival 20

Favored Enemy (Illithid) +4


18th
Illithid Slayer 5
+14
+6
+9
+10
Concentration 21, Hide 21, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 13, Move Silently 21, Survival 21
Stand Still



19th
Illithid Slayer 6
+15
+7
+10
+11
Concentration 22, Hide 22, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 14, Move Silently 22, Survival 22

Cerebral Blind


20th
Illithid Slayer 7
+16
+7
+10
+11
Concentration 23, Hide 23, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 15, Move Silently 23, Survival 23

Favored Enemy (Illithid) +6





Level
Power Points Per Day
Powers Known
Max Power Level Known
Power Learned


2nd
2
1
1st
Metaphycical Weapon


3rd
6
2
1st
Prescience, Offensive


4th
11
2
1st



5th
17
3
2nd
Psionic Lion's Charge


6th
25
3
2nd
Dimension HopB


7th
35
4
3rd
Dimension Slide


8th
46
4
3rd



9th
46
4
3rd
Bestow PowerB


15th
58
5
4th
Vigor


16th
72
5
4th



17th
88
6
5th
Precognition, Defensive


18th
106
6
5th



19th
126
7
6th
Precognition, Offensive


20th
147
7
6th



Due to my Conflict Mantle i'm forced to take Metaphysical Weapon, Prescience Offensive, Psionic Lion's Charge and Dimensional Slide at earliest possible (of which only Psionic Lion's Charge would be abandoned, when i get the capstone of Crinti Shadow Marauder), but as i don't have a Charisma high enough to learn 4th level powers i don't have to take those powers on the Conflict Mantle list, and can instead take whichever i deem wanted.


Level 5:
At this point I'm a fairly regular front row fighter (with one less BAB than dedicated frontliners, but free Weapon focus feat), that, a couple of times per day, is able to boost my weapon with Metaphysical weapon (making it either an effective +1 Magical weapon, with a little help from Wild Surge, for 6 hours, or a +2 Weapon for 6 minutes), and Offensive Prescience (Boosted to up to +3 Damage for 6 minutes), otherwise I'm a relatively regular beatstick.

Level 10:
Effectively infinite power points due to Bestow Power + Enervation Endurance + Wild Surge+3 (See Notes), leaving me able to run my buff powers constantly, I've also added my two Teleportation Powers which is going to be the prime source of fun later on, Dimensional Hop, which let me teleport as a swift action, and Dimension Slide which depending on how if its augmented, either let me teleport as a standard or a move action. Even then, i still need the last piece of the puzzle to make the build roll wild, so while i'm still a competent beatstick, i'm slightly behind curve, although Dimension Hop means that I'm nearly always able to at least get off both my attacks per round.

Buffs gives me:
+3 Enchanement Bonus to Weapon
+5 Insight Bonus on Damage rolls

Level 15:
Level 13 and all the pieces of the puzzle is complete. Shadow Pounce + Dimension Hop (Swift), + Dimension Slide (Standard) + Dimension Slide (Move) makes for quite a nasty round of attacks. Meanwhile I'm gaining Practiced Manifester (Wilder), which boosts my Manifester level making it take longer before my powers have to be reapplied, said powers is stronger and my power points have to be recharged, meanwhile Power attack leaves me able to trade my +ToHit to +Damage, its taken relatively late, i know but there simply wasn't any room for it earlier without slowing down my two primary combos surrounding Bestow power and Shadow Pounce. Illithid Slayer is taken because its the only class that manages to check off all my demands, full BAB, manifester levels and fits the fluff.
Santified Mind would argubly fit the first two criteria, but not the last one, War Mind could be argued to fit as well, but it would mean that I would 1: have to get a higher Wisdom score, most likely lowering my physical stats as my Mental stats are as low as they can handle, leaving me less competent on the front line either due to less staying power from Dexterity and Constitution, or less damage dealt from Strength, both directly from damage and indirectly from fewer succesful attacks. 2: The Manifester levels wouldn't stack so i'd have to make for breaks more often, specially since the powers from War Mind and Wilder wouldn't be in sync with each other, and get less out of my selected powers. 3: My pool of Power points would be shallower meaning that there would be fewer rounds it would be able to uphold my teleportation spamming. While depth of my PP pool doesn't matter overly much in terms of buffing up and keeping me buffed up, its still relevant when it comes to how long my combat sessions can be.

Meanwhile, my buffs gives me a total of:
+4 Enhancement bonus on my Weapon
+6 Insight Bonus on Damage Rolls
75 Temporary Hit Points from Vigor

Level 20:
More of the same, manages to get to a BAB of +16, giving me 4 attacks per full-round action. Meanwhile from Illithid Slayer i get two abilities worth mentioning. Lucid Buffer boosts my Saves against certain kinds of powers/spells, and Cerebral Blind makes me immune to most Divination attempts. Stand Still is an additional way to soak damage in that it can force people trying to get within reach of me (i got a reach weapon and i can always end my action with making a 5ft away from my opponents), to stop moving towards me, resulting in them being unable to attack me

My buffs at this point is:
+5 Enchancement bonus on my Weapons Attacks and Damage rolls, from Metaphysical Weapon. Costs 14 PP, ML 20 (Wild Surged). My weapon would ideally be a +1 Glaive with a long list of special abilities.
+8 Insight Bonus on my Damage Rolls from Prescience, Offensive. Cost 15 PP ML 20 (Wild Surged). Note that XPH got errataed from giving the augmentation bonus to Attack rolls (just as Precognition Offensive) to Damage Rolls
+7 Insight bonus to AC and all Saves from Precognition, Defensive. Cost 15 PP ML 20 (Wild Surged).
+8 Insight Bonus to Attack rolls from Precognition, Offensive. Cost 15 PP ML 20 (Wild Surged)
100 Temporary Hit Points from Vigor. Cost 17 ML 20 (Wild Surged).



From 9th level onwards i have, in practice, infinite power points due to this little combo:
Bestow Power (costs 3), augmented with a wild surge +3, giving me 4 Power Points
15% of the time it fails and i pay an additional ½Wilderlevel in power points (due to Enervation Endurance), which is rounded down to 3 power points. Hence
((Net Gain)*(% of succes))+((Net Gain - failure cost)*(% of failure))
((1)*(.85))+((-2)(.15)) = Giving me a net profit of 0.55 Power points per time i cast Bestow Power in this way, or 11 Power points per 20 times.

It gets even better if i manage to get my hands on a XPH Torc of Power Presevation, which lowers the cost of all powers by 1, to a mininum of 1.

((2)*(.85))+((-1)(.15)) = Giving me a net profit of 1.55 Power points per time i cast Bestow Power in this way, or 31 Power points per 20 times.




Material
Used


Complete Psionics
Conflict Mantle, Enervation Endurance, Practiced Manifester


Expanded Psionics Handbook
Wilder, Illithid Slayer, Expanded Knowledge, Stand Still


Minds Eye (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070214a)
Mantled Wilder, Educated Wilder


Races of Destiny
Able Learner


Shining South
Crinti Shadow Marauder

[Heliomance]

Entry number 6

http://s24.postimg.org/4p6pw5ed1/Screen_Shot_2015_11_29_at_2_50_38_AM.png

Hale: One Who Has Seen the Eye



Hale knew the significance of the eye, before he ever truly knew its true nature.

They were windows into a creature’s true self. Even for those of them without souls, it offered some glimpse into its form laid bare.

Living in the woods, he glimpsed the eyes of beast and man alike during their daily affairs: eating, drinking, sleeping, and dying.

The eye of a creature as it died changed in some unknowable way. He had seen them before, while riding. He’d seen grazers picked off by predators, predators picked off by hunters, hunters picked off by those above them. Something was there and then it wasn’t.

The more he immersed himself in these thoughts, the truer they seemed. He could feel things taking shape around him. The pelt of a dog he had seen shot down, the claws of some beast he’d seen skinned. Some things he’d never seen. They took root in some place inside him, growing until they filled all his empty places and he felt he would burst.

When his eyes weren’t open, these pieces and parts seemed to come out of him. Tails and claws and teeth that weren’t there when he had gone to bed greeted him in the morning. He slept less, and saw things more. It only happened when he wasn’t looking, he knew that much.

Now and again, he would witness an honest fight in the woods. Not something strong killing and eating something weak, but a back and forth. Something where predator and prey were shifting with each blow.

This was when he saw it for the first time.

A gaggle of hunters from town chased a great, scaled head into his grove. Hale hid in a hollow, unsure what it was, whether there was anything to be learned.

Then it turned, and he saw its eye.

Its Eye.

The moment commanded his reverence, though he had never seen it before, he knew. All around the creature’s form was in service of its Eye. A maw beneath, spanning its whole width, seemed almost an afterthought. Ten eyes on stalks wreathed it from behind, a corona, so it could not be encircled.

It merely glanced at its pursuers, and one by one, they were struck down, smote in one blow. One turned to stone, one flew through the air, impaled on a branch, and the other exploded into bits, but left nothing behind, as if he were never there at all.

The crown of its head, Hale now saw, oozed blood, a gaping wound in its side. It drifted to the ground without the grace he knew it was truly capable of. Despite what he had just seen, he knew it was safe to stalk over, get off his horse, and watch it die.

If it noticed him, it didn’t show it. The Eye before him was open, but unfocused. Its huge pupil, shiny and black like a goat’s, was big enough to see his own reflection. For now, he was as he should be, all his parts the way he was born in that reflection. His eyes were open.

He gazed into it and without a word pledged to honor this creature in his hunts from now on. He carved a facsimile of its Eye into his flesh as its single lid blinked before him, holding his hand steady until it stayed open, utterly still. This eye, unblinking on his brow, would keep him safe, reborn under the watchful gaze of this creature, this great mother.

He rode into the night, the armored scales at his back and razor teeth lining his mouth now no longer a mystery. He knew at last where they had come from.


str 16 (subsequent increases here)
dex 14
con 14 (lvl 4 boost here) +2 human paragon
int 12
wis 14
cha 8

final:
str 20
dex 14
con 17
int 12
wis 14
cha 8


CN human paragon 1/totemist 2/ human paragon 3/ crinti shadow marauder 5/ pious templar 10




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


1st
Human Paragon 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
handle animal 4, hide 4, ms 4, ride 4, tumble 4, umd 4
stealthy, mounted combat
Adaptive learning (umd)


2nd
Totemist 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
handle animal 1 (5), listen 3, ride 1 (5), spot 2, umd 1 (5)

Wild empathy, illiteracy


3rd
Totemist 2
+1
+3
+3
+2
handle animal 1 (6), ride 1 (6), spot 3 (5), umd 1 (6)
power attack
Totem chakra bind (+1 capacity)


4th
Human Paragon 2
+2
+3
+3
+3
hide 3 (7), ms 2 (6), umd 1 (7)

bonus feat (true believer)


5th
Human Paragon 3
+3
+4
+4
+3
hide 1 (8), ms 1, ride 2 (8), tumble 1 (5), umd 1 (8)

ability boost +2 (con)


6th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1
+3
+4
+6
+4
handle animal 2 (6), hide 1 (9), ms 1 (9), ride 1 (9), umd 1 (9)
open least chakra (hands)
Shadow ride


7th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+4
+4
+7
+6
handle animal 2 (8), hide 1 (10), ms 1 (10), ride 1 (10), umd 1 (10)

Sudden strike +1d6


8th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 3
+5
+5
+4
+7
handle animal 2 (10), hide 1 (11), ms 1 (11), ride 1 (11), umd 1 (11)

Bonus feat (ride-by attack), shadow walk


9th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 4
+6/+1
+5
+5
+7
handle animal 2 (12), hide 1 (12) ms 1 (12), ride 1 (12), umd 1 (12)
weapon focus (bite)
Sudden strike +2d6


10th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
+6/+1
+5
+5
+7
handle animal 1 (13), hide 1 (13) ms 1 (13), ride 1 (13), spot 1 (6), umd 1 (13)

Shadow pounce


11th
Pious Templar 1
+7/+2
+7
+5
+9
jump 2, umd 1 (14)

Mettle


12th
Pious Templar 2
+8/+3
+8
+5
+10
jump 2 (4), umd 1 (15)
open lesser chakra (shoulder)
Smite 1/day


13th
Pious Templar 3
+9/+4
+8
+6
+10
jump 2 (6), umd 1 (16)

Damage reduction 1/—, weapon specialization


14th
Pious Templar 4
+10/+5
+9
+6
+11
jump 2 (8), umd 1 (17)

Bonus feat (improved bullrush)


15th
Pious Templar 5
+11/+6/+1
+9
+6
+11
jump 2 (10), umd 1 (18)
shock trooper



16th
Pious Templar 6
+12/+7/+2
+10
+7
+12
jump 2 (12), umd 1 (19)

Smite 2/day


17th
Pious Templar 7
+13/+8/+3
+10
+7
+12
jump 2 (14), umd 1 (20)

Damage reduction 2/—


18th
Pious Templar 8
+14/+9/+4
+11
+7
+12
jump 3 (17)
open greater chakra (waist)
Bonus feat (spirited charge)


19th
Pious Templar 9
+15/+10/+5
+11
+8
+12
jump 3 (20)




20th
Pious Templar 10
+16/+11/+6/+1
+12
+8
+13
jump 3 (23)

Smite 3/day






Shape melds, skulk around, and rip faces. You gain your primary method of fueling shadow jump later on via totemist’s blink shirt. You can dimension door at will, so enjoy it. power attack makes your hits count for more, so enjoy it. Human paragon’s customizable skill list gives everything you need for entry and more. You’re a straightforward and capable brute at this stage, so act accordingly


You are out of the secret ingredient as quickly as you were in. Everything is active. Pounce with impunity after the blink shirt puts you where you need to be. ride by attack helps with mobility. use the worg pelt to shore up your stealth skills and skulk around to activate sudden strike. enjoy pounce and get natural attacks to enjoy its full effect when you’re not using a two handed weapon. your hand chakra is open, adding much versatility. when your feet are busy, the kruthik claws are handy on the hand to boost hide/ms.


taxes paid, you are now in pious templar, revering the great mother, matriarch of all beholder and beholderkin. she offers bite as her favored weapon, which is why you took it. totemist offers it in abundance. mettle is online, giving you evasion with fort and will saves. its spell list, the blackguard spell list, is now at your disposal. master cavalier is now an option, boosting your ride checks. later, war mount and phantom charge will synergize to allow your mount to fly and walk on water. your shoulder chakra is also now open, and your bites hurt more. shock trooper boosts your power attack damage, so slap on the totem avatar and go to town, since your shoulder chakra is now also open


you are finished with pious templar. your great mother would be so proud of you. it gives you another fighter feat, so shore up your mount specialization with spirited charge, boosting damage. your waist is now open for business, so feel free to accessorize with stuff like the manticore belt and lamia belt for flight and spring attack should you and your mount be separated. spirited charge is up so your damage is improved, and you have all your spells, so protect yourself with favored of the martyr and whatnot and whatever you can get from wands.


Spells per Day


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


11th
-
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


12th
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


13th
-
1
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


14th
-
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


15th
-
1
1
0
-
-
-
-
-
-


16th
-
1
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


17th
-
2
1
1
0
-
-
-
-
-


18th
-
2
1
1
1
-
-
-
-
-


19th
-
2
2
1
1
-
-
-
-
-


20th
-
2
2
2
1
-
-
-
-
-




srd: human paragon, stealthy, mounted combat, power attack, weapon focus, ride by attack, improved bullrush, spirited charge
shining south: crinti shadow marauder
magic of incarnum: totemist, open chakra
complete divine: pious templar, true believer
complete warrior: shock trooper

[Heliomance]

Entry number 7

Jasmine Half-Blood, the Lady and the Tiger
http://indivisiblegame.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tiger_mage_razmi_pose_keyart01_organized.pngRazmi art from Indivisible on Indiegogo.
CN Primordial Half-Giant Psychic Rogue 6/Elocater 7/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Elocater 8/LA 1
Stats (with adjustments in parentheses)
Str 15 (13) (increase at 4 and 8)
Dex 16 (14)
Con 14 (14)
Int 14 (18) (increase at 12 and 16)
Wis 10 (10)
Cha 8 (12)
Build


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


1st
Psychic Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Autohypnosis 4, Concentration 4, Handle Animal 2(4), Hide 4, Intimidate 4, Move Silently 4, Ride 2 (4), Spellcraft 2 (4), Tumble 4, Use Psionic Device 4
Expeditious Dodge
Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding


2nd
Psychic Rogue 2
+1
+0
+3
+0
Autohypnosis 5, Concentration 5, Handle Animal 2.5(1), Hide 5, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (local) 1, Move Silently 5, Ride 2.5 (1), Tumble 5, Use Psionic Device 5

Evasion


3rd
Psychic Rogue 3
+2
+1
+3
+1
Autohypnosis 6, Concentration 6, Handle Animal 3 (1), Hide 6, Intimidate 6, Jump 1, Move Silently 6, Ride 3(1), Tumble 6, Use Psionic Device 6
Mobility



4th
Psychic Rogue 4
+3
+1
+4
+1
Autohypnosis 7, Concentration 7, Handle Animal 3.5 (1), Hide 7, Intimidate 7, Jump 2, Move Silently 7, Ride 3.5 (1), Tumble 7, Use Psionic Device 7

Sneak Attack +2d6


5th
Psychic Rogue 5
+3
+1
+4
+1
Autohypnosis 8, Concentration 8, Handle Animal 4(1), Hide 8, Intimidate 8, Jump 3, Move Silently 8, Ride 4 (1), Tumble 8, Use Psionic Device 8

Danger Sense


6th
Psychic Rogue 6
+4
+2
+5
+2
Autohypnosis 9, Concentration 9, Hide 9, Intimidate 9, Jump 4, Knowledge (Psionics) 1 Move Silently 9, Ride 4.5 (1), Tumble 9, Use Psionic Device 9
Spring Attack



7th
Elocater 1
+4
+2
+7
+4
Autohypnosis 10, Balance 2, Concentration 10, Hide 10, Jump 5, Move Silently 10, Ride 5 (1), Tumble 10, Use Psionic Device 10
(B)Sidestep Charge
Scorn Earth, Sidestep Charge


8th
Elocater 2
+5
+2
+8
+5
Autohypnosis 11, Balance 5, Concentration 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Ride 5.5 (1), Tumble 11, Use Psionic Device 11

Opportunistic Strike +2


9th
Elocater 3
+6/+1
+3
+8
+5
Autohypnosis 12, Concentration 12, Hide 12, Knowledge (local) 1, Listen 1, Move Silently 12, Ride 6 (1), Spot 1, Tumble 12, Use Psionic Device 12
Stealthy
Dimension Step


10th
Elocater 4
+7/+2
+3
+9
+6
Autohypnosis 13, Concentration 13, Hide 13, Listen 3, Move Silently 13, Ride 6.5 (1), Spot 3, Use Psionic Device 13

Flanker


11th
Elocater 5
+7/+2
+3
+9
+6
Autohypnosis 14, Concentration 14, Hide 14, Listen 5, Move Silently 14, Ride 7(1), Spot 5, Use Psionic Device 14

Opportunistic Strike +4


12th
Elocater 6
+8/+3
+4
+10
+7
Autohypnosis 15, Concentration 15, Hide 15, Listen 7, Move Silently 15, Ride 7.5 (1), Spot 7, Use Psionic Device 15
Mounted Combat
Transporter


13th
Elocater 7
+9/+4
+4
+10
+7
Autohypnosis 16, Concentration 16, Hide 16, Listen 9, Move Silently 16, Ride 8(1), Spot 9, Use Psionic Device 16

Capricious Step


14th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1
+9/+4
+4
+12
+7
Hide 17, Intimidate 15, Move Silently 17

Shadow Ride


15th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+10/+5
+4
+13
+7
Hide 18, Intimidate 18, Move Silently 18, Ride 11
Wild Cohort
Sudden Strike +1d6


16th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 3
+11/+6/+1
+5
+13
+8
Hide 19, Intimidate 19, Move Silently 19, Ride 17
(B)Ride-By Attack
Bonus Feat, Shadow Walk


17th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 4
+12/+7/+2
+5
+14
+8
Handle Animal 7, Hide 20, Intimidate 20, Move Silently 20, Ride 20

Sudden Strike +2d6


18th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
+12/+7/+2
+5
+14
+8
Handle Animal 10, Hide 21, Intimidate 21, Move Silently 21, Ride 21
Mage Slayer
Shadow Pounce


19th
Elocater 8
+13/+8/+3
+5
+15
+9
Autohypnosis 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Spot 10, Use Psionic Device 18

Opportunistic Strike +6


20th
LA









Psionics
Powers Known
1st: Control Light, Entangling Ectoplasm, Sense Link
2nd: Aversion, Chameleon, Concealing Amorpha, Control Sound
3rd: Dimension Slide, Hustle, (Bonus from Elocater: Psionic Teleport, Psionic Plane Shift)
Backstory
Dambrath has many nobles that long for excitement, and Jasmine’s father was no exception. He fought bravely in the army, and eventually rose to the mild honor of becoming a Crinti Shadow Marauder. He leveraged this into a number of daring raids and increasingly organized campaigns, and was able to finagle his martial success into greater ranks and esteem among the court. He was able to enhance his modest land holdings to those befitting one of the higher nobles, and a well-planned marriage netted him a higher title as well. He was content for a time to play the courts and manage his holdings, but eventually the desire for excitement got the better of him, and he packed his things for a safari in exotic lands. When he did not return after a few months his wife feared the worst, and after a few years she was forced to accept that he must have been claimed by the wilds.

He certainly was claimed by the wilds, but not the way that she may have thought. In his safari, after some time hunting large game, he became quite ill with tropical fever. He was fortunately found by the nomadic giants of the region, and they nursed him back to health. He was fascinated by their culture and way of life, with no dull routine or stodgy bureaucracy to dictate what they had to do each day. He soon became enamored of their lifestyle, and eventually with one of their maidens. They were wed in the traditional ceremony of their people, and were very happy together. Their marriage bore them a healthy daughter, not as strong or sturdy as her mother, but as clever and quick-witted as her father. She trained to her strengths, and learned the powers of the mind and the skill of the unseen mover.

When she had trained much in the ways of the quick moving and intelligent warrior, she began to long for bigger and grander things. Her father told her of the glory he had achieved and the honors he had been rewarded with fighting for Dambrath, and he told her that as his daughter some of this honor was deservedly hers. When she finished making arrangements, she rode out for Dambrath.

The court received her coldly, and made her kneel deeply so that her bulk would be lower than the nobles seated on their thrones. She presented her story and a written affidavit by her father, marked with his signet ring. She could see that they barely believed her, and they clearly balked when she spoke of her birthright. They paused for a moment to confer before informing her that while her story had some merit, the region of Dambrath did not recognize tribal nomad marriages, and thus her claim was far weaker than her older half-brother. Jasmine was displeased to find that her father had been married before, and that he had left his first wife to raise the child. She was upset that he had not told her of this. She was livid when the stuffed shirts who had never done an honest day’s work in their life sneered down their noses at her and told her she wasn’t good enough to claim what was rightfully hers by blood. She could feel their disdain and discomfort at her size, and couldn’t help but feel they would have been more receptive had she been small and dusky. Her emotions showed on her face, and she let them. She met their gaze one by one as she asked them to reconsider, to remember the deeds her father had done for their country. Her words did not sway their minds, but her fearsome presence clearly swayed their chicken hearts. They conferred with each other for a few quivering moments before informing her that they could bestow on her the honor of becoming one of the Crinti Shadow Marauders. She was less than pleased, but she knew to accept the pittance they were giving, in the hopes she could parlay it into more.

She spent some time with the Shadow Marauders, enough to learn that in her father’s time of war they were brave scouts and raiding cavalry but in the tentative peace of her time they were little more than brigands on horseback. They looked down at her for relying too much on the strength of her own mind, and laughed behind her back at the figure she cut when riding, her bulk teetering on her horse like an overstuffed basket being carried back from market. She learned impressive skills in the ways of combat from them, but their reliance on meek and skittish horses continued to confuse her. When they finally met blades with real combatants from the enemy side she was surprised at how much she enjoyed it, and how easy it was to strike down her smaller foes. She used her skill at vanishing from sight to dart between targets. By the end the remaining foes fled with cries of monsters and ghosts besetting them from all sides. She appeared before her commanders tired and bloody, only to have them dress her down for breaking ranks and leaving her mount, while her companions dishonorably gave chase to the last fleeing combatants. She could tell they feared her power and her talents from the way their voices shook. She did her best to serve quietly for the rest of her duty, but the constant whispers behind her back and looks of fear gnawed at her. When her first tour was finished she simply walked in the opposite direction as the others, into the deeper grassland.

She set about finding herself food when she came across a majestic and massive tiger thrashing about to remove itself from a hunter’s trap. She was saddened to see this animal, like her made out to be a monster for living its life as its ancestors had for generations. They both had little to gain from the rules and the society of Dambrath. It hoped to demonize what would not fit, and to smash down all who could be swayed. Jasmine had had enough. She freed the tiger and tended to its wounds, and trained it to fight alongside her and carry her into battle. She would serve Dambrath, but on her own terms. The enemies of the state would always come back to fight its fearsome horseback champions. Men did not fear men. They feared monsters. She would be that monster.

In the border regions of Dambrath there are tales of a monstrous tiger that stalks the grasses at night. It is stronger and faster than any normal cat, can cross any barrier, and can close the distance between it and its prey in the blink of an eye. Some tales tell of a phantom that stalks in the day, that is barely seen and rarely heard, with the strength and size to rival any human. Some say that they are one and the same, that they are found together, or that both are legend and rumor. Regardless of what most say, all are wary when entering Dambrath by anything other than guarded road.
Level 5(ECL 6)
Half-Giant provides several benefits of large size, like using larger weapons, but lets you retain your medium size. It also serves as a platform for Primordial Giant, which gives some neat mental stat boosts and at will invisibility, which is just killer at low levels. I am going to be assuming that you are invisible in combat unless you have a reason not to, so every fight should begin with you invisible. Psychic Rogue provides a very tasty starting point for our build here, providing useful sneak skills, some sneak attack, and psionics based off of Int, a great skill to have.

Control Light is largely for skulking about, Sense Link can be used for some reconnaissance using the surrounding wildlife, and will become more useful once you get a mount. Entangling ectoplasm is always good for hampering foes, and stays relevant because it has no save.
Level 10(ECL 11)
At this point we’re going to chill out in Elocater before we head into the main event SI. It gives 3 more levels of psionics, adding manifester level and powers to the list. It also adds martial weapons to the list, so you can default to using a duom, which has reach, but can also strike adjacent opponents. Great for when mounted, since you count as being in both spaces. Scorn earth allows you to ignore terrain and walk over water, and you can use it to bypass obstacles out of combat, since there’s no maximum height on it. Jasmine’s a big strong girl, so she can carry her tiger when she does so. This can create an aura of mystery as to how the tiger can bypass moats and walls, or can also be used for a simple spooky levitating tiger. Opportunistic strike will apply pretty easily once the tiger comes into play and will then come in every round. Until then you can train some wolves or similar animals to fight with you and snap at an enemy’s heels a bit. Dimension step has a large range, so is useful for those really far jumps to make when times is of the essence. It can’t take anything with it so is a bit awkward, but for now make full use of it. Flanker essentially ensures that you’ll be able to use those sneak attack dice in a combat by counting as being in other squares.

Aversion and Control Sound are for more menacing environment creation, use them to spook people’s horses and dogs and keep normal wildlife away from an area as if it were haunted, modifying sounds as if they’re spooky and ethereal, and even mask your voice to make it sound more tiger-y (these powers are grrrrrrreat!). Chameleon and Concealing Amorpha are more utility, helping with hide checks and providing miss chance for combat.
Level 15(ECL 16, Sweet spot)
The last levels of Elocater added powers and capricious step, which lets you take two 5 foot steps in a turn. As always, mounts make things complicated and it’s unclear whether the tiger can make the 5 foot steps. If not you can still use them in an involved process as follows. Teleport off from tiger to target that is approximately 10 feet away, then full attack, then 5 foot step in tiger’s direction twice, then make a ride check to fast mount, and it looks like your tiger struck someone down without ever moving. Your UPD check is enough to use most dorjes pretty safely, so stock up on all your favorite powers like Dimension hop for more teleporting goodness. Now it’s SI time, and stuff gets fun. Shadow Ride is a fun way to move about the combat field, and there’s always going to be some shadow somewhere for you to use, and teleporting tiger is quite frightening. Sudden strike and sneak attack play nicely together and whenever you apply sudden strike you can also apply sneak attack.

For powers, we’ve now got the full batch. Hustle gives you free move action to do whatever you want, it’s especially great if you need to handle your mount for something that came up and can’t wait till next turn. Dimension Slide is a reliable means of triggering shadow pounce when in a combat. Psionic Teleport is a great big leap, and the tiger can come along, too to really mess up someone’s day (since it also triggers shadow pounce). Plane Shift can be used to hop to the Ethereal for a bit for extra fake authenticity on your mysterious tiger routine.

I’ve discussed the tiger a bit, but let’s talk fully here. The tiger is coming from wild cohort, and provides slightly different from animal companion benefits. You can handle it as a move action and receive a bonus for doing so, and it receives several tricks for free. It also does get bonus HD, natural armor, Str and Dex out of the process, though your progression is behind that of a druid obviously. Training it to serve as a mount and to stalk prey is easy enough, and it has tolerable sneaking modifiers. You can pick up the mount and carry it around when levitating for a mystically levitating tiger, though it’s heavy enough to slow you down.
When in a fight, you’ll want the tiger to start grappling your target, which it will do quite well. Once it is grappling the enemy, your enemy loses their Dex to AC. This means they are vulnerable to the SI given sudden strike (and also sneak attack) so you can jab them in their kidneys while the tiger chews on them.
Level 20(ECL 20)
Now the parts are all fully assembled and we can work with that sweet capstone. Shadow walk can travel you at very high rates, so you can use it to outpace quarry or just confound those with a bead on you. Shadow pounce is a very strong power that probably needs some more explanation. As written you can easily use it when on your mount or not, and you’ll be doing both depending on which powers you are using. The question that arises is whether you still have actions left. For example, if you teleport via augmented dimension slide and then full attack, have you still got a standard left to work with? If the answer is yes, then can you use an un-augmented dimension slide next to get a second full attack? If so, that’s a pretty large amount of pain you are dishing out on a reliable basis. I’m assuming your mount still has their actions left, but as always riding mounts is hard. You can ask where the tiger’s actions come in and whether they can act after you’ve finished moving it around.

Mage slayer is a very fun feat that may merit some discussion. I am using it here under the assumption that the penalty to caster level does not affect your manifester level for powers. If it does, swap it out for Staggering Strike. If it doesn’t, it’s a neat spell to mess with casters, and also gives enemies a strong sense of dread as they can tell they can’t cast, but have no real idea as to why, except for maybe something to do with a tiger that’s somewhat close.

The last Elocater level is largely dressing, but I liked it a bit more than going back for psychic rogue. This build assumes that you work with the LA as is, but of course if your DM is willing to let you buy off, do so and take another level of Elocater for Dimension Spring Attack. You’ll have to talk to your DM about whether Shadow Pounce kicks in for this maneuver because it’s so specific, but it if it does it’s a way to lay a world of hurt on someone far away without having to actually approach them.
Sources
Psychic Rogue: web enhancement[/ul]
Expeditious Dodge: Races of the Wild
Wild Cohort: [url=http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a]web enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b)
Mage Slayer: Complete Arcane
Primordial Giant: Secrets of Xendrik
Half-Giant, Elocater, Stealthy, Mounted Combat, Mobility, Spring Attack: srd

[Heliomance]

Entry number 8



http://image.invaluable.com/housePhotos/levine/24/570224/H4128-L77120580.jpg

Manāt, the Night Traveler
Human, Ranger 4/Artificer 8/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Wild Plains Outrider 3



It has been related to me, O Happy King, said Ath-Thurayya, that there was, in Dambrath, a certain King. And this King had a Daughter, who was fierce as a Tigress, though she loved the poor and indigent, and regarded her Father's subjects with benevolence. And she was called by her people Manāt, which is to say the Night Traveler, and of her the poets said: She used her lances as pens; and the hearts of her enemies, as paper; their blood being her ink.

-The Endless Tales of Ath-Thurayya, translated into Undercommon by Lady Akordia Naerth



The Dusky Road

Khosrau blinked the sweat out of his eyes and heaved. He could hear the grinding of the broken axle, hear the heavy breathing of his sons and his wife as they heaved with him, hear Maruf's wheezing. They pushed forward in stuttering, broken steps, the wagon dragging along the sandy soil and catching in the tall grace. Soon the sun would set. One more push and they might find a stream or oasis. One more push, and they might rest. Just one more-

"Your wagon is in ill repair, traveler," came a voice to Khosrau's left.

He wheeled around, his corner of the wagon dropping from his shoulder. He heard it settle heavily into the sand, hear the creaking and cracking of the old wood. "Who -" he began, but could not finish.

There, not twenty yards from where he stood, a figure crouched in the tall grass. She was not old, perhaps only five and thirty, but her dark skin was thick and leathery. She was resting against a tall dark-furred camel, who watched him with knowing eyes. At her side a long lance towered above them, pointing to the sky, wicked and sharp. The woman smiled.

"Where did you come from?" Khosrau stammered. "There was - we are on the open plains! I saw no one for miles."

"Perhaps I did not wish to be seen," she said. "The long shadows of dusk play tricks on the eyes."

"But Maruf," he said. He swept his hand toward his panting dog. "Maruf should have smelled you, or your camel."

The woman's smile broadened, flashes of white teeth glinting from her dark face. "Maruf, is it? Poor creature looks so thirsty, it is a wonder he is walking at all," she said. She pulled a waterskin from the side of her camel and poured a thin stream into a leather bowl on the ground. Maruf ran for it eagerly. "Besides," she said, patting the camel's dusty flank, "Dunyazade here is not so smelly as all that. Why not wet your dog's tongue more frequently, traveler? He will serve you better if he is not water-mad."

"We lost our water cask when the wagon broke. We just have what is left in our skins. We have been saving -"

The woman snorted. "Just one water cask? There are only a handful of streams through these plains, and they can be separated by days of hard travel." She pulled another skin from her camel, a larger one this time, and tossed it on their wagon with a thud. "Here. I know where to find water, and Dunyazade can go long still without drinking. I have less need of it. You are not used to these plains, no?"

"We live on the Bay of Dancing Dolphins," he said. "Lived. My wife's cousin, Al-Musanstir, he owns a shop in the foothills of the Gnollwater mountains. He told us if we crossed the plains, there would be work for me and for my sons."

The woman frowned. "You have traveled too far east for the Gnollwater," she said. She pointed to the rising humps of land ahead of them. "Those ahead are the Hills of the Dead King. The Gnollwater is the mountain range there." She pointed northwest, to the taller, sharper peaks. "You are not so very far off course. Perhaps a day and a half out of the way. Go due west for perhaps four more hours, and you will find a stream - well, a trickle, really. Follow it against its flow, and you will find pools where it is deep enough to drink from. Keep following it, and it will put you in the right. Let me see that wagon."

The woman dropped down and pulled herself underneath the wagon, clucked her tongue at the broken axle and the splintered wood. She muttered to herself, poked at the wood. She was obscured from view, but Khosrau could feel the wagon shuddering underneath his hands. Then, with a great sigh, she pushed herself out from under the wagon. "Good as new," she said. "But be more careful. The Dambrath plains look smooth, but they are filled with rocks and holes."

Khosrau bent down and blinked in surprise. The axle was polished and unbroken. The wheels rested lightly on the ground. It looked in better repair than when he had purchased it the week before. "Oh, thank you!" he cried, dropping to his knees. "Thank you, mistress. You are clearly sent to us as a blessing. I do not know how we can repay you."

"I am not your mistress," she said curtly. "I have been no one's mistress for a long time now. Call me Manāt, if you must call me anything."

Khosrau froze. He had heard of Manāt, the night traveler. She moved among the plains of Dambrath like a shadow, her long lance dipped in the blood of bandits and brigands and unwary travelers. She was terrible, perhaps even demonic, flitting from place to place on the wind, being neither seen nor heard. Yes, even he had heard of Manāt. He stared at her with wide, terrified eyes, terrified to move even a muscle.

She smiled again, a crooked, knowing grin. Then she leaped upon Dunyazade in a sudden movement and gripped her lance. Khosrau flinched, dropping his eyes, waiting for the terrible moment when that wicked instrument would pierce his flesh.

When he opened his eyes she was gone, and not even footprints remained.


Manāt, the Night Traveler

Manāt, the Night Traveler
Human, Ranger 4/Artificer 8/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Wild Plains Outrider 3

STATS: Str 14/Dex 14/Con 12/Int 14/Wis 12/Cha 14 (Boost STR at every level)



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


1st
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
Hide 4 ranks, move silently 4 ranks, ride 4 ranks, handle animal 4 ranks, use magic device 2 ranks, search 4 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 4 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, craft (pottery) 1 rank, craft (sculpting) 1 rank, craft (armorsmithing) 1 rank, craft (trapmaking) 1 rank, craft (alchemy) 1 rank, spellcraft 1 rank, disable device 1 rank, forgery 1 rank, appraise 1 rank
Able Learner, Power Attack, TrackB
Arcane hunter, spiritual connection


2nd
Artificer 1
+1
+2
+2
+2
Hide 5 ranks, move silently 5 ranks, ride 5 ranks, handle animal 5 ranks, use magic device 3 ranks, search 5 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 5 ranks
Scribe ScrollB
Artificer knowledge, artisan bonus, disable trap, item creation, craft reserve


3rd
Artificer 2
+2
+2
+2
+3
Hide 6 ranks, move silently 6 ranks, ride 6 ranks, handle animal 6 ranks, use magic device 4 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 6 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 3 ranks
Mounted Combat, Brew PotionB



4th
Ranger 2
+3
+3
+3
+3
Hide 7 ranks, move silently 7 ranks, ride 7 ranks, handle animal 7 ranks, use magic device 7 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 7 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks
Two-Weapon FightingB
Combat style


5th
Ranger 3
+4
+3
+3
+4
Hide 8 ranks, move silently 8 ranks, ride 8 ranks, handle animal 8 ranks, use magic device 8 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 8 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, search 7 ranks
EnduranceB



6th
Ranger 4
+5
+4
+4
+4
Hide 9 ranks, move silently 9 ranks, ride 9 ranks, handle animal 9 ranks, use magic device 10 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 9 ranks, search 9 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks
Stealthy
Animal companion


7th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1
+5
+4
+6
+4
Hide 10 ranks, move silently 10 ranks, ride 10 ranks, handle animal 10 ranks, use magic device 10 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 10 ranks, search 10 ranks

Shadow ride


8th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+6/+1
+4
+7
+4
Hide 11 ranks, move silently 11 ranks, ride 11 ranks, handle animal 11 ranks, use magic device 11 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 11 ranks, search 11 ranks

Sudden strike +1d6


9th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 3
+7/+2
+5
+7
+5
Hide 12 ranks, move silently 12 ranks, ride 12 ranks, handle animal 12 ranks, use magic device 12 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 12 ranks, search 12 ranks
Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge
Bonus feat, shadow walk


10th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 4
+8/+3
+5
+8
+5
Hide 13 ranks, move silently 13 ranks, ride 13 ranks, handle animal 13 ranks, use magic device 13 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 13 ranks, search 13 ranks

Sudden strike +2d6


11th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
+8/+3
+5
+8
+5
Hide 14 ranks, move silently 14 ranks, ride 14 ranks, handle animal 14 ranks, use magic device 14 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 14 ranks, search 14 ranks

Shadow pounce


12th
Wild Plains Outrider 1
+9/+4
+7
+8
+5
Hide 15 ranks, move silently 15 ranks, ride 15 ranks, handle animal 15 ranks, use magic device 15 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 15 ranks, search 15 ranks
Darkstalker
Animal companion, ride bonus, wild plains stalker


13th
Artificer 3
+10/+5
+8
+9
+5
Hide 16 ranks, move silently 16 ranks, ride 16 ranks, handle animal 16 ranks, use magic device 16 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 16 ranks, search 16 ranks
Craft Wondrous ItemB



14th
Artificer 4
+11/+6/+1
+8
+9
+6
Hide 17 ranks, move silently 17 ranks, ride 17 ranks, handle animal 17 ranks, use magic device 17 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 17 ranks, search 17 ranks
Extraordinary Artisan
Craft homunculus, bonus feat


15th
Artificer 5
+11/+6/+1
+8
+9
+6
Hide 18 ranks, move silently 18 ranks, ride 18 ranks, handle animal 18 ranks, use magic device 18 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 18 ranks, search 18 ranks
Craven, Craft Magic Arms and ArmorB
Retain essence


16th
Artificer 6
+12/+7/+2
+9
+10
+7
Hide 19 ranks, move silently 19 ranks, ride 19 ranks, handle animal 19 ranks, use magic device 19 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 19 ranks, search 19 ranks
Craft WandB



17th
Artificer 7
+13/+8/+3
+9
+10
+7
Hide 20 ranks, move silently 20 ranks, ride 20 ranks, handle animal 20 ranks, use magic device 20 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 20 ranks, search 20 ranks

Metamagic spell trigger


18th
Artificer 8
+14/+9/+4
+9
+10
+8
Hide 21 ranks, move silently 21 ranks, ride 21 ranks, handle animal 21 ranks, use magic device 21 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 21 ranks, search 21 ranks
Rapid Infusion, Legendary Artisan
Bonus feat


19th
Wild Plains Outrider 2
+15/+10/+5
+10
+10
+8
Hide 22 ranks, move silently 22 ranks, ride 22 ranks, handle animal 22 ranks, use magic device 22 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 22 ranks, search 22 ranks

Wild plains swiftness


20th
Wild Plains Outrider 3
+16/+11/+6/+1
+10
+11
+9
Hide 23 ranks, move silently 23 ranks, ride 23 ranks, handle animal 23 ranks, use magic device 23 ranks, craft (weaponsmithing) 23 ranks, search 23 ranks

Wild plains offensive






Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th


1st
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
2
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
3
-
-
-
-
-


4th
3
-
-
-
-
-


5th
3
-
-
-
-
-


6th
3
-
-
-
-
-


7th
3
-
-
-
-
-


8th
3
-
-
-
-
-


9th
3
-
-
-
-
-


10th
3
-
-
-
-
-


11th
3
-
-
-
-
-


12th
3
-
-
-
-
-


13th
3
1
-
-
-
-


14th
3
2
-
-
-
-


15th
3
3
1
-
-
-


16th
3
3
2
-
-
-


17th
3
3
2
-
-
-


18th
3
3
3
1
-
-


19th
3
3
3
1
-
-


20th
3
3
3
1
-
-






PHB
Eberron Campaign Setting
Magic of Eberron
Shining South
Races of Destiny
Complete Adventurer
Lords of Madness
Complete Champion
Champions of Ruin




LEVELS 1-5: Manāt begins her career with a curious mix of offense and skill-monkey. With nearly full BAB, Power Attack, Mounted Combat and TWF (TWF is almost always inferior to Power Attack, but is a nice option to have if facing lots of weak enemies), Manāt is no slouch in combat - and these offenses are further augmented by her artificer abilities, which include the ability to augment her own weapon three times a day. Personal weapon augmentation is your bread and butter, and stays good for all twenty levels, as it allows you to add an appropriate +1 weapon ability to any of your weapons, even a nonmagical one. This means giving your weapon just the right Bane it needs to hit an enemy, adding on the proper Energy attack to take down the troll you're stalking, and more. You can also go with the more straightforward magic weapon or magic vestment infusions as well.

On the utility side of things, you are a great skill-monkey, with a great emphasis on stealth and search. You have both Track and trapfinding, and you can create scrolls and infusions to augment your abilities. As you grow in levels and your UMD roll improves, you also have access to one of the best spells or infusions in the game: spell storing item. This effectively lets you get any spell on demand, from any spell list, with just a couple of minutes of preparation. You are capped by half your Artificer level, which at this point means only first level spells, but believe me when I say that is no restriction! First level spells means nabbing things like arcane sight, haste, dispel magic and knock off the Trapsmith list, invisibility from Telflammar Shadowlord and lesser restoration from Death Delver. Similarly, you can create low level scrolls for you and your party.

LEVELS 6-10: At level 6 you get your faithful companion, Dunyazade the camel. While you can always buy a mount, having a mount that shares spells with you is pretty important - if nothing else, it's almost always going to be worth carrying a scroll of reduce person to help your mount fit through doors and tight corners. Being a special mount will have some other benefits down the road, as well.

Beyond Dunyazade you also pick up a whole host of new abilities. Ride-By Attack and Spirited Charge come online here, making charging with a lance far and away your most powerful option. You also pick up Sudden Strike as an alternative source of damage, useful for surprised enemies or a quick invisibility (scribe or store as a first level spell via Telflammar Shadowlord for best results). You also get some teleportation here, both short and long range, which is vital to any adventurer's career.

LEVELS 11-15: You've got two very important levels right at the beginning here. First, you pick up Shadow Pounce, the ability to make a full attack at the end of a teleportation effect. You've got ten short range teleports a day just from your shadow ride ability, and items and spells can increase this. With above-average BAB and a number of ways to boost your combat potential, this is incredibly deadly. Next, completing the secret ingredient lets you start looking at other prestige classes. Wild Plains Outrider is a short but sweet class, only three levels, and its first level ability is a doozy. Ordinarily stealth is irrelevant on a mounted build, since you are only as stealthy as the thing you are riding. However, wild plains stalker lets your mount use your own stealth checks, rather than its mediocre Hide/Move Silently. You also pick up Darkstalker here to keep from being tracked by increasingly common abilities such as blindsight and scent. As your mount advances in HD, make sure it takes the Darkstalker feat as well, making the two of you a surprisingly stealthy duo (especially when augmented by spells).

After that, advancing in Artificer does more for you than almost anything else you could do. Better infusions and more crafting is going to provide stellar utility. You also have the UMD to reliably start using higher level spells with spell storing item, and advancing in Artificer levels increases the level of spell you can store. Picking up Retain Essence and the ability to craft homonculi such as dedicated wrights means that crafting becomes exponentially easier. You also pick up Craven in these levels, which is static damage and therefore gets multiplied by abilities such as Spirited Charge (unlike standard Sudden Strike damage).

Offensively, your best option is going to be the phantom charge spell. Most teleportation spells do not allow you to charge, making mounted combat and shadow pouncing a tough combination, but this swift action doozy from the paladin spell list explicitly lets you teleport during your charge without breaking the charge. This means you can charge, phantom charge forward, get a full shadow pounce, and then complete your charge.

LEVELS 16-20: Everything just keeps getting better for you. Fourth level infusions means minor creation, weapon augmentation or item alteration for utterly ridiculous bonuses for you or your allies. Crafting wands is by far your most cost-efficient method of crafting, and gives you enormous flexibility in and out of combat. You've also picked up Rapid Infusion to make your infusions not merely something you do out of combat. You hit the much-coveted +16 BAB. Finally, your capstone ability from Wild Plains Outrider allows you to move and make a full mounted attack even in the circumstances where you can't teleport.

Manāt is designed to be effective at all levels and easy to add to anyone's game. Her abilities should translate well to most campaigns.

IN COMBAT: Manāt maintains a decent BAB throughout her career, ending at +16. With Power Attack and the relevant mounted combat feats, she is able to almost always contribute damage-wise. This becomes especially true, when she begins using multipliers such as Spirited Charge lance attacks alongside damage boosts like Craven. She can also use infusions and crafted items to boost her damage potential and that of her allies throughout the game. By the end of the game, she can almost always guarantee at least one if not multiple full attacks each round, as she can make a full attack either after a teleportation effect or after a single mounted move.

Despite being a mounted character, Manāt's magical capabilities mean she is not restricted to the wild plains. She can contribute in battle even when her camel cannot come with her, and with spells such as reduce person shared with her camel, or she can use the heroics spell to grant Tunnel-Fighting to her mount.

As an example of what Manāt can do, assuming that she is invisible and charging with a valorous lance (which she can craft herself or use an augmentation to grant the valorous property), she can during the charge as a swift action use the phantom charge spell (either via Spell Storing item or as a scroll or wand). Phantom charge explicitly allows you to teleport during a charge without breaking the charge, so as phantom charge concludes, Shadow Pounce will trigger, allowing her to make a full attack (sadly not a charge attack, but that's OK), at the conclusion of which her charge will complete, and she will finish with a fully Power Attack-boosted hit that deals quintuple damage, also multiplying her Craven damage. It is worth noting that blindsight will not stop Craven from triggering, as both Manāt and her mount have Darkstalker, and her mount uses Manāt's ranks in Hide/Move Silently.

UTILITY: Manāt is a useful skill-focused character from level one, keeping stealth, crafting and search skills maxed throughout her career. Her stealth skills are backed up by spells and by Darkstalker, and unlike most mounted characters, her mount shares her own stealth skills. She has a number of useful searching abilities, including both Track and trapfinding, and can use her spells and infusions to further assist here. She also has unparalleled utility in the form of the spell storing item infusion, which allows her to essentially pick up any low-level spell on command for a handful of XP. Need to get through a door, tell if someone is lying, dispel a magical trap, turn gaseous to infiltrate a hide-out? Manāt can do that on command, with no more than a minute or two of preparation, every single day. By the time she is level 20, she will even be able to do this in a single round, thanks to Rapid Infusion.

In addition, Manāt can serve as the party crafter. She has the ability to use retain essence to essentially convert magical items to those that are more useful for the party, and can build a dedicated wright so that she can spend her time adventuring. She also has the two most useful artisan feats, Extraordinary and Legendary Artisan, to reduce costs for the party.


How many wretched persons are destitute of ease! and how many are in luxury, reposing in the shade!
I find myself afflicted by trouble beyond measure; and strange is my condition, and heavy is my load!
Others are in prosperity, and from wretchedness are free, and never for a single day have borne a load like mine;
Incessantly and amply blest, throughout the course of life, with happiness and grandeur, as well as drink and meat.
Like these idle men I too live in the shade; and in these spaces between I travel, lance in hand.
But otherwise, between us is a difference as great as the difference that we find between wine and vinegar.

-The Endless Tales of Ath-Thurayya, translated into Undercommon by Lady Akordia Naerth, 648 DR

[Heliomance]

Entry number 9




http://i.imgur.com/7HosWxq.jpg?1
"Some speak of the savagery of beasts. I will ever prefer that to the thoughtless contempt of men."


Lady Liandra
NE Human Paragon 3/Tracker Druid 3/Martial Wizard 1/Arcane Hierophant 6/Spelldancer 1/Contemplative 1/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5

A Young Liandra

Liandra is born to a minor Crinti noble house, the third daughter of a priestess of Loviatar. Just like all nobility, she has tutors to train her in the arts of courtly intrigue and diplomacy. The rituals of Loviatar's church, the dance-steps of the monthly rites. How to ride a horse and carry a longsword. Everything, in short, that a member of the True Blood is expected to know.

The riding and fencing lessons stick. The etiquette… doesn't. No matter how many times her instructors whip her, Liandra cannot contain her tripping tongue. Rather than learn what forks to use and what forms of address belong to which people, Liandra learns how to dodge her instructors' whips: when they insist she stand and take her punishment, she learns to grit her teeth and endure. Whenever she can, she slips away from her strict instructors, searching for a peaceful place amid Cathyr's alleys to rest and recover.

Even in these quiet moments, the whispers of her instructors haunt her: she is a lesser thing, they say. Almost a commoner. No true Crinti would be so gauche, so unrefined. She knows she is one-eighth True Blood: she has read her own genealogy. Still, her rounded ears and pale skin set her apart. She knows she will never be seen as anything more than a human.

On her fourteenth birthday, Liandra participates in her first church ritual. It is midsummer, time for the Rite of Pain and Purity. Most nobles' daughters stand on the sidelines, lashing the commoners as they dance upon broken glass. Liandra's mother expects her to dance.

The other daughters of the nobility laugh and jeer as Liandra takes her place amid the shards, bare-footed as tradition demands. She does not falter. She dances well. She bleeds. Between whip-cracks, she memorizes her tormentors' faces.

When the Rite finally ends, Liandra stumbles away, torn and bleeding. Her family guards watch her go, making no attempt to follow her. A daughter such as her does not deserve her family's protection.

Half-delirous, walking on instinct, Liandra finds her quiet space amid the city's alleyways. Lying on a disused bench, she drifts in and out of consciousness.

Here, on the edge of death, with only her heartbeat for company, she hears it: the deep, grinding pulse of Cathyr's alleys. Hundreds like her have passed here. Hundreds like her have died here. The city lives. The city goes on.

Instinctively, she reaches out, tries to ask for a piece of that power - but the city fights her. It is the order of things that she should die.

Liandra has no breath in her lungs to protest. She has no power to claim. All she has is her will and her hatred. She does not ask again.

She takes. The city lets her. It knows a fellow predator.

Liandra returns to her house that night with her dress bloody and in shreds - but not a single cut remains on her skin.

Liandra, the Arcanist

Liandra's mother did not expect to see her again, but she knows potential when she sees it. Liandra would be useless as an heiress or a priestess - but her sharp mind presents an option. New tutors are ordered. Liandra will be an arcanist.

Liandra clutches at the scraps of knowledge her tutors feed her, simultaneously working as best she can on her newfound understanding of Cathyr. She has to understand, in order to predict, in order to control. Control is power, and she is done with being powerless.

The more she studies, the more she becomes set apart from her fellow nobility. Magery is fine and good, but this strange power that makes spiders follow her and lets her walk through crowds like a ghost - this is not a thing that is Crinti. Some whisper that she has become a priestess of Lolth. Some whisper that she made a bargain with an Unseelie.

Liandra hears the rumors, but knows in her heart that they cannot be true. This is no subtle power she wields: this is something primal, something savage.

After long enough study, she comes to a simple realization: her mentors' magic and the power of the city are one and the same. Her tutors' teachings are merely an aspect of a broader whole: the Crinti are blind to the pulse of the stones beneath their feet, how the walls around them guide their everyday lives. What are their ways of instruction, if not reflections of the city? How can the city's magic not be part of the city's heart?

Clutching her secret close to her chest, Liandra studies in silence, and waits for her opportunity.

Liandra's Vengeance

The key comes in the form of a travelling band of minstrels. They hide their secrets well - but Liandra has the eyes and ears of every rat and pigeon in the city. One of their number is dedicated to Sharess, the sworn enemy of Loviatar. If anyone would know a secret that could be turned against her priestesses, it would be them.

She does not need to introduce herself: her reputation as the strange spider girl precedes her. When she explains her intentions to the spelldancer, the cleric of Sharess is only too eager to help weaken the power of Loviatar.

Liandra has always been a quick study. In clandestine lessons here and there, she gathers up the lore of Spelldancing. When she listens to the city now, she hears music, set to the tempo of a steady heartbeat.

When she thinks she knows enough, she murders the Spelldancer and her troupe. It would be foolhardy for her to leave the source of her power lying around where anyone could find it.

When the next midsummer ritual comes, Liandra takes to the glass-strewn stage again. It's her twenty-third birthday.

The priestesses ready their whips, and Liandra begins to dance. She dances in worship. Not the worship of Loviatar, the sadist, the cruelty of humans given form. No, she dances in worship of the city: the true city, in all its foulness and all its glories, all its elegant houses and squalid alleys. She dances to a savage, primal rhythm. Of the bloody, tribal conflicts of ages long ago, one monkey striking own another with a rock.

War is not a human invention. War is predators staking out territory. One wolf against another. One pack against another. One city against another.

She dances with the city, and it calls her Pack.

The priestesses of Loviatar do not survive the night.

The Aftermath

In the wake of the chaos, Liandra finds a new position as a Crinti Shadow Marauder. Her vengeance is complete, and her noble claim assured: but it would be dangerous to her health for her to remain overlong in Cathyr.

Besides, the deal she made with the city cuts both ways. If it will fight her enemies, then she will fight its enemies. After all, it's always best to be seen to keep your word.


Str 8
Dex 13
Con 10
Int 18
Wis 16
Cha 7

All attribute boosts from leveling go to Int, save the one at 20th level, which goes to Cha.




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


1st
Human Paragon 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Perform: Dance 4, Tumble 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Know: Religion 4, Know: Arcana 4, Ride 4, Use Magic Device 4
Dodge, Endurance
Adaptive Skill (Know: Religion)


2nd
Tracker Druid 1
+0
+2
+0
+4
Know: Nature 5 (+5), Ride 5 (+1), Concentration 3 (+3)
Track
Animal Companion, Urban Sense, Voice of the City, AC Bonus, Rival Organization: The Crinti


3rd
Martial Wizard 1
+0
+2
+0
+6
Know: Arcana 6 (+2), Concentration 6 (+3), Spellcraft 2 (+2)
Combat Casting, Mobility
Familiar


4th
Tracker Druid 2
+1
+3
+0
+7
Ride 7 (+2), Know: Nature 7 (+2), Handle Animal 5 (+5)

Crowd-Walker


5th
Tracker Druid 3
+2
+3
+1
+7
Ride 8 (+1), Know: Nature 8 (+1), Concentration 8 (+3), Spellcraft 6 (+4)

Trackless Step, Fast Movement +10ft.


6th
Human Paragon 2 (Wizard)
+3
+3
+1
+8
Know: Arcana 8 (+2), Hide 8 (+4), Move Silently 6 (+2)
Extend Spell



7th
Human Paragon 3 (Wizard)
+4
+4
+2
+8
Move Silently 8 (+2), Perform: Dance 6 (+2), Use Magic Device 8 (+4)
Mounted Combat
Ability Boost (+2 Int)


8th
Arcane Hierophant 1
+4
+4
+2
+10
Concentration 11 (+3), Spellcraft 10 (+4), Ride 11 (+3), Know: Religion 5 (+1)

Familiar Companion, Ignore Arcane Spell Failure


9th
Arcane Hierophant 2
+5
+4
+2
+11
Concentration 12 (+1), Spellcraft 12 (+2), Ride 12 (+1), Spot 6 (+5), Swift Concentration skill trick (+2)
Persistent Spell



10th
Spelldancer 1 (Wizard)
+5
+5
+3
+11
Concentration 13 (+1), Spellcraft 13 (+1), Know: Religion 13 (+8), Tumble 5 (+1)

Spelldance


11th
Contemplative 1
+5
+5
+3
+13
Concentration 14 (+1), Spellcraft 14 (+1), Use Magic Device 12 (+4, cross-class cost 8)

Bonus Domain (War), Divine Health


12th
Arcane Heirophant 3
+6/+1
+6
+4
+13
Concentration 15 (+1), Spellcraft 15 (+1), Ride 14 (+2), Spot 13 (+7)
Stealthy



13th
Arcane Heirophant 4
+7/+2
+6
+4
+14
Concentration 16 (+1), Spellcraft 16 (+1), Ride 15 (+1), Spot 16 (+3), Listen 6 (+6)

Channel Animal 2/day


14th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1
+7/+2
+6
+6
+14
Ride 17 (+2), Concentration 17 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spellcraft 17 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spot 17 (+2), Listen 14 (+4)

Shadow Ride


15th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+8/+3
+6
+7
+14
Ride 18 (+1), Concentration 18 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spellcraft 18 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spot 18 (+1), Listen 15 (+1), Know: Nobility and Royalty 5 (+5)

Natural Bond
+1d6 Sudden Strike


16th
New Class Level
+9/+4
+7
+7
+15
Ride 19 (+1), Concentration 19 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spellcraft 19 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spot 19 (+1), Listen 16 (+1), Use Magic Device 15 (+3, cross-class cost 6)

Trample
Shadow Walk


17th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 4
+10/+5
+7
+8
+15
Ride 20 (+1), Concentration 20 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spellcraft 20 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spot 20 (+1), Listen 17 (+1), Use Magic Device 18 (+3, cross-class cost 6)

+2d6 Sudden Strike


18th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
+10/+5
+7
+8
+15
Ride 21 (+1), Concentration 21 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spellcraft 21 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Spot 21 (+1), Listen 18 (+1), Use Magic Device 21 (+3, cross-class cost 6)
Practiced Spellcaster
Shadow Pounce


19th
Arcane Heirophant 5
+10/+5
+7
+8
+15
Ride 22 (+1), Concentration 22 (+1), Spellcraft 22 (+1), Spot 22 (+1), Listen 22 (+3), Use Magic Device 22 (+1, cross-class cost 2), Know: Nature 12 (+4)




20th
Arcane Heirophant 6
+11/+6/+1
+8
+9
+16
Ride 23 (+1), Concentration 23 (+1), Spellcraft 23 (+1), Spot 23 (+1), Listen 22 (+1), Use Magic Device 23, (+1, cross-class cost 2), Know: Nature 16 (+4)

Channel Plant 1/day





Druid Spells per Day


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


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


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


3rd
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


8th
5
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
5
4
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
5
4
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-


11th
5
4
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-


12th
6
5
4
3
1
-
-
-
-
-


13th
6
5
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-


14th
6
5
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-


15th
6
5
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-


16th
6
5
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-


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


18th
6
5
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-


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


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



Wizard Spells per Day


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


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


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


3rd
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


7th
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
4
5
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
4
5
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
4
5
5
3
-
-
-
-
-
-


11th
4
5
5
3
2
-
-
-
-
-


12th
4
6
5
4
3
-
-
-
-
-


13th
4
6
5
4
3
-
-
-
-
-


14th
4
6
5
4
3
-
-
-
-
-


15th
4
6
5
4
3
-
-
-
-
-


16th
4
6
5
5
3
-
-
-
-
-


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


18th
4
6
5
5
3
-
-
-
-
-


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


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





Level 1: The Pampered Aristocrat
Liandra's first level of Human Paragon doesn't really prepare her for the realities of adventuring life. While she has a decent d8 hit die, her poor strength and constitution hamper her - especially with her lack of class features. Effectively, she has a +1 LA race: I don't recommend trying to play her at this level.

Level 2: A Disciple of Nature
With her first level of Druid, Liandra immediately becomes much more useful. Putting her 16 Wis to use, she can now cast a grand total of five druid spells per day, three of which are cantrips. Still, a regular 2nd-level Druid would only have two more spells: she's not that far behind in terms of progression.

In order to maximise our effectiveness at these early levels, we take the Wild Shape-less druid variant that trades it for a Favored Enemy, Fast Movement and a Wisdom bonus to AC. This does harm our long-term power level. If you are playing this build in a campaign that starts at level eight or higher, you should probably use the base druid class, and take Natural Spell over Practiced Spellcaster.

We're still not very good at hitting things in our natural form: I recommend playing this early Liandra as a party buffer and/or scout. Spider HandBoVD, Lesser VigorSpC, Omen of PerilSpC, Enrage AnimalSpC and EntangleSRD are probably your best spells. If you want to fight in melee anyway, Aspect of the WolfSpC will make up for your poor ability scores by turning you into a wolf: at a duration of 10 minutes per level, it'll last through most any of your combats. (Given that you actually have Hide and Move Silently ranks, Aspect can also act as a scouting spell similar to Spider Hand.)

Our animal companion is also non-terrible: While it's behind compared to a regular druid's, it's equally good as a ranger's. (Oh wait, Rangers don't get theirs until fourth level.) A Medium monstrous spider via the Vermin Companion web supplement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20040705a) is on-theme with Cathyr's drow population, as well as being the sort of creature you might expect to find in the dark corners of a city. Liandra calls hers Thistle because of all its tarantula-hair.

Thistle has both Darkvision and Tremorsense out to 60'. As a Hunting Spider, she also has a +8 spot check and a movement speed of 40ft. Her poison isn't great (only a DC 12 fort save for 1d4 strength damage), but the fact that she has poison means we can cast VenomfireSerpent Kingdoms on her once we reach 3rd level druid casting.

Keep in mind that vermin are Mindless, and this trait is not lost when you take one as a Druid companion: thus, Thistle has total immunity to mind-effecting spells. Keep in mind, however, that your vermin companion will not fight anything a rogue can't sneak attack, and will actively flee from undead and oozes.

Level 3: A Student of the Arcane
We now can cast a grand total of ten spells per day, of which six are cantrips. Because we took the Tracker variant of druid, we don't have to choose between using druidic armor and casting spells: our natural +3 Wis bonus is just as protective as hide armor. We are restricted from using a shield - however, Mage Armor's +4 armor bonus stacks fully with our Wisdom Bonus to AC, so we're actually better off in the long run. With both Mage ArmorSRD and Aspect of the Wolf active, our effective AC is 22! (+1 Dodge feat, +2 Wolf Dex Bonus, +2 Natural Armor, +3 Monk AC, +4 Mage Armor.) Given that most creatures at this level will have a BAB of around +1 to +4, we basically only get hit by crits. Taking Mobility on top of that means we can put our 50-foot land speed in wolf form to maximum use: we can dance around the battlefield as much as we want, since our AC of 26 against AOOs is just blatantly unfair. If we really want to be sure that nobody is going to hit us, we can also add in Shield to the mix.

(Also, if we're not busy being a wolf, we can also cast GreaseSRD at things.)

Additionally, we gain a familiar! Keep it within arm's reach for the Alertness feat; at this low level, it can't deliver touch spells for you, so it's probably best to keep it close. I prefer the Hairy Spider from Monsters of Faerun for flavor reasons, though it's not exactly optimal: if you want a more generally useful option, the raven is the classic char-op pick for its flight and ability to speak.

Holly (Liandra's Hairy Spider familiar) has Darkvision 60', adding to the number of ways we have of gaining this sense: however, her int of 6 means she can communicate that there's something dangerous out there much more effectively than Thistle can. Her spot bonus of +12 means she's better at seeing things in the first place as well.

Level 4-5: More Nature
Liandra progresses as a Druid with a dip of Wizard. Level 5 nets us second-level druid casting, unlocking the various animal buffs for us. Owl's Wisdom is particularly good for Liandra, since it increases her AC, her Will save, and the save DCs of her druid spells.

Level 5 also gives us a +10ft of Fast Movement, which is nice for maximizing the use we get from Mobility. In wolf form, we now move at 60ft per move action.


Levels 6-7: More Wizardry
We progress our arcane casting here, giving us access to battlefield-control spells such as Web, Glitterdust, and Invisibility. Keep in mind that we can share spells with our animal companion if they're within five feet.

Though we gain access to Wraithstrike at level seven, it's probably a better idea to prepare Extended Mage Armor: at a duration of six hours per day, thoughtful castings of it before adventuring will save us precious rounds in combat.

Our familiar can now deliver touch spells for us. Given its +22 hide check it might not be notices, but use this ability at your own risk. Poor little Holly isn't very durable, and if she dies, you'll be subject to the harsh penalties for Familiar loss.

Level 8: Arcane Heirophant 1
Our first prestige class! We're entering a level late, but our new dual progression is still quite nice. The Companion Familiar is also a nice benefit.

Our Companion Familiar can be picked from the 4th-level druid list, but it gains all the bonuses of a fourth-level wizard's familiar. This means that we keep Alertness while we're riding it (since sitting on it is definitely 'within arm's reach'), and that we can channel touch spells through it.

We can now ride a Large monstrous spider. Such a mount would probably be unusual in Cathyr, but not unheard of: the strong Drow presence and occasional Lolth-worshippers means that our vermin companion is likely not the strangest thing the passersby have seen.

On a side note: "Monstrous spiders often wait in their webs or in trees, then lower themselves silently on silk strands and leap onto prey passing beneath. A single strand is strong enough to support the spider and one creature of the same size."

Liandra is Medium size. Using this ability of Monstrous Spiders gives her some additional maneuvering options in combat, even beyond her spider's natural climb speed.

Familiar Companion also fixes one of the larger issues with our giant spider, that being that it refuses to fight anything a rogue can't sneak attack. This is an artifact of it being an int — vermin, driven wholly by instinct: its new int score of 7 neatly fixes this issue. Despite now having an int score, Thistle is still technically Mindless and has mind-affecting immunity. (Or at least, that's what I'd argue to my DM.)

Since Thistle now has an int score, she immediately gains two feats, as well as a total of 8 skill points to spend. She's limited to the skills Balance, Climb, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Spot, Survival, and Swim. Spot is probably our best best: with her +8 racial bonus, she can manage a +16 spot check with 60ft. darkvision - as good or better than our own check at this level. (Did you forget she has tremorsense 60 ft. as well? She has tremorsense 60 ft. as well.)

Regarding feats for Thistle: Thistle is smarter than some orcs. Thistle could very well take the Bind Vestige feat chain. Thistle could take any of the various Devotion feats. Thistle could take Martial Study or Wild Talent. If you weren't NE, Thistle could take Vow of Poverty.

However, this is an optimize-one-creature contest, so I won't go into all the options open to Thistle: in fact, I'll ignore all her feats/skills from now on. I'll merely note that Improved Bind Vestige lets Thistle bind Karsus, granting her the ability to use spell trigger items as a fifth-level wizard. That's more than enough cheese for me.

As for riding Thistle, putting her 20 ft. climb speed and 40ft. land speed to use: Our Concentration checks are high enough at this level (+11) to guarantee we can cast first-level spells while Thistle double-moves - and if you can't find an item in eight levels that will give you a +2 competence bonus to Concentration, your DM probably hates you.
If you have access to arbitrary magical items, Complete Mage's Steadying Robe makes you never have to roll concentration checks for 'violent or vigorous motion' such as being on a galloping horse/spider.


Level 9: Arcane Heirophant 2
At level 9, you gain 3rd-level Arcane and Divine spells. Enjoy your access to VenomfireSS, Capricious ZephyrSpC, and ManyjawsSpC.

Keep in mind that directing a Flaming SphereSpC or Capricious ZephyrSpC is a move action, and thus you can direct it continuously while mounted at no loss of action economy. We also gain Swift Concentration at this level, so we can be using our swift action to direct Manyjaws, our move to direct a Sphere or Zephyr, and our standard to Call Lightning/generally spellcast, all while being ferried around the battlefield at 80ft+/round.

At this level, Thistle gains another point of intelligence and the ability to actually talk to us. This helps a lot with coordinating battle strategy, and means Thistle can communicate about threats without us having to Speak With Animals.


Level 10: Spelldancer
And this is why we took Persistent Spell.
You are a druid. You can cast Lesser Restoration. Every casting of Lesser Restoration has a 3/4 chance to totally recover you from your last Spelldance's ability damage. Furthermore, you can replace your injured ability scores with Aspect of the Wolf if necessary.

Even if you can only persist four spells before you fall over, that's more than enough for now. You are a wizard: you have access to WraithstrikeSpC. You are a druid: you have access to Bite of the WerewolfSpC, Bite of the WereratSpC, Master AirSpC, Mass Lesser VigorSpC, etc. Persistent spells are really, really good, and you have access to a lot of them. Take your pick. Keep in mind that as long as you keep within five feet of your animal companion at all times, it also gets all your buffs via Share Spells. You have access to Venomfire.Serpent Kingdoms Venomfire and persisted Wraithstrike together is just dirty.


Level 11: War Domain
You can now cast Persisted Divine Might, making your terrible +5 BAB officially irrelevant. Now you have three attacks, ho ho ho.

Level 12:
4th level Arcane and Divine spells. You now have access to Sheltered VitalityLibris Mortis. This completely negates Spelldancing's drawback, making you able to persist as many things as you have spell slots. Yep.

Level 13:
Channel Animal means we can now cast as if we were standing in the square of any animal in our line of sight. This is also the level at which your companion familiar becomes able to speak with other creatures of its kind. Use the spiders, Liandra. (You may need to convince your DM to allow you to channel through mundane/monstrous spiders, since they're vermin-type, not animal-type. The ability still works on our vermin companion, though.)

This is also the level at which you can start drawing from the seventh-level Druid Animal Companion list. Honestly, while there are real upgrades to be had here, I prefer to stick with the Large monstrous spider. (I like the spider subtheme, since Cathyr is a city with significant Drow influence.)

Level 14:
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1! Yes, we're into the secret ingredient. Shadow Ride is of obvious utility to us and our giant spider: teleportation gives us even more mobility on top of our persistent flight. This level of Shadow Marauder also boosts our weak reflex save, bringing it up to be more in line with our merely mediocre fortitude save.


Level 15:
Sudden Strike damage. Not anything to really write home about: we don't have Darkstalker, so it's difficult for us to surprise anyone, and even if we can deny them their dexterity bonus to AC, an extra D6 or two of damage won't help much at this level.

At 15, we take Natural Bond: this bumps up our druid level so we can draw from the tenth-level druid list. In keeping with the spider theme, I recommend the Huge Monstrous Spider: a persisted Reduce Animal will keep it from taking up all the space ever. (If you really need something more pocket-sized, you can always turn it into a medium-size wolf with Aspect of the Wolf. If you just need it to be non-obvious, you can cast Invisibility on it and get it to stay on the sides of buildings rather than taking up space in the middle of the street.)



Level 16:
Mounted Combat Feat, Shadow Walk
Shadow Walk! A nice spell for long-range transport, though we're getting it a bit late: still, the build doesn't manage 6th level spells, so this is a genuinely nice SLA for us.

The free mounted combat feat is also quite nice: taking Trample gives us even more tactical options. Our Monstrous Spider mount already has a nice high strength of 19: Bite of the WereboarSpC boosts it by another 4. 23 strength isn't enough to overrun most things at this level, but watch this space.

Level 17:
More sudden strike damage. This is bit of a dead level, honestly - but it's worth taking in order to grab Crinti 5.

Level 18:
Shadow Pounce! We already have Dimension Hop/Step/Leap/Door and Shadow Ride to let us make full attacks as standard actions, but the real power of this will come out next level.

Level 19 and 20:
Fifth level wizard and druid spells are unlocked at level 19. Persistent Dimension JumperCM allows us to teleport 30 feet as a move action once per round, and bring along our familiar with us. By which it means our companion familiar. Which is our giant spider mount.

So our actions now look like this:
Our mount moves and makes a standard attack. We cast a standard-action spell or make a standard attack. We teleport ourselves and our mount 30 feet as a move action, and make a full attack from Shadow Pounce. Throughout all of this, we maintain concentration with our swift action on another spell, such as Manyjaws. At this level, we also get Persistent Bite of the Weretiger, giving us a +12 strength bonus and Power Attack all day long: between that, Divine Power, and Wraithstrike… Yeah, those full attacks are going to hurt.
Note: Our available standard-action spells include Dimension Hop/Step/Door/Leap, all of which we can share with our mount via Share Spells. So it's entirely possible for us to make two full attacks in one round.

At 20, we also get Channel Plants, letting us cast as if we were standing in the square of any plant we can see. I recommend distributing little bits of ivy to all your party members.




Online SRD: Tracker Druid, Martial Wizard, Human Paragon, various feats/spells/etc.
Magic of Faerun: Spelldancer
Complete Divine: Contemplative, Practiced Spellcaster feat.
Races of the Wild: Arcane Heirophant
Shining South: Crinti Shadow Marauder
Vermin Companion Web Supplement: What it says on the tin.
http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20040705a
Cityscape Web Supplement: Urban Druid alternate class features.
http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a
Monsters of Faerun, and its Web Enhancement: Hairy Spider familiar.
http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20040313a


Player's Guide to Faerun: Persistent Spell feat.
Complete Adventurer: Natural Bond feat.
Complete Scoundrel: Swift Concentration skill trick.

Complete Mage: Steadying Robe equipment.

Spell Compendium: Various spells.
Libris Mortis: Sheltered Vitality
Book of Vile Darkness: Spider Hand
Serpent Kingdoms: Venomfire

Tome of Magic: Binder class, Bind Vestige feat.


Liandra's Human Paragon levels do NOT advance her familiar. As a result, many of the familiar/companion familiar's features are delayed in the build. This does not affect Thistle being able to take feats, since any int above 3 is sufficient to take most feats: however, it does delay her ability to speak with us, and Holly's ability to channel touch spells. I don't have time to do a full correction of my build snapshots, but I'd appreciate if you'd note the error.

[Heliomance]

And that's all of them!

I've not had time to read through them myself, I'll try and do that tomorrow. Disappointed in myself for not getting round to finishing my entry though - I wanted to enter a build myself. I was going to do a Knight Phantom, I thought it worked rather well. Ah well.

[Sian]

well ... there would be a fairly sizable elegance penalty for Cross-setting between Eberron and Forgotten Realms

[ben-zayb]

I'm happy there's a Dvati entry. I tried to make a Dvati Planar Wilderness Feat Rogue Ardent / Crinti Shadow Marauder / Hellbreaker, utilizing Dimensioj Hop and Blink Shirt to piggyback-stowaway full-attaks, but the skill distribution is just so all over the place, the mounted combat aspect will be left in the dust, and the massive feat requirements do not leave much for tweaking.

[Zaq]

Looks like no one tried to do my idea, which was to dip a couple levels of Acolyte of the Ego and use their Cadence of the Distant Step ability as the trigger for shadowpouncing.

If that sounds familiar, that's because it is. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18265521&postcount=120) But hey, I took gold with it last time, so it should totally have worked again, right?

Truth be told, the reason I didn't actually put the build together is because I knew that it was a grab at exoticism for the sake of exoticism, and really, I wouldn't have been at all surprised if the judges recognized my handiwork and docked me Originality points for basically copying myself (especially because there's no way to prove that it was me before the reveal . . . aside from the fact that very few other chefs would take a look at Crinti Shadow Marauder and say "y'know what this needs? Some Truespeak"). I was correct in figuring that no one else would be obtuse enough to use Acolyte of the Ego as the source of teleports, but I couldn't answer the question "and why is this actually better than [Totemist, Swordsage, Ardent, etc.]?" I would have been living and dying on Originality, but with the risk of getting accused of copying a previous gold medal build (which, to be fair, would have been absolutely a fair criticism), it didn't seem worthwhile.

Anyway, congrats to everyone who actually got it together and entered a build (or two). Can't wait to see the judgments.

[Jormengand]

I sent an entry in. Did you not get it?

[Amphetryon]

My build was going to be Deepwyrm Half-Drow (DrM 6) Swordsage (ToB 15) 4/Cleric of Loviatar (FRCS 234) 5/ Crinti Shadow Marauder (ShS 23) 5/Scourge Maiden (ShS 40) 6.

[Venger]

And that's all of them!

I've not had time to read through them myself, I'll try and do that tomorrow. Disappointed in myself for not getting round to finishing my entry though - I wanted to enter a build myself. I was going to do a Knight Phantom, I thought it worked rather well. Ah well.
wait, we coulda done eberron?

I would've fooled around with blade of orien


Looks like no one tried to do my idea, which was to dip a couple levels of Acolyte of the Ego and use their Cadence of the Distant Step ability as the trigger for shadowpouncing.

If that sounds familiar, that's because it is. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18265521&postcount=120) But hey, I took gold with it last time, so it should totally have worked again, right?

Truth be told, the reason I didn't actually put the build together is because I knew that it was a grab at exoticism for the sake of exoticism, and really, I wouldn't have been at all surprised if the judges recognized my handiwork and docked me Originality points for basically copying myself (especially because there's no way to prove that it was me before the reveal . . . aside from the fact that very few other chefs would take a look at Crinti Shadow Marauder and say "y'know what this needs? Some Truespeak"). I was correct in figuring that no one else would be obtuse enough to use Acolyte of the Ego as the source of teleports, but I couldn't answer the question "and why is this actually better than [Totemist, Swordsage, Ardent, etc.]?" I would have been living and dying on Originality, but with the risk of getting accused of copying a previous gold medal build (which, to be fair, would have been absolutely a fair criticism), it didn't seem worthwhile.

Anyway, congrats to everyone who actually got it together and entered a build (or two). Can't wait to see the judgments.
that's terrifying. I can see why you didn't do it. probably a good call. man, I can't imagine building two crinti shadow marauders. I had an idea for a second, but someone else did it better, so it all worked out in the end.

[The Viscount]

I had to talk myself out of a number of Eberron options because I feared the penalty.

I had a build on the back burner using 5 levels of avenging executioner and 5 of dread commando, partially because of how pretty 5/5/5/5 looked, but I couldn't decide on a base and I was near sure we would get one so I avoided it. Looks like I should have made it after all. We definitely went in some very different directions for this one, not much overlap.

[Lagren]

I'm surprised that only one entry used Wild Plains Outrider: so far as I can tell, it's the only way for you to share hide and move silently checks with your mount.

I tried very hard make a functioning build with Maiden of Pain and Lasher involved, since the flavor was just dripping from them. Blackguard 5 qualifies for Maiden of Pain by being able to cast Sadism/Masochism, and grants a fiendish mount, but its feat taxes are pretty nasty. Improved Sunder, really?

Ideally that build would have then moved into Dervish, taking advantage of the Weapon Focus: Whip that Lasher requires as a double prereq - but then we need to add Dodge, Mobility, and Combat Expertise to the build. The whole thing collapsed under the weight of feat taxes. :smallsigh:

As for Knight Phantom: I totally would have attempted it, had I had some good way to justify the class's existence in Faerun.

[Deadasadoor]

I'm surprised that only one entry used Wild Plains Outrider: so far as I can tell, it's the only way for you to share hide and move silently checks with your mount.

I actually looked at this class and expected it more. I got my first idea in, and I'm pretty glad how it turned out. My other idea was something with Ashworm Dragoon and Paladin of Tyranny. A giant worm bursting out of the ground and attacking, only to teleport and hit you from the other side is a pretty cool visual.

[Heliomance]

well ... there would be a fairly sizable elegance penalty for Cross-setting between Eberron and Forgotten Realms
I came up with a backstory to justify it, hinging on the fact that the Plane of Shadow canonically adjoins every Prime Material Plane. They started out a Knight of Aunlath, got lost in the Plane of Shadow, and ended up in Faerun.

Oh, hey, here's two more entries I missed!



Abdul, the Mamluk
http://img00.deviantart.net/4a87/i/2012/227/9/4/study_of_camel_rider_by_majinprince-d5b825m.jpg
Image Credit: crazypalette

"What happens if you cross me? One night, you are walking home, and you stop, feeling as though something's wrong. A heavy drum beat sets in; you realise it's your own heart. In a few moments, a camel fades slowly into view. And then? Then you die."
- Yassan bin Abdul.

Those class skills that you need to enter on time are crazy. The only core class that gets them all is ranger. That's fine, because some of the ranger's animal companions make for good mounts! Wolves are the go-to if you're small, but if you're medium and aren't trying to be aquatic, there are three options: Light horse, heavy horse, and... camel. Ayup. This led to a hilarious mental image: you're minding your own business when suddenly, a guy just appears on this freaking camel, shoots you a bunch of times, and just goes on his merry way, waddling off on this camel he has.

In order to optimise your ultimate - the full attack on a teleport - you need to be able to teleport about as much as possible. This means that Shadowdancer is probably the best, and it even fits with the theme!...But I'll tell you anyway.

Human. Boring or what? Neutral Evil. Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10. All stats go to dex, until the last one which goes to strength for the carry capacity (because I can't get any more benefit out of dex).

Abdul is a Ranger 5/CSM 5/Shadowdancer 10. Perform isn't a class skill, which makes me sad, but that doesn't matter too much.
Woo tables.

The Fort, Ref and Will saves are all the values from class levels only. You'll need to add fort +2 ref +4 (or more) will +1). Similarly, the skills are only ranks, not the actual bonus to that skill.



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


1st
Rgr 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
Handle Animal 4 Hide 4 Move Silently 4 Perform (Dance) 2 Ride 4 Spot 4 Survival 4
Hmn: Mounted Combat
1: Stealthy
Rgr 1: Track
Favoured Enemy (Human)
Wild Empathy



2nd
Rgr 2
+2
+3
+3
+0
Handle Animal 5 Hide 5 Move Silently 5 Perform (Dance) 2.5 Ride 5 Spot 5 Survival 5
Rgr 2: Rapid Shot
-



3rd
Rgr 3
+3
+3
+3
+1
Handle Animal 6 Hide 6 Move Silently 6 Perform (Dance) 3 Ride 6 Spot 6 Survival 4
Rgr 3: Endurance
3: Dodge
-



4th
Rgr 4
+4
+4
+4
+1
Handle Animal 7 Hide 7 Move Silently 7 Perform (Dance) 3.5 Ride 7 Spot 7 Survival 7
-
Animal Companion



5th
Rgr 5
+5
+4
+4
+1
Handle Animal 8 Hide 8 Move Silently 8 Perform (Dance) 4 Ride 8 Spot 8 Survival 8
-
Favoured Enemy (Elf)



6th
Rgr 5/CSM 1
+5
+4
+6
+1
Handle Animal 9 Hide 9 Move Silently 9 Perform (Dance) 4.5 Ride 9 Spot 8 Survival 8
6: Mobility
Shadow Ride



7th
Rgr 5/CSM 2
+6
+4
+7
+1
Handle Animal 10 Hide 10 Move Silently 10 Perform (Dance) 5 Ride 10 Spot 8 Survival 8
-
Sudden Strike 1d6



8th
Rgr 5/CSM 3
+7
+5
+7
+2
Handle Animal 11 Hide 11 Move Silently 11 Perform (Dance) 5 Ride 11 Spot 8 Survival 9
CSM 3: Mounted Archery
Shadow Walk



9th
Rgr 5/CSM 4
+8
+5
+8
+2
Handle Animal 12 Hide 12 Move Silently 12 Perform (Dance) 5 Ride 12 Spot 8 Survival 10
9: Combat Reflexes
Sudden Strike 2d6



10th
Rgr 5/CSM 5
+8
+5
+8
+2
Handle Animal 13 Hide 13 Move Silently 13 Perform (Dance) 5 Ride 13 Spot 8 Survival 11
-
Shadow Pounce



11th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 1
+8
+5
+9
+2
Handle Animal 13 Hide 14 Move Silently 14 Perform (Dance) 5 Ride 13 Spot 13 Survival 11
-
Hide in Plain Sight



12th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 2
+9
+5
+10
+2
Handle Animal 13 Hide 15 Move Silently 15 Perform (Dance) 8 Ride 13 Spot 15 Survival 11
12: Natural Bond (CA)
Evasion
Darkvision
Uncanny Dodge



13th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 3
+10
+6
+10
+3
Handle Animal 13 Hide 16 Move Silently 16 Perform (Dance) 12 Ride 13 Spot 16 Survival 11
-
Shadow Illusion
Summon Shadow



14th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 4
+11
+6
+11
+3
Handle Animal 13 Hide 17 Move Silently 17 Perform (Dance) 16 Ride 13 Spot 17 Survival 11
-
Shadow Jump 20 ft



15th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 5
+11
+6
+11
+3
Handle Animal 13 Hide 18 Move Silently 18 Perform (Dance) 18 Ride 13 Sleight of Hand 2 Spot 18 Survival 11
15: Feral Animal Companion (Ch. of Ruin)
Defensive Roll
Improved Uncanny Dodge



16th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 6
+12
+7
+12
+4
Handle Animal 13 Hide 19 Move Silently 19 Perform (Dance) 19 Ride 13 Sleight of Hand 5 Spot 19 Survival 11
-
Shadow Jump 40 ft
Summon Shadow



17th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 7
+13
+7
+12
+4
Handle Animal 13 Hide 20 Move Silently 20 Perform (Dance) 20 Ride 13 Sleight of Hand 8 Spot 20 Survival 11
-
Slippery Mind



18th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 8
+14
+7
+13
+4
Handle Animal 13 Hide 21 Move Silently 21 Perform (Dance) 21 Ride 13 Sleight of Hand 11 Spot 21 Survival 11
18: Diehard
Shadow Jump 80 ft



19th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 9
+14
+8
+13
+5
Handle Animal 13 Hide 22 Move Silently 22 Perform (Dance) 22 Ride 13 Sleight of Hand 14 Spot 22 Survival 11
-
Summon Shadow



20th
Rgr 5/CSM 5/ShD 10
+15
+8
+14
+5
Handle Animal 13 Hide 23 Move Silently 23 Perform (Dance) 23 Ride 13 Sleight of Hand 17 Spot 23 Survival 11
-

Shadow Jump 160 ft




The feats are mainly prerequisites, but Track and Endurance are freebees that I can't swap out short of DCS nonsense, Mounted Archery, Natural Bond and Feral Animal Companion are to make my camelification better, and Diehard... well, I'm a fundamentally martial type of character with only a d8 hit die. Work it out. Feral Animal Companion is also from Faerun, so it's flavouriffic! (Not to mention that the description mentions that they're basically ranger/shadowdancers).You have only one spell, and you prepare it each day. You're probably taking Entangle, because that spell is pretty amazing for a first-level spell, but hey, you can pick something else as and when you need it.

You have your shadowdancery illusion thing as a SLA, so you can use that to make a camel rider appear to fade into view, before jumping somewhere else.

And of course, you have 26 dimension doors.So, let's do this:

- Grab a longbow, preferably with speed enchantment on it, and jump on your camel.
- Sneak up to enemy, on camel, in shadows.
- Teleport within 30 feet of enemy. You get a free full attack, with sudden strike, during the surprise
- You can't take any more actions, but the camel can, so it can waddle 50 feet away in the surprise round.
- Enemy is out of 60 ft charge range because you're 80 feet away; even if you lose initiative, you can avoid melee attacks. Unless enemy is on a horse, in which case you shoulda shot the damned horse, or they're really fast, in which case they get one attack on you, which you should survive.
- Teleport 10 feet away (Su, so no AoO if enemy threatens) and make another free full attack, then your camel rushes off 200 feet.
- Standard hit-and-run ensues until enemy is dead. RIP enemy.

If the enemy starts being remotely threatening, teleport 250 feet away, camel runs off 200, and try again tomorrow.You start off able to shoot one arrow, and at second you can shoot two, so you're already dealing enough damage. By 4th you have a spell, 5th an animal companion. You're not amazing, true, but that's okay. You need to wait until 10th for your amazing capstone, though, so what do you do?

Well, what you do is sit in a building and shoot people. Cover can mess up even spellcasters pretty badly, and anyone trying to fly into your building just to shoot at you is going to be getting shot a lot, and you can always ride away on a camel if they're too dangerous for you. You have a ton of options, even if your main schtick only comes online on level 10.

So when do you stop being useful? Well, when does 4d8+8d6 damage per round while moving stop being relevant? I'm not sure it does. If you can keep getting the hell out of stuff, casually murdering people, then you're golden. Make sure your camel repeatedly moves you somewhere you can't get hit. Teleport so that you can shoot people. Make your camel move you away again. Having two movements and a full attack is pretty useful.

Apart from your speed weapon, items that improve your attack and damage output are useful. You know what those are.

[Heliomance]

And another one!


Crinti Slave

Race: Human
Build Stub: Wilderness Rogue 1/Wizard 2/Wilderness Rogue +2/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Unseen Seer 10
Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10
Ability Increases: All Int
Languages: Common, Undercommon, Drow Sign Language, whatever else
Alignment: NE
Multiclass Penalty: No.




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


1st
Wilderness Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Handle Animal 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Ride 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Balance 4, Tumble 4, Disable Device 4, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 4
Stealthy, Mounted Combat
Sneak Attack +1d6. Trapfinding.


2nd
Combat Wizard 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Handle Animal 4, Hide 5, Move Silently 4, Ride 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Balance 4, Tumble 4, Disable Device 4, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 5, Spellcraft 3
Point Blank Shot
Spellcasting. Conjuration Specialist, Familiar traded for Immediate Magic ACF. Bonus Feat.


3rd
Combat Wizard 2
+1
+0
+2
+3
Handle Animal 4, Hide 6, Move Silently 4, Ride 5, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Balance 4, Tumble 4, Disable Device 4, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 6, Spellcraft 4
Rapid Shot



4th
Wilderness Rogue 2
+2
+0
+3
+3
Handle Animal 4, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Ride 7, Search 7, Sense Motive 4, Spot 6, Balance 4, Tumble 4, Disable Device 4, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 7, Spellcraft 4

Evasion


5th
Wilderness Rogue 3
+3
+1
+3
+4
Handle Animal 4, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Ride 8, Search 8, Sense Motive 4, Spot 8, Balance 5, Tumble 4, Disable Device 8, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 8, Spellcraft 4

Sneak Attack +2d6. Penetrating Strike.


6th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 1
+3
+1
+5
+4
Handle Animal 9, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Ride 9, Search 9, Sense Motive 4, Spot 8, Balance 5, Tumble 4, Disable Device 8, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 9, Spellcraft 4
Craven
Shadow Ride


7th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 2
+4
+1
+6
+4
Handle Animal 10, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Ride 10, Search 10, Sense Motive 4, Spot 8, Balance 5, Tumble 4, Disable Device 8, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 10, Spellcraft 4

Sudden Strike +1d6


8th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 3
+5
+2
+6
+5
Handle Animal 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Ride 11, Search 11, Sense Motive 4, Spot 8, Balance 5, Tumble 4, Disable Device 9, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 11, Spellcraft 4
Mounted Archer
Bonus Feat. Shadow Walk.


9th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 4
+6
+2
+7
+5
Handle Animal 12, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Ride 12, Search 12, Sense Motive 4, Spot 8, Balance 5, Tumble 4, Disable Device 10, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 12, Spellcraft 4
Manyshot
Sudden Strike +2d6


10th
Crinti Shadow Marauder 5
+6
+2
+7
+5
Handle Animal 13, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Ride 13, Search 13, Sense Motive 4, Spot 8, Balance 5, Tumble 4, Disable Device 11, Escape Artist 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 13, Spellcraft 4

Shadow Pounce


11th
Unseen Seer 1
+6
+2
+7
+7
Keep boosting stealth, trapfinding skills, animal skills, poisonmaking, and spellcraft.

Damage Bonus +1d6 (into sneak attack)


12th
Unseen Seer 2
+7
+2
+7
+8

Weapon Focus (Bow), Silent Spell
Advanced Learning. Silent Spell.


13th
Unseen Seer 3
+8
+3
+8
+8


Dvination Spell Power +1


14th
Unseen Seer 4
+9
+3
+8
+9


Damage Increase +2d6


15th
Unseen Seer 5
+9
+4
+9
+9

Dead Eye
Advanced Learning. Guarded Mind.


16th
Unseen Seer 6
+10
+4
+9
+10


Divination Spell Power +2


17th
Unseen Seer 7
+11
+4
+9
+10


Damage Bonus +3d6


18th
Unseen Seer 8
+12
+5
+10
+11

Still Spell.
Advanced Learning.


19th
Unseen Seer 9
+12
+5
+10
+11


Divination Spell Power +3


20th
Unseen Seer 10
+13
+5
+10
+12


Bonus Damage +4d6


Spells per Day


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


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


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


3rd
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


7th
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


9th
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


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


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


15th
4
5
4
3
2
-
-
-
-
-


16th
4
5
4
4
3
-
-
-
-
-


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


18th
4
5
5
4
4
3
-
-
-
-


19th
4
5
5
5
4
3
2
-
-
-


20th
4
5
5
5
4
4
3
-
-
-




This human had been living in the wilds of Dambrath but was captured as a slave at an early age. The Crinti slave-owner took note of her property's outstanding guile and dexterity, eventually procuring the official sanction of the Dambrath nobility to have him trained as a Shadow Marauder.

The Crinti slave uses Nerveskitter in an attempt to get in to a fight quickly and catch his opponents flat-footed for sneak attack damage. Color Spray and Sleep are also options but the slave needs to be careful as his AC and HP are low right now. By level 5, the slave's training is complete and he has met all the prerequisites for Crinti Shadow Marauder (and Unseen Seer for that matter). Seeing his reliance on SA for damage, he picks up the Penetrating Strike ACF at level 5.

The slave is using a mount, the immediate action ACF from PHB II, and possibly an anklet of translocation to be highly mobile in combat.

The slave has completed his Shadow Marauder levels. His overall strategy hasn't changed, using his high mobility and limited magical training to get sneak attacks (and sudden strikes) in quickly. Level 8 gave him Mounted Archer and level 9 was Manyshot so he now has an easier time moving around while attacking. Increased wealth also means more access to wands to make sure he can continue dealing damage.

Shadow Pounce is unlikely to be used at this time because the slave has no fondness for melee weapons.

More magic! Now the slave can start to really get around unseen. He's been keeping his Handle Animal and ride maxed so hopefully he's found himself a good mount by now. Dead Eye and Damage Bonus up his damage some more, and his diligent study in poisons can finally pay off when he learns the Minor Creation spell.

In addition, the increase in wealth has made using the Shadow Pounce ability from his Marauder levels more viable. With magic, poisoned weapons and gloves of the balanced hand he can surprise and destroy enemies, potentially using his mount as a flanking partner.
More of the same here. The slave notices his power in magic is becoming much more dramatic and becomes more important to his fighting but his Shadow Marauder training still helps him move around quickly and quietly.

PHB II: Immediate Magic ACF
UA: Combat Wizard, Wilderness Rogue
Dragon Compendium: Dead Eye
Complete Mage: Unseen Seer
Champion's of Ruin: Craven
Dungeonscape: Penetrating Strike ACF

[Lagren]

I actually looked at this class and expected it more. I got my first idea in, and I'm pretty glad how it turned out. My other idea was something with Ashworm Dragoon and Paladin of Tyranny. A giant worm bursting out of the ground and attacking, only to teleport and hit you from the other side is a pretty cool visual.

The Mourne Elisviir solution of using a familiar (which uses his skill ranks) is a nice workaround that I hadn't thought of, but using a familiar as your mount in combat comes with problems of its own. I'm not sure if I'd want to risk not being able to replace my mount for a year and a day, not to mention the EXP loss.

[Zaq]

that's terrifying. I can see why you didn't do it. probably a good call. man, I can't imagine building two crinti shadow marauders. I had an idea for a second, but someone else did it better, so it all worked out in the end.

Technically, Benjamin Nutt was a Teflammar Shadowlord, not a Crinti Shadow Marauder. And the two builds wouldn't have been perfectly identical (I would have only needed two levels of Acolyte of the Ego, after all, in addition to needing totally different prereqs for the two shadowpouncing classes). But yeah. Shadowpouncing Acolyte of the Ego. Probably good I didn't go through with it, but I can only imagine how gloriously hilarious it would have been if by some fluke I won twice with the same concept (just approached from two different angles and showing off two different things).

Wouldn't have happened, of course. I don't think the build would have been strong enough to win, which is why I didn't go through with it. But fun to think about.

[Lagren]

You're minding your own business when suddenly, a guy just appears on this freaking camel, shoots you a bunch of times, and just goes on his merry way, waddling off on this camel he has.




She was resting against a tall dark-furred camel, who watched him with knowing eyes.


If you asked what thing might occur twice in this contest, I would never in a thousand years have said 'camel rider'. Is there even a desert within riding distance from Dambrath? :smallconfused:

[A.A.King]

I almost entered this one as my first one but ended up forgetting about writing it down until too close to the deadline. Glad I didn't because one of these builds (probably best to not say which one) is actually close to what I would have entered... talk about awkward...

[Lagren]

My build was going to be Deepwyrm Half-Drow (DrM 6) Swordsage (ToB 15) 4/Cleric of Loviatar (FRCS 234) 5/ Crinti Shadow Marauder (ShS 23) 5/Scourge Maiden (ShS 40) 6.

I'm not sure what Scourge Maiden would give you here, even though it is really flavourful.


I almost entered this one as my first one but ended up forgetting about writing it down until too close to the deadline. Glad I didn't because one of these builds (probably best to not say which one) is actually close to what I would have entered... talk about awkward...

I'd like to hear what your idea was! Even if it's similar to something here, there's probably some important differences in the details.

[Venger]

If you asked what thing might occur twice in this contest, I would never in a thousand years have said 'camel rider'. Is there even a desert within riding distance from Dambrath? :smallconfused:

still not gonna beat ardent dilettante where we had two VOP prostitutes

[ben-zayb]

still not gonna beat ardent dilettante where we had two VOP prostitutes

Was that the one where the two entries are almost the same?

[Venger]

Was that the one where the two entries are almost the same?

I don't think so. that happened once though. kuulveysoon and I once submitted builds that shared all 20 levels for shadowblade.

[A.A.King]

I'd like to hear what your idea was! Even if it's similar to something here, there's probably some important differences in the details.

Is that allowed? I'm not too familiar with the rules of the competition, I don't want to accidentally negatively affect the originality score of someone's entry.

[Venger]

Is that allowed? I'm not too familiar with the rules of the competition, I don't want to accidentally negatively affect the originality score of someone's entry.

that's sort of a grey area. best leave that til after the judges are done, like discussing stuff about people's dishes. don't want to spoil their palates.

[WhamBamSam]

I gave up on my idea because it wasn't quite gelling to my satisfaction (really wanted 1-2 more feats, wasn't happy with the BAB, was incurring multiclass penalties and so on).

The stub I had was LE Necropolitan Strongheart Halfling Monk 1/Hit-and-Run Fighter 1/Martial Wizard 4/Enlightened Fist 9/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5. The idea was to ride a Hellhound Improved Familiar and use Firestride Exhalation and Dimension Jumper for most of my standard action/move action teleports since they bring the familiar along. The Hellhound's breath weapon and the breath weapon (which is explicitly stated to be such) created by Firestride Exhalation would be converted to the Gold Dragon's Str damage breath weapon (with an effective age category of 3) via a Crown of the North Wind. Enlightened Fist would allow me to use touch spells and rays converted into touch spells on each full attack with Black Lore of Moil making some of the classic Str reducing spells like Ray of Enfeeblement, Bestow Curse, and the like into vectors for Fell Weaken and Poison Spell (can't poison myself because Necropolitan). Shadow Ride could replace Firestride Exhalation for the standard action teleport in situations where I had my Hellhound holding the charge of a touch spell/converted ray that I didn't want to discharge.

I also thought about doing some sort of weird thing to get the magical beast type (either be an Abrian or use scrolls of Aspect of the Wolf and Axiomatic Creature/Awaken on myself to be able to Alter Self into a Blink Dog and get a 4th teleport each round with Assume Supernatural Ability or Metamorphic Transfer. Ultimately, I wasn't sure if I had a good enough reason not to just go for Shadowlord (especially as some DMs might look askance at a guy in Blink Dog form trying to fight mounted), and didn't really have the time or motivation to pound it out.

[xyianth]

I had an idea, even created a full build writeup and backstory, but fundamentally decided not to submit it because of RAW ambiguity. Since it is not at all like any of the submissions, I'll spoiler it here for any that are curious.

Start as a human from dambrath with <1/8 drow ancestry.
First level as a wizard that is a focused specialist illusionist with the shadow shaper ACF.
Start with the feats: stealthy and weapon finesse.
Learn the spells: mage armor, net of shadows, silent image, color spray.
Second level as a shadowcaster, learning the arrow of dusk fundamental twice, the umbral hand fundamental, and the voice of shadows mystery.
Upon taking your next level in shadowcaster, use the creeping darkness rules to trade your wizard level for another shadowcaster level.

Continue the build as follows:

race: human
32pt: 8 str, 16 dex, 14 con, 14 int, 12 wis, 14 cha
build: shadowcaster 6/swordsage 2/ruathar 3/fighter 1/crinti shadow marauder 5/avenging executioner 3
feats: stealthy[1], weapon finesse[h], path focus(touch of twilight)[2b], shadow familiar(owl)[3], favored mystery(umbral touch)[6], craven[9], favored mystery(flicker)[9b], improved familiar(winter wolf)[12], mounted combat[12b], dimensional jaunt[15], imperious command[18]

refluff ruathar as being friend to the ruling drow of dambrath (as opposed to generic elves)
use the drow fighter ACF to gain hit-and-run tactics instead of heavy armor proficiency

fundamentals: arrow of dusk(x2), umbral hand, sight obscured
mysteries: voice of shadow, life fades, congress of shadows, flesh fails, umbral touch(x2), flicker, bolster, step into shadow
maneuvers: mountain hammer, cloak of deception, distracting ember, shadow jaunt, wolf fang strike, sudden leap, shadow garrote
stances: flame's blessing, assassin's stance

tactics:

Primary attack form is umbral touch mystery (8/day at CL 10 = 80 attacks/day); each attack is vs touch AC and deals 5d6 untyped +4d6 sudden strike + 2d6+20 sneak attack
My familiar is my mount: winter wolf with the dark creature template from shadow familiar
Step into Shadow mystery is used to fuel dimensional jaunt for at-will shadow pouncing that brings along my familiar-mount as a standard action
Flicker allows additional shadow pouncing as an immediate action (4/day at CL 9 = 36 uses)
Avenging executioner lets me demoralize as a move action, which cowers thanks to imperious command

The primary problem I ran into is the improper wording/editing of the shadow familiar feat and flicker mystery. By RAW, shadowcasters lose the ability to share mystery effects with their familiar when they cease being spells. This build uses flicker as a supernatural ability. To make it worse, flicker doesn't mention bringing other creatures, but references dimension door. So I couldn't figure out if flicker allowed you to bring your familiar along, and even if you could, I don't know if you can arrive mounted. The normal workaround of sharing the effect with your familiar doesn't work either. Quite frankly, ToM is legendary for how poorly worded/edited things are and I just got frustrated enough with this that I gave up.

[Thurbane]

My entry was going to be a Boggle Monstrous Humanoid 2/Fighter 2/Martial Rogue 2/CsM 5/Souleater 1/Jaunter 4/LA +4 (may have some of these wrong, going from memory). It was going to rely on inflicting a negative level with each natural attack from Souleater, but that is a very controversial reading of the ability. Also, the feat tax on the three PrCs was horrible (hence Fighter 2/Martial Rogue 2). Also, due to being the wrong creature type, couldn't qualify for the feat that allows iteratives with claws (I want to say Rapid Strike? AFB at the moment. Think it's in Draconomicon). Was going to use a Wild Cohort Wolf (or similar) as a mount.

Anyway, way too messy and horribly inefficient use of feats.

[Venger]

My entry was going to be a Boggle Monstrous Humanoid 2/Fighter 2/Martial Rogue 2/CsM 5/Souleater 1/Jaunter 4/LA +4 (may have some of these wrong, going from memory). It was going to rely on inflicting a negative level with each natural attack from Souleater, but that is a very controversial reading of the ability. Also, the feat tax on the three PrCs was horrible (hence Fighter 2/Martial Rogue 2). Also, due to being the wrong creature type, couldn't qualify for the feat that allows iteratives with claws (I want to say Rapid Strike? AFB at the moment. Think it's in Draconomicon). Was going to use a Wild Cohort Wolf (or similar) as a mount.

Anyway, way too messy and horribly inefficient use of feats.

I also considered jaunter, since it's one of my favorite prcs, but between its feat taxes and the SI's I had very little room to breathe, plus the question of what I was gonna do when I ran out of teleports/day (I had no answer)

[KrimsonNekros]

I am utterly surprised nobody used my idea. I had a Kobold Scout 3/ Ranger 4/ CSM 5/ Shadowdancer 8. The thought process being that by using Swift Hunter and Shot on the Run I could maximize damage from my shadow jumps, since Dimension Door allows you to move yourself and another being, up to a medium sized creature, I'd be able to teleport myself and my mount/ animal companion the necessary 10 ft to trigger ambush.

[WhamBamSam]

I also considered jaunter, since it's one of my favorite prcs, but between its feat taxes and the SI's I had very little room to breathe, plus the question of what I was gonna do when I ran out of teleports/day (I had no answer)
I am utterly surprised nobody used my idea. I had a Kobold Scout 3/ Ranger 4/ CSM 5/ Shadowdancer 8. The thought process being that by using Swift Hunter and Shot on the Run I could maximize damage from my shadow jumps, since Dimension Door allows you to move yourself and another being, up to a medium sized creature, I'd be able to teleport myself and my mount/ animal companion the necessary 10 ft to trigger ambush.I think people probably leaned away from Jaunter and Shadowdancer because they sort of beg the question of why you're not just going Shadowlord instead of Shadow Marauder, what with the shared prereqs, and ease of prereqs being the primary reason why you'd choose Shadow Marauder over Shadowlord.

[ben-zayb]

^ Not to mention that Mounts actually need to be at least one size larger than you (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050125a), which is another reason I opted out of doing Dvati CSM despite this (https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRB7qWyZQhBTKNzzSftvV6licnZ_Tp2o MXB1908OSC7hqecxkrj3w) inspiring imagery.

Another interesting build I haven't seen would be a small/tiny CSM, force-mounting enemies above or below, and then using Shadow Ride for dealing falling damage + Battle Jump + Pounce + Shadow Pounce. It would also utilize/trigger feats like confound the Big Folk for free Sudden Strikes while dangling/mounted below the enemy. There's also Spurring enemies to death (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?401045-Exploiting-Ride-checks-on-enemies).

[xyianth]

Another interesting build I haven't seen would be a small/tiny CSM, force-mounting enemies above or below, and then using Shadow Ride for dealing falling damage + Battle Jump + Pounce + Shadow Pounce.

That build wouldn't work, teleportation effects have to appear on a solid surface. You can't teleport into the air.

[ben-zayb]

That build wouldn't work, teleportation effects have to appear on a solid surface. You can't teleport into the air.

IIRC that only applies to Conjuration spells.

[Darrin]

IIRC that only applies to Conjuration spells.

Teleports are conjuration spells. I believe you meant to say "summoning" spells, but here's the text from the PHB (p. 172):

"A creature or object brought into being or transported to your location by a conjuration spell cannot appear inside another creature
or object, nor can it appear floating in an empty space. It must arrive in an open location on a surface capable of supporting it."

This only applies to "calling", creation", and "summoning" subschools. Teleport spells generally involve arriving at a new location. And you can arrive in a location that is not open or not capable of supporting it. That's written directly into many teleport spells, where you may wind up arriving in the middle of a solid object, over a pit, etc., hence the teleport without error spell.

[Heliomance]

Incidentally, a trick I noticed which would work quite disgustingly if not for my edict about you having to be the one teleporting:

Take any character capable of channelling a spell as part of a full attack (Duskblade, Enlightened Fist, a few others). Take Dimension Hop. Full attack, dropping Dimension Hop on the last attack. Hop them to another square next to you, triggering Shadow Pounce. Repeat until you run out of Dimension Hops.

Gets particularly nasty with Duskblade 13, which gets to channel a single cast into every strike of a full attack, resulting in multiplying numbers of full attacks the longer you keep going.

[Venger]

I am utterly surprised nobody used my idea. I had a Kobold Scout 3/ Ranger 4/ CSM 5/ Shadowdancer 8. The thought process being that by using Swift Hunter and Shot on the Run I could maximize damage from my shadow jumps, since Dimension Door allows you to move yourself and another being, up to a medium sized creature, I'd be able to teleport myself and my mount/ animal companion the necessary 10 ft to trigger ambush.
Well there is a shadow dancer

I think people probably leaned away from Jaunter and Shadowdancer because they sort of beg the question of why you're not just going Shadowlord instead of Shadow Marauder, what with the shared prereqs, and ease of prereqs being the primary reason why you'd choose Shadow Marauder over Shadowlord.
I'd considered shadowlord for that reason but it requires you to be from some region that's not dambrath And since 2 points in local (dambrath) Is no longer an option you can't be from more than one region for stuff like this. I figured whatever it gave in power wasn't worth the headache it'd give me on elegance from at least one judge

[ben-zayb]

Incidentally, a trick I noticed which would work quite disgustingly if not for my edict about you having to be the one teleporting:

Take any character capable of channelling a spell as part of a full attack (Duskblade, Enlightened Fist, a few others). Take Dimension Hop. Full attack, dropping Dimension Hop on the last attack. Hop them to another square next to you, triggering Shadow Pounce. Repeat until you run out of Dimension Hops.

Gets particularly nasty with Duskblade 13, which gets to channel a single cast into every strike of a full attack, resulting in multiplying numbers of full attacks the longer you keep going.
Most suggestions I've seen in the playground involves shanking yourself for an autohit on that last attack, giving you a chance to full-attack someone else.

[Darrin]

Take any character capable of channelling a spell as part of a full attack (Duskblade, Enlightened Fist, a few others). Take Dimension Hop. Full attack, dropping Dimension Hop on the last attack. Hop them to another square next to you, triggering Shadow Pounce. Repeat until you run out of Dimension Hops.

Gets particularly nasty with Duskblade 13, which gets to channel a single cast into every strike of a full attack, resulting in multiplying numbers of full attacks the longer you keep going.

I've seen this suggested before, although my understanding was you use your last attack to make a touch attack against yourself ("I don't want anybody else, when I think about you..."). Turn all your spell slots into full attacks. Not quite sure if you can auto-hit yourself... I think you still run the risk of missing or rolling a '1'.

The skill ranks are a bit tight but doable. Easiest might be Ranger 1/Duskblade 13/CSM 5, or just take Hide/Move Silently cross-class. Forestlord elf/half-elf adds Hide, Dragontouched/Draconic Heritage (Green) adds Move Silently.

[Venger]

I've seen this suggested before, although my understanding was you use your last attack to make a touch attack against yourself ("I don't want anybody else, when I think about you..."). Turn all your spell slots into full attacks. Not quite sure if you can auto-hit yourself... I think you still run the risk of missing or rolling a '1'.

The skill ranks are a bit tight but doable. Easiest might be Ranger 1/Duskblade 13/CSM 5, or just take Hide/Move Silently cross-class. Forestlord elf/half-elf adds Hide, Dragontouched/Draconic Heritage (Green) adds Move Silently.

Remember draconic heritage only works if you have at least one sorcerer level so you'd need to jam that in there somewhere

[xyianth]

Remember draconic heritage only works if you have at least one sorcerer level so you'd need to jam that in there somewhere

The dragontouched feat lets you count as a sorcerer for the purpose of those requirements.

[Sian]

or instead of jumping hoops (including a massive Fluff one saying that no elves, that doesn't happen to be Drows, are allowed within Dambath), you could just start out as a human and using the bonus feat to grab Able Learner. Then Hide and move silently from Ranger stays a class skill for the rest of the characters career

[Venger]

The dragontouched feat lets you count as a sorcerer for the purpose of those requirements.
While that's true you do still in effect need an effective sorcerer level. Besides that's two feats just to nab ns as a skill and that's a pain any way you slice it

[The Viscount]

I am utterly surprised nobody used my idea. I had a Kobold Scout 3/ Ranger 4/ CSM 5/ Shadowdancer 8. The thought process being that by using Swift Hunter and Shot on the Run I could maximize damage from my shadow jumps, since Dimension Door allows you to move yourself and another being, up to a medium sized creature, I'd be able to teleport myself and my mount/ animal companion the necessary 10 ft to trigger ambush.

I'd considered Scout entry, but the game won't let you skirmish when on a mount because they hate precision damage.

[Douglas]

Gets particularly nasty with Duskblade 13, which gets to channel a single cast into every strike of a full attack, resulting in multiplying numbers of full attacks the longer you keep going.
I believe the actual wording has the spell take effect only once per target. The spell affects each target that you hit, not each time you hit something. You'd have to divide your attacks among multiple enemies for this to work.

[Heliomance]

I believe the actual wording has the spell take effect only once per target. The spell affects each target that you hit, not each time you hit something. You'd have to divide your attacks among multiple enemies for this to work.

At 13th level, you can cast any touch spell you know as part of a full attack action, and the spell affects each target you hit in melee combat that round. Doing so discharges the spell at the end of the round, in the case of a touch spell that would otherwise last longer than 1 round.

Hmm, it's ambiguous. Could go either way.

[Darrin]

Any judges yet? (I submitted, so your judge of last resort isn't available.)

[Venger]

Any judges yet? (I submitted, so your judge of last resort isn't available.)

no one has mentioned judging specifically. I too cooked.

zaq did not cook and I think said something about judging last time.

[Zaq]

I wasn't planning on judging. To be honest, I don't know if I could give 11 entries the time and effort they deserve. (You've all seen how much I put into these judgments—I had what, 18,000 words last time around? With about half as many entries? That's asking for a lot of hours from me.)

I just don't think I have the time and energy right now to do proper Zaq-style judgings for 11 entries, and I'd really prefer not to have to do minimalist judgings where I can't really explore all the details of each character. (If for no other reason than that I know myself, and I know I'd end up hopelessly in the weeds of at least one entry, and then I'd have entries of wildly unequal length, which really isn't fair to anyone involved. I don't just do crazy lengthy judgments because that's how I think—I do them to make sure I'm giving every single entry the care and attention I wish judges provided my dishes, and to make sure that I'm approaching every entry fairly.)

[Darrin]

I wasn't planning on judging.

I understand perfectly.

Ponies? You got a horse in this race?

[WhamBamSam]

I think I'll have my head back above water after Friday, so I may be able to judge. I spend a lot of time on each entry as well, though, and it's right at the end of the semester, so we'll see. No promises just yet.

EDIT: Signs point to no. It turns out a class which I'd thought only had a final project has a final exam as well.

[The Viscount]

I understand perfectly.

Ponies? You got a horse in this race?

I think you mean "Ponies, are you a horse in this race?"

[Lagren]

I think you mean "Ponies, are you a horse in this race?"

Ponies is clearly composed of multiple horses, so either should be correct. :smalltongue:

[Venger]

Ponies is clearly composed of multiple horses, so either should be correct. :smalltongue:

Could you say these multiple horses make up a kind of horse field?

[riccaru]

I am utterly surprised nobody used my idea. I had a Kobold Scout 3/ Ranger 4/ CSM 5/ Shadowdancer 8. The thought process being that by using Swift Hunter and Shot on the Run I could maximize damage from my shadow jumps, since Dimension Door allows you to move yourself and another being, up to a medium sized creature, I'd be able to teleport myself and my mount/ animal companion the necessary 10 ft to trigger ambush.

You can't skirmish on a mount sadly. I thought about it at first but then found that one.

I had an idea of a swift ambusher going into assassin to allow surprise attacks through walls and guaranteed sneak attack damage but I didn't build it.

[Heliomance]

Sorry for the delay, I quite forgot about this. Votes as they currently stand:

Arachnomancer - 1
Arcane Archer - 3
Astral Dancer
Avenging Executioner - 1
Beast Heart Adept - 5
Bereft - 2
Black Blood Hunter - 1
Bloodhound - 4
Cloud Anchorite
Court Herald - 2
Disciple of the Word - 2
Disciple of Thrym
Doomlord - 1
Dragon Samurai - 1
Elemental Warrior
Elocator - 5
Fortune's Friend
Ghost-Faced Killer - 3
Gray Guard - 2
Hellreaver - 1
Justiciar of Taiia - 2
Ninja of the Crescent Moon - 1
Ninja Spy - 1
Oozemaster - 1
Rage Mage - 1
Serene Guardian - 1
Swiftblade - 3
Thief of Life - 6
Twisted Lord
Watch Detective - 1
Winterhaunt of Ibhorigu - 3


As there haven't been any new votes in over a week, I figure that everybody that wants to bote has voted, in which case the winner, and the next ingredient, will be Thief of Life!

[The Viscount]

YES! What a great early Christmas present. I'm going to have tons of fun with this one.

Is there any progress on finding a judge?

[Darrin]

Summary:



No.
Name
Race
Stub


1.
Mourne Elisviir (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138720&postcount=117)
NE Lesser Drow
Ranger 2/Wild Rogue 3/Assassin 10/CSM 5



2.
Aranni and Oritonde (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138729&postcount=118)
TE{?} Dvati
Warlock 1/Ranger 5/CSM 5/Master of Many Forms 8


3.
Katjusha, the Bloodstorm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138735&postcount=119)
LE Human
Soulknife 4/ Crusader 1/ Soulbow 3/Bloodstorm Blade 4/CSM 5/Kensai 3


4.
Valkav Kelgrave (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138745&postcount=120)
LN Dragonborn Human
Wild Feat Rogue 2/Ranger 2/Swashbuckler 1/Warblade 1/HnR Fighter 2/CSM 5/Crusader 1/Monk 2/Mo9 4


5.
Nyldene (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138749&postcount=121)
NE Human
Ranger 1/ Wilder 7/CSM 5/Illithid Slayer 7


6.
Hale (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138757&postcount=122)
CN Human
Human Paragon 3/Totemist 2/CSM 5/Pious templar 10


7.
Jasmine Half-Blood (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138765&postcount=123)
CN Primordial Half-Giant
Psychic Rogue 6/Elocater 8/CSM 5


8.
Manāt, the Night Traveler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138768&postcount=124)
Human
Ranger 4/Artificer 8/CSM 5/Wild Plains Outrider 3


9.
Lady Liandra (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138791&postcount=125)
NE Human
Human Paragon 3/Tracker Druid 3/Martial Wizard 1/Arcane Hierophant 6/Spelldancer 1/Contemplative 1/CSM 5


10.
Abdul, the Mamluk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138768&postcount=124)
NE Human
Ranger 5/CSM 5/Shadowdancer 10


11.
Crinti Slave (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138956&postcount=137)
NE Human
Wild Rogue 3/Wizard 2/CSM 5/Unseen Seer 10

[Venger]

YES! What a great early Christmas present. I'm going to have tons of fun with this one.

Is there any progress on finding a judge?

Awww yeah. Can't wait for thief of life.

[Zaq]

Hmm. I actually can't say I'm super thrilled with Thief of Life. I like the concept of it (the capstone is very thematic, and it's neat to see something outside MoI acknowledge that incarnum exists), but from an Iron Chef standpoint, it looks like another class full of passive/reactive abilities and abilities that are hard to show off as being part of a primary strategy. The fact that it's possible to qualify relatively early is kind of neat, but I still don't see too many ways for one Thief of Life to stand apart from another one.

Ah well. We'll see what happens. Do we have any volunteers to judge the current round yet? I really wish there were fewer entries—like I said earlier, I don't know if I have it in me to give eleven whole entries the proper attention they deserve (I'm worried I'd get burned out halfway through and end up with less-than-equitable rulings), but there's nothing to be done about that at this point.

[Venger]

Hmm. I actually can't say I'm super thrilled with Thief of Life. I like the concept of it (the capstone is very thematic, and it's neat to see something outside MoI acknowledge that incarnum exists), but from an Iron Chef standpoint, it looks like another class full of passive/reactive abilities and abilities that are hard to show off as being part of a primary strategy. The fact that it's possible to qualify relatively early is kind of neat, but I still don't see too many ways for one Thief of Life to stand apart from another one.
Much like acolyte of the skin, at this point it's far less about it being a good class and more about years of anticipation finally being paid off.

All the things your are saying are objectively true And I have no specific refutation of any of them. Secret ingredient featUres being defensive is always awkward. It means you need to delay important defenses or else you're invalidating those features.

[Amphetryon]

Hmm. I actually can't say I'm super thrilled with Thief of Life. I like the concept of it (the capstone is very thematic, and it's neat to see something outside MoI acknowledge that incarnum exists), but from an Iron Chef standpoint, it looks like another class full of passive/reactive abilities and abilities that are hard to show off as being part of a primary strategy. The fact that it's possible to qualify relatively early is kind of neat, but I still don't see too many ways for one Thief of Life to stand apart from another one.


You mean, other than locking folks into Originality penalties for using any Classes from MoI?

[Venger]

You mean, other than locking folks into Originality penalties for using any Classes from MoI?

Man you had to say it. I hope we don't have any of those sorts of judges this Christmas.

[Curmudgeon]

Summary:



No.
Name
Race
Stub


4.
Valkav Kelgrave (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138745&postcount=120)
LN Dragonborn Human
Wild Feat Rogue 2/Ranger 2/Swashbuckler 1/Warblade 1/HnR Fighter 2/CSM 5/Monk 2/Mo9 4


That's not right. That is, it matches what the author put at the beginning of their entry, but not the build table. The above only has 19 levels.

The build is actually:
Wilderness Feat Rogue 1 / Ranger 2 / Swashbuckler 1 / Warblade 1 / Rogue +1 / Hit-and-Run Fighter 1 / Crinti Shadow Marauder 1 / Crusader 1 / CSM +3 / Monk 2 / CSM +1 / Master of Nine 4 / Fighter +1

which you can condense to:
Wild Feat Rogue 2/Ranger 2/Swashbuckler 1/Warblade 1/H&R Fighter 2/CSM 5/Crusader 1/Monk 2/Mo9 4

[Amphetryon]

Man you had to say it. I hope we don't have any of those sorts of judges this Christmas.

I'm just glad we're (apparently) past the stage of losing points on Originality for using a Base Class that was featured in prior rounds.

[sakuuya]

I'm just glad we're (apparently) past the stage of losing points on Originality for using a Base Class that was featured in prior rounds.

Hahaha, what? Did this really used to be a thing?

[Venger]

Hahaha, what? Did this really used to be a thing?
unfortunately yes. Hit particularly hard were swordsage and binder. They're often useful and very dip friendly. "I'm sick of seeing this" And such abounded

[WhamBamSam]

unfortunately yes. Hit particularly hard were swordsage and binder. They're often useful and very dip friendly. "I'm sick of seeing this" And such aboundedIn some ways you can get hit by a less unreasonable version of this in the form of "X was expected." It's super-not-fair to punish something like use of Incarnum in a class that requires Incarnum for full use of its features, but if the SI has an ability that involves dealing ability damage to yourself? Yeah, we all knew Binder was coming and I don't think it should be worth extra credit just because everyone else Vizzini'd their way out of that design choice.

If no one else is stepping up to judge this one, I might be able to pick it up after my exams conclude on the 17th (Thursday). I tend to take a while judging, but at least UoSI should be quicker to grade than usual as Shadow Marauder is only 5 levels and more focused than some classes.

[Venger]

In some ways you can get hit by a less unreasonable version of this in the form of "X was expected." It's super-not-fair to punish something like use of Incarnum in a class that requires Incarnum for full use of its features, but if the SI has an ability that involves dealing ability damage to yourself? Yeah, we all knew Binder was coming and I don't think it should be worth extra credit just because everyone else Vizzini'd their way out of that design choice.
I agree completely.



If no one else is stepping up to judge this one, I might be able to pick it up after my exams conclude on the 17th (Thursday). I tend to take a while judging, but at least UoSI should be quicker to grade than usual as Shadow Marauder is only 5 levels and more focused than some classes.
That would be great. Since its Christmas time and we're all busy cooking our thieves of life I'm sure that won't be a problem

[WhamBamSam]

That would be great. Since its Christmas time and we're all busy cooking our thieves of life I'm sure that won't be a problemJust so long as there's at least a week or so of cook time after I finish judging. I'm rather excited to cook up a Thief of Life myself.

[Korahir]

I haven't done this in a while, but since there are no judges, i'll try.

Can't promise I'll finish in time.

Edit: I have notes and scores on 7 builds and looked over the others. I think I will be able to finish in time but i may not flesh out my judgings with whole sentences.

[The Viscount]

We've extended deadlines before so that judges could give the builds a better assessment. I'm sure our chair wouldn't mind doing so in this case.

[Korahir]

An extention would help a lot. I have judged all builds by now, but i want to go over them at least once more and i am not to sure i have time tomorrow to check them all once more.

[Venger]

We've extended deadlines before so that judges could give the builds a better assessment. I'm sure our chair wouldn't mind doing so in this case.


An extention would help a lot. I have judged all builds by now, but i want to go over them at least once more and i am not to sure i have time tomorrow to check them all once more.

yeah, heliomance isn't gonna expect you to finish judging by tomorrow (with disputes too)

if you want to brush up on judging tips (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?287603-Handy-Tips-for-the-Iron-Chef-in-the-Playground-Noob)

we're all distracted cooking our thieves of life and with the holidays. speaking as a chef, I wouldn't mind waiting a few more days since the next rounds kinda already started.

[Curmudgeon]

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

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


Innovation
Innovation is half (2.5 points) subjective, and half based on what the other competitors come up with. If you suprise me you're good for the subjective part, but if everyone surprises me with similar ingredients you'll all suffer lower scores. Top marks come when you surprise me and also distinguish yourself from the competition. Your original choices also have to make sense for the meal; nobody is going to applaud horseradish on your ice cream.

Power
Power of the overall character should be in line with the power of the SI. Slightly better in all respects is perfectly acceptable; that's the ideal recipe. Much more powerful in any one aspect will lose you points, just as adding habanero peppers to a dish that calls for a little cayenne will ruin the meal. More powerful in many ways will send your score toward the minimum; you'll have made something quite zesty, but it won't be the right dish for the competition. You'll receive similar deductions if you fall significantly below the power of the SI. If your character relies on gear you need to list all such equipment requirements, just as you would specify a Culinique pan in a Baked Alaska recipe.

Elegance
Elegance is half (2.5 points) based on presentation (as follows), and half based on content.
All sources named: 0.25 points.
Proper use of tables: 0.75 points. Making the build readable means class and level (Ranger 1, Ranger 2, ... instead of just Ranger, Ranger, ...), feats and skills represented at the correct levels (so place Level Adjustment where it doesn't screw up the level numbers), clear specification of both skill points spent and ranks acquired, & c.

Use it, link it. All sources linked or specified by page number: 1.0 points. Every element of your build is going to get scrutinized by all the judges. If there's an opportunity to link to an online class description, feat, spell, or whatever: use it, link it; it will save time in evaluating your build. If you fail to follow this rule you're deliberately prioritizing your time over that of every judge. If there's no online source please include book title and page number at the first use of each reference.
Details, details: 0.5 points. That includes place of origin, alignment, subrace, patron deity, point buy numbers, racial and template adjustments, schedule of ability increments, languages, class variants, ACFs, substitution levels, and anything else that's necessary to understand your character. Leaving out or burying something needed in the build (alignment when it's a PrC requirement, for instance) will reduce your score.
In terms of content: no story is required, but if you do include one you need to make it both readable and worth reading. Your narrative will be evaluated relative to any rules content, so make sure your story works with the official source material. Also, please avoid story elements like "orphaned" or "heir to a kingdom"; those cliches aren't worth the electrons used to display them.

Adding a section which explains how your entry satisfies each of the the Innovation, Power, Elegance, and Use of Secret Ingredient contest criteria is your opportunity to show your culinary skills to maximum effect. Don't assume that build synergies are obvious to anyone but you: explain to the judges how your recipe combines flavors. I'm disinclined to improve scores afterward for elements you failed to highlight in your entry, so finish your write-up before submitting rather than later as disputes.

Using many sources will never hurt your score if the elements work together. If they don't work well together, keeping the list of sources short won't help you. Similarly, I won't penalize for class dips if they result in a build which works well with the Secret Ingredient. Spending XP gratuitously (on multiclassing penalties, for instance) will hurt your score; I'll consider XP use exceeding the maximum for level 20 (209,999) a mechanically illegal build.

Use of Secret Ingredient
Your meal should make the best use of the SI from first course to last. If you cram the SI in the last levels of your build without justifying that choice you should expect a low score; you'll have served up only desert rather than a full meal. If you make the rest of the meal bland purposely to showcase the SI you should expect a low score. If the rest of the build doesn't blend harmoniously with the SI you should expect a low score, regardless of whether those choices make the character stronger or weaker. You don't have to use every level of the Secret Ingredient, but if you leave something out you need to show that doing so results in a build which makes better use of the SI (not merely a better character overall).

In short, the build needs to demonstrate why the Secret Ingredient is the best choice for your meal, and not simply there to satisfy a contest requirement.


Originality 2.75
Let's start by acknowledging that this is a contest retread, from the failed Junkyard Wars XI: Magical Darkness + Improved Familiar - Wizard. That explains why mentions of "magical darkness", which isn't necessary for any SI abilities or Assassin Hide in Plain Sight, feature so prominently.

You're the only Lesser Drow character, and the only build using Assassin. Lesser Drow is right on Heliomance's list of allowed races; frankly, I expected more contestants to use this race. Assassin has some obvious synergies with Crinti Shadow Marauder (alignment, Hide ranks, Move Silently ranks), so it didn't surprise me. Your base classes were both used by competitors and expected by me. Darkstalker and Two-Weapon Fighting were also popular for this contest round.


Power 2
There's no mention of gear except that Mourne uses some sort of stabbing (piercing) weapon. Two-Weapon Fighting is awfully vague without weapons. Certainly no effort went into ensuring that TWF was used to good effect.

"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." That doesn't work, because:
The rogue must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. A rogue cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment or striking the limbs of a creature whose vitals are beyond reach. You might be able to qualify for Assassin some other way, but this story is dubious in support of that PrC entry requirement. As far as Assassin Death Attack goes, you don't expend any effort to boost the DC of the required Fortitude save, and Death Attack mostly doesn't work without some sort of additional effort. You also gain Poison Use, but make no mention of putting that to work for you. Your build table doesn't even include these two Assassin class abilities.

Instinctive Darkness is a pretty weak feat choice. It might make sense for Junkyard Wars with magical darkness as a requirement, but it does little for you in Iron Chef.

You've got some abilities which are dependent on flanking (Penetrating Strike, Critical Strike spell). Your Hippogriff familiar might be able to help you there, but you don't plan for that in the build. You do make mention of "Mounted Combat helping it to stay alive in battle", which means it then wouldn't be capable of flanking an enemy for you.

Familiar Stuff
There's no mention of training. With only +5 Handle Animal modifier, Mourne would need to use "take 20" rules, necessitating 20x 6 weeks, or 120 weeks, between level 12 and level 13, to train his mount. Alternatively Mourne could pay 1,000 gp to outsource the training, but that's not included in the build. Neither is the exotic saddle which is required for riding a Hippogriff (Monster Manual, page 152).

"... and it's perfectly capable of stealthing along with him." Unfortunately, that's not true. Mourne has Hide in Plain Sight; the familiar does not. Mourne can provide magical darkness to satisfy the Hide requirement of cover/concealment, but the Hippogriff can't meet the "not being observed" requirement to be allowed to Hide, so being able to use Mourne's ranks in the skill is irrelevant. Mourne's +27 Hide modifier is respectable, but not enough to reliably succeed at a Hide check with the -30 penalty to Hide Another (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/skills.htm#hide).

Gaining a rideable familiar via Improved Familiar saves some gp, because Hippogriffs are expensive. However, waiting to start Crinti Shadow Marauder until after you obtained your Hippogriff puts the SI very late in the build (after Improved Familiar, after Obtain Familiar, after your spellcasting PrC).


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. ... A slain or dismissed familiar cannot be replaced for a year and day. Substituting "Assassin" for "Sorcerer" as per Obtain Familiar feat, this is a significant build vulnerability.

"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." You didn't put Dimension Door on your list of known spells, and by leaving all the "magical darkness" Junkyard Wars spells you missed out on one bit of useful synergy, in the Dimensional Jaunt [Reserve] feat (Complete Mage, page 41). Dimension Door is an Assassin 4 spell which would qualify you for Dimensional Jaunt, giving you at-will teleportation including your familiar. You would need to boost your Strength to make the 1,000 lb. Hippogriff fit within your heavy load limit, but that's doable by (1) making all increments go to Strength, since you ignored the Intelligence boosts anyway; and (2) gaining the Lolth-Touched template, which is compatible with your race and close to your alignment choice. You would have qualified for that reserve feat at level 18, unlike your actual feat choice.

Skills are mostly chosen well. Ride is maximized for best use of Mounted Combat. Your familiar lacks Hide in Plain Sight, but can leverage Mourne's ranks in Hide when conditions permit. You've got excellent Spot, Listen, and Move Silently. These skills may give you the choice to avoid combat, which option is a significant plus in terms of Power. Use Magic Device is sufficient for Use a Wand (once it's been identified), and good for Activate Blindly with most rolls. Your Search (just a few ranks) and Disable Device (no ranks) aren't adequate for trapfinding, so I'm surprised you didn't grab an ACF to swap that class feature for something else.

I'll try to sum up your character's Power problems here. You've gone to quite a bit of effort to get a flying mount as a familiar, paying only the standard 100 gp for the familiar ritual rather than buying a young Hippogriff for 3,000 gp. You haven't leveraged that beyond the cost savings. The familiar can use your skill ranks, but you don't have any tactical plan for specific skill uses. There are abilities which work with a familiar, like Dimensional Jaunt, and you haven't made any use of them. You've taken Assassin to completion, but have ignored many class abilities (Death Attack, Poison Use, poison saves). You've chosen Two-Weapon Fighting, but haven't even bothered to select weapons for TWF. You've got several abilities dependent on flanking, but plan to stay mounted so your familiar can't flank for you. You've got spells mostly related to magical darkness, but no plans to use those in conjunction with any class abilities. If it isn't obvious by now, I'll state it plainly: you lack Power because your build has no focus. Other than satisfying the Junkyard Wars and Iron Chef contest requirements, the build doesn't seem to be able to do anything. Your stated "sweet spot", at level 17, is where Mourne gains a full attack after relocating. This is something a level 1 character (Barbarian with Lion Spiritual Totem and Whirling Frenzy) can accomplish.


Elegance 1.85
Ability numbers are OK if those are the original 32 point buy figures, and also OK if they reflect the abilities after Lesser Drow racial adjustments (+2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution). There's nothing in the build which specifies which DEX and CON numbers are correct, so this ambiguity makes judging the character harder. Languages aren't specified.

There are no XP issues (multiclassing penalties or whatnot) unless Mourne's familar dies. (Details 0.2/0.5)

Build table uses Ranger, Ranger, ... instead of Ranger 1, Ranger 2, ...; this makes it harder to read. Also the sneak attack (from Wilderness Rogue and Assassin) is mostly added together (rather than listing the actual class abilities), but not at level 19 (Assassin 9).

New skill point expenditures are not easily discernible. There are two different skill point errors in the table. The first is the failure to adjust for an extra skill point each level starting at level 8, when INT increases to 18; this means 1 skill point is ignored at levels 8-12. The second error is treating UMD as a class skill rather than cross-class for Crinti Shadow Marauder; each skill point spent gains only ½ rank. These two errors cancel each other out for the CSM levels (13-17) so the skill ranks are correct for those levels. Then we're back to 1 unspent skill point for the last Assassin levels (18-20). This means from level 18 on Mourne is guaranteed success with Use a Wand, a fairly basic skill threshold. ("Frankly, all good Assassin spells are wand-worthy ...") Had you actually spent all your skill points the character would have been more capable.

Ranger 2 Combat style missing from class features. Most Assassin 1 class features are also missing from the table.

Spells per Day table is incorrect, because it doesn't factor in the bonus spells from INT (17 at Assassin 1, increasing to 18 at Assassin 3). (Tables 0.3/0.75)

Sources aren't anywhere close to complete. There's no mention of where Lesser Drow comes from, or feats like Stealthy or Mounted Combat, or places like T’lindhet or Cathyr. With inadequate sourcing I have no reference for "Arkuin", so I'm only guessing you meant "Arkaiun". (Sources 0.1/0.25)

No helpful links like Lesser Drow (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20040215a&page=2), and no page numbers. (Links 0/1)

Presentation total 0.6/2.5

The build structure is fairly clean. There are no multiclassing XP penalties. You qualify for both prestige classes and take them to completion.

Improved Two-Weapon Fighting is illegal; you have either DEX 14 or DEX 16 rather than the required minimum DEX 17.

With ambiguous ability scores, unspent skill points, and one illegal feat you merit only a middling score for the Content part of Elegance. (1.25/2.5)


Use of Secret Ingredient 2.5
You've leveraged the synergy between Assassin and CSM entry requirements; that's good. You've maxed out your Ride skill to get some use out of the required Mounted Combat feat, possibly negating one hit on your mount each round; that's also good.

This is a late-to-arrive character. The Crinti Shadow Marauder levels are near the end of the build (13-17). Your best non-CSM ability, Supernatural Hide in Plain Sight, comes even later, at level 18. Building for Junkyard Wars has not made this a meal with much flavor from the CSM Secret Ingredient; it's slanted toward aftertaste.

Your Bonus Feat choice of Ride-By Attack is at odds with CSM Shadow Pounce. Shadow Pounce lets you make a full attack after teleporting, but (unlike a regular pounce) doesn't qualify as a Charge attack. Ride-By Attack only works with a mounted Charge. I suppose it's useful when you run out of Shadow Ride uses for the day, but you would make better use of the SI by getting more teleportation uses to leverage the CSM capstone Shadow Pounce, and picking a different Bonus Feat like [I]Mounted Archery. (The character is weak in ranged combat, with a limited number of spells suited to such use.)

You haven't done much with sudden strike. I don't see anything to increase your sudden strike damage. You can make sudden strike more likely, using magical darkness (to deny enemies their DEX to AC) + Ebon Eyes (so the concealment doesn't impair you); that's a plus. Sudden strike would apply within 30', but you don't mention any ranged weapons.

"Aranni and Oritonde were orphaned in the city of Dambrath at a young age." Dambrath is a nation, not a city. (Dambrath cities include Purl, Cathtyr, Luenath, T'lindhet, Prastuil, and Herath; you had quite a few choices to pick from if you cared enough to make the effort.) Your story also requires there to be a Thieves' Guild in this city which doesn't exist, and that this guild would "draft" creatures who could never not stand out in a Dambrath crowd, despite their mediocre Dexterity. Your story also requires filching of small items, but your twins have no ranks in Sleight of Hand, a trained-only skill. Also no Open Lock, Search, or Disable Device: in short, you can't support your claim that the Dvati twins would be of interest to a Thieves' Guild. As for entry into the SI, you claim this was via the agency of a single old Crinti noble man. From page 100 of Shining South, under "People of Dambrath":

The female Crinti nobles who serve as the stewards of Dambrath make this nation a true rarity in Faerûn.
Entry into Crinti Shadow Marauder requires either an appropriate race (not including Dvati) or "official sanction of the nobility of Dambrath", which means confirmation by the honglath, the official judging body. You've got at best the unofficial sanction of a sole individual in Dambrath, one who is necessarily excluded from the honglath by gender. My judgment is that you don't qualify for the Secret Ingredient, and those levels are mechanically illegal. CSM also requires nongood alignment, and you don't list any unless "TE" is supposed to mean something.


Originality 2
The choice of Dvati was novel, but your story at odds with the Shining South sources made it a disqualification for Crinti Shadow Marauder. Ranger was both expected and used by the competition. Warlock was novel, but with only 1 level you didn't get much except a multiclassing XP penalty. Master of Many Forms was different.


Power 1.75
You would incur a multiclassing penalty starting @4 (Ranger 3/Warlock 1). You're OK to 6,000 XP, but then a 20% penalty for the remaining 184,000 XP of a normal level 20 character = +147,200; the total of 153,200 = level 18 (or 17 with +1 LA), so you wouldn't have the last 2 levels of MoMF had your CSM levels been legal. As it is your build doesn't have the 5 CSM levels, so you've got 14 class levels; you miss out on the CSM Bonus Feat and the last 2 general feats, including Assume Supernatural Ability, which would be a significant Power boost. You're also splitting both your (limited) HD and your wild shape uses among two creatures. Your Power score reflects having only 14 levels compared to most others with 20.


Elegance 0.25
You score a 0 for the content half of Elegance because the character is mechanically illegal and doesn't qualify for the Secret Ingredient.

You don't list any understandable alignment. The "T" key isn't anywhere near "C", "L", or "N" on a QWERTY keyboard, so I have no clue what "TE" might mean. You talk about Hellbreaker (from Fiendish Codex II) but don't include it in your build. You also mention needing Use Magic Device for Ranger wands, but that's incorrect because your first class level is in Ranger. You list an illegal origin of the "city of Dambrath". (Details 0/0.5)

Table levels are wrong; you've got feats being obtained at levels 2, 4, 7, ... which is all illegal. You show 1 level of Dvati, but Dvati have no racial HD. You did list the levels in each class and make it possible to distinguish new skill acquisition, so that's a plus. You don't list the Shape-Changing Ranger variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) on the table. (Tables 0.15/0.75)

Sources are incomplete (leaving out Unearthed Arcana, for example). (Sources 0.1/0.25)

You have no links or page numbers. (Links 0/1)


Use of Secret Ingredient 1
Minimum score; you don't use the SI.

This was an interesting character concept, but the execution was fatally flawed. Your level 1 skills are illegal, which has significant consequences for the build. You have 4 (Soulknife) +2 (INT mod) +1 (Human) = 7 skill points per level, x4 (=28) at 1st level. You spent 34 skill points, including 4 cross-class points for each of Balance, Handle Animal, and Ride. Your error probably resulted from thinking that Able Learner applied here. However, you must select your level 1 skills before you select your first feat; see Player's Handbook on page 6. Able Learner is a 1st-level-only feat, yet it can't retroactively reduce the cost of level 1 skill ranks you've already purchased.

You don't meet the entry requirements for Soulbow (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060403a&page=2) when the offending level 1 ranks in Autohypnosis are not included. Without that Soulbow level you don't have the Precise Shot bonus feat or any other attributes of that class level. You don't acquire any more Autohypnosis ranks thereafter in the build, so all remaining Soulbow levels are defunct as well.

You don't meet the entry requirements for Bloodstorm Blade when the offending ranks in Balance are not included. You don't acquire any more Balance ranks, so all remaining Bloodstorm Blade levels are also defunct.

The worst of the news is that without the offending level 1 skills you only have 3 ranks instead of the minimum 4 in Handle Animal, and don't qualify to enter Crinti Shadow Marauder.

When all the previous mechanically illegal levels are not included, you get to Kensai with just BAB +4. You don't qualify for that class, either.

You're left with just the first 5 levels of the build, compared to the expected 20.


Originality 3.75
Human race was commonly used by your competitors and expected by me. Crusader was shared with one other entry. Soulknife, Soulbow, Bloodstorm Blade, and Kensai all were unique for this contest, and surprised me. Making an error at level 1 which caused your build to fall apart was not even original this Iron Chef round.


Power 1.25
You've got only a 5 level build.


Elegance 2.15
Your character uses 32 point buy properly. With Human race there is no multiclassing XP penalty for the 2 base classes. "Final (with Hit Die Bonus)" is a bit confusing, but I assume by that you mean all ability increments go to Dexterity. However, because your build is mechanically illegal from level 1, your score for the Content part of Elegance is 0.

You've got most of the necessary basics down, including race, alignment, point buy, and ability increments. I might quibble over the mount vagueness for a Crinti Shadow Marauder, but since you didn't get that far it doesn't matter. You don't list any languages, though; you automatically know Dambrathan (Player's Guide to Faerûn, page 12) and choices like Elven would help you fit in. (Details 0.35/0.5)

Your sources appeared to be complete, though "SRD: everything else" isn't especially helpful for a judge. (Sources 0.25/0.25)

The table had everything (except links to online sources to allow convenient checking of all the prerequisites) in the right place. (Tables 0.75/0.75)

Book sources listed page numbers, which helped to speed up the judging. You didn't list Player's Handbook page numbers or (better yet) online links such as Weapon Focus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#weaponFocus), which slowed down checking of prerequisites. (It's always bugged me that that Soulnife level 1 bonus feat can't be used until later when the character gains the BAB +1 prerequisite.) You did include a couple of useful links. (Links 0.75/1)


Use of Secret Ingredient 1
Minimum score; you don't use the SI.

Originality 3.5
Human race was both commonly used for this contest round and expected by me. You somehow managed to be the only one to use Dragonborn, which helps your score here. Dragonborn gives both an obvious power-up with flight, and an option to swap feats (without using Psychic Reformation or Dark Chaos Shuffle) which you took advantage of. Ranger and Wilderness Rogue were both used by the competition and expected, and Crusader was shared with one other entry. Swashbuckler, Warblade, Fighter, Monk, and Master of Nine were all novel, which was surprising with that many dips. You don't qualify for Master of Nine so that class doesn't count.


Power 2 2.25
Most of your build effort went into having martial maneuvers available, but that failed spectacularly. You hurt your build by having only 16 legal class levels rather than the expected 20. You're also short by 5 4 feats compared to what you thought you had. See below in Elegance for the mess.

You don't list Dambrathan in your languages, which you automatically know if you're from there (Player's Guide to Faerûn, page 12). Taking Draconic as a level 1 language is rather sub-optimal for your character, seeing as you also gain it at level 12. There's nothing in the build which indicates Draconic plays a role for you in levels 1-11, and you thereby miss out on a chance to add a Crinti language like Elven.


Elegance 1.6 1.7

Build Stub: Wilderness Feat Rogue 1/Ranger 2/Swashbuckler 1/Warblade 1/Rogue +1/Hit-and-Run Fighter 1/CSM 4/Monk 2/CSM +1/Mo9 4/Fighter +1
...
Ability Increases: Dex 17 (4th), Dex 18 (8th), Dex 19 (12th), Con 15 (16th), Con 16 (20th)
Dragonborn Scores: (12th) Str 14, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 8
Ability Increases: Dex 18 (16th), Dex 19 (20th)
You've understated your build stub by leaving out the Crusader dip, and overstated your abilities by increasing both CON and DEX at levels 16 and 20. You can't increment two scores each time, so I have to ignore both; you max out at DEX 17 and CON 16. (You'd only get an increment at level 16 anyway because you don't have a level 20.) You don't meet the requirement of DEX 19, so Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#greaterTwoWeaponFighting) is illegal in the build. You don't list Dambrathan in your languages; that's automatic if you're from Dambrath (Player's Guide to Faerûn, page 12). (Details 0.15/0.5)

There's no easy way to tell how many new skill ranks each skill entry entails. Your build table also has many errors. Wilderness Rogue (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rogueVariantWilderness Rogue) 1 does not start with base saves of Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1. Including the ability modifiers is not in keeping with WotC class tables, (example here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/rogue.htm)). Given that you've flubbed both CON and DEX numbers, deviating from standard table practice in this manner gets you dinged in Elegance. You've also failed to fill in many class features in your build table, such as Martial Rogue (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rogue) Bonus Feats, Ranger Track, Ranger Combat Style, Swashbuckler Weapon Finesse, ... Not being able to use this as a reliable reference led you to make several class feature errors which hurt the build greatly.


Bonus Feats: At 1st, 2nd, and 6th level, a monk can sacrifice a class ability (stunning attack at 1st, Deflect Arrows at 2nd, or Improved Trip at 6th) in order to gain a different bonus martial arts feat.
Those are 3.0 Monk class abilities which the 3.5 Monk does not have. Your character does not gain Dodge at level 13 or Blind-Fight at level 14. Accordingly, you do not qualify to enter Master of Nine, and those levels are mechanically illegal. You have a 16 level build, which necessarily excludes your level 18 feat and any class features, maneuvers, and whatnot obtained in those offending levels.

[I]Craven requires "Sneak attack class feature", which you do not have; that feat is illegal in the build.
I was too picky about requirements here. Scores increased.

"As per ToB pages 9-10, you end every turn without any withheld manuevers, and get a fresh set of all your known maneuvers at the start of your next turn."
It's rather irrelevant to the character because your build fell apart, but that's not quite what the rules say:

If, at the end of your turn, you cannot be granted a maneuver because you have no withheld maneuvers remaining, you recover all expended maneuvers, and a new pair of readied maneuvers is granted to you. That's a pair (two), not all. Crusaders do not control access to their readied maneuvers. (Tables 0.25/0.75)

Your sources list is missing Player's Handbook or SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm) content. (Sources 0.2/0.25)

You don't list any page numbers or provide any links. (Links 0/1)

With illegal CON and DEX increments, five four illegal feats, and four illegal class levels you get a low score for the Content part of Elegance: 1 1.1/2.5. The nonzero score is because you integrated Dragonborn into the character deftly, and managed to make a very dippy character make some sort of sense.


Use of Secret Ingredient 2
You start Crinti Shadow Marauder at level 8, which isn't too bad, but don't finish until level 15. The problem is you don't use much of the SI to advantage. You'd planned on at-will Shadow Stride, and you don't have that at all. You don't have Shadow Blade, and even if you did it would have only been at the end of the build. Monk Invisible Fist is an effective way to qualify for both sneak attack and sudden strike damage when it works (up to every 3rd round), but by level 14 many enemies will be able to see you when invisible and that hurts your build. And while Invisible Fist might help you to enable more damage, it doesn't create any of the shadows required for CSM abilities. Without Shadow Jaunt or Shadow Stride or a way to create shadowy illumination you're not getting anything extra from CSM class features. And by picking Dragonborn Wings aspect rather than Mind you don't gain darkvision. Without a way to see through shadowy illumination you may be denied sudden strike and sneak attack when in conditions which enable CSM Shadow Pounce.

[Curmudgeon]

Originality 4.25
Human race was both common and expected. Similarly Ranger was expected and used by the competition. Wilder and Illithid Slayer were novel. Because they make up most of the build, your score here is good. There's no obvious connection between being a Crinti Shadow Marauder and wanting to hunt down Illithids, but I suppose it could happen.


Power 3.75
"From 9th level onwards i have, in practice, infinite power points due to this little combo:
Bestow Power (costs 3), augmented with a wild surge +3, giving me 4 Power Points"

You link your mind with another psionic creature’s mind, creating a brief conduit through which mental energy can be shared. When you manifest this power, the subject gains up to 2 power points. You can transfer only as many power points to a subject as it has manifester levels.
You do not have another psionic creature’s mind, so you cannot Bestow Power to yourself.

You also have no ability to lessen the duration when you're dazed from Psychic Enervation. Enervation Endurance halves the PP cost, but does nothing for your dazed condition. Using Wild Surge is inherently risky, and you haven't addressed that problem.

"Stand Still is an additional way to soak damage in that it can force people trying to get within reach of me (i got a reach weapon and i can always end my action with making a 5ft away from my opponents), to stop moving towards me, resulting in them being unable to attack me"
Your tactical plan is poor. If your mount takes a 5' step away from the opponent at the end of your turn so you no longer threaten them, Stand Still (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#standStill) doesn't apply. If the opponent takes a 5' step toward you and has reach (either naturally or via a reach weapon like yours) they can then make a full attack against you. Remember, you share your mount's space. If the enemy can reach any of your horse's squares, they can reach you. Your plan also fails against Spring Attack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#springAttack), any unseen enemy, anyone after the first enemy to provoke an AoO, anyone who uses Tumble to avoid provoking, ...

You've got a basic limitation in that at the beginning of any combat you don't have any of your minute/level buffs, and pretending they're always active won't keep you from being killed. Metaphysical Weapon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metaphysicalWeapon.htm) can be augmented to last for hours, but your other buffs can't. Mostly these buffs will be foregone by the press for action, the exception being those rare encounters someone tells you to prepare for in advance.

Luckily for you I'm evaluating the Power of the build, not the accompanying delusions. A lot of what you've built is solid. You pick up Dimension Hop, the most cost-effective of the psionic teleportation powers, and thus an excellent way to enhance CSM Shadow Pounce. The Conflict Mantle seems like a better bet for the role of a Crinti Shadow Marauder (melee combat) than the usual lot of utility-heavy Wilder powers. The mantle gives you a decent granted power, one solid long-duration buff, and other buffs that are nice should you have the time to manifest them. You've got BAB +16 at the end for 4 attacks per full attack. Most importantly, you provide several powers to leverage Shadow Pounce for multiple full attacks per round — as long as your (definitely not infinite) power points hold out.

Most of your skill selections seem haphazard. You can't manifest powers above 3rd level, and don't have any feats which require you to expend your psionic focus, so making a DC 18 Concentration check to manifest defensively should generally be sufficient — yet you've got 23 ranks in Concentration. You failed to gain enough Ride skill to make Mounted Combat effective, so you can't negate attacks on your horse. You've maxed out Hide and Move Silently, but you're a mounted character so you're limited by your nonstealthy horse. (There's a -30 penalty to Hide Another (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/skills.htm#hide), so you can't Hide your mount.) You should be an excellent tracker due to maximum ranks in Survival, but at the same time you won't notice impending trouble until after you've taken damage because you have no ranks in Spot or Listen. Poor skill selections diminish your Power; you'll never get to act in a surprise round.


Elegance 1.95
Your sources are incomplete. For example, you don't list the source for Arcane Hunter ACF (Complete Mage, page 32). Your sources list is also missing everything from Player's Handbook. Your list doesn't state where any of your powers come from (Expanded Psionics Handbook and Complete Psionic); you only list classes and feats from those books. (Sources 0.1/0.25)

Your point buy numbers and alignment are good, and you specify all the ability increments. You don't list a build "sweet spot". You don't list any languages. There are no XP issues (multiclassing penalties or whatnot). (Details 0.3/0.5)

Class levels are all helpfully indicated on the build table. Number of new skill points spent at each level isn't clearly indicated. "Expanded Focus" at level 9 isn't a feat I know; I could guess you mean Expanded Knowledge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#expandedKnowledge) instead but that's irrelevant, because your scheme to use Bestow Power on yourself is DOA. According to the rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/index.htm#tableAbilityModifiersandBonusPowerPoints ) you gain some additional power points from having CHA 13, which you failed to include on your Psionics table. Your "Max Power Level Known" table entries are erroneous where they exceed 3rd, because your Charisma score never rises above 13. (Tables 0.3/0.75)

You don't list any links or page numbers. (Links 0/1)

As for the Content half of Elegance, your scheme for infinite power points drags down your score. Confusing enhancement and insight bonuses in your build snapshots was sloppy. Ignoring the downside of Wild Surge was either ignorant or disingenuous. Otherwise your build fit together pretty well. (Content 1.25/2.5)


Use of Secret Ingredient 3.75
By gaining multiple psionic teleportation powers you can make very good use of Shadow Pounce; as the most powerful CSM ability, I give that greater weight. You don't mention anything about Shadow Ride, but that's another resource which will make your daily power points last longer. You failed to leverage the Mounted Combat CSM entry requirement, so you can't negate attacks on your horse; and if your horse is easily killed you're a poorer Shadow Marauder. You've done nothing to enhance your shadow strike class feature. You chose Ride-By Attack as your CSM Bonus Feat, but don't put it to use.

Originality 3
Human race was both common and expected in this Iron Chef round. Human Paragon was also expected and used by your competition. Totemist and Pious Templar were novel in this field of entries, and surprised me. However, you fail to qualify for Pious Templar so that doesn't count. A fascination with Beholders is interesting, but doesn't actually do anything to help the build.


Power 1.5
Your legal build is only 10 levels, and you're short one feat for those levels.


Elegance 2.15

Prerequisites: Proficiency with selected weapon, base attack bonus +1.
You selected Weapon Focus (bite) without proficiency with bite. It may surprise you (I know it surprised me), but Totemist does not confer proficiency with natural weapons gained via soulmelds.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: You are proficient with all simple weapons, with light armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Traits
A humanoid possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry).
Proficient with all simple weapons, or by character class.
Lacking Weapon Focus with your deity's favored weapon, you don't qualify for Pious Templar. You could have chosen greataxe instead; Great Mother has two favored weapons (Complete Divine, page 124).

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Human paragons are proficient with all simple weapons and with light armor. In addition, a human paragon is proficient with any one martial weapon of his choice.
The Content half of your Elegance score reflects having only half the standard levels when the mechanically illegal bits are not included. (Content 1/2.5)

Your point buy is correct, and ability scores are clearly specified. Your alignment is listed, but no languages. You don't list your 10 Human Paragon class skills, nor your Human Paragon weapon proficiency. You don't list any weapons other than those from soulmelds. (Details 0.25/0.5)

The build table includes the level number of each class for clarity. You indicate both new skill purchases and total ranks, which makes judging easier. When you have Bonus Feat as a class ability you list the feat as a class ability only, failing to show feats in the standard place for them. (Tables 0.4/0.75)

Your sources are approximately complete, though "open chakra" is an allusion to three different feats, and "srd" actually refers to all the available Open Gaming Content and not just the System Reference Document. (Sources 0.25/0.25)

You don't list any links or page numbers. (Links 0/1)


Use of Secret Ingredient 2.5
You entered Crinti Shadow Marauder at first opportunity, maximizing its impact in the build. You have the maximum ranks in Ride at the last legal level in the build, which gives you some chance of using the Mounted Combat CSM entry requirement to advantage.

The Blink Shirt soulmeld specifies:
After using this ability, you can’t take any other actions until your next turn. You cannot bring along other creatures; you affect only yourself. You can't take your mount with you; that's undeniable. You might argue that Shadow Pounce overrides the "can’t take any other actions" stipulation, but as far as I can tell that only applies to Shadow Ride.

You don't do anything to increase sudden strike damage, but Kruthik Claws may increase the likelihood of when you can apply this damage.

"Dambrath has many nobles that long for excitement, and Jasmine’s father was no exception." From page 100 of Shining South, under "People of Dambrath":

The female Crinti nobles who serve as the stewards of Dambrath make this nation a true rarity in Faerûn.

female Crinti are the only citizens permitted to function as honglath, or judges (see Law and Order, below).
"She could see that they barely believed her, and they clearly balked when she spoke of her birthright. They paused for a moment to confer before informing her that while her story had some merit ..." A male can never inherit, and only in special circumstances can property pass via male succession: from his mother to his wife. Jasmine's father, as a married Crinti male, had no property or "birthright"; everything he had became the sole property of his Crinti wife when they wed. This story has no merit in Dambrath society.

The honglath, the official judges of Dambrath who would determine fitness of non-Crinti to join as a Crinti Shadow Marauder, would not give any credit to the illegitimate offspring of a male who committed the crime of deserting his Crinti wife. Jasmine's father, when known to be alive, would have been sentenced in absentia to death by slow torture in the temples, so presenting his signet ring could only enrage the honglath.

Entry into Crinti Shadow Marauder requires either an appropriate race (not including Half-Giant) or "official sanction of the nobility of Dambrath". "Her words did not sway their minds, but her fearsome presence clearly swayed their chicken hearts." A single Medium-size creature with a +10 Intimidate modifier is not going to sway a roomful of honglath, and Jasmine does not have "fearsome presence" (which you might have picked up via Frightful Presence feat (Draconomicon, page 106) if you had sufficiently high Charisma). Also, your Region wasn't Dambrath as required. From page 6 of Player's Guide to Faerûn:

The system of regions offers players an opportunity to “ground” their characters in Faerûn by describing the special advantages and distinguishing characteristics of various potential homelands.
Jasmine's homeland is somewhere else. Your story does not provide adequate justification for this required official sanction. Accordingly, my judgment is that you don't qualify for the Secret Ingredient, and those levels are mechanically illegal. Your legal build maxes out at class level 14 (ECL 15).


Originality 4.5
Half-Giant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/halfGiant.htm) was surprising for this contest round, but illegal for Crinti Shadow Marauder. Psychic Rogue and Elocater were both novel, and made up all of the build levels, not including Level Adjustment. You might have had a perfect score here if you didn't disqualify the character for the Secret Ingredient; that sort of Originality never helps.


Power 2.75 3
Expeditious Dodge gives you a dodge bonus only when you move 40' or more. It provides no benefit before you hit that 40' mark in the turn, nor when you relocate without movement (teleport). This doesn't seem like a great choice. You've also got trapfinding with zero ranks in Search and Disable Device.

"It also serves as a platform for Primordial Giant, which gives some neat mental stat boosts and at will invisibility, which is just killer at low levels. I am going to be assuming that you are invisible in combat unless you have a reason not to, so every fight should begin with you invisible."

A primordial giant can choose one of the following spell-like abilities, which it can thereafter manifest at will: invisibility, invisibility purge, or levitate. Caster level equals the giant’s racial Hit Dice.

Duration: 1 min./level (D)
The duration of the Primordial Half-Giant's Invisibility SLA with 0 racial HD is 0 minutes, so the character is not going to be invisible.
Primordial Giant Invisibility is confusing: it's stated to be a Spell-like ability, but it's also stated that the Primordial Giant manifests it. Magical Knack only applies to SLAs, not powers. I'm boosting the Power score 0.25.

"Control Light is largely for skulking about"
It would have to be. The duration of Control Light (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/controlLight.htm) is Concentration, and you don't have Extraordinary Concentration (Complete Adventurer, page 109) to concentrate as a move action. With your standard action tied up to maintain the power, you've only got a move action left. With your low-light vision this power is helpful for skulking, though not as much so as if you had superior low-light vision instead.

"Jasmine’s a big strong girl, so she can carry her tiger when she does so."

These great cats stand more than 3 feet tall at the shoulder and are about 9 feet long. They weigh from 400 to 600 pounds.
Jasmine has Strength 15 at ECL 9. Her maximum Heavy load is 200 lbs. (Powerful Build does not increase carrying capacity, as that's not an opposed check.) Jasmine doesn't come close to being able to carry a tiger. Of course that's irrelevant, as the character never gains the Wild Cohort (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) feat and thus never has a tiger. If your build were legal and Jasmine did obtain a tiger it would have been at ECL 16, which is much later than this level 10 snapshot claim.

You failed to gain enough Ride skill to make Mounted Combat effective, so you couldn't negate attacks on your mount if you had one.

Psychic Rogue and Elocater together give you reasonable ability to move about the battlefield. You've got mediocre Spot and Listen ranks, but they're better than nothing. Your stealth capabilities are good. Elocater Flanker increases the likelihood that sneak attack will apply if you've got a flanking buddy.

Your limitations are that you can't deal much damage, and you can't deal with traps, locks, or the other usual dungeon impediments. Your Use Psionic Device skill lets you use dorjes reliably at the end of the build (for powers not on the Psychic Rogue list). You can scout (up to the limits of your Spot and Listen skills) and that's probably the best use of the character.


Elegance 1.85
The Content part of Elegance is dragged down by your failure to qualify for Crinti Shadow Marauder. Never gaining the tiger mount you mentioned so frequently also hurt the build. (Content 1/2.5)

Your 32 point buy was calculated correctly, and the ability increments specified clearly. You failed to list languages. Your alignment was listed. Your Region wasn't Dambrath, but also wasn't specified. (Details 0.25/0.5)

Sources were incomplete. You didn't provide information for Sidestep Charge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#sidestepCharge) or Ride-By Attack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#rideByAttack), for instance. Nor did you source the duom (Dragon Compendium, pages 111-112). (Sources 0.1/0.25)

You have links for Psychic Rogue and Wild Cohort. You don't have any other links or page numbers. (Links 0.2/1)

Class levels were all numbered. Everything was at the right levels despite the character's Level Adjustment. Skill purchases weren't clearly distinguished from skill rank totals, though you did note cross-class skill costs. You didn't provide a table for what powers you had at what levels. (Tables 0.3/0.75)


Use of Secret Ingredient 1
Minimum score; you don't use the SI.

Your level 1 skills are illegal, which has significant consequences for the build. You have 6 (Ranger) +2 (INT mod) +1 (Human) = 9 skill points per level, x4 (=36) at 1st level. You spent 42 skill points, including cross-class points for each of Appraise, Disable Device, Forgery, Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device. Your error probably resulted from thinking that Able Learner applied here. However, you must select your level 1 skills before you select your first feat; see Player's Handbook on page 6. Able Learner is a 1st-level-only feat, yet it can't retroactively reduce the cost of level 1 skill ranks you've already purchased.

Without the offending level 1 skills you only have 5 ranks instead of the minimum 8 in Hide, and don't qualify to enter Crinti Shadow Marauder. Without the offending level 1 skills and the increases to Ride in your non-included CSM levels, you don't have the minimum of 9 ranks in Ride necessary to enter Wild Plains Outrider before Artificer 3. You do qualify to enter Wild Plains Outrider after Artificer 8, for the final 2 levels of your 14-level build.

"It has been related to me, O Happy King, said Ath-Thurayya, that there was, in Dambrath, a certain King. And this King had a Daughter, who was fierce as a Tigress, though she loved the poor and indigent, and regarded her Father's subjects with benevolence. And she was called by her people Manat, which is to say the Night Traveler ..."
From page 100 of Shining South, under "People of Dambrath":

The female Crinti nobles who serve as the stewards of Dambrath make this nation a true rarity in Faerûn.
There are no kings in Dambrath, and there haven't been since the Crinti people assumed control of the region (Shining South, page 98). Your story is both at odds with the RAW source material, and guilty of being a bad cliche ("heir to a kingdom").

The next problem with your character story is the camel.

Most of Dambrath’s land consists of open plains covered with tall grasses particularly suited for the breeding of horses.
Camels are suited to deserts and sandy plains, not grassy plains. The nearest actual desert to Dambrath is across the Hills of the Kings, across Southern Lluirwood, across the Gulf of Luiren, across Estagund, across the Blackfeather Barrens, across Durpar, across the Giant's Belt Mountains, to reach the Dust Desert of Raurin.


Originality 2.5
Human race was common in this contest round, and expected. Ranger was similarly expected and used by the competition. Artificer and Wild Plains Outrider were unmatched and also surprising. As it happens, use of a camel mount was not unique. Making an error at level 1 which caused your build to fall apart was not even original this Iron Chef round.


Power 3
After excluding all 5 levels of the SI and 1 level of Wild Plains Outrider you're left with a 14-level build, with BAB +12.
"On the utility side of things, you are a great skill-monkey, with a great emphasis on stealth and search. You have both Track and trapfinding, and you can create scrolls and infusions to augment your abilities."
Your touted Search skill is 13 ranks rather than 23, so your use for this skill is limited. (You actually don't have trapfinding; you have Artificer Disable Trap instead.) This pattern affects most of your important skills after removing the level 1 ranks and everything from the 5 Crinti Shadow Marauder levels and 1 Wild Plains Outrider level: you're about 10 ranks short of what you thought.

You're also missing the bonus feat from Crinti Shadow Marauder and the general feats at levels 15 and 18. Furthermore, because you didn't distinguish which was the general feat and which the Artificer Bonus Feat at level 18, and both of the listed feats are available in both categories, I have no way to distinguish them and must treat both level 18 feats as not included. That's a total of four fewer feats than listed in your build, which obviously hurts your Power.


Elegance 1.05
You specified no alignment. The SI has an alignment requirement. You already fail to qualify for the Secret Ingredient, so you can't suffer any worse from having multiple reasons for FtQ. You do suffer further for having a bad story. (Content 0.5/2.5)

Your 32 point buy numbers are OK. As noted above, you failed to specify an alignment. You left out languages as well. (Details 0.2/0.5)

Sources were only vaguely specified. Indicating that everything is somewhere in a list of 9 books does not serve a judge well, especially because not everything is there; for example Arcane Hunter ACF (Complete Mage, page 32). (Sources 0/0.25)

You didn't distinguish between new skill purchases and skill rank totals. Your skills aren't in any particular order, adding to the judging difficulty. You only sometimes distinguished between general and bonus feats on the table. You did number the class levels for convenience. (Tables 0.35/0.75)

You provided no links or page numbers. (Links 0/1)


Use of Secret Ingredient 1
Minimum score; you don't use the SI.


32 point-buy is the presumed creation method, but we have generally allowed other levels of point-buy.
If you do use a different point-buy, please make your case for its necessity in your entry.
From Dungeon Master's Guide, page 169:

1. Standard Point Buy: All ability scores start at 8.
You've got a starting Charisma score of 7. That's not legal with Standard Point Buy. You failed to make a case for this in your entry.


Special: Must have had direct contact with one’s patron deity or a direct servant of that deity, or with an enlightened being embodying the highest principles of an alignment (a solar, for example).
You don't ever specify a patron deity. You're obviously opposed to Loviatar and favorably disposed to Sharess. However, Sharess does not offer War domain, so that's not your patron. You have a very long story and even longer "walkthrough" commentary, but make no mention about anything related to satisfying this Special requirement. Here's the totality of your mention of this level:
"Level 11: War Domain
You can now cast Persisted Divine Might, making your terrible +5 BAB officially irrelevant. Now you have three attacks, ho ho ho."
This level is mechanically illegal and thus excluded from the build. Incidentally, there is no "Divine Might" spell; you're probably thinking of Divine Power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/divinePower.htm). You don't get that spell. Ho ho ho.

"Since Thistle now has an int score, she immediately gains two feats, as well as ..."

You may retain any one animal companion you already possess. You add your arcane hierophant class level to your druid or ranger level for purposes of determining your animal companion’s bonus Hit Dice, natural armor adjustment, and Strength/Dexterity adjustment (see the sidebar The Druid’s Animal Companion, page 36 of the Player’s Handbook).
...
In addition, your animal companion (if any) gains many of the abilities that a familiar would normally possess. You add your arcane hierophant class level to your arcane spellcasting class level, and determine the Intelligence bonus and special abilities of your animal companion accordingly (see the sidebar Familiars, page 53 of the Player’s Handbook).
Your Monstrous Spider companion is a Vermin companion. The Arcane Hierophant class feature applies to an Animal companion. From the link you provided (http://default.asp?x=dnd/re/20040705a):

Druids who favor insects have a more difficult time than druids favoring animals, because vermin are very different from animals.
You continue to have a more difficult time, because Companion Familiar applies to your Animal companion (if any). Channel Animal also applies to an Animal, just as written.

Originality 3.75
Human race was common and expected. Human Paragon was expected and used by the competition. Wizard was also used by a competitor. Druid, Arcane Hierophant, Spelldancer, and Contemplative were all novel, but because you failed to qualify for Contemplative that doesn't count.


Power 3 3.25
Your nonstandard point buy furthers min/maxing more than the standard, so you necessarily take a ding here. Over-reaching with respect to your Vermin companion also hurts. Spells which work on an Animal companion still won't work on Thistle, but I'm boosting your score here a bit anyway. You don't get the Contemplative level or the War domain. You have only BAB +11, and no way to increase that. Your skills are biased early toward your spellcasting focus on Concentration, Spellcraft and Knowledge (religion), leaving you clueless until you purchase Spot and Listen ranks late in the build. You've still got a fair amount of Power, but obviously not as much as you had thought you were achieving. Power +0.25


Elegance 1
Illegal point buy hurts you here. You didn't make a case for "a different point-buy" and I thought about disqualifing the character entirely. The rules aren't sufficiently clear for that, however, and I try to hew very closely to the rules. You failed to specify your 10 Human Paragon class skills. You indicated the character's alignment, but no languages. You didn't ever specify a deity. "Martial Wizard" is unclear, and "online SRD" provides little clarification. I'm guessing the variant found at the beginning of Unearthed Arcana page 59, and also here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#wizard); however the Battle Domain Wizard (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#battleDomain) is also a possibility. If you're not kind to your judges, don't expect them to bend over backward to reward sloppy documentation. (Details 0.1/0.5)

I have to exclude Practiced Spellcaster at level 18, because you failed to specify which of your spellcasting classes it applies to. You did specify what spellcasting to advance for Human Paragon; that's good. You also numbered (almost) all of your class levels on the build table for easier reading. Best of all, you distinguished the new skills purchased from total ranks. (Tables 0.25/0.75)

"Online SRD: Tracker Druid" doesn't jump out and say that it's the source headed as follows:

The druid might choose to give up her wild shape ability in exchange for becoming a swift and deadly hunter. As always, a link would have been better. Specifying nothing better than "Online SRD" is just a way to waste judges' time. (Sources 0.1/0.25)

You have links where the sources are only online at wizards.com. You don't have any other links or page numbers. (Links 0.2/1)

As far as the Content part of Elegance goes, you've made the Secret Ingredient an afterthought. Your build is about all the spells you can persist, and only incidentally includes levels of Crinti Shadow Marauder. Nothing flows. In your story, CSM is merely "The Aftermath". (Content 0.35/2.5)


Use of Secret Ingredient 2.25
This is a late-to-arrive character; your meal has no SI flavoring before level 13 (actually an improvement from your intended build because of the removal of Contemplative) . Your last level is at 19, at which you finally get 5th level Druid spells. You get Dimension Jumper one level before that, and get a bit of useful synergy (extra use of Shadow Pounce) with the SI. (You really need those extra full attacks, considering your weak BAB of +11.) You've maxed out your Ride skill (for 19 levels) to get some use out of the required Mounted Combat feat, possibly negating one hit on your mount each round; that's good. You've got a weak UoSI, but not abysmally so.

OK, so there's a problem with your camel. Your Region (homeland), a requirement for Crinti Shadow Marauder, is Dambrath.
From page 6 of Player's Guide to Faerûn:

The system of regions offers players an opportunity to “ground” their characters in Faerûn by describing the special advantages and distinguishing characteristics of various potential homelands.

Most of Dambrath’s land consists of open plains covered with tall grasses particularly suited for the breeding of horses.
Camels are suited to deserts and sandy plains, not grassy plains. The nearest actual desert to Dambrath is across the Hills of the Kings, across Southern Lluirwood, across the Gulf of Luiren, across Estagund, across the Blackfeather Barrens, across Durpar, across the Giant's Belt Mountains, to reach the Dust Desert of Raurin.


Originality 3.75
Human race was common in this contest round, and expected. Ranger was similarly expected and used by the competition. Shadowdancer was a novel class for this round of Iron Chef, and you took it to completion for a reason that made sense. As it happens, use of a camel mount was not unique.
"Those class skills that you need to enter on time are crazy. The only core class that gets them all is ranger."
What made you think you needed a core class for Iron Chef? Lots of entries have been using Wilderness Rogue (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rogueVariantWilderness Rogue) and Human Paragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm#humanParagon). Of course, I expected all of them, so Ranger isn't worse than other choices. And you did enter the SI in a timely fashion, which is excellent.


Power 2.75
Your main way of augmenting CSM Shadow Pounce is via Shadowdancer Shadow Jump. Shadow Jump works "as if by means of a dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) spell" which has the "can’t take any other actions" stipulation. However, as a Supernatural ability which only acts "as if by" that spell, I don't think there's a firm case for maintaining that restriction on actions. If you've got a Medium-size opponent, you can Shadow Jump the minimum of 10' to a different position adjacent to that opponent. However, you do have an action limitation.

Using a supernatural ability is a standard action unless noted otherwise.
Shadow Jump in 10' increments isn't going to be any different in the action requirement than CSM Shadow Ride in 25' increments, but you will add to the total of daily uses which give you a Shadow Pounce full attack. You're not bringing your mount along with Shadow Jump the way you would with Shadow Ride, though.

"Sneak up to enemy, on camel, in shadows."
That's much harder than when you leave the camel behind. Abdul's +31 Hide modifier is quite respectable, but pretty much cancelled out by the -30 penalty to Hide Another (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/skills.htm#hide). And a camel is not stealthy, so it can't Hide itself. Plus you've got to find shadows big enough for a camel to Hide in, not just those grain-of-sand shadows you can Hide near with Supernatural Hide in Plain Sight.
"Teleport within 30 feet of enemy. You get a free full attack, with sudden strike, during the surprise"

The marauder must have line of sight to her intended target from her original location. Further, the spot to which she teleports must be a place from which she can make a melee attack against the intended target with whatever weapon she had in hand at the beginning of her action.
I'm afraid your tactical planning needs some revision. This plan might be made to work, but it would require that you (1) have greater reach than your enemy (which as a Human you likely don't); and (2) you have an Elvencraft bow (Races of the Wild, page 166), which doubles as a quarterstaff (a melee weapon), in hand. If the enemy is flat-footed they might not get AoOs against you if you tried to make adjacent bow shots, but then again they might have Combat Reflexes (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#combatReflexes) and smack you every time you try to fire.

Most of your skill selections make sense, but I don't understand why you've added to your Perform (dance) ranks after entering Shadowdancer; it's not like Dervish where the skill ranks actually matter. You could have maxed out Sleight of Hand (remove enemy holy symbols and spell component pouches to impair their spellcasting), Survival (use that Track feat you've retained), or Ride (improve your chance to negate an attack on your camel via Mounted Combat). Your perception and stealth skills are very good; you're just limited by your non-stealthy camel.

You've got sensible ranged attack capability, unlike much of the competition; instead, you don't have any noticeable melee capability. You certainly could get an Elvencraft bow and have at least some melee ability, but you failed to mention that.


Elegance 2.95
Your 32 point buy was calculated correctly. You listed alignment, but no languages. Your expected Region is Dambrath, though a camel companion/mount casts some doubt on that. There are no XP issues (multiclassing penalties or whatnot) for the character. You didn't list a "sweet spot" or provide much snapshot info. (Details 0.25/0.5)

Your skills were a running total without highlighting newly purchased ranks, which made the judging harder. You numbered all the class levels (again as a running total). You distinguished general feats from bonus feats. You used the standard convention for the saves on the table, and also added a note state that very clearly. Ultimately the table had nearly everything (except links to online sources to allow convenient checking of all the prerequisites) in the right place. (Tables 0.7/0.75)

Sources? What sources? (Sources 0/0.25)

You provided no links or page numbers. (Links 0/1)

The Content half of Elegance is decent, if unspectacular. As you noted, most feats are prerequisites. The flow is good. Diehard is iffy, but not terrible. (Content 2/2.5)


Use of Secret Ingredient 2.75
You entered Crinti Shadow Marauder at first opportunity, maximizing its impact in the build. You have 13 ranks in Ride, which gives you some chance of using the Mounted Combat CSM entry requirement to advantage. You got the most extra uses of Shadow Pounce possible by taking all the levels of Shadowdancer; there's a big boost (up to 8 extra daily uses of Shadow Jump) just from that last level.

The biggest problem I see is that you're not allowing for the "place from which she can make a melee attack against the intended target" restriction on Shadow Pounce; you've only planned for ranged attacks. That means you can take advantage of CSM sudden strike, but don't get best use of the class's capstone ability.

The simple fact is that you submitted an unfinished build. I can't finish it for you; I just judge what's there.


Spellcasting: Ability to cast 1st level arcane spells, including at least two divination spells.
You listed only a couple of spells in your entry, neither of which is a Divination spell. Your build as written doesn't satisfy the entry requirements for this PrC, so those 10 levels are mechanically illegal. You have a 10 level build when the offending levels are not included.


Originality 1.5
Human race was common and expected. Wilderness Rogue and Wizard were both used by your competitors. Unseen Seer was novel for this contest, but that doesn't matter. You get a minor bump in Originality by featuring archery feats that your competitors didn't use.


Power 1.5
You have a 10 level build. You didn't get far enough to be comfortable in melee combat, which means you can make use of sudden strike but not the CSM capstone Shadow Pounce ability.


To select this ability, you must also choose to specialize in a school of magic. The spell-like ability gained depends on your specialty (see below).
You never designated a specialization for your Wizard or the particular SLA you would obtain from Immediate Magic. Accordingly, this ACF can't be included in the build.


Elegance 1.1
Your 32 point buy was figured correctly. You have no multiclassing XP penalty. You listed an acceptable alignment, but no languages for the character. There are no XP issues (multiclassing penalties or whatnot). You did list a "sweet spot" and provide (minimal) snapshot info. (Details 0.35/0.5)

"Keep boosting stealth, trapfinding skills, animal skills, poisonmaking, and spellcraft."
That's hardly a well-done skill allotment. You did number the class levels, which was helpful. You had a running total (until you stopped) of skill ranks, which makes distinguishing new skill purchases difficult. (Table 0.2/0.75)

Your sources list is incomplete. You didn't indicate any content from Player's Handbook or SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm). You didn't list the source of any spells, like Nerveskitter (Spell Compendium, pages 146-147). (Sources 0.05/0.25)

You provided no links or page numbers. (Links 0/1)

The Content half of Elegance is low because you simply didn't finish the build. (0.5/2.5)


Use of Secret Ingredient 2
You entered Crinti Shadow Marauder in a timely fashion, maximizing its impact in the build. Unseen Seer has a minor overlap in entry requirements with the SI (same Hide ranks); it's too bad that's irrelevant. You have 13 ranks in Ride as of your last legal level, which gives you some chance of using the Mounted Combat CSM entry requirement to advantage. Your sneak attack and Craven bonus damage on top of CSM sudden strike may make you somewhat effective, but your +6 BAB is a big limitation.

[Troacctid]

You listed only a couple of spells in your entry, neither of which is a Divination spell. Your build as written doesn't satisfy the entry requirements for this PrC, so those 10 levels are mechanically illegal. You have a 10 level build when the offending levels are not included.

Not my build, but isn't this character a Wizard? All Wizards naturally have the ability to learn and cast divination spells. I mean, you could theoretically make the choice not to learn any divination spells of 1st level or higher, but the build does state that it meets the prerequisites for Unseen Seer:

By level 5, the slave's training is complete and he has met all the prerequisites for Crinti Shadow Marauder (and Unseen Seer for that matter).
...which implies that he did not make that choice.

[Curmudgeon]

Not my build, but isn't this character a Wizard? All Wizards naturally have the ability to learn and cast divination spells.
It's the difference between having the possibility and actually creating the character to do so. Otherwise, you'd just write "Wizard X" (where X = 20 - SI levels) and hand-wave everything else.

[Troacctid]

It's the difference between having the possibility and actually creating the character to do so. Otherwise, you'd just write "Wizard X" (where X = 20 - SI levels) and hand-wave everything else.

Well, you couldn't do that, because the contest asks for a standardized build table containing class levels, BAB, saves, skills, feats, and class features. Spells known, however, are noted to be unnecessary for a Wizard, according to the contest rules:

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)

[Curmudgeon]

That's a table for number of spells known at each level.

[Sian]

You don't list any understandable alignment. The "T" key isn't anywhere near "C", "L", or "N" on a QWERTY keyboard, so I have no clue what "TE" might mean.

Not the cook, and its not likely to mean jack, but Dvorak keyboards have T just below C and just left of N

[Jormengand]

Not the cook, and its not likely to mean jack, but Dvorak keyboards have T just below C and just left of N

More likely, "True Evil" is meant to mean neutral evil.

[Vaz]

Just having a read through... And whoa... I do have to up my game if I was to enter.

I like it though.

[arclance]

Just having a read through... And whoa... I do have to up my game if I was to enter.

I like it though.
Curmudgeon is one of the harshest judges who actually follows what few judging rules there are.
I was wrong, the rule on how to judge equipment could be formated better and I misread part of it. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20188900&postcount=214)
Don't let the depressingly low scores drive you away.

I think people would have done better this round if there was a rule requiring skill points be reported each level this way.

Skill | Skill Points Spent | Ranks Purchased | New Total Ranks
That would remove a lot of the guess work both for cooks and judges since it separates skill points from skill ranks which matters for cross class skills.

[Korahir]

Judging Criteria:


General things:
All categories start at 3 points. I increase/deduct points in 0,25 increments up to a maximum of 2 points.


Originality:
Pretty subjective category. Did you surprise me? Did you use well known conepts of optimizaiton? Is it a very overused character archetype?

Power:
How powerful are you at what you want to do? Do you have more than one trick? How reliable are your tricks?

Elegance:
Presentation of the build, especially the table, citations and notes.
Legality of the build. If you subsequently don't qualify for classes penalties go high.

UoSI:
Are you a Crinti or likely to be chosen by the nobility of Dambrath?
How are you using the mounted aspect of CSM? Are you using the sudden strike ability? Are you using shadow pounce? Minor things: are you using shadow walk?



Mourne Elisviir
Overall: 12,75


Originality: 2
Only drow entry. Stealthy drow backstabber spiced with mounted combat. (0)
Bits of backstory, nothing really makes Mourne stand out as a unique concept (fluff or crunchwise). (-1)

Power: 3
Two Weapon Fighting + 6d6Sneak Attack/2d6 Sudden Strike. Decent strength, Craven could help giving Mourne more reliable damage. The usual problem with TWF and SA/SS: When Mourne hits, he hits hard. When Mourne misses, Mourne misses by miles. Chances of hitting high AC enemies not relying on Dex are slim especially with iterative attacks. If denied SA/SS, damage decreases rapidly. (0)

Notable Assassin Spells: Alter self especially with a hippogriff decent options available. Rest complements sneaky backstabber. (0)

Elegance: 3,75
Build flows nicely, easy to read and many explanations and citations. (+1)
Instinctive Darkness: No SLA Darkness on lesser Drow. Mourne doens't qualify for that feat. (-0,25)

UoSI: 4
Shadow pounce used via Dimension door (+0,5)
Sudden strike and mounted combat add to the overall build (+0,5)


Aranni and Oritonde
Overall: 13,5


Originality: 4.5
Only dvati entry. The concept you present is spiced with ideas on how to use dvati and MomF to full benefit. (+1) Backstory and Overview present a very dangerous and smart couple of twins. Aranni and Oritonde are not murderhobos. (+0,5)

Power: 3,5
Well MomF is powerful and versatile. The dvati shadow pounce combination also gives me shivers. I only did the math roughly, but I agree with your statement. It is likely that Aranni and Oritonde can take out a level appropriate with that trick in one round. (+1)
HP might become an issue, that is the way of the dvati. Compensating this relies heavily on your playstyle.(0)
One flaw in the build: it takes time to get online. You lack a lot in the first levels. (-0,5)

Elegance: 2
Table is a little wonky, would have preferred the +1 LA at the end of the table. (0)
Entry feat stealthy chosen at same level as CSM: technically not possible: see PHB p. 58 level advancement. (-0,5)
Not to sure what the single point in UMD is for. Was thinking hard about the warlock dip, but i get it in some way and haven't found a better option myself. Still implies multiclass penalties (-0,5)

UoSI: 3.5
As you are no Crinti, but can impersonate one, I don't mind you being a non Crinti.(0)
Shadow pounce used only via shadow ride(0)
Sudden strike (grapple, trip) and mounted combat add to the overall build (+0,5)


Katjusha, the Bloodstorm
Overall: 13


Originality: 4.5
You try to do some very unique things. Your whole concept is to be what judges don't expect. (+1,5) What do I miss for a perfect score? A more fascinating backstory. (0,)

Elegance: 2,5
The whole table is easy to read and well cited. (+1)
Able learner: doesn't apply on first level, the feat is selected after you allocate skill points (-0,5)
Regarding your RAW concerns: Shadow pounce while mounted and thrown mind arrows I agree completely. On the matter of the Teleporting Mind Blade/Arrow (see spoiler) (-1,5):


I hit my books pretty long to figure out the RAW regarding the whole teleporting Mind blade trick. I'll make a pros and cons list for your interpretation, but before let's read the following excerpt from shadow pounce:
„Any time she uses an ability, spell, or effect with the teleportation descriptor“
Pro:
Because of the wording of weapon properties being special abilities the mind blade fulfills the necessity to use an ability, spell or effect and since it is named teleportation that's more than a descriptor. Since „Teleportation is instantaneous travel through the Astral
Plane“ the description of the weapon property fits it exactly. So the created mind blade uses most likely a teleportation effect per RAW, but....

Con:
„As a move action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind.“
The word that makes me doubt that a mind blade is part of the creator of the mind blade is distilled:
to distill: to make pure; to draw out something according to thesaurus. If something is drawn out of something, to me it is not any more part of that something. I couldn't find any reference to psychic energy being part of the creator of such energy.

Neither pro nor con: „Further, the spot to which she teleports must be a place from which she can make a melee attack against the intended target with whatever weapon she had in hand at the beginning of her action.“ So your mind blade/arrow must be aimed at a position where you can make a melee attack against an intended target. I think that by RAW this can be achieved simply by declaring anything an intended target and aiming close to it.

So my final verdict is this: This trick is questionable and I'd love to hear more knowledgable people dicuss the RAW, but for the sake of this contest I don't think your combo is legal. I don't think a mind blade/arrow is part of the creator anymore and therefor doesn't trigger a shadow pounce. So I penalize you in elegance and judge power and UoSi based on what you can do without infinite attacks.



Power: 2,5
So what's left if you subtract your main trick? A decent defensive crusader, who lacks in offense massively. Ranged pin heavily relies on the NI grapple checks and since you have to teleport into melee to activate shadow pounce your ranged feats aren't really helpful. (-1) disputed and penalty lowered in the process to -0,5



UoSI: 3,5
Shadow pounce only used via shadow stride (0)
Mounted combat used for mounted archery (+0,25)
Sudden strike improved by staggering strike (+0,25)



Valkav Kelgrave
Overall: 12,25


Originality: 2
Dragonborn wasn't expected, but doesn't change much in the build if left out. (0)
Idiot Crusader is well known and is equally often abused (almost Abjurant champion level for my test) (-1)
Backstory doesn't really give much insight, although Valkal isn't presented as yet another dangerous murderhobo. (0)

Power: 4.25
Well, Idiot Crusader (+1,5)
Valkav takes quite a while to come together, but maneuvers will help him out after level 5 (-0,25)

Elegance: 2,75
Table: Your skills chosen and skill points allocated are hard to read. (0)
Build flows nicely, a lot of dips, though nothing I'd penalize. For a bonus i lack more crafty things pulled off with the dips. (0)
As i don't have the dragon magazine update of oriental adventures I am not sure the bonus feats for monks are still available. You have the benefit of the doubt here. (0)
You have allocated your attribute increase twice for the levels 16 and 20, I think it's a fluke, still a small penalty (-0,25)
Craven: specifically needs the sneak attack class feature, which you traded away (feat rogue). Sudden strike does not qualify here (it only does for prerequs which „require a minimum number of sneak attack extra damage dice“) and assassin's stance doesn't cover either as you pick it up later. (-0,25)


UoSI: 3,5
Shadow pounce used via Shadow stride + Idiot crusader(shadow stride). (+0,75) Sudden Strike is useful for the myriads of attacks in some way + craven. (+0,25)
Mounted combat was completely ignored and I cannot see why you would ever need a mount. (-0,5)


Nyldene
Overall: 14,25


Originality: 3
Psionic skirmisher. Nothing jumps out. Right in the ballpark of what i expect of an entry. A deeper backstory would have been nice.

Power: 4
Decent pyschic powers resulting in strong buffs and main engine for shadow pounce abuse(swift, move, standard action). Very possible to take out a level appropriate encounter in one round, if you have time to buff yourself. (+1)
You also take a while to come together, but compensate by being a decent beatstick early on (0).

Elegance: 3,75
Very clean build. Illithid Slayer is a little odd, but you explain that one sufficiently and I found no major errors (+0,5)
I would have loved a full skill ist on every level, but everything else is well described (+0,5)
I don't think your infinite power points combo works, unless you can declare yourself another psychic creature (-0,25).

UoSI: 3,5
Shadow pounce used to full extent (Dimension hop+slide) (+1). Sudden strike and mounted combat though are just accepted. I don't see the need for a mount in your build (-0,5)


Hale
Overall: 10,75


Originality: 2,75
blink shirt skirmisher was very much exactly what i expected. (-0,5)
Didn't expect Pious Templar, moreso following the great mother. (+0,25)

Power: 3
Decent beatstick. Shocktrooper, spirited charge and shadow pounce via blink shirt is neither very impressive nor lacking. (0)

Elegance: 1,25
Here is a list of things i don't know: spells chosen, soulmelds chosen, essentia investend in soulmelds, weapon chosen for weapon specialization. (-1)
You don't qualify for weapon focus (bite) as you aren't proficient with bites subsequently not qualifying for pious templar (-0,5)
Skill selection is hard to read, look at other entries to make my job easier. (0)
Not sure what synergy you see between the shocktrooper archetype, the spirited charge archetype and the shadowpounce archetype. I don't see a very cohesive build (-0,25)

UoSI: 3,75
Shadow pounce used via Blink shirt (+0,5)
Mounted combat used for spirited charge (+0,25)
Sudden strike doesn't get any attention (0)


Jasmine Half-Blood
Overall: 12


Originality: 3,5
Primordial Half-Giant? You got my attention. (+0,25)
The rest is an expected psionic skirmisher. (0)
I like the fact that the tiger is given attention in the backstory and some of the hinted possibilities would ensure laughter at a gametable, but sadly the tiger is acquired at lvl 15 and some of the tricks ou mention i don't think actually work (0)

Power: 2,75
Once shadow pounce is active, which is very late, you deal some damage, though it is not that impressive, especially since you rely on flanking, opportunistic strike and SS/SA. (-0,5)
the rest of your build gives you decent options für scoutin/utility via your powers and UPD. (+0,25)

Elegance: 2,75
Mixing faerun (crinti) with eberron (Primordial Template) (-1)
I would have loved a full skill ist on every level, but everything else is well described (+0,5)
You could have added mor details on your Psionic Powers, a table i.e. (0)

UoSI: 3
You offer no solution for the problem that you are not a Crinti and you cannot impersonate one. Relying on the sanction of the nobility of dambrath is a little weak. (-1)
Shadow pounce via dimension slide (Dimension hop mentioned via UPD) (+0,75)
Sudden strike tacked on SA and flanking synergy with mount (+0,25)
While the tiger is hilarious, I am not convinced you will actually ride him in combat that often (0)


Manat, the Night Traveler
Overall: 13,5


Originality: 3,5
Artificer is surprising. (+0,25)
I like the general concept of a more utility oriented CSM (+0,25)

Power: 3,25
Not really great damage after shadow pouncing (-0,25)
Very utility heavy thanks to artificer. (+0,5)

Elegance: 2,5
Mixing faerun (crinti) with eberron (artificer) (-1)
Able learner: doesn't apply on first level, the feat is selceted after you allocate skill points (-0,5)
I would have loved a full skill ist on every level, but everything else is well described (+0,5)
Craven: specifically needs the sneak attack class feature. Sudden strike does not qualify (it only does for prerequs which „require a minimum number of sneak attack extra damage dice“) (-0,25)

UoSI: 4,25
Shadow pounce via shadow ride only (0) shadow pounce used via infusions and created items+0,25
Sudden strike doesn't get any attention (0) sudden strike + craven (+0,25)
Mounted combat is the absolute key in the build. (+0,75)


Lady Liandra
Overall: 14,25


Originality: 3,5
Arcane Hierophant into a no spellcasting progression SI? Wow. (+0,5)
Backstory is nicely fleshed out, though, I am still confused which side Liandra is on. (0)

Power: 4,5
5th level wizard and druid spells with a persist trick even for divine might. Utility and lots of options (+1,5).


Elegance: 2,25
Your starting Charisma is illegal, it can only go as low as 8. (-0,5)
I would have loved a full skill ist on every level, but everything else is well described (+0,5)
Your selection of Wizard spells is missing. Only bits of it in text. (-0,25)
Your God(ess) and subsquently how you got the war domain are a mystery to me(neiter loviatar nor sharess have the war domain available). (-0,5)
How do you plan to pull off spelldance with the necessary perform (dance) check DC: 10+modified spell level with a total bonus of +4 (+5 at lvl 20)? I think your skills have to be rearranged. (0)


UoSI: 4
Shadow pounce via multiple wizard spells (+0,75)
Sudden strike doesn't get any attention (0)
Mounted combat gets attention via trample and the animal companion(+0,25)


Abdul, the Mamluk
Overall: 9,5


Originality: 2
A mounted ranged skirmisher on a pretty standard mount. No backstory. Not sure why he is named owned slave (mamluk). Nothing really makes Abdul stand out as a unique concept (fluff or crunchwise). (-1)

Power: 1,25
Ranged Skirmisher without any strength bonus. So it's longbow damage + 2d6 sudden strike. That's pretty close to nonexistent damage output. Every creature immune to sudden strike and DR 10 recduces your damage to zero. Your plan of kiting fails for everything that either teleports itself or has superior movespeed. Both encountered quite frequently (-1,5).
Outside of that main trick you are a ranger/shadowdancer, which means you are a decent scout and shadowdancer gives you some utility. Although i have to mention that you can't sneak up while mounted, because your mount can't use Hide or move silently, unless you are a wild plains outrider (-0,25)

Elegance: 2,5
The whole table is easy to read and well cited. (+1)
You claim you have 26 dimension doors and 4d8+8d6 damage per round. Don't know where this numbers come from (0).
Diehard is a wasted feat and why do you max out Perform (dance), while not having a single point of listen (spot is maxed) All these choices don't make any sense to me (-0,5)
How are you using shadow jump with a mount? You have no casterlevel on shadowjump to take creatures with you and the ability mentions nothing of the sort? (-0,5)
You have to jump into melee range for shadow pounce to activate, you cannot just jump close to your target as you mentioned: „Further, the spot to which she teleports must be a place from which she can make a melee attack against the intended target with whatever weapon she had in hand at the beginning of her action.“ You'd have to use a weapon that doubles as a bow and melee weapon. (-0,5)
UoSI: 3,75
Shadow pounce via shadow jump (0,5)
Sudden strike doesn't get any attention (0)
Mounted combat used for mounted archery (+0,25)


Crinti Slave
Overall: 10,25


Originality: 2,5
Unseen Seer really had me in high hopes for some interesting interaction. Well, seems there is none. Also naming a dish Crinti slave and providing no backstory whatsoever really is rather disappointing. (-0,5)

Power: 3
You have 6th level wizard casting. (+0,5)
I have no clue what you try to achieve with everything else. Your damage potential is pretty weak and relies heavily on sneak attack/sudden strike. You are a decent scout, when not mounted. (-0,5)

Elegance: 1,25
Finish your dish:
I don't allocate skill points for you. (-0,5)
No spells specified, not even those acquired by advanced learning. (-0,25)
Don't know if you qualify for unseen seer as no spells are listed, therefor not sure if you have two divination spells (-0,5)
I just don't get your overall selection of feats and classes. What are all the archery feats for? What does Silent spell and Still spell for you? (-0,5)

UoSI: 3,5
Shadow pounce: potentially could be used via spells, but i am not here to guess. (0)
Sudden Strike: stacked with sneak attack. (+0,25)
Mounted combat used for mounted archery (+0,25)



Please check for errors in my math, I am really tired right now and have double checked them already and still think i made mistakes.

Thanks to all contestants, It was fun to judge your builds.

Looking forward to the disputes, but not sure how much time I'll have the next few days. I hope our esteemed Chairwoman can delay the deadline a week or so if there are multiple disputes to my scores.

[Venger]

Curmudgeon is one of the harshest judges who actually follows what few judging rules there are.
Don't let the depressingly low scores drive you away.
Curmudgeon is... not following the judging rules. I'm sure the tidal wave of disputes will do a better job explaining exactly why.

Judging incoming

can't wait.

EDIT: I double checked your totals. your deductions match up with the scores you posted. I'm sure you'll get an extra few days to settle disputes. I think we're waiting on at least one more judge too.

[Troacctid]

That's a table for number of spells known at each level.

I took it to mean that spells known aren't necessary for a Wizard entry. Perhaps the chair can clarify the intent.

[Lagren]

Scores after our first two Judges, before disputes:


Build Name
Curmudgeon
Korahir
Total
Nearest 1/4 mark


Nyldene
13.7
14.25
27.95
28


Lady Liandra
10
14.25
24.25
24.25


Jasmine Half-Blood
10.1
12
22.1
22


Mourn Elisviir
9.1
12.75
21.85
21.75


Abdul, the Mamluk
12.2
9.5
21.7
21.75


Valkav Kelgrave
8.6
12
20.6
20.5


Manat, the Night Traveller
7.55
12.75
20.3
20.25


Katjusha, the Bloodstorm
8.1
12
20.1
20


Hale
9.15
10.75
19.9
20


Aranni and Oritonde
5
13.5
18.5
18.5


Crinti Slave
6.1
10.25
16.35
16.25

[arclance]

Curmudgeon is... not following the judging rules. I'm sure the tidal wave of disputes will do a better job explaining exactly why.
The Judging rules are so vague (except the rule about giving out zeros and Refusing to Judge some entries) as to be almost impossible to not follow because they do almost nothing to restrict what criteria people judge on.
Judging: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Secret Ingredient.
Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
Elegance could bear a little elaboration. It basically measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavor for power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is considered in poor taste, and judges are asked to take a dim view of this option, taking it into account while grading. Other things that will cause penalties here are excessive multi-classing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points.Please note the following change: a legal source's relative obscurity should not be considered as penalizing Elegance, excepting the aforementioned issues with Unearthed Arcana. Using too many sources may result in a penalty to Elegance at the judges' discretion, but a book's relative obscurity may not. In that same vein, drawing solely from the Core 3 (and the d20 SRD) should not be punished for lacking Originality.

FAQ (some of this should probably be repeated in the Judging section for clarity)

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

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

Q: Are Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, or Kingdoms of Kalamar allowable sources?
A: 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.

Q: What about online sources in general?
A: 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.

Q: 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. In a similar vein, LA buyoff and fractional BAB are also disallowed. 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.

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

Q: What's the minimum score in a category?
A: 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 requirement 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.

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

Q: So what's the deal with equipment, anyway?
A: There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list. Historically, judges have frowned upon "item dependent" builds, but unfortunately the definition of that has been applied to mean anything from builds that don't function if you remove one very specific item, to builds that so much as mention a particular weapon. Builds that don't list gear should be assumed to buy useful generics - items to boost their primary stats, cloaks of resistance, appropriate magical weapons and armour, and so forth. If a build would find particular items useful, they should be listed, but experience suggests that the more generic you keep them, the more favourably judges are likely to look upon them, as a build being shut down because the Thundering Bagpipes of Urist McTrumpetbritches were unavailable is considered a weakness. Similarly, requiring items in order to be able to qualify for things tends to be frowned upon.
Curmudgeon definitely is not following some of the unwritten rules on Judging (i.e. penalizing for lack of equipment is not usually done, assuming Wizards only know the spells written down is not common but this is not the only Judge who does this, ignoring part of a build because skillpoints are slightly wrong to qualify for something is usually a (Large) elegance penalty unless it is unfixable [very few go as far as Curmudgeon did with it]) but I don't see any of the written rules being broken.
Curmudgeon may be bending this rule way too far though the chair will have to decide that.

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 requirement for a prestige class does not merit a 0, but may qualify for a penalty, at the judge's discretion.

I also expect many disputes because Curmudgeon does not closely follow the historically accepted judging process and that annoys people.

[Venger]

The Judging rules are so vague (except the rule about giving out zeros and Refusing to Judge some entries) as to be almost impossible to not follow because they do almost nothing to restrict what criteria people judge on.

Even if you're going to argue that because something is not explicitly forbidden by the FAQ that it's okay, you are still not correct.

There is indeed an explicit rule about judging regarding mundane equipment, made specifically because of Curmudgeon acting like this the last time he judged. You even quoted it:



Q: So what's the deal with equipment, anyway?
A: There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list. Historically, judges have frowned upon "item dependent" builds, but unfortunately the definition of that has been applied to mean anything from builds that don't function if you remove one very specific item, to builds that so much as mention a particular weapon. Builds that don't list gear should be assumed to buy useful generics - items to boost their primary stats, cloaks of resistance, appropriate magical weapons and armour, and so forth. If a build would find particular items useful, they should be listed, but experience suggests that the more generic you keep them, the more favourably judges are likely to look upon them, as a build being shut down because the Thundering Bagpipes of Urist McTrumpetbritches were unavailable is considered a weakness. Similarly, requiring items in order to be able to qualify for things tends to be frowned upon.[/spoiler]



Curmudgeon definitely is not following some of the unwritten rules on Judging (i.e. penalizing for lack of equipment is not usually done, assuming Wizards only know the spells written down is not common but this is not the only Judge who does this, ignoring part of a build because skillpoints are slightly wrong to qualify for something is usually a (Large) elegance penalty unless it is unfixable [very few go as far as Curmudgeon did with it]) but I don't see any of the written rules being broken.
Curmudgeon may be bending this rule way too far though the chair will have to decide that.


I also expect many disputes because Curmudgeon does not closely follow the historically accepted judging process and that annoys people.

Yes. Hopefully the chair will decide just that.

It has nothing to do with "unwritten rules" it's about him deducting or deciding that you don't qualify because you inherited from your father and not your mother, or that you own a camel. no, we don't have rules explicitly prohibiting that, but we shouldn't have to.

[The Viscount]

The source of the problem is not about the Judging rules being vague. We've had this discussion before. The judging guidelines will never be specific enough to avoid disputes unless they are so specific that they are enough to judge a build by themselves. This is not a desirable outcome, because judging requires that human touch to assess what feels right.


I also expect many disputes because Curmudgeon does not closely follow the historically accepted judging process and that annoys people.

There isn't a historically accepted judging process. There really isn't more than what is laid out here, any more depends on the judge. People are objecting in large numbers because Curmudgeon's criteria include several super-precise readings of the rules that virtually no-one else has. These are the types of things that would require chefs to tailor make their builds to his requirements to escape being marked illegal. This would be difficult, but because Curmudgeon did not announce his judging until dishes were already submitted, there is nothing the chefs could have done to address the problems he is calling them out on. Four of the 11 builds are judged as not having entered the SI at all, Two because of a skills dispute (which could have been fixed) and two because of backstory. This is not the type of thing that makes a build illegal, if that is what you mean by historically accepted process.

[arclance]

There is indeed an explicit rule about judging regarding mundane equipment, made specifically because of Curmudgeon acting like this the last time he judged. You even quoted it:
Huh, rereading that I see you are correct there.
I missed this line (buried in the very center of that block of text) on my first and second reading.

Q: So what's the deal with equipment, anyway?
A: There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list. Historically, judges have frowned upon "item dependent" builds, but unfortunately the definition of that has been applied to mean anything from builds that don't function if you remove one very specific item, to builds that so much as mention a particular weapon. Builds that don't list gear should be assumed to buy useful generics - items to boost their primary stats, cloaks of resistance, appropriate magical weapons and armour, and so forth. If a build would find particular items useful, they should be listed, but experience suggests that the more generic you keep them, the more favourably judges are likely to look upon them, as a build being shut down because the Thundering Bagpipes of Urist McTrumpetbritches were unavailable is considered a weakness. Similarly, requiring items in order to be able to qualify for things tends to be frowned upon.
It should probably start with that since starting with "There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list." makes this block of text look like it contains guidelines and there is a hard rule buried in there.



There isn't a historically accepted judging process.
There are some historically followed (by most judges not all) judging trends (if you like that wording better) even if you don't believe it.
That is what the new clarification on equipment grew from in the first place (i.e. "we don't normally penalize for not including equipment here, in fact many will penalize you for including it").


This is not the type of thing that makes a build illegal, if that is what you mean by historically accepted process.
Yes that is what I mean, that historically such things would not be said to make a build illegal.
The rules don't specifically define if those are acceptable reasons to declare a build illegal so it is up to each Judge to decide if it is until the chair says otherwise.

Curmudgeon tends to nitpick things to a degree others find strange which I think is what is causing things like this to crop up in his Judging.
This is the reason I see him as Mr. Wilson from Dennise the Menace in my head.

[Venger]

Huh, rereading that I see you are correct there.
I missed this line (buried in the very center of that block of text) on my first and second reading.

It should probably start with that since starting with "There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list." makes this block of text look like it contains guidelines and there is a hard rule buried in there.
Sure. The point is, by you own admission, there is a rule about equipment which he has repeatedly broken with his judgings in this round, not for the first time.

The first bit is about how much a chef is obligated to list. The central bit, the actual rule, is about judges not being allowed to assume you're naked if you don't list every single thing you carry with you.



There are some historically followed (by most judges not all) judging trends (if you like that wording better) even if you don't believe it.
That is what the new clarification on equipment grew from in the first place (i.e. "we don't normally penalize for not including equipment here, in fact many will penalize you for including it").
he never said there weren't judging trends.



Yes that is what I mean, that historically such things would not be said to make a build illegal.
The rules don't specifically define if those are acceptable reasons to declare a build illegal so it is up to each Judge to decide if it is until the chair says otherwise.

No. The rules do not specify it because there does not need to be an exhaustive list of all existing illegal reasons you can penalize a chef.

You cannot take points off for (for a single example, there are many) picking a specific animal as a companion, saying it's illegal. That is not a real restriction that exists via the animal companion ability. You can't just make up your own rules. We do not need language in the FAQ saying this since Curmudgeon is the only one who pretends not to understand it.


Curmudgeon tends to nitpick things to a degree others find strange which I think is what is causing things like this to crop up in his Judging.
the problem is that he's making up his own rules and even then inconsistently enforcing them.

[arclance]

Sure. The point is, by you own admission, there is a rule about equipment which he has repeatedly broken with his judgings in this round, not for the first time.
So because I admit I missed the one rule he clearly broke (no room for differences in interpretation there) when I first started talking about his Judging I somehow still need to be berated like an Idiot?
I don't want to talk about that anymore and won't respond to further conversation about it.


he never said there weren't judging trends.
No, he said "There isn't a historically accepted judging process.".
I responded to that rephrasing it to "Judging Trends" (which I commented on in the post) because I may have not been clear enough and I wanted to clarify what I meant in case he misunderstood me.


No. The rules do not specify it because there does not need to be an exhaustive list of all existing illegal reasons you can penalize a chef.
The "Normally Acceptable" reasons for declaring something illegal under the rules are not defined (except for clarifying what build components are and are not allowed) so all we have to go on is past Judging and Chair rulings.
For lack of a better term lets call that historical data "Judging Trends".
Because these RAI "Judging Trends" are not set down in the RAW "Rules Text" but take the form of a vague and informal social contract not following them does not mean you are breaking the Judging Rules.


You cannot take points off for (for a single example, there are many) picking a specific animal as a companion, saying it's illegal. That is not a real restriction that exists via the animal companion ability. You can't just make up your own rules. We do not need language in the FAQ saying this since Curmudgeon is the only one who pretends not to understand it.
Yes that would be making up your own rules.
I don't have time to go through and look for more things he might have done so I will just go into one thing that this applies to.
If his determination of incorrect skill point spending causing people to fail to qualify for things is correct (I don't have time to verify this) there are rules on how to handle failure to qualify for this when Judging.
While I believe the Spirit of that rule has been violated I don't think that because of the way the rule is written that it necessarily violated what it says.


inconsistently enforcing them.
I don't have time to do a full judging level analysis of the builds (since this involves double checking skill point spending) so I can't speak to how consistent the Judging was.

[Heliomance]

Whoa, holy crap guys! I have 20 PMs of disputes appeared in my inbox.

Posting them is going to have to wait until tomorrow, I'm afraid. I have a lot of reading to do, apparently. O_o

[Curmudgeon]

You cannot take points off for (for a single example, there are many) picking a specific animal as a companion, saying it's illegal.
What are you talking about? There are two entries which use a camel. In a setting which is grassy that seems like a poor choice to me, and I said so. However, I did so before the scores section in each case, and didn't say that the choice was illegal. As per the stated judging criteria I didn't give extra credit in Originality for something that surprised me but was stupid (horseradish on ice cream). I would have given them credit for the half of Originality that's based on uniqueness in the contest round — except that choosing a camel wasn't unique.

Yes, I expect the entries to actually have to stay within what the rules allow in terms of capabilities. If they claim more than what's allowed and use that excess to attempt to qualify for something, they're not playing fair and I say so.

I wouldn't allow you to play a mechanically illegal character in one of my games; I'd insist you fix it first. I expect the same in Iron Chef, except that the structure doesn't allow contestants to fix their current characters. I think it's highly dubious for a judge to alter a character in the process of correcting errors and then judge their own (partial) creation. Instead, contestants can try to do better next time.

[Darrin]

I wouldn't allow you to play a mechanically illegal character in one of my games; I'd insist you fix it first. I expect the same in Iron Chef, except that the structure doesn't allow contestants to fix their current characters. I think it's highly dubious for a judge to alter a character in the process of correcting errors and then judge their own (partial) creation. Instead, contestants can try to do better next time.

Ok, let me see if I can put this more diplomatically... the standards you require for a "legal" entry are so far above what has been the common practice in previous Iron Chef contests that it's making you appear to be unreasonable, punitive, and worst of all... heartless. And yes, I realize that "common practice" involves a lot of unwritten standards, which judges are not required to recognize or adhere to. I'm actually an advocate for judges to have a great deal of discretion, and I'd like to see that continue. But I'm also concerned because the majority of scores you've provided, while exhaustively detailed and thoroughly researched, are so far out of the normal range of what we commonly expect from other judges that they are unhelpful and disruptive.

I don't believe that was your intention. On the one hand, I respect your expertise as a rules authority and value your contributions to the forum. On the other hand, your adherence to literalist interpretations of the rules without any attempt at leniency or benefit of the doubt compels me to speak up and object. And on the gripping hand, I am confident that the Chair will provide us with a fair and equitable way to move forward once she's had time to dig herself out of the disputes.

[KrimsonNekros]

Ok, let me see if I can put this more diplomatically... the standards you require for a "legal" entry are so far above what has been the common practice in previous Iron Chef contests that it's making you appear to be unreasonable, punitive, and worst of all... heartless. And yes, I realize that "common practice" involves a lot of unwritten standards, which judges are not required to recognize or adhere to. I'm actually an advocate for judges to have a great deal of discretion, and I'd like to see that continue. But I'm also concerned because the majority of scores you've provided, while exhaustively detailed and thoroughly researched, are so far out of the normal range of what we commonly expect from other judges that they are unhelpful and disruptive.

I don't believe that was your intention. On the one hand, I respect your expertise as a rules authority and value your contributions to the forum. On the other hand, your adherence to literalist interpretations of the rules without any attempt at leniency or benefit of the doubt compels me to speak up and object. And on the gripping hand, I am confident that the Chair will provide us with a fair and equitable way to move forward once she's had time to dig herself out of the disputes.

I'm in aggreance here, and personally I'd like to avoid another incident akin to what happened the last time there was a major problem with a judge

[Heliomance]

Brace yourselves, here come the disputes!




You do not have another psionic creature’s mind, so you cannot Bestow Power to yourself.

Bestow power has "Target: One Psionic Creature", and NOT "Target: Another Psionic Creature". As Nyldene obviously is psionic, and the crunch text doesn't explicitly say that you can't use it on yourself (probably because WotC didn't except it to be broken enough that it would ever be viable to cast it on yourself) She should be able to cast it on herself. Similar to the fact that a cleric can cast Cure Light Wounds on himself even though it have "Target: Creature Touched", which is the same as core definition as Bestow Power has.



You also have no ability to lessen the duration when you're dazed from Psychic Enervation. Enervation Endurance halves the PP cost, but does nothing for your dazed condition. Using Wild Surge is inherently risky, and you haven't addressed that problem.

Given that i only intend to use Wild Surge while out of combat, the chance of getting dazed is of limited concern. Not nonexistent (if someone jumps me while regenerating), but rather limited.


First of all, thank you for stepping up against the challenge of judging a massive 11-entry Iron Chef edition. Nonetheless, I have some objections:
This was an interesting character concept, but the execution was fatally flawed. Your level 1 skills are illegal, which has significant consequences for the build. You have 4 (Soulknife) +2 (INT mod) +1 (Human) = 7 skill points per level, x4 (=28) at 1st level. You spent 34 skill points, including 4 cross-class points for each of Balance, Handle Animal, and Ride. Your error probably resulted from thinking that Able Learner applied here. However, you must select your level 1 skills before you select your first feat; see Player's Handbook on page 6. Able Learner is a 1st-level-only feat, yet it can't retroactively reduce the cost of level 1 skill ranks you've already purchased.I'd like to see a RAW citation on this. After probing the entire PHB, I found that all other rules requiring steps had such steps either A. clearly called out and labeled ordinally. (i.e. "Step 1: <description 1>", "Step 2: <description 2>", and so forth) or B. has the order of RAW execution referred to grammatically (i.e. "To do so, <description 1>. Then, <description 2>".) Page 6 offers no such order of execution, and you only choose to interpret it as to follow in order of enumeration. Admittedly, the actual resulting dysfunction is that the rules do not cover what happens if you choose steps that rely on information accessed only by doing a different step first, such as doing Select Skills before Roll Ability Scores. Still, we are going by only what the RAW dictate say, and not what we think the rules mean in the absence of clarity.Katjusha is missing a grand total of 6 skill points, that's a given. What I don't understand is why the judging chooses to interpret that the resulting correction would have to deduct the skill points specifically from the skills that needed them the most, when it's clear that the written entry clearly states that it qualifies for (Autohypnosis 8 and Balance 8 are explicitly stated) and takes the prestige classes affected.

Out of all 28 skill points, apparently the assumption was that the entry, when following the alleged RAW, would only end up with, at most, 7 skill points in Autohypnosis by level 5 and, at most, 7 skill points in Balance by level 6, deliberately in the worst manner so as not to qualify it for the PrCs (and perhaps, will likely do the same for the SI). Why is there even a need for such assumption when the entry already clearly states what PrCs are being taken and the skill points requirement have already been stated to fulfill it. Such requirements will only not be met should the judge choose to interpret the "RAW"-compliant skill point allocation in the worst way possible, which seems to me to be deliberately...I'm not sure what the most appropriate English term is, but... antagonistic?

As for the rest of the criterion, I can't (and may no longer) provide any feedback because the first "obstruction" pretty much stopped Katjusha in her tracks anyway, rendering the other three judging technically correct. I do have questions, though, with regards to referencing SRD-based sources: Where does it stop? Should I also either page-reference or link every skill, classes, and feats, despite them being already available online? Should I link the class features themselves (like the Soulknife's Weapon Focus), despite being part of the class anyway?




First and foremost, let me extend my thanks to Curmudgeon. That was a lot of work, and while I disagree with almost all of it, that's certainly not his fault.



Elegance 1.6
You've understated your build stub by leaving out the Crusader dip, and overstated your abilities by increasing both CON and DEX at levels 16 and 20.


Leaving out Crusader was an oversight on my part, but hardly a punishable offense given it's inclusion in the build table and the rest of the text.



You can't increment two scores each time, so I have to ignore both; you max out at DEX 17 and CON 16. (You'd only get an increment at level 16 anyway because you don't have a level 20.) You don't meet the requirement of DEX 19, so Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#greaterTwoWeaponFighting) is illegal in the build.


Ah... I see the problem. The Con increases were leftover from a previous edit and were not supposed to be listed. The increases at level 16 and 20 were both supposed to be Dex. Dragonborn at 12 reduces Dex by 2 and increases Con by 2, so I needed to bring Dex back up to 19 by level 20. I apologize for the confusion.



You don't list Dambrathan in your languages; that's automatic if you're from Dambrath (Player's Guide to Faerûn, page 12). (Details 0.15/0.5)


Your attention to detail is commendable. This was indeed an oversight on my part, but again, I don't see how this is a punishable offense. Language was not part of the requirements, nor does it really have any impact on the mechanics of the build.



There's no easy way to tell how many new skill ranks each skill entry entails.


I am not aware of a universal requirement for how entries are expected to list the skill ranks. In previous Iron Chefs, there is a wide variety of different methods to list skill ranks. Up until this point, almost all of these methods have been considered adequate for the purposes of the contest.



Your build table also has many errors. Wilderness Rogue (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rogueVariantWilderness Rogue) 1 does not start with base saves of Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1. Including the ability modifiers is not in keeping with WotC class tables, (example here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/rogue.htm)).


My understanding was that it's a long-established practice in Iron Chef for entries to include the ability modifiers along with the save modifiers, but in retrospect I'm not sure if this is a commonly established practice or just something I was doing out of habit. The table, as I understand it, is an accurate representation of the base saves plus ability modifiers. I am not aware of any mandate in the Iron Chef rules to list the save modifiers in any particular format.



Given that you've flubbed both CON and DEX numbers, deviating from standard table practice in this manner gets you dinged in Elegance. You've also failed to fill in many class features in your build table, such as Martial Rogue (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rogue) Bonus Feats, Ranger Track, Ranger Combat Style, Swashbuckler Weapon Finesse, ... Not being able to use this as a reliable reference led you to make several class feature errors which hurt the build greatly.


Con/Dex has already been addressed. "Standard table practice" is not really something that existed before you mentioned it, but if we are going to go by "standard practices" of what has been used in Iron Chef before, then I don't quite see how the weight of evidence is on your side.

The Martial Rogue bonus feats are listed in the Feats column and identified with (FB) to denote Fighter Bonus feats.
The Track feat is listed in the Feats column.
The Ranger Combat Style is listed in the Feats column.
The Weapon Finesse feat is listed in the Feats column.

It is not necessary to list these as both class features and as feats, which would be redundant. I don't see how my inability to list these features in both columns could create any confusion on your part about how these feats or class features were obtained.



Those are 3.0 Monk class abilities which the 3.5 Monk does not have. Your character does not gain Dodge at level 13 or Blind-Fight at level 14. Accordingly, you do not qualify to enter Master of Nine, and those levels are mechanically illegal. You have a 16 level build, which necessarily excludes your level 18 feat and any class features, maneuvers, and whatnot obtained in those offending levels.


Oriental Adventures is still a valid 3.5 source. Nothing in the errata or the Dragon Magazine #318 update changed how the text on OA page 19 or pages 79-81 functions. The system by which monks trade their class features for martial arts-related feats, and the rules for martial arts styles as presented in Chapter 6 of that book are still valid 3.5 rules. Yes, there were significant changes to the Monk class between 3.0 and 3.5, but Stunning Fist and Deflect Arrows are still available as class features on a 3.5 Monk, and the 3.5 OA text allows me to trade those class features for the bonus feats listed on Table 6-1. DMG page 4 says existing products are compatable with "minor adjustments", and I fail to see how this is an unreasonable assumption of how the OA text continues to function in 3.5.



Craven requires "Sneak attack class feature", which you do not have; that feat is illegal in the build.


Complete Adventurer page 8:

"For the purpose of qualifying for feats, prestige classes, and similar options that require a minimum of sneak attack extra damage dice, treat the ninja's sudden strike ability as the equivalent of sneak attack."

Any class granting sudden strike as a class feature satisfies the requirement for Craven. You could try arguing that this text only applies to the Ninja's sudden strike and to no other instance outside of that class, but it's evidently clear that whenever the designers included sudden strike on a class, they intended it to be treated in the same manner as the Ninja's sudden strike ability.

You might have a stronger argument that, even though sudden stike does qualify for Craven, the build doesn't actually have any sneak attack damage, and Craven does nothing because you cannot add a damage modifier to damage you do not have. This might be a reasonable argument up until Mo9 2, where the build gets Assassin's Stance (allegedly), and thus has both sudden strike and sneak attack. Counter argument would be that sudden strike damage is treated the same as sneak attack for the purpose of feats, so Craven is added to sudden strike damage just as if it were sneak attack damage, but the RAW is a little murky there.



"As per ToB pages 9-10, you end every turn without any withheld manuevers, and get a fresh set of all your known maneuvers at the start of your next turn."
It's rather irrelevant to the character because your build fell apart, but that's not quite what the rules say:
That's a pair (two), not all. Crusaders do not control access to their readied maneuvers. (Tables 0.25/0.75)


The "pair" in this text refers to the two maneuvers granted to a Crusader at level 1. As the Crusader gains additional granted maneuvers, this number would increase above two. This is accomplished first via the Extra Granted Maneuver feat, and later with the text in ToB p. 96, where a PrC adding a readied maneuver to the Crusader base class also increases the number of granted maneuvers by one. Once the build has a number of granted maneuvers equal to the number of known maneuvers, they are all granted to the Crusader at the beginning of his turn. Or am I misunderstanding your argument that Crusaders are never granted more than two maneuvers under any circumstances?



Your sources list is missing Player's Handbook or SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm) content. (Sources 0.2/0.25)

You don't list any page numbers or provide any links. (Links 0/1)


PHB/SRD is assumed, and has never been required to be listed as a source. Likewise, providing page numbers or links has never been required in any previous Iron Chef. There's quite a long history of Iron Chef entries *not* including the PHB, page numbers, or links to the SRD. By a strict reading of the contest rules, a list of sources is not actually required as part of the submission. (The "Use it, link it" mentioned in the FAQ is not listed as a requirement in the rules, and only refers to online sources.) If you'd like to convince the rest of the Iron Chef community to put these in the contest requirements, then you're welcome to do so, but this currently contravenes the established practices to date.



Use of Secret Ingredient 2
You start Crinti Shadow Marauder at level 8, which isn't too bad, but don't finish until level 15. The problem is you don't use much of the SI to advantage.


We are in agreement here. I didn't do much to include Mounted Combat, and wound up trying to turn it into a joke in the backstory (17 dead horses).



Monk Invisible Fist is an effective way to qualify for both sneak attack and sudden strike damage when it works (up to every 3rd round), but by level 14 many enemies will be able to see you when invisible and that hurts your build. And while Invisible Fist might help you to enable more damage, it doesn't create any of the shadows required for CSM abilities. Without Shadow Jaunt or Shadow Stride or a way to create shadowy illumination you're not getting anything extra from CSM class features. And by picking Dragonborn Wings aspect rather than Mind you don't gain darkvision. Without a way to see through shadowy illumination you may be denied sudden strike and sneak attack when in conditions which enable CSM Shadow Pounce.

Agreed. These were weaknesses in the build that I did not address.

Again, thank you for your time and effort.


1. The bulk of the penalties applied to Manāt derive from the complaint that, per the rules on page 6 of the Player's Handbook, which places "Select a Feat" after "Select Skills." As a result, you have decided that my skill placements are illegal in level one (as I have not yet selected the Able Learner feat and therefore must purchase several skills at cross-class ranks.

First, the assumption seems to be that, as a result of this error, I receive no skill points that first level, which seems unnecessarily harsh. Even if this ruling were correct (which I will address shortly), the fair way to adjudicate this would be to reduce the skills purchased using Able Learner to half-ranks rather than full ranks. Therefore, key skills such as Hide, Move Silently and Ride should remain unchanged, as the Able Learner feat not applying to my first level skills does not apply in this case.

Second, I actually do take issue with this core complaint. Under "Record Racial and Class Features" (also page 6), it explicitly states that you can feel free to look ahead or to backtrack during the following steps if needed. This is important, because otherwise aspects of the character creation process simply would not function. For example, it would be impossible to select any class that requires certain alignments at first level, because the point at which alignment is determined comes after the point at which you choose a class.

2. "Your story is both at odds with the RAW source material, and guilty of being a bad cliche ("heir to a kingdom")."

At odds with the RAW source material? Perhaps. But guilty of being a bad cliche? The character and the quoted sections are specific references to one of the oldest and most well-known collections of stories in history, kitāb ʾalf layla wa-layla (more commonly known as One Thousand and One Nights). I thought that was readily apparent from the quotes. For example, here is a piece from the Sir Richard Burton translation from the story titled "Sindbad the Seaman and Sindbad the Landsman":


"How many by my labors, that evermore endure,
All goods of life enjoy and in cooly shade recline?
Each morn that dawns I wake in travail and in woe,
And strange is my condition and my burden gars me pine.
Many others are in luck and from miseries are free,
And Fortune never load them with loads the like o' mine.
They live their happy days in all solace and delight,
Eat, drink, and dwell in honor 'mid the noble and the digne.
All living things were made of a little drop of sperm,
Thine origin is mine and my provenance is thine,
Yet the difference and distance 'twixt the twain of us are far
As the difference of savor 'twixt vinegar and wine.
But at Thee, O God All-wise! I venture not to rail,
Whose ordinance is just and whose justice cannot fail."

In any case, I hardly think it is fair to call it a cliche when the character which it is based upon significantly predates most of these cliches (at a best guess, kitāb ʾalf layla wa-layla dates back to the 8th Century, with many of its individual stories going back even further). With such direct call-outs both stylistically and in character concept, I thought the reference would be explicit. My apologies if this was wrong.

(In retrospect I probably should have made Manāt the daughter of a Queen, not a King, to more easily align with the nation of Dambrath; however, I was worried about straying too far from the source and making the character unrecognizable.)



1: Vermin Companion vs. Animal Companion, Channel Animal
My interpretation of the vermin companion web supplement is that it presents new options for the druid's Animal Companion class feature and additional rules regarding these options, rather than replacing the druid's Animal Companion class feature with an entirely new class feature named Vermin Companion.

If the DM doesn't subscribe to this interpretation, Liandra will not use the Vermin Companion alternate class feature, and instead purchase a Watchspider. (From Waterdeep: City of Splendors, pg. 140.) This does produce an issue with size - as a Medium creature, Liandra can't ride a Medium creature. However, she can take advantage of Share Spells to cast Alter Self on her companion familiar, because, quote, "Additionally, the druid may cast a spell with a target of "You" on her animal companion (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself." Pick a Large magical beast (not animal - the Watchspider's native type is magical beast, and it doesn't magically become an animal when it's adopted as an animal companion) with 5 or less HD: that's your companion now. The Spider Eater (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/spiderEater.htm) looks like a nice candidate in core (poison, Good 60ft flight, constant Freedom of Movement) while being thematically appropriate.

As for channel animal only working on animals, I'd like to note that it targets "a single animal that you touch (including your familiar companion)". This is a specific exception, because "The familiar companion is a magical beast (augmented animal), but you can bestow harmless spells on your familiar companion as if it were an animal instead of a magical beast." I read these class features together as allowing us to treat our companion familiar as an Animal regardless of its actual type, at least for the purposes of Channel Animal.

2: Failure to Qualify for Contemplative
I'm sorry that this was apparently unclear, but I did make a significant effort to fulfil the Contemplative special prerequisite.

"Special: Must have had direct contact with one’s patron deity or a direct servant of that deity, or with an enlightened being embodying the highest principles of an alignment." You don't have to have a patron deity to be a Contemplative. You mention that "You didn't ever specify a deity." This is because Liandra doesn't worship a god: as an urban druid, she worships the spirit of the city of Cathtyr, which is NE or LE and offers the War domain for reasonable historical reasons. After all, Dambrath is founded on war, pain, suffering and betrayal: see the fall of Reinhar IX, as mentioned in this handy wiki article. (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Dambrath)

In my opinion, the flavor core of the contemplative class is forging a stronger connection with an object of worship. For a cleric, that's a god or an alignment: for a druid, it could quite reasonably be the spirit of the land or city that they venerate. As an urban druid, I feel that it's entirely reasonable to grant the Contemplative prerequisite to Liandra if she meets a powerful city-spirit, just as a powerful forest-spirit would be appropriate for a druid that venerates nature.

To quote Liandra's story:

"The priestesses ready their whips, and Liandra begins to dance. She dances in worship. Not the worship of Loviatar, the sadist, the cruelty of humans given form. No, she dances in worship of the city: the true city, in all its foulness and all its glories, all its elegant houses and squalid alleys. She dances to a savage, primal rhythm. Of the bloody, tribal conflicts of ages long ago, one monkey striking own another with a rock.

War is not a human invention. War is predators staking out territory. One wolf against another. One pack against another. One city against another.

She dances with the city, and it calls her Pack."

Liandra experiences a meditative trance brought on by the Rite of Pain and Purity, her dedication to her calling as an urban druid, and her own intense desire for revenge, during which she dances with the (spirit of the) city of Cathtyr. She gains the War domain and Divine Power (not Divine Might, you are correct) mid-Rite, suddenly giving her the strength to actually take on a group of middling-level clerics and win. If she didn't gain a level of Contemplative at this point, she would quite possibly die horribly beneath a pile of screaming priests.

Oh, and incidentally regarding "favorably disposed to Sharess" - I'd like to see Liandra try to get spells out of Sharess after murdering one of her priestesses in cold blood. :smallamused:

3: UoSI
While I agree with your overall impression (UoSI is weak), I'm going to be nitpicky and ask if Liandra gets any credit for exploiting the extra move actions that mounted spellcasting gives her before she hits Dimension Jumper, using spells such as the Orb line and Capricious Zephyr. I'd also note that using Share Spells with a bevy of Persistent all-day buffs gives Liandra a powerful motivation to always be mounted/have her mount nearby, since the copies on her mount go away if she moves more than 5 feet from it.

3: Point Buy, Sourcing, etc.
Your points here are good and are not contested.
Apologies for the poor sourcing: I rather rushed this build out the door, and sourcing was one of the things that suffered. As for the nonstandard point buy, I must have been playing too much Pathfinder recently: they allow ability scores as low as (but no lower than) seven, which is probably why I assumed it was the floor for 3.5 as well. :smallsigh:

A Footnote on Liandra's Patron Deity:
If you're asking where Liandra's divine power ultimately derives from as a matter of Faerun cosmology, the city spirit is acting as an intermediary for Selvetarm. (Who, yes, possesses the War domain himself.) Thus Liandra's affinity for spiders. However, Liandra does not worship him in any direct way: she acts much more like a druid with no god who venerates the city itself, as is more common in other universes.


P. S.
While Liandra does have issues with spotting things at low level, in the intended build she has a pet spider with 60 ft. tremorsense from level 1. This somewhat mitigates her vision issues, though it doesn't help against snipers or flying enemies.
(If the DM rules against Vermin Companions as Animal Companions, then she's too low-level for a Watchspider, and this issue applies fully.)

P. P. S.
Apparently I'm bad at numbers: Liandra gets her spider companion at level two, not one.


On qualifying: While it is true that discussion of Dambrath says that female nobles rule, Crinti Shadow Marauder is not a female only class, and mentions that its members come from the aristocracy. Jasmine's father did not need to be a honglath, only noble enough to enter the shadow marauders. The intent was that Jasmine came from the outskirts of Dambrath, in the more wild lands that the Shadow Marauders ride in. The nobles giving Jasmine her fathers mild honor of being a Shadow Marauder was meant to partially be to soothe and angry giant (and her tribe back home) but also because it would mean escaping the shame of condemning one of their honored warriors. The Crinti in the story agree with you that Jasmine has no claim to her father's lands, it is only "birthright" in her eyes.

On trapfinding: There aren't traps to be found in the Dambrath wilds, it's open plains.

On invisibility: The Magical Knack ability that Primordial Half-Giants possess give them a +1 caster level on spell-like abilities, so it does work. I'm assuming it doesn't apply to boosting the manifester level of psionics, though.

On lifting tigers:
A character can lift as much as double his or her maximum load off the ground, but he or she can only stagger around with it. While overloaded in this way, the character loses any Dexterity bonus to AC and can move only 5 feet per round (as a full-round action). Lifting the tiger is just a means of bypassing certain obstacles and creating the legend of a ghost tiger, so Jasmine can move slowly while levitating. Double her load is within the bounds for a tiger, so she can do it.

On sourcing and other minutiae:
You failed to list languages. I also didn't list the height and weight of my character and didn't roll for her starting gold, because it's not important to the build and would simply add more clutter for the judges.


Sources were incomplete. You didn't provide information for Sidestep Charge or Ride-By Attack, for instance. Nor did you source the duom (Dragon Compendium, pages 111-112). The latter was granted by the SI, is not an obscure feat, and is on the srd. The former is also on the srd, and furthermore is granted by a class that is on the srd, so you can simply click the link on the PrC page. This is in no way hindering your ability to judge.
I did not source the duom because the only important information was that it is a reach weapon that also strikes adjacent opponents, and is martial. I mentioned all of these.


You have links for Psychic Rogue and Wild Cohort. You don't have any other links or page numbers. What else needed links? If you mean the srd material, that's not standard procedure. As for not providing page numbers, you are the only judge that requires them, and since you did not state that you were judging until after the deadline, I could not have formatted this build to your exact tastes.


For Curmedgeon:
I guess that this is less of a dispute, and more of a chance to explain some of the... derpy things in the build.

I suppose I can't really argue with you on fluff things, you're right on that. A busy life resulted in a flimsy backstory, killing the build, which makes me sad.

As for feats, I somehow had it in my head before this that feats were based off of HD and not ECL. Since Dvati have a level adjustment, and that level adjustment is the "first" level they take, I figured that it would be best to put it under the first row. Since Korahir said he'd prefer level adjustment at the end of the build, I'll keep that in mind for next time.

TE? Yeah, that's an artifact of my party calling the neutral alignments "true" instead of neutral.

Regarding Hellbreaker, no it isn't used in the build. The FAQ is for alternate build paths in the case anyone wants to know other routes that it could've taken, and should not impact the final build. The original build used Hellbreaker instead of 4 levels of MoMF in order to get the Stowaway ability and Blend into Darkness.

I would like to know how you would have judged the build if not for the backstory failure, if you have time.




Quality judging, I have a few questions though.


I like the fact that the tiger is given attention in the backstory and some of the hinted possibilities would ensure laughter at a gametable, but sadly the tiger is acquired at lvl 15 and some of the tricks ou mention i don't think actually work Could you please explain which tricks don't work? I'd like to know if there's anything I can clarify or would need to tweak to use this.


You could have added more details on your Psionic Powers, a table i.e. (0) What detail were you looking for? More description in the level breakdown? The only thing that a table would add would be PP at each level, is this what you were thinking of?


You offer no solution for the problem that you are not a Crinti and you cannot impersonate one. Relying on the sanction of the nobility of dambrath is a little weak. Relying on the sanction of the nobility of Dambrath is one of the provided means of entry for this class. My solution to the problem is my backstory. Do you find the reasoning contained within it "a little weak"?


Thank you for judging, Korahir!

I have a few clarifications regarding some of your scoring of Manāt's entry.

"Mixing faerun (crinti) with eberron (artificer) (-1)"

I made a point to not incorporate any Eberron-specific content in the build. While the Artificer class appears in an Eberron book, nothing about the class from a crunch or fluff perspective is specific to Eberron. Nowhere in the description of the class or in any other material does it say that only characters from Eberron may take the class, and it even received support outside of Eberron (such as in articles by Skip Williams, for example this one (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20060328a)).

"Able learner: doesn't apply on first level, the feat is selceted after you allocate skill points (-0,5)"

This is incorrect. On the Player's Handbook p6, where character creation is described, it specifically says that you may look ahead or backtrack as necessary when creating a character. Such a provision is utterly necessary; otherwise, no one could play alignment-specific classes such as Paladin or Monk at first level, because alignment is selected after class. Similarly, you would be unable to select feats that have BAB or saving throw requirements at first level, as those numbers are not generated until after skills and feats are selected. In other words, the list on page 6 is not meant to be blindly followed in order with no deviation, as the game does not function properly if you do so; it is merely a guide to character creation, and even contains a specific exemption to allow you to change up the order:


Your character's race and class provide certain features. Most of htese are automatic, but some involve making choices and thinking ahead about upcoming character creation steps. Feel free to look ahead or to backtrack and do something over if you need to.

"Not really great damage after shadow pouncing (-0,25)"
"Shadow pounce via shadow ride only (0)"

The entry specifically references other ways in which Manāt activates Shadow Pounce, mostly involving spells activated through her artificer abilities. Even if you do not take items into account (which would be a grave disservice to an artificer who dedicated substantial class features, feats and abilities to crafting those items), Manāt has access to them via the Spell Storing Infusion (which, again, was specifically referenced in her entry).

This also dovetails with your comments about Manāt's damage potential. As mentioned in the entry, one of the key ways she differs from other entries is that she uses the phantom charge spell (accessed either via crafted wand, which she can craft without failure, or via the Spell Storing infusion), which allows her to execute both a mounted charge and a full attack (ordinarily impossible due to the wording of Shadow Pounce).

To break this down, Manāt can make a Spirited Charge/Ride-By Attack, charging in a straight line toward her opponent. She makes a full mounted charge, with all relevant damage multipliers (including Power Attack and any static bonuses from her weapon or via Craven). This alone is a fairly devastating attack, but it is not all. As per Ride-By Attack she continues moving after her attack. Then she activates the phantom charge spell, which is a swift action that specifically states it can be used to teleport forward during any part of a mounted movement. She and her mount teleport forward, moving past her opponent (and avoiding any AoO counter-attacks in the process, as a cute little bonus). When her teleport concludes, on the far side of her opponent, Shadow Pounce triggers and she executes a full attack on the opponent (who is still in melee range and therefore satisfies all relevant Shadow Pounce requirements). As far as I can tell there is only one other build in this contest capable of executing such a maneuver, and it is pretty key to both her damage potential and her use of class features.

Thanks again for judging!


"Backstory is nicely fleshed out, though, I am still confused which side Liandra is on. (0)"

Liandra is Neutral Evil. She's on her own side. Her not genuinely belonging to either Sharess's faith or Loviatar's is as intended.

"Your God(ess) and subsquently how you got the war domain are a mystery to me(neiter loviatar nor sharess have the war domain available). (-0,5)"

Liandra's god(dess) is not listed, because she is a druid and does not answer to a deity. Yes, in Faerun this means she'll suffer the fate of all the Faithless and be stuffed into a wall for the rest of eternity when she dies: she doesn't care.

If she can be said to have a 'patron deity' - which is a stretch - then it's the city of Cathtyr, which she does meet in person during the second Rite of Pain and Purity. IMO, this fulfills the 'meet an enlightened being embodying the highest principles of an alignment' criterion for Contemplative entry. Hopefully it's then obvious why the City of Cathtyr (or Liandra personally) might possess the War domain. (This is the same objection I made to Curmudgeon, but I felt the need to restate it anyway.)

"How do you plan to pull off spelldance with the necessary perform (dance) check DC: 10+modified spell level with a total bonus of +4 (+5 at lvl 20)? I think your skills have to be rearranged. (0)"

Indeed, reliably being able to make a DC 21 perform check to persist Dimension Jumper could be an issue for Liandra with her current build. Items and spells go a long way to remedy this, though: If you spend a Druid 5th slot to cast Sirene's Grace, that's an effective +10 modifier (+2 cha enchancement, +8 untyped Perform) for the next CL rounds. A masterwork instrument (say, hand cymbals/tap shoes/castanets/a flowing gown) is another +2 circumstance, so that's a total of +16; we only need a +5 competence bonus item to make up the difference and make our spelldance attempts guaranteed. Such an item would cost us a grand total of 2,500 gold, according to the rules for estimating item values: (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm) in other words, half our treasure at 3rd level. For a 10th-level character, this is an absolute pittance: we could almost afford 20 of these. In fact, a +15 competence bonus item is 22,500 gold - that's a little under half our WBL at level 10, which makes it pricey but manageable. If we own such an item, then we'll never have to worry about failing our Perform checks for the rest of our career.

I dislike being this item dependent for one of my core tricks though, so I would probably move some ranks into Perform were I to rebuild this.

A Footnote on Liandra's Patron Deity:
If you're asking where Liandra's divine power ultimately derives from as a matter of Faerun cosmology, the city spirit is acting as an intermediary for Selvetarm. (Who, yes, possesses the War domain himself.) Thus Liandra's affinity for spiders. However, Liandra does not worship him in any direct way: she acts much more like a druid with no god who venerates the city itself, as is more common in other universes.


Thank you, Korahir. Judging is so much work, whenever someone comes along and does it so clearly and concisely, it always makes me wonder, "How did they do that?"



Valkav Kelgrave

Originality: 2
Idiot Crusader is well known and is equally often abused (almost Abjurant champion level for my test) (-1)


It may be well-known in certain optimization circles, but it's frequently misunderstood, and hardly ever used in Iron Chef. Actually, I'm not sure it's ever been used in Iron Chef before, so I'm puzzled why it's being marked down as unoriginal. What exactly was the criteria for your test?



As i don't have the dragon magazine update of oriental adventures I am not sure the bonus feats for monks are still available. You have the benefit of the doubt here. (0)


The errata and Dragon Magazine #318 update did not mention any changes to the monk class. My reasoning is nothing in 3.5 invalidates or contradicts the rules on page 19 and 79-81 of Oriental Advantures, so those rules are still valid for 3.5 play. Stunning Fist and Deflect Arrows are still available as class features for the 3.5 monk, so I don't see how it's unreasonable to allow them to be traded for the martial arts feats listed on Table 6-1, based on the 3.5 DMG's "minor adjustments" clause. You already gave me the benefit of the doubt, so I'm just explaining my reasoning.



You have allocated your attribute increase twice for the levels 16 and 20, I think it's a fluke, still a small penalty (-0,25)


An editing mistake on my part. Advances for 16th and 20th were both supposed to be Dex. I'm not disputing this, just explaining.



Craven: specifically needs the sneak attack class feature, which you traded away (feat rogue). Sudden strike does not qualify here (it only does for prerequs which „require a minimum number of sneak attack extra damage dice“) and assassin's stance doesn't cover either as you pick it up later. (-0,25)


So, if I understand your argument correctly, sudden strike only counts as sneak attack for those feats/classes that specify a certain minimum number of sneak attack dice?

I disagree. The test in Complete Adventurer specifies that sudden strike is the equivalent of sneak attack when qualifying for three things:

1) feats
2) prestige classes
3) similar options that require a minimum number of extra damage dice

It's ambiguous if the bolded portion applies only to "similar options" or also applies to the first and second categories. I'm not sure any discussion about parsing dependent adjective clauses would lead to any meaningful resolution, so I think my best hope here is to beg for the benefit of the doubt.

My second argument is that since Craven requires sneak attack, and since it's impossible to possess anything less that 1d6 sneak attack to start with, then functionally Craven requires a minimum of 1d6 sneak attack, in which case sudden strike 1d6 qualifies.

Thank you for your time and effort. It is greatly appreciated.

I've had a lot of very unhappy PMs about the judging this round. I'd rather not have to throw my weight around as Chair, but seeing as the whole point of this contest is to have fun, and a lot of people are genuinely upset, something seems to have gone wrong.

I will say that that guideline about what to do if part of a build is mechanically illegal was never meant to justify treating a build as if it was only 5 levels long and comparing it directly to a level 20 build. It was intended for situations where, say, a build failed to qualify for a particular feat, resulting in any combos relying n the ability granted by that feat would just be ignored. It was not intended to be used for a knock-on effect resulting in the rest of the build being declared illegal as well.

[Amphetryon]

Could the Chair perhaps clarify what precisely the FAQ means, in her view, when 'Use it. Link it.' is advised? I know that, in the past, that phrase was used as sound advice - but not a strict requirement - for prospective contestants asking about various web articles and other content that was exclusively available online. It would seem that this original (as it pertains to this contest) usage is not necessarily the one some judges understand/choose to use, so some direction on the intent of that particular instruction from the current Chair may be helpful for contestants and judges alike.

[ben-zayb]

Just a word of caution: at least one quoted dispute contains the name of the participant instead of the character. I've sent Heliomance a PM about this already.

[Heliomance]

Could the Chair perhaps clarify what precisely the FAQ means, in her view, when 'Use it. Link it.' is advised? I know that, in the past, that phrase was used as sound advice - but not a strict requirement - for prospective contestants asking about various web articles and other content that was exclusively available online. It would seem that this original (as it pertains to this contest) usage is not necessarily the one some judges understand/choose to use, so some direction on the intent of that particular instruction from the current Chair may be helpful for contestants and judges alike.

That is indeed how I originally intended it. If you use content that is exclusively available online, you should link it. If you use content that happens to be online, be it SRD or from a Wizards book sample, some judges may thank you for linking it, but there is by no means any obligation upon you to so so. I don't expect people to keep track of which bits of D&D are available in assorted online samples.


Just a word of caution: at least one quoted dispute contains the name of the participant instead of the character. I've sent Heliomance a PM about this already.

Fixed, I think.

[Venger]

That is indeed how I originally intended it. If you use content that is exclusively available online, you should link it. If you use content that happens to be online, be it SRD or from a Wizards book sample, some judges may thank you for linking it, but there is by no means any obligation upon you to so so. I don't expect people to keep track of which bits of D&D are available in assorted online samples.

Fixed, I think.
Yeah that's 100% clear in the faq.

You fixed it. They're all labeled with dish names now.

[Korahir]

Answers to disputes:



Quality judging, I have a few questions though.
Thanks a lot, naturally I expected disputes and questions ;)


Could you please explain which tricks don't work? I'd like to know if there's anything I can clarify or would need to tweak to use this.
As you acquire the tiger at level 15 the grapple trick suggested may already become an issue vs huge and bigger monsters and medium creatures usually start to be protected by spells like freedom of movement or even a contingency. A simple grease might be sufficient. The invisible levitating trick is fine by me (if you manage to carry the tiger), it is goofy but i like that. So let'S just change my quote from tricks don't work to: grapple may be an issue. Poorly chosen words on my part here.


What detail were you looking for? More description in the level breakdown? The only thing that a table would add would be PP at each level, is this what you were thinking of?
Yeah exactly that would have helped me. Maybe it is because I still feel my weak point in optimization fu is the whole psionics subsystem, but a table with power points would have helped me a lot to assess your powers better.



Relying on the sanction of the nobility of Dambrath is one of the provided means of entry for this class. My solution to the problem is my backstory. Do you find the reasoning contained within it "a little weak"?
Again poor choice of words. Let me try it again: If you rely on your backstory, to qualify for the class, it is very hard to be objective. One DM might handwave it, another DM may object harshly. So my point is that relying on the backstory is close to rely on a certain item in your build. I was once Dungeonmaster in a campaign set around Dambrath and maybe my personal view of Crinti and the nobility of Dambrath has overshadowed the RAW a little, but I am still convinced they are racists and very rarely would accept Crinti Shadow Marauders from another race. I hope this explanation helps.

No adjustment in points.

Thanks for your entry, really enjoyed it.



Mixing Eberron and Faerun:
The penalty is based on the fact that it is very likely that you have to ask your DM if Eberron books are allowed if you play in the Faerun setting. I know it is a harsh penalty and i know it is not as crystal clear with artifcer as it is with the Primordial Giant template used by Jasmine, but I had to draw the line somewhere. In fact i thought about penalizing artificer less than primordial but then ultimately decided against it, as it is at its core the same thing. Importing something into faerun from a book that is not forgotten realms. I hope this answer is sufficient for you. The penalty stays.

Able learner:
I checked again in the PHB and I must admit your arguments are valid. Moreso I always thought that character creation also follows specific numbered steps as level advancement does but that is not the case, so your interpretation to me makes sense. Therefor the penalty is removed.


Shadow pouncing and damage
I knew i would forget something important: I didn't mention Phantom charge in my explanation. The way I see it your animal companion is not a special mount or fiendish companion, which you have to target with that spell. So I don't think the charge trick works but you are right I overlooked the fact that you are able to activate shadow jump via infusions and created items. So add +0,25 to UoSI.


+0,75 in Elegance (Able learner penalty removed and also Craven penalty removed because of valkav's dispute)
+0,5 in UoSI (craven enabled + shadow pounce use)


Sorry for my mistakes. Thanks for your entry, really enjoyed it.



war domain
I think the whole dispute revolves around the fact if you can access the war domain by following an ideal.
"The character can choose any domain made available by her deity or alignment." To me this means you can either chose a domain associated with your deity or your alignment but not your ideal. So the penalty still applies.

perform dance
I was aware that you would have no problem to achieve the necessary bonus via spells and items, but why rely on them when you can easily invest some more ranks?

I don't know why but with your more detailled explanation I can relate way more to Liandra then before. I was really confused about the bit in your backstory justifying spelldancer, but Liandra as a whole is a very nice concept.


No adjustment in points.

Thanks for your entry, really enjoyed it.





Thank you, Korahir. Judging is so much work, whenever someone comes along and does it so clearly and concisely, it always makes me wonder, "How did they do that?"
Thank you for the kind words.


It may be well-known in certain optimization circles, but it's frequently misunderstood, and hardly ever used in Iron Chef. Actually, I'm not sure it's ever been used in Iron Chef before, so I'm puzzled why it's being marked down as unoriginal. What exactly was the criteria for your test?
test= taste. Yeah, English is not my native tongue. Stuff like that happens, sorry. To the matter at hand: this may be subjective, but I feel Idiot Crusader is a concept to often applied to builds that don't even need it to shine. Is this the fact with your build? Kind of. As presented I imagined that you looked at CSM and thought well how do i get a lot of maneuvers to fuel shadow pounce? -> Idiot Crusader. Even if this is not true, I would have liked a more daring approach to the SI. Let me stress once more that this penalty is subjective and while I clearly can understand that you disagree, I stand by it. Hope you can understand that.
An aspect that I would have liked to be more brought to light by your backstory is the moral concept behind Valkav. There is a glimpse of it in the backstory, but more of this general approach to the character would have definitely scored higher in Originality.




So, if I understand your argument correctly, sudden strike only counts as sneak attack for those feats/classes that specify a certain minimum number of sneak attack dice?

I disagree. The test in Complete Adventurer specifies that sudden strike is the equivalent of sneak attack when qualifying for three things:

1) feats
2) prestige classes
3) similar options that require a minimum number of extra damage dice

It's ambiguous if the bolded portion applies only to "similar options" or also applies to the first and second categories. I'm not sure any discussion about parsing dependent adjective clauses would lead to any meaningful resolution, so I think my best hope here is to beg for the benefit of the doubt.

My second argument is that since Craven requires sneak attack, and since it's impossible to possess anything less that 1d6 sneak attack to start with, then functionally Craven requires a minimum of 1d6 sneak attack, in which case sudden strike 1d6 qualifies.

After rereading sudden strike I agree with your argument, that interpretation could be both ways and you get the benefit of the doubt. Penalty will be removed.

+0,25 Elegance
+0,25 UoSI (Craven enables sudden strike)


Sorry for my mistakes. Thanks for your entry, really enjoyed it.


I also corrected the scores for Katjusha (able learner penalty removed).
I corrected all scores in my original post and highlighted them with italic font style.


And a friendly reminder why we all are here (thanks Amphetryon for typing it up):
5. Repeat After Me - It's Not That Serious: This is a contest with no real prize on a message board dedicated to a comic that pokes fun at a game. It's difficult to come up with a scenario that's less SrsBzns than that without considerable effort. Have fun, enjoy the process, and hopefully learn something about D&D 3.5 while you're competing. Unless you sign your name to the entry or decide (against the contest's spirit and rules) to otherwise reveal yourself ahead of time as a particular entrant's creator, the judges aren't saying anything about you, personally. So, don't take it personally. It will be okay. Remember, your worst completed effort in this contest scores better than any effort you made for the contest and didn't finish.

Have fun, folks. We are all here because we enjoy this game and its rules.

[Lagren]

Answers to disputes:

Scores after Korahir's Disputes:


Build Name
Curmudgeon
Korahir
Total
Nearest 1/4 mark


Nyldene
13.7
14.25
27.95
28


Lady Liandra
10
14.25
24.25
24.25


Jasmine Half-Blood
10.1
12
22.1
22


Mourn Elisviir
9.1
12.75
21.85
21.75


Abdul, the Mamluk
12.2
9.5
21.7
21.75


Manat, the Night Traveller
7.55
13.5
21.05
21


Valkav Kelgrave
8.6
12.25
20.85
20.75


Katjusha, the Bloodstorm
8.1
12.5
20.6
20.5


Hale
9.15
10.75
19.9
20


Aranni and Oritonde
5
13.5
18.5
18.5


Crinti Slave
6.1
10.25
16.35
16.25



Edit 2: These scores should now be correct.

[Curmudgeon]

Bestow power has "Target: One Psionic Creature", and NOT "Target: Another Psionic Creature".
Yes, and it also includes the line I quoted:
You link your mind with another psionic creature’s mind, creating a brief conduit through which mental energy can be shared. When you manifest this power, the subject gains up to 2 power points. All parts of the power are relevant. You cannot pay attention to just the Target line and ignore additional details in the description. You do not have another psionic creature’s mind.

No score adjustment.


I'd like to see a RAW citation on this. After probing the entire PHB, I found that all other rules requiring steps had such steps either A. clearly called out and labeled ordinally. (i.e. "Step 1: <description 1>", "Step 2: <description 2>", and so forth) or B. has the order of RAW execution referred to grammatically (i.e. "To do so, <description 1>. Then, <description 2>".) Page 6 offers no such order of execution ...

Review Chapters 1 through 5, then follow these steps to create a 1st-level character.
...
Roll your character’s six ability scores.
...
Choose your class and race at the same time, because some races are better suited to certain classes.
...
Now that you know your character’s class and race, take the ability scores you rolled earlier and assign each to one of the six abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
The rules text does refer to the execution order grammatically. You only know the character's class and race "now" in the character creation process if the previously mentioned steps have necessarily been executed, and thus the steps are to be executed in the order given. (Note that this order, including class, automatic class features like BAB and saves, skill points, and feats, is the same as in the numbered Level Advancement sequence on pages 58-59.)

Katjusha is missing a grand total of 6 skill points, that's a given. What I don't understand is why the judging chooses to interpret that the resulting correction would have to deduct the skill points specifically from the skills that needed them the most ...
I see you have misinterpreted. I didn't choose any of these; instead, I elected not to choose. Altering your build would make it partly my creation, and then I'd be judging my own work. What would be an appropriate correction? My preference would be to replace Able Learner if that feat caused problems in the build. This would allow shifting things around. You can afford to pay cross-class costs for the Autohypnosis ranks needed for Soulbow because you've got more than the required Ride ranks by the time you get to Crinti Shadow Marauder. Ultimately you're not getting good use from Diplomacy, so that's where I'd suck up the needed extra skill points. Would this have made you happy? I'd certainly like the build better if it were designed my way instead of yours. :smallamused:

But I didn't choose to correct your build to suit my tastes; I took it as you entered it. You submitted the character claiming more capabilities than the rules allow, and used those overstated capabilities to attempt to qualify for more capabilities in the form of prestige class levels. I called foul. Sadly, Iron Chef has no mechanism for contestants to alter their builds after judges point out errors. You can try to do better next time.

I do have questions, though, with regards to referencing SRD-based sources: Where does it stop? Should I also either page-reference or link every skill, classes, and feats, despite them being already available online?
That would be the essence of helpfulness. :smallsmile: To be fair, getting anything that includes a requirement in front of me with one click or one page number is sufficient to make judging as easy as possible. Knowing that something is available somewhere in the SRD and then having to look for (http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/feats.htm) Improved Trip under Combat Expertise and Improved Grapple under Improved Unarmed Strike, except you have to look elsewhere (http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/psionicFeats.htm) for Stand Still, and somewhere else (http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm) for Knock-Down, gets tedious when you're having to do that for all the elements of 220 character levels. Taking a couple hours off the 35½ hours I spent (before disputes) judging this round would have been very welcome. :smallsigh:

No score adjustment.


Leaving out Crusader was an oversight on my part, but hardly a punishable offense given it's inclusion in the build table and the rest of the text.
It wasn't a "punishable offense". I mentioned it in the hope that you'll do better next time. The note about languages was in the same spirit. Some PrCs have a language requirement; Crinti Shadow Marauder was not one of them. Selecting languages that reinforced your place in Dambrathan society might have gotten you a bonus in the Content part of Elegance for a more fitting character, though.

I am not aware of a universal requirement for how entries are expected to list the skill ranks.
There isn't one. However, I've stated in my judging criteria that 0.75 total points (under Elegance) are reserved for how easy your tables are to read, and being able to track skill point purchases are a fraction of that. Making the saves easy to follow is another fraction of that 0.75 point total. As you had conflicting scores for both CON and DEX, including those modifiers in your Fortitude and Reflex saves made the table even less clear.

Oriental Adventures is still a valid 3.5 source. Nothing in the errata or the Dragon Magazine #318 update changed how the text on OA page 19 or pages 79-81 functions. The system by which monks trade their class features for martial arts-related feats, and the rules for martial arts styles as presented in Chapter 6 of that book are still valid 3.5 rules.
You missed my point: there are no such class features to trade away in the 3.5 Monk. If you look at the 3.0 Monk table (3.0 Player's Guide, page 38, or here (http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/srd/srdbasiccharacterclassesi.rtf) in RTF) you will see "stunning attack" under the Special header of the class table. If you look at the 3.0 Monk table (3.5 Player's Guide, page 40, or here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/monk.htm)) you will see there is no longer a "stunning attack" class feature. You can't trade away what does not exist. A 3.5 Monk may get similar capabilities via their Bonus Feat class feature but only if they choose Stunning Fist; the feat is not a class feature itself. Moreover, a 3.0 Monk cannot get that feat via "stunning attack"; Stunning Fist is in addition to stunning attacks gained as a Monk class feature.

Any class granting sudden strike as a class feature satisfies the requirement for Craven.
The rules text is specific to Ninja sudden strike, but I think I was too picky here. Score increased by 0.1 points in Elegance and +0.25 points in Power.

PHB/SRD is assumed, and has never been required to be listed as a source. Likewise, providing page numbers or links has never been required in any previous Iron Chef.
You're not required to enter Iron Chef at all, but similarly I'm not required to reward a build that I think lacks Elegance by being put together to prioritize your time over the judges' time. Getting anything that includes a requirement on the screen with one click or one page number is sufficient to make judging as easy as possible, and that's what I'd like to see. I've chosen to make half of the Elegance score based on how easy you make your build to read and judge.

Score increased +0.35.

Copied from my response to Katjusha:

Review Chapters 1 through 5, then follow these steps to create a 1st-level character.
...
Roll your character’s six ability scores.
...
Choose your class and race at the same time, because some races are better suited to certain classes.
...
Now that you know your character’s class and race, take the ability scores you rolled earlier and assign each to one of the six abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
The rules text does refer to the execution order grammatically. You only know the character's class and race "now" in the character creation process if the previously mentioned steps have necessarily been executed, and thus the steps are to be executed in the order given. (Note that this order, including class, automatic class features like BAB and saves, skill points, and feats, is the same as in the numbered Level Advancement sequence on pages 58-59.)

Second, I actually do take issue with this core complaint. Under "Record Racial and Class Features" (also page 6), it explicitly states that you can feel free to look ahead or to backtrack during the following steps if needed. This is important, because otherwise aspects of the character creation process simply would not function. For example, it would be impossible to select any class that requires certain alignments at first level, because the point at which alignment is determined comes after the point at which you choose a class.
The actual rules statement is:

Feel free to look ahead or to backtrack and do something over if you need to. So, you are free to look ahead to see what will be required later. You can go back and make changes. Once you make those changes, you continue forward in order from that point. There is no allowance to take the steps in whatever fashion you like.

Your complaint about class choices being impossible is absurd. If you haven't picked any alignment yet, you haven't picked an alignment which would make the class choice impossible. If you've picked Paladin as your class, when you get to pick an alignment you have one choice. You do not have an impossibility to choose a valid alignment.

As for your story, you've picked something which does not accord with the Faerûn source material. Shining South has an entire chapter on Dambrath, the Region requirement for Crinti Shadow Marauder. Perhaps less attention to historic Earth literature and more attention to SI-specific literature would have served you better in a contest for this specific Secret Ingredient.

No score adjustment.


1: Vermin Companion vs. Animal Companion, Channel Animal
My interpretation of the vermin companion web supplement is that it presents new options for the druid's Animal Companion class feature and additional rules regarding these options, rather than replacing the druid's Animal Companion class feature with an entirely new class feature named Vermin Companion.
This is from the ALTERNATIVE CLASS FEATURES section of Complete Mage, page 31:
These abilities replace class features found in the original class description on a one-for-one basis.
Replacing class features is the whole raison d'etre of ACFs.

If the DM doesn't subscribe to this interpretation, Liandra will not use the Vermin Companion alternate class feature, and instead purchase a Watchspider.
That would have been an excellent build alternative to include in your contest entry. I'm afraid it's a little late now.

This is because Liandra doesn't worship a god: as an urban druid, she worships the spirit of the city of Cathtyr, which is NE or LE and offers the War domain for reasonable historical reasons.
There's nothing I know of in the rules regarding city spirits having divine rank and being capable of granting domains to worshipers, nor Cathyr specifically having War domain in that divine portfolio. Again, providing a substitute deity for this PrC entry requirement would have been good in your build, but it's too late to revise the character now.

3: UoSI
While I agree with your overall impression (UoSI is weak), I'm going to be nitpicky and ask if Liandra gets any credit for exploiting the extra move actions that mounted spellcasting gives her before she hits Dimension Jumper, using spells such as the Orb line and Capricious Zephyr.
No, being able to do things on your mount unrelated to either the CSM class abilities or entry requirements doesn't get you any special credit in UoSI. It did pull up your score in Power, which was otherwise dinged repeatedly.

No score adjustment.



The Crinti in the story agree with you that Jasmine has no claim to her father's lands, it is only "birthright" in her eyes.
As a male, Jasmine's father had no lands; ownership by other than females is against Dambrathan law. Moreover, your claim that a single Medium size creature without Frightful Presence would cause the honglath to accept her has no foundation ("her fearsome presence clearly swayed their chicken hearts").

On trapfinding: There aren't traps to be found in the Dambrath wilds, it's open plains.
And your say-so keeps enemies from digging pit traps around their camps to deter attacks by Crinti Shadow Marauders?

On invisibility: The Magical Knack ability that Primordial Half-Giants possess give them a +1 caster level on spell-like abilities, so it does work. I'm assuming it doesn't apply to boosting the manifester level of psionics, though.
That's a little iffy. The Primordial template (Secrets of Xen'drik, page 81) says it's a Spell-like ability, but it also says the Half-Giant manifests it; and as you noted, their Magical Knack applies to SLAs, not powers. I'm not sure how much use you'd get out of a SLA that requires a standard action to complete and only lasts 1 minute, but I'll boost your score here. (Power +0.25)

Lifting the tiger is just a means of bypassing certain obstacles and creating the legend of a ghost tiger, so Jasmine can move slowly while levitating. Double her load is within the bounds for a tiger, so she can do it.
Your Strength is 15, giving a maximum load of 200 lbs. Tigers are 400-600 lbs. You haven't made any claims that the tiger is especially scrawny (quite the opposite), nor that you have no other burdens (your duom would need to be weightless, for instance). Your character just can't manage this.

What else needed links? If you mean the srd material, that's not standard procedure.
Being able to click on something (class, feat) to check its requirements would speed up judging. I've allotted half of the Elegance score to how well your build is presented for both readability and judgeability.

As for not providing page numbers, you are the only judge that requires them, and since you did not state that you were judging until after the deadline, I could not have formatted this build to your exact tastes.
You don't need me to tell you that page numbers are helpful to a judge; that's obvious. Katjusha (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20138735&postcount=119) included them this round, for example.

Score increased +0.25.


I would like to know how you would have judged the build if not for the backstory failure, if you have time.
Not right now, but I'll try to get to it in the next couple of days.

New scores for two builds:

Jasmine Half-Blood 10.35
Valkav Kelgrave 9.45

[Heliomance]

I've received a request to withdraw an entry in protest over this furore. This is not okay. We should all be here to have fun. As the source of a massive outwelling of dissatisfaction that's resulted in the massive numbers of disputes seen above, as well as another five I haven't posted yet, I'm leaning towards disregarding Curmudgeon's judging.

[Venger]

I've received a request to withdraw an entry in protest over this furore. This is not okay. We should all be here to have fun. As the source of a massive outwelling of dissatisfaction that's resulted in the massive numbers of disputes seen above, as well as another five I haven't posted yet, I'm leaning towards disregarding Curmudgeon's judging.

Good. Do it. That's what you said you'd do if he didn't meaningfully change his judgings, which he didn't, so disregard them.

[Troacctid]

If Curmudgeon's judging guidelines are unacceptable, then change the contest rules to say so (or make an official chair ruling if it's a smaller issue like with the Able Learner dysfunction), and I'm sure he'll change his judging process accordingly; he's always followed the letter of the law.

Turning away a judge is highly undesirable for a contest like this one that's so often short on judges, and turning away a judge who's already invested large amounts of time into the judging process seems very rude, especially if he hasn't broken any contest rules. If it were me, I'd be very upset.

[Venger]

If Curmudgeon's judging guidelines are unacceptable, then change the contest rules to say so, and I'm sure he'll change his judging process accordingly; he's always followed the letter of the law.

Turning away a judge is highly undesirable for a contest like this one that's so often short on judges, and turning away a judge who's already invested large amounts of time into the judging process seems very rude, especially if he hasn't broken any contest rules. If it were me, I'd be very upset.

He has broken a great deal of contest rules, as is on display in that litany of disputes. Changing the rules just to cater to his judging did not curb him last time, there is no reason it would be true this time. He follows the letter of the law when it suits him.

More importantly, this is not about ruleslawyering, it's about his established pattern of needlessly rude and hostile behavior. There is a precedent for this, and there is no reason curmudgeon should get preferential treatment over all the rest of us.

[Troacctid]

I didn't notice any overt rudeness or hostility in Curmudgeon's judging and I doubt any is intended. I'll leave it to the chair to decide if any contest rules were violated.

[Venger]

I didn't notice any overt rudeness or hostility in Curmudgeon's judging and I doubt any is intended. I'll leave it to the chair to decide if any contest rules were violated; if so, she hasn't weighed in on it yet.

It is literally everywhere.


Now you have three attacks, ho ho ho."
This level is mechanically illegal and thus excluded from the build. Incidentally, there is no "Divine Might" spell; you're probably thinking of Divine Power. You don't get that spell. Ho ho ho.


You're not required to enter Iron Chef at all

There is no other way to describe that but rude, hostile, and disrespectful. Every one of his snide comments is exactly like that.

Yes. Let's leave it to the chair. I'm sure it will be dealt with soon.

[Vaz]

Venger, stop having such a temper tantrum. Your posts regarding this are really damn annoying.

Curmudgeon, given the concept of a fun competition, can your stop raining on everyone's parade with your overtly (and painfully self aware) quasi-trolling manner of making judgement.

People come here to have fun, and to have such stifling rules of play is analogous in my eyes to bringing a minigun to a nerfwar. It's uncalled for and unnecessary. While a modicum of "RAWness" is appreciated, if you're going to come to a party of your own volition that has been running fairly smoothly and then come in and stop popping all the balloons, it's no wonder there's been an outcry (rightly, wrongly, or amusingly OTT some of the complaints have been).

Play nice, or don't play at all, is about the simplest way I can put it. And it goes for all involved from what I can read.

[Venger]

Curmudgeon, given the concept of a fun competition, can your stop raining on everyone's parade with your overtly (and painfully self aware) quasi-trolling manner of making judgement.

People come here to have fun, and to have such stifling rules of play is analogous in my eyes to bringing a minigun to a nerfwar. It's uncalled for and unnecessary. While a modicum of "RAWness" is appreciated, if you're going to come to a party of your own volition that has been running fairly smoothly and then come in and stop popping all the balloons, it's no wonder there's been an outcry (rightly, wrongly, or amusingly OTT some of the complaints have been).

Play nice, or don't play at all, is about the simplest way I can put it. And it goes for all involved from what I can read.

Well said.

[Troacctid]

I think lopping a bunch of levels off of a build is not a fair way to penalize a rules mistake, and not really in the spirit of the competition. You should be judging the whole build; it's not fair to the contestant to ignore 3/4 of their entry because of a minor procedural error.

However, speaking as a sometime judge (and as a spectator), I also think disregarding a judge's scores is not something that should be done lightly. If the judge has acted in good faith, answered disputes, and complied with chair rulings, the judging should stand.

[Venger]

I think lopping a bunch of levels off of a build is not a fair way to penalize a rules mistake, and not really in the spirit of the competition. You should be judging the whole build; it's not fair to the contestant to ignore 3/4 of their entry because of a minor procedural error.

However, speaking as a sometime judge (and as a spectator), I also think disregarding a judge's scores is not something that should be done lightly. If the judge has acted in good faith, answered disputes, and complied with chair rulings, the judging should stand.

I agree with you. Because those things have not happened, the judgings should not stand. Either way, I'm sure the chair will rule soon.

[Bucky]

Disqualifying judges should not become routine. And since this is the second time in three rounds we're talking about disqualifying a judge, I'm concerned that what was a single precedent might become a regular occurrence.

[Venger]

Disqualifying judges should not become routine. And since this is the second time in three rounds we're talking about disqualifying a judge, I'm concerned that what was a single precedent might become a regular occurrence.

it's not going to become routine. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope) This isn't a random event, it's something that happens when someone refuses to judge properly despite being given every possible opportunity to do so.

[ben-zayb]

I think a less malicious perspective would be that Curmudgeon is simply strictly enforcing his playstyle/expectation with his judging within the limits of the IC rules, which I would say he has every right to in his own game with similar kinds of players. Of course, as with many normal D&D games, it's hard to make them work out if your players have differing (contrasting, even) playstyles and expectations. At worst, you get that negative atmosphere such as in rounds in IC (and its derivatives) where he is judging.


As Darrin said, I respect Curmudgeon's authority to an extent, with regards to D&D 3.5 rules. But at the same time, I just don't see his gaming style, taken in its entirety, matching mine (speaking for myself), and that's what seems to be the cause of trouble for others as well.

[Venger]

I think a less malicious perspective would be that Curmudgeon's is simply strictly enforcing his playstyle/expectation with his judging, which I would say he has every right to in his own game with similar kinds of players. Of course, as with many normal D&D games, it's hard to make them work out if your players have differing (contrasting, even) playstyles and expectations. At worst, you get that negative atmosphere such as in rounds in IC (and its derivatives) where he is judging.

As Darrin said, I respect Curmudgeon's authority to an extent, with regards to D&D 3.5 rules. But at the same time, I just don't see his style in its entirety matching mine (speaking for myself).

That's a very good way of putting it.

But we are not players under curmudgeon as a GM. So he doesn't get to make up and selectively enforce his own rules.

We didn't even agree to have him as a judge in this round, he surprised us all. As people have said earlier in the thread, had we known he was going to judge, many of us chefs would not have bothered to cook, knowing this would happen, so it's not as though we knew what we were agreeing to and are complaining after the fact.

No one is questioning curmudgeon's value to the community as far as RAW interpretation goes. this is about iron chef and how he is unsuitable as a judge.

[WeaselGuy]

So, I've been lurking in this challenge, mostly because I like optimization challenges, and partly because I'm said I missed seeing this go up (I love Drow Flavored classes, and have a few attempts at a decent CSM on my old hard drive). First, I want to applaud all of the contestants on their entries, quite a few of them look fantastic (and one looks quite familiar, from an un-judged episode of Junkyard Wars). Second, I want to thank the judges that took time out of their busy lives to judge this competition, especially given the number of entries this round! This includes Curmudgeon, by the way.

I've been on the receiving end of Curmudgeon's harsh criteria, and it was an eye opening experience, but it ultimately made me a better creator and formatter on these forums. However, holy crap was he brutal this round. I honestly feel sorry for some of the contestants! That being said, the competitors and observers of these challenges find ourselves in a bit of a unique pickle, regarding the consideration of banning him from future judgings. As has been stated by more than one person, more than once, it sucks to have a round go un-judged. I've entered into some of these and had only a single judge over the course of a month. I've entered another and spent more than 3 months waiting for a judge to put in the time and effort, all for naught. So, to see the idea of possibly banning the provider of a crucial element to these challenges being tossed around, it's a tough choice.

I've been told numerous times by the Army not to bring up a problem without also offering a solution. So, while it may not be perfect, and while it was already mentioned, here's my 2 cents worth. Vagaries in the rules on judging need to be minimized. You say the rules shouldn't be changed based on 1 person's actions, that instead he need be dealt with individually based on previous repeated instances of harsh grading schema. I say that where a vagary exists that could allow for confrontational grading, it should be fixed. If nobody wants to step up and fix it, in order to alleviate these harsh grading issues, well, I guess I can take a look and see what I can do to fix it.

tl;dr: Try fixing the judging problem again, before banning a quality judge.

Say what you will about his attitude and his tone of voice (quite possibly reasonable objections), the man does produce quality work, as close to the exact letter of the law as he reads and understands it. It'd be a shame to see someone who puts that much effort into a contest like this with no expectation of tangible return on investment.

[Lagren]

On a completely separate note, has anyone ever tried running an Iron Chef spin-off featuring homebrew ingredients? You could call it Iron Bartender. :smalltongue:

[Lagren]

*snip*

I have no problems with Curmudgeon judging harshly, since he has applied the same harsh standards to all the entries: so far as I can tell, no-one is experiencing unfair leniency.

That said, I do have issues with his lack of diplomacy. "You don't get that spell. Ho ho ho." doesn't seem like an appropriate level of professionalism in judging, nor is "You're not required to enter Iron Chef at all": this is more concerning to me than any number of disregarded class levels.

I might consider adopting some form of diplomacy standards for judging, perhaps similar to this set for writing critique. (http://www.critters.org/c/diplomacy.ht)

[ben-zayb]

On a completely separate note, has anyone ever tried running an Iron Chef spin-off featuring homebrew ingredients? You could call it Iron Bartender. :smalltongue:

My memories are hazy, but I seem to remember at least 2 rounds of IC (Homecooking?) under Heliomance's chairwomanship, one of which was an uber-healer PrC and one of which was an awesomely-fluffed seer.

[Deadasadoor]

On a completely separate note, has anyone ever tried running an Iron Chef spin-off featuring homebrew ingredients? You could call it Iron Bartender. :smalltongue:

There were 3, I believe. There was just no interest in judging the entries that came in. The last thread is currently unjudged, which is sad because I put a lot of work into my build.

[Venger]

I've been on the receiving end of Curmudgeon's harsh criteria, and it was an eye opening experience, but it ultimately made me a better creator and formatter on these forums. However, holy crap was he brutal this round. I honestly feel sorry for some of the contestants!

We appreciate your sympathy. Thank you very much.


That being said, the competitors and observers of these challenges find ourselves in a bit of a unique pickle, regarding the consideration of banning him from future judgings.

Actually, it is not unique. It has happened one other time with samduke and followed the same pattern. samduke was rude to everyone, disregarded the chair, harassed people on the board, posted baseless judgings, refused to change them, and after much hemming and hawing identical to what is happening here, was finally banned from iron chef.


As has been stated by more than one person, more than once, it sucks to have a round go un-judged.

We already have another judge, though, so that's not an issue here.


I've entered into some of these and had only a single judge over the course of a month. I've entered another and spent more than 3 months waiting for a judge to put in the time and effort, all for naught. So, to see the idea of possibly banning the provider of a crucial element to these challenges being tossed around, it's a tough choice.

there are other judges. ones who will not take away points for using the wrong gender pronouns in your story or speaking languages they don't think are optimal. curmudgeon is not the only person who can judge.


Vagaries in the rules on judging need to be minimized. You say the rules shouldn't be changed based on 1 person's actions, that instead he need be dealt with individually based on previous repeated instances of harsh grading schema. I say that where a vagary exists that could allow for confrontational grading, it should be fixed. If nobody wants to step up and fix it, in order to alleviate these harsh grading issues, well, I guess I can take a look and see what I can do to fix it.

But there already is a solution: banning him. It worked with samduke. it let one person stop ruining iron chef for everyone and for the rest of us to actually enjoy it without having to cater to all their demands while they insulted us.

I'm not just saying the rules shouldn't be changed based on one person's actions (though they shouldn't.) I'm saying that that has already been done, as I mentioned upthread. This is why we have the FAQ about a judge not being allowed to assume all dishes are naked if they do not provide an exhaustive list of mundane equipment due to curmudgeon doing this in shiba protector, penalizing my dish for not having unarmed strike since I didn't specify exactly what kind of reach weapon I used with a page number citation.

even after having changed the rules specifically because of curmudgeon's combative behavior, it did not stop him from doing the exact same thing in this round.

I'm saying we shouldn't pretend that changing the rules will change curmudgeon's behavior because that has not worked so far. he just ignores them when they get in his way. to borrow a phrase from the army rhetoric you're employing, it's not an effective deterrent.


Say what you will about his attitude and his tone of voice (quite possibly reasonable objections), the man does produce quality work, as close to the exact letter of the law as he reads and understands it. It'd be a shame to see someone who puts that much effort into a contest like this with no expectation of tangible return on investment.
he does not produce quality work, and his deductions in this round are not based on rules. there are no rules restricting what kind of animal companion a ranger can have. just because he spent a lot of time writing his post doesn't mean he shouldn't have to experience any consequences for his actions.

as vaz said, his return on investment is making us all angry for his own amusement.


I have no problems with Curmudgeon judging harshly, since he has applied the same harsh standards to all the entries: so far as I can tell, no-one is experiencing unfair leniency.

You are mistaken. Even in rules he fabricates himself, such as a restriction on what animal companion a ranger is allowed to select (no such rule exists) some chefs are penalized while others are not. the camel riding chefs are penalized, despite it being appropriate for the environ. the monstrous spider riding judge is not even though that creature doesn't live there.

none of them should be penalized, since this is not a real rule, but even if it were, there is no consistency.

or languages. with the exception of ingredients which require a language, such as dragon disciple, language is not a thing you can deduct for.

some dishes are penalized for not specifying language, even though it does not matter. ones who do specify are penalized for their language decisions no being the ones curmudgeon would select.

again. no consistency.


That said, I do have issues with his lack of diplomacy. "You don't get that spell. Ho ho ho." doesn't seem like an appropriate level of professionalism in judging, nor is "You're not required to enter Iron Chef at all": this is more concerning to me than any number of disregarded class levels.

Good. That's the whole point. He's been given ample opportunity to stop acting this way and has chosen not to. We shouldn't be forced to put up with it.

No matter what curmudgeon or samduke or whoever says or does, there are always people who are just opposed to ever excluding anyone from anything ever. I know this makes the rounds in conversations like this (http://www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/gsf.html) but it doesn't make it any less valuable. We've all fallen prey to this one time or another. It's not wrong to exclude someone from something due to their own bad behavior.


My memories are hazy, but I seem to remember at least 2 rounds of IC (Homecooking?) under Heliomance's chairwomanship, one of which was an uber-healer PrC and one of which was an awesomely-fluffed seer.

yes, that is correct, that's the iron chef home cooking (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?389158-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-Home-Cooking-Edition&p=18641214&viewfull=1#post18641214) contest. it's pretty cool.


There were 3, I believe. There was just no interest in judging the entries that came in. The last thread is currently unjudged, which is sad because I put a lot of work into my build.

EDIT: that's too bad. I'd love it if you'd put up a link here, I'm sure we can find someone to judge.

[Lagren]

There were 3, I believe. There was just no interest in judging the entries that came in. The last thread is currently unjudged, which is sad because I put a lot of work into my build.

As someone who is interested in seeing more contests like this, and who did not participate in said contest, there seems to be an obvious thing I could do to help this continue. Namely, go judge things.

Can you provide a link?

[Venger]

As someone who is interested in seeing more contests like this, and who did not participate in said contest, there seems to be an obvious thing I could do to help this continue. Namely, go judge things.

Can you provide a link?

here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?389158-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-Home-Cooking-Edition) is a link to iron chef home cooking. they're a lot of fun. check out junkyard challenge and villainous villains as well for similar contests. they usually run in iron chef's downtime, so people can do one while waiting on the other.

EDIT

here's 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?397379-Iron-Chef-Home-Cooking-in-the-Playground-II)

and here's 3 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?415717-Iron-Chef-Home-Cooking-in-the-Playground-III)